Bringing the Runway Poolside

Dear Females,

It's that time of year when we wish the snow would hurry up and just melt already so we could stop waking up early to jump start the car, hope the heat works, and jet off to work in hopes that the coffee actually has more coffee than water in it and all the other employees haven't sucked it all up before you get there. It's also the time of year we begin to worry about weight - because we've all stuck to our new years resolution for a whole 5 minutes - (if this is the case, you and i need to talk, my friend, Kayce, just took a genetic test that tells you how you need to be working out and what you need to be eating based on your genes, not the diets of society, she's dropped a size, pretty cool huh?) so we can fit in the swimsuits we google while we are suppose to be acting as busy little bees in our cubicles. I myself am on a new jim, I mean gym, routine and i'm not gonna lie, i'm pretty darn excited about a pretty new suit in the future...a new smaller, slimmer, cuter suit....and this year there is no other way to go than retro. Here are my top picks.

Burda Style 

for the fashionable seamstress: whip up your own with this glam pattern

Michael Kors

Jantzen Vamp Retro

you simply cannot done the suit without the hat

Anthropologie

how do you pick?

The ancestors to these poolside beauties: 

    

Don't forget your sunnies and your heels! 

-CK

My Fair Lady

Audrey Hepburn Vogue Cover November 1964

Ever since I saw Breakfast At Tiffanies when I was a teenager I fell in love with the elegance, sophistication and slightly "so-what" attitude that Audrey and her characters shared. May there be many more ladies like her, gushing with charm, stylish beyond words and beautifully brilliant.

[about her "comeback" in 1976] "Whatever happens, the most important thing is growing old gracefully. And you can`t do that on the cover of a fan magazine."

"There are certain shades of limelight that can wreck a girl`s complexion."

"People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone."

-Audrey Hepburn

Nationwide Runner Ashley Kumlien of MS Run the US  for Fortrias and Live The Dream . 

January 22, 2010

So, what's new? Well, I bought a chic little shimmery trench from Forever 21, ditched the belt it came with and added my own zebra print number and VOLA! Fabulosity.

The floral version of my trench...ooo-la-la!

On the flip side, I experienced a close call with an ulcer (what a nasty word) in my eyeball (thanks to my contacts and my incorrect thinking in that sleeping in them was a brilliant idea) and have been restricted to glasses for at least another week. Not so bad, the specks make me appear sophisticated and I look as if I am in constant thought, listening with a sensitive, caring ear whenever I sport them. This is actually because either they or my ears are uneven and therefore force me to tilt my head consistently to the left. But, like I said, I appear intellectual, not diseased, so we'll leave it at that.

On another shopping related note, Ruehl is going out of business. It's a bitter sweet symphony in our house hold. Blake, my talented designer of a husband, helped launch the shop, modeled after a Greenwich Village town home, back when it was less Abercrombie-ish (shocking that it flopped. Why would you pay twice as much for something that you can already get at the over priced A&F?). So, in celebration of the closing tomorrow, I grabbed not one, but three, yes three leather bags. Don't worry, two are gifts so don't judge. Anyway, I love this bag more than my unborn child...if I had one.... and I think it's a pity Ruehl isn't continuing their leather line. Well, pity for me, party for PETA.

And finally, last week my fantastic friend, and freelance photographer (check out her site and if you are in the Columbus, OH area book a shoot, she is professional and fabulous) anyway, Jessica, relocated from the socialist state of maple syrup and Ben & Jerry's -Vermont, of course- to hang out with some peeps of a different lifestyle. BK and I set her up on a luxurious aero-bed in the living room "nook", which was working out pretty sweet until it decided to end it's life at just 5 years old, and literally turn into a soggy mess, like a hammock or a water bed but not so 1970's. So maybe I shouldn't have purchased the leather and shimmer because now we need a new bed for the guest. Jess is a good sport though, she likes hammocks, Avatars sleep in hammocks, so maybe we can pretend this is Pandora for a while.

