Jewels from the shop. Sometimes I cannot resist the sparkle.
Okay, I admit that I have a problem- my bijoux collection is getting a bit out of hand!

Also from Uncommon Objects- this man is made of wax.
He looked sad, so I gave him a skunk-skin to wear, and a silver acorn collar.
He seemed more hopeful after I styled him. I think he’s looking for love.

The other day, I came to work only to discover that gremlins had been cavorting
in the night and knocked my shelf down, thus destroying pretty much everything
that could be broken in my booth. Total bricolage carnage. Glass everywhere.
The universe is being a little heavy-handed in hinting to me that maybe I need
to be a little more zen with the material objects. Trying to learn that lesson.
Between the hurricane, the renovation, and the destructo-dog, I think I’m
getting the picture! Breathe, and let it all go. Yes, it has memories and magic.
Yes, it is just stuff. Oh, and by the by- to everyone who recommended a crate
for Grrizelda: You were all totally right, and I wished I listened sooner!

I loved this freaky nekko-cat vase from guess where.
It barfs flowers at you. I find a bouquet brightens a room, don’t you?
Especially when upchucked by a tiny ceramic kitty.

This is just wrong. It’s a chocolate covered Twinkie from Big Top Candy Shop.
You know you want it. I ate half, and I thought I was going to die. Crazy.

My sweetie cleaned out his closet and discovered all these punk shirts he
silkscreened when he was a kid. I’ve been feeling like dressing like I did when
I was 14, so I adopted his handmade Wind Chill Factor shirt. We went to see
Inglourious Basterds that night, so I felt I had dressed very appropriately.
Holy crap, it was so amazing. It affected me much more than I could have
ever predicted. Absolutely Tarantino’s masterpiece. So many good films out
this year! For the first time in forever, I feel like I might actually watch the Oscars.

All of the attention to detail in the film was impeccable. The rhinestones studded
shoes and fabulous hats, and the women all wore the same shade of red lipstick.
Pretty damn certain it was my own favorite, M.A.C.’s Ruby Woo. So perfect!

I love this embroidered flamenca. A gift for one of my favorite ladies!

This is my summer drink of choice lately. Redcurrant + rose syrup + soda.
It’s from Poland. If you ever see another bottle, please send one to me!

There’s been a brutal drought here, and our garden is torched.
The guardian of the succulents is protecting these hardy babies, though.

My beloved Grampa told me recently that he wanted to go shopping for a new
wardrobe. He asked to go to Banana Bay, inexplicably, which is a military supply
store. We found him a new Greek Fisherman’s cap, in dove-gray, very dapper.
He was into the camo, so I picked out this jacket for him. The print was the best,
but I don’t know what it’s camo for, exactly. Night-hunting? My Grampa is 95
years old, and he has mad style. Incidentally, he is also the least military kind of guy
ever, (he’s an intellectual!) so who knows- he said he liked the look! Tough!

Admiral Fox is also sporting the mode de guerre!
Spiked helmets are the new black, didn’t you hear?

♡ It finally rained yesterday! We’ve been in a terrible drought lately
down here in Texas, so if you happen to have any extra rain, please
send it our way. We would be extremely grateful! Summer thunderstorms
are the best! Shivery bolts of lightning + broody dark sunset skies.

♡ In other celestial events, there was a total solar eclipse the other day-
(I’m not sure where the following is quoted from, sorry-
Miss T. Verhext sent it to me! I must ask her!)
“This extra-long eclipse, occurring at a degree that implies a pressure for resolution,
is in the sign of Cancer the Crab, who clings with tenacity. It seems, with all water signs,
that we do best by recognizing some emotional experience. Cancer, the first water sign,
hints at the most primitive emotions or stages of development —
the earliest in time or the most deeply buried in the unconscious.
Thus, both our personal histories and our collective or ancestral memories
may be the ground through which this potent eclipse moves us forward along our life path.

