Good morning my little hand-wrapped spring rolls, how’s every little thing?
Me? I’m great. My calves hurt like the thing that has inappropriate snuggle-time with its mother, but that’s what you get for wearing perilously high heels for eight hours and then climbing The World’s Steepest Hill (editor’s note: might not actually be the world’s steepest hill, but then again Tenzing Norgay never had to climb Everest in fabulous pair of red 5″ heels)
Full disclosure: These are
Alexander McQueen – 237691W0FC0 (Love Red) – Footwear (wah) on sale. I tried to find mine, which aren’t quite as perilous as these seem to be, but they’re a few years old and well out of production.
I only wear those shoes on the Feast of Pentecost where everybody wears red to celebrate Tongues of Fire, which seems a little weird but far be it from me to question why the founding church decided to set aside a day to celebrate my favorite vermicelli bowl at that Thai place the health department keeps shutting down. Good times.
Anyhoodle
Last week you all showed your fabulous generosity by helping Stevie the Blind Flood Puppy and I am so moved by that if I didn’t have an iron-clad control over my tear ducts (or weakness glands, as I like to call them) I would have done that thing that people do when they’re happy and they start to leak. But not that thing that you accidentally googled at work one day and then had to bake the IT guys cupcakes for a week for not telling your boss. Oops.
Little bit o’ news:
Next month is going to be Shoe Month, we’re reviving the beloved-but-labor-intensive Daily Kick for the entire month of June. We’re going to have a combination of flats, heels, loafers and what I call “art shoes.” Some I’ll pick as actual recommendations, some will get in because they’ve caught my fancy, are an important expression of what’s happening in fashion now or heck, they’re just interesting to look at.
Which is a delicate way of saying I don’t want this to be a month of “But Plumcake, I can’t wear flats/heels/loafers/sandals/things with open toes/things with closed toes/shoes that aren’t cobbled to my speshul speshul feet by magical invisible shoe-making elves who use only the finest baby unicorn leather and charge $13.99 for five complete pairs because that’s how much I’m willing to pay for a shoe because blah blah blah” and OHMIGOD JUST DON’T DO IT OKAY? There are thousands and thousands of you and I love you all, but this isn’t Harrods, I’m just one girl, I’m not trying to get all Omnia Omnibus Ubique up in this biznitch.
<cleansing breath>
So what’s been going on this week? Anything exciting? I got pseud0-dumped in a really funny way AND found my Holy Grail neutral lipcolor this weekend, and I’ve got features on both of those coming up this week, but I want to know what’s going on with you. Warning: if you talk about that silly smoke monster show I WILL make fun of you.
Waiting with BAITED BREATH for the perfect neutral liptone. No pressure.
Comment by Madame Suggia — May 24, 2010 @ 12:54 pm
A swarm of honeybees is setting up shop over my porch. Some local beekeepers are going to try and remove them peacefully. (crosses fingers)
Comment by TeleriB — May 24, 2010 @ 1:01 pm
@Madame Suggia, Well it’s perfect for me, so your bated (ahem) breath might be worth the wait!
@TeleriB: How exciting! I mean, less than ideal from a getting-stung point of view, but honey!
Comment by Plumcake — May 24, 2010 @ 1:17 pm
Great weekend–saw Penn & Teller at a local casino then won $100 my first time at the roulette table! (And cleverly stopped playing at that point so I still have the money.)
Comment by Kai Jones — May 24, 2010 @ 1:35 pm
I was published! My essay ran in Caribbean Belle magazine. I’m sure a book deal is next.
Comment by The gold digger — May 24, 2010 @ 1:40 pm
@The Gold Digger: Congratulations! Is this your first publication? Awww, I remember my first time.
@Kai Jones: Did you then seduce a dashing British agent?
Comment by Plumcake — May 24, 2010 @ 1:50 pm
@ The gold digger. WOOOOOOO!! Congratulations. You are the bomb.
Other than the fact I am now kind of annoyed that you can’t really get shoe leather made out of unicorns, a whole lotta nuttin is what’s going on. I’m wearing Tom Ford’s Noir de Noir during the day because I rather didn’t pay attention to what I was doing, and I thought I was grabbing his musk. I got my technology phobic spouse an iPhone so he is now texting me every 10 seconds to say he loves me, which is cute and adorable after 20 years of marriage but isn’t actually helping me establish a summer writing routine. The kitten I found on 9th street has discovered the spider plant and is bound and determined to try wreck it.
