Chez La Vie

Need Your Help!

2011-10-13T21:22:00.005-05:00

I need a dress for my son's wedding!

Date: January, 2012 (brrrr!)

Inspiration for the wedding party: 1920s-1940s: vintage, mismatched, winter, old hollywood, city, classic, feathers & fur

Colors: , Maroon, Burgundy, Slate, Cream, Eggplant, Taupe, Mauve, Gray, Copper, Bronze, gold, etc...

I THINK the Mother of the Bride is wearing:

I tried this, but it didn't work (at least the dress didn't--I adore the shoes but they're for fantasy purposes only):

So, any suggestions? You know what I look like: fit, but not skinny; broad shoulders, tall-ish. Budget: well, I'd like to keep it under $300 but willing to go up to $500-ish if it's amazing.

Bring it on, readers!

Road Trip, Summer 2011: Route 66. Day 4.

2011-08-05T08:58:00.007-05:00

First, another great shot of the Acoma Pueblo:

Day 4: A busy one! Holbrook, Arizona, back about twenty miles, then onward to Flagstaff, Arizona.

We breakfasted at our Travelodge with a Swiss Banker and his family, who exhorted Max to attend grad school immediately after graduation from undergrad. (Max, who is a college senior now, is resisting further education at this point: he's sick of school and wants to experience the "real world." Snicker.)

Our first stop on the trail actually took us back east to the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. At the Painted Desert, we ran into two Southern Gentlemen who were touring the West together in this:

These guys had actually been on the Acoma Pueblo tour with us the previous afternoon. The older of the two men was a truck driver who has driven all over the West but, because of his rig, never was able to see the sights. So, he bought the above beauty and asked his daughter's live-in boyfriend (a retired pipe fitter) to come along sightseeing. Their transportation had already broken down several times, but at least it had air conditioning!

The Painted Desert Inn, a former hotel that is now a tourist attraction, was worth viewing:

From the Painted Desert, we headed south to the Petrified Forest:

And then from there, we made haste to Flagstaff, one of my favorite towns in the United States. I've been through twice before and it's so pretty, and the people seem so cool, that I was excited to visit once again...this time, in the summer.

Our agenda when we arrived in Flagstaff was 1) eat lunch; 2) find a place to stay; and 3) drive up to the Grand Canyon.

Driving into town, we saw a guy rolling a cigarette on a street corner and asked him where we should go to lunch. He recommended the Lumberyard Brewing Company. So Max and I walked past the Train Depot and into the restaurant, enjoying a tasty lunch and a couple of fresh-brewed cold ones (yes, my baby boy is 21).

As we ate, I checked out my Road Trip 66! iPhone app for recommended hotels in Flagstaff. I fully intended to stay in a Quality Inn or motel of equal caliber, but the app suggested the Hotel Monte Vista, built in 1926 and not only the favorite of many a Hollywood legend, but haunted as well!** I immediately called and booked the Jack Daniels suite--the rooms are named for their famous occupants. Thus, lunch taken care of and a room reserved, Max and I were off to the Grand Canyon.

Max had been to the Grand Canyon when he was five, but he had no memory of that visit, so he was really excited to see it again as an adult.

Although we didn't do anything special at the Grand Canyon, like hike or take a helicopter ride, we stopped off at a number of overlooks and were, of course, amazed and impressed. I would love to take a rafting trip down the Colorado and through the Canyon someday.

Back to Flagstaff, where our first mission was to hit up the hotel bar! There, we met a Burlington-Northern Santa Fe train conductor (I've never met a train conductor before!) and then two Flagstaff guys who told us that everybody in Flagstaff--including the teachers, the attorneys AND even the judges--gets stoned regularly. (Don't worry, we didn't. But still, what a town!)

There are two more Flagstaff restaurants I need to mention. That evening, we dined at a wonderful wine bar called Cuvee 928. The food was delicious the wine selection lovely, and the prices were reasonable (I had the fish tacos). The next morning, we had a fabulous Mexican breakfast at MartAnne's Burrito Palace. Whoa, boy, my eggs + chorizo, hashbrowns and beans was spicy and filling. Perfect start to the last leg of our trip...across the desert to L.A.

**Sadly, I didn't see any ghosts in the Jack Daniel's suite at the Hotel Monte Vista. But apparently John Wayne did while he was a guest!

Road Trip, Summer 2011: Route 66. Day 3.

2011-08-04T08:19:00.004-05:00

Route: Tucumcari, New Mexico to Holbrook, Arizona.

Breakfast at Cline's Corners, New Mexico. The coffee was strong and so was the morality:

Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico. Max and I toured a still-inhabited ancient pueblo village on the top of a 367-foot mesa. Our tour guide, Joseph, was amazing, but it was incredibly hot on the top of the bluff. And I somehow thought Birkenstocks would be appropriate footwear. Nonetheless, our visit was totally cool and I highly recommend a detour from Route 66 to see Sky City.

Me climbing down from the mesa on the original stone steps. In Birkenstocks.

Road Trip, Summer 2011: Route 66. Day 2.

2011-07-27T01:40:00.003-05:00

The Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico. One of the "most historic hotels on Route 66," I found it listed on my Route 66 iPhone app and made reservations a few days before. (As is the Cattlemen's Steakhouse, it's listed in the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.)

Our car stall, with a mural of Easy Rider.

I always wanted to stay in Tucumcari because Lee Van Cleef stopped a train there in For A Few Dollars More. I was sad to discover that the city of Tucumcari didn't exist until 1908, long after the movie action took place.

My son and I arrived in the early afternoon. After checking in with Nancy at the Blue Swallow, we tried our best to ignore the 100 degree heat and went mural spotting through the town. (I didn't take any photos of the murals, though?)

Later we hung out in front of our room and chatted with the other motel guests.

Sorry for the rambling. I'm writing from LA; we drove in from Flagstaff today and arrived in the late afternoon...2 beers, one large Father's Office burger later and I'm really tired! Tomorrow: Day 3.

Road Trip, Summer 2011: Route 66. Day 1.

2011-07-24T20:04:00.004-05:00

Our first stop on our pseudo-Route 66 Road Trip was the Cattlemen's Steakhouse in Oklahoma City.

Me under the sign, dying in the heat and waiting for a table.

Max under the sign, looking happy even though he doesn't really like steak.

My Strip Sirloin, served with a baked potato (butter + sour cream, yes please) and a homemade roll. God Bless America!

Sunset from Oklahoma City's Stockyard City.

Road Trip, Summer 2011: Route 66.

2011-07-24T19:26:00.005-05:00

My youngest son, Max. is taking my beloved Saab 9 3 convertible back to Los Angeles with him for his final year at the University of Southern California. I'm devastated but it's definitely a car that is happier in LA. (Max calls it his little Swedish spaceship.) And a perfect excuse for a Road Trip.

This is not the Saab's first 2,000 mile excursion to SoCal. In late December 2006, my husband, oldest son and I drove my then new (to me) car-baby from Illinois to Santa Monica where I was starting a new job in January. Unfortunately, the timing was bad. We hit Amarillo just as a terrible storm bore down on New Mexico. The state closed down the main highway, but in our zeal to reach the coast, we cut south and took two lane roads through the storm. Two days later, we arrived on the other side, into Arizona, with the Saab having performed admirably but looking like this:

So although I'm currently watching a dust storm from my hotel room in Holbrook, Arizona, this road trip has been much less stressful!

Other than my trepidatious 2006 voyage, I've been along the Route 66 corridor before, long ago when my boys were young, my husband was in the Army and we were moving from Illinois to Ford Ord (we always seem to end up back in Illinois, I don't know why, we don't have any family there!). But Max doesn't have any memory of that trip and it also took place in winter, so this time around it's a different adventure.

Next post, day 1.

Tea & Madeleines

2011-07-19T16:07:00.004-05:00

I've spent my afternoon going through my old Victoria magazines*, which inspired me to make some Madeleines. When my sons were at home, occasionally we'd have Sunday afternoon tea and I'd make Proust's famous tea-cakes, but those times are past and I haven't made them in awhile. I don't know why not, because Madeleines are not difficult, although they do require some pre-prep and a special pan.

Anyway, today's Madeleine's are amazing, even though I'm the only one at home right now to enjoy them. And of course I must have tea to dunk my cakes into! Tilleul (tea made from linden tree leaves and flowers) is the recommended type for Madeleine dunking; I found mine at a local tea shop but Harney's ( I love their tea) sells a version as well.

Recipe here.

You can buy a Madeleine pan here.

*The Nancy Lindemeyer edited issues. See Nancy's blog here!

Hermès Scarf Ring II

2011-07-12T20:56:00.004-05:00

I continued to play with my new toy. I was looking through the Purse Forum and I came across a thread on stacked bracelets; one member had used her Mors scarf ring with a leather Hermès wrap bracelet. I got to thinking: What could I use to create a bracelet with my new scarf ring? Hermès ribbon! (Um, yeah: Bolduc!)

Voila, the Bolduc bracelet:

Appropriately, the Bolduc I used for my bracelet was from 2002, Year of the Hand!

PS: I initially practiced tying the bracelet on my husband, and it looked great on him too!

Hermès Scarf Ring

2011-07-12T17:27:00.003-05:00

My newest Hermès beauty: a Permabrass Mors scarf ring. For this photo, I "borrowed" my husband's Bolduc pochette and paired it with a J.Crew tee shirt.

Essentials

2011-05-04T15:29:00.003-05:00

I don't always use foundation, but I rarely leave the house without using these essentials. From the top:

Lancome Le Crayon Khôl Eye Liner in Black Coffee

Anastasia Brow Wiz in Brunette

CoverGirl Lash Blast Volume (Waterproof) in Very Black

YSL Touche Eclat in Luminous Radiance

Shiseido Eyelash Curler

Kiehl's Lip Gloss in Golden Berry (to right)

Workout Style

2011-04-02T20:14:00.004-05:00

I started running seriously and regularly right around my thirtieth birthday--so about fifteen years now. For the first thirteen years, I admittedly dressed like a truck driver woman. I had two pairs of black shorts which I would alternate, and on top I'd wear a ratty t-shirt or, in the summer, a ratty t-shirt with the sleeves cut off for a makeshift tank. To keep my hair out of my eyes, I'd wear an old bandanna of my Dad's that I'd used since my high school field hockey days. On cold days, I'd wear a baggy pair of standard-issue grey fleece sweatpants with elasticized ankles. I guess it didn't bother my husband that I dressed this way while I was an outside runner, but once we joined a gym he put his foot down. "How can it be that you are so fashionable in all areas of your life except when you work out: you are a slob!"

I acknowledged this and was more than happy to do some shopping. My first foray onto fashionable workout wear was at the Adidas store in Santa Monica. I had moved to Southern California in January and thought I would need only shorts for running. No! It's cold in Santa Monica during the winter, running in the dark after work! I hastened to the Third Street Promenade where I bought a running pant and a matching top. So coordinated!

Later, when I moved back to Illinois and brick-and-mortar athletic wear shops weren't nearby, I relied on Athleta, and later at Foot Locker (they have some really good online sales!). Soon it wasn't enough that my top match my shorts, I needed a real workout bag and water bottle. Walmart bestform bras for $12.99 failed the grade; instead I required the $58 high-impact styles at Title Nine. (Hey, a girl's gotta protect her assets!)

Now, I've really gone to the devil. I've discovered Lululemon. Their stuff is pretty damn expensive. But awesome. Seriously, I am addicted and as soon as I've paid off this splurge, I'm going back for more (See, husband what you have started?). Here's what I got:

Groove Pant, Tall (Lululemon hems for free! And these pants make your butt look incredible!)
Run: Inspire Crop (I've never had a crop...I hate the loose ones but these are badass)
Wunder Under Crop (I'm planning to do yoga twice a week this summer, alternating with running. I bought these with a rainbow waistline!)

Yes the price was outrageous. What can I say? It's for my husband :-P

Also added to my workout wardrobe:

Athleta Pilayo Zippy Headband and Lululemon Satin Pirouette Headband. I have fine, slippery hair; these have a silicone grip on the inside that helps prevent slippage. I hate when my headbands--which I wear to keep my bangs out of my eyes--slide off my head mid-run! Plus, the Satin Pirouette headband is pretty, so I wear it when I wash my face or put on makeup too.

Anyone have any other recommendations to feed my addiction? Bring it on!

Saturday Afternoon Tea Break

2011-04-02T19:30:00.007-05:00

If you're a knitter, at some point you will tire of the ubiquitous woollen hats, scarves and socks, and succumb to the appeal of kitschy knitted items. Such as, I recently became obsessed with the need for a tea cozy. At first I was just thinking of a traditional quilted kind, but then I got on the online knitting community Ravelry and found the most perfect, silly and useful cozy project. Behold, the Strawberries and Cream Tea Cozy:

The beauty of it is that it matches my Wedgwood Wild Strawberries tea set. I just finished it this past week and I couldn't wait to break it in with some Darjeeling and cherry sugar cookies.

I still don't know if it did the job--that is, keeping the tea warm--because my husband and I were hungry after a morning of gardening, napping (me) and motorcycling (him), so we pretty much gulped the tea and devoured the cookies.

Maybe I am crazy, maybe my taste level has diminished, but I have to say I thought the tea cozy adorable.

NB:
1. The tea cozy instruction can be found in the book Tea Cozies 2. But beware: there are a ton of errors so make sure you email the publishers before you begin and ask for the errata.
2. If you happen to be a member of Ravelry, please friend me! I am, of course, CashmereLibrarian.

Violet Eyes

2011-04-02T12:23:00.003-05:00

The older I get, the more makeup I feel compelled to use on my eyes. The no-makeup look makes me look tired, so I always wear, at the very least, eyeliner and mascara.

My eye color is hazel-green, and so I wear a lot of purple-ish shades to play up the green. Here I'm wearing:

The pink from NARS Alhambra Duo on my lid
NARS Daphne in my crease
Stila smudge stick waterproof eye liner in Purple Tang, along my upper and lower lash lines
Stila kajal eyeliner in Onyx along my inner lower rim
two coats of Covergirl Lash Blast Volume in Very Black

Has This Ever Happened to You?

2011-03-22T10:44:00.005-05:00

You're sitting there, and you have this cute little blondie kid, and then all of a sudden he's 25 and he phones you and says,

"I met a woman in Chicago, and she's wonderful, and brilliant, and we're getting married!"

It happened to my husband and I two weekends ago, and we are all beyond thrilled!

Details to follow...

Ship Shape

2011-02-06T15:04:00.010-06:00

Have you heard about Randy Quaid and his wife, Evi? Randy Quaid is an actor (and brother of Dennis) whose screen credits include Cousin Eddie in National Lampoon's Vacation and, more recently, Colonel Tom Parker in a TV movie, Elvis.

Lately, however, Randy and Evi have been holed up in Vancouver trying to obtain asylum from the Canadian authorities. Why? Well, it's a long story. It has to do with outstanding arrest warrants in the United States for vandalism and other illegal conduct, and apparently being targets of a gang called the "Star Whackers."

Whatever. Today I want to focus on happier times in the Quaid household, when Vogue featured their Los Angeles home in a 1993 spread.

Nice Hermès bags, Evi! And I don't know why I find this Hamish Bowles line hilarious, but I do: "Most recently she has cropped her blond hair like a midshipman's...."

A view towards the Pacific over the Santa Monica canyon...

I love the lined-up custom riding boots.

Blue, white, shells...and a Hermès apron!

I love that Evi commissioned a quilted leather jacket from Chrome Hearts when they were just starting out...lined with a Hermès scarf!

I'm pretty sure this house (in which they no longer reside...don't worry, Randy & Evi, I'm not stalking you) is in Santa Monica; does anyone know it's exact location? It looks like it overlooks the canyon, but I don't recall ever seeing it when I lived there. Does it still look like this?

Lotions and Creams

2011-01-22T15:59:00.005-06:00

I've had the driest skin since day 1 and thus have been slathered in lotion my whole life. My Mom put Keri lotion on me when I was small and used Alpha Keri in my bath, but now of course I have a whole arsenal of creams in my bath cabinet. I remember visiting a friend in Vienna for Christmas while I was in college; he was watching me unpack and laughed as I pulled six, seven, eight bottles of various lotions and potions out of my suitcase. (Since the new TSA regulations came out, I can never fly carry-on only because my ointments would never fit in a quart size baggie [Do we still have to do this??].) Then, when I was first married, my poor oily-skinned husband was horrified when I'd come to bed with my face covered in petroleum jelly.

