Duchess

My name is Elizabeth and I’m 37. I grew up in a military family and moved all over the place. My husband is also in the military and we move quite often. We’ve been in Oklahoma for about 18 months.

I have two daughters…15 and 13 years old. I don’t work but I’ve been going to school for what seems like centuries. Seriously! I use to love it...now I’m just counting the days until I finally have my degree and can quit paying for over priced text books.

I’m a huge history buff. I always love reading about and exploring every new area we move to. Unfortunately, OK isn’t real big on history. I love old southern folklore and specifically like the history of Storyville in New Orleans and parts of the history of Florida.

I’m a photographer in my free time. I stage photo shoots…mostly with my daughter (my youngest ‘quit’ and refuses to be my model anymore) and sometimes with friends when I can cajole them into it. My concepts tend to be very stylized interpretations of an existing theme. I also like photographing old stuff. I’m always looking for a new concept…. especially something which will lend itself to still-life shots. I’ve been toying with the idea of old toys or maybe even obscure and brightly colored candies. I’m open to suggestions.

I’ve always been an artist of some kind. I’ve experimented with a lot of different mediums: sculpture, ceramics, furniture painting, crochet, sewing (home décor, clothing and quilts) making jewelry, altered art, collage and the occasional ATC.

My taste tends to be a bit eclectic. I do like girlie stuff but nothing so sugary sweet you just wanna hurl. I love pink, but mixed with a funky zebra stripe or a Chinese red and don’t really like pastels too much.

I do like aqua and have incorporated it into every room of the house with a nice taupe background to even things out. I like bohemian concepts and to some extent a gypsy styled clothing…but not too much. I tend to stay away from anything…overdone: ruffly patterned clothing or large scaled overly printed furniture and art. I like to start with a simple classic base in everything and add funk with small touches….a lamp, a bracelet, etc.

FASHION: My real passion is shoes. I naturally love the lux designer shoes, but I also like unique shoes that aren’t…freaky. I tend to hit the thrift stores at least once a week and always check the shoe and purse racks. I hate just about anything mass-produced. I always look for the unique one of a kind stuff that no one else is going to have in just about anything…. scarves, jewelry, hats.

MUSIC: My taste is pretty varied. 90% of my cd’s are what I call my ‘k-tel’ cd’s. A little Depeche Mode, some Fuzz Box, throw in some Edith Piaf, and top it off with some opera. I look for stuff constantly, which we’re not generally exposed to here in America. I’d love some mixed cd’s from other countries.

BOOKS: I have this fantasy of trolling the thrift stores and finding these great obscure classics that will blow my mind wide open and enlighten me in ways I could never before conceive of. The reality is that every single thrift store in America has at least 45 cookbooks that came with someone’s microwave, a copy of Rainbow Six by Tom Clancy, several copies of every single book ever written by John Grisham, and usually 3 copies of Lace by Shirley Conran. These are facts…. you can check. I’m actually pretty picky about my literary choices. I prefer to read books by established and prolific authors…. on the off chance I’ll like it. That way, when I fall in love with their writing style and characters, I can always go get the next book and the next book. I’m a sucker for the ‘Da Vinci� genre….the slew of books following Brown’s formula of throwing together some ancient treasure, a secret cult, some Templers and a lot of Roman Catholicism.

MOVIES & TV: Most of it sucks. I recently read a statistic, which said 78% of the movies made today are for a male audience. Why? Theoretically, men will purchase the stupid crap they merchandise in conjunction with those testosterone infused movies. Pfft! This is why we’re now being subjected to Rambo 187: Rambo blows up the nursing home with jello and an enema. I long for the good ol’ days when Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan cranked out the romantic comedies. I even liked Addicted to Love and Kate & Leopold. I hate the addictive nature of dramas on television. You can’t tune into Lost or One Tree Hill once in a blue moon and know what’s going on. You have to watch weekly to know what’s going on. I prefer sitcoms like Friends. I LOATH reality TV.

GENERAL: LIKES: -tiaras-tarnished and old --jewelry-big and gaudy with rhinestones --vintage clothing-pre 1950's --old hats-with lace and velvet --masks --fishnet stockings --wigs-funky cool ones in bright colors --furs-faux naturally and in any shape or style-- silverware-with mother of pearl handles --chalkboards --fleur de lis --Eiffel towers --apothecary jars --religious icons-virgin Mary, saints --wood-crackled & peeling --lace & trim-coffee stained --toile prints --ephemera-letters, ledgers, receipts, tickets --candy-brightly colored and obscure --doves --monograms --stationary --Marie Antoinette --fashion magazines, books or music in any other language

I'm not especially picky with colors. I like aqua and shades of brown together, but in general I dislike brown. I don't wear orange, but I'm originally from Tennessee so I do like orange things in orange(GO UT). I tend to wear a lot of black and white...dunno why.

I LOOOOOVVE bath & body products. I'm totally addicted to any kind of scented lotion, bath gel, soap, shampoo, etc. I have favorite scents but I'd love to experience something new and foreign. and...with two teenagers in the house we have a huge collection of lip gloss. I'd also love to have foreign glosses

FLAVORS: I'm just saying...choclate and peanut butter are in fact a food group. I do NOT drink coffee. No coffee..ever...at all. I do like to sniff freshly gound coffee or just after my husband opens a can of coffee...I take a quick wiff. But I won't drink it. I do like tea, but I'm not real familiar with tea. I drink lipton with sugar in it...old fashioned sweet southern tea. I'm not opposed to receiving tea, I'm just saying maybe you could throw in some pointers on how to use and really enjoy tea...if you're inclined. I have access to pocky here...they sell it on base. And I don't have a clue what other foreign candies are available so if you know of a great one I should try then by all means recommend it and I'll add it here. (peanut butter/choclate)

DISLIKES: --anything modern --plastic and synthetic materials --native American prints --stuffed animals --Americana --brightly colored stuff from the 50's

DISCLAIMER: I do smoke and I have 2 dogs and one cat. If this is an issue for you with asthma or allergies…be aware of this