Some of the beautiful, fun things that added a bit of zing and zest to my week. What about yours? Please share what’s been making you happy, what you’re happy and grateful for, or revelations that have been rocking your world recently — I’d love to hear!
Color is My Co-Pilot
I’m usually a neutrals kind of lady when it comes to fashion and palettes, or at least, that is what I’m attracted to when it comes to fashion I look at. And when I wear them myself, I feel serene, grounded, calm and anchored. But it’s mid-January and sometimes the grey days get you down. And I work from home, so it’s super-easy to just sit around in my pajamas all day on the sofa, tapping away at my laptop and doing what I do. It’s comfortable, it’s relaxing…ah, but sometimes too relaxing. So relaxing you…just…get…l…a…z…y.
After too much of this and fed up with feeling slothlike, I decided to “shop my closet” (hee, so funny to say that), get properly dressed a few days this week and wear a nice, pretty-colored dress while I worked at home. I wasn’t as comfortable as I usually was, but I did think sharper, write better, and I did feel very, very cute — always an enlivening feeling! Anyway, I recommend the brightly-colored frock Band-aid method of boosting your energy and spirits. Or if not a dress, just gussy up a little in general! Fun socks, jewelry, a bright top, excitement knickers: whatever works for you.
I did feel a little odd at first wearing a dress at home and going about my humdrum day, and some people asked, “Why do you look so nice when you’re just out at Target buying toothpaste?” Usually I just said, Dita Von Teese-style, “I’m just having a really good day!” and went on my way. But on some level — and at the risk of sounding silly — isn’t the privilege of being alive and having another day in life a special occasion? I think so, and while I don’t want to get all dolled up everyday, every now and then is certainly like a little celebration.
The Sweeter, More Innocent Carrie Bradshaw
I have kind of a tumultuous relationship with the iconic character Carrie Bradshaw. I remember reading Candace Bushnell’s original “Sex and the City” column in the Observer, and was drawn in by the cynical, darker take on courtship in NYC. I liked Carrie at first on the original HBO TV series, because it was great to see a free-wheeling, creative, kind of bohemian single woman on TV.
But then Carrie got on my nerves. As the other characters were growing from their experiences, learning about themselves and learning to live and love better (you know, having a real arc as characters), Carrie felt stuck in this ridiculously entitled, whiny, selfish mode, never really learning from her mistakes. (Let’s put it this way: you can talk about your “breakthroughs” and “insights” over drinks and dinner until you’re blue in the face, but until you actually put that into action — IT’S NOT REALLY A BREAKTHROUGH!) It got to the point where I’d watch to see how Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha were faring, and any Carrie-centric scene I’d just leave the room until it was over! Sarah Jessica Parker liked to describe Carrie Bradshaw as “charmingly flawed,” but that became something a lot sadder and frustrating to watch as the show went on. By the time the show was over, I was really glad to have Carrie Bradshaw leave popular consciousness for a bit.
So I wasn’t too enthused about “The Carrie Diaries,” the spin-off prequel on the CW. But Monday nights are my “do a big workout, go home and blog and write like crazy and make like all your meals for the rest of the week” evenings, and I usually have some TV in the background as I chop, saute and simmer something on the stove. The show was on, so I thought, Why not? and let it play as I worked. And I was pleasantly surprised. All my Carrie baggage is gone, replaced by a much sweeter, John Hughes-like show that focuses on finding your voice and place in the world (with some fun fashion and hot boys distractions, of course.) A lot of SATC purists don’t like it because it deviates from Carrie canon, but come on — of all the things to be a purist about, and you choose SATC? AnnaSophia Robb doesn’t look too much like SJP, but she has the voice and those little mannerisms down enough to make it work without being a full-on imitation. The clothes are super-cute — you can see Carrie’s magpie instincts at work, but in a much less contrived way. And the 80s soundtrack is tons of fun. It’s just a popcorn show, but sometimes you need those! Plus, there is something kind of rad about an Asian girl character who seems bookish and stereotypically nerdy on one level, but also is having sex with her college-age boyfriend on another. And now I have something else to watch before I watch “2 Broke Girls,” which I can’t help but like because I enjoy kind of bawdy humor and I have a crush on Kat Dennings. (Hey, we both like red lipstick and share the same nickname!)
Miscellaneous Magics
Some things making me kick up my heels: I’m going to put out a book this spring! There, I announced it! Look for more details in the coming month or so! +++ the orchestra concert this weekend, where they will be playing Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” +++ an art exhibition tonight at a local museum +++ how great and smart Zero Dark Thirty was +++ Drew Barrymore has a new makeup line at Wal-Mart + reading Hilary Mantel’s Bring Up the Bodies, and wow, Thomas Cromwell has never seemed so compelling as now +++ everyone is talking about this “End of Courtship” story in the New York Times, and I have to say, I’m so glad my parents taught me about sovereignty, manners and good romance. Didn’t preclude me from making disastrous mistakes in love (echoed in this other NYT story) but I’ve never put up with bad manners and BS at least!
Tags: Carrie Bradshaw, Dita Von Teese, dresses, Kat Dennings, sparks, The Carrie Diaries
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I am a writer, secret hippie and subversive romantic. I write 
[...] written before about my odd fandom for “The Carrie Diaries,” its mix of 80s NYC nostalgia and its refashioning of Carrie Bradshaw as a wide-eyed [...]