A New Gentleman

Quick Update

2012-01-22T18:37:00.000-05:00

1. I've been working, working, working. I'm starting a new job soon, and have to take a certification exam, so I've been outlining and studying at a pace unseen since the bar exam. My poor family doesn't know how to deal with me when I'm in exam mode. Exam mode involves a lot more coffee, a lot less sleep, and no time to think about anything else. My kind of studying is not for the weak.

2. Last weekend I saw The Iron Lady with a few friends in Asheville. Meryl Streep was predictably fantastic, but the movie was difficult - even uncomfortable- to watch. I've had family members with dementia and Alzheimer's disease, so the portrayal of Thatcher living with diminished capacity was hard to watch. I know it's part of life, and there is no shame in it, but it's still painful to think about and to see because I know what those illnesses do to people and their families. I suppose it's a credit to the filmmaking that the movie did make me uncomfortable for those reasons, but that thought didn't make it any easier to watch.

3. I'm coming along with the iPad. I've watched television shows, read a few books, updated the blog, and thanks to KG I've had my very first FaceTime conversation. (It was kind of strange, like a phone call, but with video. And I realized I'm going to have to be more careful about what I wear around the house if this is the way of the future. These phone calls weren't made for old t-shirts, sweatpants, and 2 day old stubble.)

4. Is anyone else obsessed with Downton Abbey? I know that I'm not alone, but still. It's so good. A friend of mine suggested that I watch it, so I watched the first episode online, and ordered the DVD box set for the first season. I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't realize that it was written by Julian Fellowes, who not only wrote Gosford Park (a fantastic movie that you should see), but also wrote two novels that I love, Snobs and Past Imperfect (read them). If you haven't tuned in, you are missing out.

5. Speaking of books, the other day I counted and found I had 17 books on my nightstand. Well, I've never been afraid of excess.

The Iron Lady

2012-01-12T12:46:00.000-05:00

When I was an undergraduate, my university welcomed Margaret Thatcher, then the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She was there to speak at the opening of a library and archive, and I was able to attend.

The opening of The Iron Lady film starring Meryl Streep has brought back some of the memories of that day.

Oddly, I can remember the color she was wearing. She was in that particular lavender shade that you see many women of her generation wear in the spring and summer. I remember because I was wearing a similar shade of shirt with a silver tie, and my roommate had said I looked like an Easter egg. When Margaret Thatcher stepped onto the stage my point was made: powerful people can come in shades of pastel.

I remember that she called President Reagan "Ronnie." It was refreshing to hear a President of the United States referred to with such intimacy, admiration, and warmth by someone who who understood the burdens of leadership. That she called him "Ronnie" while recalling a discussion about diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and her impressions of Gorbachev only added to the charm of the moment.

I remember her talking about capitalism, how free markets work not only to promote the creation of wealth, but also to promote individual liberty. She managed to hit on the importance of faith, knowledge and service - each part of the motto of the university - and how those things are nurtured by forms of government and economies that allow them to flourish. But she wasn't pedantic. She spoke eloquently and passionately, but with a common sense approach. She made a heck of a lot more sense than many of the politicians I've heard before or since.

Mostly, I remember the sense of anticipation in her presence. I've never seen an entire audience sit up a little straighter when someone took the stage. The feeling was that you were the only person that she was speaking to - which is ridiculous because the crowd was standing room only. She wasn't someone who lured you into paying attention. You knew instantly that her charm wasn't seductive, it was elemental. Her presence demanded your attention.

So, when I see Meryl on the screen this weekend, I'm sure I will see a wonderful performance, but I doubt it will have the electric thrill of seeing the real thing.

Decorations Down

2012-01-07T14:07:00.000-05:00

After the holidays are over, and the decorations are down, the house is kind of bare. There's the empty spot where the tree was, and everything seems muted until Easter.

But again this year I took some pictures of the Christmas tree to tide me over until it's time for egg dyeing.

Spring Awakening

2012-01-04T21:10:00.000-05:00

Now that winter has decided to rear its ugly head and give us a few cold days before spring comes back around, I'm spending my time thinking about all the great things that will come when we can finally emerge from underneath all of these heavy layers. Basically I'm thinking about sunglasses, deck drinks, and barbecues. Since it doesn't look like I'm going to be doing deck drinks anytime soon. I'll just have to settle for looking at pictures of sunglasses hoping for sunny days to come

Source: store.prada.com via Bobby on Pinterest

I have a big face so to avoid looking like a bug, I buy bigger frames. These look like the right size and I like the color.

Prada also has a darker tortoise shell pair that I like. Decisions, decisions.

But of course nothing beats the classic aviator. And these are a pair that I can see myself in from Randolph Engineering.

Source: randolphusastore.com via Bobby on Pinterest

I'm sure that I'll be making summer drinks soon. But it won't be the same until the real thing gets here. Until then I'll just keep dreaming of spring.

To the Tower With You

2012-01-03T17:57:00.000-05:00

With all of the wonderful events scheduled to take place in London in 2012 for the Jubilee and the Olympics, I decided it was time to revive the London guide I started posting back in 2010. And the first thing I want you to do is run off to some of the most interesting buildings to be seen in the city.

When you have the opportunity to see how the other half lives, you take it. London is not in short supply of opportunities to see how the wealthy and powerful have made their mark and lived their lives in magnificent splendor. Of course their are stand outs even among the best, so this but a short list of the places you can discover.

The Tower of London

The Tower doesn't immediately spring to mind when I mention the words luxury and opulence, we look at it and imagine it to be quite drafty and certainly uncomfortable what with all the hard rock walls and beheadings that took place there in the past. But historically it played an instrumental part in the establishment and preservation of the monarchy. Today it remains a symbol of English heritage.

The Tower of London - so called because of the prominence of the White Tower building within the complex - is one of my favorite places in the city. Located near the iconic Tower Bridge, featured prominently in Fergie's "London Bridge" (we've all danced to that song), the Tower has long been at the center of things. With plenty of room to torture and the ability to keep outsiders out and insiders in, it has also been home to numerous political prisoners generated by Britain's tumultuous past. As the home of the Coronation Regalia - the proper name of the Crown Jewels - the Tower continues to serve a place in the government of the realm.

Points of Interest

- The Ravens. The ravens housed on the Tower grounds are believed to be tied to the presence of the monarch on the throne.
- The Armories. Includes Renaissance weaponry and a suit of armor worn by Henry VIII. He must have thought well of himself (code for giant cod piece).
- Video of the Coronation. Playing on continual loop in a viewing room before you reach the Coronation Regalia inside the Jewel House. Watch a Queen get made.
- The Regalia. Note some damn fine stuff like gold punch bowls, salt stands, and jewel encrusted spoons.
- The Jewels
   - St. Edward's Crown
   - the Imperial State Crown
   - Queen Victoria's Coronet
   - Diamonds
   - Cullinan I - in the scepter. (You're not going to miss it.)
   - Cullinan II
   - the Koh-i-noor

There is a really good jacket potato stand near the Tower so you can include it before lunch and catch a quick and delicious bite to eat before resuming your activities.

Also, you may sign up ahead of time to participate in the Ceremony of the Keys - the ceremonial closing of the Tower. You must request tickets in advance, so check out the link above for information before planning your trip.

To Get There: Tower Hill Underground Station and follow the signs.

Buckingham Palace

One of the most famous and recognizable home in the world, Buckingham Palace is the primary home of the sovereign and the location of the administrative offices for the royal household. Built originally for the Dukes of Buckingham, the house was bought by George III in 1762 and expanded by him and his successor, George IV. Visitors to the palace are treated to a portion of a private art collection surpassed only by the Vatican. As you walk through the State Rooms, you cannot help but feel overwhelmed by the beauty of the spaces, but the most interesting thing to ponder is that people actually live among these spaces. And while I'm sure the Queen doesn't eat Cheetos in the White Drawing Room, touring Buckingham Palace gives visitors a unique view into the rarified world of Queen Elizabeth II. The Gardens, which are included in the ticket price, are - naturally - the largest private gardens in London.

Times and Dates: Admission doesn't begin until late in July and lasts only a few weeks, so be aware that this may not be available to you. Tickets are sold for admission from 9.45 until 3.45. I would suggest getting there early to buy a ticket for admission at a time after the Changing of the Guard.

To Get There: Green Park Underground Station. Walk through the park to the ticket stand.

The Ritz is nearby if you wish to conclude your afternoon with tea.

Kensington Palace

A royal residence since 1689, Kensington Palace was the London residence of monarchs prior to the acquisition of Buckingham House. Through many additions and renovations it has remained a residence for those royals that do not live at Buckingham Palace or St. James' Palace (which is not accessible to the public). Queen Victoria was born here, it was the London base for Princess Diana, and Will and Kate will have their London apartment here by mid 2012.

Closed to the public until the end of March 2012 for major renovations, the palace usually has an interesting special exhibit on display, and it is part of the Kensington Gardens complex which sits at the west end of Hyde Park.

The area around Kensington is a great place to get a meal as there are many fantastic restaurants in the area, and it is very convenient to the V&A.

To Get There: Queensbury Underground Station (5 minutes walking time); High Street Kensington (10 minutes walking time)

Each of these residences captures a different piece of Britain's history and culture.

Also check out the website for Historic Royal Palaces, not only is it a wealth of information about each of the properties featured, you may also purchase tickets online so you can plan your trip well in advance. I also highly recommend visiting Hampton Court Palace. It is a short distance outside of London - about a 45 minute train ride as I recall - but it's a trip to make for the day, leaving plenty of time to explore and returning in the afternoon.

Have fun touring!

2012 Resolutions

2011-12-31T11:55:00.000-05:00

Resolutions

As we head into 2012 - the year of the Mayan Apocalypse - I feel that it is (still) important to set down my resolutions so they are recorded for posterity (or whatever civilization should rise to take our place following our demise). I don't pretend that I'll achieve most, or even any of these, but it is important to try. So here is what I want to try to do this year, you know, before we're all, you know.

1. Get back on the diet. It's been a year of ups and downs, but mostly ups.

2. Travel more. There are so many places to see, people to visit, and things to do.

3. Get passport renewed. This is the year, and It is a really awful picture to make one's entrance into a nation with.

4. Purchase a pair of large square brown sunglasses.

5. Read Macbeth. (I know this is shocking, but no class that I ever took required it, and so I just never got around to seeing or reading it.)

6. Keep in touch more. A Facebook like is not the same as a conversation.

7. Pay more attention to news from around the world. I used to read several newspapers from around the world. Now I struggle to keep up with what's going on here in the US. I can do better.

8. Buy from more local shops, small purveyors, and heritage makers.

9. Take a class in something that interests me. Art, literature, scuba diving - the possibilities are endless.

10. Have the orange chair reupholstered.

11. Get rid of the excess. I may have cleaned out my messy drawer, but somehow it got messy again, and I can't even discuss the top of my closet.

12. Learn how to make Alfredo sauce. I learned how to make a marsala sauce a couple of years ago. I'm not sure why I don't know how to do this.

13. Have a yard sale. This may run concurrently with number 11.

14. Enjoy the ride.

15. Teach the dog to let go of the frisbee. (Hope springs eternal.)

I would also add this

16. Prove those Mayans wrong.

2011 Resolution Check Up

2011-12-28T20:36:00.002-05:00

1. Buy some curtains. - Done and done. And I got them at a significant discount off retail too.

2. Don't overdo things quite so much. - Who was I kidding?

3. Continue the diet. - Miserable failure. But I don't hate exercise nearly as much as I did.

4. Stop checking facebook so frequently. It's not a lifeline, and no substitute for real live people. So stop treating it like it is. - Failure.

5. Buy a new pair of drivers. - I haven't. The old ones are still too comfortable.

6. Continue developing a functionally classic wardrobe. Some things have got to go. - Some things came, others went, but all in all I think it has improved.

7. Throw and attend more parties. I've lived like a hermit long enough. People are fantastic. In fact, most of my best friends are people. - There is something to be said for solitude when you want it.

8. Be more encouraging. Criticism comes easy. Picking people up when they're down is the hard part. - I was ambitious. Perhaps I should have aimed for trying to be more encouraging.

9. Learn something new and useful. This year it was painting. Perhaps I should reupholster my $5 auction chair? - I learned how to use the grind function on the new coffee maker, which I believe counts.

10. Get rid of the excess. I'm not allowed to take a U-Haul with me when I blow this joint. - Some came, some went, but I think more came than went.

11. Build or have bookshelves built. (Perhaps this could be my learning project.) I've ran out of space and my books are very unhappy in the top of my closet, basement, shed, and storage unit. - This didn't happen, but my books are out of the storage unit!

12. Finally read all of A Tale of Two Cities. I've faked having finished it long enough, and I'm not in high school anymore. Now that Oprah has put it on her book list, I refuse to be behind a million more people. (Part of me thinks that reading David Copperfield was enough and I should just leave well enough alone.) - Done!

13. Travel. There's a lot of the world left to see. (Must know how to say, "May I speak with an attorney?" in the local language.) - I did get to travel to a couple of places this year and see people that I love. More to come this next year.

14. Teach the dog how to let go of the frisbee. This will finally be the year. - Didn't happen.

15. Enjoy the ride. - Success!

Favorite Things - New Years Edition

2011-12-26T23:19:00.001-05:00

Champagne.

Favorite Things - Christmas Edition

2011-12-26T11:01:00.001-05:00

This time of year can be hard for many people for many reasons. We think about those who won't be home for Christmas. We try to find parking spaces at malls where tent cities have sprung up. We may be lonely; which is hard at a time that emphasizes family and friends.

But this time of year can be wonderful because it asks people to step outside of themselves, to think about something bigger, better, more important. And they do.

At this time of year the Christmas spirit and knowing the story behind it is what I most enjoy. Other than that though, these are a few of my favorite things.

1. Sausage balls. I'm not gonna lie. Pork and cheese make a killer combo.

2. Creches. (I'm not sure that's how to spell it because in the South we tend to call them 'Nativity Scenes' or 'Nativities'.) I love seeing how different they all are and how people display them.

3. Christmas trees. I love the scent of a real tree, the decorations and the lights.

4. Fudge. Every year my mother makes chocolate and peanut butter candy.

5. Dressing up. Whether it's a tacky Christmas sweater party or a swank Christmas fest, it's always fun to see people put on their finest.

6. The music. O Holy Night, Carol of the Bells, Sleigh Ride, I'll Be Home for Christmas, Silent Night, and many more songs are essential listening to make the season merry and bright.

7. The movies. Love Actually, The Lion in Winter, Christmas Vacation, It's a Wonderful Life, and The Ref are required viewing this time of year.

8. Performances. Whether it's The Nutcracker, A Christmas Carol, or a children's Christmas play, this is a great time of year for a show.

9. The drinks. Apple cider and eggnog. And Lemongrass Tupelo Teas when out with friends.

10. Reading Luke Chapter 2 with my family.

User Error

2011-12-26T10:45:00.000-05:00

I'm learning how to blog on the iPad. We'll see how this works. More updates?

Youcef Nadarkhani

2011-09-28T23:13:00.001-04:00

My thoughts and prayers go out to Youcef Nadarkhani, his family, and the Iranian Christian community.

If you aren't aware of his story then please search using his name for a fuller portrait than I coul give.

Pastor Nadarkhani was arrested, prosecuted, and faces execution for the charge of apostasy. As this charge applies to him, it involves his personal committment to Christianity, and his role in sharing the faith with others.

While Iran has not executed anyone for apostasy since 1990 according to Amnesty International, the situation is fluid and the Iranian regime remains unpredictable. Absent international outcry, Nadarkhani could face an execution that violates not only international laws, but also the laws of Iran itself.

Please share this information with others and keep this man, his family, and the Iranian Christian community in your thoughts and prayers.

On twitter be sure to use the hashtag #freeyoucef to make your voice heard.

High Cotton

2011-09-21T20:39:00.000-04:00

When I have a great customer service experience, I feel honor bound to share it. Somehow honor doesn't come into the equation when I have a poor customer service experience, but those manage to get shared all the same. Recently I was lucky to have one on the far positive side of the scale so I'm reporting it here.

Over Labor Day weekend I was able to attend the wedding of a friend in Montana. I'd never been and was very excited not only to get to see one of my favorite people, but also to visit somewhere new. Seeing the nuptials of my friend, a delightful young lady known for her legal acumen and her love of pink, required some thought in how to dress, but I had something perfect in mind. I was going to wear pink seersucker pants and a bow tie with a blue blazer. The bow tie proved most problematic because I had no time to shop and nothing that matched the pink pants.

I was excited when I found High Cotton Ties online. Looking through the online store, I then narrowed it down to two ties, but when I went online one was no longer featured online, so I ordered the other. My main concern was that it needed to go with the pink pants. Also, I didn't want anything predominantly pink unless it matched my pants very closely.

I was disappointed when I got an email within 10 minutes after my purchase telling me that my order was out of stock. But I noticed that it wasn't one of those awful automatic response emails that you get from some online retailers, and instead asked me to respond if they could help me in any way. I explained to the very nice customer representative that I needed something that matched seersucker, but that wasn't predominantly pink in case the pinks clashed, and that it must arrive before I left for Montana. I realize now how incredibly obsessive this sounds, but the customer rep was super helpful and actually suggested the other print that I had been unable to find online. All of the responses by High Cotton were immediate, professional, and personable. I could not have asked for more. Except I got it.

A couple of days later I opened the Fed Ex package and got this.

Don't you just love getting a gift box for yourself?

And on the inside was this lovely Mint Julep tie.

I didn't have a Mint Julep at the wedding, but I did raise a glass of bourbon to High Cotton Ties for such a wonderful experience. Check them out.

Bow Tied

2011-08-10T16:25:00.000-04:00

Seersucker is one of my favorite fabrics. But I've never had a bow tie made out of it.

This weekend I cut up a pair of really old seersucker pants. Then I found a few patterns for bow ties on the internet. With any luck I'll soon have a brand new bow tie. At the very least I'm going to have a few pocket squares.

Or maybe not. Perhaps I should try to con someone who's actually operated a sewing machine before into helping me.

Ten Things Every Gentleman Should Know

2011-08-03T22:05:00.002-04:00

Certain knowledge is essential for survival. Don't dry your hair in the bath. Don't feed the bears. Other knowledge makes life easier, more pleasant, more beautiful. These ten things are by no means comprehensive, and I will add to them with time. For now, this is a basic foundation for a life of pleasant and beautiful things because every gentleman should know:

1. The importance of listening.

2. That Thank You notes are important.

3. You don't always have to "Fix it." Sometimes people just want to talk about what's frustrating them.

4. How to tie a bow tie.

5. How to change a tire.

6. The 4 Cs of gemstone purchases.

7. How to cook at least one thing really well, and if not, then how to wash dishes superbly.

8. Every gentleman should know a good attorney, a good accountant, and a good bartender. (Which should probably count for three, right?)

9. How to write a letter. Our grandparents understood that romance and anger are best expressed without emoticons.

10. You do not have to dislike someone simply because they dislike you.

Hopefully these are things you already know, but maybe I'll surprise you as I add to the list. But for now, I'm pretty sure none of them will involve close encounters with voracious wildlife or rogue hair drying.

Always, Harry

2011-07-15T05:15:00.000-04:00

I'm a huge Harry Potter fan. I've read the books, watched the movies, and wrote about them for my university honors thesis. Naturally, I saw the final film on opening night. The following is a small collection of my thoughts and impressions.

1. Goodness, are those real owls in the theater?

2. My feet really hurt. I think I'll sit down now.

3. If you cut in front of me in line, I will be tempted to *Sectumsempra* you.

4. Ooo. These 3D glasses are *fun*.

5. Mmm. Chocolate covered raisins.

6. It's starting. *Yay!* Oh, Dobby's Grave. *Sadface*

7. Gringotts Goblins could totally work at my local bank branch. Same attitude, less gold.

8. Why a cup for Hufflepuff and a locket for Slytherin? Hufflepuffs don't strike me as big drinkers, and Slytherins don't seem all that sentimental. Hmm. Anyone?

9. It's like a tiara. Thank you, Cho. Do they not have a thesaurus in the Hogwarts Library?

10. Minerva McGonagall is a total bad ass.

11. What? Ron is a parselmouth?! Wait. Nevermind.

12. You kill them off page and off stage, and they don't even get to hold hands?! I should have expected this from bird killers. (RIP Hedwig)

13. Ron Weasley, you cannot break down again. I depend on you for comic relief. If you cry, I cry.

14. Snape, Snape, Severus Snape. Dumbledore!

15. Harry isn't dead. I know he isn't dead because I've read the book. Harry isn't dead. Harry isn't dead.

16. Don't go, Draco! Don't go! Oooh. Most awkward hug ever.

17. My mother looks like Molly Weasley even when she's not busy killing Bellatrix Lestrange.

18. Neville Longbottom is also a badass. And in a cardigan no less.

19. Somebody get that man a magical vacuum cleaner! Or at least one of those brooms from Fantasia.

20. Is that a Burberry trench on Hermione Granger? Somebody's doing well for themselves as a magical lawyer.

I know that even though there will be no new books and no new films that Harry, Ron and Hermione will always be there waiting to be rediscovered and remembered. Always.

Ready for Fall?

2011-07-01T11:46:00.001-04:00

I love summer. Being outdoors, all of the great summer activities, and of course the food all make for a great time of year, but seeing things like this look from Tommy Hilfiger eases the pain of leaving summer behind, and makes me look forward to Autumn.

The Problem With American Education

2011-06-09T23:00:00.000-04:00

is not the teachers. It's the bureaucrats.

I had dinner this evening with two wonderful teachers. Both are committed to their profession, interested in seeing their students learn, and engaged in developing better techniques for classroom instruction. Dinner was at a thoroughly enjoyable place in Asheville with a great vibe and a live performer. We were there socially; just to chat, catch up, and have a good meal. The point: this shouldn't have been the setting for my aforementioned revelation.

While discussing classic movies, I mentioned that Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is one of my favorite movies. One of my friends had proposed to use the film in her classroom to engage students in a discussion of American government, history, and politics. She thought that the dramatic yet charming storyline of Capra's film would engage students in a way that a dry textbook cannot, and would help demonstrate the following issues: 1. how a bill is written, presented, and passed, 2. the procedural rules and elements of the Congress of the United States, 3. political machines and lobbying, 4. what happens when a member of the legislative branch dies, 5. a filibuster, 6. the role of the media in making and breaking political figures, 7. ethics investigation, censure, and removal from the Senate, 8. the roles of senior vs. junior Senators ... these are just the ones we listed over the bread basket. Thinking that this movie obviously suited the subject she teaches, my friend assumed that her school administration would have no problem with her using this film in the classroom to support required reading and discussion. The administration's response was no, because this film wasn't relevant to the area of instruction.

Not relevant. I wonder if they'd actually seen the film at all. It's hard to think of a film that strives more to capture the spirit of American government, history, and politics than Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. But somehow this school's administration felt that it wasn't relevant to any of those topics. So my friend didn't use this film to teach any of those topics. I'm sure she found a way to engage her students without the use of the film. But she wasn't allowed to use something that could have been a very powerful and memorable tool because of bureaucratic interference.

So I say support teachers. I will always stand by those gifted individual instructors doing what they can to improve the classrooms of America. But I'm not sold on the bureaucrats.

This Memorial Day

2011-05-30T19:37:00.001-04:00

I would like to say a special thank you to those who have served or are currently serving in the United States Armed Forces. These brave men and women who courageously lift the banner and have sacrificed their lives for my homeland deserve my deepest gratitude. I applaud you and your families for the brave and honorable way that you have served and continue to serve our nation.

I would also like to say, "Thank you, God," for banana pudding as it is the perfect Memorial Day cookout dessert. Yum.

Thank You Sperry

2011-05-29T09:04:00.000-04:00

For patriotic footwear.

BH Blackberry Cooler

2011-05-25T11:15:00.001-04:00

It's supposed to be in the high 80s and 90s for the next couple of weeks. I'm going to be cooling down with one of these.

Blog by Numbers

2011-05-16T18:45:00.001-04:00

I haven't updated in ages. And you know what that means? A post by numbers!

1. Got a new (to me) car. After the untimely death of Lauren the Acura (go ahead and make fun but she WAS a Lauren), I had to get a new car. I have never been much on driving, and the task of looking through data on new and previously owned cars has been daunting. (Spreadsheets were involved.) But I finally decided on a previously owned BMW 5 Series (because I realize that I cannot tolerate depreciation) that I think was an incredibly good value. And her name is Suzanne! Go ahead and make fun. I understand.

2. I went down to the coast of NC with my family back in March. (Can you believe it's already May?!) It was so nice to get away for a few days with my family and some dear friends, and just enjoy being away from all of the demands of home. It was much colder than anticipated, and my brother got some v. candid photos of me in a hideous cammo jacket. I was cold. I did what I had to do to survive.

3. In mid-April I was able to go to Myrtle Beach with Mom and Clay. Mother had a conference that she was attending, so I offered to escort her to SC. *I'm such a giver.* While I was there I was able to catch up with some great friends from law school, A and J, and their latest addition, baby C. C was awesome! So exciting to see all the wonderful things that are going on for A and J and their family!

