St. Patrick's Day
March 17, 2006 at 10:07 As I was getting dressed this morning, I put on a raspberry colored blouse and little E-Grrrl says to me, “Mama, you hafta wear green today. It’s St. Patrick’s Day.” She is wearing an apple green fleece pullover and a St. Patrick’s Day bracelet and pin she made in Brownies. Her pale blonde hair is held back with a light green and blue striped headband. She looks adorable.
Not so her mother. My face is as creased as the sheets, my puffy eyes betray the fact that I ate a bunch of pretzels yesterday, and I’m wondering if I’ll be able to button my pants. I was counting on the raspberry shirt to add life and color to the sad state of my face. But hey, it is St. Patrick’s Day and I’m meeting an expat at an Irish pub in Brussels for lunch, maybe I should wear green.
I pull out an avocado green shirt, identical to the raspberry one except for the color. Yes, I’m one of those women that buys two of everything. If something fits and I like it, I always buy two—or more. So I put on the green shirt and poke around in my jewelry box for accessories. Ah yes, I have dyed freshwater pearls that match.
I put the kids on the bus with a kiss and a have-a-good-day, come back to the house to put makeup on so that the green shirt won’t make me look ghastly, load up my Kipling bag and head into Brussels.
First stop—the Embassy. They have a small employee store there that’s like a gift shop. It carries some Belgian lace, art and crystal, Polish pottery (which many people here collect), Italian leather bags, an assortment of sweatshirts, t-shirts, and jackets, Kipling bags, toiletries, and American snack foods and condiments.
I’m not into Belgian lace, crystal, or beer. Kipling bags are my favorite Belgian product—besides chocolate. Designed and manufactured in Antwerp, Kipling produces sporty purses, wallets, backpacks, and luggage. They come in a wide assortment of colors and styles. I can’t explain why I love them so much—I just do. Sure they’re practical and lightweight, but it’s more than that. The designs please me in some inexplicable way. The shapes, the hardware, the placement of the pockets, the length of the straps, the colors, the fabrics—there’s just something about a Kipling. The Embassy had a new collection in for spring, and I couldn’t resist buying a shoulder tote that matched my shirt. Big enough to hold a sack or two of groceries, I reasoned it could be my market bag.
I pick up an assortment of granola bars to get the kids through another week of school and then spy a jar of jalapeno pepper slices. The woman I’m meeting for lunch is originally from Texas and on her blog had mentioned her quest to find jalapenos in Brussels. Ah, this will be the perfect gift for her. I check out and have the clerk load everything into my new bag. Now I have a Kipling bag on each shoulder.
After my chiropractor appointment, I stop at a small grocery store to pick up bread, chocolate, and cherry tomatoes and then go on to O’Farrell’s at Place du Luxembourgh where I order a cup of tea and wait for Cindy to show up.
She had e-mailed me last week after reading my blog and invited me to read hers. She arrived in Brussels just a few months ago and has had many hilarious expat experiences. If she were a movie character, she’d be Bridget Jones or Lucille Ball. The best minds in Hollywood could not have imagined the scenes Cindy has lived. A product liability lawyer by training, she writes with perfect comic timing. Check out her blog at http://www.newtobrussels.blogspot.com/. Be sure to delve into the archives and don’t miss her experience in the Galleria Inno ( written in December). This is the perfect Friday entertainment.
We had a great time at lunch filling in our back stories and sharing expat woes. Favorite moment: we'd been talking about the challenge of walking in high heels on cobblestones, and I pointed to a woman outside the restaurant doing just that--in stilettos no less. She's wearing a big floppy hat, a short skirt and coat, and dark tights with light colored shoes. She looks both fashionable and slightly wacky. She's also enviously thin.
"Oh sure, she's a skinny bitch in skinny heels, but hey we have more personality than her!" Cindy says.
"Ah yes, that's because we have ROOM to hold all that personality!" Ha, ha, ha.
Yes we're just two HEALTHY American grrrls and anyone who says our bodies are as chunky as the heels on our comfortable boots will be slapped down and twisted into pretzel shapes and left on the cobblestones. Grrrls with big personalities can have big muscles and big attitudes. And big mood swings? Ya never know. We plan to meet for lunch again soon.
Have a great weekend!
Reader Comments (7)
Have a great weekend!
Did Cindy wear green as well in honor of St.Patrick's Day?
:-D