A Gracious Bow Out

I think I may wrap things up a smidgeroon early this Easter week and I've worked really hard today on my big list of legitimate excuses why:

• I'm feeling quite handicapped without my appendage of a computer
• My allergies having me falling asleep in my soup every night
• And, I would literally crawl over cut glass for that soup I've been so ravenous

Which leads me to my current mission and another reason I need to free up some time. Ever since Hopsy tweeted about the newly born chocolate covered Peeps she found at Tarjaaay I've thought of little else...

Very little else...

Plus, Emma and Hilary will be home Thursday and I want in on the itinerary of fun which includes seeing Alice in Wonderland. Now, if I can score those Peeps in time for the movie, the most coveted seat in the theater will be the one riiiggghhht next to moi...

Kindness of Babe who will miss my posts more than anyone. I promise to substitute with a lot of picture texts and BBM's Gorgie. And we can't wait to see you, however brief it will be, this weekend. Just don't get your hopes up for any leftover Peeps...XXOO

The Big Draw

Tensions were running high moments before the big draw...

But, Pilgie knew the success of the event rested on his haunchess and he was ready. He had trained...

There was a moment of hesitation when the "nepotism" trash talk started in the peanut gallery...

But, he composed himself and dove back in...

Eventually coming up with a winner!

Annnd proof that he did indeed choose blindly...

He graciously allowed the judges a few shoots of his toothless feat...

Before sharing the winning number...

A quick reference...

And, a final looksie by the head judge to verify that all was kosher before Charlotte was officially declared the winner!

Kindness of Templeton and Pilgie for stepping up to the plate for their Mummy. Our panel has now been sequestered until conciliatory drinks can assure that camps Maxminimus and Southern Gent are not waiting in some Old Town Alexandria dark alley ready to avenge their loss...XXOO

And The Winner Is....

We've gotten ourselves into a pickle over here. All in one fell swoop my computer died AND my sister's got a virus. Babe's work computer is verboten, kinda like Emma's 3 inch Blahniks, and the back up, BACK UP Apple we borrowed won't work either. Oy...

Buuut...we would like to congratulate Charlotte Goldfarb of Atlanta (applause, confetti, cheers!) for winning the drawing this weekend and we hope, hope, HOPE to be up tomorrow with pics and documentation of the whole official sheebang. Fingers crossed the electronic gods are impressed with my late night meltdown (golf claps) and decide to smile upon me once again...

Kindness of Maxminimus for keeping his email accusations of "foul play" and "rigging" on hold til we can officially address the situation. Pilgie is undergoing steroid testing as we speak and VEHEMENTLY denies any illegal "treat" abuse during his training...XXOO

Birthday Wishes And Hermes Dreams

I spied...on Facebook a certain CKB clad birthday girl returning to the scene of last year's "Formal" crime in the same pair of verboten 3 inch Blahniks that took out two pearly whites...

A pair of gold Stephen Bonanno easy to navigate in flats are in your birthday loot pile Em and await your Easter homecoming and belated celebration. And, by celebration, I mean early morning P90Xtrasorelegs workout...

Birthday wishes also to my mother-in-law Lillie. I really lucked out in that department and there's logical reason Babe is the gem he is. We shall be by on Saturday to drop off your à propos Lilly wrapped gift...

Foiled again and, if I can't get there someone else just must! The Wall Street Hermes is having a big sale running now through Sunday. Of aaalllll the weeks for Babe NOT to be working in the city. Pass the linen hankie please...

Kindness of Eileen Angelo at East Coast Girl Goes West blog for the coveted Hermes email forward. Any other week Eileen and that beach towel would be mine, MINE I tell ya! But, now that I have advance warning for the upcoming August sale (throws head back and laughs like Vincent Price) Mwaaahaahaahaaa...

The Love List Library

The Love List's "rebellious debutante" Jessica Nell Graves just debuted The Love List Library and I was honored when asked to submit my media selections. Little ole moi included in her stable of "notable bloggers, designers, tastemakers and other creatives"? Don't know how I slipped past that velvet rope but, maybe if I'm reeeaaal quiet no one will ask me to leave...

