thanks.

this weekend I sold the Kelly Girl Skirt to a girl named kelly.

i also ate a fantastic brunch, played a board game and went out a ghost tour.

it was a lovely, lovely weekend.

*********

i have to say, i'm very thankful + fortunate to have some items listed under the "sold" catagory of my little etsy store. each + every sale has been exciting + nervewracking. i've been so proud to wrap up a little pouch or a warm cardigan and ship it off to its new home in canada or michigan. right before i send something off, usually waiting in line at the post office, i have this flash of insecurity, worried that the vintage something won't be treasured or loved or appreciated. you'd think i was sending puppies through ups.

i have to admit, i'm a bit of a dreamer. waiting in line, sitting in traffic, lying in bed, i concoct great schemes which i safely keep all locked up inside my head--rarely doing anything as drastic as following through (oohhhh....scary). well, this idea of a wee little store online has been nestled up there for a great while now and after some serious stalking, i mean, casually looking + reading about others making it happen, i did it. and regardless of how tempted i am to constantly change directions + start over, i'm moving forward. it might seem small, but to those of us who know much more about the "dreaming" than the "doing," it is an exciting big step to stand in line at the post office and actually follow through with one of those saved up dreams.

her first.

This weekend my best friend S came to visit. S lives in upstate NY and before that in rural Maryland and before that with me in Chicago. We've gone from three feet to a thousand miles to three hours.

I learned that S has never been thrifting---which I didn't really understand. I just blinked at her for a while, trying to imagine what she does every Saturday. She probably reads. She's smart like that.

I was more than happy to drag her out and about, digging in racks searching for the perfect finds. I won't lie-- I'm sure I was patronizing, holding her hand around the store so she wouldn't wander off and talking slowly as to not shock her system with too much information.

Yeah, so here's the thing. S is amazing at thrifting. Once she got over the flashbacks of skorts and junior high, she started pulling out adorable. amazing. priceless. perfect. vintage goodness.

She did go on a bit of an excited rampage near the champagne glasses and we had a couple of casualities (at least she did while I hid safely near the angel food cake pans), but all in all, she was an absolute thrifting partner delight.

Now I just have to lure her back to little rhody every weekend to find more goodies like these.

8 for 2008 (aka: The 8 Things My Blog Will Most Likely Be About)

1. Burn flavorless things more often. I mean, cook. more often. yeah, cook.

2. Ultimate goal: read a book a week. Starting next week. 52-3=49 books for 2008. More realistic goal that I actually have a shot at obtaining: Read a book a month. Starting next week. 12-1/2= 11 1/2 books for 2008. People magazine does not count. Ok, it can count as the half book.

3. Be kind to the planet. I'd like to investigate how to "go green with less green." In other words, I'm cheap. And broke. And I'd still like to eat organic cucumbers and wear organic cotton sweatshop free sundresses and use cruelty free lemongrass lavender infused bath oils. Being that I'm a paper towel junkie, I've got a ways to go--but I signed up for these delightful daily emails and I'm gonna start a passionate love affair with distilled white vinegar and public transportation.

4. Answer my phone. Call my mother back. Keep in contact with loved ones--maybe (I say maybe) even write a letter or something like that. Maybe.

5. Although I know organization is the general theme of a new year--I feel like somebody I live with is planting these in the magazine rack in the bathroom to tell me something:


Ok, I get it. You want me to start a hip, young magazine that features young hip caucasian women on the cover. Hmmm....OR you want me to read the organization features and actually organize the multitude of "stuff" that slowly is taking over the nook and crannies of our home sweet home. '08 is it: the year that I simplify & organize & stress out less about the piles of unopened letters and unused hangers that live in the corners of the spare bedroom. There. Now cure me of my clutter madness Blueprint & Domino Magazine!

6. Dig a little deeper. Granted, every journal/diary I've ever found makes me cring and partially want to rip it up quickly to guarantee that no one will ever find it, but when it comes down to it, I'm a true believer in writing as a form of creativity & really cheap therapy. I'm talking cheap--steal a pen from the bank, find a cereal box, and go. to. town. On that note, this digging that I'd like to embark on encompasses creativity----I'd like to plug in my sewing machine (although it does look adorable as a table decoration) and cut up some scraps and make some sort of something that I can force my girl to use everywhere as a sign of her love & support of me. I'm a fan of this lady for personal reasons (as well as for her love of fried chicken & hollywood gossip) and I signed up for her free (free! my favorite word!) 12 steps for the soul e-mail e-course. Being that the first question instantly made me think "pizza!" I probably haven't gone that deep yet.

