Where oh where have all the good cartoons gone?

The Disappearing Art: Cartoons

   Today when looking through my Facebook Feed I saw a posting from “Lady and the Tramp”. This was my favorite cartoon as a child, sure I liked “Cinderella”, I cried every time I watched “All Dogs Go to Heaven” and “The Land before Time”, “Fievel Goes West” will always be something I laugh at (Especially when I watch the parts with Tiger the Cat). I collect Disney movies like “Lady and the Tramp” and “The Jungle Book” and so on. However, this got me to looking around at the videos in Target and Walmart, where have all the cartoons gone? They still have the great ones from the past but there are no new drawn cartoons being produced today.

   It’s all computerized animations and Japanese anime comic book style, where are the good drawings and paintings of the cartoons we remember? Are these relics from our past and when we tell our children about them will it be like when our parents talked about Eight-tracks and Beta-disks? Something that they hear about and then say, “Well things have changed?” I like all movies, even children’s movies but why has the sketched cartoon gone out of style?

   Disney did and still does it best, their cartoons look like art works because that’s exactly what they are. They literally painted in the backgrounds and then drew in the characters. Check out the video and tell me what you think, new school computerized animation or old school and real human talent for cartoons?

Want to know that your bothering me?? List of how-to's and what not to do's!

These Are, Like, Some Things That, Like, Bother Me

        I’ve been lazy and haven’t made any of the yummy recipes I have lined up. Although, my new stove is awesome (and so pretty).  So I thought I would write some on the things that bother me, all of this is in jest and from my point of view of course. Most likely I have or maybe even still do some of these from time to time and that bothers me even more!

1.    Using these words: like, really and seriously: URGHHH what is with looking bored and prissy and saying Seriously? (hopefully you’re hearing that little girl Barbie voice in your head because I am) or the only rebuttal you can manage is Really? How about coming up with a word with more than six letters in it?

2.   Full grown adults that wear Twilight T-shirts or decorate your office space with Harry Potter crap: I will admit this now I have read every one of those books and have the Harry Potter movies; even a few Twilight movies (the first one had the BEST soundtrack) however you will not catch me sporting any of these franchises on my person… unless I visit Universal Studios and go to Potter land. And I am planning to go there this summer. Outside of that place if you are over the age of thirteen you should not, I repeat SHOULD NOT put these items on your body!!

3.   When going through a check-out line and talking on you cell phone: Give that cashier two seconds of you time and acknowledge them. If you do chances are your eggs wont be thrown in your bag with force, possibly they wont put the bleach in with your peaches. Just trying to make a point here people...

4.   Cell phones in general: the saddest thing I have seen in a long time was a lady that took her son to the zoo, she couldn’t be bothered to look at the animals with him, no! she had to talk on her phone the entire time. He was so excited to see that animal and all she could do was wonder around and talk talk talk on that fucking thing. I’m not a parent, but, I don’t think it takes a genius to know that it’s important to give your kid some acknowledgement and just pay attention to them especially when you are in a setting like that. You only get a moment with them when they are excited to show you an animal in a zoo then it’s gone and they are teenagers to cool to be seen with you in public. Take that phone out of your ear, talk to you kid, drive your car and just be present in what’s going on around you!! And from the rest of us Shut The Fuck Up!!

5.   Day Glow and Tie-Dye: I remember this when I was a kid in the late 80’s and early 90’s and I totally rocked those curly neon pink and yellow shoe-strings thank you very much. With that being said this is one look, kinda like a really big French Poodle Perm that should’ve stayed back then. The tie-dye, that’s something I see old hippies selling on the side of the road, you know why? Because they’re smelly old hippies they’re perfume is patchouli and they’re probably going to sell you some herbs that are “medicinal” and a veggie burger that they made with the ingredients from their “victory-garden”. STAY AWAY FROM THESE ROAD SIDE VENDORS AND BACK AWAY FROM THE TIE-DYE!!!” If you are wearing a tie-dye shirt it better say “We Have Crabs” on the back… if you don’t get this then we have bigger issues then the shirt and seizure inducing color day glow colors.

That is all for now, I look forward to some more bothersome blogs!!

Nailed It!

Nailed It

    My Mom used to be a nail tech, I’ve spent the better part of my childhood watching her polish and file peoples nails. Now she owns Broadway Boutique- it’s a really cool little shop with fab pieces!