I tried to steer clear of my usual media suspects, e.g., The Official Preppy Handbook, Metropolitan, every Gwyneth Paltrow movie known to man, ect., and offer up selections that fly a smidgie below the radar and some oldies but goodies...

Bright Young Things & Bright Young Things London
by Brooke de Ocampo

Of all the beautiful coffee table books in our collection these are two of my favs. It's the closest I'll get to having those invisibility super powers that would allow me a peeksie into how "the other half" lives.

How To Wear Your Hermes Scarf
by Hermes

I started collecting these little booklets back in the early 90's and periodically lurk eBay for vintage editions. They've helped me perfect my bag o' scarf tying tricks and would be high on my list of "things to grab in the event of a fire".

The Buccaneers Mini Series
by Edith Wharton and Marion Mainwaring

English period pieces are my weakness and I fell in love with this Masterpiece Theater miniseries staring a très young Carla Gugino when PBS first aired it ten years ago. American socialites...the London Season...titled English gentlemen...This is "pot of tea, plate of shortbread cookies, needlepoint project, wintry weekend" afternoon perfection.

Born Free
Columbia Pictures

Get out the hankies. I'm usually done for the minute they open with the Born Free theme song. Christian the Lion's got nuthin on Elsa.

The Man In The Moon
MGM

I think I love this movie so much because it reminds me of summer and all the promise that it holds when you are young. It is hands down my favorite Reese Witherspoon performance.

Urban Cowboy
Paramount Pictures

Put John Travolta in cowboy boots and a pickup truck, have him line dancing and bull riding at Gilles in Texas, give the movie a "hard hat days and honky tonk nights" tag line, and throw in dialogue like, "Sissy, I apologize cleeear back to the first time that I hit ya" and I'll stop on that channel every time. Every time. Bless you TNT...

50 By Bobby Short (Box Set)
Bobby Short

The cabaret singing, piano playing Bobby Short was an institution at the Carlyle in NYC and one of my biggest regrets will always be having missed out on seeing him perform live. Alas, the closest I ever got was watching him sing for Lucy Camden on 7th Heaven. Some girls on tv have all the luck...

Tunnel of Love
Bruce Springsteen

I've actually had this song taken away from me before due to over play. Yeppers, the bff and Babe can attest to my love of this song. Sha na na na na na naaaaaaaa...

The Pat Conroy Cookbook: Recipes of My Life
by Pat Conroy

The minute Pat Conroy came out with a cookbook I was the first in line. How could someone write so beautifully about low country cooking in 'Prince of Tides' and NOT be a foodie? I will take his vinaigrette to my grave but, not before I make a name for myself as the "hostess with the mostest" making it for appreciative dinner guests...

Kindness of Jessica Nell Graves for allowing me to rub shoulders with cyber dignitaries such as herself and her stylish posse. Now shhhh while I try not to call attention to my presence...XXOO

Prize Patrol

Our esteemed judge has been in training limbering up for the weekend's big draw and would like to kindly remind everyone that all scavenger hunt entries must be in by 11pm tonight...

The loot if the winner is a girl includes a pair of Bonanno's of your color choice, Meg Carter studs, a custom set of note cards from Preppy Cards, a copy of Social Climbers and Berger cookies for celebrating...

Guy's booty includes a Ledbury shirt, a Wiley Brothers classic 4-loop belt, a copy of Lone Survivor and Berger cookies to console your wife or girlfriend who did not win.

Coach has been putting Pilgie through his paces and ensuring that no deals have been made on the down low...

Pilgie emphatically denies any underhanded business and has nooo idea where that stash of Q-tips came from.

Kindness of all entries for waiting til Monday to hear who the winner is. We need to wait til Daddy returns home for the weekend cuz we'll need all hands on deck to execute this four legged sure to be a circus of a drawing...XXOO

Il Sandalo Of Capri

I've been toting around this Vogue Il Sandalo of Capri Vogue tear out for two years waiting to make my inaugural purchase but, leave it to globetrotting Amy to beat me to the punch...

The perk of jumping on her well shod bandwagon is that this wagon master has impeccable taste. Scout's honor Amy, I will never wear my navy patent Starfish Toe Ring pair the same time you wear your suede blue ones...

Now we can both prance around G'town like the above Italian fashionistas...

Which probably means I'll need to add a pair or two or three of the apparently popular Nodino's to my Il Sandalo cache...

