Jodi Bloom – Page 10 – So Charmed by Jodi Bloom

Last Night Iggy Pop Tried to French Kiss Me While Michelangelo Gave Me an Awesome Back-Scratching

Posted on July 20, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

Yes, it was quite a night.

Oh, not Iggy the rockstar or Michelangelo the artist… what kind of girl do you think I am? I’m talking about Iggy and Angelo, our two new family additions and the sweetest, most adorable, most funniest kittens on the planet. Pictured above is the entire litter; Iggy is in the middle demonstrating his “all toys are mine” punk rock ethos, and Angelo is on the far right, twice the size of Iggy (and smart, very smart) but a much more pensive laid-back sort of Renaissance cat.

Molly and I adopted these babies last weekend in Adams Morgan at a MetroFerals event we stumbled into on Saturday. There were so many lovely kits that needed good homes, and after pondering it for about 5 minutes that evening over Chinese food, we decided we had to go back the next morning and choose from the “Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe” litter, as they’d been temporarily named. Needless to say, neither of us could sleep that night from the pure excitement of it all.
The scene at the foster house on Sunday was a loving four-ring circus! The litter had been so well-cared for by David and Norm (the Cat Whisperer) and we sat on the floor while the tiny ones dashed around the small bedroom in a gray blur of kitten energy! It was sooooo hard to choose.

At first glance the foursome looked completely identical and we wondered how we could ever tell two of them apart from one another. But Angelo quickly stood out as the grayest of the bunch, really beautiful, with no white or beige markings and the only one with a super stylish black nose and black pads on his paws. He was the biggest and super friendly so Molly picked him first.

Iggy and his two look-alike brothers were another matter. But Ig was the tiniest — the runt of the litter — and I’ve always had a soft spot for runts (Rosebud, RIP, was the runt of her litter too). We loved Iggy’s assymetrical white facial markings, and his too-adorable-for-words pink nose and pads, not to mention his joyful and reckless rock and roll personality. Sadly leaving the others behind, we made our way home with two furry creatures in tow.

I’m happy to report, the kitties are doing splendidly. They are really bonding and are sequestered in my bedroom until they feel a bit more secure. It’s been such fun hanging out with them, although I am getting tired of sharing my bathroom! Litter on the floor in the middle of the night and a perpetually knocked-over water bowl… not such fun. But more than worth it!

Iggy and Angelo have been keeping me awake at night too with the loudest purring I’ve ever heard, in stereo, along with this other simultaneous weird chewing/sucking noise that is also quite crunchy and loud! And it’s true, last night, Iggy really was trying to stick his tiny #4 sandpaper tongue into my mouth (ewwww, I love you but where has that tongue been???) while Angelo gave me a seriously awesome back-scratch with his tiny claws.

Kittens just rock, you know? I will try to get additional pics soon and before they grow up (kittenhood goes by SO fast), but thusfar, it’s all just a blurry mess of kitties in motion!

A Photographic Essay on Jersey Shore Cheese Fries. In Reverse. Or, How to Feed Five Hungry Children a Nutritional (Remember, Potatoes ARE a Vegetable and Are You Questioning My Parenting??) Lunch (Breakfast & Dinner Too!) for Under $5!

Posted on July 8, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

7 minutes and 45 seconds into today’s cheese fry experience (yes, this is daily, sometimes twice daily) we have evidence of total decimation. Now let’s back up shall we, and see what happened. Who is responsible? How did they do it?!

For Ethan, it’s all about quantity, dude.

Bess, a bona fide cheese fry connoisseur, takes a serious approach to savoring the cheese. And the fry.

Alex, youngest but possibly boldest cheese fryer of the bunch, mixes a little sand in (see chin for details) for that truly optimal beach cuisine experience.

The olfactory angle must not be ignored, as shown by Molly. Remember, sniff your fries!

Jake, a Jersey Shore cheese fry expert, knows that licking the grease and salt from one’s fingers is mandatory.

With 5 hungry kids on deck (you’d be hungry too if you were digging giant holes in the sand all day), you can’t grab those fries fast enough.

Ahhhh, the goods. A gooey box ‘o fries (the CHEESIEST ), piping hot and fresh from the Snack Shack, Ocean City, NJ. Yum yum!

Rosebud G. Kowalski, RIP

Posted on May 18, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

Our beloved cat, Rosebud, died yesterday at our home, after several months of a serious, gradually debilitating, but undiagnosed illness. She is lovingly survived by her mom (me), her sister, Molly Bess, Molly’s dad Glenn K., and many friends who loved her. The painting above, by the incredibly brilliant and talented Carrie Mitchell of San Francisco, CA, serves as a deliciously ironic and cherished memory of Rosie in the bloom of her health and plumpy devilishness.

