16 August, 2011

And, So The List Making Begins...

Yes Anonymous, we found a place in G'wich and Babe is holding down the new fort with his T. Anthony roller and blow up mattress til the T-Babes, movers and I arrive in a few weeks. Annnd thus begins the list making pour moi. Figure it's best to eeease Babe in with the smaller sundries (whispers) and work up to the Hermès Avalon blanket...

Right off the bat I'll need some more Preppy Cards li'l red Gucci loafer mailing labels with our new return address...

And, another bottle of my signature Pierre Deux Eau de Maison home scent to christen the new digs...

A new set of my fav Williams-Sonoma tea towels for the kitchen...

And, a couple new Aquis microfiber hair towels for the bathroom...

My hard to find Cucina hand soap and hand lotion duo for the kitchen sink...

And, the fiiinally available year round Molton Brown amber cocoon hand wash for the bathroom sink...

Lastly, since I'm entertaining the thought of of picking up Masters Swimming again at the G'wich YMCA, I'll need some new sweds. One pair o' blues...

And, one pair o' looks good with the remnants of my tan green...

Kindness of anyone who can direct me towards the in vogue practice suits. The last one I owned was a tie-dye Speedo and that is NOT the look I want calling attention to myself as I start back in the sloooow lane...XXOO

15 August, 2011

Three, Two, One...

Welp. There went our third to last weekend at the beach...

We're starting to feel the pressure of packing in as many bike rides, PTH's, DQ visits, fav sushi, Friday night tennis, crab eating, sunsets, easy sea level runs along the coast as we can...

But, the tanorexia's kickin' in, the sweaters are comin' out, Emma and Hilbil's are packin' up, and it's getting dark waaay too soon...

Summer's slipping away sniffle sniffle...

Kindness of Babe who will puhleeeze entertain the thought of heading to the local Connecticut DMV one morning before work and registering his car so he can snag our Resident of G'wich Tod's Point beach pass before the Ti-Babes and I roll into town. Mama's gonna need her sun and sand Methadone within 48 hours of arrival...XXOO

12 August, 2011

PROTEAK Takes The Crown

I'm on a karmic roll this week. Days after I came to the realization that my chopping block is a hunk o' junk, I open my Cooks Illustrated to find they'd tested and rated cutting boards and were hand delivering their PROTEAK rec to me on a silver platter...

The criteria: cutting, durability and user-friendliness...

Testers' Comments: Roomy, knife-friendly, and exceptionally durable, this teak slab was worth every penny. It resisted warping (unlike mine) and cracking (mine long passed cracking and graduated to splitting), showed only minor scratches (looks like Freddie Kruger's my sous-chef), never seemed "thirsty" (annnd, of course, mine's cured like a piece o' jerky), and - despite it's heft - was easy to lift and clean, thanks to handholds on each end...

Did ya hear that Babe? "worth every penny"...

Kindness of Babe for seeing this as a wise investment. Since teak is "hard enough to stand up to knife blades and yet soft enough to keep those blades sharp", I can settle for the Toyota, annnd not the previously shopped for Cadillac, of knife sharpeners. One of those, gotta spend money to save money, situations you're so fond of...XXOO

11 August, 2011

Kroozie For The Mini Whip

Every Sunday Babe hustles me out of bed, on theee oooone morning I have off from working out and can sleep in, to bike along on his run. So, instead of lounging in bed with my tea watching reruns of 90210, it's a to go thermos and Tour de Fenwick...

When it came time for the all important choosing of which color Kroozie tea thermos holder I wanted for the mini whip, I polled the masses. And, by masses I mean, Babe, Kimba, Julie, Emma and Hilbils...

Hilbil's and half of Kimba's vote checked hot pink on the ballot...

Julie and Babe cast their votes for white. No surprise from an alwaysthinkingahead Babe who foresaw any and all potential for an emergency situation landing him on my mini whip and, although a kelly green accessory would be passable, a fuchsia one was Out. Of. The. Question.

Emma and the other half of Kimba's vote landed on the green...

White won. Figured it went best with all my jammies. Not to mention, any Hermès beach towels that may be along for the ride...

And, I cleverly cut the easily removable foam insert in half so that I have 3 adjustable options and can accommodate beverages and holders of nearly every size...

Half foam for my Lilly P tea thermos and Sigg bottles, both foam halves for Peronis and piccolos of Veuve, and, no foam for Diet Cokes and Lysol bottles needed for Babe's 95° with 95% humidity mid-run discarded shirts flung into my Nantucket basket...

Kindness of Tom at Kroozer Cups for his patience in a 12 emails thread of insaaanely detailed questions I managed to come up with for one li'l ole Kroozie. Babe feels your pain...XXOO

10 August, 2011

Sure To Be In The Fall choke Uniform Queue

Recent snippet of never ending texting thread between an expecting Aide-de-Camp Lizze and moi;

Moi: did u c the new crew catalogue? kinda diggin' the wool cafe capris

Lizzie: haven't gotten it yet, but they sound cute

Moi: they look veeery promising :) grt colors too. they have the potential to be a staple

Moi: also liked quite a few button downs. may have to step up my game for g'wich. no more grocery runs in my jammies I'm afraid :(

Lizzie: haha. as you're stepping your game up, i'll be stepping my game down

Lo and behold, lookie what pops up on the Atlantic Pacific blog a few days post conference call texts...