The bed and the nook before the leak...rest in peace, you will be missed. You served many a gracious guest.

Calling All Domestic Goddesses!

If you are or perhaps just wish to be a domestic goddess, then the film Julie and Julia probably fired you up to throw on an A line skirt, apron and heels and get in the kitchen. It did for me, but then again, I already love to cook and I think every woman should wear heels all day long regardless, especially in the kitchen. But this is coming from a chick that graduated from a women's college where we had tea every Friday afternoon and wine and cheese nights.

Tonight I am on a mission for the perfect super. It's just me and the man, so it's not as if I'm throwing a dinner party, (mmm...I'll have to do that soon!) but I haven't had much time to make anything worth writing home about lately so I think tonight is the night. Maybe I'll even put a few candles out.

Well, the recipe didn't come from Julia but it was still delicious and worth sharing! (I am working my way up to Mrs. Child's Boeuf à la Bourguignonne. I'll get there.) I am eager to hear if anyone else tries this and would love for you to share your thoughts. 


Crispy Parmigiano-Crusted Chicken on Summer Lemon Pasta



Here is the happy couple enjoying the meal! I heard it was bad manners to say "yum" when you're eating but oh my gosh, YUM!!

When you can't think of something to say....

....talk about pop culture.

American Idol kicked off their 2010 season tonight in none other than Boston, Massachusetts. True to form, Boston and the surrounding New England region was able to unearth their most interesting specimens out from underneath God only knows where, for not just a public, but nationally televised talent search. Our founding fathers never would have wanted freedom of speech and independence so badly had they known what was ahead. Our "dog" Randy, told reporters his thoughts on the auditions: "Boston has absolutely breath-taking scenery", oh boy, that's promising. But let's diverge for just a moment - as a native New Englander, and proud of it - I do indeed have a very high opinion of the place regardless of the eccentric youth. Call it socially elite thinking, even arrogance, but you have to admit, NE has an edge over the rest of the country for many reasons, but just to name a few:

1. Ivy League Schools & the Seven Sisters
2. The Boston Marathon
3. More history and famous historical figures than the rest of the country combined
4. The foliage - really people, you know you all come to us to see the friggin' leaves change.
5. REAL maple syrup
6. Our clam chowder rules all.
7. It's not New Jersey
8. We eat Nobel Prizes for breakfast.
9. Home of ESPN - enough said
10. Louisa May Alcott, Emily Dickinson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Norman Rockwell, Robert Frost, Carlton Fisk, Daniel Webster, JD Salinger, Steven King, half the women's 2010 snowboarding team and The Kennedy's, just to name a few (yawn).

Now that I have done my job to justify NE to the best of my attention-deficit ability, back to American Idol.

Where was Ellen?? I keep watching Amy Phillips impression of the talk show phenom in great anticipation and then we get Posh? Sorry Spice Girl, but I paid my tributes to you long ago (1997 Halloween costume...yeppers, me and the girls went as the ultimate girl power group) and you don't do the chair dance quite like Ellen, in fact, you don't do the chair dance at all. I will stand up for her though, make fun of the lace-doily head band she sported all you want but, "V", I think you rocked it. The woman could wear a trash bag and still look like a million bucks.

On the other hand we had to witness this guy:

It's like Janet Jackson meets the Lion King.

I have to say my favorite of the night? Berkelee School of Music's own Ashley Rodriguez, or Ashley Makailah as she goes by her stage name. Kara called everyone "pretty" or told them they had a "stage presence" but this chick has got it. I was sitting with my friend Kayce, flipping back and forth between The Biggest Loser and AI when we saw her audition and decided she's got a little Jessica Beale, a little Eva Mendez and a lot of Alicia Keys in the vocals. She's adorable.

Oh, and since I have free time I did my google research and discovered that Ellen will officially join the crew of judges on Feb. 2, after the auditions. Kara is already bothering me and it's day one, so I hope the next 3 weeks fly by.