4. I'm so excited about an upcoming travel adventure that will involve seeing a lot of my friends from law school. In early September I will be traveling to Montana for the nuptials of M and her fiance J. I'm sure that Montana will be an adventure especially with some of the people who will be attending!

5. I finally read A Tale of Two Cities. It was quite good, and I now understand why all of those high school teachers wanted me to read it. The Cliff Notes did not do it justice. You have been vindicated Mr. Dickens.

6. I finally finished my bedroom redecoration. I've got some artwork left to hang, but almost everything is in place.

7. Had dinner a couple of weekends ago with C, a friend from law school, and her boyfriend M, in Asheville. It was so nice seeing them both and getting to catch up with C, who I don't see often enough. We started the evening off at Mela, which was quite good. I had never eaten there before, but I had high expectations because several friends of mine love it, and when we walked in it smelled fantastic. Luckily, Mela lived up to the hype. From there, we went on to the French Broad Chocolate Lounge, and chilled out with some chocolate treats. Yum.

8. The desktop computer is finally finished. Well not entirely, but it's so far onto its last legs that I've started looking for a new one. This should be fun as I am neither technologically savvy nor particularly patient with electronics glitches. Yipee!

9. So my birthday was this month. In all honesty, I really rather hate birthdays, and not because they mean I'm getting older. It's because they usually suck. My birthday is usually the worst day of my year. If my car is going to mess up, or I'm going to get robbed, break a bone, be stuck doing a thankless, dirty, and unpleasant task, or humiliate myself in front of large numbers of people, then it will happen on my birthday. This year it was thankless task after thankless task. If it weren't for the generous Facebook birthday wishes, texts, tweets, and phone calls from friends, I would have ran away, FAR away. But enough of that because ...

10. My brother graduated from Warren Wilson College! I'm so very proud of him and everything he has achieved. Congratulations Clay!!!!

All in all it's been a very busy couple of months, and the next few months show no signs of slowing down. But I promise that I'm going to try my best to update more frequently.

What's in a Dame?

2011-03-31T21:27:00.000-04:00

Elizabeth Taylor is one of my favorite actresses. I've watched many of her movies countless times. I love the coffee table book "Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry" and look through it sometimes when I'm in a particularly bad mood. She was a connection to an old Hollywood that I grew up loving.

Incredibly beautiful, she would have been famous if she'd done nothing more than smile and open wide those violet eyes. But she was far more than a pretty face. Beginning her career as a child star, Ms. Taylor moved into adult roles with the greatest of ease, seemingly skipping over any adolescent or post-adolescent awkwardness as she transformed from captivating child to screen siren. She commanded salaries higher than any other actress of her age, blazed a trail away from the studio system, and became the first tabloid queen as her personal life was splashed across the pages of newspapers and magazines around the world.

She starred in the classic movies Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Butterfield 8, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and amassed one of the most important private jewelry collections in the world, but Elizabeth Taylor never seemed an inaccessible Hollywood royal. She always seemed so down to earth, so human.

A humanitarian of the first order, Ms. Taylor used her fame to draw attention to causes she supported most notably the AIDs charity amfAR, which she was involved with from its inception. Not content to be an idle celebrity, she raised hundreds of millions of dollars for AIDs research, and we owe a debt of gratitude to her for her tireless work in this field. It is believed that much of her estate will continue to contribute to her work in this area.

But for all of the eulogies and brilliant summations of Elizabeth Taylor's life that have come forth since her death last week I think Richard Burton said it best: "She was unquestionably gorgeous. I can think of no other word to describe a combination of plentitude, frugality, abundance, tightness. She was lavish. She was a dark unyielding largesse. She was in short, too bloody much." (Meeting Mrs. Jenkins, 1966)

Too right, Mr. Burton.

Gentlemen May Prefer Blondes

2011-02-28T21:25:00.000-05:00

But I've always had a thing for brunettes.

Along with Rear Window and To Catch a Thief, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is one of my favorite movies from the 1950s. Marilyn Monroe was perfection as the platinum gold digger, and she created the performance of a lifetime when she belted out Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend.

But the movie works because Monroe's ostentatious idiosyncrasies are grounded by the sly eye rolls and dead pan deliveries made by Jane Russell playing the passion hungry best friend who could care less about money, let alone diamonds. Ms. Monroe's character drives the pair to reach for the stars. Ms. Russell's character keeps the pair out of jail.

Today, I read that Jane Russell died, so I've been thinking about that movie. If you've never seen it take a look, because it's well worth it.

Just remember: Stiff back or stiff knees, you'll stand straight at Tiffany's!

Kiss My Hands Free Bag

2011-02-11T21:14:00.000-05:00

The fanny pack is never coming back. And even if it does, as God as my witness - there will never be one on my body. Imagine my surprise when I read an article saying that the fanny pack - or bum bag if you prefer (and why wouldn't you?) - is making a comeback at recent fashion weeks. Newsflash Fashion People: it was over 25 years ago. 30 really. But who's counting? A $4k price tag doesn't transform something heinous and unflattering into something luxurious and fashionable; it just means that a designer thinks there are people stupid and tasteless with enough cash to pay that amount. I call foul.

Be It Resolved

2011-02-08T20:17:00.001-05:00

By now most of us have given up on @ least one of our resolutions, and I am no exception. In fact I usually pad my resolution list so I can accomplish a few of the easy ones without feeling too bad if some go by the wayside.

So here is a reminder of my resolutions with an update as to how I'm doing with them.

1. Buy Curtains.

Well I've bought curtains. But now I'm looking for the perfect bamboo shades. Almost there.

2. Don't over do things so much.

Well I haven't overdone much lately. Except overreact. Which doesn't count, right?

3. Keep going on the diet.

The diet is coming along nicely. But I would probably snatch a Cadbury Milk Choclate bar out of your hands.

4. Limit facebook time.

Failed miserably.

5. Buy new drivers.

Not yet, because the old ones are SO comfortable.

6. Continue buying functionally classic clothing.

I don't know if they're classic or functional, but pink seersucker pants sure are fun!

7. Be more social.

I have been getting out more. My hermit status is hereby over.

8. Be more encouraging.

I have hope for this one. Of course a snarky comment or two might have inadvertently slipped out.

9. Learn something new and useful.

I did learn how to use the new coffee machine. Not incredibly exciting but vital to the running of the household.

10. Get rid of the excess.

Not much. But I give myself credit for cleaning out my messy drawer.

11. Build or have shelves built.

Who was I kidding? I've already planned the trip to IKEA.

12. Read A Tale of Two Cities.

I've started it! And what's more, I read Oliver Twist and David Copperfield before I started. It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.

13. Travel.

I'm planning several trips for 2011, and can't wait to share the details of my journeys.

14. Teach the dog to let go of the frisbee.

Never. Gonna. Happen.

15. Enjoy the ride.

Check.

Chow Town - Asheville Eating

2011-01-29T00:29:00.001-05:00

It's not surprising that a town with an unofficial slogan like "Keep Asheville Weird" should have a variety of restaurants catering to a variety of tastes. Vegans and vegetarians should have no problem finding sustenance when they visit as there are several restaurants (Laughing Seed Cafe) that maintain entirely vegetable based menus, and almost all AVL (Asheville) restaurants have vegetarian or vegan specialties.

These are the restaurants that I love, and being a (recovering) fat boy, I can say - I know where the good stuff is. So in no particular order here's where to eat:

Downtown

A mix of fine dining and casual eateries, downtown is a must see for any gourmand visiting AVL.

The Lobster Trap (Seafood)

The Lobster Trap does lobster rolls, lobster macaroni and cheese, and if you want seafood this is the place to go in WNC. On the weekends they do live music from 7-9. It can be a bit loud depending on who's playing though, so if you want a very conversational dinner, it might be best avoided during those hours. Try the Lobster Newberg and a local ale. Yum.

Tupelo Honey Cafe (Southern)

Almost everyone in AVL recommends this place. It's usually the first restaurant locals suggest, and with good reason - they are one of the best in town. Tupelo does an excellent pan perdu at breakfast that goes down great with one of their generously sized mimosas. It can be a bit of a wait at the downtown location (because they don't take reservations there), but I will say that the downtown location is worth the wait, and if Woolworth Walk is open, spend the majority of your wait shopping for or taking in the creations of many talented artists. Also, Tupelo Honey has opened up a new location on Hendersonville Road away from downtown that does take reservations and is convenient to south AVL.

Bouchon (French)

This is a great little French bistro. And they have the best sandwich in AVL. The croque monsieur with pomme frittes may be just a different way of saying ham and cheese with french fries, but this is one specially fabulous sandwich. It's not fine dining, but the ambiance makes it stand out a mile, and if you're visiting in the summer make sure to request outdoor seating because it's marvelous here. Bon Appetit! (I couldn't resist.)

Table (Seasonal Fine Dining)

One the best places in AVL to eat, you can also get a good drink in the restaurant or nearby. It's a small restaurant, so I would advise making reservations if you want to eat there, but I have been able to pop in on occasion. This restaurant also has some of the best customer service in AVL. Because it's not a large restaurant servers aren't rushed with 200 other people, but even though it's an intimate space the servers don't hover. As it's conveniently located to the Rankin Vault Cocktail Lounge it makes for a good evening of dinner and drinks. (Also you cannot beat this one as far as ease for downtown parking. It's right next to the Rankin Ave parking deck.)

Zambra (Tapas)

This is a great place to pop into to get something to nibble on while drinking a glass of wine. A Rioja here is a must have.

Limones (Mexican/Californian)

Papas & Beer is good - ask anyone in AVL about Mexican food and that's probably the first place they'll mention - but it's not very different from any other Mexican restaurant that you've ever been to. Limones is special. This isn't your typical Mexican restaurant staples, but the flavors and styles of cooking that we associate with Mexican cuisine are there. It's definitely worth a bite.

Fiore's Ristorante (Italian)

It's the best Italian in downtown, and is also very reasonably priced for the quality.

Early Girl Eatery (Lunch/Brunch)

This is one of my favorite places to get brunch or have lunch. I always grab lunch here when I take lunch off to get my haircut. They source much of their menu items locally, and share all of the information about where everything you're eating comes from so you can find out more about it. And ... they serve the BEST bacon I've EVER eaten. It's AMAZING bacon.

Posana Cafe (Casual Gourmet)

Have you ever been to a restaurant where the food was good, but the service was too stuffy and pretentious to allow you to enjoy the meal? Thankfully that is not the case with Posana, which is another gem in AVL. Serving breakfast, lunch, or dinner impeccably is easy. To serve all three with the same high standards of quality in preparation is much more difficult. But Posana pulls it off with a panache all it's own. Also check out the calendar on the website for more information about special events.

Sazerac (Drinks)

Creole inspired food is on the menu, and the people that I know that have eaten here have enjoyed the food, but I've never eaten when I've been here. Because Sazerac is a great place to get a drink. They have a fun list of old fashioned cocktails that includes Mint Juleps and Gin Fizzes and some great house drinks that are delish. In the summer sit in the rooftop seating with your cocktail in hand and enjoy.

French Broad Chocolate Lounge (Chocolate Bar)

Has there ever been a more divine combination of words than chocolate and bar? This place is one of the reasons I love AVL. They have live performances many nights of the week, they have lots of great wines, and they have CHOCOLATE. Chocolate truffles, chocolate cake, chocolate drinks. If Willy Wonka had been a barkeeper, this is what it would have been like.

Battery Park Book Exchange and Champagne Bar (Champagne and Books!)

This is a book store that serves wine and snacks. It's a really cool place that's more like being in someone's living room than in a bar. This one is fabulous to pop into if you've been shopping downtown and are near the Grove Arcade.

Biltmore Village

An enclave just outside the gates of the Biltmore Estate, Biltmore Village is a great place to slow down and take your time while shopping and eating.

The Corner Kitchen (Seasonal Fine Dining)

They have superb service and this is one of the best restaurants in AVL. (I'm always saying that, aren't I? Well as someone once said, those who demand the best in life very often get it.) I like to go midweek because they do a half-price deal on their bottles of wine over $30. On the weekend especially for dinner I would advise a reservation. It's got quite a regional and national reputation thanks to a menu that sources from local purveyors, and pairs quality ingredients with skillful preperation. It's Good. Also this was one of the restaurants that President Obama and Mrs. Obama ate at during their visit. Try the corn and crab chowder, you won't be disappointed. (Another one being 12 Bones which is awesome, but their operating hours can be a little difficult for some to manage. Put it on the list and visit when you can.)

Rezaz (Mediterranean)

The food is always good here, and it's a local favorite. It doesn't have a lot of the buzz that some of the newer restaurants have, but the waitstaff here are knowledgeable, and the food never disappoints. I would certainly make a reservation for weekend dinners because you simply aren't going to get a table on Friday or Saturday evening without one. This one fills up with locals and out-of-towners who have discovered it.

Fig Bistro (Seasonal Fine Dining)

This is probably the restaurant that's getting the best reviews in Asheville right now. I've only eaten here once, but it was a great evening. Everyone I know that has eaten here has raved and raved about it both for food and service. It's been a while, but I remember that this was one where I had a very difficult time choosing what to eat. I would suggest looking at the menu online and deciding ahead of time. If you want to go - especially if you're making a weekend trip - make your reservations in advance because tables do fill up quickly. Delish.

If you've eaten somewhere in AVL that you loved, and it's not on the list feel free to share. I've probably eaten there, and most likely enjoyed it. Happy Eating!

Asheville, NC

2011-01-28T23:17:00.000-05:00

Fodor's recently named Asheville, NC one of the 21 places they're heading to in 2011. As a WNC native, Asheville has been right in my back yard for as long as I've been alive, and I love the profile that this city has developed, the new additions that it attracts, and the local culture.

But what should you do when you visit? Where should you eat? Where should you shop? Where should you eat? (The eating is *important*.)

In a few posts I'll share my thoughts about AVL (that's Asheville), and give the scoop on where to eat and what to do when you're in my neck of the woods.

BH Briefly

2011-01-14T21:16:00.000-05:00

1. I'm off to a start on keeping my list of resolutions. I've sketched some new ideas for my windows, and I'll be shopping and purchasing within the week. And while I haven't started reading A Tale of Two Cities yet, I have started reading in the Dickens anthology that it's in. I'm reading Oliver Twist right now. (Please sir, I want some more!) I wish I could say that getting back on the diet/exercise wagon was as easy as the holiday/post-holiday fat fest, but I would be lying. I went back to the gym and thought I was going to die. But I did start the new year off at the birthday party of a dear friend so my goal of being more social is off and running.

2. Celebrated the 30th birthday of my good friend K at a fabulous soiree hosted by her brother and sister-in-law. It's been such fun getting to know K over the last couple of years, and I know she's going to have a great year ahead. The party was fantastic.K's sister-in-law H is an aspiring interior designer, and their home is superb. Throwing in good food, good drinks, and good people always creates a good time. From the party nibbles to the champagne to the fun conversations, it was a wonderful way to say Happy Birthday to a marvelous girl.

3. I feel like I need a subscription to the Wall Street Journal online. I'm sure that I would never understand all of the technical jargon in many of the financial articles (at least at first - because I love learning new words). But seeing the little key that signifies 'for subscribers only' is the surest way to pique my interest. I already read the NY Times, Washington Post, a few international papers sporadically (I have been known to attempt translating articles from El Pais, Le Monde, and Der Spiegel with my rudimentary language skills.), and the local papers, but I feel like I'm missing out on something with the WSJ. However you feel about him, that Rupert Murdoch is a smart one.

4. I'm really only writing this update to avoid exercise.

5. I can't wait for Spring. I attempted to wage war on Winter by putting on linen pants, a pastel cotton shirt, and loafers, but I was rebuffed by what Steven Colbert (brilliantly) called the "Weather of Northern Aggression" that invaded WNC. Next year Winter. Next year.

6. I bought the most fantastic bow tie from Hunter & Coggins in Asheville for Christmas. A candy red and white check, it was festive for the holiday without being obvious. Check them out for classic wardrobe staples.

7. Now that I've listed six items, I feel the need to list 10 so it's a nice even number. Which is odd because 5 isn't an even number, but it seems like a better stopping point for a list than 6. Perhaps it's because 5 is the halfway point between sets of 10. There's probably a theory about this, but I needed a 7 because I could think of the 8, 9, and 10, but for some reason was stuck on 7.

8. As much as I hate the cold and snow of the winter season I love winter clothes. But I'm already tired of them. (Side note - I don't count the build up to Christmas as winter, both because of the technical seasonal dates, and the fact that the Christmas spirit keeps sweaters, coats, scarves, heavy ugly shoes, gloves and assorted winter paraphernalia from being too burdensome.) I am ready to be in madras, seersucker, linen and light cotton. I'm ready to see bright colors and shorts, and shoes without socks. I'm ready for deck drinks, grilling, and the smell of sunscreen. Come on Spring!

9. Of all my resolutions, the only one that isn't going well (except for the exercise of course) is teaching the dog to let go of the frisbee. I'm slowly giving up hope that this will ever happen.

10. I have successfully avoided exercise for another hour thanks to updating the blog and shopping for spring/summer clothes. I'll exercise tomorrow.

Resolutions

2011-01-02T22:01:00.001-05:00

1. Buy some curtains. I've been extremely picky about this part of my bedroom redecoration, but I should have been more accepting of the options available. After all, I'm sure the neighbors are starting to talk.

2. Don't overdo things quite so much.

3. Continue the diet. But without becoming one of those smug health nuts. No one wants to know how many calories are in milk chocolate bars.

4. Stop checking facebook so frequently. It's not a lifeline, and no substitute for real live people. So stop treating it like it is.

5. Buy a new pair of drivers.

6. Continue developing a functionally classic wardrobe. Some things have got to go.

7. Throw and attend more parties. I've lived like a hermit long enough. People are fantastic. In fact, most of my best friends are people.

8. Be more encouraging. Criticism comes easy. Picking people up when they're down is the hard part.

9. Learn something new and useful. This year it was painting. Perhaps I should reupholster my $5 auction chair?

10. Get rid of the excess. I'm not allowed to take a U-Haul with me when I blow this joint.

11. Build or have bookshelves built. (Perhaps this could be my learning project.) I've ran out of space and my books are very unhappy in the top of my closet, basement, shed, and storage unit.

12. Finally read all of A Tale of Two Cities. I've faked having finished it long enough, and I'm not in high school anymore. Now that Oprah has put it on her book list, I refuse to be behind a million more people. (Part of me thinks that reading David Copperfield was enough and I should just leave well enough alone.)

13. Travel. There's a lot of the world left to see. (Must know how to say, "May I speak with an attorney?" in the local language.)

14. Teach the dog how to let go of the frisbee. This will finally be the year.

15. Enjoy the ride.

Wish List

2010-12-10T16:56:00.000-05:00

As fun as it is to give gifts during the Christmas season, let's face it, we also like to receive. And if your holiday traditions are anything like mine, you've made a Christmas Wish List or two in your childhood days. But why should the kiddies be the only ones to have all the fun? We should get to make our own wish lists too! So Dear Santa, here's mine:

1. Digital print of Elizabeth McDonald's Don't Be to Serious available here from the National Portrait Gallery in the UK. I've just redone my bedroom and this would look so good in there.

2. The Lady Eve starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. I hadn't seen this movie classic until earlier this year, and I fell in love with it immediately. The gold digging con artist Jean Harrington falls in love with the hapless millionaire Charles "Hopsy" Pike, but when he makes his escape after discovering her career, she is forced to play her hand as the Lady Eve Sidwich. It's smart, funny, and romantic.

3. The Aspinal Social Diary & Director in black. I put everything relating to work/drudgery into the Blackberry, but everything social is put into this. I have my daily notes from several years back, and I look at them occasionally . Lunch with A at 1.30. Dinner with J at 7.30. M's Birthday. It helps me remember the fun times that I've had with friends, and keep up with my social life without being tethered to an electronic device.

4. A bottle of cologne from Creed. My go to is Green Valley, which I love, but I'm thinking of changing it up this year. I'm thinking of Selection Verte, Aventus, or Santal Imperial. I'm very picky about fragrances, but I have to be exceptionally careful when I see a Creed display, because I have never found one that I don't like at all, only those that I love more than others. And it's impossible to pick one favorite.

5. Shoes. Be they these Sperry Topsiders or these jolly Rogers from Stubbs & Wooten, I want at least one pair of shoes under the tree this year.

6. Various Books. Because I have to add to my collection of reading materials to be available at the BH Memorial Library and Shoe Closet. (See No. 5)

7. An iPad. With a case from Aspinal of London. I can't decide between the Brown Croc and Stone Suede or the Tan Pebble and Stone Suede.

Etc. I'm really not that difficult to shop for, but please include a gift receipt. I would never re-gift anything that a friend bought me, but I have no qualms about exchanging it for something that I could actually use, involves a good drink, or doesn't require assembly. (I avoid assembling.)

And because no matter how old we are, it is always fun to dream, I also include my Dream Wish List:

1. An all expense paid trip to the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2 premiere in London in the Summer of 2011 for me and my HP loving friends. Shall we charter a jet anyone? Actually why not throw in an earlier trip to see the royal nuptials in April? We can just stay on through the HP debut.

2. A Verizon iPhone. The buzz says it's coming, but I really won't believe it until I have it in my little hand, so for now it's in the dream category. I'm not sure about this though. I think I could handle the touch screen of the iPad because it's larger, and I wouldn't need it to respond as quickly and accurately as my phone, and I love my Blackberry, but I have tech envy when I see an iPhone. Perhaps my dream iPhone should have a physical keyboard as well as a touch screen?

3. The entire Frontgate catalog delivered to my doorstep. With every Frontgate catalog I could spend several years' salaries. I would like it all. As a gift please. I swear I'll write a thank you note.

4.Built in shelves that magically appear in my house without having to deal with construction, wood dust or paint smells. I need a place to put all of my books. I'm running out of places - and donations for the construction of the BH Memorial Library and Shoe Closet are not as numerous as you might think.

5. Peace on Earth. It's Christmas. You have to throw that one in. It's the law.

Merry Christmas Y'all!

A New Gentleman's Guide to (Guy) Giving

2010-12-10T15:04:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again and I've decided to repost (with a couple of additions) my guide to gift giving.

A friend recently asked me - a dedicated shopper/gift lister - what to give the man in her life, and I couldn't resist sharing the list with everyone else. Because no man - unless he's been very naughty - deserves to get a glittery snowman sweatshirt from someone he loves.

So what do you get that man of yours? It really depends on what kinds of things he likes and what his interests are because the key to a successful gift is personalization. Is he into sports? What kinds of books, movies, television does he like? Are there any activities that he's really into? (I.e. hiking, camping, fishing, sailing, riding, rock climbing, cooking - okay that's a hint for me)

So if it's for your husband, boyfriend, father, son, brother or just that guy you kinda sorta maybe like these are my suggestions:

1. If he likes a drink buy a flask that can be engraved. (Things Remembered is great for this, as is Aspinal of London.) You can personalize it with an inside joke, favorite quotation, your and his initials, the date of giving, anniversary or anything that's special to the both of you. One of my favorite gifts of all time is a flask with "A man needs something to believe in. I believe I'll have another drink," engraved on it given to me by Miss BR.

2. Tickets to a favorite sporting event or cultural happening that you can both go to and enjoy together.

3. A cologne that you like and associate with him. Scent memory is one of our strongest, and when he's wearing it he'll think of you. You could also include a card explaining why you chose that cologne. (Of course I vote for something by Creed, but be sure and choose something that you love.)

4. A bow tie from Aspinal of London or Collared Greens. Challenge him a little sartorially, and not by getting him a flashing Christmas tree tie.(Collared Greens also has great polos and they focus on creating eco-friendly clothing.)

5. A wallet. He'll think of you every time that he uses it. I suggest the Brown Croc & Suede from Aspinal of London b/c you can personalize it for an additional $15 with his initials. (I'm a total sucker for a monogram.)

6. A picnic basket. Yes it's cold at Christmas, but you can do an indoor picnic in front of a fire, and any time you use it afterward, you'll think back to the first time that you used it together. Bonus points of course for candles, a good bottle of wine, and music that includes some of your favorites.

7. Something that you've made for him. This of course depends on what you can or want to do. You shouldn't do this if it's going to stress you out and become more about what he thinks of the gift vs. the thought that you put into it.

8. A DVD box set of his favorite TV Show that you've never watched and he doesn't have. You can watch it together and he can introduce you to something that he likes.

9. A nice weekend bag. You can put in brochures of places that you'd like to go with him. Filson, purveyors of outdoor gear since 1897 makes luggage that any guy (especially this one) would love to receive.

10. A print of a painting or photograph that represents him to you. I would make sure that this was framed, and would definitely include a card that explains why this picture represents him to you.

11. A first edition - or nice copy - of his favorite book. You win bonus points if you can find an autographed copy or something that has a particularly great inscription.

