thanksgiving

thanksgiving is the time of year that we take a step back from our hectic lives and reflect upon the basic things in life for which we are grateful. it's also a time to eat large quantities of food and debut holiday wardrobes. i am thankful for the following elements of food and fashion:

thrift stores/flea markets
the shoes, sweater, accessories, etc. that i'm wearing with today's little thanksgiving outfit cost what may as well be a million dollars, considering my budget. fortunately the dress that makes it all work cost me five bucks at the goodwill. if you have more time than money to invest in clothing, you can always turn to thrift stores, flea markets, e-bay, tag sales, etc.

kangaROOS

these sneakers, which debuted in the late 70s and made a recent revival, are awesome! they only come in about one style, but tons of colors (from basic black to the borderline tacky lamé look shown above). the highlight is the zipper pocket on each shoe. never go running again without your spare change or house key. and if you live on the dark side, you won't have to go without your drugs and prophylactics.

gnarly head old vine zinfandel

this wine is perfect. their website doesn't lie:

"Robust berry flavors and exotic spice notes from the small grape
clusters are balanced with French, American and Hungarian oak, which
creates heady layers of vanilla and chocolate and a lingering finish.

This luscious wine pairs well with raucous fun at barbecue or pizza
parties, a family dinner of hearty pasta or chili, and on its own to
celebrate personal triumphs."

raucous fun? personal triumphs? perfect! also, reasonably priced.

napa valley harvest honey truffle mustard

truffles and truffle oil add this indescribable savoriness to anything. they're also indescribably expensive. this mustard has the same effect, with the added bonus of a mustard-y kick. and it's about 5 bucks.

french new wave cinema

the women in these films are incredibly stylish and defiant. if you need proof of this, please buy me the coffee table book "french new wave" by jean douchet. you're welcome to come over and look through it any time!


i'm also thankful for leftovers, and am now going to show my gratitude by eating them. cheers.

winter

now that we know what to look for next spring, it's time to snap back to the present. there's a frost advisory for tonight and i am ill prepared. in the winter, warmth and survival trump all current trends, which is why it's important to have a few reliable basics that you can whip out year after year once the temperature drops. this is a lesson i'm just learning now. every year i reach for my cheap boots from the previous year, only to find that they have disintegrated in my closet. or i'll need a warm coat, only to recall that last year i was "off coats" and that my ridiculously huge sweaters from that year would be completely inappropriate this year. well that stops now. this year i will buy real boots, a real coat, real gloves, etc. here's the shortlist:

hunter rain boots. when i first started seeing everyone wear them i was outraged that people pay $115 for the plainest boots in the whole world. but they're classic. or maybe i'm just a sucker. but i'm buying them.

nordstrom cashmere fingerless gloves for $68. please don't tell me that fingerless gloves will go out of style, and definitely don't tell me that they are not nor ever have been in style. because i will not listen to you. notcot.com posted a nice array of gloves i could never afford:

i can't only wear grey this winter. that's why scarves were invented. scarves are the one element of winter gear that i'm never in short supply of. This year, though, i went crazy buying summer scarves (which probably are just a passing trend) and somehow lost a lot of my winter scarves. this means i have to go out and buy a pashmina in every color.

i did find a really awesome summer scarf at a thrift store and would like to find something equally unique for winter, but that's a story for another day.

as far as coats go, i actually planned ahead. i have 3 very basic winter coats that should last. that doesn't mean i can't have another. it's by peligrosa for $240. apparently it's made of organic wool and has coconut husk buttons. you can buy it on environmental fashion sites, which i usually avoid for fear of alpaca adorned ponchos made from hydroponic hemp. but this coat successfully evades hippy cliches and meets my approval. look!

i'm starting to go broke just thinking about all of this so i'll leave it at that.