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Coral-Red burst





As I promised you yesterday, here is the outfit that I wore at Bogdan's and I first jewelry exhibition. In my characteristic way I combined bright colors, as this oversize orange blazer and top, with patterned wide leg pants and, of course I couldn't wear as accessories anything else than one of our colorful DIY creations, the "colorful comets" necklace. Nothing spectacular but for sure was comfortable and most of all colorful, the way I like it. I hope you like it too!



The winners of the  zeroUV Giveaway are: Iris Truta and Vanda!Congrats!! I'll contact you soon for more details about the prize.




                                                                        Blazer: Coldwater Creek/ option Here
                                                                        Top: Divided/ option /Here
                                                                        Bag: vintage
                                                                        Heels: Nine West/ similar Here
                                                                        Necklace: DIY made by Bogdan and I
                                                                        Pants: Body by Victoria/ another great option Here 





The Quote of the Year

November 21, 2012
Macau grapples with booming casino economy

“Macau is a complete illusion of prosperity because what we are building is only casinos, rooms and some shops with famous brands,” said lawmaker Jose Coutinho.

Good thing we know better!

Quote of the Day

December 4, 2012
Olive Garden parent cuts view on restaurant sales drop

Darden's promotions did not "resonate with financially stretched consumers as well as newer promotions from competitors", Otis said in a statement.


"Bittersweet Colours Accents" my first jewelry show




A special thank you to Charles and Susie Andrews, the owners of  The Garden Gallery

Last Saturday some of you probably saw on Instagram photos from Bogdan's and I first jewelry show: "Bittersweet Colours Accents". Yes! It finally happened and todayI want to present you some pieces as well. Most of the designs are new but some of them you probably saw them before incorporated in my outfits. I'd like to hear your opinion and also which one is your favorite.
Tomorrow a post with my outfit that I wore at the exhibit!





advent calendar blues

I'm feeling a bit behind already and it's only December 5th.

I've got lists made, presents half way complete, decorations underway and meals/parties planned but I'm slacking in one area. The advent calendar.

We have a lovely felt calendar we pull out each year, and each year I feel under pressure to find stuff to fill each day. So I usually end up buying a bunch of crappy little things to hand out that break an hour later or I give the girls candy and treats when they already get enough of that at this time of year.

Pottery Barn Kids
I tried going to Pinterest for some inspiration, but have you ever done a search for 'advent calendar' in Pinterest? It's like googling 'mysterious cough'. You are going to get way more information than you'll even need.

I love the idea of filling each day with an activity or something, but it's hard to find an activity that works well for both a 5 year old and a 20 month old.

So I'm all ears. Do you do an advent calendar? How do you do it? What do you fill it with? Want to come take care of mine?

The Yule Backlog


Click to enlarge.

These are the stories that the Dogs tell when the fires burn high and the wind is from the north. - Clifford D. Simak



Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: ISM Manufacturing: Backlog of Orders Index

Manufacturing Construction Spending per Manufacturing Employee


Click to enlarge.

See Also:
Candy Mountain Revisited

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

The Health of Retail Trade Employment

First, let's go with what we are told.

BLS: Retail Sales Workers: Job Outlook

Employment of retail salespersons has traditionally grown with the overall economy, and this trend is expected to continue. Population growth will increase retail sales and demand for these workers.

Although consumers are increasing their online retail shopping, they will continue to do most of their retail shopping in stores. Retail salespersons will be needed in stores to help customers and complete sales.

Now that we've read that and have no doubt turned optimistic, let's go look at some actual charts to back the theory.


Click to enlarge.

Oh, yeah. That's looking real good long-term. We're not done yet though. Let's keep digging.


Click to enlarge.

When it comes to hours worked per week, we never did bounce back from the 1970s.


Click to enlarge.

Did I mention that we never did bounce back from the 1970s? Further, it would seem we've recently been attempting to duplicate the effect with high real oil prices and the added bonus of increased retail automation.

As seen in the following link, we apparently have some of the most educated retail workers in the history of our country. And yet, real hourly earnings have declined and continue to do so. If this isn't an illusion of prosperity then I don't know what is.

July 08, 2012
College Grads Find Retail a (Meager) Route to Job Market

Students with advanced degrees have been unable to find jobs consistent with their skill set, leading to a heavy influx of overqualified young people in retail positions that typically require no more than a high school diploma.

