Get An Ugly Girl To Marry You

"If  you want to be happy for the rest of your life.

Never make a pretty woman your wife."

Do you know this song by Jimmy Soul? It was a Big Hit in 1963. Of Course it was.

You can listen to it HERE

 

via PINTEREST

 

I come from a long line of SUPERB Housewives.

Some of them were actually very Pretty.

Generations of Spotlessly Clean Rooms,  Fabulous Homemade Dinners, Chubby Scrubbed Faces, Weed Free Gardens, Immaculate Table Manners. That is the Female Tradition in my Family. And I'm pretty certain that was the plan for me.

However, My Natural Inclination is More towards Bohemian Loft Apartments, Smoky Blues Bars and Stay-Up-Late/Cake-For-Breakfast Parenting.

So I've spent my life feeling Sad and Resentful when I'm keeping House

and Giddy but Guilty when I'm Out and About.

I'm not alone here. Am I????

Anyhoo...You are Not my Therapist. PINTEREST is my Therapist!

So here is My Take on that PIN up there.

 

black linen blouse ~ thrifted
cotton dirndl skirt ~ made by moi - Yes, there are pockets
orthopedic sandals ~ Ecco

 

I Have Cherries in My Bowl.

That sounds like a Blues Song.

 

Rainier Cherries. YUM! Thank you Pacific Northwest!

Close-up of my crummy sewing. I avoid button holes like I avoid parallel parking.

I wore this skirt to a party where a 9 year old girl asked me if I made it myself. I guess that pretty much sums up my feeble sewing skills...recognizable by Children!

Jonathan is my long-suffering husband.

