227. Nice day for a skulk, or are sombre reptiles invading my bookworm life?
December 21st, 2009 § 19 Comments
Minnie Wilde toggle coat, thrifted velvet vest (meant for Michael!), H&M skirt, scarf from Delhi (gift from Karan,) Hansel from basel gold thread tights & socks, vintage Dexter boots.
When I was 19, “Les Demoiselles” by Harmonia was my favorite song, I played it before bed and during baths and during daydreams, it still sounds like slow cowboys to me, and the Picasso painting is good as well, only later, did I begin to like Brian Eno, even more when I realized he created the Windows start-up sound, even more when I realized he came up with ambient music while convalescing in a hospital after a car accident, even more when he said in a Guardian interview:
I started to notice that you could buy keyboards of such complexity that you basically press one note on them and you’ve got a career as an ambient artist. I thought, there doesn’t seem much challenge in that any longer.
That’s only the most brilliant and hilarious thing that Eno could have said and he said it.
In high school, I walked around staring at other people in buses and on the street and in parks, creep that I was, I wrote everything down in notebooks and reread it while listening to Belle & Sebastian and wishing I knew a skinny boy with glasses from Glasgow who could have tortured feelings about me. (Blair Waldorf would say, “Um, it’s called a cliche.”) I bought my red plaid toggle coat from the San Francisco label, Minnie Wilde, now defunct, and like all of the clothing I own by Minnie Wilde, I love it to death. I left a Minnie Wilde floral motorcycle jacket in Switzerland, and a skirt in Russia, and a long sleeved dress in Latvia because I’m the way I am, a flake in the midst of snowflakes.
My inspiration for my holiday outfit today was the nail polish my perfectly beautiful and beautifully perfect friend Sarah gave me last Saturday. Because I’m virtually unable to perform any detail oriented tasks, you can only sort of make out the color in the fourth and last photo–it’s a dark teal blue color called Muse from the brand Illamasqua. I’m obsessed with it, also obsessed with Michael Silverblatt, his extraordinary eloquence, his sincerity and ability to weave disparate narratives from the far-flung corners of every kind of personal and literary experience moved me deeply when he came to Iowa this Fall to give a Q&A. He told a story about going with his mother to the hairdressers and Lewis Carroll and carrying at least four different genres of books with him at all times and needing a lot of pockets, and disbelieving Ezra Pound (yes!) and I think I had tears in my eyes and the craziest thumping in my heart the entire time he was giving his talk!
His interview with Dennis Cooper on Bookworm is astounding. When he came to Iowa, he apologized for trying to dazzle us, in the interview, he uses the word ‘twinkling,’ and I realized I should use the word twinkling much more than I do, and dazzle, as I am dazzled by the package of books that arrived at my doorstep today. Some of them I dumped on the floor in a puppy pile with my clothes and slippers and things, and the others are on my bed, in the same twinkling puppy pile shape, waiting for me now to say hello and let them know I have not forgotten about them.
Hi! I have not forgotten about you.
Love, Jenny
226. FFW Loves: Rebecca Rebouche
December 21st, 2009 § 1 Comment
Art markets are a dicey proposition — in my mind, at least. The point of me saying this is not be a huge snobby snobface, which I probably sound like anyway, but to say that I was super-impressed and relieved to see the brilliant booth of artist Rebecca Rebouche at a New Orleans art market while looking for Christmas presents. I coveted every single piece in her booth, and probably would have gotten one if not for the fact that I’m in-between homes right now and want to save up for a big painting of hers when Chris and I settle down (hopefully in the summer/fall of 2010). I also saw her in the flesh while I was walking past her booth a second time, and wanted to stop her and gush over all of her paintings, but was too shy to say anything!
To quote from her website, http://www.rebeccarebouche.com/:
I wonder about the stamina of human relationships. I seek to represent their range of strength and frailty, and the constant flux there-in. I know a piece is done when I am confident to stop, and can trust that it will go out into the world, and continue to tell the story from which it began, without lacking details, or saying too much.
When my work is going well, I am filled with a sense of appropriateness. The act of creating good work allows me to feel at peace with the present moment. I am comfortable knowing that there is no alternate reality waiting in the wings, and no truer message is being saved for another day.
When people see my work, I’d like them to be filled with a willingness to find joy and be full of wonder. I hope that my pieces whisper permission to be most splendidly alive.
I aspire to see new lands, sew larger tent-tops, and swing-wide the stage curtains of life.
And with that, I present some sample paintings of hers. All images are from her website. She also has a beautiful Etsy shop, with things ranging from $50 to more expensive, large pieces.
So yes, please — check her website out! She seems absolutely lovely, and I’m looking forward to the day when I can have one of her pieces for my very own. (More evidence of her awesomeness is at her blog, http://rebeccarebouche.blogspot.com/.)
xo, mw
225. Etsy shop update & sale, this Joseph Cornell box has stars, mine would have Da Brat rapping fast & ya da da ya da
December 21st, 2009 § 2 Comments
Joseph Cornell box, “Verso of Cassiopeia” from here.
Hi twinkle cheeks, I’m having a little holiday sale at my Etsy shop. Most items are marked down anywhere between 10% to 40%, or more depending on my mood at the exact moment when I decided on the sale price for each item. There are a lot of velvet and plaid holiday dresses for sale right now & I can same day ship for most items & also do rush shipping if necessary. My favorite things in the store right now are the red exaggerated, puff sleeve dress & the 50′s green ruffle sleeve dress with a single pocket.
Also readers of this blog will get an additional 10% off from now until December 25th. Just email or convo me in etsy & I will adjust the price for you.
Love, Jenny
224. lots of photos, algiers pt., new orleans cont.