Eclipses are known to bring things to a head or indicate a release point.”

Um, yeah. Dead on! It was an extra intense one for me,
and brought up a lot of memories and thoughts about my mama.
Which brings me to the next amazing thing:
Sweet Miss Gala Darling did me
(and a lot of other ladies) an enormous service by posting an open letter
from Francesca Lia Block- go read it:

♡ forty-five thoughts for my daughter and my virtual daughters
Reading this was so good for me, and so powerful-
I cried like I haven’t in awhile. I didn’t realize how much I needed to
read those words. It was like unlocking a floodgate.
I love Francesca Lia- she was such a magic beacon for me when
I was was, and still! I wrote her a letter when I was seventeen,
dangerously pregnant (an ectopic) in Los Angeles- and very young + afraid.
She wrote me back immediately, and made me feel so much better.
I think I would feel very lucky to be a daughter of hers.

♡ Okay, in more quotidian news- I finally broke down and got a freakin’ Iphone!
Guess what? It’s magical. I don’t think I’ve ever been more delighted and amazed
with a piece of gadgetry before. It is a good tool for me. Future-sorcery!
Also, it has a pretty killer camera for a celephone, eh?
(All of the following pictures were taken with it!)

♡ I love my jewelry class.
My teacher is a sage. He is truly the best teacher (in many subjects) that I have ever known.
I feel so lucky in his classroom, tinkering away at my various intricate projects.
See that bulbous-headed tool in the lower right-hand corner?
That’s a snarling iron! Bob made it for me, so that I could make one
of my visions real. That’s just so incredible- I feel very honored.

♡ I found this record at the shop recently:
Sweet Emma and her Preservation Hall Jazz Band-
man, I ought to have snatched up this album when I had the chance!
The nice fella who bought let me snap a picture before he took it away.

Look at “Sweet Emma” Barrett!
(March 25, 1897, New Orleans, Louisiana – January 28, 1983)
She was nicknamed Bell Gal, because she wore a red skull cap
and garters with Christmas bells that jingled in time with her music.
She was featured on the cover of Glamour magazine
and written up in publications on both sides of the Atlantic.
She’s my latest inspiration. Time to make bell garters!

♡ Who is this fine fellow? Adolphe Menjou, perhaps? Maybe not.
Whoever he is, I think he’s mighty fine.

♡ Oh, Follies!!
Go see the treasure trove of chorus girls that Miss T. found!
Talk about inspiration! Miss Virginia Biddle + Marjorie Leet
were too, too gorgeous and had diskostani style in spades!

♡ Found this wonderful wall in an old building that had been converted
into a yoga studio in Chicago. Acme bricks. Solid. A good stairwell for singing.

♡ So yes, we visited Chicago recently – and I promise to share some of those adventures soon,
but first things first: after 24 hours of no sleep, dancing late into the night, frenzied packing
and all day travel, we were ushered by our dear friends into a cool, calm bastion
of deliciousness known as Province. If you get the chance, go check out their fabulous food,
and truly stunning cocktails. Strangely curative tonics for weary and travel-tattered urchins such as we!
My favorites were these:

Pimlico Grid – Pimm’s No. 1, Hendrick’s Gin, lemon-lime juice, ginger beer, cucumber slice

Yellow Moon – Death’s Door gin, Benedictine, St. Germain, lemon juice, lemon sweetened rim

Lapsang Sazerac – Old Overholt, Herbsainte, Peychaud’s and Angostura bitters, lapsang souchong syrup

♡ Also, they have walls made of moss, trees hanging from the ceiling,
and hot pink accents among all the black, white + neutral. So lovely.

♡ Oof, one more thing! My favorite meal of late! – Hoi de Bap!
Actually, I have no idea how it is transliterated from Korean-
but it’s raw sashimi chunks with salad, rice and smelt roe.
Perfect. I wish I could eat it every single day! If only.

