1 chopper-filled Face Mask o’ the Day, plus 1 purple Cravat o’ the Day, plus 1 S’mores 2002 Olympic lapel pin = I’m accessorized properly for a Tuesday of erranding in the bigly city.
Ready For A Tuesday
We Haven’t Gone Out To Eat Since My Birthday Last March😱
When I posted about my 2002 Funeral Potatoes Olympic Pin a few days ago, it pierced my heart that since the pandemic came to the planet, I haven’t really had much of a reason to accessory-up and go out on the town—especially for fancy dinner at fancy restaurants. This means that I haven’t had reason to wear my lapel pins and cufflinks as I would normally do for our travel and grand outings, which also means I haven’t been posting photos of said lapel pins and cufflinks. I must remedy that, because my accessories live in the Tie Room with the neckwear, and they deserve their place in the spotlight, too.
Grapes Bow Tie o’ the Day sits bigly below my Mormon grapes Cufflinks o’ the Day, which I’m holding between my lips. But the bilgiest deal here is my Mormon grapes Lapel Pin o’ the Day, which I’m actually wearing more as a pocket accessory in this selfie. Isn’t it the coolest lapel pin ever known to mankind? I bought it on a trip with Suzanne to a Salt Lake City Deseret Industries store, in 1985. I think you can see why I have left the piece of jewelry attached to its D.I. sophisticated packaging ever since I got it. What is not visible here is the price tag stuck to the packaging. It cost a whole 50 cents. After owning it for 36 years, it is still priceless to me and my odd funny bone.
My Jacket Was Sued
I was minding my own business watching Judge Judy, like I always do, when in comes the defendant, wearing what I call MY purple pimp jacket. I ran up the stairs to make sure the purple pimp jacket was still in my closet, and it was. When I knew my pimp jacket was safe and secure, and that this dude hadn’t burglarized my house to take it, I plopped back down in front of the television. I couldn’t help but cheer for the dapperly dressed man as he tried to explain his way out of the shenanigans that made him end up as a defendant on Judge Judy. Alas! He was shady, through-and-through. Even the bolo tie couldn’t save him. I felt especially bad for his jacket. It hadn’t been adopted into a good home like mine, clearly.
Anyhoo… The guilty dude has a swell jacket just like mine, but he has neither my Prince-Albert-in-a-can Bow Tie o’ the Day, nor does he have my 2002 Funeral Potatoes Olympic pin that I so proudly display here in my purple pimp jacket’s lapel. I win.
Finally! A Church Bow Tie Again!
I realized I hadn’t posted a Church Bow Tie o’ the Sabbath for quite some time, so yesterday I made sure to gussy up my attire for “watching” church. My nephew, Bishop Travis, was speaking, and I took extra care in choosing the appropriate bow tie for the occasion—as I always do. I decided to wear my black, 3D-printed bow tie. It’s simple and yet sophisticated. Its tips are also very sharp. I would not have worn this to the meeting if I had attended in-person, for fear Gracie would have poked a hole in her hand if she touched it. But I thought it a fitting bow tie for attending church online from my love seat, because the thing about Bishop Travis’ talks is that they—like Bow Tie—always have a point. In fact, his talks are filled with lots of points—each layered like parables. You understand what you are able to, and you chew on what you can’t understand, until you finally understand that too. Like any good parable, it’s nourishing when your spirit hungers, time and again. The larder of a good parable is never empty.
One Purse Is More Than Enough
Y’all probably know I’ve only ever owned one purse, and I didn’t own it until two years ago when I found the Saddle Purse calling to me from a shelf in an airport shop. I rarely use it—except when we go out on the town, and we haven’t really done that since the pandemic started almost a year ago. I guess I should have known the Saddle Purse would start to feel neglected.
It usually sits in the loft underneath my writing desk, but this morning it greeted me from our dining table downstairs. I approached it slowly, since it doesn’t usually travel throughout the house by itself. I noticed a Hanukkah Bow Tie o’ the Day atop it. I noticed the neckband of a brass band Bow Tie o’ the Day dribbling out from inside. I felt comfortable enough to open the Saddle Purse, and —SURPRISE!—out popped ten more Bow Ties o’ the Day. I felt kinda bad to think the Saddle Purse felt like it had to fill itself with neckwear in order to get my attention. But I guess it did. I’ll do better about paying attention to ALL of my stewardships.
And there’s more! When I opened up the Saddle Purse’s teeny saddlebag, I discovered my purse knows me so well. To feel useful, a saddlebag needs to hold something. Nestled in the saddlebag was a pepperminty Bow Tie o’ the Day lapel pin.
Holiday Tie Tally: 129 Neckties. 55 Bow Ties. And a lapel pin on a pear tree—er, in a saddlebag.
