It is super dark moon time & everyone is sleepy. Quiet houses. Listening to music that is more crackles than melodies. Black fingerless gloves & cherry red fingernails. Heavy eyelids. Next week will be like a firecracker but until then things are grey, slow, shhhhh.

Since we last spoke…

I went to look at this apartment yesterday. The real estate agent knew who I was & we talked about Grace Coddington & BryanBoy. The place is great but weird. That space behind the bookshelf is too low to stand up in. So it would be good for slumber parties or worms but that is probably about it. It’s a big room, maybe it could just be a cave for after-parties &/or midgets.  (Though I would probably change it into an enormous closet.)

I want this in purple & silver & black. Angora cardigans & high-waisted skirts. Dream journals & jambalaya! I keep making lists of things to change or do better. Drink more water, read more books, eat less meat, only make promises I can keep, be on time, schedule my day properly. Et cetera. I just got my Gold badge for SXSW. I love Austin & can’t wait to go back. Coming up: visit from Neil (Toronto). Party for Tim Burton. (HA!) Visit from Sam (London). RedBull B-Boy championships. See Stef (P.O.S.) play. & then it’s Thanksgiving?! I have never had Thanksgiving & we are planning a cutefest.

Picture time.

Those photos were by Lydia Hudgens.

Rooftop baby.

Chloe took those.

From: Sarah
To: Gala

Was wondering if you’d be able to share some thoughts for my Sunday Life column. I’m writing it this week on being whimsical, and how to do whimsy. You’ve made a life of it. Maybe you could just let me know why you do whimsy. How the moment grabs you to do it. Is it a plunge? A curiosity? Does it make you happy? Creative? A precursor to creativity? Who do you regard as whimsical?

From: Gala
To: Sarah

I think whimsy is the only sane response to a world obsessed with mundane things. Celebrities, gas prices, “the recession”… Thinking about any of these things makes me feel like a dried-up husk. My motto for 2009 has been “more magic all the time” & I have let it take me wherever it wanted. It has led me from New Zealand to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin, New York, Toronto & Las Vegas, it threw me into a truly wonderful relationship & brought me a lot of happiness.

Whimsy to me is about spontaneity. If it’s premeditated, it doesn’t really count. Whimsy could be making up a song about your boyfriend, throwing a dance party at a moment’s notice, or just wearing two contrasting things. It’s about surprise & delight. Some people think whimsy is about being docile & delicate & a little dim, but I like my whimsy with a bit of bite.

Who do I think is whimsical? Two women that come to mind are Erin Fetherston, legendary fashion designer, & Leith Clark, editrix of Lula magazine. Girls with their own point of view & individuality, but who also work hard & make beautiful, tangible things. People who improve the world just by being in it.

That’s all for now. It’s half-past three on a Friday & I haven’t even scratched the surface of the work that needs to be done this week.

xo,