Oh, and didn’t I just? And how! This is how my face looks
when I realize that my silk velvet 1930′s gown won’t last the night.
Good thing I wore my unmentionables, eh? Oops, I just mentioned ‘em!
I got to wear my magical hat from Mlle. Verhext before it gets too hot for it-
isn’t it just the best? It has hypnotizing powers, so watch out!

(Photo by Amelia Doublespeak, isn’t she lovely?)
We ventured out to Party Like It’s 1929- a new soiree at The Carousel Lounge,
one of my favorite spots for night-time carousing (even though it’s only open until midnight- how quaint!)
Much apricot brandy, honey whiskey and um, some absinthe was consumed throughout the course of the evening.
Dangerous! I threw caution to the wind, kicked up my heels and was very naughty indeed.

We were joined by the impossibly beautiful Ekaterina Konovalova,
who made us all swoon with her devastating hat and gloves.
I have lots of other photographs from the evening, a very few of which can be seen
on my flickr, and others which shall never see the light of day unless I one day
decide to blackmail my cohorts of the evening
(and by default, further incriminate myself!)

Honestly, I had been positively monastic (well, practically) for months,
and I just plain forgot my sense! Oh my stars did I ever pay for it the next day!
When I finally poked my tousled, bleary head out the door, the whole world was
spinning. I know you can relate (well, I truly hope you can anyhow!) because
I suppose if we never got the occasional bastard butcher of a brutal hangover,
we’d think it was perfectly alright to go around swigging apricot brandy and
destroying perfectly nice dresses all the time. Well, and some still do!

I felt like this guy all day. It was pretty pathetic. I learnt my lesson, though!
I can’t help but be reminded of one of my favorite stories by Dorothy Parker,
“You Were Perfectly Fine”, which describes the horror and humor of a nasty
hangover in equal doses. I highly recommend that you read it immediately,
and maybe afterwards, you’ll tell me a story about how you were
perfectly awful and how funny it was later, won’t you?

Follow for more birthday adventures in the black forest..!

I bought this lovely Surprise Shell at Tail of the Yak
when I was in San Francisco, and had been faithfully saving it
until my birthday morning! I would tell you what was in it,
but that would ruin the surprise- so you’ll just have to go get one of your own!

Birthday mornings in particular are very sacred to me,
and should be as blissful as possible- sleeping late and then
a luxurious bath and magical breakfast with two of my most
favorite people! The sun was shining, alighting on flowers and
tea steaming up and so many sweet treasures from dear friends!
Above are some from Mlle. Verhext, wonderful music mixes,
the most beautiful necklaces (a mysterious abalone pendant
and the coveted antler woman necklace from Theatre of Dreams!)
So amazing. Also the Fairy Wood flavored pastilles from Leone-
one of my favorite candies, and the best chai from Crixa Cakes
and gorgeous jackets of cerulean silk velvet and emerald rose brocade!
I was blessed with so many kind and generous gifts from my sweetlings
that it really requires a separate post to do them justice. Seriously.

We stayed up until 6am the night before transforming our crazy, crumbling
renovation project palace into a magical black forest! It’s amazing what you
can accomplish in a few hours with the help of friends- we strew twigs
and branches hither and thither and decked the walls with frost flecked
red currants and fairytale dollies and forest creatures..

My love found these tossed out christmas trees on the road
and hung them from the rafters- it’s incredible how much it changed
the space. The acoustics, the delicious pine smell, the shape of the room..
Needless to say, they’re still up there. I think when we finish the house,
we must absolutely have a forest room- it’s so peaceful and lovely!

On the subject of forest creatures- I just can’t resist showing off my wonderful
prize from my friends and colleagues Mr. Garbs and Mme. Cornelius
who bestowed upon me my dearest wish- a taxidermied fox!
I have been half-heartedly trying to build it back up-
with little success. It has become so expensive, even for the old
rotty pieces that I favor. I have been wishing for a fox for so long-
I couldn’t believe my eyes. His name is Alavester, and he is half albino.

