Perfecting the closet and the influence of catholic school uniforms

I have a love/hate relationship with my closet, and my powers of purchasing.  I am acquisitive (albeit on a budget) and love the search and purchase of the new, but I am also a bit of a minimalist - I don't like clutter, and at the end of the day (ok, the beginning of the day) I find myself wearing the same things - what I crave is the perfect, well constructed, beautifully tailored work "uniform" 10-15 pieces I can mix & mingle, snazzed up w/fabulous accessories (bags, jewelry, shoes).  The perfect black shift dress, camel above the knee skirt, black sweater, black ankle trousers, button down shirts (white, striped, silk, cotton), jean jacket, Chanel jacket.  What am I missing?  And if I find these perfect items, will I truly be satisfied?  Do I buy in duplicate (yes, you fool)? Can I really retire all of those fabulous, unworn/barely worn pieces that no longer fit my life OR style? 

I recently visited the mecca of "premium outlets" Woodbury Commons in #CentralValley, New York, and revisited some of my old haunts - I still love me the Prada and Gucci outlets, decided Jimmy Choo looks pretty cheap in an outlet setting (sigh), and can't understand why anyone would wait in a line ala DisneyWorld to procure Tory Burch. But then I'm a total label snob. (It all goes back to my childhood, when all my friends were wearing Lacoste alligators retail, and my sister and I had to wait to get ours at the summer sidewalk sales.  It SCARS you). 

I'll just keep hitting the Barneys sale (for as long as they are around), putting up with the attitudinal folks on the floor, ("No, we don't have that in another size - it's on SALE" - you know in their heads they are muttering "you peasant" - evidently I'm also a bit of a masochist), and believing, always believing, that perfection IS attainable.

Popcorn and Sanity

http://www.siff.net/presents/seriesDetail.aspx?FID=175

...in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, see a movie (sorry sir Paul & JL) - however, 'tis true - no matter what my mood there is nothing like a darkened movie theater, a bag of freshly popped and buttered popcorn, and some chocolate to remind me that life is actually pretty darn good - especially here in Seattle, where we are lucky enough to have SIFF - went to a number of SIFF movies last year and they ranged from quirky turkeys to profound cinematic gems - and everything in between - Hugh Hefner, Playboy, Activist & Rebel was actually pretty darn good - given unlimited fundage (or even a little more than my current fundage level) I'd love to have a platinum pass, and a yearly pass to SIFF movies - in the meantime, I'll settle for being an "enthusiast" member, and get me a pass to the to the Secret Festival (anything requiring an Oath of Silence before you get to see the movie is a "must see") - Sunday am screenings, followed by Sunday cocktails to discuss said screenings is in my future, I do believe.

Speaking of Sunday cocktails - head to June over in Madrona for their weekend brunch (Sat & Sun from 10 am - 2 PM). Went this past Sat. and was in a state of bliss for rest of day - had the mi, wonton soup with poached egg & crispy shallots, bloody June, and shared a "Tired & Bitchy" (chilled coffee cocktail) to finish - it was a whole lot of fabulousness.

Mad Women

Day 6 of this hellish NYR (New Year's Resolution) and already I can feel my resistance crumbling. MUST. REMAIN. STRONG. One of my all time favorite stores EVER is Xtabay Vintage Clothing in Portland (OR) - Liz Gross is this amazing vintage savant who finds some stunning pieces - great quality, and the boutique itself is a little gem - warm, girly- it is like stepping into a jewelbox - the kind of store that although small you can spend hours in just feeling like a girl. Lovely. Xtabay is the reason I'm thinking that my NYR may just be limited to "new" clothes in the sense that they can't come from a contemporary store - vintage isn't really new (see my diabolical thinking here?) Scary the ways our minds can rationalize. Xtabay posts some pieces on Etsy, and of course, had to come across this delightful topaz beauty - maybe I can convince my significant other that I need an early birthday present - his b-day is next week, but am I looking for treats for him? No - selfish lady.

http://xtabayvintage.blogspot.com/

Rainy days & tattoo parlours...

