It’s so weird to think about 80s icons having Facebook pages now.

Anyway. She’s so cute & I’m having 80s fashion flashbacks. Peach jeans, jazz boots, sweatshirt dresses. I totally need a heather grey sweatshirt dress to wear with Raybans and loafers. Immediately.

But sites like Pinterest and Polyvore can really be calming and stressful all at once. They’re super handy because I’m all over the place with my style and decor, and sometimes I want to feel more discerning and directed.  It really hones my aesthetic and is fascinating from a magpie point of view – what am I picking up and saying “ohhh! shiny!!” about? On the other hand, I can’t afford all that stuff, and some people can. It hurts my head to be exposed too much to people whom before-blogs I maybe wouldn’t have crossed paths with, people who think nothing of having many pairs of $900 shoes. Haves and Have nots, blown up 23719872342-fold with the internet.

So, I do not like to read many blogs that have a lot of Stuff and Desire. I adore ladies like Jen at Honey Kennedy and Ginny Branch who are picky and choosy in all the right ways & find unique new designers and shops, but I have to be careful. I think about consumption a lot, and I can’t have All The Nice Things I Want and I don’t need to be making myself want stuff I don’t need and can’t afford and don’t want to fill landfills with.

And oh, I will want stuff. Against logic I will decide I need some crazy thing I saw, especially makeup products (see last post) or shoes.  I’m usually pretty strict on myself about buying new, plus, there ain’t no money, honey. Luckily, I’m good at finding bargains and wrangling free stuff. Like that locket. Cute, no?

I also fall into the “Wow, I am really not blonde and young and tall and thin and there really is a lot of that and maybe it would be nice if I was but you know that’s not really possible so um maybe I’ll just buy this lipstick instead, ok?” thought process (advertising psychology for the win!) more than I should admit. And I definitely fall off the buying wagon more than I’d like to admit, too. You can’t thrift lipstick.

Never-the-less, there are some things I want right now, for reals. That sounds crazy after all that, right? But it’s true. We’re complex people with complex needs. I can know I need to be frugal and still want a new dress. But instead of running out and buying it all I’m making thrift lists for Palm Springs & keeping eyes peeled.

1. Cameo rings. Though, this is one spot where the internet is working against itself because something I read said “cameos used to be dumpy and now they totally hot.” What does that even MEAN? I still want one. My mom has a couple lovely Victorian family cameo lockets with tiny photos of my great great great grandmother. It’s also really really hard to find nice cameos, and I want rose gold, so we shall see.

2. Vintage hankies. It’s allergy/cold season. I’ve had a stack I saved because they were pretty but now i’m using them as they were meant to be used. Delicious.

3. Babies. Sean saw me adding baby things to Pinterest and said “You do know that’s not how you make babies, right?” The internet is probably 75% responsible for my baby wanting right now. I will probably not find one in Palm Springs. Though you never know. Wink wink.

4. A striped blazer. This one might be a buy-new investment, something really nice, if I can’t find it thrifting.

5. Champagne coupes. I know they’re not as good for the champagne as flutes, but I don’t care. Also doesn’t really go with the babies. Whoops.

6. Plain porcelain vases. Yep.

How about you? Are you as prone to falling into desire-fits from blogs?

What I allowed to be a short rest and recovery after the wedding is fast becoming stagnation. I have plans! Things to tackle!! Time to get up and go! Rest is well & good, but sometimes we need to recharge like a car battery – in motion. I’ve allowed myself to rest long enough – now it’s time to claw my way through the fog and begin accomplishing all I know I need to in the new year.

Ideally I’d spend New Year’s in Lone Grove or Big Sur, sloughing off the past year and drinking in goodness like a greedy child, but this year we are home bound so I need to make my own tiny sanctuary.

Step one = bath + candles + book + glass of wine + clove cigarette. The whole room time travels, space travels, and the steam and smoke and wine and candlelight create a  nowhere-ness, giving me the space and perspective and moment I need to step back and let things fall into place. It’s not the most physically cleansing of meditations, but it works for me, always. The tiniest of rituals.

Clean Slate from Apothekerri is my ideal soak for this – it’s a tea bag of herbs + a fizzy – she’s not messing around here. Soak 2010 down the drain and start 2011 fresh and clean. I’m sloughing off old patterns, all the negative energies and sadness I’ve carried with me through this hard, hard year, to let my magic emerge scrubbed sparkling and ready for the new year.

I’ve been harassing Kerri from Apothekerri about doing a giveaway/interview for some time, but she’s been busy brewing up new products for the new year & I’m always doing something, so the interview will have to wait! I know I never do this sort of thing, but I’ve been using her bath fizzies and melts for something like TEN YEARS now and they’re the only ones that don’t make me itchy and sad. I love love love them, and she is an amazing lady and a perfectionist about these products. All natural, handmade, super magical. I want to share them with the world!! It’s crazy that I’ve been using them for almost as long as I’ve been living in San Francisco (15 years on January 16, crazy!) but most of the world knows nothing about them!

So a Clean Slate bath treat + some other Apothekerri treats will go to a commenter a week from now- except it’s a trade! You have to tell me your clean slate secrets for the new year – how do you reboot & recharge?

(P.S. Paxton Gate, Scarlet Sage, and Dark Garden carry her bath products in the Bay Area.)

Every hexmas I watch Bell, Book & Candle – I think Gillian might be my #1 fashion icon. For dinner this year, I’ve got a long sleeve black silk velvet 1960s dress I plan to sparkle up with rhinestone bracelets and brooches. I need way more dressing up occasions in my life! New Years resolution?

Click for item details in Polyvore!

Anyway, Ireland! We only brought a few family presents back for the holidays, but I wish we’d been able to get more.  For us, we brought back an Aran Isles grey and slate blue plaid blanket – it’s become my new favorite thing for curling up under on the couch.

The weird looking things in the lower right corner are peat bricks for burning! We want to order some for our holiday tea party. They make the most amazing sweet smoky smell, one of my favorite things about Ireland. If you don’t have a fireplace (we’re very lucky!!) try the Patch NYC pipe candle.

& finally, the last of the honeymoon photos.  Mostly Clifden, a wee harbor town on the west coast.