|
|
Life of Colleen
Happy Saturday!: Please don't ever change...
posted by Colleen Shirazi
2009-07-11
at 5:54 PM (Pacific)
No particular theme here (beyond the obvious); just three of their songs I've liked for, ah, decades.Labels: music, videos
0 Comment(s)
 
Troika 4
posted by Colleen Shirazi
2009-07-08
at 8:24 PM (Pacific)
This is a bit fluffy, even by my standards...okay, I live for this stuff. It's just cute: the kid on a bike, the nice sunny day, rows of sweets in a shop, Brigitte Bardot singing... I challenge you to watch this without smiling.
This is a decent bra, actually. Of the mainstream brands I tried recently, Vanity Fair was best, and Body Superior Support Contour the nicest of the make. (Olga and Bali had beautiful bras, but with an annoying boob-smushing tendency.)
I knew it. There are two Dream Angels demi bras: the sale version (crap) and these. Note the narrow strip of velvety material sewn to the straps. Still not worth $48 imo, but the grey and soft plum models (neither of which made it into the pic) are killer.Labels: perfume, troika, videos, wardrobe
0 Comment(s)
Troika 3
posted by Colleen Shirazi
2009-06-25
at 8:02 PM (Pacific)
Sixpence None the Richer, "Kiss Me"
Yay! Finally located a copy of the original, "Jules and Jim" video for this lovely song.
(Looks like my old "Lipstick Page" photography, eh? It's not, I'm just saying.)
Ever the shampoo whore, I picked this up on a whim. Turned out to be cool stuff: an archetypal granola-flavored, health-food-store shampoo. Too thin in consistency to please conventional shampoo-ers, and too herbal in scent, this golden liquid feels almost oily on hair, yet rinses almost too clean (not looking for squeaky), leaving hair feeling pretty darn good.
It does build up, used daily over time, but who cares. Just switch to something else for a while.
I'm impressed enough with this to consider trying other Aubrey Organics hair products.
Dr. Hauschka Nasturtium and Lemon Shampoo, revisited.
Cannot laud this enough; even though, as a shampoo, it's a bit of a total rip-off (raised from $13 to $20 a pop). So, I don't use it as a shampoo, but rather as a scalp treatment, applying a small amount to the top of my head, and washing the main part of my hair with a cheaper shampoo.
This has "cured" that top-of-the-head itchy scalp thing I had, when used over time. I don't think it cured it--I think it just doesn't irritate the top of my head, the way just about every other shampoo does.
Aubrey Organics shampoo image courtesy www.nonasties.com.auLabels: dr. hauschka, hair, music, product reviews, troika, videos
0 Comment(s)
Wardrobe natterings
posted by Colleen Shirazi
2009-06-20
at 9:40 PM (Pacific)
Hermmmmm...this blog has diverted, lately, from its original frivolous purpose.
I checked out the Victoria's Secret semi-annual sale today. Walked out without anything. It crossed my mind I'd done that a couple of times, and that it probably was a sign. Do I ever actually need to go back there again? The VS panties are good, but you can buy them online. The bras you like are close to $50. You can get Wacoal for less than that.
I tried what I thought was this one:
It wasn't marked down in the store, but I was sure I'd seen it online for $12 less. I noticed something strange though; there were two kinds of them. Very similar in appearance, co-mingled in the VS stack o' see-through drawers, but not the same bra.
The "nice" Angels demi bra has straps with a sort of strip of velvet on them, and a much better construction. The "sale" Angels demi bra is crap, like all the other VS sale bras I tried on today.
sighs It used to be a good shop. Seriously. Now I think you're better off in a department store, or buying from an etailer with a good return policy.
I've started to compile a list of wardrobe rules, like "Gibbs' Rules" from NCIS.
- Never screw over your partner. This rule supersedes all other rules. (Just kidding, that is an actual Gibbs' Rule.)
- Never shop at Banana Republic. Mind you, I like their clothes, but that's the problem. The lasting quality varies wildly. Take this top:
I really like this; it's amazingly useful. It functions as a hot-weather top, but can be worn year-round with a cardigan. It's dressy enough, easy to take care of using the "LAMP" of garment care: Cold water/Woolite/Delicate cycle/Mesh bag, yadda yadda...I've washed and worn it many times, feels like every other week at least, since buying it almost a year ago. And it's fine. It went a tad dingy, but I Oxi-Cleaned it, and it looks great.
