Sunday, September 28, 2008

Twyla Tharp at PNB

Friday night I saw "All Tharp" at McCaw Hall. Twyla Tharp is a genius.

On the right is a photo of her with a dancer from PNB (photo by Marc Von Borstel, from the PNB Uleashed Blog).

The show was pure bliss. On the cover of the program was a photo of Ms. Tharp. She is lovely in her faded Levis, white shirt, with her hair casually swept up.

A great ballet can make you fall in love with a piece of music. And so, right now I am deeply in love with Frank Sinatra. (Last year it was Philip Glass, Glassworks).

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

The Ten Best Games of All Time

Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Croquet. You need a really big lawn.
2. Cribbage. You need a really cute wooden thing, and I think some cards. I obviously haven't played it in a long time.
3. Yahtzee. Super fun, you can play it all afternoon.
4. Monopoly. The best board game ever.
5. Scrabble. The second-best board game ever.
6. Card games- I have to throw in a few- war and go fish are clearly the winners here, but any card game is great cause you only need a deck of cards. THE game for minimalists.
7. Chess. I don't know how to play it. Very important to have a cool set made of marble or something, not some cheesy Simpsons set or something.
8. Checkers. Way better and way easier than chess.
9. Candyland. My sister ate the Plumpy card from our set. And people say there's nothing to learn playing this game.
10. Twister.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Recuerdo, by Edna St. Vincent Millay

WE were very tired, we were very merry—
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
It was bare and bright, and smelled like a stable—
But we looked into a fire, we leaned across a table,
We lay on a hill-top underneath the moon;
And the whistles kept blowing, and the dawn came soon.

We were very tired, we were very merry—
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry;
And you ate an apple, and I ate a pear,
From a dozen of each we had bought somewhere;
And the sky went wan, and the wind came cold,
And the sun rose dripping, a bucketful of gold.

We were very tired, we were very merry,
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
We hailed "Good morrow, mother!" to a shawl-covered head,
And bought a morning paper, which neither of us read;
And she wept, "God bless you!" for the apples and pears,
And we gave her all our money but our subway fares.


Sunday, September 21, 2008

Ramtha

Fortunately, it looks like J.Z. Knight's channeling of Ramtha, a 35,000-year-old male spirit warrier, is safe from the evil forces of Whitewind Weaver.

If you think that's crazy, imagine placing a $12,000 set of china in unlocked cabinets in a retail store. See for yourself at Knight's store, J.Z. Rose in Bellevue Square. What a great selection of books she has on her website (especially loving the Beauty & Fashion and Home & Garden selections). There is even a separate section of her website titled Art Nouveau.

Crazy people always have great taste.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Babar

There is only one thing better than a classic children's book, and that is a classic French children's book.

Here is an article in the New Yorker about Babar.

Monday, September 8, 2008

How To Build a Better Wardrobe, Chapter 2: Stocking the Basics

The most expensive items in your wardrobe should be the things that you wear the most. Coats, shoes, bags, and whatever else you wear/use every day should be the best quality that you can afford. Keep them clean (get them professionally cleaned occasionally) and in good condition.

A few years ago I splurged on a pair of Chanel sunglasses which were (well, let’s just say they cost a lot). However, I wear them almost every day, I love them, and for me this was money well spent.

When I am considering buying a new bag, I ask myself, “Will I have this forever?” If the answer is no then I usually walk away because bags are a) incredibly expensive and b) ideally of high enough quality that they can last forever, so I don’t want to spend a lot of money on something that won’t be around for long. I’d rather have one or two really nice bags than a whole bunch of not-so-nice bags.

I think most of us have a uniform, which may be jeans or suits, for example. Mine is skirts since this is typically what I wear to work. We all deviate from this of course, but I think it’s helpful to identify what it is that is easiest for you to pull on in the morning and feel good about, and pay attention to those pieces as they will be what you wear the most. In particular, think about your uniform when buying things. For example, if you wear jeans most of the time make sure that your most expensive shoes are something you can wear with jeans.

For basics like button-up shirts, pencil skirts, and solid-colored sweaters, buying online (for example, at bananarepublic.com and jcrew.com) can give you better selection of colors, styles, and sizes than buying from the brick-and-mortar store. Only buy from a store that you have easy access to so that you can return things easily. I prefer not to buy pants or jeans on-line as I usually have to try a zillion of these on just to find one pair that works.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Bauer Pottery

Loving this pottery by Bauer Pottery:

Above is the teapot in turquoise. This would make a great gift, especially with the creamer (not shown) and sugar bowl:

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

How To Build a Better Wardrobe, Chapter 1: Research

Basic research into building a better wardrobe begins by reading (and when I say reading, I mean of course looking at the pictures) magazines and catalogs and clipping things that you like to get a sense of what your style is, and for inspiration. You can paste these clippings into a scrapbook, or what I like to do is put them into clear sleeves that snap into a three-ring binder for easy editing. Subscribing to magazines is usually way cheaper than buying magazines on the newsstand. I like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, but I also use catalogs such as J. Crew, and celebrity magazines are good, too.

Your scrapbook allows you to see which colors and combinations work best. Sometimes what looks great on a person looks really boring on a hanger. For example, I have in my scrapbook an outfit (from a J. Crew catalog way-back-when) with a black t-shirt, white Capri pants, and black ballet flats. While a black t-shirt with jeans risks being too boring, with the white Capri pants it makes a great look.

Basic research may also include shopping trips where you don’t buy anything. Although it might drive your guy crazy, there is nothing wrong with going out for a day of shopping and not buying anything. Shopping is not just about buying things- it’s about knowing stores' inventories, when sales are, prices at different stores, and what size you typically wear in each store, so that when you need to find something you will know where to look. Research may be done at any time- shopping trips with friends, lunch breaks from work, etc.

The people around you are also a wealth of information. Listen carefully to well-dressed friends for tips on where to shop and what to look for. Especially valuable in this regard is a friend who always looks great and loves to talk shop. Also, when out in public, pay attention to what other people wear. You can get some great ideas just from people-watching.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Lake Chelan

The best Washington summer vacation to be had is at Campbell's Resort on Lake Chelan. About 3.5 hours from Seattle, Lake Chelan is the perfect little town for a weekend vacation. It's beautiful there in the Summer and Campbell's is the perfect place to stay. Right on the lake, with two pools and several hot tubs, the best rooms to stay in are on the bottom floor for easy access to the fun stuff. They just renovated and it looks lovely, but even if they hadn't renovated I'd be back next year. There's a full service restaurant and pub so you never have to leave (which is good because there's not many other restaurants in the area). There's also a Safeway just across the street which is nice because every year I forget my toothbrush. There are kids everywhere but in this magical land of Campbell's they are all adorable.

Be sure to hit Slidewaters, the best water park ever. In my next life I will have one of those retro blue and orange shirts that says, "Slidewaters Staff".