Man Repelling, Losing Stuff

I went on two trips out of town in two weekends and now I have more work than I can handle and a court date on Friday! Caffeinate!

In other news, I'm into The Man Repeller. I thought I wouldn't like it because it's about a hip(ster?) New Yorker who has expensive clothes but WHO AM I KIDDING I LOVE THAT SHIT. If you see someone giggling uncontrollably in the oh-so-quiet library, that's me. Hiiiiii.

Anyway, the girl behind the man repeller is oh-so-funny and into clothes that men hate, like mismatched loud prints and culottes and rompers and harem pants and nary a defined waistline in sight. I have more traditional taste but I like the attitude.

A classic man-repelling outfit by me, earlier this spring. Shapeless tunic, check; baggy cardigan, check; topknot, check; excessive scarf, check. Sexyness? Nope.

On one of my weekend trips I lost my black cardigan. I used to wear it like 3 times a week and took it on every trip I went on during its life in my wardrobe, but now it's gonnnnne and I'm sad. The rental car company can't find it and my friends deny having it and it isn't in my room anywhere and I'm going crazy. I know it's "just stuff" but ugh, it was so perfect and did I mention it goes with everything? I think I'll go home and tear my room apart again. Maybe it's under my bed or something. Maybe it went to join my other fuzzy sock (RIP, snowflake socks) or that awesome plaid fedora I got at a thrift store in Wisconsin and used to have as a rain hat (umbrellas are just too much work) and now I have to use the hat that looks like "some dorky Annie Hall shit" (thanks, T, you're the sweetest) except my Bosnian coworkers think its adorrrrrable! This hat is a brown brimmed kinda floppy hat I got from grandma and I made a pink felt rose and safety pinned it on during a weird Anthropologie-feuled craze for embellishment I was having. I still leave it on because it gets comments like "spring-like" and "so feminine!" and (this is gonna sound bad) foreigners love that kind of thing. I think I mentioned before how Egyptians just went nuts for my brightest, patterny-est, crazy-pants-est skirts. So, to tie this all together (see how I did that?) man-repelling clothes are Bosnian or Egyptian- attracting clothes, and that's how I like it.

Here's a picture of the cardigan, the weekend just before it disappeared. Also note my awesome man-repelling face, hah.

I HATE LOSING THINGS.

I left ANOTHER thing on my last trip, a kinda silly but weather-appropriate short khaki trench-like weird-nylony jacket that is from Limited or something but I got at a yard sale. It was all professional and spring-like so I'm sad I left it but in return I got a sweet way-too-big San Diego lifeguard sweatshirt so I can repel the men some more. Nothing like swapping your girly narrow-waisted light coat for a giant hoodie.

The source of the hoodie, pictured above through New Orleans twilight and headlight glare.

Reflected Light

 These pictures of mirrored ceilings and walls really snagged my imagination. The first is from The Corinthian Club in Glasgow, via Lace & Tea.

Then the Michelberger Hotel in Berlin (which as we all know is the coolest city in the world) (ok, check out their website, I was just going to cite to be thorough but it's pretty awesome and there's a button that says "it's all too much" that you can push to turn off all the music and animation. every website should have that easily accessible! I think I'm in love) via {this is glamorous} via Design Shimmer. When I was in New Orleans, I stayed a night in the guest room of some friends. They said the room was the only one not yet remodelled in the century-old house, which I only saw in the bathroom, a bit worn around the edges, but completely walled in with mirrors. You have to be pretty vain to like that kind of thing, but I was fascinated with seeing reflections show up in unexpected angles, plus it looks totally glamorous in Hollywood dressing room kind of way.

It all reminds me a bit of this "Swimming Pool" installation by Leandro Erlich. This photo is from the original at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan. Wouldn't it be cool to sleep or eat below that shimmering watery reflective light?

I love light reflected off water, bouncing back on the side of houses from pools, the underside of bridges, the sides of boats. It looks like summer, and it makes me excited and happy and eager to jump in, but it's also so soothing and dependable, even in its sparkling. I would like a house where I can sit and eat breakfast or go to sleep wrapped in that light. Anyone got one?

Spring Fever, New Orleans Edition

"It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!"
-Mark Twain

So.. all that I was saying about accepting what I'm given and being ok with winter? Well, I went to New Orleans for a visit last week and it shot all those high-minded plans all to hell. New Orleans was warm and beautiful, and I was less than pleased to come back to a chilly, rainy, gray Chicago. I still love Chicago, really, I do, but am starting to think that it might not be so bad to live in a place that makes me happy.

We biked around the Crescent City, and I was continually just overwhelmed by how gorgeous everything was. Azaleas blooming really gratuitously, beautiful old homes, flowers and sunshine, morning coffee on balconies and a glass of wine outside in the evenings. The plants are familiar to me, but even more tropical and gorgeous, so it has the relaxing quality of going home, but it's also a city with a lot of cool things going on, indie shows, coffee shops, things I thought I would give up if I left the big city. I have some big decisions to make coming up, so any input would be welcome, especially if you know New Orleans!