shoes and pie

March 13, 2008 · 10:34 pm

A Way With Words

I often express my love for my friends in food, rather than words. (Scott’s Key lime pies come to mind. I’ve not given up on that project, but I think Scott is a little pie-d out. I’ll pick up again after Viva.) A couple of times a year, I prepare feasties for my nearest and dearest. Everything is made with care and thought and love. More on THAT subject in the coming weeks, as I prepare the annual Feaster Dinner. But…

I was thinking about all this tonight as I was looking through my eBay listings, and mentally trying to describe, in words, just how much I love this vintage dress:

I love it like a perfect yellow cupcake with not-too-sweet, fluffy pink strawberry frosting. And maybe there are some little bits of strawberry in the cake itself, but not so much that it’s soggy. It is a PERFECT dress and a flattering cut… every single detail about it is darling, from the heart-shaped buttons to the rickrack trim to the zigzag waistline to the AMAZINGLY full skirt that a small child could get lost in for days. Even if I lost 15(!) pounds, which would officially put me at thin, I do not have the frame to fit into it. I am a Big Girl. I will never have a 24-inch waist. (Well, okay, if I lost a few pounds and got into some corset training. But that caveat is just to ward off the comments that would otherwise crop up below.) The listing has less than 24 hours to go as I write this, and there are no bids. I assume that it will be sniped in the final moments, but right now, I actually FEEL BAD FOR THE DRESS. Yes, I love the dress so much that I have anthropomorphized it, and assigned it human emotions. And right now, this dress feels like a wallflower when really, she’s prettier than a prom queen.

Now that I’m thinking about cupcakes… if you’re in the Denver area, please stop by the new Lovely Confections bakery, at Colfax and Steele, where the cupcakes are made with local and organic ingredients, and the owner makes the best not-too-sweet frosting I’ve had in YEARS. Full disclosure: the owner is a friend-of-a-friend. But that does not sway my opinion of her frosting, nor does it have anything to do with how she scored a full segment on the local CBS affiliate news program tonight.

____________

My regular readers know how long-winded my posts are, so when I tell you that a friend of mine left me speechless on Thursday; not only because I didn’t know what to say, but also because there was just no way I could say anything as eloquently as he’d just done… well, that carries some weight. I know that every word was meant with complete sincerity, likewise, I know he’s wrong about some points. But he pointed out that I’d say that. He can read me like a book. A really complicated book.

I laughed, I cried, I will read it again and again. It was better than Cats.

Pass/Fail

FAIL: I have done nothing more than think about and look at the fabric draped over my dress form, waiting patiently to be made into a top. I have not yet returned my latest ill-fitting mail-order purchases. I have not called my grandmother to say “hi,” nor have I thanked my sister for the box that appeared on my doorstep the other day PACKED FULL of Stone Pony gear*. I have not called Allstate to adjust my car insurance (why am I paying nearly $1,000 a year to insure a $3,500 car?). I have not fully worked out my next tattoo, which I need to get pretty durn immediately if it’s going to heal in time for Viva.

PASS: I filled out my annual Self Assessment for work. I returned the last two pairs of COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY shoes I bought. I made an appointment to have a PROFESSIONAL hairstylist work on my mop. It’s been years since someone with a license has colored my hair. I left the office early enough on Wednesday to enjoy the extra daylight. I’ve started to post a few of my favorite vintage garments on eBay, and while I hate to say goodbye to any of them, they all deserve to go to people who fit well inside of them, and can show them off. I’ll keep posting stuff until I run out of stuff to post. Anyone who has seen my flickr closet knows that could be a long way off. I decided, finally, to cull the pretty pink party dress from my planned Viva wardrobe, which means I can stop stressing about finding shoes to match it, or getting it altered in time. Maybe this year’s birthday party theme will be Pretty Pink Party Dresses. Apologies in advance to Erin, who doesn’t get along with pink. I’m sure she’ll manage. Jana sent me a photo of her beach chair, and her beer, on the sand at her new home in Oregon… and I printed it out and put it on my wall and will refrain from throttling her out of pure, blind jealousy when I see her on Saturday. And… um… well, I’m sure I accomplished something else. And hey, I still have today, Friday, and Saturday to hit the first half of this post!

“I think Spring is very eager to kick Winter off her couch, he’s been drinking all her beer and eating all her cereal, and it’s time he moved on with his life. Elsewhere.” – Dooce

*No. Sorry, pal. Even without it, you’re cooler than Otter Pops in February.

2 Comments

Filed under sewing, shopping

March 11, 2008 · 10:09 pm

Pictoral ode to thermal shock resistant borosilicate glass

This is for Mandy and Marge.

And oh yeah, nearly two weeks into March, I finally update my header to something a little Irishy. I’ll try to update again before Easter, to make up for it.

4 Comments

Filed under collections, kitchen

March 10, 2008 · 10:46 pm

along the side of the road

As Scott and I are tooling down the highway on our way to work Monday morning, we see a guy up ahead, standing next to his SUV, which is pulled over on the shoulder. Scott says, “That guy is peeing.” “No. He wouldn’t right there. (Guy, who was standing in a traditional peeing stance, but couldn’t possibly have been peeing RIGHT THERE, now very clearly zips up and starts to walk back to the driver’s side of his truck.) DUDE. There is a giant tree TWENTY FEET away.” Scott chuckles. “I bet he feels MUCH better now.” “I don’t get it! I mean, this isn’t exactly in the middle of nowhere. The exits are only a MILE apart. I can SEE Target from here!”

I still don’t understand.

5 Comments

Filed under Shoot, I forgot to add tags again

March 9, 2008 · 11:10 pm

The Blouse To Be

I’ve gotten as far as roughly draping fabric over my dress form (a thousand thank-yous to Erin for letting me have her old form):

So I hope it will look a little something like that, but a bit neater and more trim, by the end of the week.

I have a fab-yoo-lous vintage dress that I bought specifically to wear to Viva this year, but I forgot that the very complicated top is too big (surprise, surprise). I culled it from the list of items to pack, but Erin and Megan got pouty. Of course, Erin immediately researched Denver metro to find me a tailor whom I would trust with my vintage gear (she needs a few items altered as well), and came up with a woman who comes highly recommended. I’ll try to remember to call her tomorrow and see if we can arrange something in my ever-shorter time frame. Not only does that dress need some adjusting, but I have some jeans that would work better as capris, and a vintage dress/jacket set that is twice my size. The seamstress would have to work a miracle on that one, but I think it’s worth having her take a look.

Overall, a good weekend. I saw friends, I spent some time with my mom, I made a dent in some of the housecleaning. Both cats snuck outside, and Supercat (who can leap a 6-foot fence in a single bound) was so surprised to be on the other side of the door that he forgot what to do once he got there. If he remains oblivious, I’m happy to let him out more often. C’mon, Springtime!

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Filed under fashion, sewing, shopping