Happy long weekend dear readers. It’s my Dad’s birthday today. He would have been 72. There we are above circa 1976 in that amazing wood paneled den. Love you Dad, you will always be the coolest. Miss you and your generosity, humor, big love, wisdom and sense of adventure every day.
I hope you are all off to some fun and adventure in the spirit of this holiday weekend. We’re hanging around these parts trying to gussy up this joint. It is taking for-evah. I failed to properly estimate the time it would take me to fully unpack and semi-organzie with 2 toddlers in tow. It’ll get done one of these days… or not. In the meantime, we continue to navigate through our basement and garage like we are the All-Stars of the last season of Hoarders. We’ll throw in a bbq somewhere this weekend amidst the constant disarray. That’s sort of what life is though isn’t it. Throwing in the fun stuff amidst the chaos- something like that.
What I’m Drinking:
Le P’tit Rouqin from Olivier Lemasson. This fantastic gamay is brought to me by Ian Cauble’s new venture, Somm Select. From one of my favorite importers, Louis/Dressner, comes this terrifically acidic and food friendly but still fruitalicious Loire gamay. Strawberries, lots of flinty and clay minerality and a hint of tobacco and spice pepper this beauty. A light-to-medium bodied red that is so so good. Check out your local wine shop for Louis/Dressner imports as this bottle has already peaced-out from Somm Select and can be a bit elusive. It’s only about $20- a steal, as much of the Loire Valley can be.
A Few Things:
This cool new wine business (as mentioned above). A Master Somm’s picks straight from his palate to your front door. Well, something like that anyway. I’m a fan. I was cheering for Mr. Cauble in the recent smart vino doc, Somm and think this is a bright new venture for the now lettered MS. He’s got a beautiful Bandol up at the moment.
3 Great Foodie Memoirs- I can never get enough of these things (if I ever have time to read that is, which is never- so strike that whole comment but these do look interesting).
This fun little feature on my girl Jessica Pariseau. I just saw her in Cabaret and she is on fire kids. Go girl- one of my favorite people.
Katie Parla’s Proust-inspired Questionnaire- the subject: food writer Alec Lobrano. I’m always in the mood for a Prousty questionnaire especially when it involves food and musings upon it.
Who needs a bar cart anyway? Not me with these little ones running around, that’s for sure. This looks pretty good.
This terrific article written by my good pal, John Carroll. He never disappoints- one of the funniest and sharpest dudes I know.
For bougie bohemians, Mara Hoffman launches her first home collection at Anthropologie. Eyeballs and feathers and arrows, oh my. This is a little too blogtastic for me, but I do like a random eyeball here and again.
Holy Smoky Flavors- 10 Brilliant Grilling Secrets from the latest of issue of Food & Wine. A newbie convert to the wonders of the grill- I can’t believe what I’ve been missing- I was thrilled to get this latest issue in the mail as it is pretty much entirely devoted to the good sport of grilling.
It’s a lazy spring Sunday day over here in the ‘burbs. I’m still trying to get used to the idea that I’m so ‘burby now. I haven’t lived in a true suburban community since my childhood and while the pros outweigh the cons for us, I do sometimes feel like a fish out of water. I’ve met some fabulous people on my block alone, but of course most of my friends live in DC or Alexandria proper, so I’m feeling the need to start throwing some massive dinner parties just so that I can get my peeps out here for some good old fashioned quality time. A good excuse to do one of the most fun things on the planet anyway right? Who doesn’t love a good dinner party?
In the meantime, I’m lappin’ up the rays on my newly painted deck. When we moved in, it was a dingy burnt orange-y color, something that I’m sure looked smokin’ in 1979, but a fresh coat of BM’s Deck Gray has zhooshed her up real good. My brother Matt and my sis-in-law Wendy came over to plant some flowers and plants from their garden into ours- how cool is that- and I’m now the proud caretaker of a real honest-to-God herb garden (see photo above). I’m pinching myself about the glories of a backyard.
