Resolutions aren't all that..

My friends, if you are like most Americans and you look back upon 2007 regretting that you didn't tackle all the resolutions you made for yourself one year ago today (like losing 20 pounds and doing 200 sit ups a day)... let's just remember that even if you had, you still wouldn't be perfect. Those achievements wouldn't have made a dent in your other issues like your waning comedy career or your abuse of lip collagen and eyeliner.

Just sayin'.

Nevertheless, 2007 for me was ok. I did some cool things (went to Argentina and Uruguay), watched my job morph into something I like even more, and started a blog that totally amuses me (if not you).

But honestly, 2007 was not what it could have been. It would good, but not great.

BUT...2008 is going to be BIG. I can feel it. Magnificent shit with happen.

If you need a little inspiration on this topic, you will love this essay by Buster McLeod that I posted a while ago...

Oh, and if you want a fun way to keep track of the things you want to do in life (and connect with other people who have the same things on their list) check out 43things.com.

I am a little embarassed that I am so late to the party....

It's so not hard to know what the new new thing is. ALWAYS. Everything that's even minor gets big fast and I think everyone gets exhausted by all the hype.

Feist, though, is so worth the hype, don't you think? The hand-clapping happiness of "1,2,3,4," the totally fucking amazing voice showcase that is "Brandy Alexander," the weird disco-y hotness of "My Moon and My Man," and the tasty pop of "Past in Present." The Reminder by Feist is one hell of an album.



I don't review much music here on Decorno (I only have once before), actually, so take my word. If you haven't heard her CD yet buy or download it tonight. It will make you happy.

"Fake Empire" by The National on Beachbungalow8.

New life for old chairs...

So, my new friend Seth at Queen Anne Upholstery gave me estimates today on a few possible projects:

For a wingback chair, he estimated:
$400 - $500 for labor
Any fixing of springs or re-tying would add about $150
This doesn't include fabric

For a big ol' old school sofa like this one, he estimates:
$700 - $900 labor
not including fabric.

Are these estimates pretty standard? Not having done this, I just want to be sure.

This decor business ain't cheap, huh?

Lovely mess.

More white-hot rooms...

Living vicariously through you, dear reader...

I absolutely cannot spend any more money. I feel like I spent the last month hemorrhaging cash. And that's where you come in.

There are some sweet-ass items on Ebay that just need good homes, and I would like you to buy them so that I may live vicariously through your purchases.

The photo above is a necklace that I lost out on a few weeks ago and yet magically another one appeared on Ebay a week ago. I bid. I scored. It arrived today in all its Jax/60s-palm-beach-esque over-the-top costume-y glory.

I am telling you, it's all about really major costume-y Trifari shiz. You should get this necklace and wear big gold cuffs to go with it:



This fab Hermes bracelet:



Flair magazines.So chic.


This Estee Lauder snake compact. I mean - kill me now. I can't even stand to look at this, it is so awesome and over the top... so "you-better-just-stand-there-and-wait-while-I-reapply-my-lipstick-in-my-SNAKE-FREAKING-FAB-COMPACT." God, I am so close to bidding on this. SO. CLOSE.

Who the hell needs calling cards?

No one. But I *want* them, and that's all that matters.

Do we like any of these?

Ebonized floors and high-gloss trim...

I am hoping to soon rip out bad carpet upstairs and having the wood floors refinished. I am planning to have them ebonized (and then plan to have the same done downstairs as soon as my other half will tolerate this since we just had them done 3 years ago).

Kara Mann gets the ebonized floor look right, I think. I like her clean design and the seriousness of it. It's sexy but not overt and there isn't anything here that reminds me of Kelly Wearstler. Such a refreshing change for once. I also super love the dark, dark trim color in the 2nd photo.


Who wouldn't want to come home to this?

Here are other links re: ebonized floors:
Apartment Therapy 1
Apartment Therapy 2
Studio Annetta featuring great floors in a Jean-Pierre Heurteau designed home.

I love this blog so much it hurts.

There. I said it.

M.A. Belle

Chair project.

I am working on a little project and these are just images I am posting to keep handy for reference. Enjoy. Or skip. No matter.

Bathroom inspiration

If you read past posts, you'll know that I am trying to use the old blog as a corkboard for ideas, hardware, etc etc for some home projects.

