Stacie Vos and Dreaming about Rats

Hello you. It's a cool, Sunday night in Los Angeles. I am writing this over a bowl full of milk, cereal, strawberries and just a little cinnamon. You could probably tell this by the garments I've made but, tonight I wonder if anyone feels as much as I do. I think if the wind blew and a butterfly experienced a burst of happiness near me, I actually would feel it. And that's not what bothers me, but rather the idea that this is wrong. They say "protect your heart" and I've never been good at it. 

Part of me is a risk taker with a love for an adrenaline rush. It's why I love riding motorcycles, meeting new people and moving to new cities. I think often when putting myself out there, I know maybe it won't result in the ways I imagine, but I also know it just might. 

I met Stacie Vos at a dinner party. She's a writer, professor of Mideval Lit and a super-fabulous dresser! She told a story that night about something going on in her life when I chimed in with my thoughts on it. That was all it took to becoming fast friends. 

I attended several of Stacie's poetry readings around town and one night she joined me for a late drink at bar Stella. A few days later I visited her in her Pasadena bungalow. Seeing her place gave me a little further insight into her mind. Stacks and stacks and stacks of books, wood heeled clogs in all sorts of colors, dried flowers above the toilet and the most wonderfully fresh food sprawled throughout the kitchen.

We talked about everything. Her past in Connecticut, a special library in London, our sisters and my dreams about having caught a rat with my bare hands. We went through her fantastic closet as she pulled out vintage Burberry, Barbour and current MZN. I knew I liked this girl.

After a candle lit dinner of pink pasta and pink salad that we ate "Italian style" (hot stuff first). I headed back to Silverlake feeling like my college-self. Meeting new people, sharing vulnerably and creating art together because we need to. 

My new friendship with Stacie is a wonderful lesson in getting where you want to be. It takes putting yourself out there, following the little trails of loving invitations, staying out a bit too late and finally getting to eat pink pasta.