Lead to some amazing discoveries. Whilst Christmas shopping this year for my niece at Under the Needle tattoo parlour (she wants to be a tattoo artist, so was picking her up a book and t-shirt NOT getting inked - I think I looked like a deer in the headlights when someone asked me if I was in for a tattoo), walked by the Roq La Rue gallery on 2nd and had to dash in out of the pouring rain to check out the exhibit of Martin Wittfooth's work - just visually stunning - his execution is amazing - these dreamlike/nightmarish images of incredible beauty that you want to reach out and touch - like some of the best of the work of the Old Masters, the level of detail is astonishing. These are two of my favorite pieces "The Fountain" and "The Devil's Playground" respectively - the former is still available - sigh...

http://www.roqlarue.com/

http://www.martinwittfooth.com/

The Year of Shopping Dangerously

2011 - the year I will blog - regularly, passionately, with words of wit & wisdom delivered with style & panache. My resolution on New Year's Eve, and all the way into New Year's Day at 10:00 PM when I decided that really, I could start on the 2nd, the first really being a day of rest, etc., etc. It's now the 6th, and by gosh by golly, I will blog again. So here we go...

My OTHER New Year's Resolution is to (merchants across the globe are weeping if they read this) NOT buy any new clothes for myself this year. AT ALL. I am struggling furiously with myself as to whether or not vintage counts in this - and is it only clothes - i.e. do shoes and accessories count? These are the burning questions I'll need to answer over the next 359 days...caveat: friends & family who feel compelled to buy me things are free to do so - far be it from me to rain on your parades.

I'm still going to plug my favorite shops and restaurants - as well as provide some running commentary on what I WOULD buy if I were free to do so - fantasy shopping as it were (way more exciting, well, at least for me, than say, fantasy football). And since it's all fantasy anyway, I'm going to "buy" as if I had won that $335M MegaMillions jackpot...

So after I'd pay off my & my families mortgages, pay for kids educations, put aside some for rainy day, etc. I'd track down someone selling this Chanel Megaflap bag - I'm pretty sure that an entire cow was used in the making of this little beauty, but oh my, isn't it swell? Found out about it via my fashion juice http://myfashionjuice.com/

Other thing I'd spend some dinaros on would be to make a donation to p:ear http://www.pearmentor.org/ They help homeless and transitional youth through creativity/the arts - what is so compelling about their message (at least to me) is that they truly recognize that creativity and beauty can come from anywhere/anyone - and that our "at risk" youth need more than just a warm coat & full belly - they need to feed their minds & creative spirits as well. I'm not articulating this particularly well, so check out their site and see for yourselves.

The "Hail Mary" by Grant Risdon, May 2009

The "Hail Mary" (created by Grant Risdon, Seattle, May, 2009)

1/4 piece kaffir lime leaf

1/2 ounce pepper syrup (pepper infused simple syrup)

1/2 ounce fresh lime juice

1 1/2 ounces Pisco

Splash of fresh grapefruit juice

Dash of brandied cherry juice

3 brandied cherries for garnish

Muddle the kaffir lime leaf in the pepper syrup until the aroma's released. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add lime juice, pisco, grapefruit juice & shake until chilled.

Place the brandied cherries at the bottom of a chilled glass, add a small amount of cherry juice.

Strain the cocktail over the cherries and juice, garnish with a few peppercorns or dash of freshly ground pepper.

Variation: The "Holy Mary"

Top cocktail with a float of proseco.

Quinn's Pub

I was re-reading my original post from LAST YEAR and realized I'd done a disservice to one of our favorite places by not following up with a post so, to rectify the situation...Quinn's over in the Capital Hill district of our fair city. Quinn's has a reputation for being an ode to meat, and it certainly lives up to this, but have also had some yummy things that don't involve an animal with 4 feet - during lunch they had a fresh tuna salad that was très bon. That being said, probably our favorites are the frites with demi-glace (they also come with fontina cheese, which we have them hold - it doesn't really have a taste, and just tends to gum up the real star of the show, which is the demi-glace/frite combo), the burger (better than Spur's - sorry guys), and when it's available the pulled pork sandwich with slaw. For dessert, when they have it, the home-made Smore is fabuleux - another dessert option is actually from the "small plates" - seasonal fruit, funnel cake, and (bear with me) foie gras - this is so rich that you will need a trainer if you don't already have one. For the most part, the staff (especially Matt, our favorite bartender) are great - warm, ready to make a suggestion without being pushy, etc. I'd recommend sitting downstairs - the only time we felt rushed was when we were upstairs for dinner - and coming for lunch or early for dinner (as close to 5 as possible). We just found out that they are keeping the bar open post lunch and pre-dinner, so no excuses not to stop by for a bevvie.