Yes Virginia, Mason Pearson Is A Miracle Brush...

Dear Alice,

How are you? I have been following your blog pretty regularly these days, and I love reading about all of the things that you like and also your witty commentary! I am writing because I have a question and thought that maybe you would have some insight. I recently got my hair cut and the guy who was doing my hair recommended the Mason Pearson brush for my rather fine, long, highlighted hair. He said that because my hair is thin that any product would weight it down and that a brush that would distribute natural oils would eliminate the need for product. He also said that he thought that it would eliminate frizz. Well this sounds like a miracle brush! The only problem is that its like 150 dollars (what!) although I did find it on ballbeauty for 100 but still that is crazy. I was speaking to Elizabeth and she said that she thought that you had it so I thought I'd ask, is it really a miracle brush? Does it do all of these things, is it worth it for someone who probably should NOT be spending 100 dollars on a hair brush? And is there anything comparable that is less expensive? I would appreciate any advice that you might have. I hope that you are well and enjoying your blizzard today ; )

Love
Maris

Well Maris, as evidenced by the above picture, you can see that under this beach house roof lie quite a few believers in the miraculousness of the Mason Pearson hairbrush. And, yes, they are quite an investment, but they definitely stand the test of time. Annnd...I would still have my very first one dating back from high school if I hadn't been "relieved" of it by someone. Also, a testament to it's fabulousness...people will take them from you...

One way to ensure against Mason Pearson envy? Engraved monogramming or initialing. Equally valuable if your sister looses hers and tries to claim yours as hers...

And, one is never too young to receive their first Mason Pearson. Quite the contrary! They should be considered requisite Christening gifts with pink for preppy lassies...

And, blue for those prepster lads. Sooo, in a nutshell, yes Maris, I believe...

Kindness of my ole gal pal Maris in NYC whom I haven't seen since one très loud night in Buddakan about three summers ago. And, aide-de-camp Lizzie, who just made the move from Boston to Baltimore. Thanks for sending an all important hair brush intervention my way...XXOO

Jackie Would Have Approved

I have been privy to most of aide-de-camp Lizzie's wedding deets but, I was blown away to see it all pulled together outside the collage of emails, picture texts and bbm's that have been exchanged this past year...

True to a certain chain of email exchanges originating from my end, I did indeed wear the Milly dress found on eBay. Babe thought I looked like a cupcake and, ahhh will forever more refer to it as the cupcake dress...

I actually gasped when the double doors were opened and I caught my first peek of the chicest veil ever. I talked about that veil the entire ride to the reception, scheming how I could integrate one into my wardrobe. Babe handed down a ruling right then and there; "no veils with civilian clothing!" Rats...

Her dress was the most me dress I have ever seen. Coupled with the short veil it was all so (insert highest of compliments) Jackie Kennedy...

I was also privy to the fact that Lizzie had been doing Tracy Anderson arms like religion. Entry added in day planner: pit stop to our storage unit this Friday to unstore my Tracy DVD and three pound weights...

And, as much as I would have liked claiming the crown in my cupcake dress as second best dressed gal I will have to concede that title to the bridesmaids. Jackie Kennedy I'm tellin ya...

It may be impartial but, fairest of them all in the bevy of pink beauties was Maris Madeira of Mason Pearson brush fame...

And the cake...I had had my eye on this pink confection waaay back when they were just passing the appetizer trays so, it was no surprise, nor shame, when I was first in line post cutting...

After my unladylike display I dragged Babe and Lizzie's dear friend, "fashionable Caroline" (as she's been referred to for years), to the best seat in the house so I could kick back and relish my sugar high...

Once I came down it was off to the candy bar with my lil to go box stocking up on goodies for the morning drive home. Well worth Babe's complaining of my candy breath and the self-imposed penance at the gym this week...

Kindness of Mr. and Mrs. Casey Lawson for including us in your special day and, especially Lizzie for understanding my need to someday borrow the veil as soon as I can figure out which civies to pair it with. And, also to the fashionable Caroline Powell for rescuing me when my camera battery died. I truly appreciate all the pics...XXOO

Bridal Shower Envy

Last weekend I attended my aide-de-camp Lizzie's bridal shower in Baltimore. You'll notice me on the end in the item du jour, my Lilly Peacock dress, next to Maris (of Mason Pearson hairbrush letter writing fame) who is next to the honoree, the soon to be Mrs. Casey Lawson.

It seems that Lizzie comes by her taste maker skills quite honestly. Hands down the best gift she received was the Tiffany blue Miele Neptune Canister Vacuum from her mother. That thing was mentally logged into my wish list queue before she even had it fully out of the box. In the meantime I drowned my gift envy in pink cupcakes...

Or, shall I say, my envy and horror. Seems while we were outside having the group pic taken I stepped in some dog poo and then traipsed it all through the host's home on the bottom of my little gold Reva. And, you thought the donning of the traditional bridal shower hat of ribbons was embarrassing? Child's play Lizzie, child's play...