Burial was held on the grounds at Darwin Avenue in Takoma Park, behind Rosebud’s favorite pink azalea bush… beneath which she spent many beautiful sunny days, and quite a few summer nights in peaceful contentment (but with one eye open). A bouquet of roses was provided by our neighbor and a proper gravemarker is in the making. Rosebud was buried with her favorite feather toy, and a small bag of Meow Mix, in case her next incarnation is again feline. If you ask me though, Rosebud’s spirit will return to this world as a dangerously beautiful super model.

Rosebud (nickname: Rosebud Scissorpaws) was a very special kitty. She was born on a farm in Pennsylvania and came into our lives 16 years ago during a Sunday trip to the Takoma Farmer’s Market. We went for tomatoes, and came home with a kitten. Never fully a domesticated housecat per se, Rosebud remained fiercely independent throughout her life, a quality that could be frustrating, but which we ultimately admired greatly. She came to love and trust but a few humans, and those of us she allowed into her circle were treated to many hours of playfulness and snuggling, along with the occasional bite or scratch out of sheer orneriness. Rosebud was in charge and she never let us forget that.

Some of Rosie’s most awesome accomplishments were: Protecting our house from other cats, viciously fighting them off with pride and valour, shredding a valuable antique 1940’s cut-velvet sofa to smithereens, hunting prey–mice and moles, primarily–and depositing these gifts on the walkway to our home, as well as occasionally on the floor by our beds, and maintaining her undeniable beauty well into old age without the assistance of expensive products or surgeries! For these things, and so many others, Rosebud will be fondly remembered in our thoughts and hearts.

Rest in peace, dearest Rosebud… and see you on the catwalk!

Rockin’ Out at CVS

Posted on May 3, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

I live in Takoma Park, a historic turn-of-the-century close-in Maryland suburb to Washington, DC. Utne Reader dubbed my hometown: Leftiest burb anywhere. I’ve also heard it referred to as Berkeley East, Tie-dye Park, and The People’s Republic of Takoma Park.

So, as you can imagine, when CVS wanted to build one of their stores, with its humongous blasting signage and Made in China m.o., right here in the heart of “downtown,” there was a lot of hullaballoo, hooha, and ole’ fashioned protestation by the ex-hippie-turned-uber-high-income-earning-big-SUV-driving populace. That’s another story for another time, and I’m not going there right now. But the dealio is, CVS did get built and it’s conveniently located across the street from our office building. We like to stroll over for a soda, to have a private meeting, or just to kill a little time when our brains are aching from too much brilliant creativity.

Besides, I’m a drugstore cowgirl from way back and where else can you score great cheap make-up by the bucketful, the latest affordable wrinkle-cream concoctions, giant tubs of dry roasted peanuts with this really tasty seasoning, and occasionally a bundle of awesome CDs for very silly prices, see above. So what if they give you the wrong prespcription from time to time? Is it gonna kill ya? Oh, and yes, all songs are the original recordings by the original artists. Whaddya think I am??

Thus, if you call my office, designfarm, you’ll be treated to the sweet sounds of Roy, The Byrds, Frank, and the O’Jays on our hold music. So call now and call often! Especially if you have some good graphic design projects for us, ok?

Shut Up!

Posted on May 3, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

A month or two ago, I was invited by hipstress editor-in-chief Sahar Vahidi to send a bunch of So Charmed jewels up to NYC for a photo shoot to appear in her super cool magazine, Shut Up! What could be more fun? Off the jewelry went, and here are some of the delicious pix. Next issue of the magazine is due out any minute, both online and in print, so keep an eye on their site. Photos by Samuel Tran.

Above, glam girl Caitlin wears Glory Ascending choker from the Rockstars Collection. Cutie-pie Caroline, below, wears Yes No Maybe So necklace from the Innocents Collection and sweetheart Liz wears signature sterling silver hip-hop necklace You Will Be Mine from the Pirates Collection.

Sweet, Sweet, NYC

Posted on April 3, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

I met Susie Stern (below left) and Amy Schildhouse Greenberg (below center) 40 years ago when I was nine and moved to Columbus Ohio. From 4th grade through high school graduation, and now that we are grown-ups with fourth-graders of our own… we’ve had adventures unlimited, apart and together. A more creative gang of girls you’ll never meet; Susie designs handbags for her company Cowbunnies, Amy is a fiction writer and translator, and well, you know me. To celebrate turning 50 this year, we convened from DC, Columbus, and Atlanta at the fabulously funky, cheap and chic Chelsea Star Hotel in NYC for a weekend of shopping, art, trading wrinkle cream secrets, and our special brand of merriment which, suffice to say, words can not capture. As always, I heart NY… and this trip was extra special indeed.

Happy Birthday to us!