Those shoes are very, fabulously, grandiosely, magnificently red. I love them.
Comment by Lisa — May 24, 2010 @ 1:57 pm
Well, I recently fell victim to a terrifying New York perfume lady, and ended up buying a big bottle of the Balenciaga perfume, which I quite like but was not totally intending to purchase at that particular moment. But the good (better?) news is that I too have found a neutral lipstick of my delight, which is Lipstick Queen Saint Nude (Sinner Nude is a close second, both in wearability and amusing name.) So I have that going for me, which is nice.
Comment by daisyj — May 24, 2010 @ 2:11 pm
@Daisyj, which Balenciaga perfume? I love their old stuff but I haven’t sniffed anything new because I don’t really dig Olivier Polge’s (aka Polge the Lesser, Jacques Polge is Polge the Greater) shtick. But if you like it maybe I’ll give it a whiff. My favorite Balenciaga is the original Le Dix, which is one of the great Nice Girl fragrances.
@Lisa: How are you finding the Noir de Noir? It sounds like it might be a little foody for me and I might be better off with Black Orchid but I’m dead curious about his line. Not like I need to buy more perfume anytime soon as I may or may not have just bought two vintage bottles of Vol de Nuit and Fleurs de Rocaille at great personal expense because SOMEONE needs to learn not to eBay after someone has taken her melatonin.
Comment by Plumcake — May 24, 2010 @ 2:31 pm
I gave my hair the great big chop last weekend and am LOVING IT. I went from curly red hair all the way down to the love handles to curly red hair only just past the shoulders. It’s swingy and light and perfect for the upcoming Dallas summer. Also, my brother hates it and that’s a plus in my book.
Comment by Miranda — May 24, 2010 @ 3:20 pm
After years of neglect and fear, Mr. Twistie and I are paying someone to tackle the horror that is our yard, both front and back. In addition to clearing away all those Scary Things that have been growing on both ends, she will help us relandscape with plants we can blissfully ignore most of the time without winding up looking as though we’re preparing to film a remake of Jurassic Park in our backyard.
I shall also be consulting with her as to the hows of a small herb garden, possibly in pots on our soon-to-be-created back deck.
Keep your fingers crossed. I have black thumb. I have managed to neglect cacti to the point of dehydration. But the lure of growing my own basil for my own pesto is truly a siren call at this point. We’ll see how it goes.
Comment by Twistie — May 24, 2010 @ 3:22 pm
@Miranda: Congratulations! You know how I feel about overly-long hair so I’m glad you made the chop. I bet you’re just gorgeous!
@Twistie: I bet you could totally grow basil in a pot. Dead easy. My back yard is the same way. I’m hoping for gorillas someday!
Comment by Plumcake — May 24, 2010 @ 3:30 pm
New guy in my life!!! Completely repairing all the damage done by the last, neglectful, often douche-baggy, guy. Very excited!!! (can you tell by the exclamation points?)
I don’t know why I put up with what I did from the last guy. Yes, in fact, I DO deserve someone who wants to talk to me every day, thinks I’m sexy and is willing to travel an hour to see me. We all deserve that, and I must have been temporarily insane for accepting anything less.
Comment by jen209 — May 24, 2010 @ 3:37 pm
@jen209. Awesome! Of course you do! But one guy (or even several, although that might be fun to try) can’t repair all the damage done by the last guy. External fixes don’t work blah blah blah, but I’m very very glad you’re happy! The best thing about temporary insanity is it’s only temporary!
Comment by Plumcake — May 24, 2010 @ 3:43 pm
I’m happily recovering from a weekend that may or may not have involved a rousing game of (strip) Rock, Paper, Scissors…
Comment by Catherine — May 24, 2010 @ 4:19 pm
Spent most of the day determinedly (and foolishly) NOT STUDYING. And ogling pictures of a young Ralph Nader. Hello! The man was a total fox back in the day. And frankly, he’s pretty foxy even now.
Comment by Frances — May 24, 2010 @ 4:44 pm
Two visits to the San Francisco Art Fair (free passes); Peruvian food (restaurant); Spanish food (at home); Bagels, Lox & cream cheese; much driving in SF & over the Golden Gate Bridge. The only down side is that there was much walking so I was limited to tennis shoes & clothes that work with tennis shoes.
My perfect “neutral-ish, but picks me up” lipskick is Chanel Frivole with nude liner.
Comment by Debs — May 24, 2010 @ 4:50 pm
@Catherine, so paper covers…nothing?
