One hot, tranny mess of a year. Like hot. Like celebrity. Whatever, I'm done.

Realize I probably shouldn't say "b*tch" on here, even though I'm totally quoting Christian Siriano, which makes everything ok.

I can still say "hot tranny mess" though, right? Oh, whatevs.

I promise that there are real fashion posts coming soon!

Well?

I did it.

Ideally I'd be drinking a Bellini, too

It is thundering and lightening. And snowing, people! At the same time. IMHO definetely a sign of the apocalypse.

And while I do look cute today, I'm certainly not wearing my primo choice of apocalypse outfits. If I had known about this while getting dressed this morning, I would have worn a black Chanel shift dress, my leopard-print peep-toe heels, and red lipstick. And I would have tried a little harder with my eyeliner too.

Oh, and I'd be in a suite at the Drake with my boyfriend and the cast of "Firefly."

Personally

A lot of people don't know that when I first moved to Chicago, I was hired as a personal shopper/stylist at Marshall Fields (now Macy's; pathetic). If you had asked me then, being a stylist was my dream job. I never took the position because I got a higher-paying offer at a law firm and needed to be able to pay my whopping $645/month all-utilities-included rent for my laughably tiny studio in Lincoln Park. (I thought I was straight living the dream, I really did!)

I didn't end up working in fashion, and I'm as close as it gets to working a realistic "dream job," but I still fantasize about being a stylist. But it doesn't pay well, the fashion industry is even harder to break into than the public relations industry, and I've already done that with my blood, sweat and tears, thank you. And who needs to start over when they've got a shoe addiction to furnish anyway?

Right. No illustrious stylist-to-the-stars career for me. But that doesn't mean I can't employ the services of one. Tomorrow I have an appointment with a personal shopper at J. Crew - a complementary service they offer at select stores around the country (check online for locations) - with the promise that they won't hound me too much to buy things. (We'll see.) I have been eyeing a few things from the Spring collection, and I'm going to be needing a new suit in the coming months, so I figure it's worth a try and will dutifully report back to you, reader(s), about the experience.

I know you're excited.

Endless Winter Haiku

Six inches of snow
Glass of wine before dinner
Sushi Mike solves all

I Heart Jim Cramer

I may not work in financial PR anymore, but my fascination with Jim Cramer still endures.

Check out this humorous post on Gawker regarding his most recent attempt to single-handedly save the United States economy: http://gawker.com/368610/investors-ignore-jim-cramer-suffer-consequences.

(edit: I hope he can save it, because GEEZ.)

Lake Geneva; or relationship "magic dust"

Looks simple enough, doesn't it?

Well, leave it to me to get lost both going to and coming from Lake Geneva! Tee hee. It's a good thing I'm cute enough that was relatively difficult for my most-charming passenger to get mad about it.

Forbidden!

I was just on JCrew.com making a wish lish of things I can't afford when I got the following error message:

"Forbidden (403). You have requested data that the server has decided not to provide to you. Your request was understood and denied."

Decided not to provide to me? Understood and denied? It's the "understood" part that freaks me out a little. It's like the Internet knows I shouldn't be buying absolutely gorgeous $250 jackets online, it knows!

Still discontented after five weeks

Remember February 13? When I wrote about being sick? Well, readers (reader), I AM STILL SICK! At least once a week for the past five weeks, I have had recurring cold symptoms.

I don't get it. I take good care of myself. I take a daily multi-vitamin, get 7-8 hours of sleep a night (more on weekends), work out, eat my vegetables, and I refuse to believe that my body has just decided at 26 years of age that wholesale betrayal is a better option than, say, feeling human for more than 48 hours at a time.

So this morning I realize I have probably let it go too far after another fitful night of completely unsatisfying sleep as I am pressing my cell phone to my face because it feels so nice and cool. So I do the only thing left to do: administer a self-diagnosis on WebMD. It's like I'm my own doctor! Or dentist! Like Tom Hanks in Castaway when he had to take out his own tooth with an ice skate, except, you know, more dramatic than that because this is me we're talking about. And speaking of toothaches, I've had recurring toothaches for five weeks too! That's a weird coincidence. And omg! It says that "dental pain" is a telltale symptom of a sinus infection! A sinus infection that can last up to 8 weeks, with persistent cold-like symptoms and I just diagnosed myself I should have gone to medical school I am self-sufficient after all!

My doctor confirmed my suspicions and wrote a prescription and I'm feeling better already. Easy as pie! Now I can concentrate on more important things, like living life like a normal person. And, you know, the red-eyed, runny-nosed, mouth-breathing look wasn't great for me anyway.

Pretty Raccoon - Etsy shop

I just received this great fitted dress from Pretty Raccoon. Visit Andrea's shop here.

(edit: except I don't look as desperately sad as the poor model when I wear it. Why so sad, model?)

"If a girl is wearing last season's Manolo Blahnik stilettos, I won't immediately rule her out a friend."

IMHO, all of life's situations can be summarized by quotes from Bergdorf Blondes. Today, for example, can be summarized by the heroine's observations on maintaining a career: "Careers are funny things. If you aren't careful to pay attention to them, they go away."

So, I'm busy with work. I've neglected IHE for a week or two. But fear not! dear readers (reader?), for I have some neat posts planned for the coming weeks.

• the politics of denim
• "debit" merchandise
• turning personal tragedy into great hair
• style blogging; why I'm doing it (again)

'Til then!