Kindness of aide-de-camp Lizzie Prenger for signing the picture release form, our gracious hostess who handled my doggie poo faux pas like it was no big deal, and Mrs. Prenger for elevating my taste in vacuums...

You can stalk Lizzie through her fiancé's blog Dirigo in Balto. Truly one of the best written blogs out there. And, this coming from someone who usually just goes for the pics...

Happy 21st Birthday Emma!

Tomorrow is Emma's 21st Birthday althooo...I suspect the celebration will begin around midnight tonight with the monumental legal cocktail order...

Seems like just yesterday that I was letting you play with my Mason Pearson hairbrush and forfeiting my MTV for your cartoons and, now you're showing me how to navigate my iPhone and vetoing bikini clad pics of myself on a post...



Have a wonderful Birthday Em but, get ready to dig deep cuz your très glamorous gift of the Insanity DVD set should arrive juuust as the weekend celebrations are wrapping up...

Kindness of Lucy Emma for being safe, reserving some craziness for Ethel's Sally's 21st next month and, for the love of oxidation, not spilling any drinky poohs on my Jules Reid kimono...XXOO

Pay Nooo Attention to That Woman Behind The Curtain...

PVE was doling out "Stylish Blogger" awards and, yet again, I somehow managed to slip past the velvet rope. As a recipient I'm asked to divulge 7 "style secrets" but, since I'm a wolf in stylish sheep's clothing, I think it's more beneficial to ya'll if I dish on 7 secrets that helped me to pull the wool pashmina over PVE's eyes...

1. I was sitting on the beach in Naples six years ago dissecting a Gwynnie interview in Vogue when she volunteered her hair care secret, "It doesn't matter if you are pregnant, I swear to God, I have double-processed blond hair, and it’s so long and not damaged. Those New Chapter Prenatal vitamins, they are the trick!”. Annnd, I've been using them since...

2. Theee very first place I run whenever I'm in NYC is the J. Sisters Salon, another GP Vogue rec from the archives, for a world class Brazilian and brow wax. No one compares...

3. A woman first shows signs of aging in her face, neck and back of hands sooo, even though the rest of my body may be soaking up the PTH's, that real estate is always slathered in heavy duty sunscreen...

4. God forbid, I should ever find myself in a trauma bay, it won't be, "call my husband" I'll manage to croak, it'll be, "call the surgeon". If I took ooone thing away from Babe's years in medical school, it's that no one knows their way around the anatomy like someone who's trained in surgery. So, when it comes to Botox pour moi, it's a plastics guy or no guy at all...

5. All those years of competitive swimming spent with a straw like, chlorinated Simba doo taught me to wash and condition my hair first when showering allowing the conditioner to sit and work it's magic while I knock out the rest of my bathing duties...

6. I rarely, and I mean rarely, blow dry my hair but, when under duress to, I swear by the Tourmaline T3. Ranks right up there with the Mason Pearson brush...

7. If you learn nothing but the basic fold for tying a scarf you'll double your style quotient...

Also, if numbers 3 and 4 should fall by the wayside, the basic fold will come in quite handy for hiding ones neck later in life...

Kindness of the très talented Patricia at PVE for generously bestowing me with this award. Just remind me to never come out from behind the curtain lest I be striped of my title...XXOO

Hint, Hint...

The best Easter baskets are filled with more than beaucoup chocolate yummies. Au contraire my little preppies, most girls appreciate a well thought out and personalized basket so I thought I would lend a few suggestions for all mummies, boyfriends, aunts and sorority sisters.

The pièce de résistance of this prep basket is this Lilly pencil set from Taylor Papers that I discovered at The Monogrammed Nest while on a blog scouting expedition. One for Emma, one for Hilary, one for moi...

How perfect is this T3 Tourmaline overnight "pink edition" hairdryer found at one of my favorite sites, ballbeauty.com, where they offer free shipping and have the best prices anywhere.

I am a huge fan of the Mason Pearson comb, also found at ballbeauty.com, and have amassed quite a collection. They are a preppy classic and make fantastic gifts. Those in the know...

Although, I have enough Kiehl's lip gloss to take me to my grave, I couldn't resist picking up this latest edition today in French Rose. Very sweet and shear.

A girl I used to work with always looked as though each individual lash had mascara so delicately applied and, fortunately for me, she was willing to divulge her secret. Maybelline's Lash Discovery has a mini brush that has the most amazing effect and I have made believers of my sisters and nieces.

Everyone can appreciate Mattie Stepanek's message of hope and peace. If Mattie's book of poems, Heartsongs, was on every nightstand the world would be a better place.

Now, about that chocolate...

Kindness of Ginny at The Monogrammed Nest and also my bff Kimba Howlin for introducing me to Heartsongs.

All Polished Up For Summer

'Twas that time o' year again...

