Peppered Thought – The Spice of Life

“The Plot Thickens” by Joshua Hoffine. PC

Monsters under the bed, or closet, under the stairs or dark hallway.

Babysitter, all alone.

Killers stealing your family.

CLOWNS.

Sounds like cliched horror movie premises, but they are common fears that little kids are afraid of almost universally.

Joshua Hoffine has a truly artistic vision when it comes to childhood fears and well, gore in general. His works are an aesthetic wonderland of lighting and stylistic horror. If Eli Roth and Tim Walker had a child, Joshua Hoffine would be this son.

Opens today.

Go watch, then buy the soundtrack by my favorite, Karen O and the Kids.

In honor of just getting back from vacation, what better way to live vicariously than to start planning the next one? I have picked five “Roadside Attraction” accommodations that are a definite don’t-miss!

I finally found the pic of Jim and me!

5. Alta Cienega (aka Jim Morrison’s Motel) The Beau and I stayed here last year when we went to the Natasha Schneider benefit concert with QOTSA. Very cool. If you are looking for a pampering, tranquil home-away-from-home, this is not it. This was the perfect place for us to stay going to an awesome rock concert though. We booked the Jim Morrison room (an extra $10) and were flabbergasted by the room. How could he have lived in this tiny space for two years?! Every inch of the room has now become a mecca for poems, lyrics (of course) and peoples’ own brand of Peace, Love and Music.

The Psycho Beach Party dream of a Tiki bus

4.The Shady Dell I have not been here yet (I’m a little sad they don’t allow dogs), but everyone that has been here says I need to go! Take your pick between eleven different quarters, including Airstreams, Rita yacht and even a Tiki Bus! As you can probably tell, they each have a theme: cherries, Western, Tiki – it’s a mid-century mecca! (p.s. you can’t go all the way down there without eating at Dot’s Diner – a true greasy spoon!)

3. Wigwam Motel Remember in the movie “Cars,” Lightning McQueen’s Love interest Sally Carrera operated the Cozy Cone Car Motel? This place is like that, but for people. This place is the epitome of kitschy roadside attractions. I am totally going up there for a picnic and buying one of those key rings!

2. Madonna Inn The amazing blogger Agent Lover has done a couple photo shoots here and completely hooked me. I just have to save up some money for the biggest, kitschiest suite! Lots of red, ornate furniture and touches (or tidal waves) of pink-I will be eating lots of strawberries and cream here!

photo courtesy of Lazy Meadow’s website

1. Kate’s Lazy Meadow. This one is for all you East Coasters that complain I don’t list anything for you. Don’t say I never gave you anything. This is owned by Kate Pierson (Ms. Redhead of the B-52s) and her partner (yes, that kind of partner) Monica. Although I most likely won’t get there anytime soon (barring a lottery win or something equally lucky), it still is a fantastic getaway for those a bit closer. I will definitely be perusing the website, getting ideas for an effortlessly cool 50′s decor ideas though!

What is your favorite weird motel you’ve stayed in?

Hello, my loyal readers. I am sorry I had to take a week off. The mini-vacation I had took a toll on me before and after. Recovery was direly needed. But I feel back on my feet and ready to roll out a Take-Five tomorrow! Also, stayed tuned next week for a fabulous “Best of Albuquerque” travel article!

photo courtesy Martha website

In my quest to purge bit by bit, I am also concerned with recycling and mementos. I am a memento collector. I have cut down considerably from my wild and crazy, collect-every-movie-ticket days, but there is still a lot that can be purged.  One idea from the Martha Stewart website caught my eye: A tote bag made from an old t-shirt. I started to freak out and promptly scour my closets for what would make the best tote and decided to try it out!

Materials needed:

-T-shirt you don’t mind giving up. Make sure it’s the right size for your needs; you don’t want a teeny tiny tote if it’s for groceries. But you just might for library trips.

-Scissors

- Medium-sized bowl. For measuring the hole in the top.

- Sewing machine. You could try sewing it by hand, but *sigh* there’s only so much I can take before laziness sets in.

-Pins (optional, but recommended if you like the bottom of your bags to be straight)

Directions:

1. Flip tee inside out. Always a most important first step. You don’t want the bottom of your awesome vintage “Air Supply” tee tote to look like Frankenstein’s neck. Pin the bottom along the hem and lay flat to make sure the seams line up. You could be a renegade and nix this step. but once again, your amazing tote will be shadowed by the uneven and balance-challenged bottom of the bag.

2. Sew the bottom of that sucker closed. Thankfully it shouldn’t take very long (we’re not making dresses out of curtains, people), but I will go back over it, one more time, for strength.

3. Using that bowl, cut a half-moon shape at the neckline of the tee. You want to make sure the marker bleeds through to the other side, but it needs to wash out, so use a water-washable marker. Cut on that newly-drawn line. Note: If you feel OCD about the unhemmed opening, by all means, bring the sewing machine back out! But the trick is to make this as easy as possible so you will want to do it.

4. Line up hems on the arms and cut just outside of that, so the hems are still intact on your tote. Makes the handles a bit stronger.

5. Fill with groceries, library books, pets.

6. Repeat often!

7. Pat yourself on the back (but don’t be too smug about it) for doing yet a another thing to help reduce waste.

Very cool, random little oddities:

5. Peacock chair. Using sensors, this chair senses when someone sits down and the peacock feathers unfold into a full plume!

4. “World Cinema,” a short film by the Coen Brothers. This tiny little movie inspires me to not give up hope on making short films of my own. They give me hope that there is a creative way of conveying emotion, develop chracters and have a complete beginning, middle and end in something so small.

3. Cloud Appreciation Society. I think becoming a member will be put on my list of things to do this fall, as well as a quirky present for a friend’s birthday. I will then belong to three very random societies.

2. Some awesome guys from a few sites I frequent are looking for a clown to drink with. Where else would you head but Craigslist?

1. I love this video. It’s as if the girl in the Miss Dior Cherie commercial had a little girl and they lived in a magical house.