What I Read: Girl Power Edition

I know I promised you something else last time – and I will updated my blog roll one of these days, I swear – but today I’m going to tell you about what I’ve been reading recently.

First, thanks to all of you who recommended the Maisie Dobbs series to me. I’ve read 3 of the books now, and I’m enjoying the series a lot. It reminds me of the Miss Fisher mysteries, except without all the money angst on my part. Sidenote: I cannot be the only person who found Phryne’s spending to be anxiety-inducing. I rarely get so invested in the financial lives of imaginary characters, but I was constantly on edge about that when I first started reading the series. By comparison, Maisie is a model of fiscal responsibility, which I appreciate because it allows me to focus on the plot. The slight “woo” aspect of the character – Maisie meditates at murder scenes to get a “feel” for the victim/killer? Something to that effect, anyway – threw me off at first, but I otherwise enjoy the psychological angle that she brings to her cases. And I like the whole “independent modern woman” angle, obviously. Overall, the writing is good, and the whodunnits are interesting enough, so the series makes for a pleasant escape. My only quibble is that the paperbacks in this series are expensive to buy, and rarely turn up at the thrift store; my only other option is the public library, which is not close to my house so … bah humbug.

My second book recc is A House Full of Women by Juliet Nicolson, which was a random thrift find. [Note to self: I need to spend more time looking at the non-fiction section in thrift stores.] This is a family memoir of 7 generations of women in the author’s family, starting with her great-great-grandmother. Her grandmother was Vita Sackville-West, whose name was familiar to me but about whom I didn’t know much except that she ran in the same circles as Virginia Woolf and that Bloomsbury crowd. Anyway, the family had plenty of scandals and interesting chapters in its history, which are detailed with a great deal of candour by Nicolson. [Spoiler warning: Victorians were, apparently, quite the randy bunch.]

As an only child of an only child, I have always been fascinated by large families with rich histories. I know a lot about my grandparents on both sides, and a little bit about my great-grandparents, but I’d be hard-pressed to say anything about any earlier branches of my family tree. I don’t even know names, much less have any contemporary records. So the idea of being able to trace your family history – supporting by voluminous written materials, including correspondence, diaries, etc. – back even two hundred years is amazing to me. So I liked the idea of A House Full of Women in principle, and also found it an enjoyable read. It did make me want to read a full-length biography of Sackville-West and some of her contemporaries.

Since I am trying to temper my Amazon addiction, I didn’t rush to immediately look up new biographies. Instead, I went to my library and pulled out Savage Beauty, a biography of one of my favourite poets, Edna St. Vincent Millay. She was American, not British, but reached the height of her fame in the 1930s. This is one of two Millay biographies I own, and after re-reading it, I realized that it’s probably my second favourite. The other is called What Lips My Lips Have Kissed. With that said, I would recommend either book. Millay was, in many ways, ahead of her time and skirted society’s expectations for women of her era. She was very protective of, and ultimately devoted to, her creative calling as a poet, placing it near the top or at the top of her priority list throughout her life – which made many of her lovers feel resentful. What’s interesting to me is that, whatever her faults as a friend or lover, she wasn’t really doing anything different from what other celebrated male writers have done for centuries. The only difference, of course: she was a woman.

What I would like to read next is a history of France during the Middle Ages; if anyone has recc’s, please send them my way. And, as always, I would love to hear what’s on your reading list.

I Did A Thing, v. 2

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For anyone keeping score at home, this is my second thrifted Burberry coat, and my third Burberry piece overall if you count the black Sandrigham trench I snapped up at my local consignment store late last year. I guess I’m a magnet for Burberry? Hey, there are worse things in life, right? Ironically, this Frances raincoat (with liner!) was my “consolation prize” for my continuing failure to thrift this Zara coat I am determined – DETERMINED, I say – to own:

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If you can believe it, that coat is selling on eBay starting at $150CAD plus shipping. There are listings for $300 and $400. Insanity. I can’t bring myself to pay anything close to the listed price, or even attempt to bargain, so I am going to keep on looking at the thrift store. Meanwhile, I will take whatever consolation the thrift gods want to send my way. Wink wink.

Pondering all my thrift luck made me think about my list of thrift “Holy Grails” – brands I would love to score but haven’t yet found. In the last year, I’ve been fortunate to knock a lot of names off that list, but there’s still a healthy crop left – enough to keep me motivated to keep digging through the racks every week. On that list, in no particular order:

– Valentino
– Acne (I actually once found a pair of Acne jeans but gave them away; still kinda regret that)
– Isabel Marant
– Ann Demeulemeester
– Gucci
– A.L.C.
– Erdem
– Chanel
– Canada Goose (this is just pure practicality)
– Givenchy (bags, mostly)
– Celine
– Lanvin
– YSL

I’m probably missing a few from that list. Do you have any thrifting Holy Grails? What are they and have you found them yet?