Eeeee! Thar be foxees in those trees!

Despite my dour glower, I am truly filled with glee in this photograph-
because though it took an hour to wrangle with my headdress,
I am finally dressed fittingly and thus the party can begin!

These two ladies, however, were truly the belles of the ball!
Amelia and Linda were both so gloriously beautiful and antler bedecked
that there was an audible gasp from the assembled guests when this
photograph was taken- such savage elegance, ooh-la!

Everyone’s costumes were so outstanding- every little detail
coaxed from their bits and bobs into miracles of millinery,
folktales turned into fabric and feathers!
Above is a detail from Mlle. Coffey’s Firebird ensemble..

Her date for the evening, Mr. Yates cames dressed as Little Otik!
He made a perfect Otesánek, telling tales in the leaves
around a roaring fire underneath the bare branches..

I nearly died however, when I saw the gingerbread man!
He made this a few hours before the party- and wore it all night long.
His mouth fell off at one point, so it’s stuck on with one of
my bobby pins he found on the floor- which makes it even better-
Gingerbread genius, MacGyver style!

This is the red-headed huntress who pierced
my heart with a thousand flame-tipped arrows.
Please note that her bodice is made from the skin
of a wee spotted fawn- ah! I swoon.

This fabulous piñata was created by Miss Katinka Pinka and her beau Lee-
it is the terrible bear with the severed head of Goldilocks!
I slew the bear (singlehandedly!) to avenge her, and delectable
green tea candies spewed out from his body!

My dearest Francesca was the ideal Tyrolean mädchen!

She and darling Annie created this work of art disguised as a piñata.
His/her name is Sissel (Or Cecil) and was so gorgeous that I could not
bring myself to destroy it! Instead we performed ritual surgery with giant scissors
and found that the chest cavities were stuffed with all manner of booty!

Including myrrh, firecrackers, cute barrettes, feathers,
fortune cookies, fancy chocolates and saint medals!

Not to mention roses of Jericho (aka Selaginella lepidophylla) with hand lettered instructions!

If you don’t already have one, I highly recommend one of these strange
and wonderous plants for your amusement and spiritual cleansing needs!

One of the best surprised of the evening was all of my sweet relatives
that appeared amongst the branches- my parents and wee nieces,
my aunt and uncle and no less than five cousins! It was so great
to have them there, family and lots of tiny little girls!
My dear papa played songs about crows on his banjo, much to our delight!

This is my cousin Luke, dressed as Gretel..
He came with Hansel and the Gingerbread man in tow,
and their little fairytale trio were the life of the party!

This was taken around the fire, about 6am.
It makes me burst into cackles every time-
Faith Delphi laughing at the Gingerbread Man
passed out in the leaves- he had gotten a hold
of a bottle of Night-Train (don’t ask!)
and well…

Dare I say it was the best birthday yet? Yes, I do!
I had no less than three birthday cakes- and all
were insanely delicious and attractive, as you can see..
The one above was made by Miss Nicoletta,
and another made by Miss Patience, and a sumptuous
german chocolate cake from Miss Evelyn! Hot damn, ladies!
There were impromptu performances and surprises
galore, so many wonderul people and music,
and all my wishes were granted, simultaneously!
Did I mention that it was a full moon that night?
I feel incredibly loved and lucky, and I thank everyone
in my life who has made it so! Besos, besos, besos!

Oh heavens, they were so incredible! I have rarely seen such
feats of daring, grace and strength performed so playfully
and (apparently) effortlessly. I want to be an acrobat when I grow up.
(Nevermind that I don’t even know how to do a cartwheel!)

We were celebrating Miss Sarah Belle’s birthday (aka. DJ Organgrinder)
with sweet potatoes roasted in the fire and ginger lemon whiskey,
on the most beautiful night of the year. Shivery silver winds + skeins of stars!

