A Tale of Two RumsThe Malibu rum bottle was my icon. She embodied the life I longed for. The commercial on TV showed a group of bronze beauties with corkscrew curls, moving to Caribbean beats against the backdrop of an orange sun in the horizon. A man with dreadlocks, sitting on … [Read more...] about Rum Girl
The Wet Fish Handshake
Persian Orange Says: Shake or Don’t Shake at AllWhy have bad-handshakes become the social equivalent to the little black dress? This foul mannered cousin to air kissing has become an epidemic. It’s being “handed” down and spreading fast. A probable result of Tit for Tat behavior, … [Read more...] about The Wet Fish Handshake
Settling into Suburbia
I’ve gone off fashion. I don't feel a pang in my stomach when I walk past Arden B. or get an anxiety attack on entering Forever 21. Not like I did before. No more the forever-floating girl about town. I’m now the picture of stability: printing crème caramel recipes from the … [Read more...] about Settling into Suburbia
The Barber of O.C.
Barbie's Beauty Regime?Eight months into our marriage, my husband suggested that I should go and see a barber. He said it gently without giving me cause for alarm. He didn’t use the word hair stylist, hairdresser or beautician. I wonder why? I thought barbers cut hair, give … [Read more...] about The Barber of O.C.
Counterfeit Conquests
I miss my fake Givenchy sunglasses. The ones I bought from a street vendor in Rome. He wasn’t exactly a vendor, but more like a traveling salesman. He kept mobile and carried his goods in a duffle bag. Far more efficient than having to set up shop and to redo his display every … [Read more...] about Counterfeit Conquests
Dumping Louis
It’s been one year, seven months and 23 days since I last saw Christian. I’m logo-free now. I blame it all on Louis, Louis Vuitton. If it wasn’t for him I might not have turned into a logophile. I clinged on to those labels. At one time L and V meant something to me. It happened … [Read more...] about Dumping Louis