Now, the upside to dry skin is that I've never suffered from acne, but in daily life it's a pain. I often wonder if I would have killed myself had I lived in the Dark Ages where my only moisturizing option would have been unrefined lanolin or whale blubber or whatever they used back then. For instance, I MUST apply lotion to my hands after every washing. I can't just leap out of the shower, dry off and pull on clothes; if I don't moisturize I become a prune within minutes. (I've given up camping...aside from the hard ground as a bed, bathing is just way too inconvenient.)

Anyway, since we're in the absolute depths of winter here on the Prairie and I am clearly an expert on the subject, I thought I'd share a few tried-and-true products for my fellow dry skin sufferers out there. Some of these are not for the fainthearted! I no longer use straight petroleum jelly on my face but at least one of the following products are pretty darn close. So, let's start with a good body lotion.

As you might expect, I've tried a good number of body lotions, including the famous Kiehl's Creme de Corps, but my favorite is Eucerin Plus Intensive Repair Lotion. It also comes in a cream, which is probably even richer, but I opt for the lotion because I like having a bottle dispenser. (The cream comes in a tube.) Not only is this moisturizing, but the alpha hydroxy helps eliminate flaky skin. And, it's available at any drugstore.

Before I get out of the bath, I like to apply Neutrogena Sesame Body Oil. If I do this while my skin is still damp and then use the Eucerin afterwards, my skin seems to hold the moisture longer. Plus, it feels nice. A cheaper but as effective option is generic baby oil (mineral oil).

I use a 30 SPF on my face all year round. Right now I have Lancome Bienfait Multi-Vital Sunscreen. It's okay, but when I've finished I'm going back to another drugstore favorite, Aveeno Positively Ageless Daily Moisturizer. I think it moisturizes better than the Lancome and it's certainly cheaper!

During the winter, I love using Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Cream under my 30 SPF moisturizer. I think you can only love this product if your skin is normal or dry: it's thick and greasy which I adore, but my husband would break out just looking at it on me. Eight Hour Cream is basically a more finely textured petroleum jelly (in fact it's main ingredient is Petrolatum), but it makes my winter skin really happy.

The best eye cream I've ever used is Bobbi Brown's Extra Eye Repair Cream. Extraordinarily moisturizing, lovely texture and application. It is thick--you need to dab it gently into the skin under your eye and let it soak it. I don't think this is a product that will help under-eye circles, but its moisture and line-diminishing qualities are remarkable. And my concealer flows nicely over top. Unfortunately, it costs $65.

I just discovered this wonderful cream for night, although it's not new: Clinique Repairwear Intensive Night Cream: Very Dry Skin Formula. I think the name says it all. Sephora stocks it (of course). I use my Bobbi Brown eye cream at night, too.

For lips and general dry skin patches, you must have a tube of Aquaphor Healing Ointment nearby.

For cuticles (hands & feet, as well as cracked heels), I like Solar Oil. You can find it at Ulta and CVS, among other places.

I have an expensive hand cream option and a cheap one. I keep the cheap one in my drawer in my office and in my purse; I use the expensive cream before I go to bed.

Expensive: L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream. Luxurious and smells amazing.
Cheap: Vaseline Deep Moisture Petroleum Jelly, Creamy Formula. Yes, I know: I can't help myself. And you shouldn't touch anything for a few minutes after you apply it because you will leave greasy marks (you should see my iPhone screen--ew). But even my ugly hands look soft after using it. And that's a miracle!

Any reader recommendations? I have my favorites but I love to try new products!

Lampe Berger

2010-11-17T15:51:00.006-06:00

You need a Lampe Berger.

What it does: purifies the air in your home and destroys odors. (Cooking smells, cigarette smoke, pet odor, etc.)

How: Via catalytic combustion. Whatever.

Why you need it:

It works.
The lamps are beautiful.
It smells wonderful (or, it simply cleans the air without scent if you like; it's up to you)

What you need:

A Lampe Berger lamp. They can be pricey, but they come in an array of styles and prices and look beautiful simply sitting on your table. Below, some of my favorites from the Lampe Berger website.

Glass, "Capri"

Limoges Porcelain, "Louis XII"

Metal, "Compression"
Lampe Berger Oil. My favorite scent is New Orleans: "A deliciously gourmet fragrance with fruity and sweet accents, enhanced by a hint of cinnamon." I've also enjoyed Lilac Blossom and Royal Jasmine (one I do not recommend is Amber Powder). As I mention above, you can also use a Neutral oil which will cleanse the air of odors but not disperse a scent.

Where to buy: My favorite on-line source for Lampe Berger lamps and oils (and candles, generally) is Candles Off Main. If you find a local store that carries Lampe Berger products, however, you can usually test the fragrances, which is nice.

How you use a Lampe Berger:

The first time you use it: Remove the cap and the burner/wick, fill the bottle about half full of oil. Replace the wick and let it soak, capped, for at least twenty minutes.
Then, whether you've just done the step above or for regular use: Remove the cap and light the burner. Let flame for about two minutes, or when the burner starts to turn gray. Blow out the flame, and top the lamp with the decorative cover (do not cap!). It will take 25-40 minutes for the lamp to do its thing: rid the air of bacteria while emitting the scent. NOW, remove the decorative cover (careful, it's hot!), cap the burner and replace the decorative cover. Mission accomplished.

If you already use a Lampe Berger, what are your favorite oils?

Things I'm Supposed to Feel Badly About, But Don't

2010-11-11T13:55:00.004-06:00

I wear white all year 'round. (Not, however, only white.)
I like Birkinstocks.
AND, I'm all for spending hundreds of dollars on beautiful shoes and handbags, preferably with cash (but usually not).
I think a woman of any age can have long hair.
I apply lipstick in public.
I don't really like to entertain (but I like to be entertained).
I like to eat, but I don't cook and I don't want to learn. (I do bake.)
I think having a career is overrated.
I think people should be able to hunt as sport. Unregulated ownership of M16s or handguns is not sporting.
Americans don't all have to speak English.
Smoking is unhealthy, but an occasional Sobranie along with a Very Dry Martini is le dernier mot.
I enjoy witty vulgarity, and sometimes there's no greater satisfaction than a well-rendered swear word.
I admire Dita Von Teese and Kim Kardashian for their beauty and style.
If someone gave me a gorgeous fur coat, I would probably wear it.
I might try hard drugs when I am eighty. (Curious about the supposed heightened awareness, concerned about addiction or a bad trip.)

A Ferris Wheel in Berlin

2010-10-23T13:25:00.012-05:00

I know all your heads are going to explode when you see I am posting AGAIN so soon, but my last post on the Santa Monica Pacific Wheel reminded me that I hadn't yet shared another recent, amazing ride from my travels this summer.

As you know, I spent almost three weeks traveling in Germany this past June and July. We were fortunate to have wonderful friends and family to stay with for most of the trip, but during the last week, we headed to Berlin where my son went off to stay with friends and my husband and I bunked down at the incredible Hotel Adlon, overlooking the Brandenberg Gate. (The hotel is famous for, among other things, being the place where Michael Jackson dangled his young son out the window.) When we first arrived, our room wasn't ready, so we had cappuccino and strawberry cake out on the terrace while we waited...also having a coffee nearby was Calvin Klein creative director, Francisco Costa, in town for Berlin Fashion week! (We were not invited to "mingle" with the Berlin fashion cognoscenti, alas.)

More importantly, though, that first night, Berlin was celebrating the World Cup semi-final match between Germany and Spain. The city had set up a big party (for +300,000!) in the Tiergarten with big screens, performers, and, happily, plenty of beer stalls! It was a short walk from our hotel across the Pariser Platz to the Tiergarten, joined by so many exuberant German football fans.

And I was thrilled to find a ferris wheel set up amid the celebrations. (I should note that, as far as rides go, I'm more of a roller-coaster girl...I also adore Merry-Go-Rounds, especially when it plays Strauss or Sousa.) The views from the wheel were amazing. I'll let my photos do the talking...

Sadly, Germany lost that night. We ultimately didn't stay for the whole match in the Tiergarten; instead, we watched the final minutes from the cozy confines of the Hotel Adlon bar, sipping Hendricks martinis.

PS: Can you tell I have papers to grade? That's the reason behind this recent re-interest in blogging.... Ah, procrastination!

PPS: Thank you to M.Lane and LPC for kindly remembering Chez La Vie...and especially to LPC for her lovely comment regarding my family!

USC Parent's Weekend!

2010-10-23T09:32:00.004-05:00

The first weekend in October, my husband and I traveled to Los Angeles to attend Parent's Weekend at the University of Southern California, where my youngest son goes to college.

My brother, his wife and daughter came down from Palmdale to see some Trojan football with us. Too bad USC lost to the Huskies in THE LAST THREE SECONDS.

It was a busy weekend, and I was so sorry not to have time to meet up with The Daily Connoisseur and see her new daughter. We did have two quick visits to Santa Monica, and I kept hoping to run into a beautiful girl pushing a stroller, but no luck!

On our final evening in SoCal, I had made reservations via OpenTable to a bistro in Santa Monica, Anisette. (It opened after I moved away from Santa Monica in 2007, and I wanted to try it next time I was in town.) Unfortunately, no one had apparently told OpenTable that Anisette had closed its doors on September 30. As luck would have it (but not my bank account), Boa was right down the street and had a beautiful table open. So we feasted on lobster (yes, I know it's a steak house, but...) and wine with a great waiter and thus celebrated my forty-fifth birthday!

But first, I convinced my son and husband to go on the Santa Monica Pier ferris wheel with me. Even having lived within walking distance to it, I had never gone!

Here we are, our excursion on the Pacific Wheel immortalized, below. My poor husband plays his usual role of straight man. I love the uncomfortable smile on his face!

A big thank you to Petunia in Paradise for her Twitter message letting me know she was still looking out for Chez La Vie! My only readers now seem to be spammers: "Kiev Girls" or Christian Audiger merchandise (yuck!) or I-don't-know-what 'cause it's in Chinese.

My Husband Has a New Girlfriend

2010-09-08T08:10:00.003-05:00

This past May, my husband and I took a local motorcycle course, so now we are licensed to drive motorcycles!

We were so busy flitting around having fun all summer, it wasn't until August that we went motorcycle shopping. My husband has been busily perusing motorcycle magazines and websites, so when we finally got to the dealership, it wasn't a hard choice: a Kawasaki Ninja 650.

Now I am a motorcycle widow. Weekends I am left alone while my husband roars across the Prairie.

Mid-life crisis? Perhaps, but the real truth is now, in our 40's, we're finally able to afford the extras out of our reach while raising children.

Why didn't I get a motorcycle too, you may ask? Well, I prefer to spend my money on expensive shoes and purses, NATCH! Do you know that this toy cost almost as much as a Birkin!!!?

Besides, I'm not really into riding around aimlessly. I'd rather read, or knit, or...shop. But I have taken it out on the road, and I admit that it's a huge amount of fun in small doses. And I like knowing how to ride, even though it's not the way I prefer to spend my free time.

Hell, I'll probably eventually get a bike. But for now, my husband has another love. And I'm not terribly jealous.

Ich trank viel Bier.

2010-07-13T16:32:00.004-05:00

Upon arrival in Bavaria, we hit our first Biergarten...

At a Sommer-Sonnenwende bonfire (on my second Maß, apparently):

Enjoying a Russ'n at the Hofbräuhaus in München:

In Heidelberg, recovering from the Philosopher's Walk and Heidelberg Schloss:

Sailing up the Rhine:

A luncheon overlooking Linz:

At the Opernpalais in Berlin:

A fantastic time was had by all. More to come...

Back From the Beach; On To Deutschland!

2010-06-23T11:17:00.004-05:00

I spent last week on Sunset Beach in North Carolina with my husband, parents, and brother's family. Unfortunately neither of my boys was able to come due to prior commitments, but nonetheless we had a lot of fun hanging with my nieces and nephew, who are my sons' age.

About to go to dinner: Seafood Platters with plenty of Hush Puppies and Sweet Tea!

Wine Tasting:

Hippie Husband:

Preppy Husband:

Tonight we're leaving for a couple of weeks in Germany! Munich, Cologne, Berlin and places in between. Bon Voyage!

iPhone App: Camerabag

2010-06-04T14:09:00.006-05:00

I recently found this app mentioned in a magazine and I see Hollister Hovey has been playing with it too.

For $1.99, Camerabag allows one to change iPhone photos into something really special. There are twelve camera options:

"Helga" - Square-format toy camera with washed-out highlights and old-school vignetting.
"Colorcross" - Hazy, chemical color-swapping straight from the darkroom.
"Instant" - No need to shake this instant-developing film.
"Magazine" - Rich tones for glossy pages.
"1974" - Your father's camera: faded, tinted, and hip.
"Lolo" - Shoot from the hip and take life as it comes with vibrant, colorful shots.
"Cinema" - Dramatic, moody coloring with a widescreen aspect ratio.
"Silver" - From the earliest days of photography, when taking a shot was a much larger production than it is now.
"1962" - Dynamic, high-contrast black and white from the photojournalism of a bygone era.
"Mono" - Smooth, refined, balanced black and white.
"Infrared" - Simulation of the popular landscape photography technique.
"Fisheye" - Go ahead, get too close to the lens.
"Original" - Just in case you got it right the first time.

I experimented with a photo of my husband preparing his absinthe. Which camera style do you think is the best suited to this subject matter?

Helga

Colorcross

Instant

Magazine

1974

Lolo

Cinema

Silver

1962

Mono

Infrared

Fisheye

Original

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

2010-05-30T17:52:00.003-05:00

Hanging on the sofa, listening to Beethoven sonatas and playing with my iPhone.

'Memba This?

2010-05-07T09:12:00.005-05:00

Remember the Tunic Dress I was making? You can read about it's beginnings here and here.

Well, it's done. I wore it for the first time yesterday, to a production of my son's acting class at college.

I hadn't planned yet on how to wear it; ultimately I decided it looked better with a belt, and I pulled out an old gold chain belt for yesterday's outing. It was okay, but I think I will make a simple self-belt of the dress fabric and wear it at my natural waist. I had problems with the sizing. Sewing patterns (this was a McCall's) DO NOT have the vanity sizing that we're used to at J.Crew and Banana Republic, however the pattern charts aren't quite accurate either. I customarily wear a six on the bottom and eight on the top in the store; according to the pattern chart I wear a fourteen! So I originally cut the fabric to a size fourteen, and ended up trimming it down to a twelve. I still think it's a little big which in my opinion, in this sort of tunic shape, adds pounds; I like to think a more body-skimming (say, a ten in the McCall's size chart) would have been a bit more flattering. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking?

Here it is with the chain belt:

And here it is without.

What do you think?

Chez La Vie Home: Living Room

2010-04-29T15:25:00.005-05:00

During the past few months, we've engaged in a bit of amateur interior design here at Chez La Vie. In February, I shared with you our updated Dining Room, finished late last year. We purchased paint for our living room too last fall, but when it was apparent that we weren't going to get around to doing the work ourselves, we finally (and for the first time) engaged the services of a professional painter. Also, we treated ourselves to a long over-due new sofa and chair!

We selected our paint, Benjamin Moore 1640, based on a living room from the March 2003 of House Beautiful. That room coupled dark furniture with metal and mirrors and the effect was airy but elegant. Unlike that room, we have red accent pieces that we didn't want to part with, so our room is less ethereal. Still, because of the many windows, it's sunny and bright in the daytime yet cozy at night.

Our new sofa is white leather, from Elite Leather by Lulu Kwiatkowski. The pillows are mostly from Pottery Barn.

We also indulged in a comfy leather reading chair.

My writing desk was purchased using funds from a year-end bonus years ago; it was designed by Alexander Julian. In this case, I had clipped out a picture of the desk from a 1999 issue of Victoria magazine and when some extra cash came my way, I ran to the furniture store to order it!