@Frances: but it’s been so warm up in your neck of the woods, of course you should be out on the Wear! I have no comment about Ralph Nader.
@Debs: So. Jealous. I want to go to the SF art fair! I want to eat Peruvian food! I want to eat Spanish food (which I did yesterday because I made some admittedly excellent gazpacho, but I only got a teensy cup because other people are piglets) and I most definitely want bagels and lox and cream cheese because that’s what heaven is made of. Chanel used to make a great me-but-better shade for me called Energy, but they discontinued it. I blame Karl.
Comment by Plumcake — May 24, 2010 @ 5:00 pm
Apparently I am twelve years old today because I can’t stop snickering at Lisa grabbing Tom Ford’s… *musk*.
*snort*
Comment by Jezebella — May 24, 2010 @ 5:19 pm
See, that SOUNDS like a good idea but
(1) I did not schelp all the way from Asia to stand in the sun.
(2) The Wear is full of bugs and rowing teams.
(3) I really should be studying for my finals. Reallyreallyreally.
No word on a Nader Monday Hotness? You know Stella’s only the babe she is because of Ralph Nader’s tireless commitment to automobile safety. Have a link or two:
http://community.livejournal.com/all_macros/436595.html#cutid1
and
http://www.stripes.com/photoday/082904.jpg
Rrowr.
Comment by Frances — May 24, 2010 @ 5:23 pm
@Jezebella Honestly. Kids today with their dirty minds.
@Plumcake: I suspect, given what I know your tastes via the blog, that Noir de Noir would be a bit sweeter than you like. Definitely one to sample before you buy.
Comment by Lisa — May 24, 2010 @ 6:02 pm
And I’ve always thought that Ralph Nader looked like Sal Mineo.
Comment by Lisa — May 24, 2010 @ 6:03 pm
@Lisa, Andre looks quite a lot like Sal Mineo, but Zac Posen is a dead ringer for him. I think you’re right re: the Noir de Noir. I think it would probably just go sugared vanilla rosebomb on me, which is fine for some folks but not me.
Comment by Plumcake — May 24, 2010 @ 6:14 pm
@ Lisa
You mean that in a good way, right? Right? Right.
C’mon, Plummie, just a little bit of a Nader Monday Hotness? Combined with other Monday Hotnesses? He’s legitimately CraggyHot. Pictorial evidence:
http://legacy.lclark.edu/org/artslive/objects/ralph.jpg
Comment by Frances — May 24, 2010 @ 6:15 pm
@Twistie: Basil grows really well in pots. Just don’t let it get too dry and when it starts to bolt (flower), pinch off the flowers. Pesto is dead simple to make and freezes really well. Freeze it in ice cube trays, then put the cubes in a ziplock baggie in the freezer – this way you can take out and defrost only what you need.
@Plumcake: would it be at all possible if, during shoe month, you could address proper expectations from better shoes? I ask because every time I buy a new pair of good shoes, no matter how well fitted they are for my feet (with experienced sales help at a better name store even!) or how long I test walk them in the store or how comfortable they feel there, I end up with blisters and hot spots when I wear them for real. While I don’t expect heels or dress shoes to be as comfortable as bedroom slippers or sneakers, I don’t expect to be in pain with broken skin after wearing them every time either.
Or are all women at this level of pain at the end of every day and no one talks about it? Or do I just have unique feet that change shape after I leave the shoe store?
Comment by TropicalChrome — May 24, 2010 @ 6:42 pm
Plumcake—Come visit SF! You can get the best food at the Ferry Building—ceviche, cheese & it’s all SUSTAINABLE & predigreed. I blame Karl too. I wanted the Chanel Summer Nouvelle Vague nail polish. I saw one ad, went to a bunch of stores & their web sites & it had already sold out because it was such a “limited edition.” I was so mad, I bought one on e-Bay.
Comment by Debs — May 24, 2010 @ 6:44 pm
I’m getting my 14 year old ready for graduation. The dress code is formal, and most of the boys are wearing suits, but my little sartorialist is going black tie. Thanks to my fabulous sister, the Best Aunt In The World, and her world wide circle of vintage aficionados, a connection was made with the daughter of a Japanese diplomat. She was kind enough to send him her late father’s tuxedo and morning suits, exquisitely hand tailored by the same man who made for the Emperor. He’s expressing his personal style by wearing red sneakers a la Woody Allen.
Oh, and I’m rehearsing for a bellydance performance on Sunday. I love my life.