Source Data:
BLS: Current Employment Statistics
St. Louis Fed: CPI

Real Office Construction per Employee Added


Click to enlarge.

The line in black shows the money spent on office construction per month adjusted for inflation (October 2012 dollars, in billions). If one adds up all the monthly data and adjusts for inflation, there has been $588 billion spent on office construction since the year 2000.

The line in blue shows nonfarm payrolls. There have been 2.97 million employees added since 2000.

Since 2000, $198,000 has been spent on office construction per nonfarm payroll job added.

$588,000 million / 2.97 million = $198,000

Using hindsight, does that appear to be money well spent?

On the one hand, not every payroll employee added actually works in an office. On the other hand, not every office building that existed in 2000 still exists today. Sigh.

Is it really any wonder that office construction has been in a downward trend for the last decade or so? When job growth began to fail, so too the need to build new offices.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Dondero on the Tony Stiles Show - The Mighty 1290 KOIL Omaha, NE

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty
-vs- Tyranny


The liberals/progressives will have fun with this one. Gear up for the future scorched earth politics. Coming to America compliments of the rEpublican (and dEmocrat no doubt as well) party. Pull up a seat, grab a cold one and enjoy! You're looking at the future.



Via: Libertarian Republican

from coast to coast

Happy Monday everybody!

It's like spring here today and I'm loving it. The girls and I are going to go outside for a nice long w-a-l-k (shhh. we can't say walk out loud, it sends the dog into hysterics) to the park and finish some outdoor christmas prep. But before we head out I wanted to share a quick before and after with you.

Nothing too crazy, but something that has bugged me for years.

The stairway down to our finished basement/family room/playroom/doesn't-get-cleaned-often room. It is hard to tell from the picture (as it's an awkward place to photograph) but it is just a big huge vast space of...nothing. And nothing drives me bonkers more than a HUGE blank wall.

I know, 'Get off your arse and hang a picture then, big deal'. But a piece of art or a picture that would fill up that space would be mega bucks and a gallery wall is not an option as this requires a crane practically to hang one nail. The hubs would not go for that. And since he's the one that gets up on the ladder, good man that he is, I thought I'd be nice. Want to save up my 'will you please do this crazy project with me' points for bigger spaces.

After keeping my eye out for something big and cheap, I finally found a great solution at my favorite salvage place.

So the ladder came out,


some circ de soleil moves happened,


and problem solved.

An old map from a school that had closed in the area. Now we grab a bit of education on our way down to watch TV. And we hung it just high enough so that little hands can't rub, rip, pull or whatever else little hands tend to do.

Do you have any area of your house that drives you crazy? Have a precarious spot that you've had to hang something? Wanna come to the park with us?

Graphic content



This is an outfit I wore almost two weeks ago and it was a challenge:"How to incorporate a Summery piece into Fall season"-a dress, in my case. This white dress (courtesy to Sugarlips.com) may be a excellent minimalist item for Summer days, I'm absolutely sure about that! What I want to find out right now, is how to incorporate this dress in my F/W wardrobe. There we have a challenge.
This dress will be a perfect tunic at this moment, creating a graphic look, by adding more layers. The diagonal black line gave me the idea to add more graphic elements such as: grids patterned pants and polka dot shirt, all in b&w. A patterned red coat and the red hells are just a high contrast and a way to showcase the graphic pieces better.
This is solution nr.1:)




                                                                       Coat: thrift store/ another favorite of mineHere
                                                                       Dress: thanks to Sugarlips.com/Here
                                                                       Pants: thanks to Sheinside.com/ option Here
                                                                       Heels: Nine West/ similar Here
                                                                       Bag: thanks to Meredith Wendell/ Here
                                                                       Bangle bracelets: Poshlocket/ Hermes




                                                              

Fake Prosperity?


Click to enlarge.

Update:

Rob Dawg wished to see an exponential trend from 1961 to 1991.


Click to enlarge.

The chart above sums up why there was a question mark in my first chart. If the true trend is an exponential growth curve then we're right on trend for the most part. I just find it hard to believe that the dotcom bubble and the housing bubble got us there.


Click to enlarge.

And lastly, this chart captures the spirit of Rob Dawg's point. It's a fairly good fit. If this is the true trend then there is a bit more fake prosperity than the first chart shows (since the true long-term trend would be bending downwards).

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart