Boys...

A recent conversation:

Maria: My guy friends don't really understand shopping.
The Fisherman: What do you mean?  I do shopping!  I'm good at shopping!
Maria: Maybe it would be fun to spend an afternoon shopping with you.
The Fisherman: A WHOLE AFTERNOON???  Are you crazy?  You go in a store, you buy what you need, and then you head down the street to Ruby Tuesdays for a cold one.
Maria: That's not "shopping," that's "buying."
The Fisherman: OK, then what's shopping?
Maria: Well, this is kind of my point...

Want

Books like Pantone: The 20th Century In Color make a vintage lover's heart beat just a little faster.  The description from BarnesandNoble.com reads:

Pantone, the worldwide color authority, invites you on a rich visual tour of 100 transformative years. From the Pale Gold (15-0927 TPX) and Almost Mauve (12-2103 TPX) of the 1900 Universal Exposition in Paris to the Rust (18-1248 TPX) and Midnight Navy (19-4110 TPX) of the countdown to the Millennium, the 20th century brimmed with color. Longtime Pantone collaborators and color gurus Leatrice Eiseman and Keith Recker identify more than 200 touchstone works of art, products, decor, and fashion, and carefully match them with 80 different official PANTONE color palettes to reveal the trends, radical shifts, and resurgences of various hues. This vibrant volume takes the social temperature of our recent history with the panache that is uniquely Pantone.     

The whole 20th century, by color.  Are you feeling a little faint with excitement, Gentle Readers?  I am.  The question now is, which format do you like?  There is something to be said for a nice big book where you can revel in the photos.  There is also something to be said for the portability of the Nook version that can be taken on shopping expeditions. 

I have Ye Olde Nook that is in black & white only, so it's going to have to be the book version for me.  I don't mind, though.  I love the smell of ink.

Dept. Of Home Economics: Organization

I love a clean and organized home, don't you?  Mary Agnes up there always kept her home spotless and tidy.  Me? I try.  In general, I enjoy organizing more than I enjoy using the system I set up, so things tend to slide gradually into a state of disarray.  Then I get to have the fun of organizing again, so at least that's something.

This week, with kids going back to school and a hint of Fall in the air, I've been in the mood for a clean start, so to speak.  I've been cleaning and organizing like a madwoman, starting with my bedroom closet.  After reading some organizing tips online and drooling over fancy closet makeovers by companies like California Closets, I realized that part of my problem has been working with the existing closet setup instead of taking a couple of facts into account: that my tiny walk-in closet has to store more than clothes, and that I need more space for folded items than I do hanging items.  The double dresser I already have is full to bursting; however, a California Closet makeover isn't in the budget.

So I went to Walmart, and for six bucks and change I got one of these babies to increase the space for things like tee shirts now and turtlenecks later on.  (I already have a small dresser for lingerie in the closet, as well as a free-standing shelf unit that holds folded jeans.)  What I like about this new shelf is the fact that I can slide it across the bar as the seasons change and I need to hang different things.  Essentially, I created a coat closet on one side of it -- which will require more space once the wool coats come out of their storage bins.

Then I hung a tension rod (available in the aisle where shower curtains are sold) under a shelf that is at a right-angle to the existing rod, creating about 2.5 feet of extra hanging space for blouses and short skirts.  In a tiny Newport closet, that's a LOT of real estate.

I also came to the conclusion that despite my best efforts, keeping a shelf that is above my head organized is difficult at best.  I bought four or five plastic shoe storage boxes -- available in-store for $1 each -- to corral things by category: products for cleaning the upstairs bathroom in one, wardrobe maintenance items (shoe polish, mending kit, etc.) in another, and so on.  Now I can find the Static Guard when I need it without having to go downstairs for a stepstool.

I suppose the truly organized (or, ahem, obsessive-compulsive) would put a lid on each box and then label the front with a fancy printed label.  I used the boxes more like baskets so they could hold more and things with oddball shapes would fit in them.

Walmart.com has a lot of organizational products available.  So does Target.com.  The Container Store has more stylish options than were in my budget at the moment, as does The Pottery Barn.  Organize.com also has some great options.

An important thing to keep in mind is that items designed for one area of the home can often be used in another.  For example, a wire mesh pencil cup would make a cute makeup brush holder.  I use a pair of pretty drinking glasses.  It's called "repurposing" and Mary Agnes was a master at it. Because really, the thriftiest way to keep things organized is to use what you already have.

Fall Fashion Update With Exciting New Game!

Image: Suno.com

I promised to give you the scoop on fall fashion, so here it is. The prevailing theme in all the magazines I looked at the other day can be boiled down to the following sentence: "THE ECONOMY IS TERRIBLE AND NUMBERS ARE DOWN, SO FOR THE LOVE OF GOD BUY SOMETHING!"