Comment by Margo A — May 24, 2010 @ 7:27 pm
I *finally* got my Enell sports bra in the mail today, so I can stop trying to do my Curves workout while holding the girls in place at the same time. No bouncy bouncy for me!
And in other news, my crazy Imelda Marcos-like obsession for nail polish has made its depth and breadth known to me this day. Every year for Race Weekend (Memorial Day Weekend to everybody else) hubby paints my nails in some sort of theme to go with the race. This year I got the brilliant idea to paint my nails as all seven race flags and then the last three the centennial gold with 5 0 0 on them. We’re talking eight VERY specific shades, and the sad part is that not only do I have them I actually had enough variation to compare.
Is 74 bottles of polish (not counting base and top coats, and they all get used) too many?
Comment by Whitney — May 24, 2010 @ 7:51 pm
well, I spent the day frantically packing up my office and lab as we are all moving to a new building tomorrow. It is only about 200 yards away, but there were many, many trips of stuff (that we don’t want the movers to touch!!!) to the new building, which of course involved waiting for elevators in two places… And of course much packing. And to top it off, this is the week of the chilled water and steam shutdown. Doesn’t sound so bad, but it means no AC, and today was the hottest day of the year here. Not hot at all by Texas standards, but hot enough if you’re bending and packing in an office with full afternoon sun!
my husband lit the grill when I was on the way home and we had homemade sate with peanut sauce that he had made. Yum!! so there was a happy ending.
Comment by larkspur — May 24, 2010 @ 9:02 pm
Forgot to mention sunburned shins.
Was wearing a long dress to Bump Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Drama! Boredom! Drama!) and knew we would be sitting in the shade so I didn’t bother to sunscreen my legs. Welllllll…as we baked under the SHINY ALUMINUM ROOF at the top of the bleachers in Turn 1, I hiked my dress up to my knees to get some relief. *I* was in the shade, but the SHINY ALUMINUM BLEACHER SEAT (detect a theme?) immediately below me was not. I managed to get a second-degree sunburn on my shins by reflection.
I am a dork.
Comment by Whitney — May 24, 2010 @ 10:29 pm
Congratulations, Twistie! Chez Cat recently hired a landscaping crew to come out every couple of weeks and maintain the yard, including the *very* large back yard that had been an untamed wilderness for many years. I am no longer afraid of running into snakes and God knows what else back there when I am out there with my dog.
Plumcake, I cannot wait for the neutral lipstick post! My coloring is very similar to yours and I would love a new Holy Grail neutral lipstick! Also, I have never seen a single episode of the silly smoke monster show, but if you make fun of Fringe I will cut you.
Comment by Cat — May 25, 2010 @ 12:03 am
Did you know that waking up to a white-noise machine at 3:30 am can lead to not ever falling back asleep because you’re creeped out by the supposedly soothing sounds of “Desert Sunset”? Yeah. I didn’t either.
Congrats on the lipcolor! Such a hard one. And I LOVE those heels. Fabulous.
Comment by Eilish — May 25, 2010 @ 2:15 am
@Eilish: I’ve been in the desert at sunset and I am not soothed by coyotes and the distant rattle of a rattlesnake. On the other hand, you gave me the first laugh of the day and for that I thank you!
@Cat: Fringe? If it’s a TV show I’ve never even heard of it. The only fringe that matters to me is the stuff that hangs off dresses and the festival in Edinburgh.
@Whitney: I have no idea what bump day is? Is it when all the racers take illegal 1990’s club drugs? Because I can’t see that as a good idea. Also I Did Not Laugh at your sunburned shins. Nope, not laughing at all.
Comment by Plumcake — May 25, 2010 @ 9:32 am
@Larkspur: (which is my favorite wildflower btw) that sounds miserable, I’m glad you got it all done and there was a delicious, peanutty happy ending.
@Whitney: I cannot even fathom 74 bottles of nail polish, but if you love it, why not? I never paint my fingernails and have a restrained, nondescript burnished bronze (a bit of research tells me it’s most likely OPI’s Bronzed to Perfection) on my toes probably 90% of the time. I’m a crabby old lady so I don’t like novelty nails but have fun with it! A little bad taste is like a dash of paprika, as DV would say!
@Margo: Bellydancing, how fabulous! One certainly hopes the graduation is in the evening otherwise black tie is inappropriate, but I’d love to see a little 14 year old Beau Brummel in morning kit with the pre-requisite lavender gloves!
Comment by Plumcake — May 25, 2010 @ 9:49 am
You are beautiful. Can’t wait to see what YOU (not us) pick out! Love ya!
