Lady Miss Liv

Ever since I was nineteen and saw her in Stealing Beauty (thirty years later it is still in my top five favourite films of all time), I wished to be as flawlessly beautiful as Liv Tyler. I even have a photo I found of her on the beach tacked up on my vision board in my closet. If I could have the body of someone else's, it'd be Liv Tyler's on that beach. She's lovely.

Molly Ringwald

Pretty much anyone who was a girl in the 80s liked Molly Ringwald. She was beautiful in a very real way and was a natural actress. She had that lovely red hair and deep brown eyes. Here's a page from an old scrapbook. I took this photo of it back in 2015, when I was heavy in to downsizing and getting rid of stuff. Glad I snapped this pic - if only for the hair inspo. I wonder if I could ever get mine styled like that...

April 2026 Books

* Getting Naked: The Quiet Work of Becoming Perfectly Imperfect ¹ by Valerie Bertinelli - I mean who doesn't like Valerie Bertinelli? She's been around my whole life and always seemed like a genuinely likable lady. This book was a little woo-woo at times and could border on being a bit over-the-top, but I liked her optimism.

** You With The Sad Eyes ¹ by Christina Applegate - This was at times an extremely difficult book to get through. To know that all the shit that Kiki has been through and continues to go through is real and happened to such an intelligent, gifted, and hilarious woman is shattering. I loved her honesty and how vulnerable she allowed herself to be. It made it so that I felt she was a friend, confiding in me, rather than a stranger sitting at a kitchen table listening to an audiobook. I wish nothing but complete and total love, happiness, and a life free from pain for this remarkably resilient woman. 

The Blunders ¹ by David Walliams - I was not at all into this story of a family of goobers and the stupid shit they got up to. Walliams, for me, is hit or miss. He'll have one that will have me in tears and then laughing out loud and the next one I read will be an utter drag. This one fell in to the latter.

* The Old Dark House Full of Stars by Jeff Jacobs - I completely adored Jacobs' first book, Darkness Descends on Princeton. This book was good, but missed the proverbial mark. I think there were so many characters and not enough story. At least for me. But Jacobs' writing is such that the reader can easily visualise the old dark house in question and create a film version in the mind's eye. I doubt he'll put out any more books, which frankly, is a damn shame. I'd love more from him!

Simply More ¹ by Cynthia Erivo - This one was recommended to me by Natalia. I've only ever seen Erivo in interviews, never on film. I'm writing this in mid May, a month after I listened to it and honestly, I can't remember a single thing. I liked it, but my memory is mush of late and a book has to really paint a vivid picture in my mind for me to see it and commit it to memory for good. 

¹ - audiobook
² - abridged version
* - liked
♥ - loved
Any unmarked titles were, in my opinion, so-so.

I Like to Kick...

(video kidnapped from Molly Shannon's IG account - theofficialsuperstar - on 3 February 2018)

Hair Style Icon

Apparently this woman's name is Cassandra and this photo is from 1982 in the UK. As soon as I saw her on Instagram I thought I'd pass out from hair jealousy. I love how bold and punk she is. In a perfect world, I would have the guts to rock this look. Currently I'm merely sporting a very low key version in grey.

Gloria Steinem

Farewell Goldie Fishtown

Yesterday was the last day I got to visit Morgan at Goldie for a Turkish Coffee shake and some hugs. I picked up Janine and her brother, Noah, and it was so good to hang out at Goldie and gab with those two and Morgan. It is so easy to be goofy and crass and silly with them and I really look forward to staying in touch and maybe even getting together. I Morgan and Janine each a silly envelope with cards and stickers. I wanted to let them know how much I'll miss seeing them there. Janine got a great idea to start up a little book club and I hope we can make it happen!

Farewell card for Janine:

And Morgan:

(kidnapped from Goldie's Instagram)

Kiddo Says Goodbye

I've known Maureen since I was about a month old. She was always a constant in my life, as is her lovely daughter, Autumn, who is my oldest and dearest friend. The past three times I drove out to Ohio to see the family, I've so looked forward to time with Maureen. There's never an instant of awkwardness or anxiety of what am I gonna say, what will we talk about, will she notice that I'm so much older looking and especially, heavier. Seeing Maureen was 100% pure ease and I always felt genuinely loved. Her hugs were soothing and like being welcomed home after a long trip away. She called me "kiddo" and it's one of my favourite endearments. Maureen passed away this morning. Even though I knew it was coming, it still completely and utterly sucks out loud that I'll never get another hug, listen to her fun stories, and especially, I'll never hear her adorable laugh again. She was a wonderful human and the world will spin a bit differently without her here.

January 2018

October 2019

December 2021

May 2023

October 2024

October 2025

Our last texts:

Lauryn & Crick Get Festive!

Lauryn and her gal-pal, Crick, who is an utter doll, had a fun little photo shoot recently and these are my fave shots.

Seen In Chester County

On my way to meet Wayne for Thai food to celebrate Vincent Price Day, I spotted a familiar face! I didn't see the driver, but in my heart of hearts, it's a sassy lesbian behind the wheel of the Chevy pick up.

Lewinsky Binge

What did I do today while simultaneously working? Binge watched Monica Lewinsky's TedTalks and interviews with John Oliver plus her Reclaiming podcast. What a fun, vibrant, erudite, and engaging woman. But her teeth are so perfect it sent me into a shame spiral. 

ps - The Tig Notaro and Alan Cumming and Andrew Rannells interviews were sooooo good!

My Winnings!

After lunch at Bertucci’s with Kay (we gorged ourselves on carbs, had a fabulous chat, and sat in front of an absolutely gorgeous man who was literally head to toe tatted-up), we popped over to Goldie Fishtown where, hurrah!, both Janine and Morgan were working! They gave me my big goodie bag, comped us three tahina shakes (Turkish Coffee for me and Chocolate Pretzel for Kay, and Kenny). I got hugs from each gal and they hinted that they saw my name on the list of potential winners and recommended me. Morgan even said that the stickers from the Christmas card I sent her were up at her desk. The best was that they snuck in three rad stickers as a bonus, two Soom coupons, and even a mini Goldie beach ball. Oh how they spoil me so!!

And now my falafel and shake pins are side by side with their fry pal!!

POST SCRIPT - June 21st: I had mailed out two cards in one envelope, with bonus stickers, to Goldie for Janine and Morgan to thank them for championing me to win the Goldie Goodies and for just being such warm and wonderful people. This was the message I saw this evening on Instagram from Morgan:

Happy TS Independence Day!

Melissa messaged me at work today to let me now the news that Taylor Swift was able to finally get back her entire catalogue and now owns all of her songs, videos, album art, and concert footage. It took me a while to come around to this lady and discover how truly gifted she is as a songwriter. More impressive is the fact that she seems like a genuinely kind person. I'm truly happy for her to finally have control of her art.

(photos kidnapped from TS's Instagram account: @taylorswift)

BONUS: This stunning cake from Vegan Treats!