Auf the Mark
About the designer chosen as this season’s Project Runway winner…pffft! I’m thinking maybe the judges, not the other finalists, are the ones who should be packing their bags.
Valuable lesson, treasured friend
Yesterday, my friend Posy and I spent a warm autumn afternoon at Laguna Beach. We first took a
short walk among the roses, and then we enjoyed a leisurely lunch at Las Brisas, an upscale, oceanside restaurant. From our seats by the window, we watched the waves roll in, the tourists stroll by, and the seals sunning themselves on a rock. But most of all, we reveled in each others’ company and took delight in each others’ stories.
While the rest of the world encourages fifteen-second sound bites and fast-food meals, Posy engages people — life — at a much slower cadence. Part of it’s due to the fact that, at 90 years old, her mobility’s somewhat hampered by age. But her slower pace also reflects her overall philosophy about life. Posy believes you should enjoy each moment, listen with your heart, and savor each experience…and she encourages me to do the same. She helps me trust that if I live fully in the present, the future will take care of itself.
All That Glitters
Today marks the online debut of my SisterDivas Magazine column,
What accessory more visibly demonstrates how we treat others — and ourselves — than our own hands? For this inaugural column, A Show of Hands, I suggest products and services to help transform overworked, neglected hands from ragged to regal. You’ll find a treasure-trove of advice and recommendations from beauty experts, dermatologists, and several of my Live Journal friends,* plus links to a wealth of related websites and blogs.
Try a handful or all of the tips I’ve included, then settle on the ones that fit your lifestyle and budget. But if you believe, as I do, that our inner beauty is reflected in the ways we interact with our world, perhaps you’ll agree that Tip #11 is the most valuable suggestion of all.
While you’re browsing SisterDivas magazine, be sure you find your way to The Write Path, a column by Amanda Hubbard (aka LiveJournal user Mandywriter).
*Acknowledgements (also included in the online article): Please put your hands together for these All That Glitters column advisors: Monique, Kristy, Kim, Sacha, Katherine, Sara, Mindy, Dan, Jennifer, Katherine, Laura, Brandie, aesthetician Muriel Michalewicz, manicurist Sonny Nguyen, dermatologist Jay Applebaum, MD, and several people who called themselves Anonymous.
A Moveable Feast
The last couple of weeks, I’ve been sitting with family and friends at various tables, feasting at the banquet of life.
First, I went to Mississippi, where I served on a college accreditation team. When we weren’t visiting campus facilities, conducting interviews, and writing reports, honey child, we ate. Ain’t nothin’ in the world like Southern hospitality, and yea, verily, we were served that in spades. Ladles-full of gravy and biscuits, grits and eggs, corn fritters and fried chicken, green beans swimming in butter, blackened salmon and sweet tea…all dished up for us like we were dignitaries. And how could we possibly say no? (Want a biscuit, darlin’? Here, try one — and grab a chicken leg while you’re at it. Can’t have you goin’ hungry…All y’all got important work to do, mmm hmmm!)
Then, I traveled on to New York for a family wedding – a lovely evening ceremony at a yacht club in Long Island. We marveled at an enormous harvest moon whose reflection shattered into jagged shards as it hit the ocean waves crashing against the dock. After the bride and groom said their vows, drinks flowed freely as we all noshed on decadent, abundant appetizers. Incredibly, we were also served a late-night dinner, for which I had not one tiny bit of room. Most importantly, we shared love around our table (1st picture). I’ll feast on those memories forever.
One of the yummiest experiences I had on the East Coast was the much more casual breakfast I shared with Pamela Ross (writerross) at Mundays Cafe in Huntington, New York. It’s a charming little diner — burgundy benches, old oak trim everywhere, and an abrupt but adorable New York waiter whom we cajoled into taking our picture (3rd one down). We were so caught up in conversation that we hardly noticed our food. What an amazing and affirming woman Pamela is: chock-full of wonderful experiences, stories, and wisdom! We wandered randomly from topic to topic, but on each, we found a connection; how apt, then, that she dubbed us “old/new friends.” It gave me shivers to discover how much we already have in common, and though I already savor our friendship, I know it’ll grow even more delightful over time.