    She has always sworn by OPI products but I’ve introduced her to Essie, I had been reading about this brand in magazines for years but I never bought any because I used to polish my nails about once a year. That all changed when I tried out Essie… this stuff is Amazazing!!! It never chips and I am very hard on my nails, it comes in a rainbow of colors. I just picked up one tonight that my mom said looked like an Easter Egg and another that I am trying out that is Meet Me At Sunset (the Easter Egg was Hot Date which was a pasteley purple color!)

    If you enjoy painting you nails and don’t want to waste your money on the stuff that’s just going to flake off and make you super mad I recommend this product to anyone!!!

Sending you a rainbow of nail colors-

Steph

I thought I would share this, everything I bought was purple for some reason!!! LOL!!

A Message From the Black Sheep.

“Blame It All on My Roots- My Sister’s Wearing Boots”

 

       I was raised in a small town in the south-eastern part of Oklahoma. I have seen some serious back-woods country bumpkins in my time. I even tried to fit in with them because it’s lonely being different. Something I pride myself in now. So with that being said my thirteen year old sister has decided that she is going to drink the country kool-aide so to speak.

       I have no problem with country people; in fact they are some of the nicest people that you could ever hope to meet. I like horses, but it’s most likely because a horse is an animal and I love animals. I enjoy lakes and small towns (as long as a bigger town or city is at least 30 minutes away) and I could probably see myself living off the grid or at least having chickens and a garden when I get my own home. Again this is because I like animals and I also like digging in the dirt!

       I have no idea where I’ve come from, because, although I lived in that small town I never fit in there. Just spending the weekend there makes me anxious and I don’t know why because I love my Mom’s home. But I also love art, especially street art. Fafi and Miss Van are some of my most favorite graffiti artists, but again, where I learned to be interested in graffiti- when I lived where I did is beyond me. I like trying different foods, French food, Italian (real Italian not Americanized Italian) and Cuban Food are among my most favorite. This was not found in my small corner of the world. I love high end fashion lines, even though I can’t afford them. I spent many-a day coveting pieces from Vogue and Instyle magazines, thinking to myself that one day I would own a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes or a vintage Chanel bag. (I still want these by the way!)

Fafi working on one of her paintings

       Needless to say, if you haven’t caught on by now I will tell you I am not country. I don’t go hunting, I’d rather jam a pencil in my ear than listen to country music, and I make a conscious effort to not speak with my Okie-Twang. I was a vegetarian for a year, when you speak those words around here people look at you like you just grew antlers on your head. And trust me if you have antlers on your head, this part of the country is the last place you want to be!!

       So how am I supposed to handle it when my family is as southern as they come. I don’t mean they are back woods hillbillies or anything because they aren’t. We travel a lot together, last year we went to NYC and had a brilliant time. They just think completely different then me and I always feel like the odd ball and now my sister has just crossed over to the dark side...

These are the shoes I choose to tromp around the world in.

Chitti-Chitti Bang Bang

Chitti-Chitti BANG BANG

normally i don't have bangs see here. 

          I’m not really sure what in the hell possessed me, but, I cut my bangs today.  I’ve been letting my hair grow for like a year or so and trust me sometimes I've wanted to cut all of this crap off- you have no idea.  I’m doing this for Dan because like most dudes, he just loves long hair.  I’m not really sure why men like long hair on women but I’ve kept it short for about six years now and decided okay I’ll go for the change.

          One of my fashion icons is Zooey Deschanel I love her cute vintage style and her quirky bangs. I also watched Kandee Johnson videos on YouTube like all day and I like her bangs too.  I haven’t had full on bangs since the sixth grade because I have a very round face and sometimes they can intensify the round curvy shape that I am trying to diminish. So after watching The New Girl all season then watching Kandee I’ve been thinking over banging out some indie bangs.  Today I pulled out my Joewell Scissors and Texturizing Razor that I’ve kept from Cosmetology School and climbed up on my bathroom counter.  Sitting on the counter I took a deep breath, separated the bang area and snipped.  About six inches of hair fell in my hands and I knew there was no going back from that!

          I layered the frontal area, trimmed the side sweep bangs and textured the ends.  I realize I could have gone to a professional; however, I did attend Cosmetology School and remembered the basics.  These are a bit shorter than I wanted but over all I am pleased with the results… as was Dan.  With my Ray Ban’s I really dig the vintagey indie feel that this has to it.

