tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66317517274572637182024-03-13T12:53:06.520+00:00A Puppet OperaThe dramatic adventures of a small, artistic family.A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.comBlogger522125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-88608579022828006142017-01-11T14:03:00.001+00:002017-01-11T14:03:42.512+00:00Fare thee well...A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-54135650676679869642017-01-09T13:43:00.001+00:002017-01-09T13:43:18.205+00:00Epic Project 2017: Reading Dickens
Charles Dickens by Robert Ingpen
True confession of an English nerd: I have only read three novels by Charles Dickens—Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol and A Tale of Two Cities. I don’t want to give the impression I am unfamiliar with the works of Charles Dickens, girl, please. I have seen the Lionel Bart musical “Oliver!” a whole bunch of times in the late 80’s because my brother played A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-32141281914711006672017-01-04T20:59:00.000+00:002017-01-04T20:59:05.992+00:00Book Report: Pretty Iconic by Sali Hughes
Is there anything more cheering than a best friend who loves cosmetics turning up at your place with her makeup bag? Playing at painting faces with a dirty martini at your elbow and Donna Summer blasting out of the stereo is the very best thing for curing what ails you. What if that best friend also worked in the industry and had access to the best, most covetable kit? Oh and wait, what if A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-70718056970446938172016-01-29T16:16:00.001+00:002016-01-29T16:16:43.948+00:00Ira Glass Explains it All For You
A little inspiration on a dreary, January day. Now get a cup of coffee, your notebook, and get to work.
A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-5074500266352679632016-01-22T09:55:00.001+00:002016-01-22T09:55:26.486+00:00Winter
Thinking of the East coast and dreaming of snow.
A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-69698603499865899282016-01-21T11:55:00.000+00:002016-01-21T11:55:10.580+00:00Does she or doesn't she?
I don't mean to shock you, but I do color my hair. It's true, the threads of silver running through it suddenly reached a number too big to ignore, so having decided I'm not ready to have grey hair yet, I color it. It makes me feel better, and I think that when I feel better, I look better, so there, call me vain. I don't care.
Having pored over the pages of Dita Von Teese's new A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-60634069147099655242016-01-20T14:25:00.000+00:002016-01-20T14:25:28.568+00:00When a bargain isn't necessarily a bargain
Oh, I had such high hopes for this Gap coat. It has all the hallmarks of a winter sale seducer: it seems like a fantastic garment to transition from winter to spring, it's a nice design--not too casual, not too dressy--and most importantly, it was marked down from £99 to £31, which with a coupon came to £25. Mega-discount, and that really appeals to my penny-pinching mama side. But oh my lord,A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-82885138901356408842016-01-19T11:58:00.001+00:002016-01-19T11:58:42.338+00:00Well, hello there!
I am aware this post is bumping the last post of 2015 off the top of the page... Yes, I know it has been absolutely ages since I checked in, and I am sorry about that. I have been trying to go on a media diet of sorts; Jules and I are coming into the home stretch of another Whole 30 (hurry up January 31st so we can be done with it!), where we are spending a full 30 days eating only foodsA Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-17474869637263071012015-10-28T12:15:00.001+00:002015-10-28T12:15:39.098+00:00I think we can all get behind this, right?
Fact: small dogs are funny. That's just the way it is. They are small, and very funny. Look at this small one (that's Uggie, by the way, from the film The Artist), who is wearing a bow tie. Funny, yes?
What about this one:
Look, he's laughing! Funny! Funny ha ha!
And don't even get me started on wiener dogs.
Yes, that is a wiener dog dressed in a wiener costume. Stop A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-8078218248172412792015-06-10T17:28:00.001+01:002015-06-10T17:28:27.029+01:00Green Space
This week I have been thinking a lot about silence. I have been silent from the blog for a long time, but partly that is because I'm struggling to find silence in my life. There is little to be found in the city, yes, but even within the walls of my own house, where for me there is no place to run or hide from the noise of a young and active family. Even with the pair of ear protectors I A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-53115313867092529662015-05-21T09:10:00.000+01:002015-05-21T09:10:01.408+01:00A Mortgage as Big as the Ritz
Oh my goodness, it's a dream come true... The Hamptons mansion where F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote part of The Great Gatsby is up for sale.
Coldwell Banker lists the manor home on Long Island at just over US$3.8m.
The 5,000-square-foot (464sqm) Mediterranean style home, built in 1918, has seven bedrooms and six bathrooms. It has a music room perfect for playing the Charleston and boasts severalA Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-91380093780449252952015-03-17T09:26:00.002+00:002015-03-17T09:26:33.865+00:00The Hours
It has been a week of comings and goings, of projects started and others finished, of the front door always slamming and mail arriving with new opportunities, and letters from old friends. While it's a good idea to sit back and have a cup of tea, sometimes the most important thing is to simply buckle down and do the work. I saw this Ira Glass quote on a different website this week, but it's A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-64556185025777481812015-03-05T10:55:00.000+00:002015-03-05T10:55:55.695+00:0040-Day Challenge: 40 Days of Make Do and Mend
Billy with the little bread roll he made (although not in that kitchen)
If you read my previous post you will remember that I set myself a Lenten challenge of not spending any money (except on groceries). And just over two weeks in, it has been harder than I thought. A sunny morning trip to a road filled with shops and time to kill was pure torture. If I hadn't forced myself not to spend A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-38461489403470372662015-02-18T13:29:00.001+00:002015-02-18T13:29:23.751+00:0040-Day Challenge: Do Without Stuff
I know it is boring to talk about what you are giving up for Lent, because it becomes nothing about the altruism and all about the ego and that's neither very holy nor actually, very polite. Except I wanted to tell you what I am giving up for Lent because I also thought it would be an interesting challenge coming off the back of my success on the Whole 30 again in January (did I tell you how A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-36450767638682669302015-01-24T16:04:00.002+00:002015-01-24T16:04:30.564+00:00Squeaky Clean
I managed to skip out on housecleaning day yesterday in order to catch a train to Paris (!!!), but the cleaning went on without me. We spend most of the day Friday cleaning the sh*t out of the house so it can be tidy for the weekend, and while it's my least favorite task of them all, I'm always happy when it's done. I was glad to see the new "Home Ec" series over at Design*Sponge, which A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-30282706755829917102015-01-19T11:02:00.000+00:002015-01-19T11:02:01.638+00:00If I can finish what I'm saying...