That’s about it for me this weekend. We start a massive landscape project tomorrow. I’ll post some before and afters but we’re basically getting rid of all of the pretty but dangerous (for toddlers) ivy on a steep slope in the backyard, planting a Japanese maple tree to provide a little privacy from our neighbors and ripping out all the Chinese holly bushes in our front yard which seriously look like prickly torture devices- not the most welcoming thing to see at first glance of a house.
What are you all up to this weekend? My Texas family is currently grillin’ it up at the Austin Food and Wine Fest (yes, I’m completely jealous), their arms above freshly inked by rock star chef Tim Love. I’m loving this flowering plant in these tear drop vases. I never know what to put in mine, I lugged one home from a Provence flea market a few years ago and it usually just sits alone and empty on our countertop. These fritillaria are so graceful and architectural. (Can you tell I’m loving learning about plants- so much to learn). And I’m thinking about this wallpaper for my girl’s room. I’m on a wallpaper tear- cannot get enough. And this one’s on sale. Sweet and pretty, right?
What I’m Drinking
The Chateau Coupe Roses that I posted about on Friday- can. not. get. enough. Marshy, lavender deliciousness from Southern France. Yum. And some Bandol rosé thrown in for good measure, of course.
35 Restaurants with a View. Because who doesn’t want some good eats and something pretty to look at (besides your date of course).
I love this etsy shop by the Meg A. Myers. Great up-cycled geometric planters.
Fresh and springtime-happy cocktails via Camille Styles.
How are annoying are you on Instagram? This quiz made me throw up a little bit in my mouth. Most of the stuff on this quiz never occurred to me- maybe it’s because I’m 5 years away from Millenial thinking or maybe I’m just too old for this shit. Is this really what’s happening? I know we all have egos- duh, I have a blog- but this whole self(ie) obsession is getting a little out of control.
P.S.: A random side note about the Disney Princess craze. If you don’t have kids, you’ll probably want to skip this next bit.
To all you moms of former, current or soon-to-be toddler girls, I have a theory on the whole Disney Princess craze. Indulge me here. I think it actually could be a little more about our (the moms’) fascination with said Disney heroines than it is our kids’. At least I think that’s where it may start. This is just a theory but it I witnessed this case in point this past week as after watching scenes of “Frozen” over and over again with my little ones (at their request, but honestly, mostly because I really dig it- it is a seriously well-crafted and thoughtful tale with some catchy-ass tunes, after all).
My little miss will not stop belting out “Let It Go”. And this from a 22 month old who doesn’t fully talk yet. She sings out Louise accapella at all hours of the day- in her crib hours after I think she’s gone to bed, at mealtimes, in the car, and when I try to sing something else, she quickly starts in to the power ballad chorus. “Let It Go” is Celine goes to Vegas after all isn’t it.
My girl is into it and in turn asks to watch Anna and Elsa all day long. Now I have to be honest with myself. She didn’t create this passion from out of the blue. I introduced it to her and I myself am overly enthusiastic about the Frozen girls and cannot resist my full-out musical theater belt every time we get to the “Let It Go” scene. So whose fascination is this anyway? It’s definitely hers, but it’s definitely mine too. Have I created a musical theater Disney-loving monster? If I have it’s too late nate. I’m sure I’ll rue the day when in a few years, she’ll wear nothing but a cheap pink princess-ish gown to school, the park and to bed as many of my friends now contend with. Or maybe she won’t, or maybe I’ll love it that she refused to wear anything but her princess gown. Who knows? But honestly, as a generation that grew up with The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast (ok maybe we tail-end Gen-X’ers were a little old for the Princess schtick when these movies came out), but it kind of makes sense that our kiddos would be so into these Disney ladies. Because we are too, like it or not. Feminist debate to be had at another date. What say you?
Austin Food & Wine Fest photo: Toni Terzian Wellhausen
It’s officially here folks and I have to say, today it actually feels like Spring in my neck of the woods. It’s 55 and sunny- who can believe it! Here are a few of my favorite things for Spring.
