Knitting Away

I'm in a moment of deep avoidance.  Home alone, I should be taking advantage of another hour or two of quiet to get some work done.
     But I'm just not feeling it.
     So now I'm fantasizing about starting a new knitting project, a project just for me.  Knitting is a real source of pleasure for me, and it also makes a statement.  It states that I have (or will take) the time and inclination to be creative, that I can actually engage in something so (relatively) slow, that I have allowed myself to engage in a tactile world.  Maybe it's because I haven't been engaged in a project recently that I'm feeling out-of-sorts.  Or maybe it's because I have a ton of marking to do.  That could be it as well.

Shoe of the Week: Landgirl/Granny Chic

I love the British term "landgirl," which I translate to mean rural/country girl.  Anyway, these Chie Mihara shoes have a bit of both landgirl and granny to them, which is a sturdy, to say the least, combination.  They might be considered a fitting synthesis of rustic and refined.  Plus, I think these will look good with socks.  Yes, I'm going to wear socks with my pumps.  I don't care how old I am.

New York weekend finale; Part 2

I somehow managed to schedule real visits with a number of friends. Saturday night I had dinner with my Kristin and Josh.  Dinner was great and a bit hysterical because I got a glue trap (gross!!) stuck to my coat, which was hanging under the bar rail.  Luckily I'd had a martini and found it more absurd than disgusting (no mice came with it thankfully) and the restaurant was appropriately mortified.  Of course I experienced classic New York subway action on the way home when I let two N trains go by before it came to my attention that there was no R and that the N was running on the R line.  Hey, thanks for the signage.  Oh, there wasn't any...
   Surprise, surprise, stayed up late with Keith and my first Mother's day gift to myself was a headache (sounds better than a hangover, doesn't it?).  But in its entirety my Mother's day was great.  I had brunch with my friend Jill, and then spent the day on my own.  I napped, talked to Ian, my mother, and Liss, read the New York Times, went for a walk, bought Sam Lipsyte's new novel as well as a couple of journals, and just amused myself in general.  It was really pleasurable.  Then I got to have dinner with Artemis, which was very satisfying both emotionally as well as gustatorially.  Afterwards, Keith and I, having exhausted our desire for another late night, sat and watched bad television.  In bed by 11:30pm!
   Good weekend overall, and I'm happy to be home in Hamilton again.
  

New York weekend finale; Part 1

Part 1:  General overview and reality check

The nostalgia waned Saturday morning as I encountered the classic subway service interruptions signaling an end to my train luck from the previous day.  No matter, I made it to meet my mom on time, but we took a cab uptown.
    Our routine is to have lunch at Bergdorf Goodman's first, sharing the Gotham Salad and generally the Tea Sandwiches (sometimes we get the Deviled Eggs).  We don't believe in shopping on an empty stomach.  Then we wend our way through the store.
    This wending also has a general schedule - designer collections on the 3rd floor first (where my friend, Domingo, works), then to the 5th (contemporary collections & shoes), maybe the 6th (sportswear), and often the 2nd (more shoes).  On the third floor, I tried on this Alexander McQueen dress.  What you can't see is the chartreuse silk lining.  It fit like a glove, but I turned it down.  Now, I've changed my mind, and I have it on hold.  (By the way, the photo sucks, but you can get the general idea.)

    I'm picky.  Quite honestly, my mother and I often comment that we have more interesting things in our closets at home that are 20 years old than some of the stuff we see in the stores.  However, I'm still open to falling in love, like I did with these shoes (Rodarte for Repetto).

    Have you seen anything like them?  And if you could touch them!  They're like a combination of silk and butter but in a leather form.  Soft is an understatement.  They're like little gloves of love for your feet.  I will be very careful with them because I want them to last a long time.
   We almost always head to Saks Fifth Avenue afterwards, and I tried on a couple of things there.  Like this Erdem dress.

    The fabric was gorgeous, but the shape did nothing for me.  I actually found that with a Calvin Klein dress I tried on - it looked like a fabric combination of spun sugar and spiderweb, but its shape was more suited to be displayed on a skinny, straight-up-and-down kind of figure.  I like to wear my clothes, whether fitted or unstructured, rather than serve as the mannequin for them.
   One thing I have to address is the serious lack of effort my fellow shoppers were making.  What happened to looking good when you went out?  I don't care if you're trying on a pair of $800 Christian Louboutin shoes.  You look like crap in those holey leggings and cheap-looking but expensive t-shirt.  "Casual" is over-rated.
    My mother and I always dress to shop.  For me, it's only appropriate.  I like (or at least used to like) to see what other women were wearing.  Get some ideas, inspiration, or pleasure.  I know, I sound like an old lady (I don't like jeans at the opera or symphony either - not that I go often, but when I do - you know what I mean), but if you're shopping in a high-end store yet not wearing what you shop for - what are you doing with it?  Traipsing around charity events or in your living room (don't get me wrong, with the right underwear, oh, sorry, digression), waiting for a special occasion?  Ever hear of pride?  It's like people who store their jewelry in a safe deposit box and only pull it out on holidays.
   I could go on, but I'll stop.  I think I've made my point.

City Mouse

Feeding the nostalgia of living in the city by a trip to my old stomping grounds - Brooklyn & NYC in general.

So far - been hit on by an MTA guy, cruised by a cute butch on the subway, managed to have flawless subway travel, seen my friends, Christine & Lawrence, and their amazing little baby, Rowan, and stayed up way too late (with too many drinks) with my pal Keith.  No wonder I miss the city!

Today - the meat and potatoes of the trip: meeting up with my mom for our biannual roam of Bergdorf Goodman and Saks.  It's the only time I really hit that part of town because hey, I'm with my mom, and that's what we do.  Plus, it's fun!  You think I can afford that on my own?

Quick note to those who live in Toronto and think a 45-minute or hour trip to Hamilton is a long way.  (We're often asked, when at a party in Toronto, if we're going to stay the night because Hamilton is sooo far away.)  It took me almost an hour and half to get to my friend's apartment in Brooklyn from JFK (Queens), and 45 minutes to get from Christine & Lawrence's place in Queens back to Brooklyn.  It's all the same city, sweethearts, and in that time you could actually go to another place entirely.  Transportation - it's amazing.  Time - it's all relative.