 My Mother-in-Law gave me this charm from her bracelet. She had a charm for each of her six - yes - SIX Sons!

~~~~~~~

And now a brief tour of my soon to be painted kitchen.

 

toujours la francophile

 

My Heart is in Montana
My arteries may be clogged
 

 

Roses from the garden. Martha Stewart Living. I'm trying...

 

Still life tableau by the kitchen sink

 

Lucky Little Pig
I NEVER EVER eat Pigs. They are my Friends.

 

 

Some people inherit Money or Art or Jewelry or Property.

I inherited my Grandmother's Bakelite Handle Kitchen Utensils.

See what I mean?

 

"Say Man!! I saw your wife the other day! Yeah, and she's sure is Ugly-y-y-y!!!"

"Yeah, she's ugly, but she sure can Cook, Baby."

joining the fruit salad over at Mis Papelicos
retroactively joining 52-pick-me-up

Not One More

 

 

photo via Pinterest

 

It's a Sweet Place this little Blogging Community, isn't it?

It is so nice to have Kindred Spirits as we navigate our way through a Life that is Full of Silliness and Joy and Sadness and Beauty.

I have been trying to put together a fluffy little blog post.

I have been trying to comment on your brilliant posts.

But I cannot until I get this off my chest.

This happened: 

 Click HERE to read about the deadly rampage at the University of California Santa Barbara.

This is my daughter's college. She was not there that day.

It does not matter Where this happened. It happened. And it keeps on happening.

Our Hearts are Breaking.

Please watch this heart wrenching video of the father of one of the shooting victims by clicking HERE.

Obviously there as an issue of mental health that needs to be addressed.

But the sad wretched killer with a documented history of mental illness was allowed to LEGALLY purchase guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

Let's take a Deep Breath.

If you feel as frustrated and angry and sad and helpless as I do

Here are some resources for you:

Every Town for Gun Safety click HERE

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence click HERE

 

Hundreds hold hands to form a circle in the Pacific Ocean for a memorial honoring victims of the Isla Vista rampage.

 

You can read more about this memorial service HERE if you'd like. 

 

 

PEACE



 



Oh Those Boys



 

Don't you just love hanging around the nicer men's clothing stores?

I do. All that tweed and tortoise shell and restrained testosterone.

Tons and tons of choices of virtually the same thing all subtly and beautifully well-made.

Not a lot of glitz and flashy color. Decisions quickly made and paid for.

Oh Those Boys. They are such simple creatures.

 They can go on long voyages with just a few shirts, a pair of trousers, a pair of shoes and a toothbrush. I could probably do that, too, but it would not be pretty. I need an extra suitcase just for my underwear!

Classic men's styles have barely changed in the past 100 years.

That photo above was taken in the 1960's.

It looks like it was taken Today!

 

 

It's a photo from this little book.

Take Ivy was originally published in Japan in 1965 as a style guide to the American Preppy Style that was just becoming popular in that country.

 

 

 

 

All of these photos are from the book and they look completely contemporary, don't they?

With a few variations in collar length and tie width, my sartorially fabulous husband has worn pretty much the same style since I first met him in the 1980's!

I've included a picture of a Girl in a 1960's shift dress so that you can envision the era but now that I see that Shift...I Want It!!!!

But until I Find a Cute Retro Shift like that one....

I'd like to introduce you to my latest Fan.

 

 

Isn't he beautiful? All dark and woodsy. Looks like it belongs in a men's store. My husband spotted it while we were browsing in a consignment shop.

I have trained him well.

 

 

Nice simple controls. On/Off. High/Low. Just like the boys.

So today I am borrowing from the Boys.

Men's Size Large Shirt from Target
Men's watch - Timex
totally see-through linen dress - Eileen Fisher vintage
pewter leather skinny belt - J. Crew vintage
orthopedic sandals - Hush Puppies 

 

 

 

Oh Those Boys. I Just Love Boys.

They have the Best Shirts.

 

Linking up with Maricel and Selah for Thoughtful Third Thursday. 

 

 Also linking up with my Girl Patti at Visible Monday 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



How The Other Half Lives

 

Let's see. It's grey and rainy. We've stopped at a Dunkin' Donuts.

That can only mean one thing.

It is Springtime in the Northeastern Half of these United States. 

 

Forsythia Everywhere!

We left the Western half of the States to attend a family wedding in Connecticut.

It was lovely.

 I availed myself of the open bar and endless trays of hors d'oeuvres and generally carried on like someone who doesn't get out enough....because I DON'T. And because I like you, I will not subject you to those photos.

But this is a smattering of what we did see. 

 

We were in Edward Hopper territory.

A pit stop at a diner is required.

Sailboats on Long Island Sound. 

Now we're in Fitzgerald territory. 

The trees at Caramoor are just starting to blossom.

Ohhhhhhh!!! 

 

I can just imagine Jay Gatsby and Jordan Baker strolling down this hallway at

 the Westchester County Club.

We even got to escape into New York City to visit our old neighborhood.

Our apartment was the brown one.

Did you ever see the film "You've Got Mail"?

That was our neighborhood.

And when I lived there I looked EXACTLY like Meg Ryan. Yeah, that's right.

 

Tulips Everywhere!

We took in Facades, the Bill Cunningham exhibit at the New-York Historical Society.

I love Bill Cunningham soooooooo much.

The restored Jose Maria Sert murals at  Rockefeller Center are insanely wonderful.

Cocktails at the Algonquin Hotel where we celebrated OUR marriage 25 years ago.

Cheers!!!

A mural of the Algonquin Round Table by Natalie Ascencios hangs in the bar.

That's Dorothy Parker in the hat. I do love Dorothy Parker. Check out these Dorothy Parker quotes HERE and you'll understand why I'm such a fan.

And it was STILL raining as we sloshed our way to the airport.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Read Any Good Books Lately?

I have an enormous pile of books that I keep dusting off. I just can't seem to get around to reading them.

It's not that I don't read. I read all the time. I just can't get around to actual BOOKS.
Why is this so difficult?
Because I have a subscription to THE NEW YORKER!!!
I love The New Yorker. I read it from Maira Kalman Cover to Sempe Cover and Everything in between! And just when I finish one issue another one appears in my mail box! It's like an enormous literary schmorgasbord that never ends. And I don't want it to!
But since many of you may not read The New Yorker, you may not have heard of my friend whose cartoons appear in the magazine (well, she's not actually my friend in real life but she feels like a friend) ROZ CHAST.

 

Here's just a mini sampling of her work:

 

 

 

If you want to see more of her work. And you know you do. You can check out her website HERE.

Or you can go score The New Yorker.

Then you too can acquire a dusty unread pile of books just like me!

BTW, I am not paid by nor do I work for The New Yorker. Although if they'd like to offer me a job...

 

Uniq tencel plaid shirt ~ retail and worth every penny
leather belt ~ vintage
skirt ~ Land's End ~ makes me look like a teapot...it is on its way to Goodwill!
glasses ~ Warby Parker

 

This Post qualifies me to join up with The Marvelously Multi-Talented Maricel's

Thoughtful Third Thursday...also hosted by Sweet Selah.

And I believe I am vaguely channeling a bitter old 1940's librarian. So that qualifies me to join up with Anne for 52 pick-me-up 1940's.

Aaaaaannnddd...Patti's Magic Mirror.

See you there!

 

Note: all Roz Chast Cartoons via Pinterest



Want a Vegetable Garden? My Meet-Up With Anne

It must be Blogger Meet-Up Season.

You just read about Jean's Blogger Meet-Up Whirlwind in the Pacific Northwest, Right?

Well, as you know Anne M Bray of SpyGirl is circumnavigating the United States. You can read about it HERE.

So we planned a Blogger Meet-Up as she passed through the First Destination on her Trip.

As you suspected Anne is every bit as lovely and talented and interesting as you would imagine. But I probably should have warned her that meeting Me would be every bit as Chaotic as you would imagine.

I gave her wacky directions and had her turned around and confused right off the bat.

I then invited a hungry Anne to a restaurant that was no longer serving food.

I made sure she was loaded up with sugar then I babbled incoherently for quite some time while she listened politely.

Then I sent her on her way with an empty stomach at the Height of Rush Hour. 

Life with Connie.

Brave Brave Anne. It's a good thing she didn't meet me during cocktail hour or we would still be there!!

Anne is traveling with a Live Garden in her car. Really. She is.

She gifted me with this Mint which is awaiting a most likely chaotic entry into my herb garden.

Anne also designed this awesome Googie Toile mug. Isn't it beautiful? I just LOVE it! You can buy some of  her beautiful creations HERE. 

Anne, Honey, your journey can only get better. It was So Nice to Meet You.

I Owe You A Lunch.