Don't you want to be a little bit rock star?

I'd thought that my subscription to Glamour, which I bought when I first moved into my apartment over a year ago, had long expired by now, but to my surprise, the bulky September issue showed up in my mailbox a few days ago. Jennifer Lopez stared seductively from the cover, poured into a leopard-print bustier, with something like a come-hither look on her face. Haphazardly, I tossed her on a chair and figured I'd need to add "subscription cancellation" to my list of annoying things to do before the Fall semester starts.

Don't get me wrong. I loved my year with Glamour. I always looked forward to that day each month when I would be schlepping through the rain or the snow or the hail, carrying piles of "very intellectual" (and also very heavy) theological and literary books on my back and in my arms, and there, peeking out of my mailbox, would be a glossy, ever portable issue of Glamour, spattered with hot pink letters and top ten lists. Somehow, I felt I was undermining the system.

When I finally found myself flipping through the glossy pages of the September issue ("our biggest issue in 20 years!") one lazy afternoon, I took note of the patterns and repetitions which lay before me. When it comes to magazines, I'm much more of a flip-through-quickly and look-at-the-pretty-pictures kind of girl. I certainly wasn't thinking very hard, but eventually, a general theme began to take shape before my eyes.

Sometimes Fall fashion takes a very romantic turn. A bit of lace here and there. Cowboy boots. Twirly skirts. Brown leather. Pearls. But for September 2010, this is most certainly not the case. Here you will find knee-high black leather boots. Lots of black, in fact. And hardware in all kinds of places. A little bit of bling. Throw in something masculine, like a blazer. And a little bit of sassy. Oh, and don't forget leopard print (re: JLo on the cover). Basically, Fall 2010 is a little bit rock star.

Back at the beginning of the summer, I made a resolution to start surprising myself. It started with running. Cooking was another thing. I also got my nose pierced. There were a lot of little things, but the specifics are really not important. The important thing is that by the time I was halfway through the magazine, I couldn't help but smile.

It was as if I'd sent out a message in a bottle in June that read, "Surprise yourself." And then, here in mid-August, I found it again on the beach. The very same message. Only this time it had doodles all around the edges, and someone had written at the bottom, "P.S. Don't you want to be a little bit rock star too?"

Thank goodness for leather and pearls and other little things. Above is a photo of a recent experiment with oriental salad. I love it when surprises turn out to be delicious.