This link is handy since the poster on Flickr is a Seattle girl, which means the stores she calls out are just a few miles from my place...

I am trying to find a photo online of Ashley Edward's excellent Texas house... you know the one, in Domino. This chick:


She had a cool mix of modern in the front room and then that excellent bathroom with the high-gloss black door. THAT is what I want. (I am too lazy to go find the mag and scan and upload...) I got the green light from my better half to ebonize the floors. This house will be like a little black dress with big-ass diamond earrings soon. Black and white and chic all over.

Spring is just a few short months away...

And I would like to lose a few lbs so that I don't look as wide as a barn in this, my perfect summer outfit (meaning the boatneck shirt and the cuffed-up jeans... not the white pants or the dull flats). I spent all winter rocking a grey wool beret and looking ridiculously faux-French and I totally plan to carry the theme into spring. Jackie O big-ass glasses and all.



Maybe the striped top has been inspired by the stripe-rific rooms we have seen in the last year...

Retail love (specifically, Anthro love).

I hate to admit it, but I do get a little warm and fuzzy feeling when an Anthro catalog shows up, or when I walk into the store. I think I actually sighed and uttered "Oh, the promised land..." when I walked in there the other day with my better half. He just laughed.

"'One of our core philosophies,' explains Anthropologie president Glen Senk, 'is that we spend the money that other companies spend on marketing to create a store experience that exceeds people's expectations. We don't spend money on messages--we invest in execution".

Glen Senk is a genius.

There are very few stores that so completely nail the execution of a very well-defined sensibility. Even if you think they have a pretty cloying, romantic, fussy aesthetic, they are really good at what they do.












Every photo swiped from the super-charming blog Craving Anthropologie

Giant clam shells...

For two years I have lusted for a giant clam shell, as seen in these photos (it's hiding under the acrylic table in the 2nd photo).

I know shell & coral fever is waning (and has been), but I don't really care. Not many people actually have a 100 pound gigas shell in their homes. I am determined to get one soon. No idea where it will go. This is the kind irrational impulse I deal with all the time.

Does anyone have better examples of such massive shells in action? Please leave me a note in comments or leave a link to any blogs with superior examples of giant clam shells in use in a beautiful space. I need to show my better half why this purchase is, um, necessary for our home.



Last shot from ever-fabulous HOBAC.

Inspiration

You're going to see a ton of scanned decorno photos on this blog over the next few weeks. I have become more maniacal than ever about home stuff, mostly because I am finally ready to start writing some big checks to get this shit done around this joint. So bear with me.

I am also going to try to catalog some landscaping ideas because I am having a hard time finding blogs about landscaping. Where is the Courtney/StyleCourt of backyard bliss? There's a blog idea for someone out there...

These two photos are from House Beautiful March 2007. I like HB for certain elements, but not for whole design. It's a little ruffle-y for my taste. This writing desk - though too fussy for me - is still a great reminder of all the homeless old consoles you can find on your neighborhood Craigslist. Why not laquer one up and give yourself a more modern version of this look?

I also like the stacked books. Stacked books are a plague in my house. I have no more room for books. Stacked books say to me, "I've given up trying to find a proper home for you little lovelies... just sit here on the floor while momma has another gin & tonic and flips through the latest Elle Decor..." Or something.

As for this backyard, at this point I will take ANY kind of landscaping as long as it looks intentional. And by intentional, I don't mean intentionally neglected for 30 years. Because I already have that backyard. I like clean landscaping, and this one might be a little busy for me, but more than anything, it's a reminder of why suburban backyards mostly suck - - people just cut out border beds and plant low stuff and call it good (fuck you marigolds. Yes, you. You're gross and no one should plant you, but you are like 18 for $1 and that's why people promote you and your kind). THIS backyard, however, is a reminder to keep things dimensional and to have height in your plan. Tall trees medium shrubs, low-rider little badass boxwoods. Success is in the mix.

The interior design is by Myra Hoefer and the landscaping is by Elizabeth Everdell (San Francisco).

Virtual Un-Gifting

Some of my very favorite bloggers out there have been virtual gifting (and I love that I am the only one to whom certain bloggers have chosen to give BOOZE vs., say, a lovely suzani... I am not sure what that says about me..). Well, there are just so many of you I adore and I am not sure I would do the best job picking out just the right thing for everyone.