12. Satellite Radio. Probably the best-worst gift I've ever received. When I opened an XM Radio for my car, I thought my dad was crazy. Why on earth would I ever want satellite radio? Commercials aren't that annoying, and if I want to listen to something commercial free I can always pop in a CD, can't I? I thought he was nuts, and that it was a complete waste of money. Years later I realize it's probably one of the best gifts I've ever received. I use it every day, I have tons of music at my fingertips, and I never have to listen to another radio commercial or annoying song again. It's genius. I don't know why I was too stupid to see that.

13. Sporting equipment. Fit out the man in your life with his dream equipment. And if you can't afford the full kit from his dream purveyor, then buy one piece of it. Or you can get some of your own and join him for a game, set, match or other sporting adventure.

14. A pair of slippers. I am completely unashamed for my love of my Sperry deerskin slip-ons. They are amazingly comfortable, super soft, and they put my sweatpants to shame when I'm having a day of lazing around the house. Depending on the clumsiness factor of your guy you may want to go with one that has a rubber sole. He may be doubtful at first, but when his toes are toasty warm on these cold winter nights he'll have you to thank.

But whatever gift you give a guy do it with style and do it with love.

Merry Christmas Y'all!

Workout Mix

2010-11-10T20:49:00.000-05:00

When I exercise - which I actually do these days - I have a routine. I check to make sure I have water, that my cell is off (actually on silent because what if I need to text someone?) and that my shoes are laced tight, but not too tight. Then I turn on the iPod and I'm off.

1. Call on Me - Eric Prydz. If you've never seen the video before check it out on YouTube. I remember reading an article in which Tony Blair said that when he saw it in the gym the first time he almost fell off the rowing machine. Can an 80s aerobics themed video cause an international political figure to drop from exercise equipment? Yes, it is that good. Plus a series of workout DVDs was developed based on the music video. Guess who has the first one?

2. Proud Mary - Glee Cast. I'm unashamed that I have worked my love of Glee into my exercise regime. And while you're busy judging me for not working out to CCR or Tina, I'll be rollin', rollin', rollin' on a river.

3. TROUBLE - Travis Tritt. I love songs with spelling in them. Adding phrases like "Mama had a time trying to raise nine kids" and "may be the beginning of World War III" with honky-tonk piano riffs is just icing the cake really.

4. I Don't Feel Like Dancing - Scissor Sisters. Never has a song about not wanting to dance made me want to dance so much. It's pretty old for a pop song, but this one has legs; it's kooky pop at it's finest.

5. Miss You Much - Janet Jackson. I can't recall if this is Janet with the key still in her ear or not. Doesn't matter because I love me some Janet. Miss Jackson when I'm nasty.

6. Beat It / Smooth Criminal / Billie Jean / The Way You Make Me Feel - Michael Jackson. Sure he may have been quite odd, but he was the King of Pop, and I could never pick just one.

7. Underdog - Kasabian. This band makes songs that sound like they've been around for decades, and as long as they keep turning out tunes like this one (and Fire which I love) I'll be listening for decades to come.

8. Daylight - Matt & Kim. Piano fueled pop that makes me bop when I'm exercising.

9. Dog Days Are Over/ Rabbit Heart - Florence + the Machine. BBC Radio 1 and I have had a long relationship with one another. It speaks and I listen, and I love listening to it when it presents me with artists like Florence + the Machine. I've loved these songs forever, and was only slightly annoyed when one was used in the trailer for Eat, Pray, Love. Even that couldn't take away for my love of a song so good.

10. Battle for Honor and Humanity - Tomoyaso Hotei and Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Santa Esmeralda. Dramatic instrumental tracks with fantastic beats. This is the music to Kill Bill by.

11. Smooth Operator - Sade. One of the coolest, smoothest, songs ever. Period.

12. Right Round - Flo Rida. I know all the words to this track. And yes, I sing/rap along. And yes, I enunciate everything clearly so it doesn't sound anything at all like the radio version. What can I say? Enunciation is v. v. important.

13. Now You're Gone - Basshunter. Another Brit pop-dance track. They're my weakness.

14. Just Dance & Poker Face - Lady GaGa. Almost two years on and these still play like new. I also love Telephone featuring Beyonce. I'm always out in the club sippin' that bub.

15. Almost Like Being in Love - Ella Fitzgerald. This song always makes me bounce along like I'm carefree. What it lacks in percussion it more than makes up for in swing. And Ella. She could sing me the phone book and I'd be happy.

16. Bang Bang - Melanie Fiona. I bought this song around the same time as Monday Morning - a retro styled song that I still love. Bang Bang is a delightfully naughty song about a woman and her gun. Keep it lockin' and loadin' Miss Fiona.

17. DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love - Usher feat. Pitbull. This is the perfect song to pick up the pace.

18. Pack Up - Eliza Doolittle. This retro-styled song by a British chanteuse named after one of my favorite characters in fiction never fails to make me step a little higher.

19. Break Your Heart & Dynamite - Taio Cruz. Listen to the original version of Break Your Heart. The track is stronger without the rap, and Dynamite is pitch perfect for the dance floor or the track.

20. Don't Stop Movin' - S Club 7. Brit pop that keeps you moving.

21. Bang Bang - K'Naan & Adam Levine. Maroon 5's front man doesn't usually produce tracks that sound like this, but he should give it serious consideration. K'Naan moves through his these lyrics like a man on fire, and this track produces the smoke to prove it. This one has been on repeat while exercising and relaxing. Love it.

22. Black Betty - Ram Jam. The classics never die.

23. Damn - The Matrix feat. Katy Perry. A Katy Perry collabo that isn't symphonic whipped cream, but is still pretty sweet.

24. Embers - Hip Stars Inc. iTunes, can you hear me? Put the Just Jack version on! I'll buy it. I promise. Now that that's out of my system this cover version by Hip Stars Inc. is totally listenable. More than listenable. Synth strings, a good beat, and lyrics with a message about the union of all of humanity. I like it.

25. California Girls / Teenage Dream - Katy Perry. Miss Perry proves that she has her finger on the pulse of the moment with these aural confections. What with the depressing news about the economy, the bitter partisanship in Washington, and the cutthroat atmosphere of the evening news, I'm in the mood for a little ear candy.

26. I'm Not Over - Carolina Liar. The faster, fun Show Me What I'm Looking For.

27. Jump (For My Love) - The Pointer Sisters. Classics never die. Also songs featured in one of my favorite holiday movies (Love Actually) never die either. So this one can expect to be around for a long time.

28. The Tempest - Jesse Cook. Latin guitar takes me into Central and South America. I'm whisked out of my boring day to day activities and into a land of intrigue, mystery, and Tango, surrounded by women who can correctly pronounce Tegucigalpa and know who Simon Bolivar is.

29. No You Girls - Franz Ferdinand. This is a song that makes me want to walk slowly, and with attitude - so I do. And inevitably there's someone around me who looks at me like I'm nuts. But I'm too busy exercising and enjoying the music to care.

30. Pumpkin Soup & Foundations - Kate Nash. Fun sound and entertaining lyrics. You can't ask for more.

31. Stronger - Kanye West. After the whole MTV/Taylor Swift debacle, I was a little torn listening to Kanye. A year after, having heard Taylor Swift on the radio, in the mall, on the television, in public restrooms, and heard her name pass the lips of every tween girl (even the ones who are tweens in spirit) I would like to apologize. To Kanye. Mr. West, I'm sorry for feeling like I couldn't listen to your songs because in a moment of drunken genius you stomped all over the moment of some doe eyed innocent. I like Taylor, but I'm a little tired of her face and her voice. So until Ms. Swift gets off my radio and gets off my TV, I will tell you that I'll let you speak in a minute, but Beyonce totally deserved that award.

32. You Get What You Give - New Radicals. Go grab Beck and Hanson, I'll get Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson. Meet you back at the mansion. And if you're not they're I'll kick your asses.

33. Cry Myself to Sleep - The Judds. Mother-daughter country duo whose bluesy, traditional country style songs are still some of my favorite songs even 20-25 years after the initial release. Have Mercy On Me, Judds, I'm trying to exercise and lose some weight.

34. Walk in Jerusalem - Mahalia Jackson. The Queen of Gospel music sang at President John F. Kennedy's inauguration, and was the voice of the Civil Rights movement, most famously singing "How I Got Over" and "I've Been 'Buked and I've Been Scorned" before Martin Luther King Jr gave the speech that defined his legacy, "I Have a Dream." Students of gospel music know that Ms. Jackson was incomparable on slow emotional songs, but for me there are few things as delightful as the happiness contained in the up tempo music that showcases the joy in her passionate and powerful voice.

35. Fancy - Reba McEntire. My favorite country song is incidentally also my favorite song involving abandonment, death, prostitution, and overcoming poverty to make it big. Just remember: she might'a been born just plain white trash, but Fancy was'a her name.

I couldn't exercise properly without water or tennis shoes (There is this whole new trend of barefoot running, but I find the whole concept vaguely disturbing.) because I would hurt my feet / dehydrate and die (ever the optimist) . So I suppose I would have to put the iPod in the nonessential category for exercise accouterments, but I would never want to exercise without it.

Race for the Cure

2010-10-26T21:47:00.001-04:00

On Sunday my friend from law school, C, and I participated in the Susan G. Komen Tri-Cities Race for the Cure. It was amazing to see so many people come together to fight this disease.

C and I are ready to run. And yes, I did run in my Wayfarers.

There were over 5,000 people at the event. Here we are at the starting line.

And we're off!

I didn't take many pictures past the starting line, but loved the picture above because you can see all of the runners/walkers stretching into the distance.

Oh thank God I've made it! The Finish Line.

Sunday was a special day spent with C. Seeing the families and friends affected by breast cancer and the dignity, strength, and courage of the survivors was truly inspiring. Find out how you can help fight breast cancer with Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Halloween

2010-10-26T20:28:00.002-04:00

Halloween has always been a special problem for me. Not generally indecisive - particularly about clothes - Halloween has been a lifelong exception. What do I want to be? That's the question that is asked months in advance. The problem being that the possibilities are endless.

Should I be scary? Should I be funny? Should I wear something elaborate or is something simple better? Am I painting my face a different color? How much fake blood is necessary? What will the weather be like? And I must be comfortable (Years of non-breathable polyester costumes with hard plastic superhero masks tend to make one uncompromising on this particular issue.) All of these particular concerns tend to put off making a decision. So I end up making a last minute choice or throwing something together.

In that Spirit I offer 5 Costume ideas from my list of incredibly cheap and quick costumes:

1. Arrange a square filled with buttons on a white t-shirt. You're "Facebook Flair".

2. Carry a bat. You're "Bat Boy/Girl". The bonus for this costume is that nobody is going to mess with you.

3. Fashion a toga out of white sheets. (Cheap ones obviously, but with a decent threadcount. We do have standards.) Mess up your hair. You're "Bed Head". (Not too messy though. See Note Re: Cheap Sheets.)

4. Tape a bottle of glue to a white shirt. Tie a sheet around your neck. You're "Super Glue".

5. Wear your favorite exercise clothes. Pin a number to your shirt or fashion a medal using paper and a string of some sort. Carry a cup or bottle labeled "Steroids" or "Performance Enhancers". You're a Bad Athlete.

I myself plan on drawing an ionic bond on a t-shirt using a fabric marker. I will carry a martini glass and a toy gun, and on the back of my shirt I am writing "Shaken Not Stirred." I am Ionic James Bond.

This year I'm going more conceptual in my costume choice, but I love classic costuming also; my preference being a tuxedo and a mask. Some of the most beautiful masks I've ever seen are on offer from Mask Italia. Imported from craftsmen in Venice and Florence, Mask Italia's beautiful handcrafted creations are perfect not only at Halloween but also for Carnivale, Mardi Gras, and any masquerade.

So enjoy Halloween - eating candy and carving pumpkins - but be safe!

Warby Parker

2010-10-22T21:44:00.000-04:00

When I have a fantastic customer service experience, I feel honor bound to share it with as many people as possible. When the same customer service combines receiving a high quality, beautiful product with charitable endeavors I feel honor bound to shout it from the rooftops. (Though probably not because I have neighbors and I hate ladders.)

For several months - actually for almost a year - I've been looking for the perfect pair of glasses. It's always been hard to find stylish frames that suit me because I have an oddly shaped head that's big and kind of fat (But I'm working out!) I've had wire, rimless, and acetate frames, but only after searching endlessly, paying a bundle and still not being fully satisfied. So I was interested when I came across a mention of Warby Parker, an online seller of frames.

I was immediately impressed by the both the style and inspiration (literary) for the frame selection of this recently founded purveyor. I played for a couple of hours with their virtual try-on option which was very easy even for a technologically clueless person like me. They also have a home try-on option but I opted not to go this route because I figured that if they didn't work I could either send them back or just relegate them to being used in between taking my contacts out at night and putting them back in in the morning. Instead of trying them on at home, I opted to buy the largest men's frame available, Digby.

But why would you buy something without trying it on? Isn't that the cardinal sin of fashion (Or is it bad accessories? I can never remember.) The reason that I threw caution to the wind is simple. Price.

Warby Parker not only has some of the most fashionable looking eyewear on the market, they have the most reasonably priced products of their kind. For $95.00 I was able to purchase a pair of fantastic frames that included my lenses. In all my years of buying glasses, never have I ever been able to purchase frames and lenses for one total cost that was so easy on my wallet.

But aside from my satisfaction with the product and the price point, I was very impressed by the customer service response. While I was ordering my glasses online, I experienced a problem entering my prescription (not tech savvy, remember?), so I called the customer service number to find out how to proceed. My call was answered (by an actual real live human being) promptly and I was told how to complete my order by emailing my prescription as an attachment. At this point I was impressed, but within two minutes of sending in my prescription I received a followup email from Warby Parker's customer service team. And it wasn't one of those automatic response "We have received your customer service request" emails either. Not only did it express Warby Parker's apologies for my trouble using the website, but also amusement at my attaching my scanned prescription in multiple formats. (I may not be tech savvy, but I'm still Type A.)

A few days later I received my glasses, and instead of the usual disappointment of getting a new pair, I was in LOVE. The frames suit me perfectly, and look amazing. I was so happy with my purchase, and plan on ordering another pair (Same frames but different color. You know how I am.)

Plus for every pair purchased 1 pair is donated somewhere in the world. You get vision and give vision. Such a fantastic concept.

So go out and get your eyes checked. (I love going to the ophthalmologist - I think it's the eye chart and the fact that they give you sunglasses when you leave. Even if they are those cheap plastic rolled up ones.) If you're lucky enough to need glasses, get a pair from Warby Parker. You'll love them.

Reading List

2010-09-22T14:30:00.000-04:00

Travel Books

Lately I've been reading books about travel or living in different countries. Since my own study abroad experience, I've always wanted to live for a period outside of the United States. But where to go?

Marlena de Blasi may have answered that question. She was unfamiliar to me until I made an impulse buy of A Thousand Days in Venice in my local bookstore. Since then I've read A Thousand Days in Tuscany and The Lady in the Palazzo, and I've put That Summer in Sicily on my "To Buy" list. Each of these books are supremely charming and show the author's respect for and curiosity about the Italian people. So there's Italy.

But what about France? I just finished Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence. I don't know why I've never read Mayle's account of beginning a life in this celebrated region of France, but I'm glad that I picked it up. I love A Good Year and The Vintage Caper also by Mayle, and I blame him (at least in part) for planting the seeds of my dream of being a vintner someday. (Fingers crossed.) Toujour Provence, Encore Provence, and French Lessons must also be investigated. So there's also France.

Also on the reading list are Planet India by Mira Kamdar and Indian Summer: Lutyens, Baker and Imperial Delhi by Robert Grant Irving. I have no doubt that India will also be added to the list of places to travel and live.

Which brings me to my current read: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Caught in the crossroads of her life, Gilbert (who I've loved since her days as a contributor to one of my favorite magazines, GQ) seeks to rebuild from the wreckage of a bitter divorce along with the breakup of her subsequent relationship and answer her life's deep spiritual questions by traveling to and living in Italy, India and Indonesia. So while I'm not recovering from a traumatic emotional experience or seeking my higher self, in seeking out new and interesting places to live I do have a certain camaraderie with the author. But I'm having a hard time reading this book.

At the moment I feel like I'm slogging through what is probably the most famous travel memoir in recent years. I'm giving it a chance because the author is dealing with some highly traumatic experiences, but I don't know how much more of her mid-life crisis I can take. Perhaps I'm just cranky because I'm dieting, and reading about a four month orgy of pasta, pizza and gelato is about as fun for me as being poked in the face with a stick. Is it wrong that I'm hoping for a little hunger for her during her visit to the Indian ashram in the Pray section?

Magazines.

My nightstand usually resembles a Doctor's office end table. There is always a book and a stack of magazines. Every month I read GQ, Details, Vanity Fair, Our State, Cook's Illustrated and WNC Magazine - along with the odd copy of Martha Stewart Living stolen from Mom - so it's safe to say I have a magazine habit.

I try my best to avoid my urges to pick up new titles at the newsstand, but the cover of last month's Veranda was too good to pass up.

Don't you just want to walk into this photograph?

Beautifully photographed pictures of elegant rooms came out of practically every page. And I was impressed that there were atypical locations featured. Many home magazines focus on New York and California with the odd dash of Europe and Florida thrown in. But Veranda has editorial offices in New York and Atlanta, and is clearly a much stronger magazine as a result.

So I'll be making room on my nightstand for one more magazine.

Happenings

2010-09-12T20:25:00.003-04:00

1. I spent the Labor Day weekend in east Tennessee visiting C, a dear friend from law school. I was so excited to get to see her because - thanks to schedules, cases, and unexpected rock slides - it had been almost a year since I had seen her.

I've been running around like a mad man the past few weeks. We've had our own little vendange at the H family vineyard (at this point just a few vines on a trellis, but *someday*), I've been picking blackberries (Blackberry cobblers and coolers are worth it), and we've been putting up hay for the horses.

So when C called and suggested a weekend away from the craziness of my house I jumped at the chance. And not only did I get to spend time with one of my nearest and dearest, I got to go to Dollywood!

I am completely unashamed in my love for this bedazzled Americana fest located in Pigeon Forge. There are rides of course, but who cares about them when you can see a show featuring Bald Eagles or a wagon maker, glass blowing or a blacksmith forging things like giant windchimes or cast iron gates? And then there's the Dolly museum - where you can see pictures she's made with just about every celebrity you can think of, sequined costumes from movies she's been in, handwritten lyrics to songs, and some of her many awards (Grammys: actual real live honest-to-God grammys!). Not to mention the funnel cake. (Oh the funnel cake.) I also love the park because it employs a lot of local people and senior citizens. It's nice to see a tourist destination give back to the area.

After Dollywood, C and I went to see her office which is in a beautiful early 19th century brick building right in the center of the small town where she works. The ceilings are about 10 feet high, the door frames are about 8, all the windows have fantastic antique glass, and the conference room has a great old fireplace. I am so proud of her! (And jealous of her office.)

2. On Wednesday, my Bible Fellowship class had dinner at Papa's and Beer in Asheville. It was fun getting the group together for fellowship and Mexican food. After dinner a few of us went to the French Broad Chocolate Lounge. It was my first time there - because I tend to be on the other side of the city, I usually go to the Chocolate Fetish. It was delightful. Nibbling my way through cafe au lait, vanilla bourbon, and chai truffles washed down with a little prosecco, we listened to jazz music and chatted. It's such a privilege getting to know these people. After that it was home to catch the season finale of Psych.

3. Have you ever watched Psych on USA? If you haven't you should, especially I you're a child of the 80s or 90s. I got hooked on Psych because the previous week's episode always follows Covert Affairs - which has been my major summer TV addiction. So I suggest that you check out Psych and Covert Affairs.

4. I started reading the Shopaholic series when I lived in London. The books were everywhere, and at the time I had a class in contemporary British literature so I used that as my excuse to purchase anything by Marian Keyes or Sophie Kinsella (Guys can read chick lit too. Don't be a hater.) In fact coming home my suitcases were so full of books that their combined weight really should have necessitated two more large suitcases, but thanks to clever dressing (and shameless flirting with the gate clerk) my bags were passed through. So I'm looking forward to her latest in the series, Mini Shopaholic, due out on September 21st. After I finish it I'll have to go out and do something macho like wrestle a deer to the ground with my bare hands, or order those deer skin slippers I've had my eye on.

5. Saturday was rainy, but I was not about to let that stop me from attending the 29th annual Historic Downtown Morganton Festival. Featuring a mile and a half of arts and crafts, I was impressed by the quality of many of the things on offer. At these festivals you always expect to see the same kinds of things - schlocky jewelry, tie-dyed t-shirts, and homemade toys featuring the wonderous many combinations of PVC piping and cork - but there were many stand out craftsmen represented at the festival. I saw so many things that I wanted: new adirondack chairs for the patio to go the outdoor oven, and low slung tree trunk benches, and all kinds of pottery. We found a company that makes lamps so hopefully we can commission a floor lamp out of an enormous piece of driftwood my brother C collected. But for me the highlight was the NC Wine Garden. A host of North Carolina vintners showcased their wares and we simply had to sample. There were Roses and Pinot Grigios, Cabernet Sauvignons and Moscatos, Scuppernong wines and Zinfandels. And sangria. Ah the sangria! We came away with just three bottles, but a ton of information to plan our tasting tour of WNC wineries. Care to join?

A Bottle of Bubbly

2010-08-27T12:25:00.002-04:00

Three be the things I shall never attain: envy, content, and sufficient champagne. - Dorothy Parker

My favorite quote from Dorothy Parker concerns one of my favorite things. Everyone that knows me at all well knows that I love sparkling wines, and need no excuse to pop open a bottle of bubbly. But I thought I would share my top ten reasons to partake.

10. A new job / promotion. In this job market, employment is a reason to celebrate. So if you've been hired, been promoted or just haven't been fired, I say pop the top.

9. House parties. I have fond memories of opening bottles of sparkling wine surrounded by friends. Get a group of your besties together and have some beer and bubbles on hand.

8. Brunch. What brunch would be complete without mimosas or bellinis? These are fantastic served individually or made in large beverage servers.

7. With Asian food. Not only does a sparkling wine punch up the sense of 'occassion' when eating out of those paper containers with chopsticks (My mother would be so annoyed that I admit to doing this because according to her even takeout should be put on a plate.) but the acid and bubbles match well with Chinese, Indian and Thai food.

6. Holidays. Traditionally associated with New Years, champagne is a good choice for Memorial Day celebrations and Fourth of July Festivities. It's celebratory, and served chilled it's perfect for cooling off a summertime soiree.

5. When popping the question. Any man who doesn't have a bottle of good champagne at the ready when asking one of the most important things of his life should be treated with suspicion in my book.

4. Valentine's Day / Single Awareness Day. Even if you are celebrating the 'most romantic day of the year' alone, there's no reason not to uncork a bottle of sparkling to mark the day. Open a bottle of rose champagne. Generally sweet, the pink color will perk up even the most self-pitying singleton.

3. With Fruit and cheese. Fruit and cheese for desert is one of my favorite things. Fresh apples, pears, grapes, strawberries, and peaches are all ideal and with some pecorino and honey are delish.

2. To celebrate a friend or family member's success. Celebrating the accomplishments of those closest to us is important. Revel in their joys as much as you help them carry their sorrows.

1. Tuesdays. You really need no excuse to open a bottle of bubbly. Too often people think you have to be celebrating something to have champagne. You don't. It doesn't hurt if a bottle of Dom goes down with a promotion or some Laurent-Perrier is popped with 'the question', but you can have it when you're not celebrating anything at all. Actually, scratch that. Do celebrate with champagne. Just celebrate more frequently. Like on Tuesdays. After all, it only comes round once a week you know.

I leave you with the sage words of Lily Bollinger.

I only drink champagne when I'm happy, and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it - unless I'm thirsty.

A woman after my own heart.

Tip: Don't shake a bottle of champagne until it pushes the cork out, and never flick the cork off with your thumbs. Both encourage the loss of champagne, and that is unacceptable in my book. Instead open the key (that little wire thing covering the cork), firmly grasp the cork in the palm of your hand and pull slightly. The cork will pop out from the pressure of the carbon dioxide, you won't endanger any of your guests or friends, and more importantly you won't waste a single drop. Enjoy!

London Churches

2010-08-21T00:32:00.000-04:00

One of the most interesting ways to learn about a country or location is to visit the great historically spiritual centers that have shaped the history of the region you are in. Whether that's visiting a cathedral, temple, mosque, or other house of worship, you should always strive to be respectful of the purpose that the location that you are in is devoted to.

While some may complain that Europe has turned its churches into theme parks, others believe in the coexistence between architectural appreciation and preservation of the spiritual influence of the church. The churches of London are spectacular examples of how people in the past devoted their architectural energies to building for God. My personal suggestion is to visit during worship times or for a special concert, not just to avoid throngs of sweaty inappropriately dressed tourists, but because it will be something you'll remember for a lifetime. And as my mama taught me: It never hurts to put in a good word with the man upstairs.