I also got together with Robyn Schneider (robbiewriter) and “boyfriendly” Leo in a Dean & DeLuca coffee shop tucked inside the Columbia Circle Borders in Manhattan. How lovely, to sit and chat with a treasured friend, and how wonderful to see her so happy! I am especially glad that she’s enjoying the company of someone who obviously adds a new and special spice to her life – a man with whom she can share all her delicious successes. Mazel tov, my old and new friends (2nd photo)!
After a leisurely and lovely day in rural Connecticut, I took the train down to crazy-busy Manhattan to have lunch with Emily Saladino, my agent (5th photo). And the first day after my return home to Orange County, I put on my glass slippers and finery and headed to Newport Beach for a fashion show/luncheon extravaganza. I think I’ll save those stories for another post, though, as I’m hungry and ready for breakfast. Nothing fancy, mind you, just an energy bar and a pot of hazelnut/vanilla coffee brewed just the way I like it. Later, I’ll probably simmer a pot of chicken noodle soup on the stove, to help quash the cootie bugs that followed me home.
Though I loved each one of my adventures and adore my co-adventurers, I’m happy to be relaxing at home today with my husband and kitties, an afghan draped over my lap. After a long while away, there’s nothing more scrumptious than this.
Photos of Fall
No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one autumnal face.
~John Donne
If you’d like, enjoy with me the memories of a walk I took last week in rural Connecticut.
More about my Back East adventures — and yesterday’s soiree — in an upcoming post, after I’ve recuperated from jet lag and vanquished the cooties that followed me home.
There and Back Again
I’ve just returned from a long string of adventures, which I have not got time to write about just yet. I’m trying to pull myself together for a $500/ticket fashion show and luncheon I’m headed off to in just a few minutes. You can call me Cinderella, because a benefactor’s invited me to this ball.
Before I slip into my ballgown pantsuit and drive off in my carriage Camry, I’ll leave for you some pictures from my trips. Your task, should you choose to play, is to match the photo with the corresponding description. I’ll come back later to detail the experiences behind the images.
A. Fall foliage in Connecticut
B. Pamela (writerross) and me at her favorite bookstore, Book Revue, in Huntington (Long Island)
C. Robyn (Robbiewriter) and her “boyfriendly” (Leo) in Manhattan
D. My agent, Emily Saladino, and me at Writers House
E. Me and my sweet mother-in-law, Gabrielle
No, Not the Swimsuit Edition
So I’m sitting in the Dallas airport this afternoon, waiting for the second leg of my flight home from Mississippi. A twenty-something guy plops down in the chair opposite me, unwraps a burger, and slides a magazine out of a plastic bag. As he’s shoveling in the french fries and sucking on a soda, he’s flipping through the pages of the newest Sports Illustrated. Suddenly, he stops reading, looks up at me and back down at the magazine. Again. And again.
“That you?” he finally asks through a mouthful of fast food, pointing to a picture on the page.
“Sure is,” I answer. “That’s me, that’s my son, and that’s Governor Schwarzenegger in the background.”
Never in my life would I have imagined that scenario. Never mind the fact that the guy was eerily observant. What amazed me most is that I’m the girl you watched stumble and fumble through P.E. classes, and now I’m one of those women who turns down invitations to sporting events. And yet, there I am — including quotes and a photo — in a major sports magazine. Yep, life takes us down some interesting side roads and partners us with some unusual traveling companions.
(“Cracking Down: California makes college felons serve their time before getting playing time,” October 9th issue, page 24, if you’re interested.)
Sports Illustrated Article
Hi y’all. Just a quick post from Mississippi to let you know that the Sports Illustrated story for which I was interviewed will appear in the October 9 edition, in the SportsCard section, at around page 26. Depending on where you live, the issue will be available on news stands beginning this Wednesday, October 5th.
Now, since I’m visiting in a very rural area you might see the article before I do. If you do, please let me know what you think.