Tracy Metro does it all, just like a good ol' fashioned bottle of Formula 409.  She cooks, she sews, she even does windows . installs them, that is. 

Tracy's penchant for tools began over a decade ago when she wanted to make a sculpture out of her old cast-off shoes (ok, it was more of a shrine).  She envisioned an art installation where it appeared as if her shoes were just thrown in a pile in the corner; but in reality, it was sculpture made by individually securing each shoe to a wooden frame, wrapped in chicken-wire. 

Having no idea what she was doing, Metro plugged in the jigsaw and promptly waited to be rescued by her husband.  Naturally, he obliged.  As soon as they started, Tracy kept repeating, "No, just TELL me what to do; I'm going to actually build this MYSELF!"  And so began her ambitious quest for knowledge about how to "build stuff."

So, whatever happened to the shoe sculpture?  Today, it sits in the Museum of - oh, who are we kidding?  It was a great idea, but once it came to fruition, looked horrible.  However, it gave Tracy the confidence to redesign, oversee and actually DO her first home remodel.  On that project, her proudest achievement was swinging a sledge hammer to personally knock down walls, cabinets and valences to modernize and streamline an outdated, cluttered kitchen.

After construction was finished, it was time for the real fun: decorating.  Metro loves to shop for and decorate with anything vintage, and yet she couldn't manage to find a retro light for her fab new dining room. Even with the zillion lights she saw on EBay, she couldn't find the perfect one.  So, the Metro's formal dining room was chandelier-less for a while. 

One day, on a miserable-but-necessary trip to Ikea, Tracy Metro fell in love with an odd little table lamp that had "lighted tentacles" extending out from the base.  The problem: she didn't have a proper table for her Ikea treasure.  But somehow she knew this strange beaming beacon could . with the right ingenuity and tools - be turned into a fantastic chandelier.  A table lamp, as a chandelier?  Indeed.  She bought 3 of those little $49 Ikea table lamps, then built and stained a wooden frame onto which she mounted them.  Then, she inverted the frame and mounted it on the dining room ceiling, so they hang upside down.  Finally, she connected the 3 lamps and put them on one circuit.  Voila!  Her Medusa chandelier was born.  "At night, it looks like fireflies are whizzing around the room," she says.  "But the good news is you don't need a fly swatter!" 

Tracy always likes to be "working on a project" and the one she's currently in the throes of won't disappoint. Tracy joked, "My husband and I are a couple of eco-nuts (they started the earth-friendly company www.UsedCardboardBoxes.com back in 2002) and we were hoping to build an off-the-grid weekend home when we chanced upon the white-trash "house of our dreams."  Truth be told, it was an abandoned houseboat they saw in a parking lot, which sparked the idea to rehab an old houseboat and make it completely green.  Besides, a 1975 floating barge has got to be a whole lot cheaper than a 2nd home in Los Angeles, right? 

Tracy is in the process of hammering away on "Green Anchors" to make it a footprint-less vessel, outfitted with a bio-diesel engine, a wind turbine and reclaimed everything on the inside (floors, appliances, furniture, etc.).  She's saving what can be reused, recycling what can't and donating the rest. 

With all of her energy and eco-magination, Tracy Metro is definitely a Jane with 21st Century style.