Happy Belated Birthday, Nanna!

Happy Belated Birthday, Nanna! You would have been flooded with friends and gifts on January 3rd, I know because I discovered one as I was unpacking a box of treasures from your condominium. So many of your friends called regardless of your passing this past August. I thought by now going through the boxes would be easy, I was so wrong. In fact, until I opened this particular box, I didn't realize the date. Then, there it was my hands, a book and a birthday card.....January 3rd, 2009 scribbled in perfect cursive in the upper right hand corner with a note from your friend Joan to follow:

"Dear Sunny,
           To a dear friend on her birthday - have many more years ahead.
Love,
Joan.

Happy Belated Birthday, Nanna, maybe you would have been visiting a gallery in the city with your friends.

I look around my apartment and pieces of her are inevitably everywhere, even before she died, I had memories of Nanna all over, a photo here, a piece of art there, clothing she had given me for birthdays and Christmases - she had impeccable taste and even in her 80's never went out of style, she always managed to pick out classic pieces from J.Crew and Anthropologie. When friends would share their horror stories about what the grandparents had gotten them for Christmas, I would wait my turn to brag about Nanna's gifts.

Happy Belated Birthday, Nanna, maybe you would have caught a movie and a nice dinner with your brother.

Now I am taking loving care of her Christmas Cactus, which bloomed right on time this year, as if nothing happened. Her collection of Masterpiece Art books, leather bound and beautiful, are awaiting their proper place in the book shelf. Numerous pieces of art, sculpture, and even some cartoons personally signed "with love to, Sunny"- all of Nanna's art, and she had a gallery worth of it, is signed and gifted to her by the artists themselves or else found their way back with her from one of the dozens of countries she visited with her friends from Vassar College - these priceless treasures litter my living room. I vow to take the best care of them, appreciating them just as she did.

Her dresses from her younger days found their way into my possession, as did a muff and sheeps wool hat that she purchased on a trip to Russia. A lifetime's worth of leather, velvet, cotton and lace gloves now belongs to me as well. When did we stop wearing gloves to every event? This is a fashion statement that must come back.

Happy Belated Birthday, Nanna, maybe you and I would have been taking the train to NYC for an afternoon at the Guggenheim.

With the book from Joan still in my hand I began to think about all the things I loved or didn't love so much about Nanna. For one, she always corrected your grammar and sometimes I would purposely miss use words and phrases just to get her riled up. I recall another time when I was young and I thought I'd be a big help and alphabetize her wine cellar, this turned out to be a terrible idea. Don't do this!

Nanna was a fantastic golfer - the hundred or so plaques and trophies engraved with "RHC" (Round Hill Club) were plenty proof - she loved the arts in any fashion and I remember taking a number of trips into New York City with her in order to spend a full day at the MET or the MoMA. She was a debutante originally from Washing D.C., an athlete in her younger years, an alumnae of Vassar College (a rival to my alma mater, in fact, I remember a few of my field hockey games against Vassar when Nanna showed up wearing her Vassar sweater and although she stood on my side of the field, she cheered for them). She was a world traveler and a lifetime scholar. Even in her late 70's she received a Service Award from the city of Greenwich, Connecticut, where she resided. She was surrounded by dozens and dozens of friends at any given time, never alone, always loved and always respected.

The thing I will miss the most about Nanna is her clipping service. She did this for all of her children and grandchildren. As she read through the New York Times every day she would keep her eye out for articles that might interest any one of us, then, she would clip! They would arrive to us in an envelop marked "Brown Clipping Service" and would come with a little yellow post-it that always said this and nothing more: "XOXO Nanna".

If I could send a clipping to her now, I'd send photos and memories of her from the hundreds of family and friends that gathered at her memorial to share their wonderful, hilarious and cherished times with her.

Happy Belated Birthday Nanna, the world loved you.