Who looks like a drag queen version of a wannabe punk rock girl with a bad Chelsea?

This girl!

White Clover by Harker

White Clover by Harker is a dishware design by Russel Wright that’s pretty rare.  We have one piece–a pitcher.

This piece is in charcoal, but White Clover comes in several different colors, including a sage, a golden yellow, and a pink color (I believe it’s called “coral sand”).

If you happen to be a friend and spot a piece, let me know and I will buy it off you (provided it’s a reasonable price).  It’s beautiful and not particularly common.

If it’s Sunday…

I don’t really have many traditions or habits, but I do like to watch Meet the Press on Sundays as often as possible.  Laura Bush was on this morning talking about her initiatives for Afghan women.  I’m really happy to see her talking to the press about something that’s obviously important to her.  My guess is that she is probably relieved that her tenure as First Lady is over soon, and, unless I’m crazy, I think Dubya is pretty happy to be leaving office, as well.  I think the only bright spot in his legacy will be how gracefully he has handed the reins over to Obama (at least publicly).  Ted Turner was on as well, that crazy fucker, and was obviously irritating Brokaw by asserting that the USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan was more justified than the United States’.  I can understand why Brokaw was a little flummoxed, because it’s a pretty bizarre argument.

I decided to use our vintage dishes for breakfast.  I don’t normally use them unless we have guests, because they’re hand-wash only and I’m, well, lazy.  But I’m trying to incorporate more beautiful things into my life and get pleasure from simple things, especially since the days are getting shorter and it’s grey and cold.  I’ll wash them soon and start on the cookies I’m making for my friends and family.

Anthropollllloooogieeeeee!!!!!!!!

Imagine me yelling this to the heavens with my arms outstretched in frustration and anger.  Anthropologie is my arch-nemesis–my Magneto,  my Lex Luthor.*  Why?

1)  Their CEO is a classic example of Baby Boomer who sold out and has become a right-winger and exploited the underground culture of Gen Xers (and now Gen Yers) for his financial gain.  (This is truer for Urban Outfitters than for Anthropologie, but Anthropologie does a pretty damn good job of capturing the vintage/post-shabby chic/cutesy market among upper-middle class thirty-somethings).

2)  Their shit is horrifyingly twee.  I mean:

I can’t lie and say that I don’t like this outfit, but this photo? Fucking seriously?

3) Their copy is also beyond ridiculous: “Hibernating, chocolate-piped merino wool is awakened by a cacophony of appliqued primroses.” I can’t help but think that the poor bastard who writes for them once wanted to be the next Great American Author and is now kept awake at night wondering if she used the word “coax” too often in the descriptions of this season’s flower-encrusted sweaters.

4) As I mentioned before, it has a certain edgy Martha Stewart/Amelie-esque asthetic, which I guess can be appealing, but can be accomplished by using actual vintage and hand-made items, like, say, from Etsy.  It’s for people who don’t have enough imagination to buy a stencil and some gold paint for a side table, but have enough money to buy a nightstand for $700, even if it’s partially made of mdf.  I guess you could say that it’s missed the “shabby” part of “shabby chic.”  It’s also for people who think “vintage” is a style, and means “skirts with butterfly appliques” and “shirts with ruffles and Peter Pan collars” and have no idea how to put fashion into cultural and historical context.

5) I love about 85% of their apparel and accessories despite all of this.  (Their housewares can bite me, though–I don’t do whimsical and girly decor).  I especially love their dresses and shoes.  My current crushes:

I also can’t get over these boots (I’m actually looking for a pair of riding boots right now, but these are more than I want to spend):

6) So, you see, I have a problem.  I fucking hate being morally conflicted over clothes. Luckily, their stuff usually too expensive for me unless it’s deeply discounted, and then the larger sizes are bought up most of the time.  But I still feel slightly dirty when I visit their site.  And look at their catalog.  Twice a week.  Assholes.

*People who have a little bit of comic book knowledge will understand where I’m coming from with this analogy–just know they’re love/hate relationships not worth taking the time to explain because it’s a silly comparison to begin with.

The man of my dreams

Thank you, sweet baby Jesus, for sending me this wank material in the form of a Hot Topic model.  I can imagine myself running my hands through his leopard-print hair right now.  The only thing that would make him hotter is knowing that he is a fan of the greatest band ever, My Chemical Romance.  Some may say that he looks pretentious or douchey or is perhaps afflicted with a strange version of alopecia, but I say that he is 100% man meat.  Merry Christmas to me!

Picking a theme

Because I am lazy (and cheap), I decided a while ago to set up a free WordPress account.  The nice thing about WordPress (and a lot of the other blog hosting services) is that you can pick a pre-made theme and not have to worry about designing a page from scratch.  The horrible thing about WordPress is that you can only pick a pre-made theme and you can’t make any substantive modifications unless you pay.  Even then, my CSS editing skills are marginal, so it’s probably better that I choose a theme from the selection WordPress provides.

Except that they all kind of suck.  There are three or four templates that are decent, and I’d love to combine their elements together to make one beautiful blog, but I can’t.  I want a custom image header (for my gorgeous picture) and something simple, but I don’t want plain black and white, but ewww that is an ugly green, and what’s with that font, and can I really use a template called “Misty Day”?  Plus, since there are only about four themes that are decent, pretty much everyone uses them.  The template I’ve chosen is the same as a right-wing blog and an uber-douchey hipster blog, which I hate, but there’s really nothing I can do about it.

I guess I’ll just have to concentrate on my writing to set myself above and beyond the average right-wing, uber-douchey hipster blog.  Which makes me think I should just give up now.