Insominia and Two in the Morning

What It’s Two AM and You’re Still Awake???

      Hey everyone, yes it’s me, that none sleeping person that is going to blog and post because they are really really bored and wish they could be sleeping like the rest of America. I mean come on I have a dog snoring on the couch with me and I can hear Dan sleeping away in our room, why am I not joining the rest of my house while they catch their Z’s?? Ugh damn my late night owl preferences!

      Anyways, I thought I would let you in on what’s been going on recently with me and my kitchen. The other day I went to Sam’s and saw this pack of beautiful steaks and thought YUM let’s grill out- you know cause it’s February and 70 degrees outside. I get home, clean the house, marinate the steaks, and chill the wine. I realize it’s about time to start the grill so I pull it out of the closet, clean it off and pour in the charcoal (I like charcoal don’t ask why) four pieces come out of the bag. Damn should have seen that coming. So I think, “Ah, you can broil steaks in the oven! A backup plan, awesome!”

I turn on the broiler and wait for it to heat up. Then I put the steaks in. I go to turn them after about six minutes and that’s when I notice that my oven is shooting sparks out of the broiler. Well isn’t that fantastic? The oven that I am working with is probably as old as I am and since living in this apartment is a temporary thing while we finish school I haven’t ever complained about it, however, the staff in the office did get an earful about the electrical sparks. So they are going to give me a brand new stove which should be here soon- I hope!

We did eat the steaks I had to finish them off on the stove top, which didn’t make me too happy because that’s just ruining a lovely steak in my opinion, but what can you do?

I’ve wanted to post a lot more blogs about cooking and baking but since my stove is on the fritz that’s just going to have to wait for another day. Hopefully the new one will be here soon and I will get around to a really great dessert recipe!

Hugs-

Stephanie

I thought this was cute so I added it! Wish my grilling experience would’ve been as nice.

What's It All About?

What’s It All About?

          As I said with my first entry, this blog is about my life. My life and the things on my mind: it is also to help me with writing as I am attempting my hand at writing a novel.  This is something I am supposed to do on an almost daily basis to help get the juices flowing.

          Today I decided to watch a movie that always reminds me of happy times. “On Golden Pond” I watched it the first time with my grandparents Scootie and Papaw Jack. This movie always reminds me of my summers in Hot Springs, AR with my dad’s family.  I had such a good time on Lake Hamilton and thinking about it makes me miss that time in my life so much I literally ache.  But this entry isn’t going to be about me crying about the things in life one losses along the way, it’s more about me coming to an understanding about life in general.

          When my Dad past away I was mad. Mad at how things ended; just when we had started to patch up a rocky father and daughter relationship he was gone. Mad that God had taken my Dad- when myself and my sister Morgan still needed him. However, I have come to the conclusion that it was a lesson. Let the little things in life go. Life isn’t about winning and losing, it isn’t about big houses, fancy cars, and badges of honor that need to be collected along the way. Life will march right past you while you are busy. Busy doing whatever is going on in your life, busy working at jobs or raising kids. You put off family trips and adventures because you are saving money for random things. Thinking, “No I will go on that vacation in a year or so I need to save for a bigger house or car…” and true you shouldn’t be irresponsible with money and set yourself up for disaster but you shouldn’t be so frugal that you never have any fun either. Because when you reach the end, memories are all that your left with and the most important thing that you leave behind.

          From now on I will continue to try and live in the moment, savor the time with my family and close friends. Keep striving to find the good in each day, no matter how bad it seems. Keep remembering to look for Dad on the days when I know he’s checking in on me.

          Sorry for the heaviness but it was on my mind today.

          Love to all-

Stephanie

What A Bust

What. A. Bust.

And I am not talking about bust size neither. What I mean is that today sucked. Dan and I read that a vintage show was coming to town. I love flea markets and things of this nature and so does Dan. I mean you never know what you are going to find in places like those- so needless to say we were super excited to go see what these vendors had to offer. Well nothing. Oh they had plenty of things to look at… including a price tag that made your heart stop.