And even though she was far away, numerous birthday toasts
were made in honor of Mlle. Tamera’s whelping as well!

In fact, there was a meteor shower in honor of these two amazing mädchens!
A gibbous Moon will overpowered all but the brightest meteors..
Next year, the Geminids will be stunningly bright and very visible,
since the moon will not be so luminous as it has been recently-
mark your calendar and go lay down under the sky!

“And the meteorite’s just what causes the light

And the meteor’s how it’s perceived
And the meteoroid’s a bone thrown
from the void that lies quiet in offering to thee”
-Emily, Joanna Newsom

I have a new winter hat.
It is very, very old- and
was once a raccoon.

Vintage raccoon hat – ebay
Black + copper scarf from street vendor
Hand of Fatima from my gramma
Fur lined vest (handmade by some hippie
out of an old mink coat with moroccan textile) – Uncommon Objects
AA black tunic
Red cotton leggings – I don’t remember- free box, maybe?
Black vintage Olathe boots – Uncommon Objects

I am super excited about these boots-
it’s so hard to find vintage boots that fit me
(I wear an 8.5) and these are nice and tall!

I’ve been wearing the silver and chrysocolla
bracelets my mama made. For almost 3 years
after the hurricane, I couldn’t find them anywhere-
I was terrified that I might have lost them in the rubble!
I was so relieved and happy when I found them
in a box full of treasure, still caked in plaster sludge.
Chrysocolla is associated with tranquility and peace,
intuition, patience, and unconditional love.

You are still wrecked among heathen dreams.

We danced to where in the winding thicket
The damask roses, bloom on bloom,
Like crimson meteors hang in the gloom.
-William Butler Yeats,
The Wanderings of Oisin: Book I

(foto by Mat Walters)

Peekaboo.
We were able to lure her out with
promises of pastry and exotic confections
from Crixa Cakes…

It was a regular smorgasbord of lusciousness! We kind of ordered
everything they had. My favorites were Fatima’s Thighs, Apricot Kifli,
the Russian Honey Cake- and the best pot of spicy chai I’ve ever tasted.

Bellies filled, and sweet-tooths sated- we drove up the coast to Sebastopol
to make a pilgrimage to California Carnivores, a nursery dedicated akmost solely
to carnivorous plants. The owner, Peter D’Amato (author of The Savage Garden)
has been growing carnivorous plants for nearly 40 years:

and has created an amazing jungle of some of the most impressive
specimens I have ever encountered:

Pinguicula laueana – mexican butterwort

These nepenthes were gargantuan,

..and so exquisitely formed:

Doesn’t my grampa look like a salty sea-captain?
After a few hours of gazing in wonderment, we dashed through
some antique hunting (only marginally successful, alas)
and headed to Point Reyes Seashore in search of repast.

The Marshall Store provided the perfect meal
in the perfect setting: raw and barbequed oysters,
fantastic clam chowder, and baked bried + apples
served with fresh-baked bread. Oh, and Guinness!
If you ever find yourself in the area, I can’t recommend
this place enough- the people working there were
so convivial and kind, the food was delicious.
Watching the sun set over Tomales Bay was so picturesque..

On our way back, we stopped in Inverness
for a visit with our friends Giovanni and June
of El Radio Fantastique- and met their daughter
Clementine! What a sweet, happy family they are!
They live in the dreamiest, coziest
little cabin near the sea and the forest.
When we walked up the little stone path at twilight,
through a garden teeming with roses, lavender
and blue hydrangeas- the windows were all
glowing warmly golden, beckoning cheerfully.
Inside, all was cedary shingle with a fire in the hearth-
the essence of gemütlichkeit!

(photo by verhext)
That evening we had dinner at Flora,
in the old Floral Depot, a gorgeous
art deco building in downtown Oakland.
We dined on scallops and grilled persimmons
and elderflower and absinthe cocktails..
For dessert there was sea salted caramel pudding!