Above the piano is an R. Atkinson Fox print of a sweet cottage surrounded my an amazing English garden. It once hung in my grandmother's farmhouse living room; if I recall correctly it was a give-away from the furniture company when she and my grandfather purchased their living room set. I think RAF might have been the cheesy equivalent of Thomas Kinkade in his day, but I don't care. If you are into this sort of thing, I've seen a mess of RAF prints in antique shops, for cheap.

Below are very special caricatures of the family that my husband drew with crayon long ago when he was coloring with our young sons. The baby at the bottom is now 19, almost twenty! As you can see in my portrait, although my hair was short then, I am wearing my trademark red lipstick!

What's next? I don't think I'm going to bother with draperies. We're exhibitionists thus not really concerned with privacy (;-P), and I like all the sunlight. I realize that I am going to need to do something about the eyesore speakers surrounding the armoire, but right now we'll take sound quality over expensive aesthetics. I'd really like a rug--I love hardwood floors but they're not very conducive to sitting on, especially in front of the fireplace in winter! French doors leading out into the garden, where the armoire now stands, would be lovely. However, we don't know how long we'll be here and there's other house repair things we should do to buck up our resale value. And I still have my grandmother's old sofa--the one with the springs poking out--that I'd love to re-upholster. Right now it's sitting out in our backyard waiting for me to decide how to proceed. I have the fabric picked out, but we're currently saving for a trip to Germany this summer so funds are an issue.

And so it goes--life dilemmas. Hope you enjoy this peek into Chez La Vie!

Feeling Chanel

2010-04-28T16:03:00.003-05:00

I'm sitting outside grading papers. Making the task more bearable is a cup of Harney's Paris tea and marking the students' work with my favorite Cross fountain pen with Levenger Pinkly ink.

Also, it doesn't hurt to be surrounded with small Chanel luxuries:

tortoiseshell shades

and Nouvelle Vague lacquer on my toes.

Also breaking out the Bonnanos!

Husband's Quote of the Day

2010-04-03T17:14:00.002-05:00

"Sometimes I can't reconcile my pretty, sophisticated, fashionista wife with my silly, prankster, farting wife."

Poor beleaguered Husband with his new Kiel James Patrick bracelet.

A Teenager Once Lived Here

2010-03-20T16:03:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I moved some papers sitting on an old desk my sons had used while they were growing up, and I had to laugh when I saw this carved graffiti from days gone by:

Wow, I am glad those days of angry puberty are behind me!

So nice to have two wonderfully gentle and loving adult sons.

The Gnome Room

2010-03-19T10:28:00.004-05:00

Welcome to the Gnome Room.

When we first saw our house, looking to buy, my youngest son dubbed the small room off his soon-to-be bedroom the Gnome Room because of its tiny door. (If you look closely along the right side of the window, you'll see a little gnome dangling.) When my sons lived here, we kept our futon in the Gnome Room along with a TV and video games. Yet, since it's unheated and un-airconditioned, one must be pretty desperate for space in order to use it for most of the year.

Well, I was desperate for a sewing room, so I packed up the video games, moved the futon to our basement library (once son #1's bedroom), and set up my sewing machine. Before, when I wanted to sew, I'd have to drag all my accessories out of the closet, take over the dining room, and generally it would be too great an effort to even consider. Now, as long I am willing to freeze or swelter, I can sew whenever I like!

I hope you were not expecting a decorator's dream craft room, because this isn't it! But allow me to give you a tour, anyhow.

When my boys were small, I went through a major counted cross-stitch phase: above are cross-stitched baby statistics for both boys as well as a wedding sampler. The blue embroidered piece is a Hmong creation purchased long ago at a craft fair in Minneapolis.

Taking over the Gnome Room also allowed me to finally move my out-of-season clothing from my tiny, over-stuffed closet and store them neatly and covered behind the curtain. Can't wait to trade out my woolens for all those stored Lillys!

Do you remember the yard sale score from last May? One of the pieces turned into my sewing storage. Note the Liberty of London from Target storage box! (I also found the watering can I wanted!)

My mom needlepointed the butterflies for me in the 1970's (can't you tell?).

And here's a peek at my fabric stash.

Now that it's spring, the Gnome Room is actually comfortable. And I've got the itch to sew.

This mess on the floor will ultimately become the Tunic Dress I mentioned a couple of posts ago. I hope to cut it out this afternoon and work on it this coming rainy weekend.

These beautiful Anna Maria Horner fabrics just arrived, along with two patterns. There's enough to make the Socialite Dress, the Multi-Tasker Tote, and a Tunic.

The fabrics looked so pretty stacked together that I took several pictures:

Happy weekend, everyone! I hope to share the fruits of my labors very soon.

Deep Thoughts by Cashmere Librarian

2010-03-17T14:24:00.003-05:00

Wow, spring has come to the prairie. I have purple crocuses blooming in my yard and the tulips and daffodil leaves are four and five inches high. Unfortunately I have work duties today so I'm in my dark office. But it's hard to concentrate on legal writing when I know the sun is shining and the air is fresh outside.

So, instead of work, this is what I'm thinking about:

Why don't I go to Vegas for a long weekend? Or Palm Springs? Can I do it for less than $500 a person, airfare included and a nice hotel? Um, guess not. Anyway, it doesn't work with my teaching schedule. Sigh.
I want to drive up to Chicago this weekend and look at Porthault pillow shams at Maze Home. (Thanks--or no thanks--for prompting this obsession, Neo-Traditionalist!)
What would it be to dress up like the Kardashians every day? Do they ever take their smoky eye make-up off? Do they wake up with their hair looking like that? Do they ever wear flats? Do they get bunions, or nail fungus? Could I afford to hire their stylist? Would I want to?
[I am going to a French-speaking dinner tonight and ] I'm terrified. I think I will just make sure my mouth is always full.
I really want to sit by the ocean.
I really want a Iced Vanilla Blended from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
[Having just finished "The Children's Book by AS Byatt,] what should I read now? Trash or something more serious?
Why was A Bloomsbury Life in my dream the other night and why were we on a luge, running a snowy hill?
If I met James Franco, could he keep his hands off of me?
I really hope Gilt Groupe fills my waitlist request for the Kotur Wallace Satchel. Even though I'm not sure how I would pay for it.

Okay. I have a student scheduled to meet with me in two minutes. I'm getting serious now.

Liberty of London

2010-03-13T16:07:00.004-06:00

At Target this afternoon I went a little crazy on the new Liberty of London for Target collaboration.

Many of the end-caps were half-empty so I'm not sure if they've been shopped over (although the opening is tomorrow!), or if Target is still in the process of filling them. So I just grabbed everything that possibly interested me, which was a lot! I'm not sure about the bra and thong. I'm not typically a fan of ornately embellished underwear but these are cute and the price was nice. The clothes in general were okay but not for me. Most everything else, however, was adorable!

There are two items I wanted but couldn't find. One is this sweet watering can, in the Sixty print. (Actually I was quite taken with the Sixty print and bought a Two-Tier Tray, Gardening Gloves, File Folders and a Binder in that design, as you can see in photo above.)

The other is a large storage box in the same print, which I want to use in my sewing room to hold patterns.

Speaking of patterns, for the first time in a long time I took a few hours to wander through fabric stores this afternoon. Remember my long-ago post on Caftans? Lately, I've been re-inspired by designer Jules Reid's amazing tunics and caftans. Today, unexpectedly but happily, I found a great McCall's pattern (FINALLY!) and more surprisingly, a pretty graphic cotton/spandex fabric in white and royal for which to make a dress. (The fabric's a little too heavy for a full-length caftan, I think.) I'm planning on using two striped ribbons--one lime/white and the other lime/royal--as side-by-side trim. I will share the results as soon as I can!

New Beginnings at Chez La Vie

2010-02-21T10:22:00.005-06:00

I started a new teaching gig in January and it seems as though I'm now teaching writing, I have little inclination to write myself. I thought I'd share some recent interior decoration updates to Chez La Vie with you.

We finally bought some new furniture for our living room, which if you've been following my blog from the beginning you will know it was long overdue. We still need to paint the living room and are looking for a rug, so I'll wait to post pictures until that's complete (hopefully before summer!). In the meantime, we did make some inexpensive but meaningful changes in our Dining Room, and here are the results.

When we moved here in 2002, the dining room was painted a Laura Ashley yellow. Although a bit too "country" for me, I didn't really mind it and I had other things to worry about (children, law school), so it remained. We also had a light fixture that, while not horribly ugly, shed a dim yellow light over the table. It's no wonder I needed glasses after studying under that light for three years.

Thus the first purchase was a chandelier. I'd been collecting pictures of chandeliers for awhile and ultimately settled on this "Maria Theresa" fixture from Horchow. I wanted something elegant but not pretentious (I live in a cottage after all!), and naturally price was an issue. Of course the electric hookup is not directly over the table so we had to string up a chain to anchor the chandelier accordingly. (Eventually we'll get the house re-wired, and this taken care of, but for now ingenuity rules.) I made a chain cover out of silk.

Once we had the chandelier up, we needed to decide on a color. Since 2002 we've been playing with the idea of a red dining room, but in the end that made us a little nervous. One random Saturday morning last fall, my husband and I were paging through my binder of magazine tear-outs, and were stopped by a 2006 Kelly Wearstler spread from House & Garden. Now, I admire Kelly Wearstler and appreciate her Hollywood Regency aesthetic, but I live in a cottage! Yet the paint color, Pratt & Lambert Pearl White 29-29 (more grey than white, though, as you can see), spoke to us. It was elegant, calm and simple and showed off the play of metals throughout the house (brass, mirrors, nickel), which was important to me, since I have a mirrored buffet and a silver tea set I like to display when my silver polishing husband gets his act together. The paint decided on, we immediately ran to the hardware store, not wanting to put this off any longer! We used Benjamin Moore Cloud White for the trim.

Last spring you may recall we found a hutch at a garage sale and subsequently painted it up to hold our china and liquor. I rearranged it to better present my Wedgwood Wild Strawberry tea set and pink American Sweetheart depression glass. All the other furniture in the room has equally humble origins. The mirrored buffet was my aunt's; I believe she herself bought it from a re-sale shop. We bought the table and chairs from an antique shop in Richmond, Illinois, when we purchased our first house in 1999. I recovered the chairs but otherwise it's just as it was. I like to wonder whose house it came from, how many family Thanksgivings it's seen.

The painting above the hutch is by my youngest son.

I did say "inexpensive changes" above which will make my husband laugh, given that I not only splurged on a chandelier but bought the Restoration Hardware mirror below. We originally planned to wait and look for a reasonably-priced antique Venetian mirror, but I've been obsessed with this Restoration Hardware version since I saw it in Maria Menounos's home in InStyle, May 2007, and I couldn't stand to wait. Also, I was afraid the room was going to start to look too frilly, what with the chandelier and my mixed-up furniture, and I like that this mirror adds a more modern touch.

I made a few more purchases. Last fall, my husband and I were browsing Jayson Home and Garden in Chicago and found the horn candlesticks on the table below. Recently RueLaLa had a Barbara Barry sale (my FAVORITE designer) and I bought a pair of oval link candlesticks and a crystal decanter, now gracing the buffet. ( I also indulged on a set of Barbara Barry Dream sheets...heaven! Even my husband was impressed by their deluxe crispiness.)

As you can see, the question of how to dress the windows remains an open one. I am leaning towards Restoration Hardware white Thai silk draperies. What do you think?

Penance of my Extravagance

2010-01-08T18:28:00.005-06:00

I have the January blahs, for various reasons: it's cold as hell outside and will continue to be for the next three months; I overindulged over the Holidays and am now struggling to make amends to my body via my semi-annual Fat Flush; we overspent throughout the fall and, with work furloughs looming, it appears that it will be a belt-tightening spring.

But luckily my splurges last year are among the bright things that keep me going in these grey days.

For instance, I went crazy on my birthday and finally bought this:

An Hermès Collier de Chien bracelet. You may recall I've been coveting this for awhile.

I'm wearing it over a Christmas present from my husband that came in a Tiffany-blue box.

So despite the cold (see above), and hunger (see above), I still have nice things to wear. :-) I can't complain...but sometimes I still do.*

*Like, I would die for a steak and a martini right now. Or even a burger. Wah.

Beautiful Books

2010-01-04T15:47:00.011-06:00

Happy New Year!

Christmas brought me a beautiful bunch of gorgeous books. I always ask for books because I have a running Amazon list of pricey, glossy tomes that I am happy to provide my husband or anyone else who is interested.

The most stunning and inspirational book is Italian Touch, by Donata Sartorio, with photos by Paolo Leone.

The author collaborated with Tod's, the Italian luxury brand known for its driving shoes and handbags, to produce a immaculate catalog of "men and women who dress informally, with a natural elegance, personal style, and sense of ease that are undeniably Italian [from the Introduction]."

I think I like it particularly because it is different from the usual fashion coffee-table book. The author strives to find "Italians who really have no need to 'appear,' insofar as they already 'are.'"

She writes:

These are people who live nonchalantly, in both large cities and in small towns; people who focus on quality and solid traditions they've turned into guidelines for contemporary life; people familiar with that kind of well-educated luxury that makes all the difference; yet never flaunting it; people also who know how to take a break from it all, and can just relax, have fun, and joke around with friends.

While many of the people photographed are wearing Tod's, you shouldn't let that put you off; it's not a sales pitch. Unless of course you are driven to buy a pair of Tod's in hopes of achieving the tailored, well-patina'd aesthetic of the families we see in this book. Not that anyone would be that shallow.

The World in Vogue: People, Parties, Places, by Hamish Bowles and Alexandra Kotur

A companion to Vogue Living: Houses, Gardens, People, published in 2007. It's a stunning volume, and makes a nice addition to my "Slim Aarons Lifestyle" collection. My particular favorite entries were Truman Capote's 1966 Black & White ball and the nuptials of Dita Von Teese and Marilyn Manson. (If you'd like to read more about Capote's party, I recommend Deborah Davis's Party of the Century. And if you'd like to keep up with Dita, I recommend following her on Twitter!) Not as inspirational as Italian Touch, however; this book is really just eye candy for us, the bourgeois.

Resort Fashion: Style in Sun-Drenched Climates, by Caroline Rennolds Milbank

Not, perhaps the best book to pore through when the wind chills are negative outside, but Milbank really pulls together a variety of timeless "style in sun-drenched climates," spanning the last century from Lartigue to Sean Combs. Reminiscent of Slim Aaron's gorgeous jet-set collections, Resort Fashion is classic, alluring, and nicely exhaustive.

Happy Birthday, Big Sister

2009-12-07T07:37:00.000-06:00

Today is my big sister's birthday.

My sister was eighteen years old when I was born. She was already away at nursing school.

My sister Margie and Me. I was 4 days old.

Me, at three months.

Being the oldest, my sister, Margery Esther, had the burden of being named after both grandmothers. That's okay, because she was born to be a grandma (four grandchildren and a new one debuting next month!) And really I don't think there's any better suited name for her than "Marge."

Marge is bossy in a loving way. She tells us all what to do and we do it, including my parents. I'm surprised she hasn't taken over the world, but I guess she's content with her own little piece of Western Pennsylvania.

My dad says he knew she was going to be a nurse because, as a child, she showed no real interest in live animals, but any dead creature, she'd be sure and go roll it over and poke at it. I'm not sure how that relates to being a nurse but it's a funny story.

Flower girl at Margie's wedding, 2 years old. That's one of my brothers holding my bouquet.

Margie moved to Savannah right after she was married, where her husband was stationed in the Army. Here I am with her on an Easter visit.

For the first part of my life, my big sister seemed more like a second mom than a sister, especially since her daughter was only three years younger than me.

No, there is no seatbelt on this Jeep. I once fell out the back of it, going up our driveway.

Why did I have this dumb haircut, you may well ask? Well, it's because I insisted that my dad cut my hair just like my brothers'.

Here I am with my niece, Margie's daughter. She's awesome, too. She's my best friend in the whole world, save my husband. Although we have very different personalities, there's no one I trust more or who understands me better (again, except for my husband!). We attended law school at the same time. Here we are at my graduation from law school with Margie and Margie's handsome son (my niece had graduated the day before).

Having two moms was really annoying. But once I had children of my own, things changed. Margie became a sister.