Soooooo, what I can offer, my blogging friends (and even the readers and quiet lurkers of this fancy blog) is this: a list of what I will not be giving you for Christmas. Believe me. You're gonna thank me.

This burl lamp.


Lovesac? I would never ever buy you something that both looks and sounds like a testicle. And that's final.


Wow. Not even sure what to say here. It vibrates and it's in "great shape." Minus the Cheetos between the cushions and the indentation where someone's warm, sweaty ass sat for about 22 years.


This "striking" fainting couch. If ugly can make you faint, then yeah, I get it.


These are just a few of the things I am NOT getting you for Christmas. The awesome part is that with this kind of un-gift, you don't even owe me a thank you card. See? We all win.

Bloggers: What were your greatest hits of 2007?

On Dec 31st, I am posting what my personal favorite 5 posts were and I would luuuuuuuuuurve to see the same from all of you. Please post before end of year and add to your comments the link. I will post a round-up of everyone who comments with a link to send traffic to your goofiest, loveliest, funniest, or most brutally honest post, rants, odes and great finds of the year.

What was I thinking?

I just got the tall one. It's so sparkly and magical and perfect.

Can you believe I ever owned this piece of shit brown gourd lamp? I feel so dumb.

Can everyone please, please make me feel better by confessing the worst decorating mistake you ever made? Bad accessory purchase? Terrible wallpaper choice? Ugly sofa? Anything. Just don't leave me here hanging all vulnerable and stuff now that I have shown you my ugly gourd lamp (which will be presented as a magical wonderful lamp when I sell it soon on Craigslist, FYI).

Draped anything grosses me out...

Ok, the photo is from Girl Meets Glamour, and believe me, I heart her blog more than you know. AND I also heart Miles Redd. I mean, can you even imagine anyone you would want to have over for cocktails and over-the-top conversation more than Miles (ok... maybe Mayer Rus ties for this distinction)... so, no knock on either one here, because they both inspire, but what is the deal with fabric draped on tables?

I am sure this post will be more controversial than me suggesting that Jamie Lynn Spears abort her pregnancy (I thought people would throw rocks through my blog's windows, but instead I heard a collective yawn and a small cry for more photos of Anthony Todd rooms... this is why I fucking love you decor freaks), but I just think it's cheap-looking. It always says to me, "I bought the Ballard Design $20 plywood table and covered it with faaaaaancy fabric."

Please... does anyone else think it's weird? Except you, Charlotte Moss. I know you love this shiz (and you know we love you and your Tab-drinking from fancy-ass cut crystal Lalique glasses!), but you can pull this stuff off. It just looks very Tukwila when done in Seattle (this would be very funny if you were a Washingtonian, believe me).

Dear people who love me...

(meaning, my fiance and my future step-son)

It would be really great if you could pop on over to J Crew at U Village and fetch me this one last little gift. This $28 sassy little zebra-print canvas-coated cosmetic bag is truly something that would bring joy to my life.

Thanks,
Decorno

Portland, Oregon.

There are only two kinds of people: People who love Portland, Oregon more than anything, and people who just don't know any better.

If you love Portland, or you want to know why those of us who are freakishly devoted to this grey, creative, quiet but buzzing, independent, low-key, beautiful and sometime haunting little city, then you just need to see these photos at this blog because this is how I see the city. And I love it.

Louboutin repair... save your soles.

Click to enlarge, yo.

So loving this. I had a heel cap replaced on some Lou's and my shoe guy put black rubber on the souls. I cringed when I picked them up. The red is half the fun, right?

I am going to have to tell him now about this place in NY that will bring new life to your scuffed Louboutins thanks to red rubber soles. So clever.

This tidbit from Allure magazine. (How is it that all they write about is the "new" shade of lipstick, Retinoids, and Botox, and yet, it's always a good read?)

Garden love.

Martha Shapiro is going to change my life. She's coming to work up a landscaping plan for me.

You may recall this hot mess of a backyard. I am crossing my fingers for massive improvement by this summer.

While I love the messy/Frenchy photos above, our house and yard are just so out of control that I am actually hoping for something more orderly like the boxwoods photo above. We shall see.

