Koshimi Comes Home Again

On this last day of December, the final day of 2008 I decided to write one more post in memory of my beloved Koshimi. You see, yesterday I went back to the vet's office to bring Sheldon for his surgery to be neutered. It was difficult to be back; the last time I was there it was to put Koshimi to sleep. Once I dropped off Sheldon I went to the reception area to pick up Koshimi's ashes, which were being held since he was cremated last week. I didn't know what to expect but I definitely was not ready for it. The vet tech was very considerate and expressed her sympathy as she handed over a large brown paper bag that was labeled with Koshimi's name and the date of his cremation. As I took the bag in my hands, it felt much heavier than I expected. I still had not opened the brown bag yet, but I started to get a little teary so I made a mad dash for the door to get to our car. Once in the car I opened the brown paper bag- there I saw the most beautiful cedar wooden box, with brass hinges, secured shut with a brass pad-lock. I was immediately reduced to tears as I gazed down at this little box that contained the remains of my beloved dog. I sobbed for awhile, feeling overwhelmed again with sadness. In addition to the box, there was a nice certificate of cremation, stating that my pet was "respectfully handled and cremated" (see below). They also included a little green sheet of paper, rolled up with two poems on either side. I wanted to share them here and tried to type them here for you several times but it was just too much for me to handle. All I can say is they are the most beautiful poems for people who love their pets. Anyway once I got home, I found a nice spot in the house for Shimi's ashes. His beautiful cedar wooden box now rests in our library where he used to like to curl up next to me. On top of the box is a photo of him, young and vibrant- how I shall always remember him. He was my best bud, and I miss him so very much.

We are grateful to have Owen and Sheldon in our lives, both are wonderful pets and members of the family. Having Koshimi's ashes here at home will help to bring some closure for me. It just feels better having his final resting place with us. I feel like I can now close this year and enter 2009 with a sense of peace. Thanks for reading today, sorry to bring things down. Tomorrow I'll be back with a New Year's Day video, I hope you can join me then.

-Rick Rockhill

Pass The Bubbly Please

Ah. The New Year is upon us - where did the time go? One more reason to celebrate with friends and loved ones, and one more reason to dress up and look fabulous. I'm sure you have all found your dresses already but I just passed by the store window of BCBG the other day. BCBG has always attracted me, there is something simple and ethereal about their dresses, and their cutting (for me at least, is superb).

Their dresses make you feel almost old hollywood glam or simply modern chic. I know they're rather simple, definitely something you've seen before, but talk about excellent draping! I don't know, there's something about them that makes me fall in love.

Love the velvet bodice of this dress!

This dress is actually much more beautiful in person.

Aughhh...I need to get this - look at that sleeve detail!

So simple, so lovely (especially the colour). Hm, I will advise you not to wear a headband that the model demonstrates...

Ok, kind of generic I know, princess cut blah blah blah. But the material! And a colour that would look great on all skin tones.

What are you doing for New Year's? &equally important, what will you be wearing?

Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwich with George Foreman's Grill

So far this Christmas is turning out to be one of the best in a long time. We both took this week off on vacation, so between the Christmas Eve break last week and all this week, it feels like being off a long time. It is a healthy break from work, and I like nothing more than to be able to relax at home in the desert. We're working on a project at the house-parts of the kitchen are torn up and a total mess. I've been taking photos so it will likely turn into a post later in the week. When lunch time rolled around today, I went to the refrigerator to pull something together. Of course, nothing appealed to me at all. The spiral baked ham was staring at me through the plastic Saran Wrap with a muffled voice: "eat me, eat me, I don't have much time left". I cringed. Blech, I'm sick of cold ham, I thought. But I HATE to waste food under any circumstances. I pondered what my next move would be. Pizza? Pasta? Frozen something or other? Then I remembered I had a George Foreman grill buried deep in the cabinet somewhere. A hot ham sandwich sounded perfect! So I went to work.

above: I carved a few slices of ham, and some fresh sharp cheddar cheese...

above: I piled the ham and cheese on slices of wheat bread and placed in on the George Foreman grill...and in no time...
VOILA! My hot, ham and cheddar cheese sandwich was ready! The cheese was oozing from the sides of the sandwich, the bread was all toasty and crisp! I found the jar of kosher dill pickle spears and called it lunch. It turned out to be a perfect lunch for a winters day. I guess a bowl of tomato soup might have made it even better, but it was plenty of food and I was satisfied. The best part was that I didn't waste any of the ham. And now I thought I'd close with a joke I received yesterday from my friend Pete:

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A lady goes to the bar on a cruise ship and orders a Scotch with two drops of water.