Random Church Bow Ties From 2015-17, Pre-TIE O’ THE DAY Website
Church Bow Ties o’ Years Ago are choice examples of their breed. The snapshots from the past are also evidence that my cameras have improved with each phone upgrade.
Current Events Are Funny
Our weekend began less than one second after Suzanne walked got home from the sweatshop Friday. We had dinner reservations in SLC at TIN ANGEL, which is located in a corner of the main entry to the Eccles Theater. The restaurant is truly a splendid place to sit and people-watch. We had groovy views of the street and the main lobby. My Day of the Dead Bow Tie o’ the Day couldn’t stop talking about how people can be weird when they go out on a Friday night. And Bow Tie didn’t mean us. People-watching is never dull.
Suzanne and I each ended up ordering— and enjoying— the same dish: spicy saffron salmon. When we were ready for dessert, I clamored for the bread pudding. Suzanne went with the chocolate torte, which was the slenderest slice of any dessert we had ever seen. Candy Corn Bow Tie On A Shelf o’ the Day had to wriggle out of my Saddle Purse to take a gander at the barely-there confection. Suzanne reported that the teeny tiny torte was yummy and worth it.
After dinner we headed into the theater for a taping of NPR’s WAIT, WAIT…DON’T TELL ME!— a hilarious radio show about the news of the week. It is normally taped in Chicago, so we’ve been patiently waiting for the show to haul its cast out to SLC for a performance, as it has done a handful of times. Finally! Bobcat Goldthwait was one of the show’s rotating panelists whose job it is to skewer the ridiculousness of current events. Bill Curtis, journalist extraordinaire, is the show’s announcer. Oh, my golly! The quizzes and limericks about news stories were spot-on and comical. However, one Utah guy in the audience did get his knickers in a snit about some zucchini jokes the performers made. That, too, was funny.
DO NOT POKE FUN AT ZUCCHINIS WHILE IN UTAH, PEOPLE!
Dinner And A Chandelier
Bow Tie o’ Last Night had a fantastic Valentine’s Day dinner at THISTLE & THYME. The restaurant is located at the U of U Marriott Hotel, which is also where this Dale Chihuly glass chandelier hangs in the atrium. You gotta see it in person to get the beguiling enormity and complexity of the piece. You can see from one of these photos that Suzanne couldn’t look away from it for long enough to have her picture snapped. But the side of her head looks nice.
THISTLE & THYME has existed for less than a year, and it was our first time chowing there. We’ll be going back though. Suzanne’s scallops were luscious, and my tenderloin steak was nummy as all get-out. There are a couple of things on the menu we’d like to try. We had a tough time deciding what interesting dish to order, so we went with their special Valentine’s Day four-course feast. We’re going back for the meatloaf w/ tomato jam, and for the candied bacon. We’ve gotta give those a taste.
Our appetizer was ingenious and delectable. Imagine this: a tater tot, topped with a slice of salmon, topped with creme fraiche, topped with caviar. Who’da thunk it? It was smashing. (I am so mad at myself for not taking a pic of the creation.) A tater tot has more potential for tastiness than I have heretofore realized. And it was so incredibly cute, sitting in its minuscule dish all by it’s awesome tiny self.
Check out the Post-it Note decor I created on one of our living room walls for the day. Hearts, flowers, lips, and a couple of diamond rings. I love Post-it Notes beyond measure, but not necessarily the normal square ones.
Also, note my candy heart Lapel Pin o’ Last Night and Cufflinks o’ Last Night. With all my candy heart-design accessories, not only did my attire have a clear theme which actually fit the occasion, they made my look the most matchy I’ve dressed myself in years. It felt odd.
Somebody’s Gotta Do The Housework For The Ties
Here’s a two-fer! Tie o’ the Day and Lapel Pin o’ the Day are the same. Classic split personality, aka Dissociative Identity Disorder. When cleaning toilets and baseboards, wear as short a tie as possible. You don’t want the tail end of your tie swimming in the potty, and you don’t want it skating across grimy baseboards. If a long tie is underfoot when changing ceiling air filters, you’re in bigly danger. Wearing bow ties is safe for doing housework. Tie/Pin is even less treacherous. And sillier. 🚽 😜
Your Car Could Be Next, Old Coot!
Bigly, wood Bow Tie o’ the Evening was kind enough to accompany me to the Home Owners Association meeting. Bow Tie, Lapel Pin, Cufflinks, and Pocket Square ALL acted as my disguise. Mustaches will do that. A disguise is necessary cuz sometimes at these meetings, neighbors forget to love their neighbors. Especially regarding HOA budgets. Recently, some cars have been harassed. When I asked if the Board had discussed installing cameras, the guy next to me snapped, “Only if YOU pay for them!” Love you more, doofus! 💋