1. A Batch of Lemon Thyme Bars- because who doesn’t want a little citrus and fresh herbs with their sweets- done.
3. Some Sabre Tortoise Salad Servers- I can’t get enough of the Sabre spoons from Paris. I love these salad servers and Spring is all about fresh veggies- the better to toss them with, my dears. I’ve got to get my hands on these teaspoons too, sold exclusively in the US at Happy Bones Coffee in NYC’s Nolita. (They’re currently out of stock but are expecting more in late April). Aren’t they great.
4. A Great Rosé: a list just isn’t a list without a good rosé on it- any time of year. But Spring beckons for a mineral and crisp glass of salmon-y pink juice. I’m loving this one imported by the can-do-no-wrong pioneer, Kermit Lynch. When in doubt, reach for one of Kermit’s bottles, he doesn’t disappoint. This one’s $15 and lip-smackingly good.
5. A Darling Baby Zebra Print: Springtime reminds me of freshly hatched chicks and fuzzy baby animals. How sweet is this little zebra. Sharon Montrose’s lovely animal prints start at $25.
8. An Octagon Embellished Terra Cotta Planter: ’tis the season for planting and gardening and stuff of the green-thumbed sort and also, I love an octagon. And also, I have a backyard! Say What?!
These pink roofs make me happy. Happy Weekend dear readers! What are you all up to this first weekend of February? Yay- it’s February, let’s hope Punxsutawney Phil is in the clear on Sunday- come on Spring! We’ll be drinking our Caip-beer-inhas and watching the Super Bowl, maybe take in a Frozen Sing-A-Long matinee with the bebes (their first official movie outing- we’ll see how that goes), make an IKEA run (AHHHHH! Am I crazy to attempt a weekend run?- Yes.), and continue our reno/home improvements. Our furnace conked out on us less than 2 weeks after owning our home. Ha. Homeownership- woohoo.
Tina Fey grabs coffee and a cronut with Jerry Seinfeld. I can never get enough Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Does Jerry Seinfeld have the life or what? Just driving around in cool cars grabbing coffee and pastries with the quirkiest and coolest cats- come on!
Happy Weekend dear readers. I hope you all are off to some exciting adventures. My mom is heading into town as my hubby heads to Istanbul. He’s working on a ballet there so he’ll be gone for over a week, thankfully CiCi (aka my mom) is hightailing it east. What would we do without our moms!
We are closing on our house next week (fingers crossed) and then we’re going to … Release the Kraken. We’re tearing down walls, repainting, staining and refinishing the floors and completely gutting and creating an entirely new kitchen (yay!). There are a million things I want to do this house. Every room is just so wrong right now and desperately cries out to be fixed but budget dictates that I must exercise some serious patience with her (my house, that is). I am the type of person that likes to tackle everything all at once, I can’t stand to leave things undone, but I don’t much have a choice here and will have to channel my inner Zen-ness.
In the meantime, I can’t wait to start scouring flea markets, vintage stores and craigslist to round out my decor. Stay tuned next week as I’ll be posting BEFORE pictures of Miss Virginie (after our dear newfound home state of course) along with some mood boards with a slew of ideas for design. I’m trying really hard to curb my enthusiasm for a California late-mid century house and respect the fact that Miss Virginie is of course a Virginia native with an unfortunate Colonial-ish vibe. Now, I pretty much hate anything Colonial, so you can bet that those ridiculous faux columns embracing the front door will be first to go. Inside, she’s a blank slate so I can really do anything but feel like I need to keep reminding myself that I’m in Virginia and not Laurel Canyon.
I would love your thoughts! We haven’t done a big reno project since our New York apartment and I’ve never done a kitchen, I’m pretty psyched.
What are you all up to this weekend? I’m going to hang with the kiddos and CiCi and watch Tina and Amy light it up on the Globes- my favorite awards show of the year, no one really takes it that seriously and everyone’s just drunk and happy, really the best kind of awards- and those two ladies kill me, they can get away with anything.