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As the bartender gives her the drink she says, 'I'm on this cruise to celebrate my 80th birthday and it's today...'

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The bartender says, 'Well, since it's your birthday, I'll buy you a drink. In fact, this one is on me.'

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As the woman finishes her drink, the woman to her right says, 'I would like to buy you a drink, too.'

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The old woman says, 'Thank you. Bartender, I want a Scotch with two drops of water.'

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'Coming up,' says the bartender. 'Thank you, says the old woman.'

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Shortly after, the old woman says again, 'Bartender, I want another Scotch with two drops of water.'

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'Coming right up,' the bartender says.

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As he gives her the drink, he says, 'Ma'am, I'm dying of curiosity. Why the Scotch with only two drops of water?'

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The old woman replies, 'Sonny, when you're my age, you've learned how to hold your liquor. Holding your water, however, is a whole other issue.'

Happy Tuesday!

-Rick Rockhill

Good Golly Boots!

I found (and purchased) two pairs of boots this weekend.

Yes, two.

They are comfortable ... and I love, love, love them.

Steve Madden - Legion


INC Brook Riding Boot - mine are chocolate brown and aren't so shiny.


Oh sales how I love thee.

Bowling Bonanza!

This past Saturday, members of my usual "poker gang" met for a night of dinner and bowling. We started at a popular restaurant called "Manhattan in the Desert", but the wait for a table of six was close to 30 minutes and we had bowling to do, so we decided to leave. Next up was "Cipolline", an Italian restaurant with a reasonably priced menu. I had chicken Parmesan, which came with a side salad, pasta and veggies. The pasta was overcooked, but the chicken parm was decent. I've eaten here once before and liked the food, although the service both times was just fair. There wasn't anything wrong with it, but the servers don't have a whole lot of personality so it seems very transactional: Sit. Order Food. Eat Food. Pay Bill. Go Home. Anyway the food hit the spot and soon enough we were on our way.
We arrived at Palm Springs Lanes ready for our Bowling Bonanza. I bowl about once per year, so my only expectations were that I would have a few laughs with friends. I figured I'd be lucky to break "100" at all. The scary bowling alley attendant assigned us our lanes and set us up for a few hours of play. Palm Springs Lanes had been renovated since the last time I was there. The lanes have what looks like "laser lights" moving down each lane. It actually was pretty cool.

above: soon enough we were in full swing, in heavy competition.

above: My game name was "Ricky Ticky Taffy"-my first game I had three strikes and scored 109! I was thrilled.

above: The second game I was off and only bowled a 79, needless to say I didn't take a photo of those scores! But the competition heated up, and soon my game was "en fuego"...

above: Game three I had two strikes, but picked up a few spares, and hit 137.

above: I wonder if my score was good enough to make coverage in "Bowling News"?

above: I converted this photo to black and white just for the fun of it. These are some of the "Poker /Bowling Gang", heckling each other on every frame. It was a fun night all in all, I hope we make it back for another night of Bowling soon. I'm curious if you have any bowling tips or secrets to help me improve my game...

-Rick Rockhill

Sunday Art Review: The Passage of Time

Today marks the final Sunday Art Review of 2008. Another year has flown by- the passage of time seems to be moving at a record pace. What is it about time? It goes by so slowly when we are young, yet as we age, it passes far too quickly. Time seemed an appropriate theme for this week's Sunday Art Review: The Passage of Time. I searched high and low, near and far, for an artistic representation of time, and chose the hour glass to tell this story. The following pieces are borrowed from around world wide web. I hope they tell a story of time. All I ask is that you remember how precious time is to us all. So "Carpe diem" (seize the moment).

above: "Hour Glass Skinny" by Katie Flindall

above: "Vitruvian Man with Clock" by Da Vinci.

above: "The Hour Glass" by Bruno

above: "A Matter of Time" by Tilly Strauss

above: "Hour Glass Rock", by George Mendoza

above: Hour Glass, Jahangir-Enthroned

Which piece do you like best? Go ahead, leave a comment, it's the last Sunday Art Review for 2008!

To close this post I thought I'd share a piece of 80's pop music history. A song called "Time" (Clock of the Heart) by Culture Club, oh, so 28 years ago! I hope you enjoy it.

-Rick Rockhill

Merry Christmas To All, and To All A Goodnight

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope you had a wonderful evening and a beautiful day! Were in good company with family and friends, wrapped up warm - or dressed downright cool! - with good food, wherever you are!

This spread instantly made me want to layer up with colours and scarves - I actually decided that I had too much black in my closet! Is that even possible? Love the fresh faces and the braided hair. What wonderful winter inspiration - take the look of fall and bring with you into winter, enough of the dull greys and the generic black. I can't believe I just said that.