Amy and her new boyfriend (sorry Josh), Mr. Kaufman, of Kaufman’s Furs. We just wandered into this famous spot for the sheer fun of it and ended up spending an hour touring the back rooms and factory and pretending we were hip-hop divas. Note to Josh: Amy looked TERRIF in that coat. Note to Clark: One word–Balenciaga.

This is my idea of a good use of fur (if there is such a thing), ~~Marcel Duchamp’s~~ Meret Oppenheim’s (boy is my surrealist face red, and thanks Arlene!) enduring sculpture at MoMA.

Jackson, oh Jackson, how I love thee. I spent awhile in the Pollock room at MoMA.

Looking at the sky and thinking of Molly.

The goddess of self-portraiture, Cindy Sherman at MoMA.

My Office Door, by Jodi Bloom, Boss Lady

Posted on March 2, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

I think you can probably tell a lot about a person by what is taped up on their office door, cubicle, etc. And because I want you to know everything about me, I have lovingly photographed the objects that grace my door… which as my employees will tell you, is open most all of the time.

Above is an early work of art by daughter, Molly. As all moms and dads do, I collect my kid’s artwork. And as a woman with “difficult-I-mean-fabulous” hair, I am drawn to Hair Goddess images. I love this collage… it’s visually gorgeous, the colors are great… I love the brown paper skin against the fluorescents and metallics, and I think this is a smashing hairdo. Does anyone know a good colorist?

But there are also scary things on my door, like this image, courtesy of my dear staff who are always looking out for my interests with regard to finding Mr. Right. The post-it asks: Jodi, wanna go on a date with me? There are check boxes for Yes and No. As you can see, I have not decided and still need a little time to think about it.

I love this portrait of me by Molly. The likeness is uncanny and it lets everyone know that this is the Queen’s office.

designfarm proudly accepts Visa and MasterCard for your shopping convenience.

I saved the best for last. This very scientific document depicts an invention by Molly: The Chicken Powered Skateboard. Is my kid a genius or WHAT??!! BTW, the chicken’s name is Elvis (with a creative spelling) and if you look closely you will see that he sports quite a fabulous pompador hairstyle.

Maybe Elvis Chicken would like to meet Sylvia! (see January.) Maybe Molly is going to be a hairstylist? Maybe Jodi needs some more mature office decor. Nah.

Beads beads beads beads beads

Posted on March 2, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

For those of you have been reading this blog, you know that as Vessel of the Lord I am about to come into a large sum of money. $26.7 million to be exact.

And that, my friends, is a whole lotta beads. Especially when (professional and/or hopelessly addicted thrifter that I am), many of the very best beads in the world can be had for pennies on the dollah.

The two collections pictured above and below were scored last week and this week and cost under $10 (total) for each group. Above includes a really gorgeous looong strand of either wooden or carved seeds (the ends are very strange), a nice string of black glass rosary beads, and two yummy pairs of beaded earrings. The clusters are probably 50’s (love that palette), the hot pink dangles are 60’s. Just amazing.

This group includes some early plastic candy-ish orange beads, probably lucite, but with incredible opaque creamy swirled inclusions, modern but still useful tiny rosary pearls, and a really yummy strand of mixed stuff including deep emerald glass crystal cut beads and what is known as “sugar” beads (those bumpy ones). I’m loving yellow right now, as well as turquoise… excellent score, eh?

The Lord Has Chossen (sic) You as a Vessel

Posted on March 2, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

When I stumbled to my computer this morning, pre-coffee, can you imagine just how very excited I was to find the above-referenced email from one Agnes Samuel there in my inbox? If you can’t, let me tell you, I was soooo happy.

I know this will come as a surprise to some of you out there who don’t know any people of the Jewish faith… but we are not a “Messianic” group. Yes, this means we really do not accept Jesus as The Savior, or the son of God, or anything, and really, please stop wasting your valuable prayers on us; it’s not going to change our minds. We are a stubborn people!

Some would say we are a patient people. See, while most of you are awaiting your second helping of Messianic pie, we await our first. Some of us are more bogged down by this whole waiting-for-the-Messiah-thing than others, and I admit to not being one (of the bogged).

That said, imagine my surprise and delight to find this email (amongst all that Satanic porn spam), as titled above: The Lord Has Chossen You as a Vessel. I hadn’t had my jolt of java yet, so I had to do a bleary-eyed double take… but yes, it appeared that I had indeed been selected. To be. The Lord’s Vessel!!!!!!!! Holy, um, mother of GOD! SHUT UP!!!! Me? Really? Are you, like, yanking my Jewish chain or something?