At the end of the night, I do believe I felt as
content as Huey, Tam’s black tomcat-
who is lucky indeed- for he gets to lounge
nightly upon the best chair ever.
Who said black cats were unlucky?

Wednesday was our first day in San Francisco..
We woke up late and ventured out to Chinatown
for Dim Sum at Gold Mountain, where we stuffed
ourselves silly on dumplings and congee
and tea lotus lychee pudding soup.
Century egg and Lean Pork congee
(皮蛋瘦肉粥 – pídàn shòuròu zhōu)
is one of my favorite things to eat-
the ultimate chinese comfort food.
Hooray for porridges!

Afterwards, we toddled over to City Lights
to make a pilgrimage to the book-temple,
to peruse and digest. I limited myself
(so difficult!) to three books only:

2666 – by Roberto Bolaño
I was lured in by the hubbub,
and by the following description:
“It promises all the Bolaño signatures:
sex, violence, nightmares, stories within stories,
obsessed obsessives, an intercontinental hunt
for a literary recluse, radical art
(one painter finishes a self-portrait by affixing
his mummified severed hand to the canvas),
and the occasional five-page-long sentence.”
Here is an excerpt,
from The Part About the Critics..

Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia Volume III
by Danzig Baldaev
I have the first two, so naturally I had to
snap this one up as well..

What It Is
by Lynda Barry
This book is blowing my mind,
in so many ways. I love everything
Lynda Barry has done- but this is
really something else. I cannot
recommend it enough! Go get it!
I also just found out that she does
a class based on the book,
called Writing the Unthinkable-
I want to go so badly!

Of course there were so many books
that I wanted and didn’t get:

The Sacred Book of the Werewolf
-by Victor Pelevin

The Monsters of Templeton
-by Lauren Groff

The Widows of Eastwick
-by John Updike

Moscow & St. Petersburg 1900-1920: Art, Life, & Culture of the Russian Silver Age
-by John E. Bowlt

A short stop at the Cartoon Art Museum
revealed the Totoro Forest Project,
a collection of artworks donated for auction
to raise money to save Sayama Forest,
an urban forest located just outside of Tokyo,
and said to be the inspiration for the wondeful
animated film My Neighbor Totoro.

This was my favorite piece,
Well Child -by Sam Weber


This is Holly Bobisuthi.
I love her a lot. She makes pretty things,
and feeds me candy. She wears sparkling diamante
and teeth and flowers in her long, long hair..
We went out late and met her at Amnesia
for Gaucho gypsy jazz night,
good conversation and amazing home-brewed beer
called “Death and Taxes” that tasted
like chocolate and raspberries.

Also!
This weekend is the East Austin Studio Tour!
I will be helping Colin at his studio
with the hordes of curious art-lovers-
come and see us!
More info here…

He is amazing.
As is his art:

Egg

Cephalopod

This Thursday (technically speaking, today)
I will be joining the inimitable Hello Lovers
for a couple songs at The Mohawk.
They are so incredible- I feel honored
to be invited to play with them.
Check out also the new album,
Gone With the Wind
I play ocean harp on it as well!

This is the dénouement of Trivia Travesty last week..
As you can see, there was cake,
and sasquatches, and songs.
Wonderful.

Even Hillary Clinton was there!

This is what I wore to the show:
-vintage hat from Uncommon Objects
-haircombs from Miss Angie
-dress from Betsy
-stockings from I forget where..
-boots from Halo in Portland
How did my dress get so dirty?

I rediscovered the miraculous heat-cure
Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray Tonic
I wrinkled my nose at it when I was wee,
but you know what? It’s actually fabulous.
Especially with a curry-chicky salad sandwich
from Wheatsville, and the above record
Maori Love Songs accompanying the meal.
A werewolf named Lou commented-
“He kind of looks like a Maori Elvis.
But then again, it looks like they’re dancing naked in a wicker basket too.”