St. Paul's Cathedral

Old St. Paul's was gutted by the Great Fire of London in 1666. When the fires were put out, the task of designing and building a new structure fell to Sir Christopher Wren. Wren chose to build in a British take on Baroque design, and executed a domed structure built of Portland stone based on St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The domed exterior is a structural and engineering marvel. The interiors are no less impressive. The tiled floor and the coffered ceilings are the products of combining great materials with master craftsmen. Be sure to climb the dome to the top of the cathedral as it offers a great view of the surrounding area and gives you an amazing workout. Visit the website for more information on services, admission, and special events.

Points of Interest

- The American Memorial Chapel
- The Whispering Gallery
- The Chapels of St. Michael and St. George
- The Organ - one of the main reasons to attend a service at St. Paul's. The sound and vibrations created by playing such an instrument in the space makes for an amazing combination.
- The walk across the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern is one of the best in the city. Trust me on this.
- Read what this visitor to St. Paul's had to say.

To get there: exit St. Paul's Underground Station and follow the signs.

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is a Royal Peculiar, part of the Church of England but exempt from the rule of the Bishops, the church is exclusively governed by the sovereign. Almost every monarch of Britain for the past 900 years has been crowned within its walls, and the abbey houses St. Edward's throne upon which the coronation takes place. It is the burial site of many of the most famous writers, thinkers, and military strategists that the world has ever known, and is a stunning example of the continuation of Christian traditions in worship and architecture into the modern world. The Abbey - along with St. Paul's - is on every tourist's "To Do" list, and it is typically extremely crowded especially during the summer months. Being larger and with more space on the surrounding streets, the mass of tourists is less of a problem at St. Paul's. To avoid the crowds I would suggest either visiting for a worship service or checking the hours of operation and going early to avoid the mid-day onslaught. Visit the website for more information on services, admission, and special events.

Points of Interest: (among many others)

- Poet's Corner
- The Chapter house.
- King Edward's Chair.
- The Westminster Abbey Museum located beneath the former monks dormitory.
- Evensong: Monday - Friday at 5pm. Saturday and Sunday at 3pm.
- Check out this review of a service at Westminster Abbey. I have heard similar complaints from friends who have visited, but personally I've had nothing but good experiences there.

To get there: Westminster Underground Station or St. Jame's Park Underground Station

St. George's Hanover Square

Home of an annual Handel festival, St. George's was built in the early 18th century as part of a group of 50 churches known as the Queen Anne Churches. Since it's completion in 1724 the church has been a home base for London society weddings. Off the beaten track for most visitors to London, St. George's is fantastic to visit during a service to appreciate the music and take in a little people watching. The last time I visited St. George's was around Thanksgiving a couple of years ago, and it was charming as ever. Visit the website for information on services, admission, and special events. (Note: St. George's Hanover Square will be closed for several months in 2010, but will be reopening

Points of Interest:

- the 16th century Flemish windows imported from Antwerp
- The music. Handel was a regular worshiper here and the church has maintained a musical emphasis since. Check out this information on the Handel Festival.
- Also check out this review of the services. Church with a champagne finish? Praise the Lord!

To get there: Located a couple of blocks from the Oxford Circus Underground Station. Here's a use for the handiest of London map tools: the London A-Z. There's also an app available on iTunes. Check out other great products from the publisher on offer here.(And remember it's pronounced London "Ay to Zed." Pronouncing it any other way instantly marks you an outsider. Hehe.)

St. Martin in the Fields

Tucked into the northeast corner of Trafalgar Square in the heart of central London, once upon a time St. Martin in the Fields was literally in the fields between the cities of Westminster and London. Used by the monks of Westminster Abbey after a dispute with the Bishop of London in 1222, and rebuilt by Henry VIII in 1542, St. Martin in the Fields has been part of the London landscape for quite a long time. The current building was completed in 1721, and has served as a model for houses of worship throughout the world despite its design being heavily criticized at the time. Holding fast to its ethos as the "church of the ever open door," St Martin in the Fields is notable both for its charitable endeavors and its place in the music world. Lunchtime and evening concerts are held regularly, and the cafe in the crypt holds jazz concerts. Visit the website for more information on services, admission and special events.

Points of Interest:

- Cafe in the the crypt and the church shop.
- The interiors that have been maintained in part thanks to a recent £36 million restoration. Restrained in comparison to some more exuberant historical ecclesiastical styles, I actually think the design is charming.
- The Gallery at St. Martin's which features art in one of the vaults of the crypt.
- The special events. The website is updated regularly with information about upcoming events. (Side note: it's one of the most user friendly church websites I've seen.)
- The services. St. Martin's hosts many varying congregations and services, and has a very welcoming atmosphere. It's one of my personal favorites, and if I lived in London this would either be my home church or on at least on regular rotation. Check out this visitor's review.

To get there: Charing Cross Underground Station. It's to the right of the National Gallery at the northeast corner of the square.

As a general rule when visiting a house of worship - even if you are not a congregant and are just there as a tourist - you should strive to be respectful both in manner and in dress. Conservative dress is most appropriate in these locations, so I would leave the short-shorts and the rubber flips at home. Do this not only to be respectful, but so you won't be that 'guy in the rubber sandals wearing a fanny pack and sporty neon plastic sunglasses.' It's not a good look anywhere else, so why wear it to church? While in London I hope you take time to visit these magnificent churches to appreciate their history, beauty, creativity (especially musically), and their spiritual significance.

9 Things and 100 Pounds.

2010-08-10T00:40:00.000-04:00

1. I recently caught up with JE, a friend from high school. It's such a treat to find someone that you can talk to about all the important issues: health care, foreign policy, education ... sheep. I realize that one of these is not like other, but allow me to explain. JE, a veterinarian, has recently moved back to the US following her training in the UK. My travels in the UK have left me with one burning question that has dogged me for years. Every time that I would see sheep - and there are quite a lot of them over there - there were sheep with dots painted on them. Red and blue seemed to be the most popular (and probably the most easily spotted on those green hillsides) but I have also seen yellow and green. But what are the dots for? I've never been able to find out. I had secretly long speculated that red marks was for wool to be socks and blue was to mark wool destined to be sweaters or visa versa. But apparently I was quite wrong. It seems that each farm has its own system for marking sheep and that the colors may mean different things. I.e. an animal may be marked if it is diseased and needs extra attention. Colors are also used to make the sheep more visible on the hillsides so they may be more easily counted, and may also be separated into different color groups on the basis of how many lambs the mother ewes have. This is because a ewe with one lamb doesn't require as much food as a ewe producing milk for two lambs. I realize this may be boring for some, but as an answer to a question that I've been asking for years, I was completely fascinated. It was so good to see J again - it's so nice to talk with someone with who you feel you've picked up right where you left off. I wish her the best as she begins her veterinary career here in the States!

2. I went to see Inception with my Bible Fellowship class @ Cinebarre. I love Cinebarre because the theater only permits under 18s with parents and children under 3 are only permitted during special shows. I realize this makes me sound like a totally mean old man, but I've had more movies than I care to count ruined by crying babies and teenagers either talking on their cell or engaging in raunchy public displays of affection. (The English major in me considered making it 'pubic' displays of affection, which while technically speaking not entirely correct, would not have been far off the mark.) Cinebarre also wins points for serving wine, beer, and some fantastic cocktails. I wish that I could say I also loved the movie. In fact, I'm probably the only person in America that doesn't like this movie right now. But recognizing a major plot point within the first five minutes because of the repetition of key dialogue, the movie ending without a resolution, and a film relying more on concept than plot or character development does not make a pleasant viewing experience. And I realize I'm probably totally alone in this. Good points were - Marion Cotillard, the couple of times they let DiCaprio freak out, and the following quote, "You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling."

3. I'm currently without a new book to read! Having maintained a weekly addiction to bookstores for years now (even while studying for the bar I snuck in pleasure reading at night to unwind), I am trying to learn to enjoy reading without being a shopaholic about it. There are several great websites that you can download for free books that are in the public domain. I'm a fan of Google Books. Right now I'm re-reading Wuthering Heights and Portrait of a Lady.

4. I'm buying new glasses and I'm hoping to do some home try-ons from Warby Parker. I'll update about my experience. But I'm very excited because for every pair purchased one is donated, and their vintage inspired frames are exactly what I've been looking for.

5. I'm keeping up with my diet and exercise regime. The food diary and regular exercise have made me evaluate my behavior in ways that I would never have considered before. And I find myself doing things that would have been impossible - and improbable - even 5 months ago. When I found myself running through the mall to get to the vitamin store before it closed - and running like they were selling chocolate doughnuts instead of vitamins - I knew that my outlook had changed. My commitment to my health has paid off in spades. Not only is my doctor (and his nurses) thrilled with my progress, I couldn't be happier myself. And guess what? I've lost almost 100 pounds!!! And not only that, I now weigh less than when I graduated from college!

6. One of my favorite foods - and thankfully one that I can have on my diet - is Fish Tacos. I love the combination that they bring of sweet and spicy, and they're perfect for summer.

Fish Tacos - Serves 4

4 Tilapia filets (you may use Tilapia steaks if you prefer but slice them in half to make it easier for taco placement; you may also use any other white fish that you prefer)

1 cup fresh cilantro chopped

Olive oil

Soft taco shells or tortilla wraps

Rough chopped romaine lettuce or arugula (approximately 3-4 cups)

1 large tomato

2 avocados

1 mango

Shredded cheese (pepper jack, monterrey jack)

1 1/2 cup mayonnaisse

2 tablespoons chipotle in adobo sauce

2 tablespoons chopped roasted red peppers

Dash of cayenne

Dash of black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 lemon (Once I substituted lime in a pinch - because I never run out of limes for my G&Ts - and now I alternate between the two.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut tilapia in half and place on broiling pan or nonstick baking sheet. Salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro and the juice of 1/2 a lemon over the fish. Retain 1/2 cup of cilantro. Place in oven for 8-10 minutes or until done. Remove.

While the fish is in the oven, give a rough chop to your romaine. Place in a bowl. Seed and dice 1 large tomato. Place in a separate bowl. Pit and dice two avocados. Place diced avocado in another bowl. Cut mango into diced pieces and place in another bowl. (If unfamiliar with this technique for mangoes, look here.)

Add chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and red peppers into food processor or blender. Mix until it reaches the consistency of a thick paste. Add a dash of black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a dash of cayenne pepper. Add 1 1/2 cup mayonnaise and the juice from the other 1/2 of lemon. Blend and place in small serving bowl.

Build your fish taco using fish, lettuce, tomato, avocado, mango, and shredded cheese. Add a drizzle of the chipotle sauce and wrap in a warm tortilla. Enjoy!

Tips:
- Buy avocados that have a little give to them. They should feel firm, but not hard when you squeeze them.
- Buy mangoes that are hard for this dish. Mangoes for cutting and eating should feel hard: almost like a baseball.
- If you don't use all of the chipotle sauce, refrigerate it and use it on sandwiches. It's great in place of plain mayo on a ham and cheese or roast beef. You can also use any leftover sauce to make a southwest chicken salad using chopped white meat chicken with cooked and cooled black beans, and whole kernel corn.

7. I recently finished reading the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson at the suggestion of a friend. Reviews will follow.

8. The weather has been perfect to pick wild blackberries here in the mountains of WNC, and I'm happy to say that I've spent several evenings with my signature summer BH Blackberry Cooler.

9. Speaking of drinks, there are a couple of places in Asheville that I haven't tried yet, but must be added to my to do list: Battery Park Book Exchange and Champagne Bar (Doesn't that sound like nerd heaven?), Sazerac, The Sky Club (I've heard great things about this one, but can never seem to find the time to go during the season.) and Rankin Vault.

London Museums

2010-07-17T22:18:00.000-04:00

If you go to London, and you don't visit a museum, you should be ashamed of yourself. It's just that simple. That being said, it doesn't matter which ones you visit. Of course I advocate trying to see them all, but there's something to be said for choosing the one that sounds the most interesting to you and wondering through the galleries all morning. Museums are more accessible in London than any other city in the world. All the major museums' permanent collections are free - each usually puts on a show that you can pay an additional fee to enjoy - and they are close to every other major attraction in the city.

The Victoria and Albert Museum

Simply known as the "V & A", the Victoria and Albert Museum is one of the largest collections of decorative arts in the world. Formed in the wake of the Great Exhibition - an event largely planned by Prince Albert to showcase the best of Britain to the world - the museum was founded to be an example for consumers and manufacturers to stimulate the economy and set the standard for good taste in Britain. One of the most distinctly British museums, the V&A houses historic and decorative pieces from all over the world.

Points of Interest at the V&A

- The Jewelry Collection - because you can never look at too many dazzling gemstones set in precious metal.
- The Cast Courts feature life size replicas of Trajan's Column and Michaelangelo's David as well as well as other masterpieces from around the world.
- The Architecture Galleries - There are drawings by Palladio, my favorite Renaissance architect.
- The Textiles and Dress galleries have permanent displays devoted to Western costume. Currently the museum is running an exhibition "Grace Kelly: Style Icon" featuring the styles of the American movie star and Princess of Monaco. (I really, really want this exhibit book.)
- The British Galleries - You really do need to see what the Brits have done through the ages.

To get to the V&A: South Kensington Underground Station (about a 5 minute walk from the station). It's also about a five to ten minute walk from Harrods and could be included on any day devoted to shopping there.

The National Gallery

Forming the north side of Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery is unique in comparison to many other European national Collections. Housing a collection of western European painting from 1250 to 1900, the National Gallery was formed without the nationalization of a royal collection (which remains in the hands of the sovereign, See Buckingham Palace) and has grown through donations from private collectors and generous benefactors. Covering every major movement in art from the Renaissance to Impressionism, the breadth of the National Gallery is impressive to say the least.

Points of Interest at the National Gallery:

- Leonardo da Vinci's, Virgin of the Rocks. (and here for another view) Compare this painting to it's sister, Madonna of the Rocks housed in the Louvre in Paris (and featured prominently in Dan Brown's, The Da Vinci Code). The paintings are incredibly similar and yet incredibly different because of the use of chiaroscuro, the different gestures, and the use of crosses and halos in the London painting. Recently back on display following 18 months of conservation work, the painting continues to unveil the secrets of the master painter who created it.
- Michaelangelo, The Entombment.
- Titian, Bacchus and Ariadne
- Botticelli, Venus and Mars
- Look for paintings by Turner and Gainsborough

Something NOT to do in the National Gallery: Don't spend all day looking for Van Gogh, Monet or any other Impressionist painters in the National Gallery. There are some minor Impressionist works in the collection, but the best Impressionist collections are in New York and Paris. If you want to see Impressionism, visit Paris and go to the Musee de Orsay, or stay away from those charming coffee shops in Amsterdam long enough to visit the Rijksmuseum (also to see superb 17th century Dutch painting) and the Van Gogh Museum.

To get to the National Gallery: Charing Cross Underground Station and then follow the signs.

Tate Modern

Britain's museum of international modern art, the Tate Modern was formed from the Tate Museum. The older peices remained at the original location and form what is now known as Tate Britain. (Tate Britain is worth exploring both for its collection of British art from 1500 - 1900 and the many special exhibits featured including pieces by those artists shortlisted for the Turner Prize. It's located near the Pimlico Underground station if you would like to go.) In 2000, the 20th Century pieces moved to the Battersea Power Station which sits immediately across from Sir Christopher Wren's Baroque masterpiece, St. Pauls Cathedral. Unlike most London museums which are arranged by period, the Tate Modern is arranged thematically, making modern art which can be a bit daunting at times, more accessible to the general public.

Points of Interest at the Tate Modern:

- The Turbine Hall. You really won't miss it, but it's vast space allows for some incredibly dramatic installations by contemporary artists that change yearly.
- The Nudes. A whole section devoted to ... you guessed it: naked people.
- The approach on the Millennium Bridge. You can pop into St. Paul's look at one of the greatest examples of Baroque architecture - pretty unique in cathedral design given that it was completed in a single lifetime - and then walk across to Tate Modern.
- Tate Modern usually has some pretty spectacular special exhibits to pay and see, and given that entrance to the permanent collection is free, the admission for the special exhibits is reasonable.

To get to the Tate Modern: St. Paul's Underground Station. Walk across the Millenium Bridge. This is one of the most spectacular walks in London. I promise.

Wallace Collection

Established from the private collection of Sir Richard Wallace and donated to the nation by his widow Lady Wallace in 1897, the Wallace Collection houses one of the finest collections of Sevres, Meissen, and 750 old master paintings. Containing over 200 paintings of French derivation and housing one of the finest collections of 18th century French furniture in the world, some might wonder: why visit a "French" museum in London? But visitors looking to keep their English visit English or looking to stick just to the larger museums miss out on one of the most perfect museums I've ever visited. The point of the Wallace is that it isn't one of the large museums of Britain, rather, that it is the collection of a collector that is housed in his home. The Wallace is an intimate museum, and is a highly enjoyable viewing experience. It's also one of my favorite places in London.

Points of Interest at the Wallace Collection:

- Collection of Sevres and Meissen
- 18th century French furnishings
- Works by Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck, Titian, Gainsborough, Boucher, Vernet, and Fragonard.
- Armory. Including European and Asian arms and armor.
- Francois Boucher, Madame de Pompadour. Capturing the opulence of life in the French court in his painting of Louis XV's chief mistress, Boucher paints color and light in a way that showcases his tremendous skill.
- Jean-Honore Fragonard, The Swing. This visually stunning painting tells the story of a love triangle. A husband hidden in shadow pushes his wife swinging through a tree toward her lover, a young man hidden in the bushes. A rococo masterpiece, this painting continues to inspire even today as Disney plans to release a film version of Rapunzel with a visual style based on The Swing.
- Portraits of Robert Dudley and Mary, Queen of Scots

To get to the Wallace Collection: Bond Street or Baker Street Underground Stations. Bond Street is a little closer.

Courtauld Institute Gallery

Home to London's finest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings, the Courtauld collection contains works by Van Gogh, Cezanne, Monet, Manet, Renoir, and Degas as well as master works by Botticelli, Tiepolo, Rubens, and Goya. Located in Somerset House - one of the most beautiful 18th century buildings in London - the Courtauld Gallery is generally overlooked by most tourists because it is a smaller collection. But the size of the collection should not make visitors underestimate the Courtauld. Being overlooked by tourists means that you avoid the crowds of larger museums. This quieter atmosphere coupled with the quality of work showcased make the Courtauld hard to beat. There is a small charge for admission. Check the website here for information.

Points of Interest at the Courtauld Gallery:

- Van Gogh, Self Portrait with a Bandaged Ear.
- Manet, Bar at the Folies-Bergeres.
- Cezanne, Le Lac d'Annecy. This is one of my favorite paintings. I can't even explain why. It just captivates me.

To get to the Courtauld Institute Gallery: The gallery is accessible from Holborn, Temple, Covent Garden, and Charing Cross Underground Stations.

British Museum

The goal of the British Musuem, containing more than 13 million objects from all every continent of the earth, is to illustrate and document the story of humanity from the beginning to the present. To accomplish this task, the museum has assembled a collection of international antiquities that is unrivaled.

Points of Interest at the British Museum

- The Department of Ancient Egypt and the Sudan. Containing the Rosetta Stone, a fragment from the beard of the Great Sphinx, and statues from every major Egyptian site, and the greatest collection of Egyptian artifacts outside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, this section of the museum is not to be missed by anyone who fell in love with mummies and archeology as a child. Am I alone in this?
- The Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities. This is the home of the Elgin Marbles (also known as the Parthenon Marbles). The department also houses pieces of the Mausoleum of Halikarnassos and the Temple of Artemis - two of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
- The circular reading room.
- The Department of the Ancient Near East. The largest collection of Mesopotamian artifacts outside of Iraq also plays host to fabulous pieces from Assyrian, Persian, Arabian, and Phoenician civilizations.

To get to the British Museum: Tottenham Court Road Underground Station is near the rear entrance of the museum. (And takes you along one of my favorite streets in London.) or Holborn Underground Station (near the front entrance)

Other Museums to try:

- Imperial War Museum. Displays of the shoes of holocaust victims are among the most moving things I've ever seen. Do something lighthearted after this.
- Museum of London. Covers the history, culture, and archeology of my favorite city.
- National Portrait Gallery. Portraits of historically important and famous British people. Loving portraiture like I do, this is one of my favorites.
- V&A Museum of Childhood. An outgrowth of the V&A, this museum focuses on the lives of children and contains toys, dolls, and children's clothing.

So put on some comfy shoes, and head out to learn about and enjoy the amazing history and artistic beauty on display in London's museums.

London Calling

2010-07-15T21:31:00.001-04:00

Coming from a very small southern town it may seem odd that London is my favorite city in the world. The vast difference in culture, pace of life, and size should have conspired to send me running back to the hills of western North Carolina, but they didn't. I fell in love with the city and its people. The love affair started with my study abroad experience and has continued with visits to satisfy my longing to be in this world capital. It is a city of history and a city of the moment, and combines the heritage of the former empire with the cutting-edge of a world grown smaller.

Many of my friends have visited London (lucky them) and being the good friend that I am, I prepared a personal guide to some of my favorite places in the city to share. Recently several other friends have journeyed to the UK, and I have updated the guide to include information that they have shared with me to pass along to others making their transatlantic voyage.

I will try to provide information that is as up-to-date as possible, but if you see something that is not current or that you think I should include, please let me know.

The guide includes information on:

Hotels: Where you put your head on the pillow at night is important.

Shopping: Where to go and what to buy from some of the world's top shops.

Free Things: Money can't buy everything, and sometimes it doesn't have to.

Royal Residences: Enter into the rarefied world of the monarchy.

Museums: Art is extremely accessible in London so any visitor should take advantage.

London Theater: After spending the day in the museums be entertained in a seated position.

Eating: Where to eat when on a budget, when splurging, and when blowing the diet.

Travel Tips: It isn't all about minding the gap. Although you should of course.

Specific Location Guides: to the Tower of London, Madame Tussauds, the London Eye, St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, and Piccadilly Circus.

I will be posting each of these sections individually because it is quite a lot of material to get through at one time. And why look through hotels if you really want to be finding out about museums? Looking through all of this makes me want to buy a ticket, grab my passport, and run to the airport as quickly as possible. Hope that you enjoy! And as this southerner says, "Tally-ho y'all!"

Summer Jamz

2010-07-11T23:31:00.003-04:00

Summer is a time for living it up by the pool, getting out on the water, having drinks on the veranda and rocking out to some awesome tunes. These are some of my summer tracks:

1. The Boy Who Murdered Love by Diana Vickers - Ms Vickers performed this on The Graham Norton Show (which I adore because I think American chat shows should involve light - or heavy - drinking, audience member humiliation, telephone calls to international residents, and naughty double entendres). I shouldn't like this song, but the combination of a classic pop hook, a fast beat, and a cute British blonde is too powerful for music snobbery. Guilty pleasure? You bet.

2. Once by Diana Vickers - Youtube related videos and BBC Radio 1 Chart Show brought my attention to this song. And it's been stuck in my head for weeks.

3. La La La by Auburn - Sampling is generally the mark of a poor song. And I'm not saying this is a masterpiece, but Auburn's borrowing from ATC's Around the World makes for a fresh summer song.

4. Fire by Kasabian - A 70s rock sound coupled with a video that features a bank robbery in cool looking sunglasses? Yes, please. Songs like this are why Kasabian is fast becoming one of my favorite bands.

5. Fire with Fire - Scissor Sisters brought the world my perennial fave 'I Don't Feel Like Dancing'. The new one will get your head bobbing along and your night started right.

6. Watercolour by Pendulum - Great beat, hypnotic sound. It's perfect for setting a mood.

7. Cooler than Me (Single Mix) by Mike Posner - Haven't we all met this girl before? Love or hate her, she's everywhere. Just like this song.

8. My First Kiss by 3Oh!3 feat. Ke$ha - I've listened to 3Oh!3 since they released Want in 2008. And I'll keep listening as long as they continue putting out fun songs Iike this one.

9. California Gurls by Katy Perry - Far be it from me to weigh in on the Katy v. GaGa spat (Katy had a point but GaGa is way better), but this is a really fun song. For laughs you really should youtube search some of the covers. Oklahoma, Washington, and Minnesota are fine, fresh, fierce, and can undeniably make me laugh.

10. No Tomorrow by Orson - This is an old one for a summer song. But despite being released all the way back in 2006, it still makes me want to 'turn that music up till the windows start to shatter' cause this song 'can get me on my feet and I can't even dance'.

11. Ghosts 'n' Stuff by Deadmau5 - Synth organs with a rock beat. Need I say more?

12. Hurtful by Erik Hassle - 'Don't Bring Flowers' from this same album was one of my favorite songs from the last year. Hurtful is a slower and more soulful offering from this Danish import.

13. Airplanes by B.o.B. feat. Hayley Williams - It's so rare to hear a song on the radio and go 'Wow that was really pretty.' Emotive without being sappy and pretty without being precious, this song is popular for a reason.

14. Magic by B.o.B. - Airplanes is getting such massive airplay that this one has gotten lost on the airwaves, but as a fun song it's worth a listen.

