History of the Eagles

Babe's gonna start questioning my sanity if he returns home from the office or airport and catches me watching Showtime's HISTORY OF THE EAGLES, aaagain...

I've watched the doc three times in as many days and I'm STILL not ready to erase it from the DVR...

Not only were they were my fav childhood band but, it's as close as I'm going to get to realizing my time machine fantasy. Ya know, the one where I get to pack up my current wardrobe, travel back to pick up my 18 year old wild child self and arrive front row and center...

Note to self: don't forget to pack holster and sterling Navajo turquoise belt buckle in T. Anthony duffel but, leave plenty o' return room for snagging Glenn's black E jacket...

Kindness of my Dad for gifting me great albums throughout grade school and Babe for tolerating the endless loop of Eagles mania on both the TV and iPod this past weekend. I prooomise to have it out of my system by the time you return from Cali. Well, mostly anyway...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

Skinnygirl She Said Wistfully

People are always writing me asking what and how I eat to stay so thin. Um, I'm not and, I'm thee LAST person that should be dispensing dietary advice cuz my eating habits are atrocious. A T R O C I O U S. Unlike my three sisters, who eat whatever they want, have never dieted a day in their lives annnd each weigh 20+ pounds less than I, it's all or nuthin' pour moi so, it's either starve or binge. Without the side benefit of purge...

Which is why Bethenny Frankel's The Skinnygirl Rules For Getting and Staying Naturally Thin has been playing on a continuous loop on the whip's CD player. And, all I'm gonna preach say about it is, she makes great sense of old wisdom and delivers it in a very candid and practical way... 

I can also give the thumbs up on her Skinnygirl On-the-Go Bars in the Dark Chocolate Multi-Grain Pretzel...

And, plan to toss the Banana Oatmeal Dark Chocolate in with my next order...

Along, with The Skinnygirl Dish Easy Recipes For Your Naturally Thin Life...

Cuz, when left to my own devices...


Kindness of Babe who will have to retire his celiac patient skit when I no longer feel compelled to stuff my suitcase with Allie approved diet foods when travelling...XXOO

My High Note

Julia and Allison, the pretty blonds over at Tartans and Sequins, deserve an Oscar for verbal effects. Not only was I unbeeelievably flattered to be their Girl Crush of the Week but, they cleaned me up so well with their kind words that I'm thinking I should do like George Costanza and go out on a high note...

Long live the Queen!

We are most honored to introduce you to this week's girl crush, the ultra fab Alice Richardson of Summer is a Verb!  Can we be totally honest here? The opportunity to feature this week's Girl Crush feels a lot like having the Queen swing by our humble beach shanty for tea Diet Coke. Take a moment and bow to the Queen. Go ahead, we're totally bowing. Her effortlessly preppy style and eternally perfect tan initially caught our eye, but it was her wit and charm that kept us hooked (ex: she dressed her cats up like Big Edie and Little Edie. The pictures in that post are not to be missed). In addition to her good looks, charm and wit, she has the inside scoop on all the preppiest trends and brands, which we of course LOVE!

Her blog Summer is a Verb chronicles her fabulous life as "a tongue-in-cheek bon vivant living in Greenwich, CT with my globe trotting husband Babe and our nutty Himalayans, George and Lolly Rockefeller. Rendezvous with me, an old school prep, as I juggle aspirations of being on the "Best Dressed Parisienne Gypset List", endless summering, Hermès wish lists, Diet Coke and pretzel lunches, white bikinis, PTH's, sisters, nieces, bff's, all things Lilly, Mrs. Roper and the resurrection of the Jacques Cohen espadrille."

Basically, we pray five times a day in the direction of her Hermés vaults in Greenwich (wouldn't the security guards' outfits be amazing in the Hermés vault? I digress!).  Enjoy getting to know our favorite, (and soon to be your favorite, too!) the ever-so-chic Alice Richardson!

Style icons? Jackie O and my friend Dorli's mother, Coco. They exude thee most harmonious blending of sporty American and European élan that has taken me yeeeaaars to cultivate. It's that perfect storm of tan limbs, pearls and old khakis with Pucci, Canforas and Hermès kerchiefs. Toss in Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's love of the Petit Bateau tee and Mrs. Roper's fondness for the caftan and you'd have my ultimate fashion love child...

Design philosophy?

1. Art takes priority over furniture in our house. A Kevin Fitzgerald feeds our soul way more than having enough seating ever could.
2. I'd rather go without than settle. Which would explain why my bedside RL lamp is sitting on the floor while I continue my search for the perfect nightstand. 
3. Learn to live with your beautiful things. Lolly has made a p/t job of perforating our linen headboard with her nails but, I far prefer being awakened each morn by her sweet, post scale crowing to having a hole-less headboard.
4. Don't invest in large pieces if there's still some apartment dwelling in your future. We learned this the hard way when our over sized white sofa wouldn't fit through our G'town front door.