I am indesperate need for good blogs on gardens... any links you have, please post them to comments! I need some photo inspiration.

A must-read Party Tip from Scented Glossy Magazines

If you have ever been stumped on what to bring to a party, you must read this.

Why are they acting like this is shameful? Worse shit has happened (like her sister's parenting, for one thing).

I don't get it. If you're going to keep the damn baby, then be joyful. If you're keeping it, but you're too young and scared to be joyful, then just be private about it and keep your fucking face off the cover of OK magazine. If you're too scared and it's not the right time to have a baby, terminate. But don't put yourself on the cover of a magazine with this bullshit faux-shame but "doing-the-right-thing" posturing. If you're going to act like there is shame in this, then you don't even deserve that child.

I am so tired of celebretards. Thier mother is having one hell of a year. I soooo want to buy her like 6 drinks and tell her that everything's going to be ok.

Put some crazy ass stripes on this or stain the thing glossy black...

...and put a crazy graphic print on and you might actually have a winner. I love craigslist. It's like the pound for old sofas.

I really, really, really miss Listpic.com, though. Did you ever use it? It called up Craigslist posts but actually showed photos (shocker!) instead of stupid text links. Craig Newmark, who everyone treats like the fucking patron saint of the internet shut the listpic guy down. I can appreciate that since (we are told) it slowed down Craigslist, but CL never bothered to build anything to best this litte treat of programming known as listpic.

Grrrr.

I would use CL more of Craig would realize that for a category like furniture, we actually want to browse pics not text.

I'm getting married.

After a record-setting engagement, I am finally ready to plan this thing.

Here are my ground rules:

1) No attendents. That's weird.

2) No giving away of people. Also weird.

3) No rehearsal dinner. Everyone has been to a wedding before everyone knows what to do. If we don't know what to do, someone will kindly whisper "say 'yes!'" and that should get us back on track.

4) No Ramadan. As I have posted before, there will be no clambake the day before, no yacht trip the day after, no croquet match to get the wedding party "acquainted." No. No. No. It's a wedding, not a weeklong celebration for a head of state. There will be one event - - called dinner. We will stand up and say our vows (hopefully with a glass of champagne in our hands as we say them... I mean, I want to get the party started right away).

5) No ipod. I believe in live music and a pounding kickdrum keeping time to a Louis Prima-like rendition of "Pennies From Heaven."

Jason Parker Quartet. Photography by William Anthony.

6) No $6,000 gown. I have better things to spend my money on. Like a new bathroom. And a vacation or two. And, um, the drinks. My people can DRINK, I tell you.

7) No dress that I can't wear again. I fully expect to rock my sassy white cocktail dress on my anniversary... mostly as a way to make me keep the weight off that I plan to lose by next August. (Cross fingers for me now.)

8) No videographers. Icky, icky, poo. I do not need to see my big ass in motion. Still photography will allow me to edit out elements like, um, double chins and thigh jiggle. Besides, I believe in one quiet photographer sneaking around and not really being noticed too much.

9) No confetti and crap falling out of the invitations. I am not a third-grader, for fuck's sake.



10) No VOSS water. The restaurant told me they will serve VOSS water. Who drinks VOSS water except ridiculous people like Britney and Lindsay while they are getting trashed at a gross club in Las Vegas. I know it sounds unreasonable, but I am banning VOSS water from the event. Honestly, we live in the NW. Have you tasted our tap water? It's great and it will do, frankly.

11) No cutesy cakes. We prefer cheesecake, anyway. But no little fondant sparrows and twigs and the whatnot. All that stuff looks like Play-Doh to me.

Breakfast is the new cocktails-after-work.

Cafe Presse

I am all about the power breakfast. I do NOT like the power lunch (when I say "power", it's in the most ironic 80s way, I assure you). My lunch is usually a 15 - 20 minute non-event with my colleague and we usually talk about work. Totally not exciting, I know. But efficient. Work should be like surgery - get in and get out. Don't dilly dally. So that's why we rush lunch.

But breakfast. That's another game.

Breakfast is the new cocktails.I would say breakfast is the new lunch, but no one has a long lunch anymore. Breakfast is the new cocktails because it's a leisurely way to get in face time with friends or co-workers. Only the green 20-somethings who have no family or romantic obligations do drinks after work. There's just no time anymore. Scheduling drinks is a nightmare.

