A few favorite looks from Christian Siriano’s fall collection. I’m in luck- I’m attending a Siriano fashion show this weekend. Ok, so it’s in Baltimore and not New York, but hey, I’ll take it.
The bebes turn 9 months tomorrow- whoa- and my father in law is paying us a visit. I’m going to make this and drink this (a full report with tasting note to follow), we’ll hang with the bebes and head out to the Baltimore School of the Arts gala. My hubby has choreographed a piece for the school that debuts tomorrow night with the fashion show to follow. An alumni of the school, Siriano will be chairing the gala and bringing his looks from the NYC runway to Bmore. Woohoo! As a loyal Project Runway fan, I love me some Siriano. Sunday, I hop a train to NY to co-host a baby shower for my dear friend, Katy Robbins- Volatizing’s resident style maven extraordinaire. Things are usually pretty low key around here but this weekend looks to be kind of stellar. How about you- what are you up to this weekend?
A very contemplative Faye Dunaway the morning after she won the Oscar for Network. Could this be Jessica Chastain come Monday morning? Perhaps but I’m going with Jennifer Lawrence.
I love Oscar night. Growing up, I used to watch it every year with my parents. I remember the highlights and even more fondly, the lowlights. I’ll never forget a singing Rob Lowe and Snow White circa 1989. A serious WTF. Even as an 8th grader, I knew this was probably a junk food-fueled late night brainstorm in the writers’ room gone bad. Memorable though. Go Rob for sticking your neck out there. Hey, Aaron Sorkin didn’t hold it against him. It so awesomely terrible, I would actually pay to see this.
Read Snow White’s account here as the actress who played the fairy tale princess breaks her silence about the now infamous”Snow White Incident”. Seriously unbelievable with tales of poolside auditions led by Allan Carr in a robe, Bob Mackie wondering aloud why in God’s name he was making a bedazzled Snow White costume, etc. You can’t make this stuff up.
I was lucky enough to be a part of Oscar legend. I always dreamed of dancing on the Oscars and I realized that dream when I found myself onstage at the Shrine Auditorium in a kickline with Robin Williams. We were the Royal Canadian Mounties/Rockettes and he sang the South Park tune, Blame Canada. Pure awesomeness. I remember saying to a friend that I was nervous because it was live and there were like a million viewers. He responded, “mmm… more like a billion, but you’ll be fine.” Gulp.
At least 1/2 of me made the photo.
I like to place my bets and play along with the broadcast. I’m rooting for Argo and would root for Ben Affleck if he’d been nominated- tsk tsk, Academy. Shoo-ins in the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress have to be Daniel Day-Lewis and Anne Hathaway and Amour for best foreign film. I’m no pro but I have won my fair share of Oscar office pools. To play along, print out your own Oscar Ballothere.
My picks:
(Like I said, I’m pretty good at this but don’t bet the farm. It’s always anyone’s night.)
Picture: Argo Director: Steven Spielberg Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis Actress: Jennifer Lawrence Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway Cinematography: Claudio Miranda for Life of Pi Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio for Argo Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino for Django Unchained Animated Feature Film: Wreck-It Ralph Documentary: Searching for Sugar Man Editing: Argo Foreign Language Film: Amour Makeup and Hairstyling: Les Misérables Costume Design: Anna Karenina Original Score: Argo Production Design: Les Misérables Orignal Song: Adele’s Skyfall Sound Editing: Skyfall Sound Mixing: Les Misérables Visual Effects: Life of Pi
Ok, the former picks are somewhat educated. The picks below I am literally pulling out of my you know what. These are always anybody’s guess. Outside of Academy members who receive screeners in order to vote, has anyone really seen the Live Action Short nominees… that’s what I thought.
Documentary Short: Openheart Animated Short: Paperman Live Action Short: Curfew
What I’ll be drinking:
You guessed it- Champers. Come on, it’s the Oscars. We’ll be toasting the stars with some delicious grower Champagne by Eric Rodez.
We went to an excellent Champagne tasting last weekend at Grape + Bean. Led by Olivier Daubresse (former somm at NYC’s Daniel), we tasted through some Eric Rodez, Billecart-Salmon and Krug selections. Talk about yum. The Krug Grande Cuvée was exquisitely complex- full of delicious yeasty and mineral notes with even a hint of smoky bacon. You read that right- bacon. But the surprise of the night was Eric Rodez’s finessed winemaking. Rodez apprenticed at Krug and aims to produce a similar refined complexity. In my opinion, he does. We bought a bottle of the the Cuvée des Crayeres for ourselves and a bottle of the more complex Cuvée des Grands Vintages for a gift. I think the Grands Vintages is an excellent value at around $69.