I'm married to a "manteruppter".
Manterrupting (definition): Unnecessary interruption of a woman by a man.
This has always been the case at our house, and it never really bothered me (that's just the way we operate as a couple), until last night when we had a dinner guest who asked me a direct question and my husband did me the favor of replying on my behalf. I let it pass at the timeA Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-77086707642333404632015-01-12T11:56:00.000+00:002015-01-12T11:56:07.427+00:00Happy Talk
Is it a second-child thing? As Mr. B rounds out the days after his third birthday, it's become much more noticeable to us that his speech isn't as clear as his older sister's. Most annoyingly, he does this weird little "whisper talk" thing, where he speaks at a barely audible volume and vocalizes only fragments of words, mainly at a time (say, 3AM?) or a place when there is something he needsA Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-74551589315037040352015-01-08T11:12:00.000+00:002015-01-08T11:12:43.761+00:00Look! It's January! I missed you so...
Well, hello there! Bet you thought I went into hiding, didn't you? In fact, I haven't... it's just, well, CHRISTMAS really kicked our tails this year. And why not, I ask you? We had a great holiday season, a lot of home baking, many handmade gifts, and a new dollhouse requiring constant fiddling, but all the busyness (and boozy-ness) made for an actual whirlwind this December.
Our A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-82425120448737916982014-11-05T13:49:00.002+00:002014-11-05T13:49:23.593+00:00Halloween, A Puppet Opera Style
It's no secret that we LOVE Halloween here at A Puppet Opera. And this year, like last year, we had a frightfully fun party with ghosts and witches, and a family of spook-tacular birds.
Our scary Edwardian fireplace is very frightening even without the jack-o'-lanterns, but we like a good spooky squash so this year, we had eight of them. Plus a whole bunch of candles and some creepy books. A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-47991262802095641132014-10-16T10:05:00.000+01:002014-10-16T10:05:13.279+01:00Things I Love Thursday: Mom and Dad Halloween Costumes
Halloween season is, of course, upon us, and I hope I'm not giving too much away in posting these pictures, but our Halloween has gone to the birds this year. On the workshop floor are a couple of fancy bird costumes for the kids, and I'm also busy magic-ing up a couple of simple costumes for Jules and myself to wear to the party. It's tricky finding a costume that will be festive, not take A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-76398441809792164802014-10-13T11:31:00.000+01:002014-10-13T11:31:34.771+01:00Welcome, Autumn
There is a sense of life beginning again in the autumn. Today is the first proper drizzly day of October, a day for Wellington boots and splodging through fallen leaves, and daydreaming. A stack of new books on the bedside table, hot coffee, a new black pen. Reheating a pot of soup on the stove and thinking of all the adventures we'll have!
Image via here
A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-53096708597004317732014-10-03T11:55:00.001+01:002014-10-03T11:55:16.517+01:00I Survived the Paleo 30-day Challenge and I am Here to Tell the Tale!
I am now completely, officially finished with the longest, healthiest month of my life. This September, I indulged in the Whole 30 challenge, to undo some of the sins of a month-long holiday of excess (donuts, beer, Italian beef sandwiches, the works). My goal was to eat only whole foods, no grains, dairy, legumes, booze or added sugar, and you know what? It was the hardest but healthiest A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-5943483968282490462014-09-11T13:28:00.001+01:002014-09-11T13:28:45.683+01:00The light in September
If I were a poet, I'd write a whole collection about the light in September, which at the moment is at its golden, hazy best. The flowers in the back garden are fairly glowing in the afternoon light, the bees are buzzing around what's left of the lavender and oregano, and the sun is warming up our modest apple harvest, which should be ready for picking in another day or two.
Oh A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-42630390043801950452014-08-02T08:00:00.000+01:002014-08-02T08:00:00.976+01:00Talking 'bout iGeneration
Isabelle turns six on Monday. Six! Our baby has turned into a big girl. While I'm excited about her birthday and looking forward to this new chapter in our lives, I'm also extremely nervous about what the next years will bring. In the terrific teens, Isabelle will have to make a lot of choices that never would have occurred to me, and the consequences will have implications not simply withinA Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6631751727457263718.post-84966138826948278192014-07-23T13:00:00.002+01:002014-07-23T13:00:28.808+01:00How I'll Spend my Summer Vacation
Found, somewhere.
A Puppet Operahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18251240092722868726noreply@blogger.com0