I used to have an every-Thursday-morning breakfast with a group of about 10 (we averaged about 6 per Thursday, since SOME of us had spotty attendance). It was fabulous. First, we all worked in the same division. Then people started transferring to various jobs. It was an amazing way to stay connected and get the best dirt on EVERYTHING. We met at a really shitty Denny's (seriously... this one was worse than the others. That's sayin' something.) It's was fabulous. No pretense. All fun.

Breakfast before work takes organization. And that's a noble thing. The best part is the get-up-early and get-to-work-early factor. You look like a fucking hero and you've already had a Grand Slam. Nice work, and it's not even 8am yet.

Weekend breakfasts are even better. My soon-to-be stepson said, "You go to breakfast a lot." In fact, kid, I do. And why not? My people don't even wake up until 9 or so, and the weekend breakfast date means I get caught up with friends before my people are fully awake. That's just a good use of time. I particularly like my weekend breakfasts with JJ and my new breakfast pally, the PR girl at work. She's works in another building, so I hardly ever get to actually see her, so during the week, we just talk on the phone and send snarky emails. Weekends at Crave or Cafe Presse, however, mean very valuable gossip is exchanged in person. We're also able to check out new gear like handbags and shoes. This kind of preening you just have to do in person. Gossip and eggs and sausage and accessories talk. That's a square meal, I tell you.

Soooooo loving this blog.

brownturtlenecksweater

Come on now...Don't be lazy with a quick scroll-through.... click to browse through the last few months of posts... I love, love so many of these photos. As much as I like clean and modern, antique-y and vintage-y is more my thing. I pretty much like everything she's posted here.

Blogs are just slam books and heart-covered Pee-Chees for adults.

I like how blogs help you shop for new friends in geographically random locations. And I like how I know if someone would make a good friend to me just reading exactly 3 posts on someone's blog. Like Megan from BeachBungalow8. I pretty much knew there was a teaspoon of snark under her clever posts and I knew she would be my pally.

And then there is the little lovely at Scented Glossy Magazines. I kinda had her number from the get-go. She's still a fav.

And now Susannah of Petunia Face. She just left a post here, and I went to check out her blog and I see this:

Instant love. There's just something about the dangling cat to match the dangling baby. Funny. Plus her cat's name is Nacho. Also funny. I like this girl already.

Things I don't get.

Michael Kors - clothes and accessories, but mostly accessories. His bags are so moderate looking. I saw a woman today with a really generic outfit topped off with a really generic Kors bag and I thought, "Way to pass up your chance to punch it up."


David Yurman. That stupid twisted silver just reminds me of all that cheap silver jewelry you can buy at any outdoor market, always sold, of course, adjacent to the people selling incense that totally reeks. Michael Yurman jewelry always has too much going on and it's not very refined looking. I don't get the appeal. I am sure it's all marketing and accessible price points, that, to the target customer, seem like luxury prices. Yuck. Reminds me of those bogus magnetic unisex bracelets that people wear because of their supposed healing power. Gross, gross, gross.
Fake fires. Not necessarily faux fireplaces, which you see in sassy/chic NY apartments and they are decorative and (sometimes) passably cool. But I mean press-and-go fire. In your home. Why? I don't get it. I am not even going so far as saying it's wrong, I just don't get it. No romance, you know? No sound of sap popping and cracking.

Donors Choose

A while back I gave a small amount to a teacher in Mississippi who needed science books to help her class with experiments. I totally forgot I gave Donor's Choose a whirl. Until yesterday, when I got a packet of mail with classroom photos and hand-drawn thank you notes from this class. One of the kids thanked me for the books and wrote, "God loves you."

My fiance - a grown man - had to put his hand up to block the view of this "God loves you." He couldn't even handle it. I couldn't get him to look at it. Two snarky adults were nearly reduced to tears from this cute little packet of love from these kids.

So, if you want to get love letters from adorable children across America, all you need to do is click on the link to Donor's Choose in the upper right hand part of this fine blog, shop for a classroom project you love, and clickity-click, in just 3 minutes, you've made someone's day.

Does it get any better?

I bought my turkey from Amazon.