December 20th, 2009 § 12 Comments
So today Chris, Dominique and I roamed around various places — walking some dogs, eating some brunch, doing last-minute Christmas shopping, and coming home absolutely exhausted. I wish that our blog layout allowed for bigger photos, because I feel like the small format doesn’t do them justice, but here are some pictures I took today…
xo, mw
223. this post brought to you by new orleans in winter
December 19th, 2009 § 12 Comments
Bring it on, folks — it’s the holiday season and I’ve run away to Louisiana to escape the snowy tundra that is Ann Arbor, Michigan. So far this has meant holiday treats, including baking red velvet cupcakes with my sister-in-law (which equates me eating my weight in cream cheese frosting and regretting it the next morning) and waking up to freshly baked orange rolls from one of those pop-open-with-a-spoon tins that Pillsbury makes.
I brought something like four dresses to wear here, and a bunch of pairs of tights. (At present I am of the variety of person who packs light.) I think I’m just going to mix and match for the next two or three weeks, which isn’t a big deal, and this dress that I’m wearing in the above picture is from Sally Jane Vintage — at first I was afraid that it was too girly for teaching (it has apples printed all over it and tiny apple buttons at the sleeves, which I love!), but I wore it to teach anyway. It zips up the front and has pockets.
Speaking of teaching, Chris and I have been talking about teaching summer school at the high school (in California) to make some extra money and to get some more teaching experience. I’m putting my name in the hat to teach creative writing, college writing and psychology. But I’m also applying for some summer residencies, so we’ll see how that goes.
Oh, writing. I can’t believe that when I go back to Michigan, I’ll be in my last semester of the program, and I’ll have some weird form of a thesis, with so much more to go before my novel is actually finished. What’s more fun (sort of) is to think about what I’ll wear to my reading in February. Chris and my sister-in-law and maybe Aaron will fly in for it, and I bought a dress yesterday with the reading in mind. Here’s a sneak peek:
I bought it at Retro Active, which is closing down soon because Joe is retiring (hi, Joe!) — it needs a new zipper because the old one was essentially rusted shut, but that should be an easy fix.
I also got Jenny a present at Retro Active, which I haven’t sent off yet. (Hi, Jenny!)
Now I’m watching AI, which came out the summer after I graduated from high school, and no one I’ve ever met actually likes this movie or thinks it’s any good, but the beginning part gets to me every time.
xo, mw
222. Shop my past, mustard motif, holiday/birthday looks in sequins, mesh, & falling on my bum
December 18th, 2009 § 5 Comments
Sequin sweater from ages ago, thrifted plaid sailor shorts, Uniqlo mustard stockings with crazy runs, & my mom’s new Gucci riding boots.
I’m selling my past. Kidding, but I’m selling some of my favorite clothes from the past. Like these plaid, sailor button up shorts that I wore all the time in San Francisco with cowboy boots & my 70′s sweaters. I’m wearing them here with my sequin bow sweater that my mom bought me and I wore all the time with little plaid skirts in college.
Duffle coat & cracked silver boots from Shanghai.
Once, I wore it with this blue toggle coat to the campus cafe and I ran into my friend Tony & his friend Marie, who I later found out gave me one of the best/worst compliments I’ve ever received in my life. I won’t repeat it here, it’s not PG, and I’m not a gadabout.
(Shorts available here)
Yesterday, I wore these shorts with my mom’s new boots (how amazing is her taste?) and my favorite scarf that my friend Karan bought for me in India. I was inspired by recent menswear inspired outfits (oops, two ‘inspired’ in one sentence, now three) by the magnificent Kennedy Holmes, Maria at Lulu Letty, & Rhiannon at Liebemarlene to put together my own menswear inspired outfit (now four) but something felt weird. I think it was the cameltoe. Kidding. I think I’ll leave menswear inspired outfits to the tall, graceful (hi Kennedy), long-legged (hi Rhiannon) ladies who know how to put on make-up flawlessly (hi Maria), and I’ll keep counterbalancing my squalid face with dresses and skirts.
Also, new in the shop is a 50′s cardigan & two holiday/New Years dresses from my closet.
Sequins again. Dress available here.
50′s cream cardigan with gold buttons & braided trim & embroidered flowers available here. (Um, do you like my new backdrops? Rice cookers & messy bedroom. By the way, the green book at the top of the pile has an essay on queer cyborgs by Mimi from Threadbared!)
Betsey Johnson sparkle mesh dress available here.
My dad’s birthday is tomorrow, technically today now. Happy birthday, dad! I love you so much. We’re going to eat Malaysian food and see a show in Manhattan. Next week is my birthday, which is the same day as Christmas, which is the same day as my brother’s birthday.
A few birthdays’/Christmas’ ago, I believe when I turned 21, I wore this Betsey Johnson dress with a little H&M shrug. Neither my brother nor I really care about celebrations, least of all birthday celebrations. Although, I can’t tell if my brother really doesn’t care or if it’s just not fun to be born into sharing a birthday with your sister (and also Christmas/Jesus.) Last year, we made our parents promise not to use the word birthday or do anything celebratory. They couldn’t even laugh at funny jokes because it was too ‘mirth-like’ for my brother. I’ll try not to be so severe this year as my cousin & her friend are coming & I got my mom the best Christmas gift & can’t wait for her to open it.
Built by Wendy ruffle sleeve top, thrifted velvet miniskirt, mustard tights oncemore, silver boots oncemore. (I’m selling a different velvet skirt here.)
In honor of my dad, who loved watching Looney Tunes with me and would talk like Porky Pig whenever I asked him to tell me a long story at bedtime–That’s all folks!
love, Jenny
(Oh right and I fell down the stairs today. Good job me. And good job to my brother for laughing so uncontrollably for so long.)