15. Animal by Neon Trees - The first track I start my morning exercise with, this song really picks up the pace and gets me moving.

16. Gettin' Over You by David Guetta feat. Fergie and LMFAO - Can David Guetta make anything that doesn't make you want to be in a club or on Ibiza? No, not really.

17. 4 Minutes - It's no secret that I love Madonna. She's an icon. It's also no secret that I love Glee. And so naturally I bought the Glee Cast's The Power of Madonna. I can't pick out a favorite track. How could I pit Jane Lynch's performance of Vogue against Lea Michele singing Express Yourself? But 4 Minutes is on my workout playlist, which I guess means maybe I've already made a choice.

18. Impossible by Shontelle - Every summer has to have a breakup song. This is version 2010.

19. You Look Better When I'm Drunk by The White Tie Affair - Pop beats back up a catchy song about discovering the visual impairment induced by inebriation.

20. Embers by Just Jack - Why isn't this song available from iTunes? A cover version is, but not the one by the original artist. Probably one of my favorites in the last five years.

Anything else I should be listening to?

Summer Sun and Fun: Or A Palmetto State of Mind

2010-07-08T01:23:00.003-04:00

Summer is in full swing here in WNC and I've participated in all of my favorite summertime activities. Grilling, having drinks on the deck, driving with the top down, walking along the beach, and taking a dip in the pool.

I've had the privilege this summer of adding the weddings of dear friends to my summer 'to do' list and have been to two ceremonies so far. A and M - friends of mine from law school - were married on Memorial Day weekend in Fort Mill, SC. It was a beautiful ceremony followed by an even more beautiful reception. V. Great Gatsby with decorations in white and green focusing on calla lilies, white orchids, pale hydrangeas, and candle light in the historic McBryde Hall at Winthrop University. Add in great people, good music, and an open bar and the wedding had all the requirements for a fantastic evening. I was so happy to celebrate the nuptials of two friends from law school and honor the sacrifice of American service men and women with some of my favorite people.

I spent the week preceding A and J's beach wedding in Myrtle Beach, SC with my family. Lots of racquetball and tennis were played every morning (I'm a disgraceful golfer, which is awful in Myrtle Beach what with all the great courses.) and we spent some time ambling around the area. If you are in the Myrtle Beach area there are a few things that I would not miss: Brookgreen Gardens, The Original Hammock Shop at the Hammock Shops in Pawleys Island, and a day trip to Georgetown, SC.

Black and white detail of the Diana pool at Brookgreen Gardens.

Brookgreen Gardens, founded in 1931 by Archer Milton Huntington and Anna Hyatt Huntington, was America's first and remains one its foremost sculpture gardens. Containing over 1200 original works of art, the grounds vary from the formal to natural and also host a Low Country Zoo that features fauna native to SC. Brookgreen Gardens is not to be missed by any art lover, history buff, or garden devotee.

Archer Milton Huntington and Anna Hyatt Huntington

View through to Riders of the Dawn.

Pegasus

Dionysus

Black and white detail of Riders of the Dawn.

Riders of the Dawn - my favorite piece in Brookgreen Gardens.

The Original Hammock Shop is located south of Myrtle Beach in Pawleys Island. Proud to be "Arrogantly Shabby" (Isn't that the best unofficial town motto ever?) Pawleys Island is considered to be America's oldest seaside resort with residents escaping the heat and mosquitoes of coastal South Carolina since the late 18th century. (George Washington slept there.) Cotton hammocks have been produced at this location for 120 years following the traditional design of a Carolina riverboat captain who created the modern American hammock. Not only can you see hammocks being made, you can pop into the Carolina Gourmet at Pawleys to buy a southern cookbook and a bag of heirloom rice or locally produced grits, and have a great meal on the veranda at the High Hammock.

An hour or so south of Myrtle Beach is the charming seaside town of Georgetown, SC. Historic homes and businesses provide visitors a wonderful opportunity to take a step back and enjoy a slower pace of life.

Black and white balcony in Georgetown, SC.

Big Tuna Restaurant and Raw Bar in Georgetown, SC. Yum.

The Docks of Georgetown, SC

Main Street - Georgetown, SC

Georgetown is a great place to begin exploration of coastal SC on the water. Boat tours that visit historic shipwrecks, showcase the sites of former plantation homes, and allow viewing of marine life all depart from the Georgetown docks. Georgetown harbor was formerly one of the busiest in the nation, but as silt built up, larger ships could not enter the harbor, and it hasn't been and isn't scheduled to be dredged. This wide expanse of water, inaccessible to larger ships, allows for some of the best tidewater kayaking in the country. (If you're into that sort of thing.) As for me I would advise taking a walk around Main Street, having lunch at the Big Tuna, and finishing the day off with an ice cream cone. Or if you're like me and on a diet, a spoonful of ice cream taken off of a fellow traveler's cone will do just fine.

After spending the week with my family (Mother had a medical executive conference so we tagged along.) I attended the wedding of A and J - both friends from ASL. A lovely beach-side affair, it was so much fun to attend a wedding in rolled up linen pants and Havaianas (my absolute favorite flips ever). The reception followed at Bubba's Love Shak where A and J put together what is one of my favorite reception menus ever: hushpuppies, fish tacos and Low Country Boil (which as one of my favorite foods deserves - and will soon get - a post of its own). Adding a couple of sweet tea vodkas with a lemon twist made it the perfect low country dinner to cap off an evening of fun with friends celebrating this wonderful couple.

I'm so happy for these two great couples as they start out their lives together!

For now, I'm back at home in WNC looking forward to getting together with friends, spending time with family, and enjoying all of the great activities that warm weather allows before the onslaught of winter.

What I've been up to lately.

2010-06-28T09:39:00.000-04:00

Since March I've begun a new regime. All my life I've been overweight and I've tried every fad and gimmick to take it off. And I finally found something that works: diet and exercise.

I know. It's pretty lame, right? And I've tried diet and exercise before only to lose some of the weight, get discouraged and fall off the wagon and into some cheese fries. But this time is different.

1. I'm working with my doctor. Having an accountability partner that understands my medical history and the steps that I have to take to lose weight has been crucial to my success so far.

2. I'm keeping a food diary. Being able to look back over how my diet has transformed and not just hearing but seeing the effects of put good in - get good out is one of the biggest parts in changing my behavior with and attitude towards food.

3. I have a support system. My poor family has eaten more steamed vegetables (which I LOVE) than anyone ought to have to endure. My brother has walked with me at the track and Mother has done yoga with me.

Every time I've ever lost weight before I've done it without a doctor, without accepting that I have to change my behavior over the long term, and always by myself. And I've lost weight. As much as 40 lbs at a time. But I've always gained it back.

This time feels different. I hope it is, because I certainly don't want to gain the weight back. But if I do at least I'll have the knowledge of how to continue to be healthy.

Oh and I've found a new favorite activity: closet shopping. Now I'm getting to take things out of my closet that I haven't been able to get into in ages and ages. (As long as they still look good.) Hello old friends, I haven't worn you in a while.

Two Months Later

2010-05-25T12:10:00.001-04:00

I can't believe that it's been two months since I've updated! I'm the first to admit that I'm not a particularly regular poster. I'll probably never be able to publish one a day, but my family and I have been busy busy busy. So following personal precedent, this will be a catch up post and I will be using my trademark - numbers.

1. Glee is back! After waiting very very patiently - by which I mean watching all of the previous episodes, downloading Glee cast versions of songs, and following the show on facebook - I am so excited that my new favorite show is back and better than ever. The Jane Lynch/Sue Sylvester remake of Madonna's iconic Vogue video absolutely confirmed everything that I've said about this show since the first episode aired - it's not just one of the best shows on television, it's one of the best shows ever on television.

2. Bought and received my seasonal Sperry Topsiders. They're in the top of my closet marked with the colors and the occasions that they will be worn. Obsessive compulsive? Perhaps.

3. My brother and mother have kicked off the gardening season with their organic vegetable and flower gardens. Having a black thumb myself - I've killed every plant I've ever been in charge of - I leave gardening to the professionals/successful amateurs. But being an amateur chef - I got to help pick out the vegetables. I can't wait for our heirloom tomatoes and fresh greens to start producing. Delish.

4. I have had so many delicious meals over the past 8 weeks. And I remember them all because I've started keeping a food journal. Bruce's Blue Pearadise Salad, the BLT Salad from the Early Girl Eatery, my turkey burgers, the filet mignon from Steak & Wine, the edamame salad from Greenlife Grocery, grilled chicken with curry dipping sauce, stir fried ginger broccoli, and sauteed spinach with mushrooms and shallots have been standouts.

5. Wedding season is kicking off in a few days, and I can't wait to see some of my favorite people at these happy events. And my 10 year high school reunion is scheduled at the end of the summer season. It should be fun to catch up with some people that I haven't seen in such a long time.

6. I was able to catch up with some great friends that I met while in law school. C, a fellow lawyer and I caught up over wine and martinis at Steak & Wine. Their pomegranate martini is amazing and definitely worth a try. S and D, two great friends that owned and operated Mountain Perks while I was at law school, were visiting Asheville and we spent the evening at the Corner Kitchen - one of my favorite restaurants.

7. We're getting ready to do some redecorating at my house so I'm knee deep in paint samples, upholstery swatches and flooring swatches. I've got a binder full of notes on bathroom fittings, kitchen appliances, and outdoor furniture.

8. I've been keeping the food diary as part of a diet plan. I've been working with a diet doctor to focus on my fitness, and to get in better shape and be a healthier, fitter B. I've got a long way to go, and I know that it's a process, but I'm looking forward to changing my lifestyle to be more healthy and active. I started in March, but the effects were felt immediately. I feel fantastic.

I can't wait to update over the next few weeks. I have lots of things to do and lots of projects going on. I hope everyone is kicking off these warmer months with lots of friends and fun!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T13:44:00.000-04:00

Haven't updated in a while, but I have lots to share and am working on a few new things.

But for now - Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I hope that everyone has a fantastically fun St. Patrick's Day with lots of food, friends, and green drinks. Be sure to drink responsibly and remember not to drink and drive. Have fun but be safe.

P.S. Pinch yourself if you're not wearing green.

Snow and Other Things

2010-03-02T22:51:00.000-05:00

1. I have been obsessed with this Olympics. And the Vancouver games did not disappoint. From the opening ceremony to the closing of the games the combination of international cooperation and athleticism has been riveting. I think it's because I used to pretend to be a speed skater on my rollerblades and held the sock feet kitchen-capades in my college apartment kitchen. During these games - for me at least - the story of Joannie Rochette stood out among all the others. The Canadian figure skater's mother passed away 48 hours before Joannie was to perform her short program for her family and her nation. Deciding to carry on to fulfill the dream she shared with her mother, Ms. Rochette's performance displayed a level of dignity and honor in sport that is rarely seen on such a large stage.

2. It's snowing again here in WNC. Apparently winter isn't going away without a fight, so I've decided to make the best of it and take some photographs of the views from my windows. And yes it's pretty. But I'm ready for spring.

Spring was *this* close. It was 60 degrees and the sun

was shining.

But then the snow came falling down. It fell on the barn.

It fell on the bushes.

And in the trees.

The snow covered the trees.

Until the view from my back windows looked like this.

3. I've been reading steadily lately - thanks to the snowy weather and a predilection for curling up by the fire - and have finished The Emperor's Children, The Swan Thieves, and Free Food for Millionaires. Next up is The Children's Book by AS Byatt.

4. I made Chicken Marsala for my parents' anniversary and it was wonderful. I was surprised it was so easy to make, and will be experimenting with ingredients to make it my own. I love cooking with wine and can't wait until spring when I can take my mother's mustard chicken salad (that has a dash of champagne) to take on picnics.

5. The continued news from Haiti and the recent events in Chile is heartbreaking. Currently my family is working with our church on Buckets of Hope. The contents of one five gallon bucket can feed a Haitian family for one week. We're hoping to collect lots of buckets, and as more information becomes available to meet any needs that we can in Chile.

News of the Week

2010-02-19T16:18:00.002-05:00

I have many favorite things. When I was preparing for the North Carolina Bar Exam I rewrote the lyrics to The Sound of Music's "My Favorite Things" so I would have something to cheer me up during the many hours of studying. (My impromptu performance of the song as takers entered the exam garnered more than a few looks. You could practically see "He's gonna fail" written all over their faces. I showed them!)

But one of my most favorite things is the Sperry Top-Sider.

Long my favorite shoe both because of the combination of color, comfort and preppy, nautical style, I have been thrilled by the emergence of the Sperry style into more national prominence.And when I saw the Sperry blog today I was absolutely thrilled!

They're opening stand alone stores!

Read the full details here: From Sea to Shining Sea

I know that I'll be happy to be a customer at any Sperry Store that I pass by.

Aren't these perfect for the Fourth of July?

Men's Original Seasonal Boat Shoe in red & navy @ SperryTopsider.com

And green is my favorite color.

Men's Original Seasonal Boat Shoe in avocado @ SperryTopsider.com

Happy Shopping to me!

Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler!

2010-02-16T09:00:00.002-05:00

I'm putting on my mask.

And I'm putting on my beads.

I prefer the traditional colors: purple, gold, and green. Believed to have been selected by

Grand Duke Alexis Alexandrovitch Romanov during his 1872 visit to New Orleans, these

colors represent justice (purple), power (gold), and faith (green).

Because today is Mardi Gras! The Tuesday before the beginning of Lent - starting Ash Wednesday and continuing for the 40 days before Easter - has long been part of a time of celebration - a last hurrah before the austerity of the Lenten season.

Mardi Gras traces its roots to Carnival, which is prominently celebrated in Rio de Janeiro and across Latin America, the south of France, and Venice. All of these celebrations take place in the weeks before Ash Wednesday. These international celebrations include many of the elements we associate with Mardi Gras - music, dancing, parades, and costumes - all with a local flair.

In the United States the celebration of Mardi Gras is mostly limited to the Gulf Coast States of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana - areas that had a history of French and Spanish colonization. But when the average American hears "Mardi Gras" they think of one city: New Orleans. Mardi Gras celebrations began in New Orleans in the 18th Century after the capital of French Louisiana was moved from Mobile to New Orleans, and from that time the major Carnival celebration in the US has been hosted by Nawlins. After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina many feared that the good times would never roll again in the Big Easy, but the exuberant nature of this town came back as the waters receded. From the Krewes - civic and social clubs that organize the parades and balls of Mardi Gras - to the parade watchers to the revelers on Bourbon street, the people have kept these traditions alive year after year.

But not only is today Mardi Gras, it is also my parents anniversary! Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Aren't they cute together?

And as they say in New Orleans, let's let the good times roll!

Ready for the Run

2010-02-10T15:56:00.002-05:00

As the wind blows hard and cold outside my window, I'm longing for spring. Warm weather and everything that goes with it cannot get here soon enough for me. But faced with at least another month or two of cold, chilly weather, I'm beginning get anxious for Spring to show up at all.

My favorite Spring holiday - other than Easter of course - is Derby Day. And in our house it is a holiday. The day of the Kentucky Derby - the first Saturday in May and the beginning of the Triple Crown - is a time for barbeque and derby pie, mint juleps, and horses of course. Even if we ride in the morning and aren't having people over, we always make sure to be home in time to watch the Derby.

So in the spirit of counting down the days until spring, here is the Official BH Kentucky Derby Countdown Clock:

Created by OnePlusYou

Here's to Spring!

Odds and Ends

2010-02-05T23:24:00.003-05:00

1. I recently watched the Lifetime movie The Pregnancy Pact. Based loosely on events and the media frenzy surrounding the pregnancies of 18 Gloucester High School students, this was one of the wildest and scariest movies I've ever seen.

2. I've done some Summer season ordering. Every summer I get two pairs of my favorite flips, Havaianas. With one pair in white and one in black, I'm always ready for 'Deck Days,' time by the pool, and they look great with my seersucker. I ordered a pair of tortoiseshell wayfarers from RayBan, and love them. I want to wear them all the time. Dark wash jeans came in yesterday from Gap, a new pair of Nantucket reds should come in Monday or Tuesday, and I've got my eye on a pair of pink pinwale pants from Bonobos.

3. I've been super lucky the past couple of cold & flu seasons and haven't gotten sick at all - not even one little sniffle. I think my dedication to rigorous (read: slightly obsessive) handwashing and daily doses of vitamins has helped keep me healthy. But this past weekend I came down with a cold. I hate being sick, and am a terribly whiny patient. When I get sick I turn to my Mucinex, AlkaSeltzer Cold Plus, Airborne, Vitamin C rotation and don't give up until the cold concedes.

4. It's snowing again. Ugh.

5. My first destination of 2010 must be Washington DC. I'm not going to network or to meet elected officials or to see cherry trees (although they are lovely). I'm going to appreciate gems! One of my many interests in life is jewelry and jewels. Anytime that I'm in DC I have to go to the National Gemstone Collection in the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum to gawk at the Hope Diamond. Since I was a child I knew the importance of color, cut, clarity and carat, and because you can mine for gems in NC I've made my parents buy more than their fair share of buckets of dirt in hopes of unearthing a ruby, sapphire or emerald. (No diamonds in NC.) So I was delighted to see this article detailing the exhibition of the Wittelsbach-Graff diamond at the Smithsonian.

6. I got my save the date for the wedding of AA and MD, two friends from law school. Can't wait to see them tie the knot! Congratulations!

7. I got a new remote for the DirecTv to replace an old broken one on Wednesday. Which isn't terribly exciting, but it would have been absolutely awful to have Super Bowl Sunday without one.

8. The new season of Damages is promising. Instantly one of my favorite shows, this season brings viewers a storyline along similar paths as the Bernie Madoff scandal. It focuses on the Tobin family, whose patricarch Louis has stolen 70 billion dollars from investors in a Madoff style Ponzi scheme. Showing the fallout for both the family at the center of the scandal and the investors subjected to such a massive fraud, Damages also has the benefit of the superb acting skills of Glenn Close. I normally don't watch legal shows - it's like a doctor watching Grey's Anatomy - but I make an exception for Damages. Tune in, you'll get hooked.

9. I need to buy thank you cards I'm thinking about this one

Crane Thank You Card, Ecru with Navy available through Kate's Paperie.

or this one

Crane & Co. Tangerine Thank You Notes available through Kate's Paperie

10. Mardi Gras is the 16th. Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Drinks, Anyone?

2010-01-18T23:15:00.001-05:00

I'm an eat, drink, and be merry type of person, and really just love to have a good time with friends and family. And as much as I talk about (good) food, I'm also someone who loves to have a good drink in my hand. It doesn't have to be alcoholic, but it should be tasty.

(Remember that if you do drink alcohol, do so responsibly and always have a designated driver.)

1. Tea

What kind of southerner would I be if I didn't start out with tea? People might show up outside my house with pitch forks and ask me to move somewhere where they think tea comes in china cups and the acceptable sweetener is one delicate little sugar cube. (I actually do love tea in all its glorious forms, but I am partial to my iced tea.) Of course when I say tea, I do mean sweet tea. Did you know that there are places in this world where tea does not automatically mean enough sugar to make a candy addict happy? I was personally shocked to learn that tea could be unsweetened, but like grandmother always said, "there's just no accounting for people's tastes."

To get good instructions for Sweet Tea is incredibly difficult. Most families have a particular brand of iced tea blend and a particular type of sugar that they are loyal to. (To say nothing of the serving containers. Some families have crystal pitchers that have been in the family for generations for nothing other than tea. Other families will fight to the death for Mama's plastic Rubbermaid tea jug.) In fact, to get a good sweet tea recipe usually requires marrying into families that have a good recipe, the death of a near and dear relative who has perfected the recipe and finally feels ready to share at the threat of impending demise, or membership in certain clubs where it is essential to the smooth running of the organization - the Hospital Auxiliary, the Junior League, and the Garden Club come to mind.

Luckily my family has a recipe so good and so easy that it doesn't require a simple syrup, or even a tea kettle. So despite the culture of secrecy surrounding sweet tea recipes, here is the H family sweet tea recipe: (Per tradition I include my favorite tea and sugar brands. If these are not available to you, or if you have a different brand that you like better feel free to change it up. But of course that means that your tea will not be as good as mine.) (I'm kidding there ... well sort of.)

You will need:

4 family sized bags of Tetley Iced Tea Blend (8 if you are using the smaller size)
1 1/2 to 2 cups of Dixie Crystals Sugar
Water (if you didn't know that you'd better not turn on the stove, you might hurt yourself)
a plastic 1 gallon drink container (you can always pour into a nicer one later - and this keeps you from committing the cardinal sin of putting scratch marks on crystal from overly vigorous or heavily repeated stirring.)

Place tea into a 4 quart sauce pan with water. Bring water to a rolling boil. Boil for two minutes. At this point, you should let the tea steep for at least five minutes, but if you're in a rush continue on to the next step. Put sugar into the gallon container. Run hot water over the sugar in the container and stir. (This saves you from having to make a separate simple syrup, and prevents the tea from being grainy or developing a syrupy bottom layer.) Pour in the tea from the sauce pan. Top off the container with water, and stir. Refrigerate and serve over ice with a lemon wedge if you like.

2. Gin & Tonic

I have a particular fondness for Tanqueray and tonic. But I've found that Bombay is also quite nice. Add a lime circle or wedge and leave it alone. It's a drink that needs no dressing up.

3. Blanton's

Bourbon. You need it for Mint Juleps and you need it for ... well you just need it. It's great for cooking - you can put it in mashed sweet potatos (yum) - and it's great for drinking - particularly on an evening when you pick up a Faulkner novel and just want to have a night in by the fire. I do love Blanton's & Pappy Van Winkle best. Sip a couple of fingers out of cut glass and cultivate your inner Kentucky gentleman.

4. Champagne/Sparkling Wine

You need no excuse to open a bottle of bubbly. Too often people think you have to be celebrating something to have champagne. You don't. It doesn't hurt if a bottle of Dom goes down with a promotion or some Laurent-Perrier is popped with 'the question', but you can have it when you're not celebrating anything at all. Actually, scratch that. Do celebrate with champagne. Just celebrate more frequently. Like on Tuesdays. After all, it only comes round once a week you know.

5. BH Blackberry Cooler

I really can't believe that I haven't shared this drink recipe with anyone before. I did a search of previous entries to make sure that I hadn't mentioned it before, and was genuinely surprised that I hadn't put this recipe up. It is one of my favorite things in the entire world, and so far is my crowning achievement in the world of drinks recipes. It is a summertime drink that is light, sweet, and seasonal.

Blackberry Simple Syrup

1 quart blackberries
3 1/2 - 4 cups water
2 to 2 1/2cups sugar

Place blackberries, (You may use frozen ones at the beginning of summer, but only if you have picked them yourself and only if they were picked the immediately preceding season.) water, and sugar into a pot over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and then lower the temperatures slightly to simmer. Reduce the liquid content for about 10 minutes allowing the berries to macerate in the pan. Remove from heat. Strain. Chill the simple syrup. (Eat the warm berries with a fresh buttermilk biscuit. Trust me on this.)

BH Blackberry Cooler

16 oz glass with ice
2 oz chilled Blackberry Simple Syrup (4 tablespoons)
2 oz Vodka (Grey Goose or Belvedere)
Lemon-Lime Soda (Sprite or similar)

Ice into glass, followed by syrup and vodka. Stir. Top with soda, stir gently once more and enjoy. The vodka is completely optional and the drink is thoroughly enjoyable without it.

Being from NC I love that our state has it's own official toast adopted by the General Assembly:

Here's to the land of the long leaf pine,
The summer land where the sun doth shine,
Where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great,
Here's to "Down Home," the Old North State!

Here's to the land of the cotton bloom white,
Where the scuppernong perfumes the breeze at night,
Where the soft southern moss and jessamine mate,
'Neath the murmering pines of the Old North State!

Here's to the land where the galax grows,
Where the rhododendron's rosette glows,
Where soars Mount Mitchell's summit great,
In the "Land of the Sky," in the Old North State!

Here's to the land where maidens are fair,
Where friends are true and cold hearts rare,
The near land, the dear land, whatever fate,
The blessed land, the best land, the Old North State!

Cheers Y'all!

The Itinerary

2010-01-11T18:44:00.002-05:00

I have a confession to make. I am a chronic overpacker. With a tendency to think "Oh I might need that" and being more than willing to throw it into my luggage, I usually take at least one bag completely full of unnecessary items. For me the usual culprits are shoes (because these need to be coordinated with every outfit), pillows (if I'm traveling by car I always take at least two), toiletries (I blame my hatred for travel size shampoos and having to take giant contact lens solution bottles), and excess clothing (Why only take one set of clothes for each day when you can work in at least three costume changes?).

But for my recent trip to Atlanta/Indianapolis I really wanted to rein in my overzealous packing. I started thinking about what I would be doing while I was visiting these cities. And while I wasn't particularly clear on the specifics, I was armed with weather forecasts and a general knowledge of each event planned for the trip. So to bring my overpacking under control, I came up with the concept of a "clothing itinerary".