The other thing about Marge is her distinctive Clairol Kindness flippy hairdo. Girl OWNS this hairstyle! Here we are back in the nineties, when Margie and her husband visited us while my husband was in the military and stationed in Monterey, California. Marge even has a special set of rollers that fit handily on the back of her husband's Honda Gold Wing, for cross-country beauty.

I am grateful to my big sister for so many things I cannot begin to name them all. Since I was close in age to my niece, I slept over at my sister's many a time. She and her husband took me along on vacations to the mountains and water-skiing on the river. She helped deliver my oldest son and gave him his first bath (above). Since my husband and I were but poor students when he was born, my sister paid for the doctor. She taught my son to ride a bike and when our car broke down on the way back to college and we couldn't get a hold of our parents, she and her husband came to the rescue. And now that my parents are elderly, she keeps a good eye on them and takes care of the day-to-day things that those of us who live far away do not see.

So, on this day, I wish my lovely, strong, wonderful sister another happy birthday! Love you, Marge! You're the best.

Halloween in a College Town

2009-11-01T18:38:00.006-06:00

Saturday, October 31st, after neighborhood Trick-or-Treating was over, our neighbors came over for a cocktail and then we decided to walk down to Campustown to see the Halloween excitement.

We walked through Campus and across the Quad on a beautiful, crisp fall evening. As we passed the Alma Mater statue and approached Campustown, we saw a huge group of students waiting for the lights to change. Once the Walk sign went on, the group charged across the intersection and we raced after them to see what was going on.

What it was was a long parade of Zombies. We followed them down the street.

After a few blocks, they stopped and laid down on the sidewalk. Then Michael Jackson's Thriller began to play on some far away boom box. Here's my iPhone video below. You can't really hear the music, but you'll get the gist.

Zombies on their way, uh, somewhere else.

Other revelers:

Men outside the tobacco shop:
Scooby Doo:

Die Herren in dem Lederhosen!

We had dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant and headed home. Here's how I spent Sunday afternoon:

Happy November!

Cashmere Librarian quoted in New York Times!

2009-10-29T14:35:00.002-05:00

I've reached the big time now!

Making Shabby Chic, Again

And if you haven't found Rachel's blog yet, please do visit. I used to live right behind the Shabby Chic Santa Monica store and although I don't embrace the look to any great extent, there's something so clean and pretty and comfortable about Rachel Ashwell's aesthetic that I found myself going in every weekend just to soak up all the easy gorgeousness.

Autumn Leaves

2009-10-24T09:18:00.002-05:00

My backyard, this morning:

So many leaves already, but so many more to come. In our backyard, we have a Black Cherry, a Weeping Willow (kept pruned so it doesn't become enormous and messy), two Red Buds and two Gingkos. Typically, the Gingko leaves are always the last to fall, and they come down in one fell swoop. One day they are on the tree, and the next it rains Gingko leaves until the tree is suddenly barren. Here's a photo of my husband last fall, looking up at the trees just before the Gingkos (the golden tree, pictured below) dropped. He knows what's coming: Raking and Bagging, Raking and Bagging!

This year we are a bit surprised because the Gingkos are falling steadily, like the rest of the trees. Perhaps brought on by a cool summer and a cool, wet autumn?

Today's Jewelry

2009-10-22T10:14:00.004-05:00

I've been really into bracelets lately and since I'm not eager to wade into the 40 Legal Research exams I have sitting here on my desk to grade, I decided to play with my iPhone camera and share my wrist with you.

Today I'm wearing on my wrist:

Hermès H bracelet with red enamel and gold
Two-headed Leopard (?) bracelet from Urban Outfitters, a gift from youngest son
2 Gold and 1 animal-spotted bangles from J.Crew
Seiko stainless-steel and gold watch (Cartier wanna-be)

Rings:

Signet Ring..actually a class ring from Penn State
Wedding Ring
Black Hills gold ring purchased from Landstrom's in Deadwood, South Dakota

Weekly Manicure

2009-10-19T11:31:00.002-05:00

I've never been one to schedule regular professional manicures: I either do it myself at home or keep a coat of Sally Hansen Natural Shine Nail Finish on. It's just an indulgence that I haven't been able to bring myself to do.

But now I'm thinking that it would be really nice to have a weekly manicure. I love dark colors on my nails but when I paint them it chips so quickly, so I tend to stick with Essie Mademoiselle. (Even pale nail polish chips on my self-manicures, because I of course use my nails cleaning, gardening, et cetera.) But a regular professional manicure would help with that, wouldn't it?

The issue is not only money but timing. So my question is: who of my blog friends manages to do this weekly, how do you fit it in your schedule, and how does your professional manicure hold up against daily life? Plus it'd be fun to know what your favorite polish colors are, if your nails are long or short, anything else you'd like to share about manicures (or pedicures). C'mon, spill!

October Only

2009-10-05T21:16:00.005-05:00

My fellow Illinoisan The Preppy Apron tagged me for some of my favorite things that occur only in October! And so:

1. My Birthday!

My birthday was last Friday so my husband and I determined to celebrate the whole weekend! We drove up to Chicago and stayed at the lovely W LakeShore. We met my son and his girlfriend for dinner at Cafe Spiaggia and then hit the Whiskey Sky for cocktails. Saturday morning, we drove out to West Town to brunch at Jam and then shopping on North Damen. We also travelled to Lincoln Park where we checked out Jayson Home and Garden. Saturday night was champagne cocktails at Pops for Champagne and an amazing dinner at a very cozy French restaurant recommended to me by The Epic: Le Petit Paris! (You must go to Epic's blog and read his description of the restaurant and its very charming and masterful proprietor, Chef Alain. And, if you're near Pops for Champagne, stop into an adorable shop two [or so] doors down called P.O.S.H.)

We were exhausted on Sunday but we managed to make it to the Art Institute to see the new Modern Wing. What a wonderful, if whirlwind, birthday weekend!

2. York Peppermint Batties.

When I was six months old, my parents went to a convention and left me in the care of my eighteen year old sister. She's a very responsible person, but apparently she received a call from a church camp about a hour away asking her to fill in as camp nurse for the week (she was a nursing student at the time). She agreed to go to camp and my three teen-aged brothers agreed to take care of their baby sister! I always had the utmost love and affection from my big brothers and although I have no memory of this particular week, I am sure I thrived under their care. In particular, I am told, my diet was expanded to candy, and I was especially fond of the large-size Peppermint Patty my brothers fed me. "We gave her a few pieces, and she kept wanting more," they proudly told my mom when she returned home. "So finally we just gave her the whole thing!"

Fast forward to present, where my equally indulgent husband buys me bags of Peppermint Patties when he goes grocery shopping. I keep them in the fridge, with the fruit, and I eat them when I get home from work with a cold glass of milk. (Interestingly, I hate the smell of mint: toothpaste, gum, et cetera! I won't let my husband kiss me after he's brushed his teeth.)
In October, York markets Peppermint patties shaped like bats. Now how awesome is that?

3. Poe Readings on Halloween.

A local mansion-cum-conference center offers candlelight Halloween Poe readings (enjoyed with a glass or two of red wine). We've also gone to Poe readings given by grad students in the English building of the University, where it's rumoured a student drowned in the basement pool.

My favorite Poe story is "The Cask of Amontillado." I love that the victim, Fortunato, is wearing motley when he meets his end, and I love that the final sound from Fortunato is "only a jingle of the bells." In pace requiescat!

Checking In, and Honest Scraps!

2009-09-21T20:11:00.004-05:00

I hope all my online friends haven't left me. I have great ideas for entries when I'm walking to work (or biking and flashing traffic--haha), but obviously haven't put pen to paper lately.

But I've been busy! I'm teaching cute little first-year law students ("1-Ls") this semester. Last week I saw the tremendous baritone Nathan Gunn perform, accompanied on the piano by his talented wife, Julie. I also attended a local music festival which culminated in a lovely, if rather maudlin, performance by Iron & Wine. I had drinks with my oldest son's roommate and friends who were in town for the festival (older son stayed in Chicago--he has a new girlfriend ;-)), and dinner with younger son. I watched the Steelers lose to the Bears (Wah!).

Other goings-on: Last weekend my husband hosted a guys' absinthe, oyster and cigar party. My girlfriend and I went to a guitar festival and by the time we got back to the house, there were green fairies dancing around my garden and the boys had achieved a wormwood epiphany. (In reality, they were fiercely soapboxing on politics. Yawn.)

Best of all, the beautiful Daily Connoisseur awarded me the Honest Scrap Award! Thus, I shall list 10 honest scrap things about myself. Now, then:

1. I'm not a night person at all and prefer to be in bed by nine, ten at the latest. I don't like this about myself; I think I'd get a lot more done if I could stay up.
2. I'm an indie. I want to do what I want to do and I don't mind doing it alone if no one else wants to join in. Luckily, my husband is usually game except when it comes to dancing. I wish I had someone to dance with!
3. I live to make lists. What would I do without my Filofax and all the ongoing lists within??! It's funny, my younger son is the same way. I am always finding scraps of paper with his lists around the house.
4. My parents and four other siblings are all Republicans; I'm a Democrat. My nieces and nephews, as well as my own children (of course), have *mostly* come over to join me on the left, though.
5. If I am flipping through the channels and a World Wrestling Federation event is on, I'll stop and watch for awhile. I used to know all the wrestlers, but I'm a little rusty now. I wouldn't mind being a professional wrestling announcer, like Mean Gene Okerland. I love yelling "Look at the Carnage!" and "Clothesline!" at appropriate times. I met Stone Cold Steve Austin once.
6. I've collected Halcyon Day enamels, stamps, apples, Match Box cars, matchboxes, and handkerchiefs at some point over the years.
7. I have a birthmark on my lower back that would make a great setting sun in a tattooed beach scene. (But it's not going to happen.)
8. A perfect Friday night includes a Hendricks martini with bagel crisps, goat cheese and sun-dried tomato pesto.
9. The best part of a box of Life Cereal is the "dust" at the bottom.
10. I have perfect eyelashes. No, really. They're awesome.

I wish I was more interesting. Reading this, I realize I'm really just odd. Or let's say "eccentric," shall we? In any case:

Thank you, Daily Connoisseur for honoring me with this award! If you haven't yet met this elegant and erudite blogger, please visit her and introduce yourself!

Sense of Smell

2009-09-04T19:21:00.002-05:00

This morning, over our first cup of coffee, my husband and I were discussing our favorite smells.

His:

his wife (me!) after she's been out in the sun all day
bacon sizzling
basil
fresh tobacco
the forest after a rain
autumn leaves

Her:

my husband (him!) when he first wakes up
my babies
lilac
Santa Monica in the spring: jasmine and honeysuckle and sea air
coffee
a bookstore

Riding My Bike to Work in a Skirt and Manolos

2009-09-02T10:57:00.007-05:00

...is actually pretty funny. I live just over a mile from work, and when the weather is fine I ride my bike.

I could walk--which I sometimes do. It's a lovely walk through my tree-shaded neighborhood and across campus, and if my timing's right I can walk in with my husband. But then I have to carry my shoes. (I made a couple of cute shoebags for this purpose.) I just won't walk a mile in my Manolos: instead, I wear red leather Born maryjanes (which are cool, I think, in an Olive Oyl sort of way), or red Wellies when it rains, or fluffy Lands End boots when it snows.

I could take public transportation--which I sometimes do. I do have to walk a few blocks to the bus stop but all-in-all it's a nice alternative. The problem is WAITING for the bus. Why is it always late when you're early and early when you're late? And waiting for the bus in the dead of winter on a wind-swept prairie is disheartening, to say the least.

I could drive. But then I would have to pay for parking and gas and wear-and-tear and it seems foolish when I have more economical and environmental options.

So I bike. My bike is a Trek 720 hybrid that I bought years ago when we lived in Monterey for riding through the hills of Fort Ord with my girlfriends. I never bothered to transition it to a city-appropriate bike until finally this summer when I added two folding baskets on the back and replaced the seat with a more comfortable lady-friendly one. It's still not perfect--the gears are such that I could never ride it on hills. And there are other issues:

It's a man's bike, with a horizontal center bar. I intentionally bought it this way because the bike guy said it would be sturdier this way and at the time that was my priority. Now, it just makes it more difficult to wear a skirt. First, it's hard to get on and off gracefully. I've become inured to embarrasment on this front and now I just hike up my skirt (wherever I am) and fling my leg over. (The Elegantologist probably just swallowed his tongue reading this--sorry.) Second, there's no chain cover. Although I wear dorky velcro tapes around my pant legs, all my light-colored pants have permanent oil smudges on the inner right shin (BTW, soaking in Oxy-clean helps...usually). Argh my poor white Goldschmieds! Finally, I feel a bit guilty jamming my beautiful leather handbags into the wire baskets. But I still do because it's, well, convenient.

Bad bike habits I have:

I don't wear a helmet. I own one, from when my sons were small and I tried to set a good example, but I bagged that once they stopped listening to me (ie became teenagers).
I wear inappropriate shoes. I could carry my shoes in my cute little shoe bags, but then, like a helmet, it interferes with the convenience of having a bike! So, yes, I wear my Manolos while biking. Not only does it probably look ridiculous, but it's dangerous. Especially mules, which tend to fall off at inappropriate times, like when one is crossing an intersection. This happened to me already twice today. I was heading back to work after lunching at home, and of course I was in a hurry. I pushed off and my right shoe clattered to the pavement! By the time I stopped, it was three yards behind me. Being lazy, I didn't get off the bike; instead I gingerly backed up on my bare tippy toes and wobbily retrieved my black mule. My mail-person, who was watching all this, hollered at me from her truck, "You're supposed to keep your shoes on when you ride, Cashmere!" Uh, yeah.

Then I lost a shoe again in the parking lot. You can see how this might be a problem when one is crossing a busy street.

Aside from my shoe problem, I've developed some techniques for riding a bike in a skirt. At first I attempted to devise a strap that connected to the middle bar and pinned to my skirt, to keep it from flying up as I zoomed across campus in front of all those undergrads. And if I ever do get it properly engineered, I plan to market it on this website and make a lot of money! But right now it's not quite right. There's not enough elastic in the strap to keep up with my vigorous pedaling, so inevitably the pin pulls loose from the dress (although I haven't ripped a skirt yet thank heavens). Plus it's awkward unpinning it before I get off the bike--I'm always afraid I'm going to lose my balance and fall over.

My new strategy is to wear Spanx under my dress and hope that everyone who might catch a glimpse of my "big panties" (Aka Bridget Jones) thinks it's a bike short. Or I tuck the bottom of the skirt into the bottom of the Spanx. Or I simply let my skirt fly up and figure that anyone who's interested in looking up a 43-year-old woman's dress can just have at it.

I know I need a new bike. Specifically, I want an Electra Amsterdam. But, as you know, lately all my disposable income (as it were) has been going to Hermès. So I'll wear my Hermès (I like to think I look pretty fab riding briskly with my gorgeous scarf trailing behind me) and continue to ride my crappy bike.

Why Twitter is Awesome.

2009-08-24T15:27:00.002-05:00

I know what Dita Van Teese is having for breakfast.
My son outed me on Twitter and now all his friends Twitter me too!
I get to see more pictures of Petunia's adorable daughter.
People like Latex Fetish Heels follow my Tweets.

But...I asked to follow James Franco on Twitter and he hasn't yet responded. Dude, you're missing out on my fantabulous life!

My Adventures in New York City

2009-08-20T14:08:00.008-05:00

A big thank you to
Tea & Crumpets
Notes from the Ledge,
Epic
Headbands & Hand Bags,
French Essence,
The Preppy Apron
Merisi
Easy and Elegant Life
and Tessa Scoffs
for providing such great advice on last week's trip to NYC.

I hope you're all not too disappointed with me when I tell you that I checked very little off your recommendations.

It's not that we weren't busy--there was just too much! And since almost all of our party had never been to New York before, we stayed generally on the tourist path. And because I was the most experienced NYC traveller, I became de facto tour guide and subway administrator. I think I did okay on the tour guide part, but I must admit that I tried the patience of my merry band with my rather lame grip of the MTA. They were nice about it though even when I got them lost on the way back from Brooklyn and we ended up having to cab it anyway from Midtown to the Upper West Side. And a sleepy fellow rider almost vomited on my son's German host mother (that wasn't MY fault!). Ah, well.