What I’m Drinking This Weekend:
I’m sticking with Southern France. My post this week about the Languedoc made me nostalgic for that part of the world, so I think I’ll try this inexpensive bottle from the Cotes du Rhone. Tasting note to follow. I once heard a Somm say that you really could never go too wrong with a bottle of Cotes du Rhone, but I would have to disagree with that as I have gone very wrong indeed. Let’s hope this one is promising, especially since it’s $12.
The Northern Lights- I have got to get to Iceland to see this fantastical sight. Anna Watson Carl’s posts about her recent trip to see the galactic display, are so inspiring. And this hotel blows my mind.
This looks amazing. Big Thornbirds fan- totally looking forward to this.
CBK, “the Original Gwyneth?”, I don’t know what do you think? I know that I love me some CBK, looking through these photos is kind of fabulous and makes me so nostalgic for the late 90s.
On a recent action-packed trip to NYC (no work and all play- hooray), I managed to squeeze in a little pre-Christmas party prep with one of my best girls, Meghan Frank. It was the first time I had visited her in her fab Park Slope abode with her hubby and we had such fun catching up and prepping for her annual birthchristmukkah party. Her birthday is around the holidays- Happy Birthday Meg!- so she always throws a big blowout. I couldn’t stay for the party (sniff) but making these pretzel treats with her was maybe just as fun.
Meghan’s become quite the domestic and I was super impressed with her homemade New York cheesecake cupcakes as well as her ambition to make these little salty sweets. All of this from a girl who is a full time, hard-hitting television journalist- seriously folks. These pretzel rods are so easy to make and pretty too, that I had to share. This is one that the kids would love (and clearly the adults too).
Here’s What You Need:
2 Bags of Pretzel Rods
3 bars of good quality dark or milk (or both) chocolate
Sprinkles
Pistachio Pieces
Sea Salt
Coconut Flakes
Here’s What You Do:
1. Break your chocolate bars into pieces
2. Place in a saucepan and slowly melt over low-medium heat (or just microwave in a bowl)
3. Dip each rod into the melted chocolate using a spoon to smooth out the chocolate
4. Decorate with whatever topping and decorations you like (some we just sprinkled with sea salt- yum!)
5. Et Voilà- just lay on parchment paper until dry.
Enjoy! Do you have any favorite holiday treats that you love to make? Do tell.
I’m a pretty smiley person by nature, but I’ve never known a true cheek hangover until now. Not that I haven’t had some seriously smile-worthy moments in life- my wedding, opening nights- but those were all infused with a myriad of emotions. This one was pretty much just all smiles all the time.
I don’t usually do posts like this, I like to share my opinions and ideas and mostly highlight the lives of others, but this one I just had to document. I had the tremendous good fortune to accompany my amazing father-in-law, Jacques d’Amboise, to the White House and Kennedy Center for the 2013 Kennedy Center Honors this past weekend. Cue self-inflicted pinch times ten.
Knowing that I would be Jacques’ guest to this event nearly a year in advance, I planned carefully, which is very out of character me (you know what they say about plans…). I carefully selected- with the help of my fabulous stylist-to-the-stars pal, Katy Robbins- my two Rent the Runway gowns literally months in advance. There would be two nights of events- the dinner at the State Department and the White House gathering/meeting the President and the First Lady followed by the Honors at Kennedy Center. I was all set with an Alice Temperley gown and a David Meister on the way for a grand total of $125- oh yeah, discount codes were in full effect.
Then came last Friday night. 8pm, tick tock tick tock, No UPS special delivery as expected. After a long wait on hold with the parcel service, I learned that the dresses would arrive promptly Monday morning. Hmmm. I’m royally screwed, I thought. My babysitter is out of town, Christopher is working and I’ll have to haul two toddlers to Tysons Corner and frenzily shop for not one but two expensive-looking but reasonably affordable black tie gowns. What the what?