While I was envisioning a night of hot hot sex with the Lord (you know, so I could be the Vessel and my people could finally be alleviated of all this Messiah stress), I clicked open the mail to get the deets. For example, what would the Lord prefer me to be wearing on this night of our passionate love, etc? Or (and I’m crossing my fingers, please Lord say it ain’t so) is it going to be one of those boring immaculate conceptions? BUMMER!

But wait, this had nothing to do with sex or the messiah at all! Turns out, Agnes (of God? With such spelling issues?) it seems, only wished for me (a God-fearing Christian or maybe even a Moslem [sic]) to accept a tidy sum of $27.6 million dollars which her late husband has somehow managed to get hopelessly tied-up with “the Security & Finance company.” She is indeed ready to deposit this sum into my bank account and only awaits hearing back from me with my account info.

Sex be damned, I’ll take the money! And with that, I bid you adieu, as I must hurry and write to Agnes before she makes this incredible offer available to some other Vessel.

Who knew getting rich could be so easy?!

BTW, as Vessel of the Lord, I shall be hiring a secretary who will answer all of your emails concerning the above Blessing.

Thank you.

And SHUT UP!!!

Steal These Valentines

Posted on February 13, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

Are you racing around like a lunatic looking for something unique to bestow upon your sweetie tomorrow? Well, it’s too late for gorgeous handmade jewelry from So Charmed (there’s always next year though!), but have you considered your local Trader Joe’s grocery store? No? What’s wrong with you?

After ignoring TJ’s for over a year I returned last weekend and was pleasantly surprised to find vast improvements in their offerings… the produce was WAY better and the gourmet prepared foods were fabulous, creative (eggplant parmesan with filo dough!) and will keep me happliy microwaving for the whole week. But what really hooked me were the unusual and remakably well-priced exotic treats that TJ’s is famous for, such as edible, sort of candied, dried Hibiscus flowers (shown above and below) which have a delicate cranberryish flavor that is truthfully nowhere near as exciting as the visuals… they seriously look like weird aliens. Even run of the mill strawberries were spectacular visually (lots of leafiness and some stems!) and produced a pop of crispy tart-juicy flavor when I finally finished photographing them and served them up for breakfast.

Molly and I have been late to school two mornings running now due to my “need” to photograph foods purchased last weekend at TJ’s. The least I could do was share, right? So, if you don’t have time to pick some up, or you are one of those poor unfortunates that doesn’t have TJ’s, Whole Foods, and an actual old-school Food Co-op fiercely competing for your food dollars, yank these photographic valentines off the blog and pass them on. But you better at least show up with chocolate in person… and I KNOW you have a drugstore nearby so get going, it’s slim pickin’s out there at this point.

Print Advertising

Posted on February 6, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

It’s really challenging (but way fun) designing ads for print magazines. The challenge is space… a small fry like me can only afford a couple of column inches. So how do you maximize that space, especially when your ad will be in there with a gazillion and a half other ads? Here are my most recent efforts.

Why They Call Them Hermit Crabs

Posted on February 6, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

I am not, in general, a fan of caged pets of any kind… be they rabbits, gerbils, birds or whatever. It never seems right to me, and living with such a situation would keep me awake at night wracked with animal-rights guilt. So why on earth did I ever agree to become the landlord for a sad-sack bunch of crustaceans? Answer below.

Despite my own moral/ethical dilemmas, there are a few things I end up doing just because the look on my kid’s face will wrack me with worse guilt than having caged pets in my home. I suspect this is the reason most caged pets end up living out their sad-sack lives in suburban homes and backyards all across America. Which doesn’t really make it any better does it?

Such was the case last summer at Rehoboth Beach. Dear readers, I’ll spare you the whiny details, the begging, cajoling and PhD-level manipulation that lead to my purchasing not one, but three crustaceans, and not some dinky mini handbag-sized cage, but the full-on super deluxe Hermit Crab Condo, complete with Egyptian pyramid (a wise decision) and various hippie-dippie hand-painted shells the crabs could move into when they felt inspired to do so (hasn’t happened yet), plus peripherals: hella-bright dayglo stones (something tells me that whoever conceived of the idea of Hermit Crabs as pets was, you know, “on something”), 2 jars of specialized food, spray bottle, driftwood and a Hermie Hut which turned out to be a yet another handpainted hippie-affair, a half-coconut shell with door cleverly carved into it.

We have since cleared half this crap out of the Hermit condo because there was no room for them to walk an inch, but that doesn’t matter really. Because all these creatures do is sleep (see title of post). That is, unless you rudely awaken them (they spend 100% of their time hanging out in the freaking pyramid) which you must do daily in order to spray them or they’ll dry out, and that is just too hideous to imagine. After you bother the heck out of them they will “enjoy” a period of wakefulness for about 7-10 seconds before lumbering back into the pyramid for more of what they love best: Hermitting, Hermitage, Hermittance. I hate waking them up. But it’s the only way to make sure they haven’t kicked the bucket.

