Why Did I Buy It?

When I go shopping with my daughter Cassandra, I seem to lose the rational part of my mind. I’ll try on something, she’ll say it looks great you need to buy it, and I do. More than once I have regretted my purchase, but the one item I can barely look at is the infamous Kelly green top.

I literally don’t know what came over me. First off, it’s a color that I never wear. Secondly, it’s huge. Thirdly, it’s not my style. And fourthly, it cost $350!!!!!

Hurts to admit, but I have NEVER worn it. Once I tried to sell it on Poshmart, without success. Every now and then I take it out of the storage bin and sneak a peek. Nope, still hate it.

So, to sum up this sad blog post, what would I do with the $350 if I could take back time? What else, but go on another shopping adventure with Cassandra.

 

Why Did I Sell It?

Years ago, while in NYC, I happened upon a wonderful little shop called Bettie Paige. Bettie, the quintessential pin-up star from the 50’s, was a playboy model and winner of the prestigious Pin-up Girl of the World contest. Her style was the essence of sexy, and her clothing represented her naughty girl style.

It was a fun shop filled with retro clothes, and I ended up purchasing a retro, light-weight leopard cardigan sweater with ¾ sleeves. Perfect for Los Angeles.

I loved the sweater, but I didn’t wear it much. Actually, “much” is an exaggeration. I only remember wearing it once. Several years later, during a closet declutter, I decided to bid farewell to my Bettie sweater and listed it on eBay where it sold in a matter of days.

A few more years passed and while looking for a new purse on Amazon, saw this darling yellow purse (see photo above). Click. Love the purse and immediately went to look for my leopard sweater. And then I remembered. I sold it.

It would have made such a cute outfit. Picture it: black boots, jeans, leopard sweater and my yellow purse with leopard trim. Cause that is what it will always be – just a picture in my head.

Next up – Why Did I Buy It?

 

This is a Story

We love The Broad Museum. It’s been around since 2015 and is dedicated exclusively to postwar and contemporary art, emphasizing works created primarily from the 1950’s onward.

It offers free general admission with a small fee for special exhibits. A few years ago, we saw a wonderful exhibit of Keith Haring and last week we went to the Robert Therrien exhibit that featured 120 pieces of his art from simple drawings to super large pieces.

One thing I love about his work is that he chose to leave most of his works untitled. His reasoning was that the viewer was supposed to figure that out for themself. Okay Robert, I christen this exhibit Alice EllenBee in Wonderland Wonderful!

 

"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."

Last week I suffered a bad fall. Diagnosis: Closed nondisplaced fracture of greater tuberosity of left humerus. Despite my depressingly painful condition, I am going to a baseball game today, well, sort of. Hot dogs, fries and watching 42 from the comfort of my bed.

42 is the story of Jackie Robinson, starring Chadwick Boseman, and one of my all-time favorite films. Once a year, on April 15th, the MLB honors Jackie Robinson on the anniversary he made his major league debut. The year was 1947 and it ended approximately 80 years of baseball segregation.

Thank you Jackie for making a major impact on all our lives. 

 

Kennedy #3
Jackie and Me

Many years ago, when Jacqueline Kennedy was in the White House, I read an article about her iconic fashion style. She admitted to the writer that whenever she found a clothing item she loved, she would buy it in several colors.

I don’t know why that sounded like a brilliant idea, but from that moment forward, her clothing philosophy became a part of my life. Case in point shoes. I love Naot shoes and bought 3 identical shoes in different colors. T- shirts – I have the same one in 5 colors. But I don’t stop at clothes. Placemats – I have the identical set in grey, yellow, black and blue. I could go on and on but think you get the idea.

As I often do, I checked with Google to see what this peculiar trait might mean and found out it runs the gambit. It could be as simple as a way to express my style, or OCD, where individuals feel compelled to acquire multiples of the same item, even if unnecessary.

Well, that’s a relief. I know it’s not OCD, because I definitely needed 3 pairs of identical shoes, 5 identical t-shirts and 4 identical sets of placemats!

 

Kennedy #2

My mother loved JFK. She not only kept up with the daily news, she also kept up with the state of their marriage. I recall the day my mother told me that Jackie and JFK had had a fight. I asked how she knew and she smiled and said, because during an outing together neither JFK nor Jacqueline looked at each other. Not once. My mother knew because she and my father fought. A lot.

The day he was shot my mother was heartbroken. I remember my parents having a long conversation about whether we should all go to Washington DC for the funeral. They eventually decided not to go because of the crowds, but our family mourned together in my father’s den watching the news. No smiles that day.

Three horrific events. The assignation of JFK, the Northridge earthquake and 9/11. All three have left a scar on my heart.

 

Ring-a-Ling

It was rather windy the other day and our windchime was singing a song that brought to mind a sweet memory. The sound of the Good Humor truck calling out to all the kiddos on the block that dessert was now being served.

The Good Humor man knew not only our names but also our favorite icy delights. We were also friends with the Fruitman and the Milkman, who both made weekly deliveries to our house.

My favorite delivery truck however was the Dugan’s Bakery man, who delivered my all-time favorite cupcakes. Each box contained six vanilla cupcakes, which meant that my two sisters and I each got to devour two. No cupcake I have ever tasted since, as ever been as good as Dugan’s. The secret was the frosting. It was one inch thick and tasted like a chocolate candy bar. Nirvana.

Tonight we had TJ’s Red Velvet Chocolate cupcakes for dessert. Yes, they were decadently delicious, but not as good as Dugan’s.