Me: Do you know what really curbs judgment?
Dad: Incontinence.
[wild laughter]
Exhibit B: Lillydog is Cutest Animal Alive
Photo by the talented Monika de Myer
Just got back the photos from my shoot a few weeks ago with Monica de Myer.
I know everyone is convinced their dog is the Cutest Dog in the World, but I seriously feel Lilly has a shot at that title. Exhibit A: this photo.
“Judge not, lest ye be judged.”
I admire TJ’s honesty here - many of us are in complete denial about our own hypocrisy in this regard. We have no problem with the judgments we pass on a daily basis about others, but we’d be FURIOUS were we to hear the same judgments about us.
When I was STAR mag’s Editor-at-Large, I thought about this frequently. I was on television talking about celebrities I didn’t know, speculating about their private lives and personal decisions - in other words, passing judgment. (Gossiping masquerading as “entertainment news.”) Honestly? The entire enterprise was - and is - BULLSHIT. And I have to say, being judged on the internet really curbed my inclination to dish out any sort of opinion about the lives of people I didn’t personally know.
That’s not to say that I don’t still have my moments - but they’re certainly fewer and further between than they were back in 2007.
Judgment…Easy to dish out…..Hard to swallow
The view from my new bedroom - for now ;)
Just dropped off Britt & Allie at O’Hare … :( sniff.
My grandmother today, with my new bicycle, “Pink Petal” and a pair of pretty amaze-ballz Lilly Pulitzer pants.
This clearly is where I get my enduring love of bright colors, specifically pink. :)
My grandmother LOOOOOVED my new pink bike (here in her back garden, which she tends to herself.)
She is also quite concerned that I don’t have an odometer yet, as she says she logged a thousand miles on her powder blue cruiser before she felt that it was no longer safe to ride (at her age, she explains, she doesn’t have the balance she used to have when she was younger).
It makes me sad she can no longer ride. I would have loved to just pop on our pink & blue ‘cycles & cruise the nabe together.
Aging really stinks.
So today I did a photoshoot for Rosa - my Chicago Ryan Darius! - who also happens to own Trio Evanston.
They’re rebranding, and so set about to do an ambitious medium-smallish shoot, with five models representing a good cross section of hair (a blonde, redhead, brunette, guy, etc.) I was the only non-model, so I felt quite plump & not very attractive, but, well … it is what it is, right?
Luckily Rosa is a freaking genius when it comes to hair, so at least my locks looked fantastic. And Cammy is one of the best makeup artists in the country, so she did what she could with my face … while being polite enough not to point out that I had no right to model for anything, EVER.
Although it was mostly a beauty shoot (hair & makeup), I did change wardrobe for three looks. This - with a leather jacket the wardrobe stylist, Michael, pulled from the Olsen’s Elizabeth & James - was my favorite. Not at all my normal style, and clearly the skinny jeans won’t be coming to a closet near me anytime soon, but it was like a costume: badfatass biker. (Hey, baby, if you’ve got it …be honest about it, right?) I’m sure LA will waste no time telling me just what they think of my curvy figure. In the meantime, I’m enjoying Chicago, where apparently, I’m normal. Feels good.
(This photo was taken on a Canon digital camera without professional lighting & hasn’t been airbrushed or altered in any way. Just wait until you see the professional shots from today to compare them! Massive difference.)
What My Dad Left for Me Today :)
Thornton Wilder: Three Plays
So … my dad is an inveterate “clipper.” By that I mean, he constantly clips/tears out/prints articles he believes I should read, immediately, then almost invariably pairs them with New Yorker cartoons he thinks were written just for me, paperclips them together with a post-it, and leaves them on the desk for when I get home for a visit. It’s a ritual. A Special Clipping Related Ritual.
If I’m gone for too long, he’ll mail them to me. Attention Julia Allison: Important Clipping Related Mail. He does not actually use these terms, but I understand what it means when I see his block letters: CLIPPINGS & CARTOONS ARE HERE! YOU WILL READ THEM IMMEDIATELY AND THINK DEEP & PONDEROUS THOUGHTS ABOUT THEM BECAUSE THERE WILL MOST CERTAINLY BE A TEST VIA PHONE LATER IN THE WEEK.
Today he left my bridesmaid bouquet - now dried - and an envelope (on which he drew “Welcome Julia - Farewell NY, Hello LA!” - in pink & purple, ha!) filled with clippings (one from Chicago Social on Ivanka Trump being an enormous business baller & never sleeping, another from The Atlantic on an entrepreneur who came up with a pen which records & indexes an audio stream, and a third on “one of the most puzzling and troubling books in Christian Scripture, Revelation.” Of course! Just what I wanted to delve into! I have been puzzled and troubled by Revelation! How did he know?!) - plus, next to that, a book of three plays from one of our shared favorite playwrights, Thorton Wilder. Wilder is most famous for “Our Town,” a simple and poignant work, and I had mentioned to my father a few months ago that I wished I had a copy of it in my library. He delivers.
Every parent shows their love in different ways - this is his. You know, when I was growing up, I’m not sure I entirely appreciated them, these small, thoughtful gestures. Perhaps there are some kids who might have, but, being a little oblivious, I don’t think I realized how special it was that he went to the trouble, that he cared enough to read something and think, “Julia should know about this, dammit!!” then tear it out just for me.
I do now.
My new Chicago-based bicycle - thanks to BeachBikes.com - which I have tentatively named “Pink Petal.” Thoughts on that name? The bike naming jury is still out.
Can you spot my parents? They’re little specks on the beach, taking their Sunday afternoon stroll …
Wow
(Trio Salon Evanston shoot for their new branding)
Gorgeous
(Trio Salon Evanston shoot for their new branding)