This on the other hand, was bought around the same time:
Loved the notion of a dark grey cardigan--the buttons are a tad cheesy, admittedly, but I'm okay with that because the rest of the sweater redeems them. The fabric is wonderfully soft and thin, so it's cozy, yet lighter than lambswool, and it's washable (remember "LAMP"?). But I've struggled keeping the pills at bay with this thing. I'm having separation issues at the thought of ever tossing it. So replacing it at BR is out of the question.
- If you shop at a store and walk out without buying anything, twice, reconsider the necessity of returning to that store. Time is money.
Labels: wardrobe
0 Comment(s)
Happy Friday!: Sentimentality
posted by Colleen Shirazi
2009-06-19
at 7:26 PM (Pacific)
Because I don't speak Farsi (beyond "man pul nadaram," "talagh," "ghashange" and the like), it's been a bit difficult for me finding these songs. I've heard them countless times, at a period in my life when I was very lonely...it would be akin to searching for Beatles songs, had they been written in a foreign tongue.
Fortunately, the numbers of these are ever increasing on Youtube. I go through once in a while and see what pops up.
According to comments, this is not Aref, but rather Keyvan and Afshin Moghadam. I don't know Aref's voice that well (he made a video some time in the 80's or 90's that's driving me crazy, I can't find it), and have never heard of Keyvan or Afshin Moghadam. It's Daryush though, hard to miss that.
Hermmm...this rather illustrates my point. I couldn't find a third song for this post. The movie always seemed intriguing, and I do like the song; it's just not one I've been looking for.Labels: music, videos
0 Comment(s)
An 80's moment
posted by Colleen Shirazi
2009-06-02
at 6:41 PM (Pacific)
Morrissey, singer of The Smiths, was once the laughing stock of rock journalism, chiefly for moaning lyrics such as these:
There's a club if you'd like to go
You could meet somebody who really loves you
So you go and you stand on your own
And you leave on your own
And you go home and you cry and you want to die.
Jeez, lighten up... But, once in a while, The Smiths managed to capture the essence of youth, and never more finely than in "There Is a Light..."
Some said Power Station was what Duran Duran would have sounded like, had they a competent singer. But that's not entirely accurate; it's as much the percussion buoying the late Robert Palmer's (superior) voice that ensnares. At the end of the day, I rather like the video, which blends neon drawings with dishy (transsexual) model Caroline Cossey.
I loathe this video actually (save the live performance bits and nifty sign language, and brief glimpses of a guy trying to stack a pyramid, sphere and cube). It strikes me as emblematic of everything stupid and bloated about early MTV--but the song itself is to die for.Labels: music, videos
0 Comment(s)
Sundry bra reviews
posted by Colleen Shirazi
2009-05-30
at 7:59 PM (Pacific)
Happy Saturday! Oh, this really cheeses me off:
This is from the Vanity Fair "Private Collection," exclusively at Macy's (but is carried in a couple other places; try a Net search). It's a fantastic bra...comes in ethereal greyish blue, cream, nude-toned mauve, and black, and it's affordable.
What ires me: the smallest band size in this style is 36. I rifled the rack at Macy's, cursed them for not stocking my size, then went home, did some Googling and realized the dang thing doesn't come any smaller than that. Whaaaaat???????? I would have bought some, otherwise. Who says full figure has to start at 36 band size?
Tried this on, while I was at it:
...the Maidenform "Meant-to-be-Seen" Lace Cami Bra...as a possible less $ alternative to the Natori versions. Ugh. The lace so does not lie nicely as it does in the image. It just sort of...doesn't do anything. I'm not even sure it would look like a camisole at all, it just seemed to cover the lower part of the bra, which you wouldn't want to show anyway, and it doesn't lie flat.
I'd like to give the Natori Zen one a try--annoyingly enough, they didn't have it at Nordstrom, much less Macy's--but the thought occurs, it might be just as easy to make one yourself. Couldn't you take a regular bra and finagle a piece of lace over it? In fact what would be even better, would be something like the top of an actual camisole...a piece of lightweight cloth with lace sewn at the top, rather than (see-through) pure lace, or at least some kind of opaque lace fabric.
I'm a sewing clod, unfortunately...as a skill, it would be priceless these days...but I like small projects like that.
