The Queen of Spades

Will either ruin you or she'll

Help you shoot the moon.

31 Corn Lane

My google alerts led to the discovery of 31 Corn Lane, a purse business based out of Manhattan that is run by three clever young women who also happen to be sisters! The name of their business (now this is why they are so clever~) is actually the address to the house that they grew up in in New Jersey! You will have to watch their UTube Video to let them speak for themselves~

http://urbanupdater.wordpress.com/2009/02/04/31-corn-lanes-totally-handmade-purses/

(or here is a link to their video anyway)

These women seem to be designing purses largely in basic colors like navy blue and brown, with a major horse theme and to be honest I don't know that I am all too crazy about the style. To each her own, I suppose.

There really is a purse out there for every woman. Truly I believe this. If she just believes hard enough, one day she will run into him-or i mean-it.

FLUXnoveau

If you are ever in Fremont in Seattle, be sure to pop into Tininha's Botique. She has lots of nice clothes, including several items from FLUXnoveau.

On their website, www.fluxnouveau.com, FLUXnouveau describes its clothing philosophy as "effortless clothing that translates well in any situation. It is a creation of a relationship between personality and style, clothing with its own character fusing with your individuality and spirituality. Creating it is an art, wearing it is an art… l’art de vivre."

FLUXnouveau has a flowing style; lots of half-dresses; and generally makes clothing in more subdued colors; dark browns, blues, and light pinks. FLUXnoubeau is based out of LA, and attends trade shows all along the West coast, in Hawaii, Dallas, and New York City.

If only I could afford all of this line's wonderful clothing!!

First Thursday Artwalk

I just went on the First Thursday Artwalk in NW Portland! We started out at the City Hall, which had artwork in an African-American theme. Saw a nice pastel drawing of the new first family. Also had free beer, PLUS Portland's infamous mayor Sam Adams made an appearance!!! From there, we went to Powell's books, where we saw the original etchings for a new children's book. After this, we went to the Lawrence Gallery, which has originals of Dali and Picasso as well as beautiful local artwork!!!


We wound up our artist evening at BackSpace, which is a coffeeshop/internet cafe by day, but turns into a pretty hip place in the evening, with drinks, and a turntable, and breakdancing! Also made a pit-stop at the Everett Lofts, which are homes to artists who open up their space to artists once a month to look at the art they have created during the previous four weeks.

San Francisco City Lights

I first discovered San Francisco City Lights clothing from Blinx store on Bainbridge several years ago. I bought two cotton tank tops with built-in bras and a pair of capris and they lasted FOREVER!!! This clothing is ultra-comfortable, and I have received lots of compliments on this clothing. Since then I have purchased several more City Lights items, both from Blinx and from a fabulous outlet store in South-of-the-Market in San Francisco. (this clothing is not cheap; but the outlet store had some radical prices).

San Francisco City Lights makes clothing for yoga, working out, or just casual wear. The clothing is made with bright colors, and all-or at least most-of it is machine washable.

You can order City Lights Clothing at www.baybasics.com

The Joy Luck Club

just devoured this book, literally. I don't recall having read a book so effortlessly or seamlessly before. Amy Tan wrote this story about four mothers and four daughters, and each chapters are told from the first person perspective, switching from daughter and mother and back again.

All of the mothers have immigrated to the United States from China, and live in or near San Francisco. Their daughters are Chinese-American.

The story deals with the difficult situations the mothers had escaped from, which prompted their moving to the US, and also their daughters inability to understand their own mothers. Since their mother's speak in broken English; Cantonese or Mandarin are their native languages; their daughters, fluent in English, think that their mother's thoughts are broken as well.

I just finished writing a novella that dealt with the relationship between daughters and mothers, which is perhaps why I took such a keen interest in this book.