I prepared to wake early Saturday and make the mad dash to Nordstroms. Enter the Norovirus. Around 1am on Saturday morning, my hubby came down with a severe dose of the stomach virus. If you’ve ever experienced this, you know how intense it is. It hits you like a ton of bricks and you are violently ill for a solid 24 hours. Saturday morning 10am and Christopher was starting to come out of his nausea-daze when I started to feel a bit wonky. By noon, it was clear that I would not be going to the State Department much less Nordstroms. At that point, I can honestly say however, that I didn’t much care. We had two toddlers to take care of as two very sick parents who were doing everything we could to keep them from getting sick. How that works with a crazily contagious virus, I have no idea. If you’ve ever tried taking care of small children while you feel ghastly ill, you can empathize. It was a rough day, maybe the toughest yet in my newbie parenthood. These are the days you really want your mommy.
Then that beacon of the week, Sunday morning dawned and all started to look a bit brighter. I didn’t feel great, but Lord knows I was going to that White House. I made the mad dash to Nordstoms, gave the saleslady my budget and after a heartfelt wince from her, she brought me dozens of dresses all of which only emphasized my post-baby bump that has no business being a bump at this point, it’s more like a lump- let’s call a spade a spade. She finally brought me one last dress- this one revelatory -to my dressing room. It was like the popcorn ceiling opened up and the Angels sang “AHHHHH”. I had to have it, it actually made my lump look kind of great. I dashed up to the register only to find out upon ringing up, that this was indeed well above my fantasy and idealized price range. Oh well, it’s the frigging White House, I mean come on. So, dress bought, baubles on, we are ready to roll.
Off we went. At 3:15 on the dot, Jacques’ appointed driver Carl rolled up into my modest little apartment complex’s parking lot to escort me down the slick ice rink that was masquerading as a sidewalk. I somehow managed not to take a dive, even in my 4 inch heels- and believe me, this momma does not wear 4 inch heels- not since around my 34th birthday anyway. I lost my tolerance for the self-inflicted pain caused by ridiculously high heels, so I had to kind of pat myself on the back for this one.
We arrived at the front gates of the White House and all I could think about was that scene in Dave when Kevin Kline drives up to that very same gate and convinces the guards to let him out. Here I was, at that very gates. What next? We were escorted after multiple security checks up to the White House. Now I’ve never been to the White House, never taken a tour and although I’ve always wanted to, I never got around to writing my Representative about that one. But this was much better, I had an actual invite, I was actually invited by the peeps at the White House- ok as a plus-one, but still.
Entering the White House for a party that it is throwing was a kind of dazzling, surreal moment for this American girl. Another “AHHHH” moment with the angels harking all over the place as I was handed a glass of champagne upon entering. I found myself sashaying down the perfectly decorated hallways in my lump-licious dress, bumping into the likes of Garth Brooks and Sam Waterston all the while with a ridiculously huge smile on my face. Mind you I was completely aware that I was striding down these said hallways with a giant smile on my face, but I couldn’t do anything about it. I don’t want to sound like a naive fresh-off-the-bus farm girl here, I’ve had my share of star-studded evenings and shared the stage with the likes of Hugh Jackman and Tony Bennett (dreamboats- both of them), but this was something entirely different.
Sitting in my little seat with my very own name imprinted on its little white card, I couldn’t believe I was surrounded by less than one hundred people waiting for the President and the First Lady to arrive. They fabulously strode into this little room and almost knocked me over, not literally but quite figuratively. There is a reason why people get elected to office beyond their politics, it’s that old charisma thing. It’s the same reason the Clooneys and the Pitts of the world are our mainstays- star wattage, people. Despite what you may think of them or their politics, the Obamas are stars.
Enter my very un-Presidential comment to the First Lady. Meeting Obama himself was fantastic, he is charming and genuine with a firm handshake and an authenticity that oozes from his sparkly white teeth. He thanked me for coming (uh- thanks for having me!). Meeting Mrs. Obama, I just blurted out, “You are too fabulous!”. She graciously replied, “Thank you” and also thanked me for coming. Seriously, I was kind of mortified and I still can’t believe I said that to her, not the most Presidentially-appropriate behavior to be sure, but honestly, she is- too fabulous. She dazzled in her jade green Marchesa off-the-should gown, she oozed grace and importance and honestly, she’s a modern day Goddess.