The death of a hermit crab is something you never want to experience. One of the three we brought home only lasted about 10 days. I hesitate to share this in any great detail. It was gross, slimy, stinky and sad. It depressed me for weeks. It depresses me just thinking about it and will haunt me for the rest of my life. I suppose an argument could be made that there is something dreadfully wrong with me. I’m TOO SENSITIVE to own pets. Even, or especially, crustaceans.

The fact is, they are extremely fascinating critters and despite everything, I sort of love them. They have this one freaky bigass claw in front, the cutest eyeballs, and you can actually have fun watching them haul butt across the floor or carpet. They move surprisingly lightening fast. They are comical and pretty sweet, unless they get become agitated and pinch you. This produces mad pain and will find you racing for the nearest sink to run your hand (or god forbid other body part) under cold water… the only way to make them raise the white flag and let go. After this happened once (early on, before I understood the limit of their desire for acrobatics) Molly decided she’d pretty much had plenty enough of caring for the crustaceans.

They now fall solely under my jurisdiction. They can die in 10 days or live for 20 years. Parents, be warned.

Shameless Self-Promotion

Posted on February 2, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

Posting a few portfolio images from my graphic design studio: designfarm. Above: Projects for the American Library Association. I LOVE those librarians. They are seriously the grooviest clients ever. We got to party with them (with over 10,000 of them in fact) at their annual conference in Orlando the year that Complete Copyright was published and it was an amazing fun time. Illustrations by artbabe Jessical Abel, design by Jessica Snyder, art direction by ~~Jessica~~ Jodi “just call me Jessica” Bloom.

Based in DC, so lots of our work is for non-profits, NGO’s and the Feds, various agencies. We’re good, real good. For more info, visit designfarm online. Know someone who needs great design? We’re looking for a few more clients to add to our roster, so hollaback, ok?

PS: The Chicken’s Name Is…

Posted on February 2, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

SYLVIA.

Isn’t that the BEST?! If you’ve been reading this blog, you know the very chicken I’m referring to. If not, see January, about mid-month. After sending a link to Terry, the director of Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary, she emailed and reminded me of my plump little friend’s name. I can’t wait to visit Sylvia next Fall. Join us there!

Made With Love

Posted on February 2, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

Sometimes my day-job business life is pretty stressful, like this week, when we had a very important press check for a very important project… a day when I really wanted to feel on top of my game, on top of the world and just plain good about myself.

For many DC businesswomen, this would mean a power-suit, but for me, it meant donning a cute outfit that was a mix of pinstriped fitted straight-leg pants and a layer-y jacket with a built-in hoodie (Urban Outfitters… I still love that place), and accessorizing from my massive collection of, well, accessories.

It’s so easy to overaccessorize isn’t it? While I do have a tendency to over-layer clothing (jeans under skirts under jackets with tank tops and t-shirts–oh my!) I actually don’t wear a lot of jewelry during the week b/c I’m so freaking busy and it always feels fussy and bothersome. But that day, I pinned on this adorable handmade flower boutonniere (above) that had just arrived in the mail from Alicia Paulson’s ingenious store Rosy Little Things, along with one of my newer charm bracelets called Bluebird of Happiness (below). I wondered if I’d overdone it, but as I entered the conference room where my staff and the client were awaiting my arrival, I felt a surge of… not power exactly, but goodness. Happiness. Worthiness.

And, as I toyed with a teensy sterling silver Jack charm, staring down past my left shoulder at my wrist, it was clear that the warm feeling of goodness was emanating from the lovely pin, and yes, my bracelet too. Maybe also a little bit from these kick-ass pointy boots I had on, but that’s another post entirely.

Wearing handmade goods is like walking around with a big hug squeezing you. You are saying, well… duh! Didn’t I know this?? I mean, I MAKE handmade goods, don’t I? Yep, I do. So, I can’t explain the epiphany; maybe it was the day, or the particular combination of another crafty-girl’s stuff plus mine. I can’t say for sure.

If you’re thinking that perhaps I’m tooting my own horn here, and asking you to go buy my jewelry, honestly, I’m not. In fact, I’d like to ask you to go visit Rosy Little Things because Alicia is an absolute GENIUS of art, craft, color and design, and her things are full of love.
Support handmade goods, with all your heart (and your pocketbook too). The love will flow back at ya.