Yes. My Thanksgiving turkey. It showed up in all its free-range organic turkey glory at, well, my office.

And tonight I made the most amazing filets you have ever tasted, with sauteed mushroom risotto. And all of the food was ordered from AmazonFresh.com and delivered right to my door.

If you live in certain zip codes in Seattle, you can now get restaurant-quality meat, produce, and about 10,000 other tasty treats delivered to you BEFORE YOU EVEN WAKE UP. Yep. You can order by, like, 8pm the night before, and the magic elves of AmazonFresh drive to your house, deliver your food to your doorstep in climate-controlled containers before 6am. Oh, and they find your newspaper and place it on top of your containers.

The service is so OBSCENELY AWESOME.

And now, as if it couldn't get better, they have announced that you can order by noon and your stuff will be delivered between 7 and 10pm the same day.

I keep testing them, like, "Yeah, well, I need steaks... but I also need a power strip and my dog needs a new fluffy chew toy... can you do THAT Amazon Fresh???

Answer? Yes, and yes. I have ordered both.

Delivery is free for orders over $25. The whole thing is totally life changing.

If you want said magic to arrive on your doorstep, go to AmazonFresh and tell them your zip code to let them know that you are waiting unpatiently for this excellent service in your neck of the woods.

Have I been tasked with the impossible?

Every year we spend a week at the same ranch-y place in central Oregon to get some sun and relax. Our friends Tom and Chris and their 3 kids also go, through rarely the same week. We always go with my fiance's brother his 2 awesome kids and his hysterical girlfriend. Separately a certain amount is spend renting a place to stay, feeding the troops, etc etc. All in all, that's 12 people.

After a little too much wine I opened my mouth suggesting that we switch it up, since the kids are between 6 - 18, and take this show on the road - - to Europe - - for two weeks next summer. I volunteered to plan a few options to see if this is even possible.

So, I guess we're betting at least $1000 per person for airfare. Fine. And then there is a small matter of finding a place large enough to house us all. This is not at all hard - if you're cool paying $22,000 a week for a place overlooking the Amalfi coast.

The tab, as you can see, is rising. I started looking at litle villas in Tuscany. MUCH more affordable (a bargain, really, once you shake down the adults and kids for a few hundred bucks each...). But then, despite having a lovely pool, you have no beach action.

So then I thought, south of France. This is looking to be a slightly better option. I think I would prefer the kids to see chic little Italians zipping around on their scooters in Italy, rather than suffer the sight of leathery old eurotrash on the beaches of the French riviera, but budget travelers can't always be choosers. France seems to offer the quaintness we seek with more affordable options that get us much closer to the sea.

My fiance thinks this is the wrong kind of vacation... he thinks we need to do a multi-city trip with the kids - London, Paris, Rome, etc... maybe that would be better for them. But who wants to schlep around with 12 people ages ranging 6 - 47? Oy.

Ideas? Tips? Links? Thoughts?

YOUR FACE DOES NOT HAVE TO LOOK LIKE THIS...

for fuck's sake. How did this happen, Melanie? What is WRONG with you? You start tinkering and the whole thing falls apart. With all this talk about people bashing Jennifer Love Hewitt, I concur - - we shouldn't pick on a girl who has a body that totally defeats most of ours ANYDAY.

However, Melanie, you little trout-lipped loser, you totally deserve to be mocked. Your face is vulgar and your desperate attempts to stop time have backfired and frankly, you deserve it.

Merry Christmas, Mel. Now throw Antonio back into the sea, as he's still quite a catch* and deserves someone who has aged a bit more gracefully.

Love,
Decorno


*except that he has those ridiculous perfumes and colognes which is just ticky-tacky. And he's with you, Mel, so his taste-level is really to be questioned, making him a less desirable catch than I might have initially guessed.

I might like wrapping gifts more than getting them.

It's only the 11th and I have begun wrapping. I am so freaking excited to (finally) get ahead of the game. Real ribbon, vintage travel photos from Italy and France as gift tags, and those pre-printed cursive-y tags from Watson Kennedy definitely go a long way in dressing up $20 gifts from Takashimaya, Veritables, and other favorite shops. Vosges chocolates, Rigaud candles, these weird little Japanese seedlings that sprout from a ceramic egg with a "cracked" top, Provence Sante verbena soaps, and truffle oil have all made the list. Maybe what people really want are Starbucks gift cards, but too bad. I am the worst kind of Christmas gift giver. I give the kinds of things I would want to get... my taste reigns supreme and hopefully, there are some truffle oil/hemp-seed chocolate/soap-loving friends out there who will put up with my oddball gifts.

