12. 06. 2013

Happy Weekend!

Happy Weekend dear readers. This powerful photo was captured outside the home of Nelson Mandela this morning. Isn’t it amazing. It kind of sums up his life’s work. What wonder one man can do, so humbling.

I hope you all are off to a fun-filled and festive holidayish weekend. Or something like that anyway. I’m attending the Kennedy Center Honors and all of the fancy dinners that accompany it with my father-in-law Jacques this weekend. I’m seriously pinching myself. He was an honoree himself and goes to the dinners and show every year, so it’s old hat for him. For me, I’ll be rubbing elbows with the President (say what?) in the White House (come again?) and with the likes of the Meryls and the Dustins of the world at the State Department and then again at the Kennedy Center. Hello. Not to mention the actual honorees this year including Billy Joel, Shirley MacLaine and Carlos Santana- so cool. I’ve rented 2 dresses from Rent the Runway, both of which were supposed to arrive at my doorstep tonight before 8pm and as of this post, are not yet here. What is a girl to do. It’s not like I can just reach into the back of my (tiny) closet and pull out a floor length black tie appropriate gown. Yikes. I’ll keep you posted.

What I’m Drinking This Weekend:

Lots of Presidential-approved vino. I’m hoping for a Virginia-made Thibault-Janisson sparkling- one of our great state’s best bottles of bubbly. It really is absolutely delicious, I know you might be dubious being that it’s Virginia-made, but trust me- it’s truly divine. They love the stuff up at the House that is White, as they supposedly regularly serve it up at State Dinners, but honestly I’d be thrilled with a cold can of PBR in the company of those peeps.

A Few Things From Here & There:

The New Yorker’s powerful cover tribute to Nelson Mandela.

Pope Francis was a bouncer? This guy just gets better and better.

Real Estate photos gone hilariously wrong. This is funny.

A couple of method kid actors on the subway. This takes commitment.

The 10 prettiest Christmas trees from around the interwebs.

Maddie the dog- way more interesting than a traveling Gnome.

Dylan’s Stratocaster fetches nearly a million at auction. Say What!

Enjoy your weekend and Cin Cin!

Photo by: Larry Hirshowitz

Present-ing: The Treehugger

Present-ing: The Wino

I am the proud owner of this pretty print by Ana of Anek etsy shop. ‘Tis true. Wine makes the day.

This print from Anek is pretty great too. Would be great in the kitchen and framed on your home bar.

Present-ing: The Glamour Puss

Loren Hope necklace

7 Fun Dining Chairs

Tucker Chair in Coral.

Fleet Brushed Nickel Chair

Rider Dining Chair

Lucent Folding Chair

Chinese Chippendale Chair in Pink

Tepani Chair

Otomi Chair

Happy Weekend

Happy Weekend dear readers. Please excuse my radio silence as of late. A friend and neighbor of ours passed away this week suddenly of natural causes. He was young and vibrant, only 41, and leaves behind his wife and 4 year-old daughter.

It has been a sad and heartbreaking week and I have not had the inspiration to muster up much else. I always find it to be so surreal when a sudden passing happens. Death is always hard to deal with no matter what form it comes in, but the lack of closure confuses the heart and mind. My thoughts and prayers are with their family.

My Kind of Town: Alexandria Is

“that’s the power of love”

To quote my pal Huey- and yes, I can actually call Mr. Lewis a pal if you can believe it- (I did Chicago with the frontman of The News and enjoyed a post-show shot of Jack Daniels in his dressing room 8 shows a week- ahh, those were the days) – a little love and positivity can go a long way baby, “that’s the power of love”. I’m not talking about the starry-eyed, dreamy kind of love (although that’s nice too), I’m talking about the deliberate act of love and positive living that promotes happiness and a healthy well being- quite literally.

Case in point, this past week one of my best friends endured a harrowing ordeal. Her darling 4 month-old baby girl underwent heart surgery to repair a hole in her heart. She asked her friends and family to send out positive thoughts and prayers and we in turn, asked our loved ones to send out the same sweet sentiments. Her baby girl did great and is on the road to recovery. My friend said that she could actually feel the love being sent her way and that it was the only thing that allowed her to remain calm and positive throughout the process. She described it as supernatural. Wow. I was kind of blown away by this. In a world where we are constantly bombarded with sad and fear-filling news, there’s so much to be said for the flip side and to be able to give the simple gift of love and positivity is such a blessing.

On the day of surgery, as I was strolling the bebes, I spotted this lovable graffiti (pictured above) not a block from my house. It was just what I needed to see exactly when I needed to see it. I’ve walked past this lovely message countless times and never once noticed it. It was a nice reminder that the good stuff is out there in the world- aplenty. It is a constant quest and challenge to pay more attention to the love in the world, receive it when it is there for the taking and give it out as much as possible. I’d like to get better at it. A little love goes a long, long way and it’s kind of what life’s all about, right? Thanks for the sentiment, Huey (and the awesome tune).

Bottle Stock Brings It

One of my favorite bloggers, Whitney Adams of Brunellos Have More Fun has recently launched Bottle Stock- a super cool line of wine accessories. These are not your stepdad’s oversized rabbit ears masquerading as wine openers or your mother-in-law’s trinkety wine charms. This stuff is uber designed, pinterest pretty and highly functional. Case in point, that sweet tart dipped wine key above- those are the only wine keys that the pros use btw, and the only tool that really works- it’s not only fun to use but pretty to look at too. Mine (albeit its sad little generic casing as it is not Bottle Stock issued) is one of my prized possessions- a keepsake from my former life as a French wine rep- it’s like a little piece of magic. And those wine wraps- my favorite- how much cooler is that pretty paper than some cheesy wine bag you picked up at Papyrus. I dig the blue stained wine journal, and the pulpboard Loire Valley grape leaf and varietal coasters would be perfect for that geeky tasting you’re planning. Watercolors and obscure grapes- always a winning combo.

I’m in love. Good on ya, Ms. Adams.

{Images: Bottle Stock Shop}