We bought the Citypass and attempted to hit all the venues. Which my husband, son and I did--our German friends missed one of the museums, having arrived later. What we did:

American Museum of Natural History. Okay. Stuffed moose and T-Rex were the highlights here.

Tuesday morning we strolled across Central Park to make a fast path through the Met. Not enough time! Afterwards, we lunched at a rooftop Italian place and walked down to Rockefeller Center (we walked A LOT!). Went to the top.

In the afternoon we headed to Brooklyn to picnic on the lawn of Prospect Park with my nephew, who's an architect in the city.

The band TV on the Radio was playing at the park and it was a very laid-back evening (until I took the wrong train home). Before the unfortunate MTA incident, we stopped off at the Empire State Building and enjoyed a gorgeous moon-lit, late-night view of Manhattan from its observatory.

I should add that the weather was very hot on Tuesday and between the heat and humidity outside and the blasting AC inside, I'll not be surprised if our German friends, who are quite unused to such extremes, came down with some random illness! I hope not, though, because they're presently somewhere in Death Valley in an RV and that would not be good.

On Wednesday, we cruised the Hudson and East Rivers on the Circle Line! I was thrilled to see Julian Schnabel's pink palace from the boat, but none of my fellow travellers got very excited (Julian who?). Of course, the Statue of Liberty was the big draw (I thought the boat might tip over when everyone rushed starboard to take pictures). Years ago, I climbed to the crown; before I left home for this trip, I checked and the waiting list was out to November! So we opted not to stop on the island.

Afterwards, we stopped for a beer in Hell's Kitchen and then headed to Sam Ash, where our very musical German host family wanted to browse. We cut that short, however, because we wanted to make it back up to the Upper East Side to see the Guggenheim.

I wasn't really impressed by the Guggenheim. We spent a little over an hour there and decided that was enough. Later, we took the MTA to Greenwich Village, where we shared tapas and caipirinhas for dinner, and then hit Smalls for some jazz. What a great NY evening!

Finally, our last full day in New York. We spent an incredible morning at MOMA. How did I not know how fantastic this museum is??! I adore the Met and Chicago's own Art Institute but MOMA is absolutely the best museum I've ever visited. When I got back to Illinois, one of my students asked me if MOMA "kicked my ass," and yes, Mark, it did indeed!

Spent the afternoon shopping in SoHo (TopShop didn't rock my world--am I perhaps too old to enjoy its charms?) and walking around NYU and Washington Square. My son and I hit Ben Sherman up pretty hard--they were having a great sale! We all met at a wonderful BYOB restaurant recommended to us by a couple on the subway called Nook on 9th Avenue (earlier, we picked up a couple of bottles of wine at Astor Wines and Spirits). Then: Lion King! We had great seats and were breathless taking in the costumes and sets and performers. Such fun. Here's my son, after the performance, taking in Times Square.

Our German friends left early Friday morning and we sadly bid them goodbye. (They are trying to talk us into visiting Munich this fall for Oktoberfest!) We still had the morning, so we ran over to Zabar's for salmon bagels and split up: Son to see Lincoln Square and Juilliard, Husband and I to Fifth Avenue for a super-quick luxury feast (We had stopped into Takashamiya earlier in the week, browsing the gorgeous inventory but no buying!). Having such little time, I had to prioritize. I decided I could always shop the majors (NM, Barneys, Saks) in Chicago and so set out to see Hermès on Madison, Caron, and Porthault. We arrived at Hermès just as it was opening. I may have conveyed my obsession with Hermès elsewhere on this blog--in fact at some point I hope to post specifically on that--let's just say I feel about Hermès the way Holly Golightly felt about Tiffany's. I would be happy just to live in an Hermès store, ESPECIALLY the Madison Avenue shop, which is their American flagship and to which I'd never been. We were doubly lucky because they were not busy and we received personal attention on all four floors by some very friendly and charming SAs. I tried on my coveted Collier de Chien (I want the white one, with silver), poked around the shoes and watches, looked at pocket squares for my husband, and spent a lovely time talking to an older French lady in charge of the home department. She gave us the grand tour: china (someday I will own this happy Siesta set), leather (my husband liked the leather cigar holder which can be personally engraved for just over a grand), and amazingly beautiful cashmere blankets. Best of all, they had just received two Birkins! No I didn't buy--they were brown and orange and I am holding out for a red one...plus they are, uh, expensive...but just touching them, opening them and having them near was amazing.

I did score, though. My husband bought me an enamel H bracelet, which I've been eyeing for a great while, for our anniversary which is tomorrow! Here is the beauty:

I also fell in love with a scarf from the Fall collection, called La Femme aux Semelles de Vent, pictured here.

Not wanting to be too spoiled, I chose the bracelet at the time but I thought about the scarf all week and finally on Friday called the sweet SA I had worked with, Cealon, and asked her to send it to me. So I should have it early next week!

We spent way too much time at Hermès and then we couldn't find Caron, where I wanted to buy a flacon of Tabac Blond, one of my favorite perfumes which one can't get anywhere but New York and Paris! No matter--we'll just have to come back soon said my husband! We did get to Porthault where I selected a baby pillow sham which I've been wanting for awhile. I'm not terribly original--I chose the iconic pink heart pattern shown here on Rita Konig's bed!

There is so much on my list that I didn't see or do. I didn't shop nearly enough! I want to spend more time in Greenwich Village. I didn't see Ground Zero, or visit any of the boutiques listed in my most recent copy of Lucky. I would have loved to just walk the neighborhoods more, or just sit in Central Park. I wanted to try tons of scents at Aedes de Venusta and have tea at Sweetiepie. Oh, well. We did so much, and truly enjoyed meeting our son's German host family and touring New York with them.

All of us, in particular our German friends, were impressed with the friendliness of the New Yorkers we encountered. I can't wait to get back (Christmas??!), and I can truly say I LOVE NEW YORK!

New York City

2009-08-06T13:46:00.004-05:00

I'm going to NYC next Monday, through Friday the 14th. In high school, my youngest son was an exchange student in Munich for a year and we are finally meeting his host parents and their children in Manhattan! (Their daughter is the same age as my youngest son; while he was living with her family, she was studying in Uruguay. So they've not met either. His host family also has a son who is a year or so younger.)

We're staying at the Excelsior Hotel on the West Side. My son has never been to NYC (well actually he was there briefly for a Greyhound exchange earlier this summer--long story) and so we have a lot to see and do! The three of us are museum people and we want to try and hit the Met, the Guggenheim and MOMA. I also just want to walk around Manhattan. And, of course, shop (Aedes!!! Takashimay a!!!). But I would LOVE to get recommendations from my blog friends as to where to eat, drink, shop and SEE. Please advise!

I haven't been to NYC since before 9-11...in fact I was sitting on the tarmac at O'Hare, waiting to take off for LaGuardia on a business trip when the planes hit the WTC. We didn't know a thing--we were just very irritated that the plane was late taking off. Then finally the captain came on and said we were heading back to the gate, as there had been some "terrorist activity" in New York. We all looked at each other wide-eyed, then clamoured for our cell phones. I remember thinking in particular that it would have sucked to have died with my despised boss, who was also on the plane (in First Class though, of course).

I was also disappointed, because I was booked to stay at the Algonquin Hotel for the first time! In fact I had along with me a collection of Dorothy Parker's letters. I don't think I ever bothered reading them, after that.

Anyway, COMMENTS please!!

Vosges Haut Chocolat: What flavor is your favorite?

2009-07-21T10:45:00.004-05:00

Whenever my husband and I are in Chicago, we try to stop into the original (I think?) Vosges Haut Chocolat boutique on Michigan Avenue and have a glass of their La Parisienne or Aztec Elixir Exotic Couture Cocoa. Now our local wine store sells Vosges chocolate bars and the cocoa mixes, so I like to try to sneak a couple of bars in on top of our order. (Vosges is expensive, no doubt, but added to a couple of bottles of liquor and wine my husband barely notices!)

My all-time favorite is the Goji: goji berries + pink Himalayan salt + deep milk chocolate. The combinations are unique so you have to taste slowly and savor every flavor. Also wonderful is the Black Pear l (ginger + wasabi + black sesame seeds + dark chocolate), the Creole (New Orleans style chicory coffee + cocoa nibs + Sao Thome bittersweet chocolate), and the Red Fire (Mexican ancho & chipotle chillies + Ceylon cinnamon + dark chocolate).

I don't like nuts, so that limits my options a bit. But my husband likes the Woolloomooloo (roasted & salted macadamia nuts + Indonesian coconut + hemp seeds + deep milk chocolate).

I haven't tried any of the Vosges Organic Exotic candy bars--if you have, please weigh in! Also, awhile back on some food channel I watched the making of a Mo's Milk Chocolate Bacon Bar (applewood smoked bacon + Alder wood smoked salt + deep milk chocolate). Very intriguing but I haven't been brave enough to try--yet! I like bacon and of course I like chocolate, so why not??!

Vosges's truffles are amazing, and also diversely flavored! --and named! I'm always hoping my husband will gift me with a Lunar Chocolate of the Month collection of truffles. Okay, maybe that's a little much; how about the Gatsby collection (available only during January and February)? Who wouldn't love this?:

Inspired by the famous love story of the Great Gatsby and the love of his life, Daisy, I [Vosges Owner/Chocolatier, Katrina Markoff] created a collection of two decadent truffles. Rich dark chocolate swirled with bubbly brut Champagne and topped with a red rose petal completes the Gatsby truffle. The delicate Daisy truffle pairs white chocolate with pink rosé Champagne from Reims and a few drops of rose water, kissed with a pink rose petal atop. The 16 piece box arrives dressed in a prim pin-up girl wrap with secret love notes tucked inside and includes 12 Gatsby and 4 Daisy truffles.

Or maybe something a little more unusual on the palate, such as the Collezione Italiana?:

Sweet and savory, reinterpreted. Lift the purple lid and experience Italy in an interpretation of savory + sweet. Your tasting begins with the Rooster truffle, a mélange of Taleggio cheese, organic walnuts and Tahitian vanilla beans draped in bittersweet dark chocolate. A bit salty, slightly tannic and rich in mouth-feel with an undercurrent of sweetness.

Um, whoa.

Everything is pretty pricey but a worthy occasional splurge. If you do purchase one of the Couture Cocoa mixes, follow the recipe on the back of the box, or I like blogger Topsy Turvy's method.

So, what are your favorite Vogges chocolates? I'll be flying through O'Hare on the way to Washington DC this weekend; I may need to pick up some chocolates at the Vosges boutique in the airport! Recommendations welcome!

Dark and Shiny

2009-07-20T16:16:00.005-05:00

Sunday afternoon I was getting ready to give myself a manicure. After gardening most of the day Saturday, my hands needed some care. I soaked my nails, pushed back my cuticles, and was digging through my collection of polishes for my usual color, Essie Mademoiselle. Typically, I keep my fingernails light because they chip so quickly. But Sunday I when I came across a bottle of OPI Russian Navy laying there lonely in my box I knew I didn't care that I'd have to probably remove the polish by Wednesday because it would be a chippy mess. So my finger nails are now lovely, shiny and dark blue. And as yet unchipped.

I tend to go for darker colors on my toes but because I usually pedicure but once a month, I tend to choose more classic brights like OPI's Chick Flick Cherry or Essie's Exotic Liras or even Chanel Vamp. So my wilder colors, like Russian Navy, are sadly neglected.

But now I'm obsessed. I just ordered NARS' new nail color Tokaïdo Express. It's "black amethyst infused with gold!" And at the end of September MAC is coming out with a Style Black Collection which features a nail lacquer called Baby Goth Girl. I have to have this for the name alone but it sounds like such fun: it's black with pink and purple pearl. I missed out on the Chanel Black Satin polish trend in 2006 (my sixteen year old son was living in Munich at the time and I begged him to find me a bottle of the European version--which was apparently easier to find--at the local Chanel store, but he was having none of it, most likely prefering to hit the beer halls) and I'm determined to be on the front end of this train--well at least I'll be the hippest girl in Central Illinois. HA!

Lest you think I maintain regularly manicured fingernails, I can't and don't. I clean and garden and bicycle and run and it's impossible! I do, however, try to keep a coat of Sally Hansen Natural Shine Instant Nail Finish on at all times. I own both the Clear and the Pink Tint (I purchased them with a buy one, get one free deal) and always carry one or the other in my handbag. Daily, when I first get to work in the morning, I brush a coat on and it takes but seconds to dry. I've also tried the Neutrogena Instant Nail Enhancer but do not recommend it--no lasting power.

S'mores Indoors

2009-07-20T10:01:00.003-05:00

The weather has been cooler here--almost like a Northern California summer (although without the fog!). On Saturday we went out for sushi and cocktails and then came home and lit a fire. In July! Inspired by Cupcakes and Cashmere, we toasted marshmallows and feasted on S'mores, with lovely faux champagne cocktails (St. Germain + Cristalino) to sip.

Buying Jeans

2009-07-18T07:30:00.001-05:00

I know purchasing denim can be traumatic and so I try to buy jeans infrequently and then in one fell swoop. Thus, when I had the opportunity to spend a weekend in Chicago last May, finding a couple new pair of jeans was a priority. Except for a pair of dark straight-leg Levis, I hadn't bought any denim since Fall 2006. It was time!

Most of my denim came from GAP and J.Crew until I tried on my first pair of Citizen of Humanity jeans. Honestly, they made my ass look so good and I realized that there was a major hole in my wardrobe. I still love my casual jeans from Levis and Express, etc, but there is a reason to spend some money on a well-fitting, fashionable pair of denim: You Will Look Better, no matter what your size. Now, I don't advocate going crazy (unless you can truly afford to fill your closet with Current/Elliott or what-have-you) but I highly recommend that you:

Consider investing in a high-end pair of jeans.

As most of you know, I live in Central Illinois so while we do have boutiques that sell high-end denim, they carry limited sizes and styles. That brings me to my first rule of jean shopping:

Look for jeans at a major department store that carries a huge selection.

You want to try on a variety of silhouettes and have access to a range of sizes. The internet is no good; you can't possibly know what will look good on you or what size you will need from a photo. Every brand fits differently. By all means think about what appeals to you in terms of brand and style and wash, and make notes on pictures you see online or in magazines. But go in with an open mind.

I investigated Nordstrom on Michigan Avenue first--I have had success there in the past but I found their inventory spotty and disorganized. We had a long list of things to look at so we moved on. Eventually we ended up at Bloomingdales, where my husband purchased a pair of shoes. By that time I was feeling rather indifferent about the prospect of jean-shopping. I was tired and didn't relish the possible let-down of squeezing into twenty pairs of jeans and looking in the unforgiving mirror. But we apathetically decided to pass by the denim area before leaving the store.

Luckily, all things came together at Bloomingdales. First, the selection was promising. Earler, I had culled a list of possible brands and styles I might be interested in. My first priority was blue denim, and I thought I want might want a skinny silhouette, since most of the jeans in my closet are straight-legged or boot-cut. I also hoped to find a great pair of white jeans, but I was less hopeful here. At Bloomingdales, initially perusing the racks, I found most of the styles and brands on my list. But best of all, I was almost immediately approached by a great sales person named Joseph Porter*. And so my second piece of advice is:

Find a great salesperson.

Why? First, they know the inventory. I gave Joseph my list and he found the styles I was looking for. Second, they know how the brands fit. I usually take two (or three) different sizes of each style into the dressing room with me to make sure I'm choosing based on looks and not size!
Third, because they know what's on the floor, they can recommend brands and styles you might not have considered or know about. I personally have had more success with male SAs. I'm only guessing but I think the young female SAs take me less seriously--who does this 40+ woman think she is wearing hip denim??! The guys, they seem quite aware of who has the cash! Just be careful that the SA is honest with you. So, number three:

Take someone whose opinion you trust with you.

For me, that's my husband. we've been shopping together for almost twenty-four years now and he's developed a great eye and I utterly trust him. He's appropriately critical and appreciative as the situation calls for. He's pretty patient, too. And why would he want to lead me wrong--after all, he has to be seen with me!? I'm really lucky.