Comment by Jen — May 25, 2010 @ 11:08 am
@plumcake. I find the desert even less soothing when it is some wierd-a$$ electronica music. Honestly, my husband is a bright man, how did he think this was a good idea? He switched to the crashing waves setting. I can handle that.
After all, it’s better than falling asleep to the history channel. Though I have to confess that those suede elbow patches on the tweed jackets do funny things to this girl. Mmmm…geeky history nerds with British accents…yum.
Comment by Eilish — May 25, 2010 @ 11:55 am
Those shoes are wondefully, fabulously, RED.
Red, as in RED (scarlet or ruby), is one of my favourite colours.
Comment by Geogrrl — May 25, 2010 @ 12:54 pm
As for the weekend, spent it in Golden/Denver, Colorado. Had a great time, and Golden is a wonderful little town for a getaway. Got sunburnt while out hiking-our own fault. We forgot that Golden is much higher and further south than Alberta.
Note to self: Bring sunscreen, stupid.
Comment by Geogrrl — May 25, 2010 @ 1:37 pm
Great weekend for me as well, lots of new members on our fat acceptance forum. =D Have a wonderful week everyone!
Comment by HappyFatGirl — May 25, 2010 @ 1:44 pm
I spent part of my weekend getting ready for a waltz ball this coming weekend.
My new dress came in this past weekend. I had wanted something different but I couldn’t face shopping, so I went online. I found a backless red halter dress at the Frederick’s of Hollywood site. http://www.fredericks.com/Paneled_Satin_Bust_Dress_Plus/21303,default,pd.html. It fits pretty nicely but I needed something to boost the DDs. I ended up in Victoria’s Secret buying silicone pads and stylist’s tape. No other store in the mall had anything else I could use. Whew!
Yesterday I went to my favorite lingerie shop to pick up an order and I decided to ask them about my lingerie issue. Maybe they would have a better idea. No, they had nothing for my size but could order something for later (if my size was available). I nicely (as I could) suggested that if such lingerie/padding/whatever were made available for larger cup sizes, manufacturers and retailers could make a lot more cash. I also told them where I got my pads. (I may have helped them by being honest. They’re smart women.). It’s like that sometimes.
I’m keeping my makeup neutral since I’m wearing a red dress. Ladies, try both Estee Lauder and Lancome lipsticks. Both brands have many neutral colors to try.
Have a great week!
Comment by dcsurfergirl — May 25, 2010 @ 2:31 pm
Oh, Plummie, Fringe is the BEST tv show. Glee and Fringe are my must-sees. Totally different shows, yet I love them both with the passion of ten thousand fiery suns.
Comment by Cat — May 26, 2010 @ 12:11 am
@Whitney: Maybe this collection – http://daily-nail.blogspot.com/2010/05/collection-as-of-52410.html of about 500 bottles of nail polish will make you feel better about yours :)
Comment by emi s. — May 26, 2010 @ 1:42 pm
I am done, done, *done* with finals.
I am packing and getting ready to move from the House of Stereotypical Feminine Bad Behavior to my lovely duplex.
Also, I now have started learning how to use nunchucks.
Comment by ananas — May 26, 2010 @ 2:54 pm
@ Plumcake, Pt1: I don’t normally do novelty nails; this is the only time of year (and it helps that hubby is a professional illustrator and gets a kick out of doing Something Different). It’s INDY! Hee! But the rest of the year each Sunday, much like some acetone-drenched Old Faithful, I kick the cats off my lap (not hard, because they hate the smell) and apply one base coat (Sally Hansen Hard-As-Nails), at least two coats of color (depends how sheer and how rich I want the color to be) and one layer of top coat (Sally Hansen Diamond). Lasts me all week unless I forget to wear gloves while doing serious manual labor.
@ Plumcake, Pt2: I always feel like I’m disappointing you (first the pineapple upside-down cake, and now this), but Bump Day is not about drugs (though this year one was forced to wonder what the hell Paul Tracy was on). The race in question has 33 slots and there are two days for drivers to qualify for one of those slots. The second day is called Bump Day because, once the 33rd spot is filled, other drivers can keep trying to qualify and whoever is the slowest driver already in the field gets “bumped” if someone drives faster. A lot of people find this day more interesting than the first day of qualifying – called Pole Day – and no, it’s not about that kind of pole before you ask (though the guy on the pole for the second year in a row is a Brazilian so you can never really tell).
Comment by Whitney — May 26, 2010 @ 6:03 pm