Sigh.  It’s tough being celebrity catnip.  Everyday, I have to deal with a new, fabulous, and totally obsessive celebrity trying to be my friend.  For example:

Julia Roberts came by the other day to say hi.  No big deal… I mean, she dropped by my place, but I wasn’t  home from work yet, so she ended up visting some stores in the area.  Poor Julia – she’s obsessed with me:

Also, Laura Linney (I’m PRETTY sure it was Laura Linney) was filming in front of my building this week at Type bookstore, and stopped me on the street to pet Molly. 

She said “Your dog is the cutest dog in the world”, or something along those lines.  Although I feel sorry for her dog (or, at least, the dog I believe her to own based on the bio I read on IMDB), I understand.  I mean… who could resist this face:

Now, I just need to find a way to lure Jim Sturgess to West Queen West.  He can be my friend any day of the week.  Like, any day.  Of the week.

So, I know that oxfords are pretty much on the crest of the trend right now, which means they will be uncool in about 10 minutes.  That being said, I’ve found that oxfords look awesome with just about everything I own, so I’m on a quest to find the perfect pair.  Here are some discoveries: 

OPTION 1: 

First, I bought black ones, thinking that they were neutral and would be a practical choice.  In fact, it’s just the opposite… black oxfords tend to make my legs look stumpy and pretty much look like giant hoofs on my feet.  I still have them for the right outfit… but I found that I wasn’t really wearing them. 

OPTION 2: 

Second, I decided to go with a neutral spectator style… I liked the colour, which was much more versatile than the black… but it was way too feminine… the right oxford needs to be pretty mannish… these look like chick shoes.  So I returned them. 

OPTION 3: 

Third, I decided to go with a more risky pair with holes all over them.  I will say that the colour of these goes with pretty much everything.  HOWEVER – they are still too feminine… a little too pointy.  I want something that a dandy in the 1920′s would wear… so I kept these for “Walking to Work” shoes… and kept looking. 

OPTION 4: 

FINALLY, I found my perfect pair… the right colour, the right level of “mannishness”, suede, which makes them cool in my mind for some reason,  and on sale, sucka!

When it comes to fashion, I feel like I am two people in one body (with one bank account incidentally…) who are in a constant battle… my “professional, super successful” self who wants to look like this:

And my actual, “outside of work and wants to be myself” self, who wants to look like this:

Or this:

Or this:

The problem with this, is that the clothing that constitutes my “professional” self is extremely different from the clothing that constitutes my “self” self.  This means that I essentially have to have two complete wardrobes, with a small number of pieces that are fantastic enough to bleed into both areas…  I made a venn diagram to illustrate:

Basically, everytime I have to purchase a piece of clothing I go through the following thought process:

1. Can I wear this in “professional” life and “self” life? (if yes, buy it!)
2. If I can’t wear this in my “self” life… is it a really good deal for my “professional” life? (if yes, buy it!)
3. If I can’t wear this in my “professional” life… is it a really good deal for my “self” life? (if yes, buy it!)
4. If it’s not suitable for both lives AND it’s not a good deal, do I really really like it? (if yes, buy it!)
5. Just buy it.

Anyway.  It sucks.  And I’m broke because of it.

In my Vinyl Virgin post, I mentioned that I had sourced a vintage turntable, but needed to find a receiver in order to actually play a record and hear it.  After searching craigslist and Goodwill incessantly, I managed to find this awesome Technics SA-104 from an antique sale in Trinity Bellwoods a couple of weeks ago.  It’s not my coveted vintage Marantz, but it still has the quality and wicked-cool retro look I was searching for.  Take a look at those huge knobs and blue lights… Now, I need some speakers.  Then, finally, I’ll be able to play my Seger.