Wacoal's "Embrace Lace" bra. Loved this; it doesn't look like much, but it supports as well as those much bigger-looking bras. And the drifts of flowers are enchanting. I tried the nude one under a white shirt...it's well to wear a white top while bra shopping...looked fine to me.
Random bra advice...I read somewhere to try on adjustable bras using the biggest hook setting. The logic is the bra will stretch out with wear, then you can use one of the smaller settings, and then go smaller. I'd add it might depend on how stable your weight is. If it fluctuates, it might be better to go with the middle setting instead. (Likewise, you should be able to tighten the straps later on.)
The band should do most of the support, not the straps. It took me a long time to figure that out. If the back rides up, and you're shortening the straps a lot, the band is too big.Labels: wardrobe
0 Comment(s)
Dreams of Californication
posted by Colleen Shirazi
2009-05-23
at 7:36 PM (Pacific)
Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Californication"
Since this version got yanked from Youtube--and doubtlessly will be yanked from Guba, eventually--you might as well watch it now. My favorite part involves driving on the Golden Gate Bridge (who hasn't wanted to do it that way?).
Hermmm...years after sulfate-less shampoos became a miniature rage, L'Oreal cranks out their line of same. I haven't tried 'em, though I suspect they are good (L'Oreal being eerily adept at haircare); I've long used health food store shampoos to avoid color-fading ingredients (you will need to read product labels, if that's what you're after).
 Sundance Catalog's Madeleine dress
I saw this in person today. It's not as mellifluous as pictured...the colors seemed a bit harsh. Whilst this looked prettier than in the image (ah, my obsession with white shirts):
Labels: hair, music, sundance catalog, videos, wardrobe
0 Comment(s)
Mmmmm...
posted by Colleen Shirazi
2009-05-16
at 12:32 PM (Pacific)
...you can tell Don Henley is a drummer, more than a singer. I like that, though, in the sense of the background coming to the fore, the foreground receding...ideal for this song.Labels: music, videos
0 Comment(s)
Sundry thoughts
posted by Colleen Shirazi
2009-05-11
at 7:40 PM (Pacific)
Oh, get outta here with that crinkled, no-iron, washable silk tank. I've actually tried this on; it's not worth the retail price imo, buuuuut...it just looks so darn useful.
Even the shade pictured--it's deeper in real life, more to the ecru than to the cream--you could pair it with so very many different skirts and slacks, and the deeper colors and reasonable arm-holes mean less sweat-stain worries. You wash it, squash it, hang it to dry...it works tucked in or worn loose, thanks to the nifty lace at the hem.
Am I talking myself into buying this thing? Eh...but I am up for something similar.
What caught my eye here was the sprightly, many-hued print. The all-is-made-in-China world o' apparel is ruled by prints of only two colors--much as pockets and extra fabric in the seams have bitten the dust.
This looks like something I could totally not wear, but you never know.
I love this unexpected duet. Michigan's Iggy Pop, better known as the Godfather of Punk, a shirtless dude jumping around before Anthony Kiedis (but after Jim Morrison), singing a love song with...Kate Pierson? half of the glamorous side of the B-52's (ask your mother). Yet, it works.Labels: music, sundance catalog, videos, wardrobe
0 Comment(s)
Happy Friday: Sundry thoughts and product reviews 1
posted by Colleen Shirazi
2009-05-01
at 6:37 PM (Pacific)
Mmmmm...love a Southern guy who keeps his accent. :) This song in particular evokes a slew of things I miss, in the almost 24 years I've been a Southern expatriate. You can hear the grits in this music, and the red clay and kudzu, and the people sipping iced tea from their screened porches.
Brushpicks! My mil turned us on to these. They are essentially plastic toothpicks, but with a tiny brush at one end and a curved pick at the other.
These are sturdy enough to be washed out and re-used many times...but the genius lies in the brush end. When you're totally knackered at the end of the day, and feel like doing nothing so much as brushing your teeth and falling into bed, you can use the brush end of this thing to quickly floss your teeth.
Woolite Dark Laundry, revisited.
Recently repurchased my dual Woolites of regular and Dark Laundry (though I have sighted Woolite for All Colors at Costco). So two Woolites last me almost four months.
It's a bit difficult to say at this point whether Dark Laundry is better than regular Woolite on darks. I have a black linen dress which now shows the most minimal signs of wear, but the thing is legitimately old. The newer darks look pretty good.