The Naked Brothers Band + Other Hip Stuff for Kids

Posted on January 29, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

Last night Molly planned a TV date for us that included viewing The Naked Brothers Band movie on ~~Nickelodeon Teen~~ Teen Nick (says Molly, gosh mom quit embarrassing me) and the consumption of delicious baked apples, made earlier in the day (core apple, stuff with as much butter, brown sugar, cranberries & walnuts as possible and bake at 375 for 1-1.5 hrs depending on how soft you like them), then warmed up in the microwave. YUM. If I’m discovering this movie late, I apologize; I see it was released in 05, and I don’t know how I missed it. INGENIUS, hilarious, sweet and seriously rocking. If you have kids, or ever were a kid, do not miss this flick

I think most kids either want to be in a rock band at some point or at least hang out with kids who want to… and this movie (as well as the series which is coming to Nick soon) treats you to a mockumentary style send-up of those heady days. The film, by Polly Draper, stars her two sons Nat and Alex Wolff, ages 9 and 6 respectively. For my money, Alex, the drummer who wears a do-rag, steals the show. When asked how they boys came up with the band’s name they answer: Well, we liked playing music. And we were naked. And we’re brothers. The humor is sharp and deadpan, and the music is sweetly adorable.

My 1960’s suburban version of this story was hanging out in the garage across the street where some “older boys” practiced in their band, Steel Tangerine. Leader, Brad, was super sexy and we all had crushes on him. The Tangerine played at my bat-mitzvah party (incuding their 20 minute cover of Innagaddadavida Baby), a major throwdown held poolside at the Columbus, Ohio, Howard Johnson’s where the indoor pool was housed under an enoroums clear bubble. I kid you not, I am not making this up. Unfortunately, at that very party, the star of the show (moi) got into some serious trouble, but that’s another story for another time.

Another movie we’ve been into is Dinsey Channels Jump In, which is really just their “urban” (read: the actors are black and the film is shot with grittier [for Disney anyway] grafittied city rather than squeaky clean suburban sets) version of the ubiquitous and mostly intolerable Highschool Musical. Jump In is much better, and chronicles the trials of a rather lame all-girl double-dutch team whose boring routines are saved by Izzy, played by Brooklynite teen Corbin Bleu, who we think is trés awesome (see above) . Grown-ups will reasonably enjoy the movie once all the way through, but during successive viewings (if you have children you know they can watch stuff like hundreds of times until you want to kill yourself) bail out until the last scenes of the big double-dutch competition, which are wild and incredible to watch. Go Corbin! It’s Disney, so it’s not possible to call this film hip, but it has its moments.

Then there’s the über hip Pancake Mountain starring a puppet named Rufus Leaking (above), not a movie, but a local DC-cable TV show that is available on DVD and really worth the bucks. Filmed at cool live music venues around town when bands are here to play shows, PM features dance parties for kids ages 3+, skits, and lots of goofy fun. And the band line-up is most excellent, including Subways, Shonen Knife, and the Go! Team, to name just a few. Molly and I attended the taping of the Go! Team show at the Black Cat, and it was fun. Fortunately, ear plugs were handed out… I’ve NEVER in my life heard music played so ear-bloodyingly LOUD. Please, if you take your kids to rock shows, be a smart mommy and bring ear plugs; it’s actually even more dangerous for their hearing than for yours.

Sweet Charlotte

Posted on January 27, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

Before reading this post, please know that Molly, age 8 at the time, took all of these gorgeous farm photos with a disposable camera.

Each Fall, we spend a day visiting with our rescued friends at Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary–400 acres of heaven located a stone’s throw from the bustle of city life. We have our faces painted, roam the grounds, eat fabulous vegan food, and have all kinds of opportunities to snuggle up with the hogs, pet the goats and sheep, and (scroll down) hold a chicken… all while tens of thousands of dollars are being raised to support this dear place.

On those warm sunny days, I often think of one of my favorite childhood books, E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, the first work of literature that that I remember touching me deeply with its terrors (Farmer Arable and his errant son Avery dispassionately wielding their axes and shotguns at the baby pig!), joys (much of the rest of the story) and sorrows (death, particularly) regarding love, friendship and the cycle of life.

Reading the book again with Molly, it resonated in newly profound ways… still about love and friendship and life and death, but also politically, as well as a treatise on the sheer power and potential salvation of the written word (um, not to mention advertising, which is essentially my chosen profession).

If you haven’t read this book don’t read this next pp. At the end, White writes of Wilbur the pig’s love for his dear friend Charlotte the spider (who essentially saves his life but does in fact die): “She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.”

Some pig! Terrific! Radiant!

No, I am not trying to work a radiantly pregnant-at-50 look in this photo. For goodness sake people, I’M HOLDING A CHICKEN. Even the boy behind me knows how alarmingly special this is. But, I really do look pregnant, don’t I? Trust me. I’m not. And if you’ve never held a chicken, it’s well worth looking pregnant for, so there.