Lavender soda, with Monin flavoured syrup
and Topo Chico over ice is also divine.
Right now I’m drinking Apple-Pear sparkly juice,
which is very green and tart and lovely.
Russian tarragon soda is also very interesting-
try it if you can find it..

Coilhouse is (in their own words)
“A love letter to an alternative culture,
written in an era where culture no longer exists.
On paper and on the web,
a collection of articles, interviews, rants,
musings and imagery showcasing the planet’s
bravest explorers of Ye Olde Future.”

See the amazing list of the
Top 10 Most Preternaturally Beautiful Men-
and you’ll start to get the picture..
So, so good.

Their exposition on the origins and sources
of our own personal weirdnesses
is a subject I will never tire of..
What made you weird?

So here’s a few things that contributed
to me being the creature I am today:

When I was nine, my best friend Carie
made me my first mix tape- it was amazing!
The first song was Nina Hagen’s
Born in Xixax- still one of my most favorites ever..

Here is Nina Hagen on the Merv Griffin show:

Best exchange:
 Merv Griffin: “You have a wonderful – what would you call it? – contralto.”
 Nina Hagen: “I would call it my individual God-identity, Merv.”

Followed by an impromptu sing-along
of “Don’t Kill the Animals” featuring Nina, Merv, and Don Rickles.
Thanks for sharing this, Ambassador Gorvetzian!

Earlier still, I saw this- on Sesame Street..

I loved this thing SO MUCH.
I tried to describe it for years, and only a few people
knew what I was talking about-
seeing it again is an instant
time-machine to me, age 5.

I got inspired that day to unpack a box of my
favorite children’s books- in a large way
responsible for my world vision and aesthetic.
Incredible illustrations and feminist rhetoric
seem to be the main themes.
Thanks mama + papa!

Strangely enough, I’ve never done this before.. Here goes!
What I wore on Sunday before last:
- gifted vintage butter yellow 40′s dress with pussywillow print
- SAS sandals
- flowers from mexican grocery
- bumblebee and ermine tail necklaces (see below)
- bug bracelet from Kolos Designs
- amputated leg
- african basket from vendor at Boggy Creek Farm

I’m experiencing the strange sensation of
discovering that maybe I actually like things
I always thought I hated- like yellow!
I’ve found it to be a surprisingly flattering shade.
Who knew? Orange is also growing on me,
conceptually- I’ll wear the rustier hues.
Radishes, however are still loathed.

These are necklaces from Erica Weiner + Derenthea Barbaree,
who have wooed me in another unlikely direction-
as I never, ever been a gold girl.
I think they’re both brass, really-
which somehow makes it better.
I appreciate verdigris.
Miss Barbaree is a dear friend of mine
from New Orleans, also transplanted to
Texas- she makes amazing jewelry
and stuffed animals, both sold at
Uncommon Objects.
Watch this. All the way through- trust me.

Oh yes, so.. During the above-mentioned brunch, I was just tucking into
my crêpe suzette when suddenly I found myself shanghaied-
I was bundled into a car and taken to the Tom Waits concert!
It was an incredible gift, and an unforgettable experience..

This is the man that I have to thank for it!
Mister Hay is the father of Sascha, my beloved godson.

My friend Brenda, (who happens to be Sascha’s mama)
lent me these incredible Chanel shoes for the occasion,
as well as seamed silk stockings from the 1920′s.
I am not label obsessed at all, but I must say-
it was quite remarkable how well-made these shoes are.
People kept coming up to me all night to comment on them!

I came across this array of images soon after-
something about the pink silk stockings,
(slightly sagging- who knew that could be alluring?)
the verdancy, and the backyard..
I love it.

Summer means elaborate salads and sandalwood fans.
Sparkling lemonade and homegrown tomatoes!
I like as many ingredients in my salads as possible-
this one had garbanzos, capers, pink pickled ginger,
chow mein noodles, and dandelion greens
as well as a dozen other things I can’t recall right now.