The Café Capri in the musthave, along with the black and camel, yacht blue...

And, if there was any lingering doubt (there wasn't) about Crew's bankerish Perfect shirt with french cuffs...

In both available colors...

MaryKateorAshleyOlsen took care of that. This is probably as close as I'll get to my jammies in Whole Foods in staid G'wich...

Kindness of HMC for the Atlantic Pacific blog intel. Nothing like a fashion nod from the Universe. And, the rest of y'all, for not judging my latent obsession in the Olson twins. Minus their cigs, Starbucks appendage annnd unfortunately, plethora of Birkin bags, natch...XXOO

09 August, 2011

Things We Wish We Knew When We Were 19 Remix

In honor of Hilly's day late and a dollar short birthday, I thought I'd rerun last year's dedicated post with some slight remixing. Even I can use the occasional reminding...

Happy 20th Birthday Hilbils!!! The novelty of your pretty Sheridan French Neve dress present may dim. But, hopefully the following tidbits of wisdom cobbled together by the bff Kimba and I, will last a lifetime...

Things We Wish We Knew When We Were 19 + a year...

It's the accumulation of many small decisions over time, more so than the few big ones, that chart the paths you take in life.

Be grateful for every thing no matter how inconsequential it may seem. Being grateful attracts more things into your life for which to be grateful.

There is a difference between being tenacious and swimming upstream. Learn to distinguish between the two for one leads to success and the other to frustration.

Work daily on your relationship with God, even if it's just a simple "good morning" and "good night", for it will provide you with a level of peace, security and contentment that no person can give you.

You still get a great tan wearing an SPF 30 and doing so will save you a fortune at the dermatologist later in life.

Whether it's a hairdresser, manicurist, trainer or masseuse, never hesitate to voice your requests, concerns or discomfort. YOU know what's best for you, not them. Also, they are not your therapist so expect that anything you divulge will be repeated.

Be curious about the habits of highly evolved and successful people and apply them to your life.

Yoga is good.

Exercise your physical talents as often as possible cuz the day you realize you can no longer do that gainer off the diving board you will experience a sense of loss that's like a death.

The face, neck, and back of hands are the first places a woman shows signs of aging so take particular care.

Spend time with your grandparents and ask lots of questions because when you get older you will develop an insatiable curiosity about your heritage.

There really is such a thing as karma. You will get back exactly what you put out.

Incorporate breast self exams into your shower routine. Just like shaving and deep conditioning it should become a biweekly habit.

Your family loves you and cares more deeply about you than anyone and always has your best interest at heart.

Trust your instincts for they are an invaluable tool. If something doesn't feel right, it usually isn't.

Excessive drinking does lead to terrible decisions and consequences. You'll will also come to appreciate that the first cocktail is always the best. The ones that follow are just chasing a ghost.

Outward appearances mean nothing if you are not grounded and confident. It is never enough just to be a pretty girl.

No boy is worth pushing your values and instincts aside for.

Although 'tis always nice to give people room to grow, most personalities are set by first grade. Adjust your expectations accordingly and you will save yourself a world of hurt and disappointment.

Your grades and study habits will shape the rest of your life and provide you the best opportunity for a life of independence and success.

And, the adults were right; everything in moderation is best, time does heal all wounds and, this too did pass...

And, in honor of another year, may I add;

"The woman who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been."

-Albert Einstein (via Awelltraveledwoman)

Kindness of the bff Kimba for collaborating with me on this post. Of course, her contributions are easily recognizable as the more eloquent words of wisdom. The ones with the bitter, hippie bent belong to yours truly...XXOO

08 August, 2011

6 Years And Counting...

Well, @TCSKxoxo...traditionally, it's sugar...

But, around here 'twas a pair of the Orlebar Brown Bulldogs in geometric navy for Babe, and a Simon Pearce Woodbury Flare Vase and roses pour moi...

But, never one to miss an excuse for sugar, I covered that base with a celebratory, post 4 miler breakfast of chocolate croissants...

After indulging my two croissant sugar coma lounging around the pool, coach gave me the option of either tennis or biking...

I opted for the less sweaty, just slip on a cover up bike ride...

Trading in working on my forehand, for working on my no hand...

No such success would've been had on the court...

Since there weren't any jumbo Chester River crabs available from our source for our traditional anniversary dinz, we stuffed our swollen from running, sugar, humidity, and biking piggy's into some real shoes...

Then spent the ride to Ruth's Chris consoling our shocked feet, telling them they'd be back home in the security of their Rainbows before they knew it...

Babe looked as gorgeous as ever...

While I looked as though I had...spent all day in a pool, went bike riding, threw my chlorinated hair in a pony, tossed a dress over my still slathered in sunscreen bod, skipped the makeup and said, I'm ready...

As Babe began making noises about a late night walk while waiting for the check...

It was all I could do to keep from lying my tired head on the table...

But, after 6 years, Babe knows that there's one surefire way to wake me back up and that's, more sugar...

I came in celebrating our "Sugar Anniversary" with chocolate croissants and, I went out with chocolate frozen yogurt...

Kindness of Babe for an amazing 6 years. I am onnne lucky girl to have found you...XXOO