Dark Laundry costs the same as regular Woolite, is as mild, and smells nice. If it works even nominally better on darks, you haven't lost anything. I'll probably have a better feel for it after another four months or so, though.Labels: music, product reviews, videos, wardrobe
0 Comment(s)
Sundry thoughts and product reviews
posted by Colleen Shirazi
2009-04-25
at 10:36 PM (Pacific)
Was home sick for two days...with one of those weird colds from Hell, the kind I used to get all the time in Washington State. One staple of the Pacific Northwest is Sudafed (or the Costco version, at a better price).
Whilst guzzling generic Sudafed and painkillers, I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands, and thoughts began to meander toward...our economy. Sure, there's an extremely ugly side to it; but in the long run, it will be interesting to see how it turns out. I feel it's like much of life. If you can last through the crappy parts, you end up on a higher plane.
When I was growing up (pre-Internet of course), if you wanted to shop for clothes, you went to New York City. :) Okay, some people actually did go to New York, but the rest of us had to settle for local department stores. There were Leggett and Smith & Welton, along with the prosaic (and now defunct) Monkey Wards, Sears, J.C. Penney and the like.
At the time I was constantly bitching why I couldn't find clothes similar to those in Seventeen magazine. There was some truth to it--"conservative" is too pale a term for 1970's Norfolk, Virginia--but, in retrospect, I was a lousy shopper. I "couldn't find a hooker in a whorehouse"; there were good clothes about, I just had no strategy.
So--even as b & m choices morphed from a mix of local stores and chains to...chains...and women coast-to-coast began to wear exactly the same clothes...simultaneously, a million online stores opened up. And just as the clever women of decades ago had their sources, and always looked smart while the rest of us clearly shopped at Monkey Wards, it's well to develop your own small list of where to go, for what.
While I was home, I started poking around on the Net to see what could be found locally. I actually like online shopping, in a deranged way--combing customer reviews of the item, trying to find someone with my body type--I think they should ask your measurements, for writing reviews. They are anonymous reviews after all. Shouldn't they ask for height, weight, and bust-waist-hip measurements? It sounds horrible, but wouldn't it be more helpful than your age range, which they do ask?
It should be voluntary, but I'll wager women who shop online would be more willing than not to share their measurements, because that's what's crucial to buying something you can't try on.
Yet, online shopping alone gets to be expensive. And so, in this early 2009, random, Google-flavored, Sudafed-induced stupor, I discovered four new places to shop for clothes locally. Hm. Not bad.
This is stellar when you're sick:
According to my mil--if you have a runny nose, you need to drink much more water.
I'm one of those sad sacks who loathe drinking water, but I like plain hot water or hot tea. The Yogi ginger tea is surprisingly tasty, despite its herbal ingredients; it tastes overwhelmingly of ginger. The other components merely pop the ginger and keep it from going bitter.
At first blush, Sundance Catalog's Riley Linen shirt would appear yet another heartlessly-priced Sundance offering, however attractively presented. But I've seen it in person, and--in that uncanny sixth-sense o' Sundance, there is something to it. It's engineered...to be wrinkled.
Now, I don't care about wrinkles on my face (I know, I should care), so I'd hardly wish to care about wrinkles in my clothes. Though I am one of those freaky people who don't mind ironing--I'm not particularly good at it, but I am competent--it is time-consuming. This shirt struck me as being impossible to iron; you'd ruin the effect.
It's something I've sought, for quite a while...on travel-clothing sites and others...crinkled clothing, or items otherwise designed not to be ironed.
Garnet Hill Button-Front Scoop-Neck Tee review, part 2.
Garnet Hill came through with their free exchange policy, and I now have two of these shirts. Definitely, your bust size determines which size to order. I tried the Large, ran it through the dryer (even at low heat, most cotton items shrink one size when tumble-dried), and came up with something wearable. If you're really stacked, I have to question if even the XL would work or would pull across the bust.
You need a camisole under it; these guys are not kidding. The white one I got was more ordinary than the Dusty Aqua, and part of me rather wishes I'd gotten either Graphite (dark grey) or Paprika (the peppy burnt orange one), but this is a top you reach for when it's hot. For me, white or off-white is far more versatile (mix it with any summer-weight skirt or any pants).Labels: garnet hill, product reviews, sundance catalog, wardrobe
0 Comment(s)
|