Sexy New Packaging

Posted on January 25, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

I’m not going to say much about this, hoping the photos speak for themselves. Just received the new So Charmed boxes and velvet bags and they are SWEET. Kinda tough to get a good shot of, but the boxes are a slightly sparkling granite black, with SC logo embossed in matte black; the bag is rich black velveteen with logo stamped in silver. Still waiting for the smaller boxes to arrive and then will start shipping jewelry in these groovalicious wrappings. Magenta faux cheetah fur not included, sorry. That’s a bean bag chair here at the designfarm office!

Nancy was So Minty Cool

Posted on January 24, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

Living here in DC means living at ground zero in so many ways and when I’m feeling superficial (which as you know is quite often), fashion tops the list. Fashion in DC pretty much sucks. Unless you like sensible pumps and Ann Taylor Loft. (Ok, so I actually did buy something there recently, guilty as charged! It was a very low shopping moment indeed so please, I beg you NEVER to mention it again).

For example, have you ever noticed the totally hideous colors worn by political women, be they elected officials or wives of same? At last night’s televised State ‘o Union soiree, it was just the usual dreadful sea of garishly over-saturated reds, blues and a spattering of other silly crayola hues that I’ve heard described as “jewel tones.” Is there a meaning to this? Is it like some patriotic thing? Does bright red from head to toe mean you’ll kick some ass if anyone messes with you (or your husband)? ICK!

Yet there, in the midst of all the scary bright predictable hues was Nancy Pelosi. Along with being a superhero, she’s super attractive (note I didn’t say “for a woman her age” b/c we women of a certain age are sticking together, right Nance?) with a smile that can light up the Hill, and that’s saying something; trust me on this one. Watching her up there on the old podium made me feel so proud and hopeful, politically, and fashionistically.

So, to get to my point… I think it was verrrrrrrry purposeful, savvy, and quite gorgeously hip that Nancy opted out of that whole Power Red thing, selecting instead a very pretty, minty cool, palest green suit.

Can you say: Breath of fresh air? Yeah, dudes. Nancy is so minty cool.

Bestest Band, Bestest Song

Posted on January 24, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

Modern Art Makes Me Want to ROCK OUT

I don’t have the wherewithall at the moment to write any cultural reviews of movies, books, art, etc, which is what I want to do with this space, but I do want to explain the name of this subject area because it’s the BESTEST song by the BESTEST band. If you haven’t heard the first offering by UK band, Art Brüt, run don’t walk to your nearest amazon.com or itunes or whatever and buy the freaking thing b/c it rocks so hard it will make you want to shout and dance and jump up and down vertically, like you used to when you were young and hung out at rock clubs. I know b/c after practically lasering holes in the disc with my car CD player, I went to see them at the Black Cat, drank a bit too much, and jumped vertically up and down like I did when I was young and hung out at rock clubs. I’m sorry if it’s not the prettiest endorsement, just go out and buy the record. I named a subject after it! Molly and I go wild dancing to this record! Here, here’s a link.

PS: OMG… well it appears the Art Brüt boys have a new one out… heading over to itunes as we speak. Review to come.

PSS: Modern art really does make me want to rock out. Really.

Butthead

Posted on January 24, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

When I finally stopped obsessing over my new blog it was just before 9pm and I scooped Molly upstairs to my room in an attempt to force her to watch the State of the Union Address with me partially out of some misguided attempt to raise a politically involved or at least aware child, but mainly b/c I wanted her snuggly company as I knew that watching our man in the WH would be oh so much lovelier with her warm adorable self cuddled next to me. She was super pissed off at having her cartoons interupted (btw, the answer is yes, she had done ALL of her homework + practiced violin though not without a HUGE battle prior to gluing her eyeballs to the TV set) so during all the pompy circumstance leading up to W’s entrance she stuck her tiny nose in a giant-sized copy of Little Women, having graduated suddenly from books that have pictures to books that might never end (YEEHA!). When the Man entered the hall, she turned her attention TV-ward and asked: “Are there any democrats there?” To which I answered: “Yes, honey, the democrats won loads of elections and took over the House and Senate so there are lots of them there, why?” and then I waited and watched as a slightly evil little smile danced around her eyes and mouth. You know the kind, right? Where you sense that your own sweet little darling princess is thinking of something akin to… oh, say, a deadly chemistry experiment in the kitchen that could theoretically wipe out life as we know it on planet Earth, or at least in Takoma Park, MD.

Freezeframe. In the 1/2 second I had before she answered my “why?” all sorts of things started playing in my head because I was certain she was going to come across with an answer involving bloody assassination and I started freaking out about what I’d say, and how I’d ethically and morally say it without my own sense of evil glee coming through as I muttered: Molly, that wouldn’t be… uh, nice.

Then she says: “What if someone calls him butthead?”