Babygirl working those Roger Vivier flats with the perfect accessory...a killer tan!

Favorite book of all time? While most kids were getting Fun With Dick and Jane before bed, my Mother was reading to me from Kipling and Jane Eyre. Little Women is the first book I recall her reading that I got completely lost in and, it also led to my attempt to sleep with a clothes pin on my nose.

Best advice you ever received? All those morsels of wisdom my Mother trotted out ad nauseum growing up, or as my sister fondly says, Mom thinks she's sitting on a mountain top;  What goes around comes around, Don't blow out someone else's candle to make your own burn brighter and the perennial fav, This too shall pass. It always does, doing so gets you no where and, oh, I guess it did.

Praying to the Scarf Gods that Babe lets her go in the Paris Hermés store unsupervised.

Favorite stores? That'd be the HermèsRalphLaurenLillyPulitzerCalypso store. Know of it?

Dream place to live? Oceanfront with our families and bff's all living on the same street. Especially if that street happened to be Gin Lane.

I mean...is she serious with that hair and that tan? Keeping people safe never looked so good!

The one product you're obsessed with right now? Mario Badescu's Seaweed Night Cream. I've received so many compliments on my skin since using it that I've started slathering it in the morning as well. Next up, rolling in it.


Biggest indulgence? Yves Delorme 500 thread count bed linens and botox. Both cost a king's ransom, require a lot of maintenance and once you've indulged, there's no turning back. 


Girl crush? Oh, I've already put in my request to come back as Gwyneth Paltrow in my next life. She's the whole pretty, smart, refined, funny, talented package. Not to mention best buds with Valentino and Reese.

Favorite song? The bff is gonna scream foul if I don't cop to Bruce Springsteen's Tunnel of Love. That song played on a loop for so long when we were living together in our early 20's that I'd place money on her insisting it be worked into my funeral procession should she outlive me. I'd like to take this opportunity to request she also add Skynard's Tuesday's Gone and The Ballad of Curtis Loew to the lineup.


Prized possession? Well, I've experienced a plane losing it's lift and several, middle of the night fire alarm awakenings so, I know firsthand that your true prized possessions, where your immediate thoughts land, are your loved ones and pets. Buuut, just in case my luck should run, out I formally bequeath my 13 pair of Canfora sandals to my size 9 niece Emma.

Nothing better than a blonde with a dark tan wearing an armful of pearls and gold!

Current hangout? At my desk in the guest room with Pilgie and Lolly just a pinning away.


Motto? It's the accumulation of many small decisions over time, more so than the few big ones, that ultimately chart the course of your life.

Being so fabulous is exhausting!

Best place on earth? In bed with Babe and the Ti-Babes on our freshly ironed, a buck for every thread count sheets, right before we all fall to sleep.


Favorite drink? Water. Such a surfer answer. 

If this were a picture of either of us, we'd blow it up to life size and hang it in our homes in the path of maximum foot traffic. It would also be every year's Holiday card, forever.

Be sure to check out The Divine Ms. Alice's blog, Summer is a Verb (as if you're not already reading it religiously)! We'd like to give a huge thank you and many xo's to Alice for being so gracious, funny and sweet - and for not being weirded out that we emailed her re: our crush on her. You're the best in the biz, Alice!


Kindness of West Coast girls, Julia and Allison of Tartan & Sequins. Weirded out, are y'all for realz? It was an honor. A feather in my cap. A cap that I will no longer be able to leave the house without if I want to keep your hip rendering of moi intact. I'll become the Greta Garbo of the blogger world. All incognito in my Hermès kerchiefs and Jackie O shades, making Diet Coke and Megamillion ticket runs just to keep the myth alive...XXOO 

World's Shortest Workout

Dr. Smartypants has thrown a flag on the field with a Japanese scientist's claim that this 4 minute workout video is the equivalent of a 40-60 minute run, increasing aerobic capacity and metabolism for the following 36 hours but, I say, yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Clause bearing thin...

     

Considering I recognize the moves from my Insanity workouts, and I KNOW those work, I'm willing to take the gamble and have added it as a bonus fat burner to my daily routine. Besides, I figure if my heart and head believe, I have a pretty good chance of my rumpus following suit...

Btw, I don't even bother changing for this and have done it the past several nights in my street clothes and slippers right before sitting down to dinz...

Kindness of the Suburban Princess whose Pinterest board I looted this video from. T minus 9 days and counting til it's bikini go time and I appreciate any and all help towards becoming remotely presentable...XXOO

The Color Run

Just...

how...