Image source: Elle Italy by David Burton

Happy Christmukkah!

Something to drool over on this special day....Yes, I'm in love with red pumps! But just to add some variety, these are not Louboutins (remember the Turkey day pumps?), but from Stuart Weitzman. Dear Santa.....

Happy Christmukkah everyone!

Psst! I heard Bloomies is having a big sale on the 26th!

Image Source: Bloomies

Scented

I indulge in perfume. I tend to put too much on and think nothing of it. I'm a dedicated and committed wearer of four scents, all of which are used in a rotational manner, depending on mood, weather, clothes and/or occasion. They are much more than just the fantastic four.

My first ever - must wear all the time - is this discontinued line of Ines De La Fressange. After all, she was Lagerfeld's muse.


I found this a couple of years ago - extremely fitting for Spring or Fall. Roger & Gallet Bouquet Imperial


Something fresh after a hot shower, or light for a summer day I wear Baby Bench. What's that? Yes, a perfume for babies. Not really a perfume actually, scented water? I have no idea, but it smells damn good AND it's made in the Philippines! Subtle and soft.


And last, but certainly not least, Marc Jacobs' Daisy. Divine. Long lasting, beautiful!


What's your scent?

Ctrl BG: A Shortcut to Financial News 12/21

After MUCH drama, the fall of the auto industry in the US has finally been avoided- at least temporarily anyway. In the end, Bush signed over $17.4 to Chrysler and GM on Friday in return for non voting warrants and more oversight on executive pay etc. In the end, they made a full circle and the money will be coming from the TARP fund, which brings up the really intriguing question of whether the government has opened the pandora box and now other industries will be lining up to get a share of the rest of the TARP fund. Paulson has already asked Congress to release the rest of the $350 billion TARP fund early, when just a few days ago he said that it will not be necessary. Just when we thought we figured out how the TARP is going to work, they change their minds. This does not bode well for the government, because it makes them look like they have no idea what they're doing. Maybe they don't! On the other hand, the wider purpose of TARP is to support the financial market stability, and I daresay, it will probably not be very stable if the auto industry went bankrupt!

On the sidelines, the Madoff scandal continues to unfold, revealing many influential individuals exposed to this fraud. The S&P cut the rating of 11 US and EU banks, including Bank of America, Barclays Bank, Citibank, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS and Wells Fargo Bank. I guess if ratings must be cut, at least there is safety in numbers. What are you going to do when everyone goes down?

Outside of the States, it looks like the land of chocolate and waffles is not doing very well. Belgium's attempt to bailout Fortis got frozen as Prime Minister Yves Leterme tendered his resignation after having reportedly politically meddling to sway a court ruling. Apparently this is the third time their government collapsed. I had no idea.

The Girl With The Short Hair

Last year I went from that was down below the middle of my back, to a really bad short japanese-boy-rockstar cut. My hair grows fast so while I was mortified & stuck with pinning it back and trying to tie it up in all sorts of ways, with ribbons and clips, it eventually grew back to past my shoulders by September of this year. Being stuck with thick, thick hair I got fed up and went to go get it cut again into a straight across, above the shoulders/longish bob.

Then, I went home and chopped it all off to have it super short in the back, with an A-line cut in the front. Kind of like Victoria Beckham, but less extreme and shorter. How does it feel? Totally awesome. Here are some cuties that might inspire you to cut it short.




The best part is that you figure out fun ways to do your hair, it's just easier to take of! Best part? If you can work the curling iron and get a bunch of curls, it's completely adorable. It definitely becomes a deciding factor on how you style your outfits.

What are your thoughts on girls with short hair?

As for my next hair cut? I'm definitely going to go for a Shannyn Sossamon look.


Image Source: Garance Dore

Oh boy, oh boy

How do you like your boy to look? Mine is the usual jeans and t-shirt kinda guy, but I like a little styled grunge to be honest!

A little flannel can go a long way. Too much flannel can be tacky and "OH LOOK I AM A HIPSTER."

Perhaps a little too trendy with the scarf and all - but nonetheless a rather eye-pleasing outfit! I love the checkered shirt.

I love this. I love the coat. He looks so... historical!

Casual, cute, playful! Lego belt!


Umm...yes, hello and hello.

Boys with style are big in my book - a little character like a neck scarf or a sharp looking jacket can make all the difference. Just enough scruff balanced out by the perfect amount of tidiness. And of course, excellent manners. Chivalry is not dead and of course style for men is alive as ever. Just a few things that make me sigh.

So tell me, how you would you like your man to dress?


All photos by The Sartorialist, which I love and adore. Who doesn't?