A Waterloo Sunset

Yes, the song. One of the prettiest in the English language, someone said. But the walk over Waterloo Bridge at that perfect time when the sun's going down and the London city lights are coming on. Rain or shine, beautiful. As long as I have it....you know the rest.

Girlfriends

My gorgeous friend Hattie (My Glittering Stars) has inspired me to pick up this blog again. I no longer have a husband. But I do have a pack of amazing, fabulous, wonderful, inspiring, beautiful female friends. They are as bright and precious as Hattie's stars.

These are both friends I had when I left the States to marry the guy, and women that didn't know me from Eve when I got here in 2005. They are white, black, Latina, Asian (both the American and the British definition), tall, short, thin, rubenesque, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, agnostic or atheist. But they are the ones that basically scraped me off the floor when he left, put their arms around me, made me feel loved and wanted, and cheered for me to Get up! Get back on your feet! Show 'em! like I was a boxer reeling on the ropes.

Knowing what I know now, that's a tradeoff I would make over and over again. Men are like buses - you miss one, there's another coming in 20 minutes. But a girl's girlfriends are irre-fucking-placable.

I admit having treated a few badly over the years. Maybe we all have. If it were possible for me reach back to the times I was selfish or forgetful and make it up to them somehow, I would. All I can hope is that I've become a better friend over the years, and have remembered to show all these phenomenal chicks how grateful I am to have them in my life.

Pimms O'Clock!

I absolutely love this campaign. I'm an adchick by profession, and this one just looks so smart to me.

If you were to look at the Pimms brand a certain way, I'm sure it would appear at first to have a problem. Pimms itself may be seen as old, stuffy, the afternoon drink of little old ladies on the lawn. And their agency, Mother, could have reacted to this by going the "let's rebrand!" route, like Southern Comfort, who opted to get down with the kids by re-christening themselves 'SoCo' and stuffed their ads with swirly clubby imagery and the sounds of young voices casually ordering SoCo cocktails. None of which changes the fact that it's a shit drink favored by bikers and leathery barflies in t-shirts adorned with puff-painted wolves or unicorns .

Mother, on the other hand, got both hands on what Pimms reminds us of - posh, clueless Britishness - and rather than attempting to disown it, embodied it in a figure of fun. Tweed and a T-shirt. Awesome. (If you know any British cavalry officers, you've got the idea.) The situations are absurd, the optimism of Harry boundless, and the drink - at the end of the day - delicious.

A Google search for "Pimms O'Clock" reveals lots of user-generated content, which demonstrates the accessibility and liking of the concept. Harry even shows up on a few MySpace pages as profile photos. So I'm clearly not the only one that likes it.

The "tent" ad is my current favorite, but this one is just as cute. Now I'm going to bugger off to the market and grab some fruit and lemonade, as it's 2:35 on a Friday afternoon and it's clearly - you get the idea.

Tally-Ho!

Old Los Angeles

When I think about my city, gleaming rose-gold under an endless blue sky, it makes my heart hurt.

I've left, which I don't regret because I live with my soulmate in another beautiful country. But when I think of Los Angeles, the city of my youth, I think of its graceful Art Deco curves and its warm Latin aura (rather than the homelessness, the traffic, the things that can drive you to despair). I think of long afternoons, the light spangling on the ragged palms that ripple in the crosswinds. And I I feel the invisible threads that run from my fingers to the California earth tugging and aching just a bit.

PerfectPoachedEgg.com

How awesome is this site? It's a beautifully designed step-by-step instruction site on how to make the perfect poached egg, including external factors such as making toast or coffee. And a gallery as well. Inspired.

http://www.perfectpoachedegg.com/

Afro Puffs

I'm not black. But if I was a black woman, I'd like to think I'd wear my crowning glory naturally. I'm talking the biggest Afro you've ever seen...and for those roller-skating jam days, Afro puffs. Coolest casual style ever. Flat out. Look at how proud and happy this girl looks.

This is Not My Beautiful Wife

Talking Heads' seminal song. Still so cool.

Once in a Lifetime

This is my existential boogie. I listen to it when I'm at particularly puzzling points in my life. You know, those "How did I get here?" moments. But it's all good, and it's all meant to be. Maybe. I hope. And I challenge you not to do the arm-chopping thingie.