Dating My Wardrobe: “Lilac Time,” Montgomery Place in the Spring

Being dumped by someone who said that they would love you forever sucks. The occurrence makes you rethink the slippery word “forever,” and also the people who aren’t old-fashioned romantics, who relish the idea of growing decrepit and old together. Hey, monogamy isn’t for everyone, but don’t waste my time if you’re not captivated by… Continue reading Dating My Wardrobe: “Lilac Time,” Montgomery Place in the Spring

My Own Muse: Hot Date With Myself, No. 5, “Images of Internment,” Exhibition at the FDR Presidential Library (2017)

If you’re like me, and you have a penchant for attracting liars, cheats, and emotionally hollowed-out husks of men, do yourself a favor and date yourself. Style that hair, strap on your best shoes, and go out into the world, confident that your favorite heels would never let you down. Literally. Personally, after being thrown… Continue reading My Own Muse: Hot Date With Myself, No. 5, “Images of Internment,” Exhibition at the FDR Presidential Library (2017)

My Own Muse: Hot Date With Myself, No. 4, Nick Cave’s “Until,” at MASS MoCA

If you’re wondering why I’m having all of these hot dates with myself, I should start at the beginning of my tale, when in June of 2017 I was abruptly dumped by a major dumb-dumb with a wandering eye. While being relegated to the status of chopped liver by my boyfriend initiated my experiment with dating… Continue reading My Own Muse: Hot Date With Myself, No. 4, Nick Cave’s “Until,” at MASS MoCA

My Own Muse: Hot Date With Myself, No. 3, Mohonk Mountain Preserve

After being cast aside by my boyfriend like some crumpled candy wrapper, I endured the beginning of my summer of 2017 in a state of heightened melancholy. I mean, I went all-out weeping, moaning, gnashing my teeth– the full gamut. But, by July I was truly bored with myself as a driveling lump, mourning the… Continue reading My Own Muse: Hot Date With Myself, No. 3, Mohonk Mountain Preserve

My Own Muse: Hot Date with Myself, No. 2, Blithewood Garden, Red Hook, NY.

After climbing out of the metaphorical blackened crevasse of an ugly break-up in June, I decided that it was high time that I surfaced for some sunshine. Don’t get me wrong, living as a troglodyte for one month had its benefits. I finished reading my collection of Regency-era romance novels, and binge-watched Korean dramas for… Continue reading My Own Muse: Hot Date with Myself, No. 2, Blithewood Garden, Red Hook, NY.

My Own Muse: Hot Date with Myself, No. 1, Vanderbilt Mansion Italian Garden

In June of 2017, I had a summer of fun heating up on the horizon. My boyfriend would return from Florida, I was on summer break from grad school, and I had a killer new collection of crop tops to show-off my hot rib cage with! Yowza! However, the ripe promise of June came with… Continue reading My Own Muse: Hot Date with Myself, No. 1, Vanderbilt Mansion Italian Garden

A Leopard Must Change its Spots….

I embark upon this new year, wearing plaid pants, a banana brooch, and a big-old leopard-print swing coat. Embedded in the threads of my loud and incongruous get-up are messages of hope, destiny, and….what the hell am I doing with myself in 2018?!?! Like the clothes that I wear, this question is rhetorical. As a… Continue reading A Leopard Must Change its Spots….

My Muses: Thalia and the Mona Lisa

As the Greek muse of comedy, Thalia is among my favorite of the fair affecters. She sparks a willingness to smile and knows that a perfectly timed practical joke is worth more than a picture and its thousand words. At least, that’s what my muse of comedy, Mona Lisa, could tell you! On August 21st,… Continue reading My Muses: Thalia and the Mona Lisa

The Victorian Bathing Suit of Winslow Homer’s “High Tide”

Winslow Homer’s Eagle Head, Manchester, Massachusetts (High Tide), which is exhibited in the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, represents a transitional period in American art, clothing, and society. Embedded within the appearance of the three young women on the seashore, rendered with lively brush strokes, is a cultural cocktail of change and… Continue reading The Victorian Bathing Suit of Winslow Homer’s “High Tide”

My Muses: Erato and Anais Nin

Erato. The muse of love poetry. If I were to assign a mortal woman to Erato’s position, I can’t think of any gal more suited to inspire romance than Anais Nin—writer of erotica, and memoirist of passion. Born in France to Cuban parents in 1903, Anais began her life amid the peaceful haze of the… Continue reading My Muses: Erato and Anais Nin