Treasury Time: Brrrrrstin' With Banana Splits

Balancing Act Designs featured my Fabulous Felt Banana Split Necklace in her good-enough-to-eat Brrrrrstin' With Banana Splits treasury. (One of these days I'll gain the technological know-how needed to post a picture of the entire treasury instead of just my own item.) Check it out and give it a click-through if you want (there's some really cool stuff in it!).*

*Treasury deactivated.

Book Report: Shopgirl by Steve Martin

I recently finished rereading Shopgirl, by Steve Martin (yes, he of King Tut fame). I'd first read it years ago and had found it depressing. This time I felt differently.

I was a little ashamed that I'd once found the heroine, Mirabelle Buttersfield, to be pathetic. But then, upon first meeting her I'd been naive enough to believe that life should fit into neat little boxes of accomplishment and overall well-being to be considered successful. And nothing about Mirabelle fits into anything. A twenty-eight-year-old artist with a master's degree, she works behind the glove counter at Neiman Marcus in Los Angeles, selling "things no one buys anymore." She considers her real calling to be her art, which she works on at night. She has massive student loan debt and drives a truck that's falling apart. She suffers from depression. With no boyfriend and no real friends, she is ripe for a one-night stand with Jeremy, an incredibly immature twenty-six-year-old amplifier stenciler she met at the laundromat. Well, maybe one-night stand isn't the right word. Mirabelle has been out with Jeremy once before, and even as she invites him to her apartment, it isn't so much the sex she's seeking as it is a chance to be held.

Not too much later something odd happens. Mirabelle receives a package at her apartment. Inside is a pair of Dior gloves she sold to a fifty-something millionaire named Ray Porter just days before. Then Ray appears at Neiman's and asks her to dinner. On the surface, this turn of events has all the makings of a modern-day fairy tale. But Shopgirl isn't that kind of story. Instead, Martin plunges us into a slice-of-life tale short on plot and big on character. He exposes Ray Porter's mind, revealing him to be, like Mirabelle, on a journey of self-discovery, albeit via a different path. Ray wants to sleep with Mirabelle, but he doesn't want to be her boyfriend. He wants to be able to sleep with other women and tells Mirabelle as much. In a romantic comedy, such traits would make Ray a monster. But in this story he's a guy being up front with a girl who needs more but pretends that she doesn't, if only to hang on to the small bits of himself that he offers. Despite this lack of commitment, Mirabelle continues to see Ray. She likes to be taken care of, likes having something to look forward to, and given her circumstances, it would be cruel of us to blame her.

As with all doomed relationships, Mirabelle and Ray's plays out far longer than it should, finally ending, not in a scene, but because the end is inevitable. Mirabelle moves to San Francisco, having asked Ray to get her an interview for a receptionist job at an art gallery. As in the way of life, her transition is bumpy. She becomes involved with an artist who treats her badly. Her new job is as boring as her old one, but it has the benefit of putting her in touch with the art world, which is important as she pursues her drawing. Also, Jeremy has resurfaced.

After a chance meeting with Mirabelle at a gallery opening back in LA, Jeremy realized that he missed her, and she, in turn, realized that he'd changed. In the interim, Jeremy had gone on tour with a band in an effort to help sell more amplifiers. He listened to the band's entire library of self-help books on tape, an experience that helped him to mature significantly. Also, he evolved into a businessman of some note, the amplifier gig having been a success. This might all sound a bit tidy, but strangely it isn't. If anything, Jeremy's metamorphosis ties right in with Shopgirl's overarching theme of growing up.

Jeremy contacts Mirabelle by sending her a clumsily-wrapped but appealing Swatch watch in a poignant parallel to Ray's earlier gesture with the gloves. But whereas the gloves symbolized Ray's power over Mirabelle, the Swatch is more of an equal-footing peace offering. Jeremy and Mirabelle's relationship grows slowly, beginning as friendship before finally blossoming into the kind of relationship that Mirabelle has always wanted. The gradualness of it makes it sweet rather than saccharine, believable rather than canned.