That’s my girl. 🙂

PS: Molly stayed awake ignoring the President, reading Little Women, whilst I fell asleep. Only to find myself awake at 2 am, all energetic-like, but hey. Now I have something marginally (debatably) useful to do in the middle of the night!

Free Day to Make Stuff

Posted on January 23, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

So, you know I have two jobs right? One is my day-job as owner of a small but hugely fabulous design studio called designfarm, the other is my nights&weekends gig as one-woman jewelry subverter, owner of www.so-charmed.com (So Charmed). Oops, make that three jobs. The whole mom thing? Regardless of the number of hours you think you spend on this, it’s FULLTIME. In fact, the mom-gig is pretty much always on overtime, if you ask me.

designfarm is located in a real office building, which, due to the first actual wave of winter-like weather, including snow and freezing temps, experienced a water main break causing a 1.5 day lockout. Evacuation yesterday at 1pm (NO YOU MAY NOT even run upstairs to get your stuff) and continuing through the day today.

Work at designfarm ground mostly to a halt, work here at the So Charmed World HQ (my converted garage studio), kicked into high gear. Radio blasting away and the beads were flying. Here are some fruits du jour… yeah, I’m heavy into the cakes!

I’ve been working on this crazy series called Let Them Eat Cake that put to good use (I think so!) these totally amazing little Asian miniature cakes, both whole and slices. I could make a fourth fulltime job out of just collecting miniature foods, this stuff just really gives me mondo pleasure. Hopefully you can see why. Featured also are tiny little sterling silver guillotine charms… because too much sweetness gives mommy a toothache.

I love this little collection of charms and goodies, the first in a series of these, all of which will likely be one of a kind. My studio is SUCH a mess right now, with all the lovely surfaces covered in supplies and papers and magazines and beads, and CRAP. Yet somehow, out of the crap rises something that (hopefully) gels together.

Molly is learning how to bead so she can help out when the orders for the new work start flying in. Child labor laws be damned, time for this kid to earn her freaking keep. Unfortunately, she has the patience of a gnat and can thus do about 5 beaded charms before becoming bored to tears and running off to some other activity. Snapped these pics just a moment ago, as Molly was backing out of the studio going: “Mom, it’s ok, you just hang out here and blog as much as you want.” Which means that she is upstairs glued to the tv set, brain cells dying by the dozen… bad mommy, gotta run.

STOP KILLING BABIES

Posted on January 23, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

Subtitle: An Everyday Washington, DC Experience

Speaking of cake (see previous post), winter finally arrived here in the nation’s capital and with it came the annual hoards of right-to-lifers-I-mean-fruitcakes, having descended upon our sweet city in order to celebrate-I-mean-protest the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. I happened to be on the subway on my way to a client meeting, having what can only be described as a pretty blue Monday, when what should I see but dozens and dozens of fresh (if incredibly blank) faced youth and their leaders… a couple of priests in fully bizarre regalia: Those black religious looking coats with the white nehru collars… what do you call those? AND… strung around their necks these horrific life-size fire-engine-red stop sign-shaped placquards, which read in big white lettering: STOP KILLING BABIES.

I wasn’t sure what to do. Feeling the heat rise up my neck and into my face, with a sick feeling sloshing around my stomach, a weird suffocating sort of claustrophobic and hard-to-breathe feeling, which I suspect is the way it naturally feels when one’s freedom(s) is/are threatened, I began to formulate many brilliant, if illegal, plans for counter-insurgency ranging from quiet argument (is this what you think Jesus REALLY wants you to be spending time doing?) to loud argument (F-YOU, YOU FREAKING IDIOTS) to vandalism (with magic marker, how about: YOU STOP MAKING BABIES?!) to outright violence (ugh, I am loathe to admit and will thus spare you the details, simply call it: Welcome to Jodi’s Abu Graib).

In the end, I just sat there, feeling sick and smothered and hot and itchy-scratchy in my wool coat. I tried to think about people in my life who I know feel the same way as the protestors, people who I love and to whom I want to express nothing short of complete tolerance, and upon whom I wish no harm (yet, can’t I still keep my freedom to choose? Please?).

So, I kept my big fat atheistic secular humanistic Jew mouth shut. Of course that didn’t make me feel so good either and only served to make my stomach REALLY hurt.

A lose-lose situation if ever there was.

Happy Happy Blog Blog

Posted on January 23, 2007 by Jodi Bloom

Birthday Detail Here’s a sweet piece of triple layer strawberry chocolate kiwi cake from one of my latest works of ~~jewelry~~ art to welcome you (and me) to My So Charmed Life, ahem, the blog. I don’t know about you, but cake just makes me feel better when I’m nervous and this whole blogging thing has me all twittery and jittery and excited. So… here goes… I’m bloggin’ on with my bad self. Cake and all.