I went to a Naked Lady Party last night hosted by my fab friend Maggie. It was a blast! I came home with a big bag of clothes (the same amount I went with), many of which are super fantastico. Maggie and I had gone to a NLP that was monstrous-everyone was a 2 or a 0 (Maggie’s a voluptuous 10 and I’m a 14/16), so she had vowed to give her own party where we’d get more than hats and maternity clothes.

Of course we did it West Coast Style (dump all clothes in the middle of the room and have at it), but I have to say that girls really are kinder to each other than pop culture would have you believe(or maybe it was the champagne). Everyone was dressing each other (”Oh, you have to try this on, it’s so you!”) and it was as much fun to play dress up with someone else (especially if they are thinner/taller/bustier/whatever you secretly want to be-er) as it is with yourself.

Just remember to wear really cute underwear (I bought these (in black) just for the occasion).

One of my obsessions is “street” fashion, or what ordinary people wear. There need to be a lot more websites for this! A Life and Style for the rest of us.

My favorites: the the original, the New York Times Style Section’s “On the Street.”

Flypaper also has a section called “Curbside Catwalk” which I adore.

I noticed that Lucky added a girl on the street section (with how to steal her look).

Last year, I posted a picture every day (on my other blo-g) of what I was wearing. This was during a difficult job time (read: really bored). I put together a gallery.

I’m thinking about starting this again, since it is the one thing that people mention they miss about my bl-g.

I’m totally freaking out* about the state of filth my house is in. I’m sure this has nothing to do with the 1000 word book review I am supposed to be writing right now. Nothing.

Wicked makes good washing dishes music.

*I’m from the OC, I’m allowed to talk like this un-ironically.

I am feeling feisty today. FEISTY! It might be the coffee. I’ve had rather a lot today.

So, I’ve suffered from acne since I hit puberty (if anyone is playing along at home, that’s nearly 20 years ago). I’ve been on almost every drug that they have (topical, antibiotics, even Accutane (the atom bomb of acne treatment)). At the moment it is pretty tolerable, I have a strtict daily regimine of Differin gel, gentle cleansing, exfoliation and drying products to keep things manageable. I went to see a new dermotologist recently, and he was amusingly Oregonian (he suggested I be sure to “get some sun” which is so not the advice my California dermo used to give).

He recommended a new Rx for me, which he said would “zap” (old school!) any blemishes that appeared. I was skeptical, since I’ve heard about “miracle cures” and tried them all to varied success, including Accutane (which is supposed to basically make it so you never have breakouts again. While it helped a lot, it hasn’t been a panacea). However, this stuff really is a miracle!

It’s Sulfacetamide/Sulfur. I am spreading 5% Sulfur solution on my face! It really works, though, it dries up the blemish in a day or so. You add drops of red dye when you get it until it is the perfect color to mask the zit. Ask your doctor for it, they love it when patients ask for drugs by name!

After my post on Sunday about a classy brunch of mimosas, the sun came out. We’ve had 200% of our normal rainfall this winter in Portland, so when the sun comes out, you go out. It turned out to be the perfect day to clean the car, which Mr Man did admirably:

The picture got me thinking about being fabulous. I don’t want this to be a Stephanie Klein/SatC type of blog, where I blather on about Manolos and New York and my job at Conde Nast. I’m not that kind of girl, and those girls do it better than me anyway. I’m a girl who works at a public university in a city that is midwestern in every aspect except geography, who lives on a gravel road in the suburbs. But I am committed to having fun everyday, to living my life to the fullest the same way those (imaginary?) Bergdorf Blondes are. I just choose to do it on Portland on 25% of their salaries while wearing Steve Maddens(from Ross).

In this pic, you’ll see my soon to be guest house, the trailer (I stole the idea from Cynthia Rowley) which, come springtime, will be a glamourous cottage complete with all the comforts of home.

We’re kinda broke this week, but once the sun shone, we went outside, cleaned out the car, had a few beers and a wonderful day.

That’s the spirit of fabulous: making fun while the sun shines and lemon drops out of lemons!

It occurred to me that I know the name of Jennifer Garner’s dog (Martha Stewart) for the same reason that I know the name of Dooce’s dog (Chuck) and Fussy’s dog (Katie): connection. We all long to feel connected to the people we share the world with, and those who are “famous” (online and otherwise) seem so far away from us that we long to know mundane details about them, to make them more familiar. Hence the popularity of online lives and Star magazine and the E! Channel.

I’m currently watching Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, so it is possible that the combo of the Beatles and the Bee-Gees has made me all fuzzy-I-love-humanity and the real reason Life & Style is so popular is that people want to feel superior to rich people, and so love pics of them being humiliated while looking awful. I like my idea better.

Incidentally, I have a sister named Jennifer who is married to a man named Chuck and they have a daughter named Katie. Conincidence? I think SO! And my dog’s name is Budgie.

As this isn’t a Superbowl household (I don’t watch, The Man doesn’t watch, we’re more World Cup watchers) we aren’t planning a party, but it is still nice to indulge in the festive feeling that Superbowl Sunday gives.

On that note, I picked up a bottle of Freixenet “champagne-type” sparkling wine yesterday at Target ($9!) for mimosas this morning. It is really quite acceptable, much better than the Cook’s and Korbel wines at the same price point. I’ve never been too fond of champagne (and even less after New Year’s Eve 2002 when I consumed, conservatively, 47 Kir Royales) but lately I am enjoying it more.

Of course, if its Vueve or Bolly that is another story, but I don’t want to spend $50 and then dump it together with oj concentrate.

With this site, I hope to provide you with a on-going guide to being fabulous in a ho-hum of world. That doesn’t mean breaking the bank on yourself, your clothes or your house. Fabulous means looking, feeling and living happy at least 75% of the time.

I am watching Top Gun. When this movie came out (in 1986, I was an impressionable 13 year old trying to survive my parents’ divorce and the onset of boobs) I went to see it in the theatre 13 times.

So I know a little something about being fabulous.