Favourite New (Non-Fashion) Finds

I have a love-hate relationship with Amazon Prime. I hate the fact that the whole 2-day shipping thing is largely an empty promise, but I like free shipping no matter the wait involved and I cannot resist the vast array of inexpensive products (and books, natch!) at my fingertips. So there is a fairly regular stream of packages arriving at my door courtesy of Prime, especially as I have grown to abhor large retail establishments of all kinds – the parking situation alone is reason enough to stay home.

Not surprisingly, one of my favourite things to do now is read about other people’s cheap-but-amazing Amazon finds and testing the promising ones for myself. I am actively working on keeping my house as clutter-free as my collecting hobbies allow, so I am fairly picky about the things I actually buy. They need to be functional and/or make me look 10 years younger. Not every single thing has been life-changing, but I have found some nifty things along the way, so I thought I’d share some quick reviews.

Acupressure Mat

I bought the $30CAD version (link to Amazon US site), which I doubt is all that different from the $45 one. Both my husband and I experience tension and pain in our backs on a regular basis (likely from being desk-bound, largely sedentary stress bunnies) so I thought this might help fill the hole between our monthly massage appointments. It’s okay. I can’t say that I have noticed a marked improvement in terms of pain relief, but I like using it as a form of relaxation before bedtime. Not life-changing, but not a complete waste of money either. If you end up purchasing this, just make note that the spikes are extra sharp if you’re suddenly saddled with 40 lbs-worth of dive-bombing pre-schooler; I speak from (painful) experience.

Conair Fabric Defuzzer

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For the price, this does a pretty good job. I find that it works best on tight knits/stiff fibers; it doesn’t do as much on my fluffier sweaters. But seriously, can’t beat that price.

Jiffy ESteam Handheld Steamer

I finally did it, you guys. I bought a steamer. The Jiffy was not an inexpensive option, but it had good reviews so I just sucked it up. So far, so good. It gives off a good amount of steam, which seems to work well with silks and similar lightweight materials – the extent of what I’ve tried so far. One fill is enough for a thorough steam of one piece, I find; I’m talking something fairly wrinkly to begin with. I will say that it’s pretty bulky, so I’m not sure I would pack it for travel as some reviews seemed to suggest. It seems like it would be easier to simply pack un-wrinkable pieces instead.

Bathroom Counter Organizer

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In principle, I like the idea of using assorted cute trays for make-up storage, but in reality this approach ends up taking over my whole bathroom counter and it doesn’t look as Pinterest-ready as I imagine. Did I mention that I hate clutter? When I saw this $40CAD lazy Susan for bathrooms, I pounced. And it’s fan-freaking-tastic!

[Note: I can’t find the exact listing on Amazon US, but this one looks identical.]

Assembly could not be easier, even for someone as un-handy as yours truly, and took about 2 minutes. The organizer itself is sturdy, looks nice, and does a fantastic job of organizing my beauty stuff. Full disclosure: I don’t have a ton of palettes and similar, bulky make-up products. The only thing remotely resembling a hoard is my collection of lip crayons, and I keep those in a separate jar. But other than those, the organizer handles all of my daily beauty products. It keeps my counter tidy and takes up way less space – highly recommend.

Highlighters Galore!

I am the kind of person who likes to use different colour pens, and highlighters, and sticky notes … and if you’re like me, you’ll probably like these Zebra pastel highlighters. Sometimes, you want something a little more subtle, you know? These are dual-tipped, so you get two different thicknesses; the finer tip is basically like a marker. I find these are great for day-planners and other papers where you’re writing on both sides of the page because the colour doesn’t show through as can be the case with regular highlighters.

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I also tried these Pilot Frixion Erasable Highlighters because …c’mon, how cool does that sound? These are also pastel, but I don’t find they are as smooth or as vibrant as the Zebra ones. Even fresh out of the box, they seem almost … a little dry. They do erase, as promised, which is definitely cool in my books.

Woolite At Home Dry-Cleaning Kit

This is not a new discovery but it’s worth another shout-out. It costs between $9-15 for a pack of 6 sheets, each of which can do a load of up to 4 items. I like using this to refresh dry clean-only clothing. It does not get out stains, so keep that in mind, but it works very well otherwise.

OK, your turn: what awesome gadgets/finds have you discovered on Amazon lately?