Checkmate

This past week human beings survived the rapture and the last episode ever...like, eva eva...of the Oprah show (I shed one little tear like Cry-Baby. A skill that has yet to prove as effective on dudes as it was on the ladies for Johnny D). That, or we're all disgraceful sinners stuck on this earth to create our own special hell out of carbon footprints that put Sasquatch's to shame, and internet and reality TV addiction, especially those containing obnoxious housewives who have no real problems, other than what body part to enhance/reduce next, so they create their own to have something to complain/cry about when they drink their wine at 2 PM. Yes, I am probably single-handed keeping the BRAVO channel and all it's glorious and intellectually stimulating reality shows in business, but we don't discuss such things at the Brooch Brat headquarters.

In case any curious minds care to know, I have approx. 100 cans/cases of soup, cup of noodles, vegetarian chili and tons of water and batteries for my trusty magnetic flashlight, and first aid kit ready in my closet in case an apocalypse of the Zombie or Biblical kind does in fact happen. Yes, I am a good person to know in case of an emergency and yes I will be your hero. Baby.

On a serious note and one related to Brooches but nothing at all to do with Zombies or [baby] Jesus or Oprah, I am obsessed with Checkered patterns. It is a new thing that's kind of always been a mediocre thing, only now it's been elevated to a level 4 out of 5 on the Checkered Obsessed meter. The catalyst in this whole ordeal is the Kardashians. Yep, another American Reality TV favorite...that the Brooch Brat has been known to watch ever so (rarely) often. During one of these freak viewings, I noticed that Kris Kardashian had very cute checkered items on her kitchen stove, one of which was a tea kettle. It was love at first sight, to say the least. But just as quickly as I fell in love, I forgot about it...until I woke up one evening after an epic nap and wouldn't you know it, one of the Kardashian shows was on TV (clearly, my dog had changed the channel while I snoozed) and there was my lover, the checkered tea kettle on the screen again, in all her water boiling glory. I could have sworn "Dreamweaver" started playing from somewhere unknown at that moment...and so was the beginning of my demise.

"Checkered tea kettle" Googling soon led me to the wonderful world of MacKenzie-Childs, who incorporates a checkered theme through much of their handcrafted designs which cover a wide-range of household items, from kitchen appliances to furniture to garden decor and more. I can not stop looking at slash drooling over their beautiful stuffs, which inspired a new Brooch Design-- Checkmate:


And here's my beautiful inspiration. Don't be afraid to admire her for a second longer than feels appropriate for a kitchen appliance:

An Education

Ashley Kirk: Berkeley, CA 5-15-11

This past weekend the oldest of my [all] younger sisters graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Molecular Biology. It truly seems like just yesterday that Ashley first departed our hometown of beautiful and sunny San Diego en route for the cold and uber liberal college town, Berkeley, CA USA. I am not quite sure what compelled her to a). trade the always beautiful and sunny Southern California weather and year-round tan for Bay Area hard-nips-coldness and tree huggers, and b). Study molecules and soil samples and primates and spiders and all the other things she would fervently tell me about during our catch up phone chats and visits. Why wasn't she into Dance, Romanticism and the Arts in general like I was? Looking at the Periodic Table of Elements gives me terrible anxiety and makes me go cross eyed. Ashley dreams about it with a smile on her face. Biology is to Ashley what Dance and James Joyce were to me-- magical. Biology is the only class I ever failed and had to retake and even then, I barely skated by with a C (I cried for hours about it). I could write 25 pages on Oedipal Theoretic Evolution in my sleep, or the shower (where I do my best thinking), but ask me to write about cell theory or genetics-- forget about it.
Ashley has both impressed and baffled me, not only by her choice of major and school location (ok, ok so UC Berkeley was ranked as the second best school in the world this year by The Academic Ranking of World Universities-- big whoopee! ;), but by her decision to remain a student as long as she possibly can. She has her sights set on a PHD and who knows what from there. As her big sister, I couldn't be more proud of her decision to honor her hunger for research and knowledge. I really do believe she will contribute to the world of Biology research in a very big way and I'm just happy to be lucky enough to call her my sister and brag about her every step along her path to Academia excellence.

As I watched Ashley cross the stage on Sunday, it became ever so clear to me that my sisters are growing up to be bright and capable young women in their own right. They will be successful without my assistance; they will fall in love, have their hearts broken, mend them, fall in love again, make mistakes and learn and grow from them. They will experience all the wonderful and not-so wonderful things we all do, and must, to become better, smarter and stronger people. I can not protect them from life, but I will always be here to love and support them through it all and celebrate the high points with way too many hugs, kisses and "I'm so proud I could cry's." They will one day get married and start beautiful families and accomplish everything their not-so-little-anymore hearts desire and they will do this all on their own because they are hard wired for it. I am a proud big sister of Ashley, Jennifer, Megan and Jacqui, today and always <3

A Toast to the Fifth day of May

Today is the first Thursday of May, 2011, which happens to be the fifth day of the month aka "Cinco De Mayo" and a beautiful one at that.
It is a day of recognition and celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. It is celebrated throughout the United States and regionally in Mexico, and usually ends in my little corner of the world with a few flipped over shot glasses that once contained tequila, chewed out limes, and me passed out on a couch...hopefully mine...one can dream right...

Yes, for many Americans, the real reason for celebration is sadly (but also happily) slighted by the celebration of Mexican fare and yes, that beloved spirit made from blue agave, or maybe a cerveza. Complete with a Mariachi band and maybe some Folklorico, you have yourself a real fiesta. 'Ole!

In honor of our southern neighbors, I will be donning the Ruby Rad brooch tonight as I sip on a margarita on the rocks with salt and attempt some Spanish...4 years of studying the foreign language in school and all I can seem to muster are rudimentary "si," "loco," "me llama es Chanel," and "el perro se comio mi tarea." Yes, I'm embarrassed. But by 9 pm, I doubt anyone will notice what language I'm speaking anyway...