And what is a clothing itinerary? Knowing the events for each day and the rough locations for each event, I had a mental outline for the trip, but to minimize my desire to overpack, I made a list of corresponding clothing that I would wear during the days activities. For example:

Thursday Morning - Traveling to Indianapolis from Atlanta

- Pink Oxford
- Blue Elvis sweater
- Jeans
- Sperry slip ons
- Black overcoat
- Black gloves
- Black Sunglasses
- Burberry scarf

Thursday Evening - In Indianapolis for Rehearsal Dinner & New Year's Eve

- Same as above only change out jeans for gray trousers

Friday Morning - Hotel & Downtown Indianapolis

- Blue Oxford
- Beige Sweater
- Jeans
- Sperry Slip ons
- Black overcoat
- Black gloves
- Black sunglasses
- Burberry scarf

Friday Evening - Wedding @ The Columbia Club

- Dinner Jacket
- Black trousers
- Tux shirt
- Black tie
- Dress shoes
- Black gloves
- Black overcoat
- white silk evening scarf

What my itinerary allowed me to do was to picture how my clothing could transition from one activity to the next so I wouldn't attempt to put every single thing in my closet into my suitcases, let me recognize those events that would require pieces that wouldn't be worn to anything else, and highlighted those pieces that could be used throughout the trip. For a longer trip you could also do this with a look book of pictures of each item of clothing in your luggage. Keep these "looks" on your computer and you could be ready to go at the touch of a button all with less luggage to lug through the airport or fit into the car.

Is this a little obsessive? Perhaps. But I can assure you that after this trip, my clothing itinerary will always be printed and paper clipped to my flight confirmations and maps in my travel portfolio.

A New Year's Jaunt

2010-01-09T00:45:00.003-05:00

To ring in the New Year, BR and I traveled to Indianapolis for a wedding! It was a great trip, and an awesome way to celebrate the coming of not only a New Year, but a New Decade. I went to ATL - BR's hometown - before we had to be in Indy so we could fly in together. So we had a cozy evening in Atlanta before heading off, and I had the best restaurant grits ever at a place called The Flying Biscuit. Deeeelish!

We arrived the evening before the wedding, and were met at the airport by our law school friend, S, and her fiance J. Soon we dropped off all the luggage @ the downtown Sheraton and headed to to S and J's beautiful apartment to catch up and have a few celebratory drinks. Kudos to S for remembering my devotion to Tanqueray gin and tonics. After that was the rehearsal dinner where BR and I got to see all of the G family that we had met while in law school, and meet all of the V family. (One of my favorite things about weddings is meeting all of the various family members that pop up. It gives you such a sense of where people come from, and makes you appreciate people on a new and deeper level.) After a great meal, where I ate entirely too much fettuccini alfredo, we headed back to S and J's apartment with some of their friends to play Scene It and ring in the new year.

BR's Bridesmaid's gift. Isn't it fun?

On New Year's Day I spent most of the morning in bed, taking full advantage of being alone in a hotel room and having a 50 inch flat panel television while BR - a bridesmaid - got her hair and makeup done with the wedding party. After a great day of laziness and Starbucks, I left the hotel and walked a couple of blocks to The Columbia Club to the G-V wedding.

Exterior of The Columbia Club. it was an amazing location with super event staff.

BR and I sent one of our best law school friends down this aisle.

S was a beautiful bride!

The evening was fantastic from start to finish. As people arrived they were able to mingle in the foyer, and then were seated beneath a painted coffered ceiling. After a touching ceremony officiated by S's stepfather, guests walked down the hallway to the club bar while the finishing flourishes were put on the reception areas and the dance floor.

The bar @ the Columbia Club. Fantastic Room.

It was an evening of great conversation, great food, great music, and if not great, then certainly vigorous dancing.

The morning after the nuptials, I took a few pictures around the monument at the center of Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis. The sculpture is very well executed and captures both the grand scale necessary for memorializing those who have served our country and the personal drama that surrounds a soldier's sacrifice.

This part of the Monument faces South calling Indiana's
Civil War Soldiers on to preserve the union,
welcoming them home, and showing the
broken chains of those formerly enslaved.

This part of the monument shows the personal drama of war
as a young soldier lays down his plow and leaves his distraught
parents behind to take up arms.

It was a privilege to watch Ms. SG make the transition to Mrs. SV, getting to meet the G and V families, and making my first trip to Indiana. Despite the frigid New Year temperatures, and the threat of lake effect snow, all of the Hoosiers that we met were delightful, and I have nothing but the best to say about all of the mid-westerners that BR and I met on our adventure.

Upon our return to ATL - following a nerve-racking landing that featured seven hard banks and 20 minutes of shaking - BR and I began an evening of running around Atlanta with her darling friend K (who took us to AND picked us up from the airport - LOVE HER) to prepare for a party evening with BR's Georgia crew. It was a wonderful evening courtesy of BR and her fab friends, and a great way to close out the New Year festivities.

Of course now I'm back at home and am planning to get out of frigid WNC for somewhere a little warmer. So, where shall I go in 2010?

Ready to Spring

2010-01-05T21:21:00.006-05:00

After spending the weekend in Indianapolis at a dear friend's wedding - details will follow - and being out in the frigid temperatures of WNC today, I'm ready for warmer weather. Like really ready. So ready that I look at weather websites and hope that the temperature will suddenly spike and we'll be back in the 70s again. I look at the weather of locations south of here and feel jealous for those who reach above 50. I look at travel websites and think about leaving for milder climes. So ready that I even know what I'll be wearing when I make my escape.

Spring/Summer 2010 by BH featuring Ray

Items in this set:
Original Wayfarer RB2140 Sunglasses | Official Ray-Ban Site, $189
Stubbs & Wootton - Purveyors of Fine Footwear
Sage green stretch pinwale pants - Bonobos
Light pink stretch pinwale pants - Bonobos
Men's Madras Bermuda Shorts | Cape Madras

Let me know if you want to go with, I'll save you a deck chair.

Christmas Movies - Quotable Quotes

2009-12-22T20:17:00.000-05:00

What with being snowed in - at over 12 inches in WNC you're "snowed in" - I've watched a ton of movies over the past three days, and because it is the Christmas season, I've been getting in the mood by watching some of my favorite holiday movies.

So by December 25th I will probably have watched all of these movies. Here's the list and some of my favorite quotes.

1. The Ref - a crazy Connecticut family becomes involved with a skilled thief cum hostage taker cum family therapist. Dennis Leary, Kevin Spacey, and Judy Davis star. Story by Marie Weiss. Screenplay by Richard LaGravenese and Marie Weiss.

Lloyd: [referring to their son] In the ninth grade we said he could get a part time job. Are you ready for what he did? He started an escort service for the football team, and he gave out my mother's phone number!
Caroline: And I still say getting laid by an 18-year-old linebacker is just what she needs!

Lloyd: You know what I'm going to get you next Christmas, Mom? A big wooden cross, so that every time you feel unappreciated for your sacrifices, you can climb on up and nail yourself to it.

2. It's A Wonderful Life - The Frank Kapra classic starring Jimmy Stewart. Screenplay by Frank Capra, Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich.

Annie: I been savin' this money for a divorce, if ever I got a husband.

Clarence: [in book inscription] Remember, George, no man is a failure who has friends.

3. Christmas Vacation - Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, and Randy Quaid lead a castful of zany Griswolds. Bonus points for a supporting cast including Doris Roberts, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Julliette Lewis. Written by John Hughes.

Margot: And why is the carpet all wet, Todd?
Todd: I don't know, Margot!

Clark: Where do you think you're going? Nobody's leaving. Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No, no. We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here. We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny f___ing Kaye. And when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney tonight, he's gonna find the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse.

4. Miracle on 34th Street - My favorite is the original 1947 version with Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara, and Natalie Wood. Story by Valentine Davies, written by George Seaton.

[Doris is trying to convince Susan there is no Santa Claus]
Susan Walker: But when he spoke Dutch to that girl.
Doris Walker: Susan, I speak French, but that doesn't make me Joan of Arc.

Doris: Would you please tell her that you're not really Santa Claus, that actually there is no such person?
Kris Kringle: Well, I hate to disagree with you, but not only is there such a person, but here I am to prove it.

5. Love Actually - with a fantastic ensemble cast, this film weaves tales to prove that love actually is all around. (And Christmas too of course.) Written by Richard Curtis.

[to a portrait of Margaret Thatcher]
Prime Minister: You have this kind of problem? Yeah, of course you did, you saucy minx.

Karen: So what's this big news then?
Daisy: We've been given our parts in the nativity play. And I'm the lobster.
Karen: The lobster?
Daisy: Yeah!
Karen: In the nativity play?
Daisy: Yeah, first lobster.
Karen: There was more than one lobster present at the birth of Jesus?

6. The Holiday - Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Cameron Diaz, and Jack Black lead in a tales of how the holidays are spent when you take a break and find Mr./Ms. Right in someone else's life. Written by Nancy Meyers.

Iris: I understand feeling as small and as insignificant as humanly possible. And how it can actually ache in places you didn't know you had inside you. And it doesn't matter how many new haircuts you get, or gyms you join, or how many glasses of chardonnay you drink with your girlfriends... you still go to bed every night going over every detail and wonder what you did wrong or how you could have misunderstood. And how in the hell for that brief moment you could think that you were that happy. And sometimes you can even convince yourself that he'll see the light and show up at your door. And after all that, however long all that may be, you'll go somewhere new. And you'll meet people who make you feel worthwhile again. And little pieces of your soul will finally come back. And all that fuzzy stuff, those years of your life that you wasted, that will eventually begin to fade.

Arthur Abbott: Iris, in the movies we have leading ladies and we have the best friend. You, I can tell are a leading lady, but for some reason you are behaving like the best friend.
Iris: You're so right. You're supposed to be the leading lady of your own life for God's sake! Arthur, I've been going to a therapist for three years, and she's never explained things to me that well. That was brilliant. Brutal, but brilliant.

7. Elf - Will Farrell, Bob Newhart, James Caan and Zooey Deschanel make a new Christmas classic. Written by David Berenbaum.

Gimbel's Manager: Why are you smiling like that?
Buddy: I just like to smile, smiling's my favorite.

[Buddy sees the mail room for the first time]
Buddy: It's just like Santa's workshop! Except it smells like mushrooms, and everyone looks like they wanna hurt me.

Buddy: I passed through the seven levels of the candy cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, and then I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel.

8. The Homecoming: A Christmas Story - This was the pilot for The Waltons, which I loved when I was a kid. Screenplay by Earl Hamner Jr. adapted from novel by Earl Hamner Jr.

John-Boy: Grandpa, do we got something to show we own Walton's Mountain?
Grandpa: You can't own a mountain anymore than you can own an ocean or a piece of the sky. You hold it in trust. You live on it, you take life from it, and once you're dead, you rest in it.

John-Boy: Christmas is the season where we give tokens of love. In that house we received not tokens but love itself. i became the writer I promised my father I would be and my destiny lead me far from Walton's mountain. My mother lives there still. Alone now for we lost my father in 1969. My brothers and sisters, grown with children of their own, live not too far away. We are still a close family and see each other when we can. And like Miss Mamie Baldwin's fourth cousins, we're apt to sample the recipe and then gather around the piano and hug each other while we sing the old songs. For no matter the time or distance, we are united in the memory of that Christmas eve. More than 30 years and 3,000 miles away, I can still hear those sweet voices.

9. The Bishop's Wife/The Preacher's Wife - The story of an angel sent to help a minister's wife and her family. Could you choose between Cary Grant and Whitney Houston. I think not. (Well generally Cary edges out Whitney, but she sings in The Preacher's Wife which makes it a draw.)

From The Bishop's Wife - book by Robert Nathan, written by Leonardo Bercovici, Robert E. Sherwood, Charles Brackett (uncredited), & Billy Wilder (uncredited)

Professor Wutheridge: God Bless you!
Dudley: Thank you! I'll pass that recommendation along.

From The Preacher's Wife - adapted from screenplay for The Bishop's Wife by Nat Mauldin and Allan Scott

Jeremiah Biggs: Just because you can't see the air doesn't keep you from breathing. And just because you can't see God doesn't keep you from believing.

10. Ernest Saves Christmas - The wacky tale of how one man - one crazy, man - saves Christmas when Santa Claus is looking for his replacement. Story by Ed Turner and screenplay by B. Kline and Ed Turner.

Ernest P. Worell: I am one with the Yuletide, know what I mean?

Ernest P. Worell: Ahh. Smell those Christmas trees. You can keep your "Channel" Number 5, just give me a whiff of the old lonesome pine. That symbol of brotherly love, that centerpiece that all mankind gathers round to share the cranberry sauce shaped like a can.

11. Home Alone - Modern holiday classic. Written by John Hughes.

Kevin McCallister: I took a shower washing every body part with actual soap; including all my major crevices; including in between my toes and in my belly button which I never did before but sort of enjoyed. I washed my hair with adult formula shampoo and used cream rinse for that just-washed shine. I can't seem to find my toothbrush, so I'll pick one up when I go out today. Other than that, I'm in good shape.

Kate McCallister: I have been awake for almost 60 hours. I'm tired and I'm dirty. I have been from Chicago to Paris to Dallas to ... where the hell am I?
Ticket Agent: Scranton.
Kate McCallister: I am trying to get home to my eight-year-old son. And now that I'm this close, you're telling me it's hopeless? This is Christmas, the season of perpetual hope. And I don't care if I have to get out on your runway and hitchhike. If it costs me everything I own, if I have to sell my soul to the devil himself, I am going to get home to my son.

12. Die Hard - There are Christmas decorations and lights, and Christmas is mentioned a couple of times between explosions. So it counts. Starring Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman. Screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Stephen E. de Souza.

John McClane: You throw quite a party. I didn't realize they celebrated Christmas in Japan.
Joseph Takagi: Hey, we're flexible. Pearl Harbor didn't work out so we got you with tape decks.

Hans: The following people are to be released from their captors: In Northern Ireland, the seven members of the New Provo Front. In Canada, the five imprisoned leaders of Liberte de Quebec. In Sri Lanka, the nine members of the Asian Dawn movement ...
John McClane: [listening on the radio] What the f__k?
Karl: [mouthing silently] Asian Dawn?
Hans: [covers the radio] I read about them in TIme magazine.

13. Auntie Mame - Although the musical version, Mame, does have the song "We Need a Little Christmas," I like the non-musical version with Rosalind Russell much better. An orphaned boy is sent to live with his non-conformist trend-setting flapper aunt. Screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green adapted from the novel by Patrick Dennis.

Mame Dennis: Well, now uh, read me all the words you don't understand.
Patrick Dennis: Libido, inferiority complex, stinko, blotto, free love, bathtub gin, monkey glands, Karl Marx ... is he one of the Marx Brothers?

Mame Dennis: This will calm you down.
Agnes Gooch: Oh, no! Spirits do the most horrible thing to me. I'm not the same person!
Mame Dennis: What's wrong with that?
Agnes Gooch: Will it mix with Dr. Pepper?
Mame Dennis: He'll love it! Drink!

Mame Dennis: Oh, Agnes! Here you've been taking my dictations for weeks and you haven't gotten the message of my book: Live!
Agnes Gooch: Live?
Mame Dennis: Yes! Live! Life's a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!

14. All I Want for Christmas - Two children attempt to get their divorced parents back together for Christmas. Will it work? Lauren Bacall and Thora Birch star. Written by Thom Eberhardt and Richard Kramer.

Ethan O'Fallon: Now look, Hallie, you can ask for toys, parakeets, hair care products, I don't care. But you may not ask for anything to do with interpersonal relationships! Got it? This is Santa Claus, not Dear Abby.

Lillian Brooks: We've got rats. You wouldn't know anything about vermin, would you Tony?

Lillian Brooks: [on the phone] I've just returned from a very expensive night at the Carlyle to find a $1200 bill from your branch of Rodent Murder Incorporated and no rats.
Man on the phone: Do you want the bodies?
Lillian Brooks: No, I don't want the actual rat bodies. I want proof that you found something in this house other than a grade A sucker.

15. The Lion in Winter - Set at Christmas 1183, this tale imagines the family gathering of the Plantagenets, Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine for the Christmas court at Chinon with their children. Royal intrigue is mixed with family drama as Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn lead the cast in the 1968 film adaptation that includes the motion picture debut of Anthony Hopkins. (Glenn Close and Patrick Stewart starred in a good remake that aired in 2003 on Showtime.) Adapted for the screen by James Goldman from his play.

Eleanor: In a world where carpenters get resurrected, everything is possible.

Henry II: [to King Phillip of France] I found out the way your mind works and the kind of man you are. I know your plans and expectations - you've burbled every bit of strategy you've got. I know exactly what you will do, and exactly what you won't, and I've told you exactly nothing. To these aged eyes, boy, that's what winning looks like!

Eleanor: And when you die, which is regrettable but necessary, what will happen to frail Alais and her puny prince? You can't think Richard's going to wait for your grotesque to grow. [implying that Richard will kill the child.]
Henry II: You wouldn't let him do a thing like that.
Eleanor: Let him? I'd push him through the nursery door.
Henry II: You're not that cruel.
Eleanor: Don't fret. We'll wait until you're dead to do it.
Henry II: Eleanor, what do you want?
Eleanor: Just what you want, a king for a son. You can make more, I can't .You think I want to disappear? One son is all I've got, and you can blot him out and call me cruel? For these ten years you've lived with everything that I've lost, and loved another woman through it all, and I'm cruel? I could peel you like a pear and God himself would call it justice!

I'm sure that there's someone out there going "And where is A Christmas Story?!" Because it's on for 24 hours on TBS every Christmas Eve, I've left it off. White Christmas didn't make the cut because it's on 24 hours on AMC. My belief is that once something can take over a channel for 24 hours it goes without saying that you'll watch it at Christmas. BTW the leg lamp is atrocious. And hilarious. But I'm sure that I've unintentionally left off a few classics and threw in a few odd ones, but get some popcorn (not the microwaveable kind because apparently it has chemicals that are really really bad for you) and watch your favorite Christmas movie.

Christmas Lists

2009-12-18T13:08:00.001-05:00

I'm sitting by the window curled up under a blanket today here in WNC. I'm watching the first snow fall of the season, and am so glad that I don't have to be out in it today. So far we're at three inches and the snow just keeps pouring down, which is very little on the whole, but quite a lot for us here in WNC.

The Christmas Card List

So this Christmas I've been keeping a list and checking it twice - my Christmas card list. Christmas is one season where my type A tendencies definitely come in handy. This year with a stack of Christmas cards to send all by myself, I knew that I had to be organized. So with my knack for creating spreadsheets in Excel, I whipped together my Christmas card list complete with name, name of significant other, street address, city, state, zip, and any special information that needed to go into the card; all sorted alphabetically. Of course there were people I wanted to give a card to but didn't have addresses for, so I broke them down by location of delivery. It's probably a bit much, but my system makes me feel efficient while doing something that I love to do to make Christmas a little merrier.

A New Gentleman's Guide to Guy Gifting

A friend recently asked me - a dedicated shopper/gift lister - what to give the man in her life, and I couldn't resist sharing the list with everyone else. Because no man - unless he's been very naughty - deserves to get a glittery snowman sweatshirt from someone he loves.

So what do you get that man of yours? It really depends on what kinds of things he likes and what his interests are because the key to a successful gift is personalization. Is he into sports? What kinds of books, movies, television does he like? Are there any activities that he's really into? (I.e. hiking, camping, fishing, sailing, riding, rock climbing, cooking - okay that's a hint for me)

So if it's for your husband, boyfriend, father, brother or just that guy you like these are my suggestions:

1. If he likes a drink buy a flask that can be engraved. (Things Remembered is great for this, as is Aspinal of London.) You can personalize it with an inside joke, favorite quotation, your and his initials, the date of giving, anniversary or anything that's special to the both of you. One of my favorite gifts of all time is a flask with "A man needs something to believe in. I believe I'll have another drink," engraved on it given to me by Miss BR.

2. Tickets to a favorite sporting event or cultural happening that you can both go to and enjoy together.

3. A cologne that you like and associate with him. Scent memory is one of our strongest, and when he's wearing it he'll think of you. You could also include a card explaining why you chose that cologne. (Of course I vote for something by Creed, but be sure and choose something that you love.)

4. A silk bow tie from Aspinal of London. These come pre-tied, look much more expensive than they are, and are perfect for any formal occasions that you'll attend together.

5. A wallet. He'll think of you every time that he uses it. I suggest the Brown Croc & Suede from Aspinal of London b/c you can personalize it for an additional $15 with his initials. (I'm a total sucker for a monogram.)

6. A picnic basket. Yes it's cold at Christmas, but you can do an indoor picnic in front of a fire, and any time you use it afterward, you'll think back to the first time that you used it together. Bonus points of course for candles, a good bottle of wine, and music that includes some of your favorites.

7. Something that you've made for him. This of course depends on what you can or want to do. You shouldn't do this if it's going to stress you out and become more about what he thinks of the gift vs. the thought that you put into it.

8. A DVD box set of his favorite TV Show that you've never watched and he doesn't have. You can watch it together and he can introduce you to something that he likes.

9. The Canoe Eena Large Duffle. At $75 it's a v. nice weekend bag, and you can put in brochures of places that you'd like to go with him. Or if you are looking for something in a more expensive price range, Filson, purveyors of outdoor gear since 1897 makes luggage that any guy (especially this one) would love to receive.

10. A print of a painting or photograph that represents him to you. I would make sure that this was framed, and would definitely include a card that explains why this picture represents him to you.

Of course if you want to send me anything i would be happy to accept any of the following:

1. The new Samsung Dual View camera. (Because I really need something small to maneuver around parties and social functions. It has nothing to do with the ease it provides for self-portraiture.)
2. an 8 oz. flagon of Selection Verte by Creed with an atomizer.
3. Men's Gold Driver Venetian loafer by Sperry & Limerock or Fontana Drivers from Sebago (feel free to contact for size and color preference.)
4. Guilty Pleasure TV: Gossip Girl Seasons 1 & 2 on DVD and Season 1 Volume 1 of Glee (which comes out after Christmas, but I'm willing to wait.)
5. A large copper roasting pan or a new Le Creuset french oven.

But whatever gifts end up under my tree, Merry Christmas Y'all!

UPDATE: We're at 9 inches of snow at my house. 15 inches in West Asheville. And it's still snowing.

O Christmas Tree (and Christmas Playlist)

2009-12-07T20:15:00.001-05:00

This year's tree is very similar to last year's with a few new splashes of spring green. The color combo of classic gold as a base with accents of red, orange and green worked well last year, so this year I did a repeat of that. It looks good together against the dark green of the Frasier fir that we have this year, and compliments the color palette of our living room. So far the tree is the only decorating for Christmas that's been done so far, but this weekend we'll be putting up a few more things around the house.

Already my XM is tuned to the Christmas music channels, and I've heard a version of Hark the Herald Angels by Carrie Underwood that I liked quite a lot. So is it any surprise that as the tree went up I pulled out my Christmas playlist?

Here are a few of the songs that I love the most this time of the year:

1. Beautiful Star of Bethlehem - a traditional bluegrass/southern gospel carol. My favorite versions are by The Judds or Rhonda Vincent.

2. Carol of the Bells - I have this song in so many variations. Destiny's Child does a fun one. The Westminster Choir does my favorite traditional version. Patty Loveless does a bluegrass instrumental version that's quite charming.

3. Little Drummer Boy - Doesn't matter who does this song. It's one of my favorite Christmas songs.

4. O Holy Night - This is probably the song that I get the most upset about if it's not done in a traditional way. Jazz version? Not interested. Country version? Not in my ears. Pop version? You better get that away from me. O Holy Night is one song that I will always say is better the closer it is to its original composition. Favored versions for me are Josh Groban and Martina McBride's renditions on their respective albums.

5. All I Want for Christmas is You - Aaaahaaaaallll I want for Christmas is yoooohhoooo! So what if I sing along to this pure candy cane pop confection? I can admit that.

6. Sleigh Ride - This Christmastime classic by Ella Fitzgerald can even make the ornaments swing.

7. I'll Be Home For Christmas - Out of the classic Bing Crosby Christmas songs this one is my favorite. First recorded in 1943, the year following his recording of the Academy Award winning White Christmas, this song came at the height of World War II and it is the evocation of that era that makes this song so enjoyable for me. And haven't we all been away from home at a time when we'd like to go back?

8. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald or Martina McBride depending on my mood.

9. Christmas Makes Me Cry - by former American Idol contestant Mandisa - who Simon infamously said they would have to build a bigger stage for - is a new Christmas song that reaches into the message of the Christmas season and is delivered in powerful vocals.

10. Go Tell It on The Mountain - by Mahalia Jackson. Jackson was the "Queen of Gospel Music". She sang before presidents and royalty. She was chosen by Martin Luther King to sing before he gave the "I Have a Dream" speech. Her unique style and the strength of her vocals have long been an inspiration and have been lauded by countless artists. But more than her voice, it is her faith that shines through in a career that never swayed from the roots of gospel music.

