Thursday was near 60 degrees here. In our neighborhood, the parks were the hot ticket after school, with the swings in high demand. Hooray!
On with the Five:
My whole family will be in town this weekend to celebrate my parents’ birthday. (That’s right; they were born on the same day, eight hours apart.) Happy (early) Birthday, Mom & Dad.
See you Monday. I think there’ll be another giveaway. Are you last week’s winner? Moonmaiden, don’t forget to contact me with your mailing address …..
It started out simple enough. I was cold. I was craving the Tuss vneck sweater (for children). I remembered that a couple of years ago, I had purchased a charcoal grey vneck sweater from Lands’ End, but abandoned it because I was “all about the cardigan”. I dug it out of the stack, and it became my security blanket, meant to last just a couple of weeks, until the cold spell broke. That was about six weeks ago. That sweater became a bad habit. Because grey goes with everything, it went on each day with everything. Long sleeved tee + jeans + Merrell shoe-boots + “my sweater” = me, good to go. Wherever. Whenever.
But this week, I am hopeful. Although there are still mounds of snow, there are peeks of grass as well. It is above freezing. I washed my sweater on Wednesday (one last look pictured above), and stored it back in the sweater pile for safekeeping. I hope to not need it again until November, at the earliest.
Hope. And think of spring. I heard the birds this morning.
See you tomorrow.
And thank you, Starbucks and Target employees, for enduring my fashion “pause button” of late. Next to go are those darned shoe boots. Soon?
Among my many magazine addictions, one is my subscription to Vanity Fair. For the photos, mostly, but I also look forward to the Fanfair section up front. I still remember Dylan Lauren’s “My Stuff” feature (the person featured is asked for his/her favorite products or inspirations in a number of categories). Ms. Lauren and I had so many favorites in common that I was stunned. Fountain only caffeine-free diet Coke, for example. But I digress. I also scan “Hot Type” for a preview of what’s new in books. Last month, I clipped out the reference to Peter Blake’s “An Alphabet”, and then ordered it from Amazon as soon as it was available. Jackpot! Even from the small clip, I guessed correctly that it would be right up my alley. Each page (“P” pictured above) features a collage of ephemera related to the specific letter of the alphabet. There also is an excerpt of a conversation between Mr. Blake and Mel Gooding at the front of the book, which delves into the inspiration for this collection.
The art was originally shown at the Paul Stolper Gallery in London. (Oh, to have seen that! You can view each print from the exhibit online.) The screenprints were available in an edition of 60: 10 sets individually, and the rest as portfolios. Hmmmm, wonder if any of the individual prints are left? Doubt it. But things are looking up – google tells me there were postcards! I’ll be ebay stalking these for sure …..
Congratulations, moonmaiden! You are the winner of the clucky giveaway! Send me an email with your mailing address (visit my profile) and I’ll get your items packaged and on their way.
The upside to our less than desirable weather has been that, without the distraction of the outdoors, you can get a lot accomplished indoors. And such was my weekend. The New Yorker arrived on Saturday (late, but not “officially” late). Usually, this means a frenzied race to read it before the next issue arrives, but as this was the style issue, most of the articles were appealing and quick reads. I especially enjoyed the profiles of Isabel Toledo and Michelle Obama. (only the Obama profile is available online)
I also hit the dvd backlog hard. Saturday (and Sunday) were spent with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, in Pride & Prejudice. It was superb, and I envy those of you who have enough free time to watch it over and over. I totally get why, though. The final three hours were riveting and time just flew by. As soon as the credits rolled on P&P, it was downstairs to watch To Kill a Mockingbird with my husband and son. We started watching this movie while staying at The Carneros Inn, and finished on Sunday night. Excellent movie, and I’m proud of my son for choosing it. He will still have to read the book, however.
In non media activity, I am still in the throes of getting rid of stuff as well. Once again, spending too much time indoors makes you acutely aware of how the “stuff” is taking over. I started with the desk (see photo above) and then moved on to the pile of paper by my bed. I can’t part with many of my magazine tear sheets and print outs, but I need to find a system that stores them with less of a cluttered, “I’m crazy” look. I’m thinking either magazine files or nice, labeled boxes. (Or perhaps this (all from Russell + Hazel), but it would have to be in the sold out charcoal. Or perhaps this?) Anyone have an organization strategy they’d like to share?
Until tomorrow, then. See you back here.
We still have snow on the ground in Chicago, but snow or not, Easter is less than two weeks away. Looking for items to fill an Easter basket, or to bring to a spring celebration? The Speckled Egg is here to help.
1 :: (pictured above) Kinder Softy eggs My in-laws were nice enough to bring some Kinder Bueno candy bars home from their trip to Switzerland. I loved the Bueno’s delicious creamy hazelnut filling, and so during an amazon.com search for more (or was it a recommendation from amazon? either way) I discovered Kinder Softy eggs. I ordered two bags this past week from Parthenon foods (through Amazon) and we opened up one bag as soon as they arrived to enjoy a bit early. They are delicious! Packaged in 100g bags, so they won’t last long.
photo from elenis.com
2:: Chick cookies from Eleni’s I think I recommended these cookies last year as well, but darn it, I haven’t gotten over their cuteness. And the cookies taste good, too, which is not a given when talking about decorated cookies. Check these out (as well as the rest of the Easter selections) at Eleni’s web site.
photo from vosgeschocolate.com
3:: Vosges Gianduja Chocolate Bunny I’m a relatively recent fan of Vosges chocolates, and while they offer four flavors of chocolate bunnies (including my sister’s favorite red fire), Gianduja stands out for me. What’s not to like: milk chocolate, almonds, and hazelnut praline? Okay, so they had me at hazelnut.
photo from katespaperie.com
4 :: Kata Golda bunny album from Kate’s Paperie This final recommendation would make a fine gift for a newborn’s basket. 50 pages of memories with a darling bunny cover (that would work for a girl or a boy!) Total sweetness. I also adore her felt rabbit.
Until tomorrow, then. Happy shopping!