So Cin Cin Hollywood! If I had my druthers, I’d be celebrating at Swifty Lazar’s annual Oscar party at the original Spago but alas, neither he nor the restaurant still exists. Oh well. My couch, a glass of great champagne, the hubby and my ballot will do just fine. How will you celebrate?
Four years ago, my dear mother-in-law, Carolyn George d’Amboise, passed away.
I miss her dearly and just wanted to pay tribute to her and her amazing life.
Carrie was a girl from Dallas, TX. who made her way to New York to dance on Broadway and as a soloist in the New York City Ballet. She worked with George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins who nicknamed her Tweety Bird for her giggly demeanor. She could out jump all the men except for her future husband, Jacques.
Loved by everyone she met, she married and had 4 children, eventually stopped dancing only to reinvent herself and become a renowned photographer. She traveled the world many times over and until her last day had the most amazing wit, sense of humor and curiosity. I always told Carrie that I wanted to be her when I grew up, even though I was 29 by the time we met. She is quite the role model. I miss you Carrie.
{Image Credit: New York City Ballet archives, Carolyn George in Balanchine’s Western Symphony and The Playgoer’s poster of On Her Toes, her first Broadway show’s out of town tryout in New Haven}
Last week, we were in NY mini-workshopping a new musical called Revival, about the revival of an 80s mega-musical called Stars- the Galactic Dancical (I know, ridiculous- oh, the 80s) and the revival and rekindle of a long lost showmance/love affair. My hubby Christopher, myself and 2 other creative partners, Paige Price and Michael Paternostro- both Broadway biggies- have spent the last year dreaming up the show and this was our first step in seeing it up on its feet. We were so fortunate to have the very talented Sean Martin Hingston along with some exceptional Manhattan Marymount students to help bring our vision to life. It was an amazing learning curve and a terrific start.
Workshops are always so much fun because it’s your chance to really dig in, get courageous, make mistakes, bounce ideas off of one another, and try out your wacky ideas. Some things hilariously fall flat on their face while others may show a glimmer of genius. In any case, it’s so much fun to work out the kinks and see ideas that once were wee notions, brought to life. I love the rehearsal and especially the workshop process. For me, it’s the most inspiring time in theater. I am always so sad when a show is “frozen”. For non-showfolk, that’s when a show is set and no further changes are made before opening. Then you have the piece as it will be known in perpetuity. It is an entirely new and different challenge to keep that same show fresh 8 times a week, but for me there is nothing like the sparks that fly in the rehearsal room.
The talented Chelsea Amoroso (what a great name, right!) sings out. Big career ahead of her- huge. Look out for her- she sings like a bird and looks like a million bucks. Indulge me, I’m having an Army Archerd moment.
And we’re off… Next step- rewrites. Ahh, Showbiz, you gotta love it. Thanks to everyone for playing- what a fantastic week.
I love this page from Jack Kerouac’s notebook. I especially love his thoughts on so-called Beat pal, Ginsberg.
We are off to NY to workshop a show we’ve been working on, so I’ll be off for the next week flexing my creative juices in the dance studio- what fun! I’ll make a pit stop to see Pacino in Glengarry, Glen Ross- seriously can’t wait to see that, see some friends and stroll the bebes down Broadway. It looks to be a beautiful week in NY, I hope you all have a beautiful week wherever you are.
I look forward to getting back to posting soon, as I have some fun photos, tasting notes and recipes to share from my Texan holiday. Ciao for now and as always, Cin Cin.
It’s a New Year’s tradition in my household to watch Singin’ in the Rain every year. This tradition was started by my hubby who has been watching Gene Kelly stomp through the rain each and every Jan. 1 since he was a wee lad. I have to say, if there was any time period I could live in, it would have been the early 50s so that I could have been a dancer in all of those great MGM musicals. I would have been so thrilled to have been the 3rd girl from the left. My career as a dancer was that of a modern day chorus girl, which I adored, but there’s something about that era of movie-making that sends chills down my spine.