A W E S O M E

does...

this...

 look?


The bff and I are in gleeful anticipation of October's Color Run in Charlotte. I can barely walk up and down the stairs without huffing and puffing and haven't been out of my sweats in a week but, the thought of this has my tie-dyed spirit soaring...

Kindness of a sure to be groaning Babe and Bryan who will forget they ever heard mention of our colorful plan til they are being forced into their running whites 9 months from now. That's right boys, it was all juuuust a bad dream. In technicolor, natch...XXOO

More Of A Good Thing

Yesterday's comments ended up being a quite a treasure trove...

First, Anonymous sent me in the direction of The Debutante Hunters, a Sundance 2012 Audience Award winner for best short...

Then, Whitney at Pink and Green Pup deposited this gift on the doorstep of last week's Foxy Girls post. Swooon....

Which led to the unearthing this li'l vixen...

And, a tip o' the cap in the direction of this Wimberly custom order beauty came by way of Miss Fox who is batting a 1000 with the finds. If you keep this up Hilary, I may start grooming you for a SIAV summer internship! You can work on the finds, I'll work on my tan...

Kindness of Anonymous, Whitney and Hilary for making my post writing easy thus, freeing up my Monday night for quality time with Babe. Who am I kidding, I'll be glued to Pinterest like a gamer and his bad habit...XXOO

Christmas Brunch

Even though we'll be guests of my parents at the beach this year I'm still planning to carry on the tradition of hosting my Christmas morning brunch...

Babe is gonna be thrilled to find out that I'm planning on carting a few extra holiday accoutremonts and a cooler full of specialty food items in an already sure to be packed to the hilt whip...

Williams-Sonoma's scrumptious Mini Croissants have been shipped ahead...

And, the Easy Sticky Buns I could make in my sleep...

But, just in case, I've got my Barefoot Contessa's FAMILY STYLE, at home and back to basics cookbooks with the Slow-Cooked Scrambled Eggs, Maple-Roasted Bacon annnd Sticky Buns recipes ready to travel...

What I dooon't have, is a solid plan for bribing Emma, Hilbils and Genevieve into peeling a couple dozen oranges for juicing and cracking and hand whipping several dozen large eggs on Christmas Eve like they did for me last year. Hmmmm she said, rubbing her hands together like Dick Dastardly....

Looks like I may have to don my Christmas morn fox buckle on the Eve of too since a li'l outfoxing will be called for with a certain trio that surely banded together with their citrusy paws on their way out last year to never EVER get roped into doing that again...

Babe, Pligie, Lolly and I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah and a joyous New Year! Please be safe in all your holiday travels and we look forward to seeing y'all in 2012...XXOO 

Christmas Groove On

Time for a little down shifting...

Oh, there's still a never ending to-do list hanging over me but, I'm going to adjust my focus so that I may start enjoying the true meaning of Christmas with my loved ones... 

Lolly and I have the Christmas playlist queued up on the iPod and are about to get our Pomander making on with some clementines and cloves...

I've a brand new needlepoint ornament just begging for a pot of tea, a millionth viewing and dissecting of  The Family Stone, trying to see what makes my family say Meredith is ME, and some stitchin'...

There are some senses that need stimulating...

And, a kumquat and bay leaf garland in need of finishing...

Yeeeaaah that one maaay turn out to be a solo project...

Kindness of Lolly for being my beeest girlfriend who's always game for my whims. Sorry Kimba, but I don't think you'd be nearly as pleasant if it were you I woke from a toasty, deep slumber to string fruit...XXOO

GobbleGobble!

I've got my li'l cooler of Chincoteague oysters packed and we're beach bound for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend...

Besides a trip to Sea Shell City, to replace a $200 piece of coral that Lolly decided looked better in 50¢ piec-es, the only Black Friday action I plan on seeing is the running of many a Coastal Highway mile in an attempt to combat the the previous night's feasting...

I may, however, reward my long run, or drown my caloric sorrows, in a Black Friday traipse around the ole cyber hood...

An 8 miler combined with the 20% discount just may earn me the KEP green agate earrings...

An 8 miler would also give me plenty o' think time for narrowing down my Devon Baer choices cuz right now I'm torn between the Charlotte Tunic Dress...

The Plaid Ruffle Blouse...

And, the Caroline Ruffle Dress in navy.  Hmmm...wonder what a 9 miler would get me?

*Enter "Friday" at checkout on Devon Baer Designs and receive 20% off your order. This bit of Black Friday intel courtesy of TCSK...

Kindness of all my faithful readers. Babe, Pilge, Lolly and I are extremely thankful for all y'all. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving and we'll see you back here on Penance Monday...XXOO