Cream Soda by Straight up Jankey featuring Miss Selfridge

This is how my summer should look. Giving high-heels a rest for a bit and putting something a little more reasonable on...we will see how long that lasts though. Im kinda freaking about about that Nixon watch. Strange considering I really am not a watch person. I think with that one, I would be willing to compromise.

I see California fast approaching on the horizon. Its barreling full spend down that desert highway wearing a pair of mirrored aviators and a long scarf. Kickin' up dust, singing out loud. Just hope that my people's aren't too busy to show this little girl a good time. I want the beach and Amoeba Music.

Last night my friend's new roommate was retelling the most horrific stories about hitch-hiking and brushing up next to death with a potential murderer behind the wheel. I kept getting the heebie-jeebies all night.

I <3 shoes

I really do love shoe shopping, even when its not for me.  The other day I found some lovely shoes for all the ladies of the world. Lots of leather and suede!  I have a few more items going up in my shop, but that is for later. Follow the link to my store on the right -----> 

H-town is go

If its one thing I openly abhor more than anything, its Houston.  Anyone who breathes those first few letters in my presence is met with a barrage of furrowed eyebrows and a scowling mouth.  I am completely aware that my disdain for the city is largely unfounded and due to a lack of exploration of it (but I also think I have legitimate reasons, too).  So, when my good friend Collete asks me if I want to go to Houston for the weekend to visit a gallery that is displaying our professor's latest collection, I said "yes" with the enthusiasm of someone being asked to attend a funeral, or graduation ceremony, or some other social function that elicits a stinky reaction.  

Well, this time around Houston showed me her better side; a side that I have been vaguely aware of but too much of a damned snob to actually enjoy.  We first landed at my parent's home in the evening where she and I enjoyed some mommy-made cocktails and home cooked hamburgers delicious enough to make you want to end your life because you know you will never consume something of that quality ever again.  The next day Collete and I put on our best faces and headed up to the gallery space where our professor's work was waiting for us.  Of course, it was beautiful, delicate, fresh, innovative, and inspiring as her work always is.  From what I have seen, the next "big thing" is lenticular imaging.  Think 3-D without the stupid glasses. Look it up.

The next stop was an amazing cluster of galleries all located under one, large, grey industrial building on the "hip" side of town down Montrose Blvd.  Each gallery had different artists and all were phenomenal. At the Anya Tish gallery we saw Maxim Wakultschik's "Closely Watched Trains" collection along with a few kitschy pieces by a Neva Mikulicz.  Her work consisted of highly detailed mixed-media drawings of kitschy, mid-century settings with a video aspect blended into the composition.  Fun stuff.

After a few hours of artistic perusal, it was time go get down to what she and I do best. Eat. Well no, that was later. SHOP!  Down Westheimer street is a high concentration of resale/vintage/funky-ass clothing boutiques.  Naturally Collete and I give ourselves up to the great god of vintage clothing and try on each and every item that we can wrap our sweaty fingers around.  Next time anyone is in H-town, I'd highly suggest The Leopard Lounge for an unsurpassed selection of vintage dresses. DO IT NOW.

The rest of the brief visit was dotted with dinner from Collete's family, numerous cups of coffee, pretending to hate Urban Outfitters, and dim sum.  Overall it was one of the best Houston experiences to date.  Next time I have to roll into town, maybe I'll be rolling my eyes a little less.

 

A sea change

There is a sea change rising at my door. I hear its waves beating relentlessly against my house, telling me that it's all going to come down. Turning me around and upside down. Its going to spirit me away to a far off land. Its going to make me grow up and teach me all the lessons I have neglected to learn myself. What will happen to my world when I'm no longer there? Will my friends remember me? Or will I fade back into the ether, like a fleeting thought or like the feeling you get when you are trying to remember someone's name? I'm ready for it. I'm not ready for it. I'm ready. I'm not. I am. All these things I have collected during my stay in this temporary town are making me feel heavy. Eventually I'll have to shed the poundage and leave with only the things I really love (shoes).

Im going to California at the beginning of June. I know its short notice, and I feel like I might be squandering my time and money...but I don't know when I'll be able to go again to see my sister. We are both going to be monumentally busy during the rest of this year and a flight from Texas to California is far cheaper than from Montreal. Plus, I've had the taste of California in my mouth for some time now. I fear that if I don't take this opportunity while I still can, I might miss out on reconnecting with the best friend I'll ever have.  

Secret plans. Wheels in motion. 

Pretty things for us all

Hey there, I just finished listing the last of my items. Got some really lovely stuff! Also, I reduced the prices on alot of my older listings...so, if you are on a budget and want some cool shit, GO TAKE A LOOK! Plus, I always offer my things at a good price anyways! Its a no-brainer.