Resolutions.

Do you make resolutions? How? When? Is it cocktail banter on New Year's Eve? Do you make mental notes as yesterday's peppermint bark settles on your thighs (like me)?

Next year I want to:
-Lose a few pounds (ok, more than a few). For real this time.
-Stop working on weekends. I can't give those hours away for free, yo.
-Learn travel-basic French and Italian (just enough to be dangerous)
-Add another stamp to my passport
-Get another pug
-Grow a veggie garden
-Take every Friday off in July & August

I am sure I could be more ambitious, but this is good enough for me for now. I mean, I am a busy girl. Anything more than this is just gravy.

What about you? What do you want to do in 2008?

I called it.

You can even check my Amazon purchasing history if you need proof, but yessir I bought myself a DK travel book (they are the best) on lovely Tunisia a few months ago, and the Grey Lady named Tunisia #3 on their list of 53 places to go in '08. Hot, hot heat, Amazing white beaches, tasty north African sweet/savory cuisine, very few Americans in sight, not yet overdeveloped, amazing desert landscapes and white-washed buildings baking in the sun. What is not to dream about? I am a little troubled because I already have Istanbul, Italy, and Amsterdam on my what's-next list... what's a girl to do?

I love NY.

Overheard today:

Scruffy tourist dad with thick outbouroughs accent to his wife and 2 teen kids: Hey. Hey. Why donchu guys wait up, huh? Hey... Hey... look up there (more like "dare").. you see dat? See dat? They got trees up dere...

Bedraggled wife: Yeah, that's a PENTHOUSE.

Just a totally awesome exchange of regular people in awe at NY buildings and money and power.

You might think you're doing ok in life until you're in NY. NY is like, take your lame off-the-shelf YSL Muse bag and go home, I am a Russian oil heiress and I've got the new Uptown in Ostrich. You just cannot keep up in NY. And in NY, I feel more like the Queens dad than anyone who might possibly own said penthouse, and I love it. New York magazine had a cover all about money recently, and they polled new yorkers to ask how much they thought one would have to earn to be "rich." It was amazing. Amazingly low. And then the Seattle Times recently did a story on how Americans view class and money... it was also really interesting how households earning $300k still considered themselves middle class (which I would say is true, although it's totally messed up...).

How much does it take to be "rich" these days? Is it earnings or savings/net worth? What's middle class anymore?

Dear New York, Part II

Dear New York and you vicious shoe-destroying sidewalks,

Ha ha, m-f'er. Guess what? There are almost as many shoe repair shops as Duane Reade's and you know what? These awesome imigrants in this amazing freaking melting pot of a city wake up at the CRACK of freaking dawn to start toiling so their kids can have better lives in this fair country and you know what that means? It means I got my favorite shoes repaired before 7am. So suck it, New York sidewalks. Because this is the land of plenty and the city of dreams and if I need kickass kicks to go into my snotty meeting, well then, dammit, I shall have them. And your heel-destroying sidewalks are no match for the industrious men who open their doors to hapless women in pre-dawn hours, bringing back to life beloved shoes that will carry us into our glorious futures and profitable meetings.

God bless the shoe repair shop on 44th Avenue in NYC. You saved my day.

Love,
Decorno

Dear New York

Dear New York,

Tell the seam in your sidewalk a big hearty THANKS for grabbing the heel cap off of my lovely silver low-heeled shoes.... the ones I was planning to wear EVERY DAY of my trip here since they are the only shoes that don't break my heels or my toes and are sufficiently snotty enough to impress my most judgemental fashionista vendors. THANKS.

Why, New York, are you always jacking up my fashion plans??? Just once I want to arrive in the city and float through its mean streets in the same chic way I envision pre-arrival. Just ONCE.

I suppose you want me to look like some kind of ridiculous Melanie Griffith by wearing sneakers to get around this city. Well, it's not gonna happen.

Love,
Decorno