Finally, make sure the jeans fit. If you're going to spend all that money, the jeans better look good! DON'T worry about the size, focus on the FIT! Look for gapping on the back of the waistband, too much muffin top (a little is fine, especially if you opt for a lower rise--just know that you'll need to wear longer, loose-fitting tops), and pulling across the hips. Also, be sure they are not too big! Too big = sloppy. Jeans with lycra will stretch out as you wear them! Study this website or this website ahead of time so you know what to look for. Don't worry about length--jeans can be easily hemmed. I personally hem my own; here are the instructions. When you do hem, please remember that you will have to decide whether you will wearing the jean with flats or heels, and hem accordingly. Sorry, you can't have it both ways...unless you go with really skinny legs that you can scrunch up while wearing flats.

With Joseph and my husband's help--and after trying on about ten styles in varying sizes (I never said it was quick and easy), I opted for two pairs, both skinny. Neither style had been on my list of possibilities; thanks to Joseph I was hooked up with two unexpectedly and incredibly flattering options. Mission accomplished.

The first, in a creamy white, is by Adriano Goldschmied: The Premiere Skinny Jean.

The second, by Rock & Republic, in dark blue denim: the Berlin.

These are obviously not me, but I'm wearing them elsewhere on the blog. See here and here.

*If you live near Chicago, please seek Joseph out to help you find a great pair of jeans. His contact info is:
Joseph Porter, Denim Specialist
Bloomingdales
900 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago
(312)440-4872

Summer at Chez La Vie

2009-07-16T11:09:00.010-05:00

Blog friends, I apologize for my absence. My husband has been urging me to put up a new post for weeks, and M. Lane kindly nudged me awhile back, but I knew it was time when I received a random text yesterday from my oldest son to "Update the blog!"

Life has been good at Chez La Vie. My youngest son is home from college, the weather has been, for the most part, fine, and though I haven't traveled anywhere yet this summer there have been plenty of cocktails in the garden and grilling on the patio.

To catch everyone up, here are some photos from recent happenings:

Remember my great yard-sale furniture find? My husband finished painting the pieces and we're very pleased with the result! We're still looking for suitable hardware, but in the meantime we painted the original pulls to match the wood. Here is our new dining-room cabinet. The color is Benjamin Moore Elephant Tusk, inspired by the wonderful blog Good Bones, Great Pieces. The artwork above the cabinet is by my youngest son.

And here is my cabinet for my sewing-room storage. It's painted Benjamin Moore Windmill Wings (2067-60). When my husband and I vacationed in Nantucket several summers ago, we visited a lovely shop called Le Cherche Midi. While there, I bought a Laguiole Sommelier's Tool for my husband, and I was also taken by the paint color on the shop's cabinets and shelves (you can see it on the website's "Tour.") I asked the sales person if she knew the shade, and luckily she was able to oblige. I hadn't had a chance to give it a try until now, and it looks incredible!

Father's Day, 2009. Brunch at Café Selmarie, Chicago, with my husband and sons.

My sons gave my husband a bottle of single-malt scotch (Highland Park Scotch Whiskey Cask #1673!) from Delilah's. Here they are in Oldest Son's apartment.

Before breakfast, oldest son washed out some glasses (because of course all the dishes were dirty, being that three 23 year-olds live here) so we could toast our wonderful father/husband!

Our local July 4th parade was rained out, but despite me constantly checking the news on my iPhone (!!), we didn't find out until we walked all the way to the parade route. (It was the first time in over fifty years that the parade has been cancelled, and they were so loathe to break the chain that the commission didn't decide until the last moment.) Still, I took the opportunity to wear my appropriately red Wellies!

We went back to the Farm for another dinner; this one was "The Whole Hog" and featured chef Paul Virant of Vie Restaurant in Western Springs, Illinois. My youngest son came, too. Here we are in front of the bee hives:

Essentially, every inch of an immense Heritage-breed pig was utilized in this feast. Including the head: one of our appetizers was a tart featuring the boiled down head meat and tongue. And yes, it was amazingly delicious. (Even though I felt like I might be the guy in the Texas Chain Saw Massacre.)

As we had done on our last visit, we took a tour of the facilities before dinner. Because it was so muddy due to all the rain the week before, we didn't get to go into the goat pens to pet the kids. We did, however, see the goats being milked. I had a great view (sorry I couldn't resist posting this; it's too awe-inspiring):

During the meal, washed down with a delicious Rioja, we had an unexpected surprise. An ewe had JUST given birth, and the dairy manager brought the kid out for us to see. She was still wet--and absolutely beautiful. Here she is, just a half-hour old:

If you are in in the Chicago area, I know this farm's cheeses are being carried at some of the local Whole Foods. I encourage you to seek them out--we purchase some weekly at out local Farmer's Market (where the owners actually sell their own product!) and devour it almost immediately. It's a staple with Friday-night Martinis!

Coming to Chez La Vie June 19th.

2009-06-10T14:34:00.004-05:00

I just ordered my first iPhone. 3G S, 32GB. I. Can't. Wait.

W00T!

Farm Dinner

2009-05-31T19:04:00.007-05:00

On Saturday evening, we went to dinner at a local goat cheese farm. We've enjoyed their delicious goat cheese, sold at our local Farmer's Market and food co-op, for the past year. Last summer they started featuring weekend dinners with different themes; our neighbors attended and raved about the experience, so we decided to tag along this year.

The theme for Saturday's dinner was "Celebrate Spring." The first event is iced tea and hors d'oeuvres.

It's BYOB, so we had already stopped by our local wine shop for a couple of bottles to go with dinner. We brought Beronia Rioja 2004 and Lirac Red Rhöne Wine 2006, knowing that lamb was the main course. Luckily, our neighbors remembered to bring cool white wine to start!

Here's the custom-built smoker/grill:

Before dinner we were given a tour of the farm. The goats were very happy to see us:

And these baby kids--unweaned--couldn't keep still, so excited were they. So adorable! Until one tried to eat my handbag...

The menu. All was incredible, but the cheese course was eye-wateringly amazing. All cheese is created on site, and made from the milk of the Farm's goats, with the exception of the Krotovina, which is a mix of sheep and goat milk. The Farm purchases its sheep milk from a nearby Amish sheep farmer. There was also a slice of honeycomb accompanying the cheese, which came from Farm beehives. All other produce and the lamb came from local farms.

Typically, the meals are served outside at long tables in a nearby field, but because the forecast threatened rain, we ate in the Farm's new barn:

It did start raining, but only after the dinner was nearly finished. As we were leaving, we glanced up at the rainy Prairie sky, and this beautiful break in the clouds.

A Couple of Things and Sangria Sunday

2009-05-31T11:08:00.004-05:00

It's a beautiful summer day; a great day for lounging on the patio and drinking Sangria made from white Zinfandel, Cointreau, Triple Sec, peaches, lemons, oranges, cinnamon sticks and soda. It's chilling in the fridge right now.

I'll share with you soon last night's dining adventure, but for now I wanted to show you:

My Improved Blaze roses are blooming along our garage!

And, my husband painted a Tiffany blue tray for me. To see my Hermès orange tray, go here.

Finally, our newest home project. My husband and I were walking to the Farmer's Market yesterday morning, when we were diverted by several yard sales along the way. The first treasure to tempt us was a Victorian settee for $100. The wood trim was in generally good condition but it direly required re-upholstering, and I already have a piece-of-crap sofa and I don't need another. So we moved on.

The next yard sale was down the street, at an old church that has been used recently as a home. I always pass sales that have a lot of kitsch--I don't need anything more to dust--but this one had a bunch of furniture out front in the grass. My eye was first drawn to an old mirrored wooden dresser, but then my husband pointed out a buffet-like chest of drawers. You see, I've been looking for a piece of furniture to store my sewing supplies, yarn and fabric. I didn't want to spend a lot of money and so had been considering this or this. But I was game for a much cheaper piece that I could spruce up with a bit of paint. And this yard sale dresser was a very good candidate, well priced at $15.

I stepped inside to pay, where I met the owner of the furniture. "You know," he said, "there's a matching piece out there; have you looked at that?" Now this is cheap furniture and my house is already full of hand-me-downs and cheap furniture, and I really am not looking to continue down that path. But when he showed me a matching glass-doored hutch, I couldn't resist. Our baby house has little storage, and my beautiful china and glassware is crammed into cabinets from which it's often too much effort to extract them and they are shamefully neglected. So, for $30 bucks and some glossy Chinese-red paint and new hardware, I think this hutch may be alright. Anyway, here are my yard sale finds:

I'm thinking I want to paint the cabinet for my sewing storage blue like this.

(I'm sorry, I can't remember where I found this. I will be happy to credit it if someone knows--also would love to know the paint color!)

We never made it to the Farmer's Market. We spent the next two hours getting our three new household items home. The big bureau went in the backseat of our convertible (top down, of course), where it towered over the car. The glass door shelf portion went on the roof of our Volvo, and the smaller buffet went in the trunk of the Volvo (sticking out outrageously). I wish I would have taken photos of this; picture the Beverly Hillbillies and you will have a very good idea of how we looked. Great fun!

Charm Bracelet

2009-05-24T10:11:00.005-05:00

My charm bracelet. Organized roughly by date, starting from the right:

1. I played clarinet as a kid. I also played--and still play--the piano. My repertoire is limited to about five songs*, which I play over. And over. And over. And badly. And Loudly.
2. I was a bridesmaid in my brother's wedding, and this charm with my initials was my gift.
3. I was a cheerleader in high school.
4. My first trip to Europe was over Christmas break during my freshman year of college. I went to Vienna and Salzburg.
5. Son No. 1
6. I finally received my B.A. from Penn State (after three other colleges and two months in Dallas Texas). At the time, I thought I might start a gold charm bracelet but that never materialized, so it's the only gold charm on a sterling silver bracelet. I think it adds a certain...charm, no?
7. Son No. 2
8. During my first career, I worked briefly in the Sears Tower. 62nd Floor!
9. I was lucky enough to live on the Monterey Peninsula for a couple of years, This is the famous Lone Cypress in Pebble Beach California. A part of the charm broke off. I still have it, in case I ever get up the guts to try and solder it together.
10. My husband and I took a trip to lovely Bermuda. On the charm, you can see a moongate and Bermuda's distinctive longtail bird.
11. I went to law school, then grad school, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
12. To celebrate the end of law school and to recuperate from a grueling summer of preparation for the bar, my husband and I spent an incredible week on Nantucket. This charm represents one of the beautiful Nantucket Lightship baskets, and has a faux scrimshaw on the top. It used to have a penny inside, but it tends to fall open and the penny is long gone.
13. After grad school, I moved to Los Angeles and taught at the University of Southern California. I've since moved back to Illinois, but my youngest son just finished his freshman year of college there.

I started collecting charms when my parents would bring them back from their trips. Now I usually buy them for myself. I love how individual charm bracelets can be; I determined that this charm bracelet was going to reflect milestones in my life alone, and so I all the charms my parents gave me from their travels have been relegated to a sterling silver charm necklace that I wear on occasion. But that's the beauty of it! I'm considering creating another bracelet on which I could document my passions, like fashion, books, and travel, because there are so many gorgeous charms available! For example, if you have children, you might consider splurging on these Absoleutely Precious charms by Lester Lampert:

In addition to personally selected charms, I also covet charm bracelets put together by someone else. Like this Chanel charm bracelet:

Or this slightly garish, but nevertheless fun Juicy Couture model:

And I would love to get my hands on this Louis Vuitton scarf with charm drawings. (Scarves are my first love, and I'm working on a future scarf post.) A limited edition from 2004, this beauty was created by artist Jeffrey Fulvimari, the illustrator of Madonna's book The English Roses.

Charm bracelets don't have to be expensive, though, since you can add charms over time and if you opt for sterling silver, they won't break the bank. While talking about bracelets, I do recommend you buy a Bracelet Buddy. It's not foolproof and generally takes a few tries, but what else are you going to do when a guy isn't around to get the clasp for you?

Now, I tag anyone who has a charm bracelet to take a photo and share on their blog! Then, please put a comment on this post with a link to your entry so we can all enjoy.

*In case you're interested, they are:
The Entertainer (duh)
The Merry Widow Waltz
Lara's Theme, from Dr. Zhivago
The Missouri Waltz (a Truman favorite, I'm told)
Gypsy Song, from Carmen

Tiny Art Director

2009-05-22T09:11:00.001-05:00

My son just sent this link to me. Brilliant...and hysterical.

Great Fun in the City

2009-05-10T21:12:00.006-05:00

This weekend, we were invited to the Chicago wedding of a gorgeous friend from law school, so we decided to make a mini-holiday of it. We drove in Friday morning, checked into our hotel, and hit Michigan Avenue.

Our list of stores to hit was long--in our town in Central Illinois, we have, uh, Macys, Gap, Old Navy, that's it....well maybe an exaggeration (a Banana Republic FINALLY opened a year or two ago), but still. We started at Neiman Marcus, where I had a return. We were molested by an salesperson pushing Hermès fragrances. I almost died in the shoe department where I saw these in real life. Actually, the in-store version was creamy patent leather, not the gold that originally enticed me. But really, they're more gorgeous than I even imagined. It was hard to walk away! In the Chanel accessory nook, I played with a beautiful pink ombre 2.55 quilted bag.

I scored at both Bloomingdales and Hermès--more on that later!

After a wonderful day of shopping, we were dying of thirst and hunger.

At Quartino, we started with Limoncello and Orangecello martinis and worked our way through four "small" plates of seafood and pasta, wine, and finally two enormous desserts and coffee. Then we headed over to Pops for Champagne for amazing champagne cocktails. If you live near Chicago, please go here and have the Vie en Rose sparkling cocktail. My God. My husband also speaks highly of the Black 75.

Saturday was the wedding, an all-day affair. Both Bride & Groom are Indian and the festivities were not only amazingly romantic , but exotic. Almost all the women wore colorful, opulent saris. The groom rode in on a white horse with an accompanying drummer and dancers. The wedding ceremony was traditionally Vedic, and we were given a booklet that described what was happening and the meaning behind the rituals. After a buffet luncheon, we had a couple of hours before the reception. Here we are (not shown, but I opted to wear the python pumps):

And later, in the photo booth, after a few martinis:

The food was Indian and thus hugely spicy; the music was pure Bollywood. Incredible fun on the dance floor, with all the gorgeous women in their silk saris and gold jewelry!

Sunday--Mother's Day--we met up with our oldest son for burgers at Kuma's Corner:

Good Times. Now back to reality. Sigh.

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T20:19:00.001-05:00

Can you believe these two little cuties, in their flannel PJs decorated with spaceships and teddy bears ("Made with Love by Grandma"), are now twenty-three and almost nineteen? I had a lovely lunch with my oldest this afternoon, who gave me a new turntable! Now I can start playing all those old opera recordings I inherited from an elderly aunt. When I returned home, a beautiful bouquet of flowers awaited me from my youngest (who I'll see on Wednesday, when he comes home from college for the summer). Lovely Mother's Day!

Of course, sometimes I am surprised my career as a mother didn't end like this:

My Mom and I, March 2008. She's our source of flannel pajamas (pictured above). Her mission is to seek out the most ridiculous prints, which she buys with her JoAnn fabrics 40%-off-one-item coupons. When my boys left for college, they graduated to flannel quilts, fashioned with more subdued plaids. She even made me a pink flannel quilt, which is extremely comfy. It features pink princesses, pink flowers, and pink teacups. Love you, Mom!

Yes those are tools behind our heads.

Je voudrais un croissant...

2009-05-05T15:15:00.003-05:00

My husband and I were recently IM-ing and we started conversing in faux-french...which always deteriorates into dialogue from this Flight of the Conchords episode. Last spring, I took a refresher class in French and we played this in class; I laughed until I cried. So, for a little afternoon entertainment:

Window Boxes

2009-05-03T18:44:00.007-05:00

Today we went to the garden place to get plants for our window boxes. Since we've done this since 2003, we have it down to a science. What works best: geraniums, coleus, and sweet potato vine. Fueled by a couple of pitchers of Bloody Mary's, we got to work (note the Bloody on the table above).

Getting the boxes ready:

I also pick plants for some pots to place around the patio. This particular mixture (above) is meant for the shade, and will sit under the Star Magnolia. I stole the idea from White Flower Farm. It includes Verbena, Heliotropium, and Helichrysum.

Pansies for the patio table:

Spring has come to our garden! The Miss Kim lilac is about to bloom.