Shoes galore

Man, I hit the freaking jackpot! This week's yield at the thrift stores has turned up some amazing shoes. I have a few more great items to list ( 80's bathing suit, 70's dress, vintage jewels, and an ethnic belt). I'll be posting those later though. Just follow the link to the right and take a look!

Playing dress-up and Johnny Slash

This past weekend marked the beginning of my life as a college alumni. Well, technically next weekend will be when I walk, but thats more for my mother than for anything else. The photo students do something a little more unique by organizing our own gallery opening. This year was particularly special because it was the largest graduating photo class (28 students) that the program as ever processed. Now, imagine if you will, 28 students with all of their family, friends, and acquaintances coming to visit the gallery on the closing reception, all at once. Lets just say, I never thought my BFA senior show would be so...sweaty. Ah well, we all sweated together in a collective push towards the end. My professor talked to my mother, thanking her for sending me his way...admittedly I got a little misty-eyed. I never know how to respond to those situations...usually it ends up in me mumbling some kinda response that makes me seem slightly daft.

enough about the awkward points, lets talk about the good!

1. Having my boyfriend fly down from Canada-land to be with me, even if it could only be for 5 days.
2. The dinner with my family at my favorite Thai restaurant. I swear Id bathe in pineapple curry if it were socially acceptable.
3. Showing off my boyfriend to some of my favorite people.
4. Star Trek. heheh

Okay. Enough of that. I NEED SOME WORK DAMMIT. You get your degree and people just start throwing cash at your face. Thats how it works, right? No? Well I have been sorely mislead.
So, while I submit applications and resumes to numerous establishments, my friends and I get gussied up and go out for burgers at the local rootbeer-float joint. We were feeling rather whimsical after watching some Square Pegs and wishing life could be that well written and silly. I light up every time Johnny Slash comes on screen...seems like alot of kids these day try embody that quirky persona, but just come off as a self-absorbed douche canoe. Its funny, I usually don't go for the silly high school programs, but this one is so well done! Every scene has obviously been well thought-out and beautifully shot. Its a treat just from a visual standpoint; I guess thats the thing that draws me in the most...the soft focus and lush yet ever-so-pastel color pallet of the early 80s.

silly things

who knows. where. what. I'll be. two. ten. twenty years from now. somehow. someway. I think i'll know. always have known. that I'll still be with you. under these tiny stars. these tiny sheets. this open sky. wishing for one last bite of your ice cream.

trufax.com

Time for some true facts about yours truly:

1. I need a job like no ones business. This little lala life that has been provided to me is coming to a fast end...someone employ me si vous plais!

2. At any given moment, I think I am hearing my cell phone ring. The damn thing haunts my dreams!

3. My mother taught me to always mind the birds. I know all the different types of song birds, ground birds, raptors, and water fowl in the Texas area. I think there is some small merit in being familiar with your local birds...never know when they might help you out or lend you an ear.

4. When Im stressed out I clean my already-immaculate apartment. I think its years of having to clean up my parents house as a kid. There was always some kind of impending doom if dad came home and the kitchen was a mess...or more like we would have to endure monumental amounts of whining.

5. People always ask me how I manage to look so put together everyday. They think it comes natural, that I just throw something on and it works...no, not the case...I practice all of my outfits. I'll spend a couple hours a week just trying on clothes that I own, finding new ways to wear them. My cat likes to watch, but she is a poor judge of style.

6. Once I was described as "social tofu", in that I tend to adapt and hang out with a very wide range of people. Whether they be punks, preps, hippies, mods and rockers, scenesters, or just your typical jo-blow, I tend to find some common ground amongst them all.

7. I greatly appreciate a beautiful girl. Its like a breath of fresh, cool air when a lovely lady enters the room. I'll think to myself "oohh I want to BE her!" or wish that she and I could be friends. Its weird, I know.

8. I have a hardcore addiction to coffee. Im sure this isn't some great detail, alot of people share this one, but it's an important substance to me. I can have it all ways: black, sweet, light, foamy or on ice. Just as long as it's strong...can't have any of that weak shit.

9. I hate girly movies. Anything that could automatically be deemed as a "chick flick" is off my list. I simply find the stories and connections to be trite and vastly unrealistic. Thats not to say that I can't appreciate fantasy, its just that these characters tend to be either overly dramatic or so far into their own selves that they can't see past their sappy bullshit.

10. Tacos rule.

11. While I often bitch and moan about my body (like most idiot girls my age) I think for the most part Im pretty attractive. I don't have a ton of hang-ups about my frame. Yes, I have hips wide enough for 400 babies to shoot out of and my boobs haven't grown since I first acquired them...but its all good. Im doing good in the leg department and know how to shake it when the occasion calls for it.

12. Im not a fighter, Im a lover. Never really get into arguments with people or friends. Maybe I tend to get a little annoyed or sassy mouthed, but I never really get angry at them.

13. The night time is the right time. Don't really go out during the day so when the sun sinks away, thats when things really start.