7. Pay Attention! To what these fancy politicians are saying! To what filmmakers are saying! To what women are saying! To what my neighbors are saying! To what journalists are saying! To what the historians/social activists/foreign countries/authors/world leaders/grandmothers are saying!

8. Start a store on Etsy. Ok, you got me. I'm completely the type of person that, when making a list-to-do, writes down things that I've already done for the satisfaction of crossing it off. It's true, Lady Friend did go Etsy, but it's my resolution to keep it going, adding new vintage goodness and making it something that I enjoy and does good for me and other corners of the world.


happy 2008 everybody & all.

warmly,
lady

a new soundtrack

I've been caught up in a music rut as of late. I think I just need to accept the fact that Kelly's newest CD is just not that good and let it go and move on. Ok, sure, you can pretend you don't love Kelly Clarkson. That's fine.

Thanks to Pandora a couple of ladies have been reviving me from my slump--and I wanted to make note of their loveliness (plus, you know, just throw it out there how much I do enjoy their music and would love to have the ability to listen to their music anytime I wanted, perhaps on a CD that I could you know, own, or yeah, something like that. For anyone out there. Anyone who buys me things this time of the year. Those anyones.)

K has already requested that she be put in charge of all music at my someday store. Which is fine--I trust her and being that at the same time I was alone in my room dancing my heart out to En Vogue, she was smoking to Nirvana--she does has cool points up on me.

I will have demands, however. Heavy on the female artists & producers, heavy on independent musicians, heavy on local bands and after I close and lock the door and triple check to make sure NO ONE is in the store, I can lip synch and show off my Free Your Mind moves.

Add to play/wish list:

step one!

We can have lots of fun.

Damn it.

Everytime I say, think or even see the phrase --step one-- NKOTB instantly rushes to my head. Even after 15 years and finally pitching the cassettes and corresponding sleeping bag, they still get to me. Shame.

My first step (there we go....) doesn't have as much to do with re-kindling my love for early 90's cheese as much as pursuing my lifelong dream of cococting the perfect retail haven while working as a temp in my own private human resources hell.

Huh? What? That isn't the dream of every little bright eyed girl?

Are you also trying to tell me that little girls across America don't dream of growing up to become a lesbian and experience a good ol' quarter-life crisis?

Well, I'm shocked.

Thinking back, I suppose it wasn't the dream of the ten year old version of me either...but it's comforting in a way to realize that destiny knows you well enough to keep your white picket fence dreams far away even when you may think that's what you want.

My current dream/hope/plan came out of late night discussions over really bad Chinese food with four best friends. The company alone made up for the poor take out decisions.

The five of us decided, in between finals and salsa dancing and smoking and watching re-runs, that the perfect situation would be in the form of a bookstore. An everything-in-one kind of place where we could teach ballet classes and hold political rallies and host workshops on how to make mashed potatoes sandwiches. Think of it as a storefront smashing all of our passions and dreams together.

The place has fluctuated over the years--as we all have. We've added on plans for a Domestic Violence Hotline---Sewing Classes---and Storybook time for Tiny Toddlin' Feminists. We've dreamt about fancy free trade coffee drinks and a fat cat sleeping on the non-fiction section.

And we return to it every chance we get.

Now understand this---I'm a dreamer, not a do-er. I'm also a bit of a nervous nelly. Oh! And I like things to be predictable.

I found this on the internet:

How to open a store*:

1. Dream, but more importantly: DO.
2. Don't be nervous.
3. Accept the unpredictable.

(*I didn't actually find this on the internet---so to say. I more just made it up. But you get my point. Exactly. I was trying to make a point. You know, by lying. I saw it on Fox News once.)

I could give about ten reasons why this probably isn't the best idea for me to set out to try to accomplish.....but the reasons start to rush together and become a rambling messy pile of poor excuses.

I like to think, that fifteen years ago---my dreams of a white picket fence was (correctly) misinterpreted by my own destiny to a red brick storefront in a little artsy town filled with novels and vintage dresses and handmade goods and strong coffee, bustling with feminists and college students and grandmas and the occasional ballerina or two.

In order for me to properly start making long lists entitled "Things to Do to Open Store" and "How to Find Money to Open Store" and "Famous People to Invite to Grand Opening Ceremony," I ordered this book off amazon.com after reading an obscure quote regarding it in an interview with a NYC Boutique owner.
Now that I think about it, I probably should have read the rest of the quote before hitting the "Take me to checkout bitches!!!" button. I hope it wasn't along the lines of...."(title of book) is what I ordered. And it's the reason my first store miserably failed. I also blame it for the weight gain."

Hmm.