Embarrassing moment behind me (I had to have one), we continued to make the rounds and that’s when I found myself standing next the the D-O-double-G. Oh yeah, Snoop. He jokingly asked the Marine Corps band to play “Gin and Juice”- one of my favorite parts of the night. They didn’t comply, too bad- what a miss. I snapped a picture with the hip hop superstah and ta-dizzle-fo-shizzle, we were off to the Kennedy Center.
I arrived at my seat to find my darling hubby all dressed up in his tux complete with bow tie, which I’ve never actually seen him in- he was effortlessly tieless at our wedding. The drumroll began and the the curtain went up. Attending the Kennedy Center Honors is like attending one of the greatest mulit-artist concerts ever. You get opera, you get drama, you get dance, you get music, music, music. In a word, it’s awesome. It’s a proud-to-be-an-American kind of evening. The show airs on December 29th, and is one to watch. The standout of the night for me is the tribute to Billy Joel with a rousing and tear-jerking number by Garth Brooks and a beautiful turn by Rufus Wainwright, not to mention a great performance by Panic at the Disco’s Brendon Urie. Snoop absolutely kills in the Herbie Hancock tribute- don’t miss it.
We capped the night off with a dinner under the giant mod chandeliers in the main hallway of the Kennedy Center surrounded by some of America’s most inspiring artists and Washington’s finest. I had a blast yucking it up with the legendary Eddie Villella all evening and was once again dumbstruck to find myself shooting the sh*t with Billy Joel, who is one of the most down to earth, coolest cats around. After commending him for his career (with lack of anything else to stay, being completely startstruck) he replied, “Hey, I’m just doing what I love”. And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it.
Midnight struck and we were jolted back into our real lives remembering that we promised our sitter we would be home by 12:30. We dashed down the marble halls of the Kennedy Center like Cinderella running for her carriage, in this case our minivan, and raced home before the clock struck 12:30. We made it. No pumpkins here and the kiddos were all nestled snug in their beds. What a whirlwind, but how great to be back in our tiny home with our tiny bebes.
We had big plans to spend the holidays in NYC with family but at the last minute decided not to brave the early winter storm with toddlers in tow. Instead, we opted to stay home and host dinner for our family here in town. It’s been a while since I have hosted Thanksgiving dinner and was a real treat, even in our tiny 700 square-foot apartment. While dinner itself was imperfectly perfect, I learned a few things.
1. My bookshelf doubles as a fantastic little bar.
This may be a duh, but I had never thought of it before. I whipped out one of my favorite graphic tea towels, set up my vintage champagne bucket and we were in business.
2. Make sure the turkey thermometer is set to Fahrenheit. Again- duh, but we almost demolished our hopes of a super juicy turkey by reading the thermometer at Celsius (mine is an all too fancy digital model). We caught it in the nick of time- turkey save.
3. Homemade Poire William makes for a beautiful and impressive aperitif with a story to boot. The Poire Project was a huge success and the drink itself turned out pretty and pink. More later in the week.
4. Store-bought food on the table is a-ok.
I didn’t have the time or the energy to bake a homemade pie. My sister-in-law brought a pecan pie over from the local bakery and holy smokes was it good. Seriously the very best pecan pie I have ever tasted and I’m a tough crowd, being Texan by blood. All nuts and hardly any goo- way better than any pie I would have made.
5. Handwritten tasting notes are always a good idea. I was running short on time but really wanted to include my tasting notes on the table. In a last minute dash, I wrote up the cards, stamped them with some snazzy metallic ink and voilá- success. I think tasting notes are a fun way to engage guests about your wine picks and are a nice little keepsake from the day.
How was your Thanksgiving dinner? I’d love to hear your tips or lessons learned.
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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