11. The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole's classic song is essential to the holidays.

12. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - Would it be Christmas without this song by Brenda Lee?

13. Joy to The World - This is my favorite Christmas song to hear a group of people sing - carolers, choirs, church members it doesn't matter. Love it.

14. Do You See What I See - Always seems to get stuck in my head on repeat.

15. Silent Night - Doesn't matter who's singing it or what language it's in. Silent Night stands the test of time. With words written in 1816 and the music composed in 1818 by Father Josef Mohr and Franz Gruber respectively, Stille Nacht was first performed in Oberndorf, Austria's Nikolaus-Kirke. Quickly becoming one of the most popular carols in the world, Silent Night has been translated into dozens of languages. One of my favorite stories about Silent Night is its role in the Christmas Truce between British and German soldiers serving in World War I. On Christmas Eve of 1914, German troops began decorating their trenches and singing carols. According to first hand accounts, the first carol breaking out was Silent Night. As the Germans sang, the English troops joined and together they sang this simple song. For the next 24 hours there was peace on the Western front of the war as troops exchanged gifts, sang songs, conversed, took communion, buried one another's dead, and celebrated Christmas. This was viewed by military commanders with extreme embarrassment, and upon the threat of court marshal hostilities were resumed. This anecdote demonstrates the power of the message contained in this song so as to have helped halt a war however briefly.

This holiday I hope that you spend time with your family, listen to great music, put up a beautiful tree, have lots of great food, give gifts and get those special presents you wanted, and take time to remember why we celebrate this time of year.

UPDATE - As one of my dearest friends BR - of Atlanta - pointed out to me, I forgot one of the most important Christmas songs of our generation, "Christmas Is All Around" which is featured prominently in one of my favorite movies Love Actually. She called the credibility of my playlist into question, and I don't know how I made this oversight. I hope this makes your Christmas a little brighter BR.

Bird is the Word

2009-12-03T15:12:00.000-05:00

The Turkey is the headliner at any Thanksgiving feast, and this year I decided that I wasn't going to be a backup performer, I was going to put together the main act. Despite many years of home training, working professionally in a kitchen, and cooking for pleasure for as long as I can remember, I've never cooked a turkey. Because let's face it, turkeys are scary.

I don't mean generally scary. We've had turkeys for years now thanks to my parents zoological collecting, and not once has Bill ever frightened me. (Poor Hillary was killed by a fox and Bill has been very lonely. He needs a second Mrs. Clinton. Or perhaps we could get him a little harem and name them after all of my favorite president's indiscretions.) Turkeys are intimidating in the kitchen. First of all they are large birds. Second because of the length of time to cook them, you run the risk of either serving something underdone or overcooked. If my choices are pink poultry or rubber bird, I'd rather have a vegetarian Thanksgiving. But most of all turkeys are intimidating in the kitchen because it is the main. Turkeys are invariably served at special occasions, and they form most people's expectations of a holiday meal - especially at Thanksgiving. If something goes wrong with the turkey, the whole meal feels wrong. And that's what scared me when I asked to make this year's Thanksgiving turkey.

My first prayer was that it wouldn't turn out like the scene in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation where a beautiful turkey is sat on the table, and when the carving starts, the turkey cracks open leaving only little dried turkey flavored bits to be enjoyed by all the guests smiling through their disappointment. With this as my nightmare scenario, I set about looking for a perfect turkey recipe for someone just learning to make a turkey. Naturally, I couldn't find one that I was satisfied with so I made up my own.

For someone making turkey for the first time, there are quite a few very complicated and fussy recipes out there. Some recipes wanted me to baste the turkey every twenty minutes. Others wanted me to shingle the turkey in bacon or make a glaze with bourbon and maple syrup. They all sounded delicious, but were way too complex for my initiation into turkey preparation.

So knowing my staple poultry seasonings and herbs, I decided than an herb roasted turkey would be my best bet for creating something tasty and easy. To start I finely chopped parsley, thyme, sage, and rosemary, added salt and pepper, and mixed these herbs into butter.

After drying off the skin of the turkey with a cheesecloth to ensure that it browned properly, I stuffed the herb butter under the skin of the turkey and then rubbed the skin of the turkey with the remaining herb butter and then salted and peppered it. Into the cavity of the turkey, I put a bunch of sage and a bunch of thyme. (This may sound like a lot of herbs, for one turkey, but mother bought Turkey-zilla this year and it really takes a lot to flavor a 27 lb bird.)

From there I put the turkey into a roasting pan with 1 cup of water (Even though all instructions tell you not to do this, you should to prevent burning.) and tented the bird loosely with aluminum foil. Then the turkey went into an oven preheated to 350 degrees F. Now here's the amazingly easy part - I left the turkey alone for 4.5 hours, removed the tent, and basted the turkey twice during the next 30 minutes. At that time I removed the turkey from the oven and let it rest for 20 minutes before putting it onto the platter.

The Recipe
1 Turkeyzilla (larger than 25 lbs)
2 bunches sage
2 bunches thyme
3 bunches parsley
4 sticks of butter
2 tablespoons of salt
black pepper

Take 1 bunch sage, thyme, and parsley and chop finely. Mix with room temperature butter and 1 tablespoon of salt and cracked black pepper to taste. Form the soft herb butter into a ball. Cut three quarters of the butter away. Cut the three quarter portion in half, stuffing each half under the skin of each breast portion of the turkey. Cut the remaining portion of butter in half. Dry the outside of the turkey with a cheesecloth and use one half of the remaining butter to rub the turkey. Cut the remaining butter in half again and put under the skin between each leg and the cavity of the turkey. Put the turkey into a very large roasting pan with 1 cup water, and tent loosely with aluminum foil. Place turkey into an oven preheated to 350 degrees F, and roast for about 4.5 hours. Remove the tent, baste twice in the next 30 minutes. Test the internal temperature of the turkey at the breast and in the dark meat. Temperature should be 180 degrees F at the thickest parts of the bird. Remove and let rest before placing onto serving tray.

It will look delicious but wait for your family!

Delicious.

I hope that you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving, and that as we head into the Christmas and holiday season that you take time to enjoy with your loved ones the festive sights, smells, and tastes of this most wonderful time of the year.

Save Me Some Popcorn!

2009-11-25T23:56:00.005-05:00

Here are my thoughts on three movies you might want to see over the Thanksgiving break. Hope that everyone enjoys their turkey and has a great holiday with family and friends!

1. A Christmas Carol
I saw this over the weekend with C, one of my best friends from law school, in Tennessee. After an afternoon of catching up and a quick meal, we decided to go to a movie and were hoping to see The Blind Side. But as it was sold out, we opted for A Christmas Carol. Practically everyone knows the basics of Ebenezer Scrooge's cautionary tale, and the broad strokes of the story are as familiar a part of Christmas as the songs, smells, and decor of the holiday. But the new film version A Christmas Carol wasn't what I expected when I went into the theater. Because of the familiarity of the story to almost all of the viewing audience, the story is a comfortable one. It's a nice story where someone who was bad sees the error of their ways and emerges with a new and improved attitude. It's a personal story with universal themes, so A Christmas Carol has been told and retold since Charles Dickens first put pen to paper. But this film version stands out because it hearkens back to Dickens original work in ways that a lot of versions haven't. Instead of overly focusing on Scrooge's ultimate redemption, this film sharpens the focus on Scrooge's early foul personality, and highlights the terror of the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future as they begin Scrooge's transformation - something characteristic of Dickens' work, but often lost in the slickness of adaptation. Because of the strict following of the original work, the film was a solid effort, but some of the animation moved a little too quickly for the screen. All in all it was enjoyable, but anyone who gets motion sickness easily should be forewarned.

2. New Moon
Unable to bring myself to wait in line with four hundred screaming teenage girls, I went to an early matinee of this one. First off, it was better than Twilight. Perhaps a few acting lessons were taken by Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. Or perhaps the new director, Chris Weitz realized that a whole movie of "sad face" and "wide eyes" is not entertaining. But I find it telling that my most powerful reaction to the film was this: "It makes $140 million on its first weekend of release and they couldn't afford to give the stars a manicure?" I don't mean Kristen Stewart. She's playing a human so it's perfectly okay for her to have imperfections since they're going to have to pull off a 'makeover' once she becomes a vampire. But when an author (yes I've read them but refuse to review them) takes painstaking (read: annoyingly obsessive) care to describe a character - and vampires generally - as physically flawless, why would a director show shot after shot of the vampire characters' hands without making sure that the nails weren't bitten down to nubs or the cuticles weren't more cracked out than Whitney Houston during the Bobby Brown years, or the nails were at least clean? I spent at least fifteen minutes of the movie thinking "He needs to wash his hands!", "She needs a manicure!", "Surely in their centuries long lives some of these people have heard of a nail file!" And I know that this is extremely hyper-critical, but you just let those claws come near you, and I guarantee you'll be reaching for a wooden stake, some garlic, a cross, or a silver bullet.

3. The Blind Side
Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, and Quinton Aaron lead the cast in this story of family and football. What could have easily turned into a Lifetime Movie of the Week melodramatic sob-fest was saved by the honesty of the writing and performances delivered. The Blind Side covers a lot of highly emotional ground - family, love, disappointment, and hope. It hits race relations in the South, the foster care system, child protective services, the cloistered environs of private schools, and the nature of sports. So with all this, the story of Michael Oher's relationship with the Tuohy family could have easily devolved into a cheese-fest on-screen. But it didn't. The Tuohy's are people that want to do the right thing, but they aren't without their faults. Michael is followed by the problems of his past, but he isn't defined by them. The story that's told rings true, and the performances enhance that authenticity. This film's exploration of the dynamics that are involved when we step out of our comfort zones and reach out to one another is well worth watching. Go see The Blind Side.

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!

Rabbit Food

2009-11-24T21:25:00.004-05:00

Do salads have to be boring ? I say no, and I think it's time that we take back our green and leafy vegetables from our furry friends. These are two of my favorite quick and easy salad recipes. They help make sure that I eat healthy (occasionally), and because you can use prepackaged greens, these recipes can be put together with minimal kitchen time.

Mandarin Cranberry Salad (serves 4-6)

1 package pre-washed baby greens (approximately 2 cups or 45 oz.)
1 cup sliced mandarin oranges*
1 cup dried cranberries
1 - 1 1/2 cups crispy onions (The kind used to make that southern Thanksgiving staple: "Green Bean Casserole")

*The oranges may be sweetened or unsweetened. I actually prefer the unsweetened.

Toss all ingredients together in your favorite salad bowl and serve with Is This Ranch? Dressing.

Is This Ranch? Dressing

1 bottle of your favorite ranch dressing (I prefer a buttermilk ranch.)
1 cup feta cheese

Mix together. (Everyone always wonders what kind of dressing you've "made" and you can tell them that it honestly is ranch dressing.) This dressing is also good with wings for game day for those who don't care for blue cheese.

Avocado Herb Salad (serves 4-6)

1 package of pre-washed herb salad mix (approx. 2 cups or 45 oz.)
2 avocados
1/2 cup crisp bacon chopped
1 - 1 1/2 cups seasoned croutons
1 teaspoon salt
fresh cracked black pepper to taste
1 cup feta or blue cheese crumbles (optional)
4-6 eggs

Poach the number of eggs for the number of guests. You can also fry the eggs over easy if you prefer. Set aside. Mix herb salad mix, bacon, croutons, and cheese crumbles. Cut avocados in half, open, and remove pit by forcefully hitting the pit with your utility knife and turning it out. In the skin, cut the avocado into cubes, and then spoon out into the salad bowl. Mix salad again with salt and pepper. When the salad is served, a poached egg should be served on top. The diner will break open the yolk and that will serve as the dressing for the salad.

Both of these recipes can easily be doubled, tripled, or quadrupled depending on the number of guests. The Mandarin Cranberry salad is particularly easy for parties, and I've done it for groups as large as 40.

Hope that you try these as we head into the holidays. This year I'm making a turkey for Thanksgiving. It's my first turkey ever - because my mother has always taken charge of this - and I'm more than a little intimidated. With less than 48 hours to go until my herb roasted turkey hits the table, it will either be a great meal or one giant disaster.

But whether my turkey is hot and delicious, cold and dry, or somewhere in between I want to wish y'all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Odds and Ends

2009-11-07T23:26:00.004-05:00

I'm Listening to:

1. 1901 by Phoenix
Fun modern pop.

2. Never Miss a Beat by the Kaiser Chiefs
Heard this on BBC1 and it's the most fun song to drive to.

3. Bad Romance by Lady Gaga
I bought her first album almost two years ago. So I've been kind of tired of what's been on the radio for a while now (well except Poker Face which I will always love). Not sure how this one will hold up - she tends to have a short shelf life - but for now it's nice to have something new.

4. Get U Home by Shwayze
Should I be embarrassed by the Cisco Adler connection? Probably, but I'm not ashamed enough to not enjoy this song.

5. Secrets by One Republic
Power strings in pop music? I love them.

6. Left My Heart In Tokyo by Mini Viva
The responsibility for m obsession with this British-Japanese pop fusion fantasy totally lies with my great friend KB, who I went to Wingate with. When she sent me the youtube link to the video, I wasn't prepared to be enamored until I heard the shamisen rift. That's what hooked me.

Currently Reading:

I'm currently rereading the Chronicles of Narnia. Which I realize makes me 9 years old, but the series has always held my attention and my heart. I'm reading it with Choderlos de Laclos' Les Liasons Dangereuses so I won't become completely insufferable and precocious. Liasons keeps me from being too wide eyed and innocent, Narnia keeps me from being completely cynical and manipulative. (It's all about the balance.)

Currently Watching:

The World's Strictest Parents - Please. These people have nothing on my mother, The Beverly. (Like ... the Terminator, but with high heels, a manicure, and a deceptively sweet southern accent.)

Shopping for:

1. Christmas Cards - Can't believe it's already the time of year to be doing this.

2. Snuggie - I can feel people rolling their eyes. And feel free to judge me for looking like a cult member or a really fashion savvy monk. I will laugh when you are cold and without a blanket or must move the cover to use your hands. Must decide whether the blue or the red.

3. Plane Ticket - going to Indiana to see a friend from ASL get married on New Year's!

4. Quince Henri Bendel candles from Bath & Body Works - The only thing I ever buy in B&BW unless there's Molton Brown in the store, these are hands down the best smelling candles on earth. And they last a really long time too.

Places to Try:
1. Savoy
2. Fig Bistro
3. The Market Place
4. Zambra
5. Fiore's Ristorante Tuscana
5. Bistro 1896
6. S&W
7. Vincenzo's Ristorante & Bistro

Playing Dress Up

2009-10-30T11:35:00.000-04:00

October is the month for choosing a role and losing yourself under the layers that a costume can provide. Halloween is the one time of year no matter what your sense of style or opinion of fashion that you must put thought into what you will wear. Whether it's fun and playful, scary and grotesque, or luxurious and show-stopping, I think a Halloween costume should be both an escape from your everyday life and a reflection of your personality.

Setting Halloween aside for a moment, this October has provided me with more than one occasion to play dress up. I mentioned K and B's wedding a couple of posts ago as having a 1920s speakeasy theme. All in all, It was a FANTASTIC wedding. A good time was had by all, and I look forward to seeing K and B start their journey together. And of course It was so much fun to relive the glamor and free spirit of the roaring 20s especially with some of the delightful ladies from ASL.

Prepping for K and B's wedding, I knew that I wanted to play with black and white with some dashes of color. For evening clothes, men in the 20s still very much adhered to the black and white formalities of their Edwardian predecessors. The revolutions were in the cuts and shapes of the suiting available. The 20s (particularly the late 20s) saw the introduction of business style suits for mens formal attire, so I chose a black suit that would be perfect. With the black suit, I wanted to add a dash of color, so I wanted to wear a blue shirt, but this meant that I couldn't wear a black tie. I wore a white tie, and bought a steel gray silk square to tie together the black, white, and blue. But my outfit wasn't 1920s enough so I bought a pair of spectators from Stacy Adams (for really cheap because they were on sale).

Spectators immediately bring to mind the 1920s when they were at the peak of their fashionability. With everything tied together, I still felt the look needed a little something, and I really wanted a scarf. My black silk scarf wouldn't do for this look, so I ordered a great white cream evening aviator style scarf from Aspinal of London.

I'd never heard of Aspinal before but thanks to posts such as this and this from the ever wonderful Hopsy @ Monograms and Manicure s and this brand review by Winston Chesterfield at Men's Flair, I decided that I'd better familiarize myself with the brand. I wasn't disappointed at all, in fact I was very, very pleased. Aspinal of London has a fantastic selection of high quality, well constructed, fashionable and classic products that will last a lifetime. I was so happy that I bought the scarf, but I really want this:

Don't you think it would help me play the role of attorney so much better? And what with the exchange rates, £ 750 isn't terribly bad. (Especially considering similar products at Vuitton and Hermes.) (What this really proves is that I'll do anything to justify to myself a trip to London. This despite the fact that Aspinal not only ships to the US, but conducts business in the US dollar also.)

As for Halloween. I'm feeling kind of sick. I think I have a cold coming on, so I'm kind of glad that I pulled out my favorite mask and took a few snap shots. Which do you like better, the one in color

or the one in black and white? I couldn't decide.

I hope that everyone has a safe and fun Halloween! With the way I'm feeling, I will be in bed clutching my tissues and eating a Kit Kat being jealous of all the revelers. (Particularly those able to attend M and A's engagement party tailgatingat the UTenn-SC game on Saturday. So excited for y'all!)

Book Reports

2009-10-23T01:48:00.000-04:00

The Dilemma by Penny Vincenzi

Penny Vincenzi is known far better on the eastern side of the Atlantic in the UK than here in the United States. An international best selling author, she is known among her wide readership for crafting detailed personal plots for a myriad of characters. For better or worse, she is most often characterized as a romance novelist, but her stories deal less with sweeping romantic love and more often with the heightened drama that can be found both in the tales of the economic elite and the lives of everyday people. In The Dilemma, Vincenzi takes readers into aftermath of the property boom in the United Kingdom, and into the rarified world of the Channing family, from whom all the other tales derive like so many spokes in a wheel. Vincenzi's novel centers on the marriage of Bard and Francesca Channing and the business dealings of Channing's multimillion pound property company. As the tale develops readers discover that both the personal happiness and financial successes of Vincenzi's characters come at a high price, and that all is not as it appears. As always, the most enjoyable thing about reading a novel by Vincenzi is her deft management of an enormous cast of characters in a highly detailed and historically developed plot.

Absolute Scandal by Penny Vincenzi

Penny Vincenzi taught me what reinsurance was. How odd is it that a novel could teach a reader about one of the fixtures in the finance and insurance sectors? Of course everyone has heard the name Lloyd's of London, but few people actually understand what it is that Lloyd's does - or did during the financial failures of Lloyd's in the late 80s. Reinsurance is a method by which an insurance company may protect itself with other insurance companies against risk of losses. Thus, if an insurance company faces a large number of payoffs from claimants, it may have taken out reinsurance so that it will not have to face a loss from paying out more claims than anticipated. Among other financial ventures, Lloyd's of London is one of the most famous reinsurers, and during the 80s faced a tremendous number of claims from insurance companies paying out record amounts to victims of asbestosis thus facing incredible losses. It is within the financial meltdown of one of the UK's most prestigious financial institutions that Vincenzi sets Absolute Scandal. No strata of society is left untouched by the damage wrought by the scandal at the center of the novel. But in true Vincenzi fashion, it isn't just about the money. There is love, lust, betrayal, and all the personal drama that you could expect. What remains surprising - or would be surprising to someone who had never read Vincenzi - is the author's unerring attention to historical detail. Vincenzi has put in some serious research to craft this story, making it adhere both in terms of plot and tone to the facts and discussion of the Lloyd's losses of the late 80s.

Spin by Robert Rave

In the tradition - if it can be called tradition - of The Devil Wears Prada, Robert Rave brings another tale of an assistant facing down a demon boss in the entertainment industry. Set in the high flying world of New York public relations - with occassional forays onto the west coast - Rave's tale switches it up a bit by making the young wide-eyed innocent midwest protagonist a wide-eyed innocent guy. Taylor Green comes to New York to break into a world of celebrity that he's dreamed of since childhood. Of course he's ill prepared - without the clothes, attitude, or drug addiction - and he faces the same trouble as any fish out of water. As a storyline, Rave doesn't offer up anything new, but he does have some very witty aphorisms and ends the novel with a hilarious allusion to infamous celebrity publicist Lizzie Grubman, who was involved in a hit-and-run incident outside a Hamptons nightclub that injured 16 people. All in all, this one's probably going to be resold on Amazon, but if anyone wants to borrow before, just let me know.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Dan Brown knows how to write books that sell well. In an age when book sales are stagnant, and an economic climate when more people are going to the public library (which I love to do BTW) than to Barnes & Noble, this is a skill that should not be underestimated by publishers, readers and critics. Best known for runaway best seller, The DaVinci Code, Brown is no stranger to the microscope that comes with the coupling of esoteric idealogical postulation and success in the popular culture. This time Brown moves out of the mind of the Renaissance and into the minds of some of our American forefathers who were also well known Freemasons. Brown's story utilizes the mystery surrounding freemasonry, taps into current scientific research, and gives readers a look at the founding fathers that they sure didn't learn in history class. As a stand alone novel, it retains all of Brown's trade marks: familiarity with art and culture, a frenetic pace, and a connection to the visual. But I couldn't help but think that there wasn't the passion and the joy contained the DaVinci Code or even in Angels and Demons. I felt like Brown was trying more to live up to those earlier works, and in doing so fell way short. All in all, a fun read, but nothing like DaVinci code in terms of the zeitgeist.

Past Imperfect by Julian Fellowes

Julian Fellowes is the author of one of my favorite books from the last few years, Snobs. After reading this follow up, I can say without a doubt that Fellows is one of my favorite authors of the last few years. With a keen eye and ear for the social scene in London and the UK over the past 40 years, in Past Imperfect Fellowes takes readers into the world and events surrounding the London Season of 1968. Specifically, the narrator is charged with finding the love child of the reclusive and dying billionaire, Damian Baxter, that was produced from a liason formed during the social season. As the narrator visits each of the potential mothers, readers are taken back into the personal and social histories of characters who existed in a world that in many ways hadn't changed a single thing in a century, but was about to change forever. There is none of the swinging 60s in Fellowes pages because the rules for these men and women were set in stone by the 1860s, but the characters are well aware that the future is going to bring dramatic changes to their circle. Fellowes crafts believable, flawed, and enjoyable characters in this novel as he bears witness to the social upheaval and rearrangements brought on by societal, economic, and political forces. That the characters also say charmingly fun and delightfully nasty things to one another is icing on the cake, but it is Fellowes' own social observations put forth by the narrator that are of course the candles.

Godchildren by Nicholas Coleridge

Godchildren follows the lives of the six godchildren of one of the world's wealthiest men, Marcus Brand. From every level of society, Brand's grandchildren are a microcosm for British society from the 60s to the end of the century, but each of them are indelibly marked by their godfather, Mr. Brand. Saffron, Mary and Abigail - the goddaughters - are alternatively beautiful, average, and plain. Saffron is from meagre circumstances, whereas Mary is distinctly middle class, and Abigail has rich American parents. The godsons - Charlie, Jamie and Stuart - are an equally mixed bag. Pompous Charlie, born to be a Lord and the son of Scottish aristos, is thrilled by the association with his superrich godfather, whereas Jamie is more interested in his godfather's girlfriends than his cash. Stuart starts out as a socialist who develops a keen interest in the workings of the Brand Group and attains the knowledge to build his own empire. While Coleridge's eye to historical detail should be applauded, the story is less about the whirlwind changes brought in during the years of the 60s to 2000, and is more about the negative power that one person's life can have over the lives of others given enough money and megalomania.

Play Listing

2009-10-14T23:04:00.005-04:00

This is what I'm listening to right now. It's the BH Countdown!

1. The Spell by Alphabeat
Alphabeat produces some of the catchiest of catchy songs. I simply do not understand why they haven't got a US distribution deal yet. I NEED them on iTunes so they are more easily accessible!

2. Break Your Heart by Taio Cruz
One of my UK faves, this one recently went to number 1 on the BBC Radio 1 Charts.

3. Say It by Booty Luv
Booty Luv are one of my favorite Brit Pop groups. A certain celebrity blogger can keep Girls Aloud and the Sugababes. And Say It is beyond catchy. It's like "Call on Me" catchy.

4. Don't Bring Flowers After I'm Dead by Erik Hassle
With such a long and kind of depressing title, this song had a lot to overcome, which it does.

5. Nice Guys Finish Last by Cobra Starship
Haven't they always? Listen to CS give a platitude new life.

6. Hot Mess by Cobra Starship
This song makes me long for summer patio parties. Why must winter come and ruin all the fun?

7. The General Specific by Band of Horses
This is one of those music video of my life songs. It's amazing how quickly it can become the soundtrack in your head.