Time to spring clean all my gold jewelry with soap, warm water and a soft brush...

And, polish the dickens outta my sterling...

All the better to see against summer bronzed skin my dear...

Then it was manically on to all my Mason Pearson brushes and combs annnd eventually sunglasses...

The cleaning mania continued très early the next morn when I whisked away the watch, belt buckle and money clip of a didn't arrive home from Greenwich til after midnight sleeping Babe for some serious deep cleaning over tea...

Stress caused by reading of wife's recent purchasing sprees on her blog each day while faaaar from home + sterling = beaucoup amounts of tarnish...

Kindness of Babe who is always genuinely appreciative when I make his loot all clean and sparkly too. Kinda balances out the purchasing spree crimes dontcha think? XXOO

TTFN...

The definition is posted at the very top of my blog...

Summer - verb (used without object)

To spend or pass the summer.

my brother Keith, second from left, OCBP circa '93

And, that is precisely what I plan to do; spend the summer wearing out my welcome at my parent's beach house. Spend warm, June mornings cracking the Insanity whip with the bff. Spend quality family time dining al fresco or playing tennis without being tied to my computer...

I want to pass this glorious summer reading stacks of books and needlepointing at the beach or pool. Pass the evenings taking one of Babe's legendary long walks fine tuning our hopes and dreams while the sky's ablaze with the setting sun...  

I want to pass these next three months breathing in the salty air and letting my mind shift towards future goals...

While this is not farewell for good, 'tis farewell for the moment. Sooo, to the night shift nurses in Brooklyn who look forward to my 12:01am postings, to my father-in-law who now uses a Mason Pearson brush and can recognize a Reva at 5 paces, to the plastics doc who loves our Lolly and reads posts between surgeries, to my mom, when in Mexico, and Em and Hilbils, when in school, who like feeling connected to the family while miles away, to my most unprep, polar opposite pop-alternative bass player in AZ, to the West Coast gal who asked for the RSS feed I never got around to embedding, annnd, most especially to moi, who will not wake up to a bunch of compliments under the guise of "comments" waiting in her inbox each morn, I'm sorry to leave y'all hanging...

But, what a fruitful three years of posting this has been. Old friends, new friends, and, for the rest of my lifetime friends. Thank you to everyone mentioned above, thank you to dear friends who encouraged me, thank you to Mel for inspiring me, PVE for guiding me, and everyone for reading me, thank you to family who waived privacy, thank you to the other bloggers who regularly commented when I couldn't find time to reciprocate and, muchos, MUCHOS gracias to Babe and the Ti-Babes for fronting the whole gig...

So, ttfn. I'm off to summer...

Kindness of everyone for not completely abandoning ship with my hiatus. I'll still be lurking around Facebook, flooding Twitter with the Ti-Babe's mugs and coveting per usual on Pinterest. And, who knows, I may go through major attention withdrawal and be back for a fix. But, for the time being, I've got some other fish that need fryin'...XXOO

Swimmer's Hair (aka, Capt'n Crunch Or Simba Helmut)

Hi Alice! I have a question and I thought you might be able to help. My daughter has just started swim team and she is so excited about it although, I am a little worried about her hair. She is already getting split ends and it's impossible to comb. We're getting it cut to chin length sometime this week and I was hoping you could point me to a shampoo and/or conditioner that might also help fight the damage. Her hair isn't like yours and mine. It's light brown and wavy, not straight and blondissime. So if you have any advice I would surely appreciate it!

Thank you,
Mamacita (your friend in Houston)
What Would Jane Austen Do

Ahhh, yes. The ole swimmers hair o'straw. Remember it well. Although, back then my Dad bought whatever shampoo/conditioner was on sale at the time which, made for a mostly Breck, Finese and Pantene rotation. Not to mention, we dried our post pool hair under those horrid wall mounted locker room dryers. Thank goodness by the time I took up Masters Swimming and Beach Patrol I knew better...

I highly recommend Kiehl's Olive Fruit Oil Collection...

As well as their Amino Acid Collection which, has been in my haircare lineup for nearly 20 years...

You must incorporate a bi-weekly deep conditioner. I used Kérastase Masquintense for fine hair ritualistically every Monday and Friday for yeeeaaars and, just recently switched to their version for highlighted natural blonds. Although, if she's swimming outdoors you might consider the one they make specifically for sun and chlorine exposed locks...

And, all us beach babes in the family use either this wide tooth Mason Pearson comb...

Or this one, in the shower to gently comb our conditioner through. She'll have nary a knot, I promise...

And, be a generous Mummy and spring for the T3 Tourmaline Overnight Dryer. Those wall mounted things should be outlawed...

Kindness of Babe who now finances all my fancy hair care needs. Although, if I'd had a nickel for every lady that stopped my young chlorine helmeted self to tell me my hair looked like spun gold, Babe would be freed up to funnel those funds towards more pertinent items of the Hermès sort...XXOO