They didn't put it exactly that way, of course. Instead, the fall fashion issues I looked at all had articles full of urgent fashion superlatives, telling the reader that she simply must have fitted sweaters, big slouchy sweaters, jewel tones, earth tones, black-and-white ensembles, things that look modern, things that look vintage. "The midi length skirt is back!" the fashion editors claim, but they showed every length from gyno-mini to maxi. They just want you to buy something, pretty please.

The picture at the top of this post is an example of the important fashion trend that Style.com calls "Collage Studies." You could buy the outfit above from Suno for thousand of dollars, or you can play an exciting new fashion game! Here's how to play: have a friend blindfold you, and then steer you toward your closet. Grab the first blouse, skirt, tee shirt, tights, and pair of shoes you get your hands on. Put them on. Remove the blindfold and be impressed with the chic ensemble you put together! Borrow an oversized plaid fleece jacket from your father, brother, or significant other, and put it on over the whole thing. Look! You're a fashionista!

Or, for examples of mixing prints from women who have real-world budgets, bodies, and places to go where they don't want to be laughed at, check out this post on Style...The New Black.

I Heart Paris

I got back on Sunday from a 10-day trip to Paris (yes, the one in France). It was a wonderful trip and I had an awesome time.

Part of what made the trip so wonderful is that the people of Paris are so nice. Really, they are. Forget everything you've heard about them hating Americans; it's just not true. Or at least, that was not my experience.

If you walk into a shop that sells clothing or fine linens while you are carrying a cup of coffee from Starbucks (yes, it's available), you don't say "Bonjour" to anyone, and you begin to demand immediate attention, you will get the stink eye. And you should. In America, where the customer is always right and the shops are staffed by people who are often trained only to use the register, that behavior is tolerated. (It's still horribly impolite, however, and please note that if I am in the shop at that time, I am judging you.) In France, where shopkeeping and waiting tables are professions, and people are proud to do an excellent job, it is not.

I found that making an effort to speak French (and my French is very, very limited) was appreciated. Most people switched to English immediately and seemed happy to do so. Maybe they wanted to practice their English, maybe they wanted to make things easier -- or maybe they just couldn't stand to hear me butcher their beautiful language. But they were polite and friendly about it, and I appreciated it.

Bottom line: in this, as in so many other things, your mother was right. Manners count.

Hiding Out At Home

About a week ago, the Army Dude asked me if I wanted to get up really early on the Friday after Thanksgiving and go shopping. My response was "Have you met me?


Hell no, I don't want to go shopping on the busiest retail day of the year. There is nothing I need or want so badly that I would get up while it is still dark and fight crowds for it. Nothing. Not even at Tiffany's. I started my Yuletide shopping weeks ago to avoid just this sort of panic.


Instead, I have spent the day doing yoga, napping, reading, browsing catalogs, and getting my holiday baking plan organized. (Oh, and I also showered. Go me!) Tonight, I'm going to eat leftover lasagne and watch a movie in my pajamas.


Now that's how you spend a bonus day off.

It's A MAJOR Award!

I have an ongoing quest to bring the most obnoxious gift possible to my company's annual Christmas Yankee Swap. I'm not sure why. It could be because I resent having to go to three different company Christmas parties and the swap in the office is the last one. Or it could be because one year a friend brought a reindeer hitch cover to the swap and I thought it was hilarious.


My first attempt was a huge Christmas snow globe with snowmen and reindeer inside. It played eleven different Christmas songs. It lit up. The lights changed color. The "snow" was made of little balls of styrofoam. At the party, the son of one of my co-workers fell in love with the thing so his dad had to swap for it. The person he took it from was actually disappointed.


Last year I purchased a calendar with vintage pinup gals from the 1940s. I taped some lottery tickets to it and I warned the ladies I work with which gift to avoid. I thought it would be like a hot potato but the boys fought to get it.


This year I'm bringing a leg lamp from A Christmas Story. It looks exactly like the one in the movie, except it's smaller and therefore more tasteful. Well, it's smaller anyway. Nobody could possibly want that. Could they?

Anticipation Runs Rampant at Old Maid HQ

I'm ridiculously excited about the new Lanvin collection for H&M. I couldn't get a picture of any of the looks without stealing from Tom and Lorenzo over at Project Rungay. I adore TLo and I would never do that.

I also adore Lanvin. Whether vintage (like the dress above, from the 1950s) or modern, Lanvin clothing always exudes a certain ladylike sophistication. The collection for H&M is awesome, and priced in a range I can aspire to. Even if none of the dresses fit properly (the H&M customer is, after all, young and junior sized while -- let's face it -- I am hovering in the neighborhood of being a senior citizen) the collection includes jewelry, sunglasses, jackets, and shoes. I will own something with a Lanvin label!

The collection goes on sale November 24 and I can't wait. Pathetic, isn't it?