As for Ray, he and Mirabelle stay in touch for awhile. Over time, he becomes a friend. He pays off her debts and continues to send her money every now and then - not because she's some sort of kept woman, but because he's come to think of himself as her parent and he knows she needs it.

For all its melancholy, Shopgirl delivers a well-earned happy ending made genuine by all the very real trouble that has come before it.

Quirky vs. Weird

While browsing online the other day I stumbled upon an interview with Zooey Deschanel in the new issue of Lucky. In it the famous-for-being-unconventional actress reveals that she hates being referred to as quirky. "It's an annoying word," Deschanel says. "Quirky is like a nice way of saying weird."

As someone who often uses the word quirky to describe my wares on Etsy, I was intrigued by the relationship between it and its shadowy relative, "weird." So I clicked over to to dictionary.com (where I go for all my word nerd needs) to get the scoop. Here's what I found:

quirky - Having or full of quirks. Related words: far-out, kinky, off-beat, way-out

quirk - 1) An individual peculiarity of character; mannerism or foible. 2) An unexpected twist or turn. 3) A continuous groove in an architectural moulding. 4) A flourish, as in handwriting.

weird - 1) Involving or suggesting the supernatural; unearthly or uncanny. 2) Fantastic; bizarre. Synonyms: unnatural, preternatural, eerie, unearthly, uncanny

I was surprised that "weird" didn't have a third, more down-to-earth meaning, such as "(one of these things is) not like the others" a la "Sesame Street," or maybe even "(lime) doesn't fit in. And likes it that way," per a Lifesavers magazine ad circa 2000. Yet dictionary.com firmly roots the popular adjective in the realm of the paranormal. That having been said, I suppose I can see why Zooey may not want to be linked to it via its almost-synonym quirky. But I don't think there's anything wrong with being called quirky in and of itself. There's something kind of charming about having "an individual peculiarity of character," isn't there?

Something New and Sparkly: A Little Bit Softer Now

Eastern Elegance Necklace

Eastern Romance Necklace

Once in a while I like to take a break from all the color and noise to make something that whispers. This pair of pendants seemed to fit the bill. The Eastern Elegance Necklace is an oldie but goodie that I only now added to my shop, whereas the Eastern Romance Necklace is a fresh new cousin.

Something New and Sparkly: Jewels Fit for a Carnie

Carnival Games Necklace

Carnival Queen Necklace

Carnival Princess Necklace

As lurid as the carnival for which they're named, these dazzlers will elevate any outfit to the status of costume. What fashionista doesn't strive for that?

Jack Handey Quote of the Week

"I can't stand cheap people. It makes me real mad when someone says something like "Hey, when are you going to pay me that hundred dollars you owe me?" or "Do you have that fifty dollars you borrowed?" Man, quit being so cheap!

Something New and Sparkly: Showgirls and Cartoons

What, you may wonder, do these two seemingly incongruous things have in common? Not much (at least on the surface), except that they're both themes in my new barrette-slash-pin collection. Although my love affair with the felt necklace continues, I was suddenly struck by the desire to create something different. So, I had a regular field day (so much better than the kind involving dodgeball, don't you think?) gluing feathers, rhinestones, and tiny silk flowers to mini circles of felt and backing them with pins to create brooches worthy of any Vegas starlet. The felted fruit barrettes came next, serving as a playful, cartoonish counterpart. However, I must confess that the barrettes you see here fall short of my standards, at least on the underside, which I've mercifully neglected to photograph. (Apparently, glue and slotted barrette backs sans protective parchment paper don't mix.) So, they'll be making their home in my personal hair accessories box instead of on Etsy. Armed with what I learned from my mistakes, I plan to make a whole cornucopia of them to sell soon. Still, I hate when projects don't turn out the way they're supposed to, don't you? It's times like these that I remind myself that such missteps are just part of the creative process and nothing to get in a snit about. Although if the bf read this, he'd give me a look, as I often do get into a tantrum-infused snit upon such occasions. Still, admitting as much is the first step, right?