I’m catching up on lots of summer reading-
so heavenly. Find me on Goodreads
and tell me what you’re reading, do!

R.I.P.
Tasha Tudor has died, at the age of 92.
She was an inspiration to me, and many others.
There’s a wonderful obituary here..
Some of my favorite bits..
“Tudor often said that in a former life
she was a sea captain’s wife born in 1800.
She could play the dulcimer and handle a gun,
once promised a reporter for The New York Times
that she could find a four-leaf clover within five minutes
and came back with a five-leaf one in four minutes.
She kept a seven-leaf clover framed in her room.”
Apparently, it was her intention to go straight back
to the 1830s after her death.

I had not visited San Francisco in twenty-one years.
Not since I was seven and I went with my grandparents
who lived in Los Angeles. I remember hills and pretty houses, yes.
We went to my cousin Polly’s wedding and I was the flower-girl.
I was running in the woods after and I saw a white horse.
It came right up to me. It could have been a unicorn.
When it galloped off, I ran to tell someone what I had seen
and I slipped and fell down in my patent leather fancy dress shoes
and fell and skinned my knee and was slightly hysterical
from that and wedding cake and my mother was in Texas dying
so no one believed me about the white horse.

That was the last time my grandfather had visited the Bay Area as well,
so we decided to make a journey and visit friends and family there.
We stayed with my cousin Barbara and her adorable family.
Their house was wonderful- a big 20′s bungalow bedecked in stained glass.

The morning light painted Grampa’s hands blue and gold.

Polly lives right around the corner, in this marvelous Arts + Crafts dollhouse.
This window made my heart shiver. There’s an inglenook, and a persimmon tree!

Their library is the most magical place. I want to live in it forever.
It is a place for hobbits and tibetan lamas and novelists (and me.)

After so many years of wishing,
I finally got to visit Paxton Gate.
It was indeed every bit as amazing as I had expected,
all orchids and foxtails and fossils and delights galore.
I think my favorite objects in the store were
Andy Paiko’s deliriously wonderful glassworks.
The cases of gorgeous insects made my heart feel funny,
happy and sad and ecstatic and screaming-
thinking of short beautiful bug lives,
thinking of Pandora Aurora Rose standing
behind them, excitedly crowing over
each and every one.

It was there that I finally met this lovely lady,
who is autumn leaves on fire and minx-mittens.
She smells like..marzipan + caraway + sambac jasmine
+ cinnamon + tuberose + vanilla + musk + mosses
+ jucarunda + woodsmoke + cloves = delicious.
I felt like we knew each other back when the world was young,
when we were just wee whorls on tree-roots,
tremulous tadpoles swimming in primordial soup.

She took Grampa and I everywhere,
on madcap tours of the town-
to the most important pastry shops
(Oh Miette and Tartine!)
and secret hollows filled with silken tapestries
and tea and ice cream!
So many moments of beauty to recount,
to try and capture like unstrung pearls..
Drinking elderflower soda on giant stone cats..
Revelations and cackling and secrets!
Dinner with the greenest eyed man and a ravishing redheaded lassie,
dancing and frolicking to Gaucho Gypsy Jazz
and the incredible, marvelous, wonderful
GOLEM!

Lark in The Morning is obscure musical instrument paradise.

See?

Cousin Mouse and the Russian Treasures.

This place sold only Matrioshka Kuklas.
Inside was a flame-haired old lady who appeared to be
partly robotic. She gave an intense soliloquy about them
to us for a long time.

We also visited the Musée Mécanique
and had our fortunes told and pictures taken
over and over by the fantastic machines.

A message from the sea is all strange light,
tinkle and swirl, our faces appear in magic mirrors-
we become giants in the ballroom on the Lusitania..

Snakes alive! It’s very late and I must go to sleepy now.
More San Francisco stories soon, I promise-
so many more wonders there!