Lilies of the Valley in our front yard.

My husband readies support brackets for the side window box, to be filled with red Verbena. I asked him to take his shirt off for this photo, but he was too busy. ;-)

Window boxes ready to be filled with dirt and then planted.

Husband digging around the compost pile for suitable soil:

The final product:

Basil and Hidcote Lavender

Finis.

2009-04-29T20:55:00.003-05:00

My first "real" knitting project. Not bad. It definitely looks home-made, but then I think that's part of its charm.

Used Bookstore Treasure

2009-04-28T15:02:00.012-05:00

Saturday morning I went downtown to have my hair done. As I was a few minutes early, I stopped into a nearby used bookstore to see if I could find any thing on my collectible books wishlist.

Now, this bookstore isn't the world's greatest treasure trove of rare books, but in the past I have found a few gems (to me) such as Osa Johnson's I Married Adventure with its iconic animal-print binding and Alexandra Stoddard's first book, Style For Living, in immaculate hardcover.

Usually I browse a number of sections (biography, women's studies, children's series, among others), but today I just popped up to the third floor to look at the jumble of fashion, etiquette and decorating books tucked into a little closet. Many of the volumes have been on the shelves since I first moved to the area: I've been eyeing four volumes of the Social Register from the 1970s for years but have resisted purchasing. Why would I need them? However, since I have a great interest in the 1960s Jet Set culture--think Slim Aarons--it might be fun to have them on hand to browse... Hmm. I'll probably break down one of these days.

I was seeing all the usual and I was about to leave, when I saw this sitting on the floor, propped up against the shelves:

Now, if you've read my post which includes my Amazon Wishlist, you know that I'm coveting The Best of Flair by Fleur Cowles. Flair was a magazine, edited by Fleur Cowles, published from February 1950 through January 1951. Twelve issues. It was special (also called "legendary" and "revolutionary') because of its pull-out-the-stops dedication to superb design and production values--you'll see why in a moment. Contributors included members of the top echelons of power and fame. Flair survived only a year, they say, because the incredible costs of its production brought about its demise. I've only seen it once before; when the re-print first came out, in the mid nineteen nineties, I was working in a bookstore on the Monterey peninsula and one of the other booksellers had ordered it for her mother as a Christmas gift. We opened it up and oohed and ahhed over the beautiful spreads and clever cut-outs.

So I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw "Flair" writ across the cover of this unassuming gray binder. Inside:

All total, the first six volumes (half the total tun), in incredible condition, of Flair. Bound together. And no price.

I had to hurry, and I thought hard. It had been a long time since I'd done any research on the magazine and at the time I wasn't even sure how many issues of the magazine were ultimately published. I knew the price of the reprint--of course as a librarian I keep a copy of my Wishlist in myFilofax--and I calculated furiously. After all I had a hair appointment looming!

Should I wait and research a price after my appointment? What could I afford to pay? (Not much...we're having our house painted and of course there's always those damn tuition bills!) What was it actually worth? How savvy was the bookstore owner?

I hastily determined that I wanted to pay $20, I would pay up to $50 and any more than that I would go home and do some research. I knew that the risk was once the bookshop owner had it in her hands, she'd have time to look into it too and that could be expensive!

I approached the counter with a polite smile and handed her the binder, mentioning as casually as I could that there was no price listed and could she tell me what it might be? She slowly ruffled through the pages and turned the binder over in her hands. "It look like it has book marks in it."

"Oh, no," I said quickly,"those are inserts. This particular magazine was well know for its inclusions!" She looked at me suspiciously.

Damn! She's been warned that this might be something special! I'm such an idiot, I thought.

She considered again. Finally, she said, "seventy-five."

Damn! Over my budget, but...

"Will you take fifty?" I asked. "How about sixty?" she replied. Done.

So here it is. From the Paris issue:

Look at the little cut-outs! Like an advent calendar!

From the Men's Issue:

A playbill is inserted into one issue:

A pretty fashion spread about roses:

Also from the Paris issue, a picture of (and accompanying article authored by) Evangeline Bruce, wife of the French ambassador, David Bruce. I first became enamoured with Vangie Bruce reading Leticia Baldridge's A Lady, First: My Life in the Kennedy White House and the American Embassies of Paris and Rome. Ms. Baldridge worked for the Bruces in the American Embassy in Paris. She wrote admiringly of Ms. Bruce, and I did some follow-up research. Evangeline Bruce is a renowned author in her own right, as well as being recognized as one of the foremost hostesses of her time. The Peak of Chic recently posted an entry on Evangeline Bruce's decorating style.

Decorating:

High Fashion:

Celebrity Profiles:

I now of course want to find the last six issues; I'm haunted as to if there is another binder somewhere and where it may have landed! I've set up a search in Ebay and I'm still trying to figure out what is a good price for these treasures. In the meantime, I'm loving everything about my find--the ads are as much fun to read/gaze on as the features--and I feel so lucky!

Now if only my luck holds out tonight for the Mega-Million drawing...

It's Spring on the Prairie!

2009-04-25T17:45:00.001-05:00

Cravings

2009-04-21T15:24:00.004-05:00

So I'm on the second week of Fat Flush and the cravings I have demonstrate just how unsophisticated a person I am.

1. Lofthouse Cookies. Since my sons went out on their own, my husband and I have developed an unhealthy obsession with grocery store cookies, in particular those soft iced cookies from Lofthouse. I just looked up the nutritional information; do you know ONE of these cookies has 190 calories!? I usually eat a minimum of four at a sitting! (Thus the Fat Flush.) Another great grocery store cookie is Meijer's Sugar Cookies. We usually buy one container of each.

2. Powdered Donuts. When my husband and I were in college and our son was a baby, on Saturday mornings we used to buy powdered donuts, our neighbors would come over, and we would all lay on our pulled-out sofa bed eating the donuts and watch PeeWees Playhouse. Everytime I see them in the grocery store, I think about how delicious they are with a tall glass of cold milk and I know I could eat the whole bag, as long as the milk held out.

3. Dairy Queen Midnight Truffle Blizzard. They advertise this all the time on television recently, and it absolutely kills me.

4. Communion Bread. Last weekend during communion, my husband and I (we joked later) were wickedly tempted to grab the host/loaf from the pastor's hands and run down the aisle with it a la Jean Valjean, knawing voraciously on its delicious carbs.

5. Cupcakes. Preferably Red Velvet with rich cream cheese frosting but I'd settle happily for the Hostess variety. But I'd want more than two!

6. Any dessert from Babalu, which sells "desserts as big as your head!" When I lived in Santa Monica, I'd run over just before going to bed and select an enormous slice of pie to ensure sweet dreams.

Magazine Subscriptions

2009-04-13T19:26:00.004-05:00

The gorgeous Jessica Lange. I think she's incredibly cool.

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter. It was a pretty weekend here; Saturday there was a marathon through our town and my husband and I awoke early and went out to watch the racers (and grab some pastries at the local bakery). I scrubbed the winter dirt off my Saab convertible and gave it a good polish--unfortunately it's still too cold to take the top down, but I'm ready! Our neighbors came over with a bottle of wine later that night and then Easter Sunday: church and, afterwards, lamb chops and couscous and spring vegetables.

Today we're starting our bi-annual Fat Flush. Hmm. There'll be little joy around this household for the next two weeks!

Anyway, I was going through my list of magazine subscriptions and I found it interesting to see how my subscription list has changed either because my interests have shifted or, sadly, the magazine went out of publication. What do you read now? Here's what arrives regularly at Chez La Vie:

Bon Appetit (husband)
Cook's Illustrated (husband)
Lucky
Newsweek
New Yorker
Town & Country
Vanity Fair

I recently let my subscription to Vogue lapse; about a year ago I stopped ordering Harper's Bazaar. I'm really looking for a style magazine that has less outrageous fashion and more useful presentations. Does anyone remember Mirabella magazine? I loved that magazine--that's the type of fashion magazine I'm looking for and it no longer exists. Upscale, but realistic. A bit of eye candy that I can actually aspire to.

The one home magazine I loved, Domino, has of course recently expired. I also used to subscribe to Cottage Living, but I was going to cancel it anyway before it went out of business because it seemed so focused on building new cottages, not decorating old ones. Other magazines I liked that died were Blueprint, Victoria (the original, not the new version), and House & Garden (with Dominique Browning as the editor). I saved all my old Victorias and Dominos. I also save my T&Cs. The rest I cut up and file.

What might I occasionally pick up in line at the grocery store or while browsing in Borders? InStyle, Elle, House Beautiful and of course US (in particular when I'm headed to the beach!). Maybe WWD. My husband likes car magazines as well as those with muscled men on the cover (for the workout routines, not the hot guys--apparently).

What magazines come to your home?

Beautiful Winnings

2009-03-28T16:38:00.004-05:00

A big thank you to Janet at FrenchBlue & Company. A few weeks ago she had a give-away in celebration of the birthday of her friend Lynn at Paris Hotel Boutique. I was the lucky winner of this gorgeous Bergdorf Goodman candle. It came delightfully wrapped and with a personal note from Janet. I have it lit as we speak and it's absolutely beautiful; an infusion of spring into a rain-to-snow kind of March day.

Thank you Janet! I love your beautiful blog and am happy to make your acquaintance!

Obsession

2009-03-27T15:25:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I have a wedding to go to in May. I've ordered the dress, but shoes, well, that's a problem. I have some gold Cole-Haan python pumps*, which might work. However, they're uncomfortable and frankly I wanted something sexier. Like these:

Uh, yeah.

*I didn't buy these; I won them in a magazine give-away!

What I'm Reading

2009-03-15T10:32:00.002-05:00

A recent Amazon shipment arrived, just as I finished Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton. So, here's what's in process, and what's on deck:

Hotel du Lac, by Anita Brookner. I was motivated to seek out this book thanks to a blogger's review here. It's okay: well-written but perhaps a little slow-moving and I'm not really intrigued by any of the characters. I will finish it, though.

The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield. Encouraged by the beautiful The Daily Connoisseur, I first borrowed this book from the library, read half, and determined that I needed to own it and keep it by my bedside for inspiration. Really entertaining and seemingly useful...but I should note that I haven't written any good stuff personally OR professionally recently. Maybe when I finish the book!

When I like a mystery writer I LOVE mysteries. I'm pretty picky, though, so it's not like I have to read every mystery on the best-seller list. In my youth, I read a great deal of Agatha Christie. Now, I tend to be more interested in her biography. If you haven't read her autobiography, you should: an amazing trip chronicling a woman's progression from a hugely traditional Victorian youth to First World War wife to professional success and world travel with her famous second husband, archaelogist Sir Max Mallowan. Her country home in Devon, Greenway House, was recently restored and opened to the public, and I'm dying to see it. Anyway. In high school my boyfriend's mother turned me onto PD James, and I've read almost all of her work except for Children of Men (but I did see the movie!). Now 89, she just released another mystery, the wonderful The Private Patient, last fall, which I of course immediately devoured. So I am excited that another of my favorite mystery writers, Frank Tallis, just published a third book in his Mortalis series featuring Freudian psychiatrist Dr. Max Liebermann, called Fatal Lies. Max practises medicine in turn-of-the-century Vienna, but his friendship with local police Inspector Rheinhardt lures him into analysis of the city's twisted criminal minds. Tallis contrasts the sordid investigations with Liebermann's love for the aesthetically high-minded pursuit of music: along with the violence we get a lot of Strauss and Mahler. It's great. If you're intrigued by the setting and the perspective of the early psychological study of crime, start with the first book in the series, A Death In Vienna.

Everytime I place an Amazon order I try to purchase something that's been on my Wishlist for awhile. (Don't you find that your list grows faster than items fall off? Troubling.) In this case, it was Jessica Powell's Literary Paris. As my long-time readers know, I've never been to Paris but I remain a determined Francophile nevertheless and I'm looking forward to wrapping up college tuition (3 years and 2 months to go!) and then making my Grand Tour. However I decided I could at least afford to read about it in the meantime and put Literary Paris in my cart. But I couldn't of course leave well enough alone and I had to search to see what other options were available. I found Writers in Paris: Literary Lives in the City of Light by David Burke. Both Literary Paris and Writers in Paris received great reviews, and I couldn't decide. So, giddy with the knowledge that I had $50 worth of Amazon Visa coupons in hand, I ordered both.

Yesterday we drove up to Chicago; my youngest son happily decided to surprise us and come home from Los Angeles for spring break, so we were able to fit in a visit to my oldest son, Josh, before we picked up Max at O'Hare later in the evening. I had already sent ahead the book I just finished, Seven Days in the Art World. Josh majored in Industrial Design in college and will likely continue onto his MFA in the near future, so I thought he would enjoy it as much as I did. In turn, he sent me away with the graphic novel Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. I doubt whether I will see the movie, but my son thought I should at least try the book. I've never read a graphic novel before; I'm looking forward to giving it a try! (I have just been warned by my youngest son that the author tends to "objectify women" and that it will probably "piss me off." I'll let you know.)

I will also add that I've had Proust's Swann's Way on my nighttable for months. As much as I want to be able to say "I've read Proust," I am really doubting whether I'll ever get through it.

That's what I'm up to. Now that I've moved three books off my Amazon wishlist, I'm ready to add! Any recs?

Here's what remains:
Weekend Retreats by Susanna Salk (Author) $29.70

Quiet Nights ~ Krall, Diana $9.99

The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947-1957 by Claire Wilcox (Editor) $26.37

The Wonderful Weekend Book: Reclaim Life's Simple Pleasures by Elspeth Thompson (Author)

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking by Jeff Hertzberg (Author), Zoe Francois (Author) $16.77

Sting - All This Time DVD ~ Sting $16.97

Mr & Mrs Smith Boutique Hotel Collection: The Global Shortlist by Rufus Purdy (Editor), Lucy Fennings (Editor) $16.47

High Society: The History of America's Upper Class by Nick Foulkes (Author) $45.50

Nantucket: Island Living by Leslie Linsley (Author), Terry Pommett (Photographer) $26.40

L.A. Modern by Nicolai Ouroussoff (Introduction), Tim Street-Porter (Photographer) $47.25

But That's Another Story: A Photographic Retrospective of Milton H. Greene by Amy Greene (Author), et al. $47.25

Edith Bouvier Beale of Grey Gardens: A Life in Pictures by Eva Marie Beale (Author), et al. $47.25

Jean-Michel Frank: The Strange and Subtle Luxury of the Parisian Haute-Monde in the Art Deco Period by Pierre-Emmanuel Martin-Vivier (Author), et al. $59.85

The L.A. House by Ruthie Sommers (Author) Currently unavailable

Inspired Styles by Assouline (Author) $45.50

Biedermeier: The Invention of Simplicity by Laurie Winters (Author), Milwaukee Art Museum (Other Contributor)

Houses of Los Angeles, 1920-1935 (Urban Domestic Architecture) by Sam Watters (Author) $69.78

Ralph Lauren by Ralph(Author) Lauren (Author) $85.05

Best Garden Plants for Illinois (Best Garden Plants For...) by William Aldrich (Author), Don Williamson (Author) $16.95

Beethoven: Violin Sonatas "Kreutzer" & "Spring" ~ Ludwig van Beethoven $10.99

Bach - Brandenburg Concertos / Lamon, Tafelmusik ~ Johann Sebastian Bach $31.98

Chanel: Collections and Creations by Daniele Bott (Author)

Grace Kelly: A Life in Pictures by Pierre-Henri Verlhac (Editor), Yann-Brice Dherbier (Editor) $30.40

The Ultimate Rat Pack Collection: Live & Swingin (CD & DVD) ~ Sinatra, Frank $22.99

Chanel: The Couturiere at Work by Amy de la Haye (Author), Shelley Tobin (Author)

Chanel by Francois Baudot (Author) $28.27

Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook: The Essential Guide to Caring for Everything in Your Home by Martha Stewart (Author) $29.70

Grace Kelly: Icon of Style to Royal Bride (Philadelphia Museum of Art) by H. Kristina Haugland (Author) $15.64

ABC for Book Collectors by John Carter (Author), Nicolas Barker (Author)

In the Pink: Dorothy Draper--America's Most Fabulous Decorator by Carleton Varney (Author) $59.85

A Dress for Diana by David Emanuel (Author), Elizabeth Emanuel (Author) $22.76

Margaret Bourke-White: The Photography of Design, 1927-1936 by Stephen Bennett Phillips (Author)

Best of Flair by Dominick Dunne (Foreword), Fleur Cowles (Editor) $176.34

Art Deco New York by David Lowe (Author)

The Ultimate Collection ~ Holiday, Billie $39.98

Chanel (Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications) by Harold Koda (Author), et al.