And, how cute would these knee lace Mignon's look with my perennial stack of J. Crew shorts and entire summer whites wardrobe?

But, breaking the seal on a pair of the 1022 Fork's would be like opening a Pandora's box cuz I would feel obligated to get a pair in every color...

Sooo many pretty pairs, sooo little space left in my closet...

Molti ringraziamenti to my Il Sandalo fairy godmother, the well traveled and well shod Amy Fahrenkopf. Only a couple more chilly months til the prancing can commence...XXOO

Spring Wish List

Back in the fall Pink Monkey asked me to guest blog with my seasonal wish list. Upon recent reflection I noticed that I somehow managed to get nearly everything on that list. Now, I may be the least educated gal in the bunch but, I am one smart cookie. So, here's my spring wish list as I cast it out into the Universe...

This year's hopeful addition to the Canfora collection...

I'll have to sit on my hands til April for this Lilly Le Sportsac racket cover to debut but, hopefully the Easter Bunny will go for a pre-order...

This one's a smidgie unorthodox but, I would kill to get a new iPod and send it to Camilla Bradley and have her to load it up from her musical library. My recon reports show Ms. Bradley to be quite the connoisseur of tunage...

Still patiently waiting for Sherman Pickey to announce the date of their Jules Reid trunk show. I'm champing at the bit to see her collection in person and sweat bullets in the dressing room narrowing my selection down to one piece. "Possibly two" she said, batting her eyelashes at Babe...

The above diabolical shopping plan also includes a private visit to Sissy Yates for the Calypso necklace to feed my turquoise obsession. I mean, if I'm already going to be in G'town for the Jules Reid trunk show and all...

A fleeting glimpse of these Ray Ban Outdoorsman Aviator sunglasses on a sidewalk in Mexico was all it took to trigger the photographic memory camera flash which, in turn, alerted the mice in my brain to immediately open a new file...

Babe refers to Amy's and my obsession with counting and comparing our Ralph Lauren cashmere sweaters as the "Arms Race". Hoping to add the turquoise Mitered V-Neck cabled beauty I spied in the Madison Ave store a few months ago to my weapons stockpile...

Do I really need a story to go with the much lusted after Van Cleef and Arpels Vintage Alhambra yellow gold and mother-of-pearl earrings? Pretty soon these babies are gonna get their own label on the blog along with the elusive Hermes beach towel...

And, just in case winter's not quite through sticking it to us, Patagonia's R4 fleece jacket in cream will help me to fashionably straddle the seasons...

Kindness of Anne Lake for allowing me to live vicariously through the picture of her Alhambra earrings. I've been campaigning to be curator of her fabulous shoe/bag/jewel collections for months...XXOO

Loose Ends

Thought I'd post on a few tidbits before they slip through the soon to be distracted by summer cracks...



Tomorrow wraps up week 4 of P90Xhaustion and I can not recommend the program enough. It's tough but goooood. The bff is now doing it as well and Emma has been given fair warning about what to expect on her so called Easter "break". More like Easter "break a sweat" Missy. Now, if I could only stop shoveling the chocolate into my mouth we'd be in business...

Speaking of Emma, her first ever completed needlepoint project arrived and is also awaiting her return to the beach. I have finally passed on my love of needlework that my Nana passed down to me. Sniffle, sniffle...

I love my swanky new Lilly market bags and the IthoughtIwashotstuffwithmy Whole Foods bags have taken a back seat to them...

I expected praise and envy from other shoppers, and possibly the cashier but, even the bagger man paid them compliments. I can feel fashionably secure leaving my Gucci Hobo in the car when I'm toting these beauties into Teeters...

Welp, aide de camp Lizzie's fame is spreading. The British flag lucite tray she ordered for her parents made it into Iomoi's website lineup. Another tear of pride is shed...

And lastly, CK Bradley currently has every dress on sale for $75. Great deal and dresses probably going to go lickity split. Perfect way to usher in the first day of spring...

Kindness of everyone for all the warm wishes and kind words I received on the blog's birthday. Pilgie is currently in Prize Patrol training to be the official drawer next week. We've got a long row to hoe with that plan. He's currently accepting bribes in the form of Q-tips...XXOO