I’ve always been on to touch things I have to see with my hands and not my eyes in order to purchase something. And even I was telling myself, “Don’t touch. Don’t touch. DON’T TOUCH!!!!!!!” My mission of the day was to find a retro/vintage pitcher because mine broke. And be still my beating heart I saw a booth with nothing but Depression Glass so I made a Bline to her booth to look (and touch) to my heart’s content. Then I glanced at the price tag…*dum dum dum* 375.00. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR. Is this lady smoking meth? I know this stuff is collectors’ items and what not but I literally went to an antique store and saw the same one for 20.00- ugh what a disappointment.

So Dan treated me to a Webers kid’s burger and everything was right again.

Hugs and Burgers-

Steph



Today's Adventure

Today's Adventure

We've kept hearing about a new Mexican Restaurant named Chuy's. This started in Austin, TX and it is amazing, everything you think about close to the border Mexican food. Eclectically designed. Well to be apolitically correct I'd say a bunch of really cook crap on the walls! The part of the restaurant that we sat in was their "hub-cap room"- the ceiling looked a little like this.

And it covered the entire ceiling. We also got to look at black-velvet paintings of retro cars. Something near and dear to Dan's and my heart!

So now to the food, started with a salsa that more or less resembled blended pica de gio but it was tasty. The chips were so good I didn't even eat much of the salsa. I ordered the fajita, which are my favorite. They make home-made floured tortillas there and they are the fluffy home-made kind that leave traces of flour on your hands and fingers.

Spread so big it took two pictures. And yes we had cocktails at three pm but who cares? I had to test out the margita- right? Well yeah I did and it was good. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone that likes good food and a fun atmosphere. However, one suggestion- go early or late as this is a new restaurant on "restaurant row" everyone is jumping to get in. 

My eating partner had no complients either. Dan ordered the Beef Tex-Mex Enchiladas and a Corona.

10 Things about your Blog that Drive Me Crazy

10 Things about your Blog that Drive Me Crazy
made me laugh

"Now That's A Tasty Burger!"

"Now That Is A Tasty Burger"

Today driving around Tulsa and trying to figure out what to eat, I remembered Webers on Peoria. I'd never eaten there before and it was absolutely deluxe!!!

(Me about to eat some really great burgers... don't I look happy???"

When walking in, there is a counter that you can eat at. It can only sit about five or six people at a time, so if your claustrophobic you may be out of luck. Had it been summer I would have been more than happy to eat out on their picnic benches in the sunshine- however, since it's is about 40 degrees outside I opted to eat indoors.

Pictured above is the old original menu, I wish these were the prices that still exist but alas, inflation bites us all in the ass. Anyways the place is a dive to put it best, as I said there is one counter with high top stools, several outside eating areas and a drive through. These burgers took me back to the good ole burgers that used to exist. They come in old tissue-y paper wrapping, you can get the old hand cut fries that you can't find in any fast food joint or chain restaurant. They even have old fashion root beer and root beer floats. I am not a root beer fan so I didn't try one although I kind of regret that now.

 

This is family owned and operated since 1933, that's a long time so no wonder these burgers are melt in your mouth delicious! Do yourself a favor (or should I say flavor?) drop by Webers if your in the area. You won't be disappointed!

Valentine's Day Dinner

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!!

I thought in honor of this "romantic" day I would post one of mine and Daniel's favorite meals. Which I will be cooking tonight, because really who wants to go wait two hours for a table and eat mediocre overpriced food in a restaurant? I would rather make a meal at home where we can comfortably eat and be ourselves with out the forced feel of romanticism. All right enough of me being Oscar the Grouch lets get to the real meat of this post... the food.

This is "Semi-Homemade Penne and Sausages"

okay to start you will need

one 16 oz box of penne noodles

gold pearl onions (peeled and chopped as much as you like)

two 28 oz cans of whole peeled tomatoes

two 24 oz traditional pasta sauce ( I use classico traditional sweet basil)

fresh mozzarella cheese

sausage ( use as much as you like. I use five links and prefer the med spice blend however pick the spice level you prefer)

Parmesan cheese (TT)

Start by cooking the sausages you can prepare them however you wish, grill, poach, baked, whatever. I poach mine but this is entirely up to you. you will also need to preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

While your sausages are cooking in a large saute pan pour enough olive oil in the pan to coat the bottom, then add the onions that you peeled and chopped. Saute until the onions are tender.

I add the sliced pieces of sausage to the onion which allows for more flavor. Then strain off exes oil and add the tomatoes and sauce. Cook the sauce on low.

Meanwhile prepare your noodles according to the package directions.

