CONFESSION: My feet are shrinking or something. There are two or three pairs of shoes, including these, that have suddenly loosened, or something. Last night M & I took the BART thing to San Francisco, to see Polly Jean Harvey perform with John Parish at The Warfield. It was a wonderful show, save the filthy stinking hippie sitting next to M (we took balcony seats just to avoid that sort of thing – it is, it seems, inescapable – also, do people smoke pot at all shows at The Warfield or was it just this one, even in balcony seats? Not that I take issue with it in general, but these folks were ultra attention whore-y about it).
While it was almost radically different from her solo shows (this tour is for their new album, A Woman A Man Walked By, and only songs from their two albums were performed), the constancy of her voice and onstage presence remain the same. My favorite part of the show was when the lights went completely black, the band started to play Taut and as the lights flickered back on erratically, PJ was revealed as a tiny black puddle center stage, curled into a tight little ball and as her voice undulated with the lyrics so did her body, and as she tore into the near-vulgar line “Jesus save me,” she clawed her way toward the mic stand, rocking back and forth on her knees and then finally standing, barefoot. It was brilliant and so incredibly creepy. She danced around like an undead gypsy ballerina throughout the whole show, and of course the performance for the title track of the new album was just perfect.
Also? I want her hair. What?!
CONFESSION: I have great news and I have side effect of great news, which would you like first? So, the great news is that I have yet another exciting freelance project that I’m really excited about and cannot stop working on. This is in addition to the two pre-existing freelance projects I’ve got and the side effect is, of course, that I’m busier than I can even wrap my mind around. I wore this into the office on Friday. Maybe I buttoned a few more buttons, but still.
Also, I was in Napa all day today. I know, I know! Poor, poor Skinny! I want to write more but I am exhausted and happy from a full day of work and play and M is waiting to get into bed as I type, so I’ll post some pics of our delicious lunch in the wine country earlier today and will do my best to post in abundance this week:
PS. I suppose if one wanted to, one could guess which drink goes with which entree and which dessert between M, the petite and I!
PPS. I so wasn’t going to post this outfit, but the SLEEVES. I love the sleeves. They’re ridiculous. Also, our dry cleaner lost this shirt nearly a year ago, along with over half a dozen of M’s shirts – when I picked up our most recent batch they sheepishly handed over the lost items with a mostly unintelligible explanation as to why they’d been lost to begin with. RETURN OF THE LOST SHIRTS. Awesome. Like Christmas in June.
When: Monday, Sept. 29th, 2008.
What: Silk blouse by Chelsea Flower (I recently discovered them and love their pretty, floaty tops and dresses. Find your own here or here!). Purple velvet tiered skirt with embroidered flowers by BCBG Max Azria. Belt from modcloth.com and hot pink pumps by Chinese Laundry.
Confession: I had total gay arm in the photo with my pretty chestnut leather Hobo Int’l clutch. Anyway, here it is. The gay arm and the clutch! Pretty, right? The clutch, I mean. Not the unfortunate positioning of my hand. I blame all of this on Mad Men. I noticed it earlier this evening when I was buzzing myself into the building. “Petite,” I said, “is my hand always like this?” She glanced at it and started giggling maniacally, but eventually she said no. See? TOTES BIRDIE’S FAULT.
Speaking of, she is kind of bad ass, so YES PLEASE:
Here are partial photos of the Badgley Mischka dress I have decided to reject as a candidate to the grand old soirree coming up in a few weeks. I am DJing a dear friend’s wedding. Of course, I need a dress that is both flattering and very comfortable. This one was lovely, but the winner was lovelier! It just wasn’t meant to be.
Besides, I’ve already got the perfect shoes to go with the winner! (Alas, I am in dire need of the perfect strappy, elegant silver heels. Suggestions?)
When: Tuesday, September 9th, 2008.
What: Black ruffled dot blouse from Target. Black and white striped silk skirt by MaxStudio. Floral print scarf by Lulu Guinness. Sheer yellow belt, vintage. Hot pink pumps by Chinese Laundry and oversized teal bracelet from H&M.
Confession: Sometimes the outfits you toss on in a crusty-eyed fog after sleeping in are the best ones. At lunch today I discovered very sad news! My favorite jewelry store is moving to an undetermined location soon. I wandered in there whilst waiting for my Singaporean takeout next door, and they explained to me that the lease is up and they’re not sure where they’ll go next. At least they’re not closing!
She noticed my new ring and started to fuss over it – the first stranger to do so since it was given to me! – then the other lady came in who works there and suddenly these three older ladies were crowded around me making a big to-do over it all, including the eldest (also a loyal customer of the store, it seemed – we’re both known on a first-name basis). It was really sweet and adorable, and not a single one of them batted an eye when it became apparent that I’m an engaged lesbian. That was really nice.
Then the oldest woman said to me, “I was admiring your outfit when I got out of my car. You just sauntered on by and Ooh! I thought to myself I would have worn an outfit just like that when I was her age!” and as she was saying this she was kind of gesturing at the bits she liked, like the scarf and the skirt, with a flourish, as if to demonstrate that she, too, was once a sprightly young thing all flushed with love! It was an incredibly cute and sincere little exchange.