The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings ~ Davis, Miles

Classic Cottages: Simple, Romantic Homes by Brian Coleman (Author), Douglas Keister
(Photographer) $26.62

C'Était Ici ~ Tiersen, Yann

Crafts

2009-03-04T18:48:00.004-06:00

Here are my hyacinths; unfortunately they've been banished to the compost pile by now but they were lovely! In two short (!) months I'll be able to fill the window boxes and see greenery on the other side of the window!

Recently my husband and I have been uncustomarily crafty. Long ago I bought an unfinished wooden tray at Michael's. Originally, I intended to decoupage it with jewelry cut-outs from Town & Country: I spent an entire weekend ignoring my grad school homework and carefully scissoring out Ippolita and Temple St. Clair and Pommelato rings and bracelets and necklaces. When I went to Nantucket later that summer, I sought out famed decoupage artist Leslie Linsley and quizzed her on the details of her art (for the record, she discouraged me from using art from magazine paper--too heavy). I dragged a Tiffany box to Lowe's to match paint (Eddie Bauer Sea Breeze EB8-2). Then...nothing. I still have the folder of paper jewelry in my desk.

Last month we finally organized ourselves enough to go to Lowe's and select paint. I'm still planning the Tiffany blue tray, but we decided to create a simple Hermès orange tray for our first endeavor. My husband painted it, using American Traditions Island Orange (2010-2). He didn't use primer, which in retrospect was a mistake; instead he put about a million coats on. The trim is Valspar Cabin Plank (2011-10).

I wrapped the handles with some leftover Hermès ribbon.

Likewise, I had purchased a bare corkboard a couple of years ago for my apartment in Los Angeles. I meant to cover it with fabric immediately but never found quite the right material. Then, several weekends ago we were poking around Hobby Lobby--we hadn't been there in years and I don't even remember now why we decided to stop by--and I found this animal print home decorator fabric.

On Sunday, I gathered my staple gun, needle-nosed pliers, batting (which I stole from another eventual project), and dug out my glue gun which hasn't been used in years. The operation moved along rather nicely until I ran out of ribbon.

Okay. Four o'clock on Sunday, and I am determined to get this bulletin board completed. But who knew Hobby Lobby was closed on Sunday!!?

Thwarted on Sunday, I wrapped up my masterpiece on Monday and here it is!

Some of my treasures:
A photo of my husband smoking a cigar
A photo of my mother in college, at the library
A still from the movie Last Year at Marienbad
A photo of me and my sons, taken on my birthday; also the day I found out I passed the bar
A photo of a white convertible Alfa Romeo Giulietta, my dream car
A ticket stub from Jacques Tati's Playtime, at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica
A postcard my son sent me from Paris

What's Good in February

2009-02-18T20:24:00.008-06:00

Really, I must sit down and write a substantive post one of these days. The problem is, recently I only feel inspired to write when I'm at work. ( I should clarify: I feel like writing for my blog. I DO NOT feel like working on an academic article; hell, I've got five more years to worry about tenure.) Once I'm home, I only really want to do four things: eat, drink, knit or read. But mostly, I sleep.

Anyway.

1. Valentine's Day. Last weekend we went to Chicago to deliver a birthday cake to my son, and to take him out to lunch to celebrate his Valentine's birthday. We ate at The Gage, near Millenium Park. Afterwards, we wandered down to State Street to check out H&M and browse the furniture galleries in Macy's (the old Marshall Field's). A quick trip, but a lovely day, despite the gloomy and freezing weather.

2. Seduction Bread. While I was in Chicago, I ran into Whole Foods to purchase a couple of loaves of their amazing Seduction Bread. Does anyone have a recipe for this, preferably one that works in a bread machine? I've scoured the web to no avail. It apparently takes sourdough starter, which intimidates me a little but since this bread is so good and the closest Whole Foods is two-plus hours away, I'm game to try. Here are the ingredients, which I copied from the label: whole wheat flour, water, millet, honey, canola oil, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, molasses, sea salt, fresh yeast [duh], sourdough starter (white flour, whole wheat flour, sea salt). I'm not savvy enough to create a recipe from scratch, so any recommendations would be much appreciated.

3. Rammstein. As I mentioned before, I've taken to working out at five in the morning. I throw around some weights to warm up and then I settle in for a good half-hour-plus run on the treadmill. I like to push it--why get up so damn early if I'm not going to move some major calories?--so I run interval inclines. Well, I've found that Rammstein is a supreme motivator for getting over those mountains. Have you ever seen these guys??! The teutonic growl of the lead singer, Till, is truly inspiring, and then you imagine this guy literally on fire and you forget all about your burning calf muscles--you feel like you could run all day! Or at least until the song ends.

A close second is Rob Zombie. Especially Living Dead Girl.

4. Knitting. Here's what I'm working on now:

The pattern is from Louisa Harding's Knitting Little Luxuries. It's coming together beautifully. I have my eye on some pretty Kaffe Fassett fabric for the lining.

You see, I hate being stuck with nothing to do so I always have a tote bag with me. It could include some or all of the following: a book or magazine, sudoku puzzles, a book on French phrases (the accompanying CD is loaded on my iPod), my knitting and parts of a quilt I'm lap quilting. If I had an iPhone, thus having internet access at all times (in theory), I could be happy anywhere!

5.Hyacinths. See, mine are almost blooming! I hope they smell amazing--at the moment there's only a whiff of fragrance.

Pittsburgh Steelers

2009-01-30T15:07:00.005-06:00

I grew up on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Growing up in Western Pennsylvania typically guarantees a couple of things:
1) You will inherit the rather grating local accent,
2) You will worship the Pittsburgh Steelers.

I've been trying to discard the accent all my life, with varying success, but I will always love the Pittsburgh Steelers! Football is huge in Western Pennsylvania anyway, but the Steelers have appeared in SIX Superbowls--winning five--and Pittsburgh LOVES its home team. On Sunday they will take on the Arizona Cardinals in Tampa for the national championship: Superbowl XLIII.

Having moved away from Pennsylvania after college, my husband and I have cheered on the Steelers mostly alone. But this year, I've re-connected with many of my Pittsburgh friends via facebook, so every day I receive event requests encouraging me to join the "Terrible Towel" or "Super Bowl Bound Wave."
So Sunday evening, I will watch the big game, enthusiastically waving my Terrible Towel, admiring Hines Ward's smile and checking out Troy Polamalu's (USC 03!) cute little ass. Also, seeing my team win a sixth Superbowl. Go Steelers!

Things That Made Me Happy in January

2009-01-20T16:52:00.009-06:00

1. Barack Hussein Obama. I am no longer cynical, I am hopeful. Our new president has such an overwhelming task ahead; I do not know if any person could be up to the challenges but I do know that I have such confidence in this intelligent, well-spoken, thoughtful man and today I am very proud, once again, to be an American. Stay informed Here and Here.

2. Coffee in bed. This weekend was a long one for my husband and I (looove academia), so we took turns making coffee in our French Press, preparing a tray, and bringing it upstairs. Sometimes we'd eat cookies, too.

3. Coffee in the shower. My sleep patterns changed recently and I found myself waking up really really early. My husband and I have been working out after work for ever, but we were becoming increasingly frustrated with its impact on our down time. We'd rush home, ravenous, but no! first to the gym! Once home, we'd end up eating dinner too late to enjoy it, shower quickly, then it would be time for bed.

In the past, working out in the morning wasn't logistically feasible, with four people vying for our one shower. Also, I resisted rising any earlier than necessary, especially on a work day. But now that my sons have moved on, and I was waking up so early anyway, I thought, why not? So now we set our alarm for 4:45 am. The key is not to think about it. If you ponder, the second after the alarm, "What if I stayed in bed today and worked out tomorrow instead?" you're dead. Once I pull on my sweats and am outside scraping ice off the windshield in the frigid, dark, morning, it's too late. My path is chosen.

One of my colleagues at University of Southern California, a morning runner, came into work one morning complaining about the mess she had made when she dropped her coffee cup in the shower. We all made fun of her--who takes their coffee in the shower?--but now that I am a morning runner too I have seen the light. I prepare the coffee maker the night before, and when we step in the door, back from the gym, it's about finished brewing. I head to the shower and my darling husband brings me fresh-ground, freshly made coffee. He has to choose the cup carefully because it must fit on the windowsill, just adjacent to the shower stall!

4. My new coat and hat. For Christmas, my husband gave me this beautiful J.Crew Lady Day coat in sea salt (creamy white, really--lined in Thinsulate). A few days later we found the cloche at Urban Outfitters. I still need a faux fur muffler, I think, to really complete the look. And I always carry a Shout wipe with me, although I recently tried it on a minor stain and the wipe caused a more noticeable mark than the dirt scuff itself. Wah!

5. Knitting and reading books about knitting, sewing, etc. I'm a novice, but this month I taught myself how to knit cables and fix dropped stitches (sort of). And I'm about finished with a beautiful scarf made of cashmere and wool filaments that is the color of the Nantucket hydrangeas. Last week I went to the local knitting shop over lunch. There's a table around which ladies sit and knit, so my friend and I brought our knitting and worked on our projects a bit. I tried to watch all the seasoned knitters in order to break the bad habits I had developed by teaching myself knitting in a vacuum. I also spent an unreasonable amount of money on yarn for two new projects from Louisa Harding's beautiful book Knitting Little Luxuries.

There's only so much time in the day, though, and thus often I prefer reading about crafting rather than actually doing it. I'm actually--or I used to be--a very good sewer, but it's still fun to look through books of basic sewing projects such as Seams to Me, Stitched in Time, and Amy Butler's In Stitches, and I can't wait until this book comes out in February. Knitting-wise, although God knows when I will knit through the yarn I purchased last week, I'm about to order this book from Amazon; wouldn't it be lovely to knit Anthropologie-like sweaters for oneself?

Iced Vanilla Blended

2009-01-13T15:29:00.003-06:00

I am craving an Iced Vanilla Blended from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Sadly, there are no franchises nearby--in fact none in Illinois!--and no, Starbuck's Frappuccino is not the same! (The closest I've come locally is my nearby Border's/Seattle's Best Iced Vanilla Latte.)

So here is my question/plea. Can anyone provide a recipe that I can follow at home to closely approximate the real deal? I would consider ordering CB&TL's French Deluxe Vanilla powder, but with shipping it's really a bit ridiculous. Still, if that's what it takes...

I guess I would need an espresso machine as well. Damn. I don't think this is going to happen.

Here's where I'd rather be today. Strolling down the Promenade and sipping a Blended, of course. Current temperature on the Prairie: 12°F (feels like -6). Double damn.

Appreciating Art: An Unorthodox Method for Maintaining Your Child's Interest at a Museum

2009-01-03T18:33:00.008-06:00

I recall an August afternoon in Chicago in 1973 when I took my daughter, then seven, to see what Georgia O"Keeffe had done with where she had been. One of the vast O'Keeffe "Sky Above Clouds" canvases floated over the back stairs in the Chicago Art Institute that day, dominating what seemed to be several stories of empty light, and my daughter looked at it once, ran to the landing, and kept on looking. "Who drew it," she whispered after a while. I told her. "I need to talk to her," she said finally.

Joan Didion, The White Album. 1979.

Last Saturday, my husband, myself and my youngest son took my oldest son back to his home in Chicago and decided to spend the rainy afternoon at the Art Institute of Chicago. When we lived in Chicago before moving south in 2002, we were members of the Institute and paid it regular visits, but I hadn't been back since before I moved to Los Angeles in 2006. It was so good to be back but it is changing! We were lucky that the new Impressionist galleries had re-opened just before Christmas, and many works that were on loan previously were back in the collection. I can never visit the Art Institute without saying hello to old friends like Caillebotte's Paris Street or Seurat's La Grande Jatte! Also, in May, a new Modern Wing will open. Designed by Renzo Piano, the new space increases total museum space by 30%, and will display the entire range of modern and contemporary collections. Good stuff.

Now that my boys are grown up, we proceeded through the museum a bit differently than we had in the past. Together, the four of us walked through the photography exhibit, Henri Cartier-Bresson and the Art and Photography of Paris, but then we split up, each visiting our favorite collections. I spent most of my time in the European Sculpture and Painting area, especially admiring the Jacques Louis Davids and the Hubert Roberts. (I love this, and this.) I just finished Francis du Plessix-Gray's biography of Madame de Staël and felt drawn to see artists from the same time period (1766–1817) . We met for lunch in the Institute's Garden Restaurant, and then dashed to the parking garage under Chicago's beautiful Millenium Park in the pouring rain.

It was fun to see my sons, now 22 and 18, feel so at home and excited to be in the Art Institute. When we first moved to Chicago, in 1992, they were so small and I, thrilled to be living near one of the greatest museums in the world, felt compelled to drag them there. It was clear within minutes that I would need to devise a way to hold their interest long enough to give me time to enjoy it myself. Thus, follows my rather subversive technique, and I'm sure many will not approve. I should also add that both of my boys are artsy, liberal, and independent (intellectually, if not yet financially ;-)) so if you're trying to keep your children on the straight & narrow, this probably is not the best option. Leave them at home! Still, it worked, and here was the plan:

1. Arms and Armor collection. What boy doesn't like swords, pistols, halberds, cleavers, suits of armor, maces, and and chain mail? The Armor collection at the Art Institute used to be located on the first floor, and we would always start here. Then, I would rush the boys up to the Impressionist gallery for a few short minutes so I could see my Monets and Renoirs, until my sons lost interest and we would then find:

2. St. George Killing the Dragon, by Bernat Martorell (1430/35).

More armor, more weaponry, and a dragon to boot. There's a lot of blood and gore in the Renaissance & Baroque Art collection. My boys were also particularly taken with:

3. The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist. Giovanni di Paolo (1455-60, in the Medieval to Modern European Painting and Sculpture).

Yes, truly disgusting, but imagine how interested the boys were in learning all about John the Baptist (locusts!!!) and Salome (veils!). (Here's another "head" shot, if you're also interested in this sort of thing.) We spent a lot of time in the Medieval to Modern European Painting and Sculpture gallery. I could look at the beautiful Davids (see above), and my sons would be thrillingly horrified by paintings such as:

4. Head of a Guillotined Man, Théodore Géricault (1818/19).

Ew. But still...memorable.

5. It wasn't all blood and gore. The Art Institute is home to the charming Thorne Miniature Rooms, which also entranced. My youngest son also developed an attachment to an earthenware Chinese horse.

6. Finally, we would go to the Museum store and the boys would choose postcards of their favorite pieces. I still find them when I'm cleaning out their drawers (among other, less savory, things)!

This Buddha is a family joke. Actually, it's between my husband and I; our youngest son isn't very amused. Anyways, at the time when we first started going to the Art Institute, he was just turned two. He was comforted by sucking the finger on one hand, and holding onto our earlobe (!?) with the other. You may not imagine, but someone continually holding onto your earlobe is very irritating. There's also a risk that you may end up looking up like the Buddha above. At least that's how it felt.

Bad Weather

2008-12-23T14:02:00.012-06:00

It's an icy mess outside. I thought I'd cheer myself up by making up a quick Christmas wish list. (Yes, dear, this is in addition to the one I gave you.)

Things I want right now (other than a Very Dry Martini):

1. iPhone 3G, 16G. My iPod is dying, my current phone is so old it doesn't even support bluetooth; time for an upgrade!

2. Chanel Classic Jumbo Quilted Bag, in white, caviar leather, with silver hardware. I almost bought one this summer, in Portland (no sales tax!), but I quickly regained my sanity.

3. Current/Elliott Skinny Jeans in high-low wash
4. Tiffany 16-stone gold and platinum ring, even though I have ugly hands and there's no reason to draw attention to them.

5. Hermès Chien de Collier Bracelet

I also kinda want an Hermès Birkin, but I'm too overwrought to provide any details.