Strain the noodles and put them in a medium sized glass casserole dish.

Pour the sauce over the noodles. You may need to stir the noodles and sauce, to make sure the sauce coats the penne noodles.

Add the mozzarella cheese to the top of the casserole dish.

Cook until cheese is bubbly.

Remove and plate, sprinkle Parmesan cheese over each serving.

Enjoy with a salad and your favorite wine!

Now that dinner is ready Dan and I will be watching the Dog Show and rooting for the Dachschunds to take the blue ribbon. Not drinking wine since both of us have a cold and alcohol doesn't mix with cold medicine! Happy Valentines Day to everyone!!

 



 



My Valentine

My Valentine

i don't put a lot of stock into the whole valentine's day myth. for instance why is it that you get one day out of an entire year for your better half? i feel that you should show the person that you love each day just how much they mean to you. i mean i love candy and what girl doesn't like flowers? i just dont feel like it should be obligated to be given to me on a certain day. it's much more romantic to get them on a whim because you did something nice for the other person, no?

with that being said daniel, my lovey, bought me the thing i've been wanting for a year. knowing how much i love the retro/vintage look he got me a pair of RayBan Wayfarers. holy batman, sally!!! what an awesome gift! not only are they the real mccoy they also have this nifty print on the inside which makes them look a bit more feminine... i couldn't be more happier. now does anyone have any suggestions on what i could give in return??? 

a little bit about me:
i was born in a small town in oklahoma in the 80s i grew up there dreaming of bigger and better places to go. i love my small town roots but staying there wasn't in the cards for me! so i spent my time trying to fit in when i was a kid, which did not work for me because i am neither an ostrich with it's head in the sand or a hillbilly that likes to listen to country music or shot guns. in fact i hate guns and think that if there were no guns and people needed to use their fists and words we might have a lot less problems in the world, but i digress.
we traveled a lot so i knew that i loved big cities with lots of people in them. then i meet daniel and we decided to move to miami, fl. we really found ourselves there:

for instance i've found that i love art including but not limited too drawing, painting and adding stickers on private property although i try to resist this urge. my love for music only increased after living there, probably because i worked for the hard rock cafe and all you talk about is music. i miss that time in my life and i really miss the daily sights of palm trees, rasta-hobos, and seeing iguanas sunning themselves on the side of the road. and i found how much daniel and i make sense, if i searched for a million years i would never find another dan.

now we are back in oklahoma but managed to live in tulsa, which isn't too bad. it's actually a beautiful city and that was surprising to me. you can drive down the road and traffic will come to a screeching halt obviously your first thought is that a wreck has just happened... nope just a family of geese crossing the road. i love it, in this city i've seen a herd of deer of about sixty grazing in a field, geese everywhere, and a fox. being that i love nature and animals i love seeing these animals.

there's a handful of things that i can do beautifully:
cook you a fantastic meal and pair wine with it so there is no need to order out because i make it just as good. make an awesome playlist of music to go with dinner, train my dog, paint and draw, be creative, rock out on a dance floor and most likely make a fool of myself, always be the friend that will listen to you when you just need to talk.

well i really wanted to do more with this blog by now, however, this day four of feeling like complete shit and i really don't have the creative or physical energy to put more into this. which is kind of depressing in it's self. i've slept all day and now am watching horrible chick flicks so wish me well hopefully i will have something more interesting to say soon.

really sick. went to dinner and felt awful the whole way through dinner. poo poo. will make an actual post later.

i’ve started many-a blogs in this time of blogging and everyone having more of a virtual life than a real one- but none of them have stuck for long. so i am trying this again. i sit here on the couch and read other peoples blogs and decide to give it a go one more time. this should be about my day to day life and i’m hoping this helps me in my writing process as i work on a novel.

a little about me is i love all things vintage, so much of this will be on my take on modern day life while trying to stay true to my unique style. although after reading many wedding and such blogs it seems many people enjoy relics from the past such as i, so is that really that unique? but i digress… i also went to culinary school and transferred to oklahoma state university this past fall i am working on a degree in hospitality management and would like to get into wine sales, i have a boyfriend name daniel and we are working on year number 7, we also own a dog named oscar hebrew nation and i am sure you’ve guessed he is a dachshund and i think the best dog… ever. i think most of my blogging will be about style, art, music, and things of that nature. i look forward to spending more time with anyone that takes the time to read about my life.