Do yourself a favor and take 3 minutes out of your day to watch this terrific number. It is truly the stuff of movie musical magic. Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor- forever the unsung hero in my opinion- effortlessly tap and jump their way through this number. A number made entirely out of a silly line with no real story, but oh so good. That is a rare and sweet treat. Enjoy and a Happy New Year to you.
Back in the day, I was a showgirl in Sin City (the top-wearing kind) and I returned there for a couple of days last weekend. I was both inspired and a little miffed by the changes since the late 90s, but some things never change.
Here are my picks for a razzle dazzle Vegas weekend.
1. The Bellagio- most of the rooms here have been recently renovated and have a great modern feel. Swanky, Classy (dare I use the word- not sure it belongs anywhere, especially Vegas), and centrally located, the Bellagio is always a great place to stay. Dale Chihuly’s 2,000 hand-blown blossoms still shine over the lobby. Other great lodging options are the Cosmopolitan, next door and the Golden Nugget downtown where you get more bang for your buck- although taxis to the central Strip will cost you.
2. A great tip from our blackjack dealer- when ordering your complimentary cocktail while playing at the tables, be sure to specify a top shelf liquor. Hey, it’s the one time the house actually pays and it only costs you a tip to your cocktail waitress. Grey Goose vodka tonic, please.
3. Cirque Schmirque- if you want to catch an old school Vegas review, head over to the Planet Hollywood hotel to see Vegas the Show. My pal, Tiger Martina is the talented choreographer. They’ve got showgirls and Sammy Davis- seriously, what more could you want.
4. Love this cute little cutout sheath from Club Monaco- would look great at the craps table.
5. Loving this glittery number from Club Monaco as well- shines next to the slots.
6. We had a great meal at the Vegas outpost of LA’s Comme Ca at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Great wine list with a bargain basement section where you can find fantastic bottles for a deal. The beet salad with whipped feta, sunflower seeds and arugula is a must. The view makes you feel like you’re in Tokyo- the Strip’s bright lights sparkle outside its windows.
7. Big fan of all of Kevyn Aucoin’s matte lipsticks- especially the Forever shade. I wear this one for day and night.
8. Scoot down to the Chandelier Bar after dinner at Comme Ca and if you’re lucky, the Jennifer Keith Quintet will be jivin’ up the joint. This is one of the best swing bands I’ve seen and I lived in LA during the overblown Swingers era. Great people watching to boot as Vegas’ Swing-hards hold court in the bar’s booths. Dressed to their hipcat nines with some talented moves to boot, it’s a pretty fun scene.
9. Get outta dodge for a few hours and head up to the Valley of Fire State Park. This Land That Time Forgot-like landscape is album cover worthy. After you soak in its beauty, turn your excursion into a photo shoot. It doesn’t really matter what you look like, with this radical backdrop, you’ll look like a badass in every shot.
10. The Peppermill Fireside Lounge is one of my favorite spots in Sin City. While I’m not a fan of its most recent update with its flat screen tvs, it still maintains its 70s charm. Sit around a fire pit and sip a giant exotic cocktail.
11. Do yourself a favor a B.Y.O.B. when it comes to champagne. Vegas will take you for all you’ve got in more ways than one and to get a decent glass of bubbly will really set you back. Bring a luxe grower’s champagne like this Vilmart Grand Cellier 1er Cru Brut NV and feel like a King even if you do lose your butt at the roulette wheel.
Jordan Matter’s new book, “Dancers Among Us” is full of fun and inspiring images of dancers doing extraordinary things in our ordinary world. Well, maybe not so extraordinary to the dancers- really just another day in the life- but that’s what makes these images so engaging. Still shots from a moving art form have never been so fun.
Guerrilla dancing in the streets, on the subway, in the laundromat, over the train tracks, in the library and my personal favorite- in the operating room. You have to love a cabriole over the operating table. And I gotta give it to New Yorkers- we manage to keep our cool and remain aloof but ever-observant even in perhaps the most bizarre moment of our day. Check out the video below to see Jordan and the dancers in real time.
Former showgirl, forever travel junkie, sometime sommelier, and mom to twin bebes. This little blog is a mixed bag of tasting notes, travels, tales of motherhood, and current musings. Thank you for stopping by. Cin Cin! (photo by Amy Dickerson for Anthology Magazine)
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