One of the conversations I had this week sent me in to one of my usual analytic tailspins, which usually find their way as an intro for this here column, which offers you more and more insight as to who this Carmen Jones of yours really is.

I had the pleasure of relaxing with Kake over the weekend, and we got on the topic of interior decoration, which I find to be a fascinating field.

Fortunately, my mother taught me about furniture, color schemes and ways to make the most out of any living space. As a budding artist, I’ve taken that knowledge to heart because I really believe that the way a person decorates his home says SO much about who he is.

Over the weekend I got to step into Kake’s new North End apartment, which warmed my heart just like she does. An orange couch was tastefully added to the living room that oozes with rich, brown floors and a dramatic hutch. She even has a bamboo-style bar that’s as fun as Kake is. Outside, she decorated the lanai with orange, pink and chartreuse drapery, and cozy chairs and pillows. Eye-catching, light-hearted and soothing. Yep, that’s Kake.

All of that started me thinking about my own living room and what it says about yours truly:

A gorgeous area rug that’s as unique as me sets the tone of the living room with brick red, light green, cream and black boxes included.

Two sets of window seats that I’m lucky to have contain three tush pillows. Three of the corners of the living room contain green Japanese lanterns. I believe in the number three.

My black leather couch and chair are rich and sexy like me.

The big storage box with a beautiful Indian design next to the black chair is filled with old editions of People magazine (guilty pleasure).

This bookshelf loaded with all kinds of text and treats illustrates my education, political beliefs and wide knowledge of philosophy and world religions (I can be deep, too.)

The Spanish mirror on my mantle with candles and a statue of a woman meditating shows how centered I am.

The brick red papasan next to the bookshelf is Carmen cuddle cozy.

Won’t you swing by sometime soon?

I’m your Hotrod-a-rama honey

Natasha had me all amped up for this year’s Hotrod-a-rama that kicked off last Friday around and inside the Swiss. We headed down for the Friday night kickoff to take in the Burlesque show (SO hot!) and INCREDIBLE bands that created such a great time. We guesstimated that at least 1,000 people were milling around checking out the more than 500 hotrods and the honies that followed.

Saturday we rolled in at noon to find the space crawling with peeps.

Natasha was a crowd-pleaser with her black dress and fire red boots and purse that got comments all day long. I chose a more casual route for comfort purposes, with my favorite jeans and my brown rockabilly cowgirl shirt.

That festival offered the most fun I’ve had in T-Town so far. It was so great to shake the shack with people like Pappi Swarner, Kake, The Frenchman (so nice to meet you!), First Lady Olivia, Denise and Michelle from Tempest, event organizers Shawn Wheelock and Steve Glucoff, DJ Zombo, Tall Troy, Jaime Kay, Brad Allen and Megan Underground. There were so many other people that we ran across, but PBR tall boys really have a way of getting to a girl.

Outside of the good folks we know, the people watching was where it was at. There were people from so many walks of life, each of whom flashed a smiling face amid the revving engines, tantalizing tunes and tasty Swiss food and beverages.

The bands made my mouth water and my shoulders bounce. I even walked away from the weekend with two new CDs from The Stood Ups and the All American Playboys. Nice!

Hotrod Heidi’s Pinup Girl Competition was a complete treat.

The automobiles and their owners were so gorgeous that I wanted to lick them.

Hotrod-a-rama was so convincing that for the first time in my life I actually considered adding tattoos to my body. Hmmmmm.

Without a doubt, Hotrod-a-rama makes me go vroom!