August, 2009

  1. “The only romantic thing left in life is a hat”

    August 31, 2009 by ms. xandra

    I would love to get a set of luggage like these to replace my current falling-apart set of luggage, but, alas, have had to opt instead for something practical with wheels bestowed upon me by my parents.  At least I always manage to look totally fabulous while traveling through the strategically fashionable use of large scarves.

    I have more to say, but it is so totally the middle of the night.  I was in Toronto last week and it was super.  I didn’t have a very long visit because I felt like I should spend more time with my family this year but now I wish I’d spent a few more days, at least to facilitate some dancing because apparently the Dance Cave decided to be closed on Thursdays, a travesty that resulted in Tanya and I drunkenly ambling around the grocery store in the middle of the night instead of, you know, dancing.

    Anyhow.  More to come.   I will detail in full my adventures, and the complicity of the Bloor/Spadina giant dominoes therein.   In the meanwhilst, I got you this clip (or, well, I stole it from Advanced Style – and  you are reading Advanced Style, right?  It’s a street fashion blog that only features senior citizens and it is so totally the best fashion blog ever and it is really an enabler when it comes to my tendency to dress like a crazy old woman) of Mimi Wedell, a 95-year-old fashion model, smoking with a big ol’ cigarette holder and talking about the importance of hats:

    Category Adventure, Fashion! | Tags: | 2 Comments

  2. A final hurrah before I venture into hippieland

    August 14, 2009 by ms. xandra

    How fucking stupid is the Oops, Peggy is Pregnant! storyline in Mad Men? So fucking stupid. I was about to write a blog post about how stupid and kind of irritating the Peggy Gets Fat storyline was, but now it has reached its logical conclusion: Of course she was actually expecting; we could have a sympathetic, non-caricature-like fat character. But anyhow, Peggy is still my favorite character because she really is the only person on the show who isn’t totally obnoxious.

    I still really like the show, though. It’s good stuff. And here is some advice for when we’re all dressing like Joan Holloway this fall: Don’t be costumey and matchy matchy. I like to pair vintage dresses with a totally anachronistic shoe, as suggested at the link above, or to rock a color combination that wouldn’t have seen the light of day in 1963, or, you know, just anything, so that it looks chic and not sock hop-themed party.

    And now I’m going camping! At least I have an entire box of wine.

    Category Uncategorized | Tags: | 1 Comment

  3. Important news:

    August 13, 2009 by ms. xandra

    I just wanted to let you know a recent search terms that has led some poor soul to my blog is “binder clips on nipples.”

    Category Uncategorized | Tags: | 1 Comment

  4. Books and also other lovely things

    August 12, 2009 by ms. xandra

    Today I heard an interview on Writers and Company on the good ol’ CBC with Nuala O’Faolain, an Irish writer who sadly died last year, and who I had never heard of.  And now I want to go out and track down her books, because clearly she is a spintersly kindred spirit.  She said this, which is SO EXACTLY RIGHT (and I went and downloaded the podcast of the interview so I could remember it, and you should go listen to, because O’Faolain is lovely and hilarious):

    “I used open my bottle of wine at 6:00 pm on the dot and start reading.  And that’s what I did every evening.  I had my little dog.  I had my fire.  I had my book.  And I had my wine.  And the problem with this is that people talk of it as if it’s a problem, the solitary spinster drinker.  But, far from being a problem, it’s lovely.”

    Amen, Nuala!  There are very few things I cherish more than beautiful moments of solitude (often supplemented by wine or gin martinis).

    Other news:  I am in Canada!  And boy golly, I sure am getting rudely reacquainted with what humidity is like.  A year in the desert has clearly made me weak.  Or at least has dried me out.

    Other, other news:  I am finally sitting down and watching Mad Men, after two years of everybody telling me I should.  I’m only part way through the first season right now, and, yeah, it’s good.  One thing though:  Yes, I totally get why everyone is all gaga over Joan Holloway.  I get it.  The clothes, the hair, the femme fatale schtick.  But that’s the problem:  I totally get the Joan Holloway character.  There is nothing new and exciting for me in Joan Holloway.  I have seen her in a million Joan Crawford movies.  Now, Peggy Olsen?  She is fascinating.  I don’t understand her yet, and I want to know what’s going on with her, and that’s why I like her.  I want more Peggy.

    And yesterday was a lovely, lovely day because I went into Toronto for the day (my dad had a meeting in the city so I went along for the ride) and met up with Tanya and Emily and Amy B., fabulous all, for lunch and ice cream, and I’m excited to go back to Toronto in a few weeks for more friends and lunches and ice cream.

    And there is another author who has recently met with the spinster Stamp of Approval, this time from myself and Spinster Sister Amy G., and that is Elaine Dundy, and I don’t know why we’ve never heard of her.  I walked into Stories a few weeks ago and picked up a copy of The Dud Avocado, based solely on its title, and it is pure wonderful, a fabulous, fabulous tale of Sally Jay Gorce, an American ex-pat in Paris in the 1950s, and you should read it because it’s lovely and hilarious.  And I have decided to call myself an ex-pat when I’m in LA from now on, because it sounds so very glamourous.  But right now I am really enjoying sitting around my parents’ house in my pyjamas, being not glamourous at all.

    Category Awesome, Books, Canadialand | Tags: | 3 Comments

  5. Don’t you wanna know how we keep starting fires?

    August 3, 2009 by ms. xandra

    My current summer project (to do an intense, scrupulous study of Helen Gurley Brown‘s Sex and the Single Girl whilst drinking on the porch) is proving to be completely hilarious.  This book is so silly, which of course means that it’s wonderful.  Mid-Century advice literature is really a genre that deserves more scholarly attention, I am telling you.

    Anyhow, here is what Ms. Brown suggests as a good way to lose a quick six pounds over the course of two days:

    “If you’d like to crash away six pounds in two days, here is a diet men like.  Invite one to join you.  Follow this plan only two days; then back to sanity!

    Breakfast:  1 egg any style, no butter, one glass white wine

    Lunch:  2 eggs any style, two glasses white wine

    Dinner:  1 steak, finish the bottle of white wine.

    I’d suggest a weekend for the crash.  Sufficient nutrition is here, but you get fuzzy.”

    Seriously!  That is the most hilarious thing I have ever read.  American in 1962 was clearly a foreign country.  Obviously, though, I do totally agree with the part of this advice that involves drinking.

    And speaking of my close relationship with wine, today the police came to our door, because apparently someone had reported yelling and screaming and animal sounds (yes, ANIMAL SOUNDS) coming from one of the adjacent apartments, and I was, of course, holding a glass of wine in my hand when I opened the door because if there is one thing I am really good at, it is making a stunning first impression.  Also it is worth noting that at the precise moment that they came to the door, the apartment was full of smoke because there we had only just burned dinner.  Anyhow, they asked if I’d heard anything (I hadn’t) and asked for my name, and hopefully they won’t come back and deport me for being an alcoholic pyromaniac or something.

    Category Adventure | Tags: | 6 Comments