8. Uprising by Muse
I liked this song before I realized who did it. But I remain suspicious of this effort given the band's prominent position in the lexicon of a certain omnipresent vampire tale. (Thanks must go out to Stephenie Meyer and Robert Pattinson for making 12 year old girls even more annoying.)

9. Run this Town by Jay-Z feat. Rihanna and Kanye West
Nothing can stop the power of a Jay-Z Rihanna duo. Not even the featured douchebaggery of Kanye.

10. Mexican Dogs by Cold War Kids
The opening measures are enough reason to listen to this song a hundred times. Luckily they're followed by a darkly addictive tune.

11. TiK ToK by KeSha
This song caught my attention by being featured in the promos for this season's Project Runway. Which means that I am probably the easiest music consumer ever. But it's been added to the countdown on SiriusXM 20 on 20, so I don't feel too bad.

12. Release Me by Agnes
Sweden is the number 3 exporter of music behind the US and the UK. There is a reason for this: catchy dance/pop music made by hot chicks. Support Sweden!

13. Last Nite by The Strokes
One of my favorite bands. Seem to be present on most of my playlists. I've had this song for forever it seems (well since 2001-2), but I don't ever get tired of it.

14. Blame It On the Girls by Mika
Fun for your ears.

15. We Are Golden by Mika
Teenage dreams in a teenage circus? I'm totally there with you Mika.

16. I'm Not Your Toy by La Roux
I love La Roux. More Brit Pop fantasy, but this one comes with a definite 80s electropop point of view. Elly Jackson's faux falsetto might not be everyone's cup of tea, but on songs like this and Bulletproof she makes music.

17. All the Right Moves by OneRepublic
This one seems like it was destined to be on the soundtrack for the movie of my life. Because my life is nothing if not a frothy attempt at emotional depth.

18. 3 by Britney Spears
It's Britney, bitch. Nuf said.

19. Hate On Me by the Glee Cast
If you haven't watched the TV show Glee, then you absolutely must do so! It's thoroughly delightful. I will admit that I'm properly ashamed for buying the Glee versions of songs though. Sorry Jill Scott, but Mercedes (Amber Riley) has pipes, attitude, and she makes me laugh. Lea Michelle seems to be the fan and producer favorite, but I hope they continue to give Amber the songs that her voice deserves.

Any songs I should be listening to?

Channel Surfing

2009-09-26T22:52:00.000-04:00

The fall TV season has just begun, and yet somehow, it's been kind of a let down. I've been looking forward to the return of the few shows that I watch regularly only to be as disappointed as a kid who gets socks instead of TMNT gear for Christmas. (Forgive that reference, I'm old.)

Admittedly, I generally (code for: only) watch guilty pleasure TV - those television shows that require no thought, very little emotional commitment, are populated entirely by pretty people, or any combination thereof i.e. The Hills - so I know that I shouldn't be too upset about being let down.

Gossip Girl is kind of meh - this season having started of with less of a bang and more of a nod. I'm hoping my guide to the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite picks up it's game. You know a show's days are numbered when it stops producing personal drama for its characters and tries to be edgy by lame attempts to insult Christians.

Here are just some of my suggestions: This show needs Dan and Serena drama. Some Chuck and Blair drama. Georgina must have her revenge - and not with some lame pizza party in Vanessa's dorm room at NYU. Blair must have her headband ripped from her head by a militant vegan lesbian with dreadlocks that bears a slight resemblance to Blake Lively. Dan must be caught plagiarizing his stories and have that earnest, faux-intellectual smirk wiped off his face in some sort of liberal arts "shaming". Vanessa must fall down some stairs in a dorm building in such a way that everyone thinks she's been violently assaulted so she becomes a college cautionary tale. Either that or she must win the lottery, develop a drug addiction, or be involved in a geniune sex tape/prostitution scandal - the girl is too boring and serious for this show. Serena needs to go to Brown, become extremely studious, and finish early - that would be a change for her character. Nate needs to stop pretending to be a Kennedy or a Vanderbilt, (is anyone else annoyed by the show spelling it Van der Bilt?) knock up this new girl Bree, (Joanna Garcia could use the work, and I love her.) and become the new pedigreed Rufus Humphrey. Which would let Rufus proceed to his drug overdose, and Lily get on with her suicide thus prompting Jenny and Eric to rush into disastrous relationships culminating in a double teenage wedding to their respective diabolical partners. And of course Chuck Bass must remain, Chuck Bass.

Project Runway didn't let me down in five runs on Bravo. But this newest season on Lifetime doesn't have any standouts as far as I can see. And where are Nina Garcia and Michael Kors?! That show depends as much on Nina raising her brows (Bonus points to her for no visible Botox. I'm thinking maybe it's Restylane) and Michael Kors' permatan as it does on Tim Gunn's "Make it work!" and Heidi Klum's "Auf wiedersehen." Bring Michael and Nina back! We don't care who's from Marie Claire or was Oscar nominated! American viewers crave a snide latina fashion editor with a dye job that doesn't suit her and a snarky orange fashion designer who makes 'expensive' sound like a cheap word. If it doesn't get any better I may have to stop watching Lifetime altogether. Then where will I see movies about stalkers of pregnant teenage girls with gambling addictions running away from broken homes caused by their mother's drinking and father's porn fetish?

Luckily I haven't been completely let down this season and it's the new shows that have kept my hopes for good TV alive. The two new shows that bear mentioning: The Good Wife and Glee.

I haven't watched anything on CBS in years. Not interested in CSI, disbelieving that Jennifer Love Hewitt could make anything watchable, and being one of those people that didn't actually love Raymond at all, I've gotten good at ignoring the "Tiffany Network". But after seeing a couple of spots, and hearing a couple of people's appreciation for the show. I thought I'd give it a go and downloaded the pilot for free on iTunes.

The Good Wife follows Juliana Marguiles as attorney Alicia Florrick, wife of a recently disgraced former State's Attorney played by Chris Noth (Sex and the City fans know him as Mr. Big). Noth's character, who is jailed within the first five minutes of the show, is accused and convicted of crimes involving the trade of sex and money for favorable legal outcomes. Alicia, an attorney-cum-housewife-cum-attorney, is left to pick up the pieces at home and must go back to work, joining a high profile Chicago firm. (Christine Baranski plays one of the managing partners.) Not one for legal dramas since law school - it's too much like work - I was surprised that I enjoyed this one as much as I did. For me it's the home front and the emotional landscape of this drama that intrigues me. That emotional drama plus a female character who slaps her cheating husband in the first thirty seconds and trades pithy barbs with a current state's attorney makes a show I'll watch.

I can't really say a lot about Glee. It's hard to describe a show that veers from Celine Dion to Kanye to Journey complete with dance moves, background drama, and hilarious teenage and adult angst. Glee makes me happy. Watch it and try not to sing along with the lyrics. I DARE you.

Blogging by Number

2009-09-26T00:25:00.001-04:00

1. After months and months debating what color to paint my bedroom I've decided that I'm going with green. Naturally, I haven't been able to decide which color green, and will probably spend at least another 6 mos. narrowing it down to an exact shade. For now I've tacked the color samples on the wall, because I insist on seeing the colors in the different lights of day.

2. I'm a devoted of reader of very few magazines, and the ones that I do read, I always read cover to cover, so I was surprised to see that Vanity Fair - one of my favorites - had an online store that had escaped my attention. Vanity Fair is one of my favorite magazines both for editorial and pictorial content, and the covers of the magazine are always visually stimulating. I have a habit of removing and framing the covers of VFs that I really like. My Grundy, VA law school apartment had lots of magazine covers in frames - because I liked the picture, or I really liked one of the articles featured on the cover and wanted to remember it always - and the VF covers were my favorites. And while I was initially optimistic about the VF store, I was kind of let down that the photographs are only from the archival photos of the 1913-1936 initial publication run. Of course I understand that photographers currently working want to keep up the value of their work through limited edition prints, but I was really hoping to see something a little more modern on the website. I guess that I'll just have to content myself with framing covers.

3.The upcoming nuptials of K (a law school friend) and B in South Carolina on October 3rd are being celebrated with a 1920s speak easy theme. Since it's my one opportunity in life to look like a gangster from the 20s, I'm going to do it in style. I have my favorite black suit and black Chesterfield overcoat back from the cleaners, and have found the perfect tie and pocket square. Now I just need to buy the shoes, pick out a silk scarf, and a fedora. Can't wait to see K and B tie the knot, and visit with all of my ASL peeps!

4. On October 10th I'll be attending the Mountain Glory Festival in my hometown and the wedding of my younger cousin, L, to her longtime boyfriend, C. L is so excited about getting married and beginning her life with C, and I can't wait to be there to help them celebrate the commencement of that journey.

5. October 16-17th is Wingate Homecoming weekend, and I'm excited to participate in some of the fun alumni activities. Wingate was such a wonderful experience for me, and I met some of the most fantastic people some of whom I'm hoping to see! I'm planning on making reservations at a really great hotel in Charlotte (but haven't yet; I'm usually such a good planner too) so a review will follow. If I make it back from Wingate in time I'll be going to a wedding with the family in Gatlinburg, TN, but I have a feeling that this will be a stretch and probably won't be happening.

I think I do much better with these when I number my thoughts off like this. It's because I haven't written in a while, and none of these thoughts are really related in any way so in my mind numbering provides a transition where no artful segway could be constructed. Oh well, this is what I've been up to and am planning. But the numbers are telling me that I must update more frequently.

The Majesty Project

2009-09-01T00:01:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago at the end of Bible Fellowship I could see one of my Sunday School class leaders opening a bag full of metallic wrappers. Since I hadn't had breakfast that morning, the most I was hoping for was a Swiss roll or a Hostess cupcake. But when they passed out disposable cameras I was intrigued. Each student in our class received a disposable camera with the instructions to take pictures that represented the majesty of God to be completed within 2 weeks.

In short, it was the best Sunday School assignment ever. Given that "The Majesty Project" (as I dubbed it) was competing against making the Lord's Supper out of macaroni and glitter, it wasn't surprising that this reached the top of the list. But as I completed the assignment what surprised me the most was how much the project opened my eyes. It took placing a lens in front of my eyes to make me see the majesty of God that surrounds me but gets lost in the everyday grind.

Here are a couple of my favorite shots:

Mom and Dad are so cute together.

This is the road home. When I hit this point in the road I always smile.

I love Shrimp and Grits, and a good meal is always something that makes me feel wonderful. (It's the fat kid/grownup in me.)

The family farm in Banner Elk, NC.

My brother grows these. Yum.

The gate leading up to the mountain top at the farm. Love the red rust against the green and the blue in this pic.

I love wildflowers. And one of my new favorite tunes is Erik Hassle's Don't Bring Flowers After I'm Dead.

My grandfather built birdhouses that were put up all over the farm because he loved songbirds - particularly blue birds. As I was setting up this photo a honeybee landed on the thistle in the foreground, it felt amazing.

Now my assignment to you - if you read this - is to take some pictures. Put a camera in front of your face and take some shots of things that make you feel alive, things that are majestic, things that make you happy. You never know what you might find from behind the lens.

Smells Like the Queen City

2009-07-31T14:05:00.002-04:00

Last week, K, of Life from the low-land chateau, and I left our small town for a shopping adventure in the big city of Charlotte, North Carolina. We spent the day at South Park Mall home of Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Hermes, Burberry, Coach, etc. shopping to our hearts' content.

K and I spent the day wondering through the mall looking at shoes and clothes. She picked up a fab new purse at Michael Kors and some new Tory Burch Revas. The shoes were a no-brainer, but she had to talk herself into the purse. We visited it three times. By the third time I knew it was coming home with her, but I was impressed with her personal will power. I wouldn't have had the strength to walk away after the second trip. (Okay the first trip.)

But I had an item on the mind for the day: cologne. I love perfume and cologne. Fragrance counters hold endless entertainment for me. For me the fun is in spotting inferior products that overuse synthetic materials and alcohol bases and the pleasure that comes with finding something of fine quality that is truly original. Cologne is one thing that I can spend money on and never feel guilty about because every time I smell it I feel happy. My favorite brands include Bond No. 9 based in NYC and Jo Malone based in London, but for me the cream of the crop will always and forever be the Paris based dynastic perfumery: Creed.

Founded in London in 1760 by James Henry Creed and maintained by the family through the current head of the business, 6th generation family member Olivier Creed, the manufacturer of fine fragrances later moved to Paris at the request of Empress Eugenie in 1854 where it has remained. Since its inception Creed has counted European royalty among its clientele, and Hollywood royalty is no exception. For example, Green Irish Tweed - one of the firm's most commercially accessible and successful scents - was created for Cary Grant and counts numerous celebrities among its fans. One of my favorite things about Creed is that its representatives can tell you what historical figures have worn their fragrances. This is the result of the standards of excellence that Creed is committed to. Creed is incredibly selective in its choice of materials, only using natural elements, and uses the incredibly labor intensive - but worth it - infusion technique to craft its products.

I've worn several Creed colognes - Original Vetiver, Green Irish Tweed, and Green Valley - and people always compliment them. One of my best friends said "I can always tell where you've been in a room." That's my favorite thing about fragrance. Because each person has a unique skin chemistry, cologne allows you to create something that people will always associate with you.

As for what I usually wear: my go to is Green Valley. It's one of the most underrated of the Creed fragrances. It's not as bombastic as Vetiver or Green Irish Tweed - my two other favorites - but it's far more original because it doesn't contain vetiver, which is used as a note in something like 90% of all commercial fragrances, and Green Irish Tweed is so heavily imitated. With scents of wild mint, violet leaves, and blackcurrant over a base of oak moss, sandalwood, patchouli and musk, Green Valley is my signature scent.

So I picked up a bottle of Green Valley, and K and I spent the rest of the afternoon chatting and shopping. For dinner we met AA, a friend of mine from law school, at the Cheesecake Factory. It's always good to get to see someone from ASL, and Miss AA is delightful. She's getting ready to move to TN with her fiance MD, another ASL alumnus, and I wish them a lot of happiness!

It was a fantastic day in the Queen City.

A few odds and ends:
1. Bought a great mid-century chair at an auction for $5 because nobody else was interested
2. Bought a dining room and two handmade tables at the same auction
3. Do not have a house of my own yet, and have no additional room for furniture.
4. I've discovered the most fabulous cleaning product: Holloway House Floor Finisher - makes your hardwood floors shine like nothing I've ever seen before.
5. Gruet Champagne makes for a fantastic Thursday.

Weekend Odds and Ends

2009-07-14T11:37:00.005-04:00

I had an odd weekend.

After my most recent hair experience on Friday - a bad one that left me with a pompadour - I've decided that I might go into cosmetology. Ok not really, but when I finally broke down and decided that I couldn't live with what the stylist had done to me - which was right before church - I did the one thing that you should never ever do in a million years: I cut my own hair. I re-cut my own hair standing in front of a mirror because in my overwrought state I couldn't take looking at it any longer. It had looked so different coming out of the salon with industrial strength gels and anti-poufing products slathered in my hair. I was pleased when I left. I was not pleased the next day. But anyway. I cut my hair, and it turned out okay. Okay enough to say that if I absolutely had to change careers, I could become a barber or a beautician or a stylist or at least a shampoo boy. Or maybe I could learn to wax eyebrows. But if I ever start doing my own eyebrows, please feel free to smack me.

I've lived in McDowell County, NC all my life except for stints in university and law school, and on Saturday I got lost in Pleasant Gardens with my mother. That I was following her directions at all should have clued me into the possibility that we would end up at a location other than our intended destination, but I thought, "We have a full tank of gas so this should be fun." After taking a road that said "No Outlet" when I had told her that meant "Dead end" in NCDOT speak (and in common sense) and then choosing on a gravel road miles from where we were supposed to be, I took the truck away from her, and managed by accident to find the place for which we had spent an hour looking. What makes this adventure truly characteristic of our family is that we weren't just lost in our hometown, we were lost looking for property that we own so we could pick blackberries. The property has a PG entrance and a West Marion entrance, and despite knowing exactly where the WM entrance was, we decided to go looking for the PG one because according to mother, "The blackberries are closer to PG."

When we finally arrived at our destination that afternoon, with blackberry picking buckets in hand and a desire for cobbler in our hearts, we sprayed down with insect repellent. (I won't mention the name brand b/c I have no desire to be sued.) Ordinarily gearing up to go outside is pretty uneventful, except when you're as clumsy as I am. Somehow, I managed to spray myself in the face instead of just on my arms and legs. Luckily, I didn't get any in my eyes, but my lips started swelling, my tongue felt all funny, and I just knew that I was going to die right there In PG - because how could my mother get me to the hospital when she didn't have a clue where she was? Being the Melodramatic Marvin that I am, I instructed mother to sue the insect repellent company and make sure that my brother got all my shoes. But the swelling went down and I'm still here. So I'm guessing that in the event of nuclear war it'll be Cher, the cockroaches, and me.

Sunday after church our pastor had the College and Singles class over to his house for lunch. Our class has an interesting dynamic because we have a great group of regular attendees, super leadership, and during the summer we have new people from all over the country who've come to work at the LifeWay conference center at Ridgecrest. Getting to know one another outside of the church walls is a real treat, and sharing good food has always been one of my favorite ways of meeting new people and visiting with old friends.

All in all the weekend finished better than it started. I got a better haircut than the one I had, I made it out of PG alive without consulting a map, and I had a time of fellowship with friends. But it was still odd.

Just Dessert

2009-07-02T21:08:00.004-04:00

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Despite being a fat kid and despite loving dessert dishes, I'm not a big fan of dessert. Rarely do I pass it up in a restaurant - because I adore creme brulee and warm brownies and all manner of fruits deprived of their nutritional value by puff pastry, whipped cream, and chocolate - but at home I almost never eat dessert as dessert. When I say "as dessert", I mean that I almost never eat a dessert immediately after my main meal. If I eat a dessert at home, I have it much later after I've had time to savor my meal. I would like to do this in restaurants too, but most servers don't like it if you try to hold a table for four hours.

But tonight I was in the mood for a dessert right after my meal - grilled salmon and fennel salad which was okay but not spectacular - and I had just the thing in mind. I love grilled fruits in summer, and I had peaches and pineapples in the kitchen. Tonight I went with the peaches. Tomorrow the pineapple will be just as good. I wasn't in the mood for ice cream so I used Mascarpone. If you don't have it in the fridge, or don't want to run to the grocery store, you could probably use cream cheese to much the same effect. This was how it turned out.

Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone and Honey

1-2 Peaches per diner
Honey
Mascarpone Cheese
Handful of Chopped Nuts

Preheat your grill. If you don't have chopped nuts in your cabinet, do what I did and throw some in the food processor and pulse until you reach the desired consistency then set aside. Peel and cut each peach in half and remove the pit. Grill each peach half on each side for 2-3 minutes or at least until you start seeing some carmelization on the peach (The blackened bits are not only acceptable, they also taste good). Remove from grill and add a dollop of mascarpone. Sprinkle with chopped nuts and drizzle with honey to taste.

Tip: For the look that I had on the plate, scoop the chilled mascarpone with an ice cream scoop (plated for the table) or a melon baller (plated invididually) and then arrange the peaches around it and finish with the honey and almonds. This is super simple and makes it look gourmet quality.

Try this the next time you're in the mood for something a little sweet with a fresh summer flavor.

Dinner with the Little Foxes

2009-06-30T16:48:00.001-04:00

1. I ate at Table in Asheville two weeks ago on a Friday night. I was in downtown by myself, had spent the evening book shopping in Barnes & Noble, and wanted to grab a bite before meeting a friend for drinks. So after I popped out of the Rankin street parking deck I walked right by Table and thought I'd stop and have a look at the menu. Liking what I saw, I walked in and was seated immediately - one of the perks of dining alone - and looked around the restaurant. I was incredibly surprised that I was seated so quickly given the size of the dining area, and was impressed with the style of service. It was attentive and friendly, but reserved enough to allow diners to enjoy their meal without feeling the pressure of over eager staff. The meal was fantastic. It started with bread, butter and olives. Then I ordered medjool dates with chorizo. The sweetness of the dates and the spiciness of the chorizo was so delicious that I could have eaten another plate and experienced no guilt whatsoever. For the entree I had lamb, snow peas and fingerling potatoes in a red wine sauce. Unfortunately, I didn't have time for dessert, but I highly recommend Table to anyone wanting a great meal in Asheville.

2. After dinner at Table, I went over to the bar at the Renaissance Hotel to meet my friend C - a recent graduate of ASL who's currently studying for the NC bar exam - and her family who were in town for her brother's wedding. It was great to see her and to give her the reassurrance that there is life after the bar exam. Talking to C made me remember the build up to those two days in Raleigh, and I certainly don't envy her or other takers in any way.

3. The next evening I had a great dinner at Carmel's in the Grove Arcade with C, one of my best friends from law school who is working as a private attorney in here in WNC. As always it was great to catch up over a couple of glasses of wine and some great food. She is such a darling girl and we always have a great time together. We started with the calamari appetizer. For entrees, I had the crabcakes which were quite good, and C had the barbeque chicken pizza which she said was delish. We both also had desert: I had the warm fudge brownie, and C had the Pear Napoleon - poached pears in puff pastry with pecan cinnamon whipped cream. All in all we spent over two hours in the restaurant - which to me is the minimum for a really enjoyable meal - and had a blast. I miss the days when I saw C and all my ASL crew every day.

4. Another friend C from ASL (odd how all my friends in this post are C from ASL) and I are planning a weekend trip to the Barter Theatre to see their production of The Wizard of Oz. The State Theatre of Virginia, the Barter is a year round professional repertory theatre located in the historic town of Abingdon, VA. C and I are looking at several dates in July, and we're hoping to catch up with a few other people who are in the area. And we may be having dinner at one of my favorite restaurants - The Tavern. Can't wait to catch up with C and have a fun, cultural experience.

5. Sadly, two of our ducks - two of my favorites - and one of our turkeys have been killed by a fox. Lauren Bacall - the first in our little flock of ducks - Marilyn Monroe, her daughter, and Hillary Clinton - survived by her turkey husband Bill - were all killed by a fox we've seen around the pasture. I've never been a supporter of fox hunting until this. I know that the fox was just being a fox, and maybe it's just the anger stage of grief, but I really want to put on my hunt cap, throw a saddle on one of the horses and tally ho the hell out of that little furry red demon.

What's Cooking?

2009-06-15T13:02:00.006-04:00

I love to cook. I love cookbooks, cooking shows, reading recipes, and measuring out ingredients. I love to get in the kitchen and just invent and try things - winging it without a recipe. My inventions are probably nothing new - somebody's probably put it in a cookbook before - but these dishes make me feel like I've created something new and exciting.

Today I was going through the refrigerator and knew that my brother Clay and I were going to have chicken for lunch, but I wanted something with a little more punch. Rummaging through the frig I saw we had a couple of bunches of cilantro, some asparagus, a ton of bacon, cheese, vanilla yogurt, and butter. In the summer I crave bright green things and love food that tastes like it just came out of the garden. So I knew that I didn't want bacon or cheese. The vanilla yogurt didn't make sense with chicken and I really wanted the asparagus with a steak later in the week. So cilantro it was. But other than just eating it whole with the chicken or sauteing it with the chicken, what could I do?

Traditionally made with basil, garlic, olive oil, and pignoli (roasted pine nuts), pesto is the perfect addition to pasta dishes for the summer, and I love it on top of chicken anytime. But as I didn't have basil, I just substituted cilantro and created "Cilantro Pesto". I've been craving sweet potatos lately so I cut up a bunch into fries, salted them and threw them into the oven.

Here are my recipes for Chicken with Cilantro Pesto and Sweet Potato Fries:

Chicken with Cilantro Pesto

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt
Pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Saute in a pan with olive oil over medium high heat. Approximately six minutes on one side and four on the other. Once done, let rest for 2-3 minutes and then drizzle with pesto.

Cilantro Pesto
2 bunches cilantro (approx. 3 cups)
1/2-3/4 cup of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
8 pignoli*
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Tear the stems off the bunches of cilantro and throw into blender or food processor. Add olive oil, garlic, pignoli, salt, and pepper. Pulse until it resembles a green paste. You may need to add slightly more olive oil to achieve this. Add salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle over Chicken.

*These are called for in most pesto, and add a great flavor, but I think they're optional for this recipe because the flavor of the cilantro is so strong that it's not something you'd miss if they weren't in there.

Sweet Potato Fries

4-5 large sweet potatos
1 tablespoon sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Wash and cut sweet potatos into fries. Put onto a large baking sheet and salt. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until crispy, rotating them once in the oven.

And this is what it looks like put together.

Friends and Post Positions

2009-06-09T12:29:00.006-04:00

Over the weekend I got to catch up with a few of the faves from the ASL days. The people are what make Appalachian School of Law such a fun and enjoyable place to be, so it was great to get to see A and J, B and J, and A and M.

On Saturday B, J and I had lunch at Wasabi - a good Sushi restaurant in downtown AVL - and then caught up with A and M for a beer at Barley's Taproom and Pizzeria. They had all came into town for the wedding of a mutual friend on Saturday night. After walking around downtown for a little while - code for popping into the Mast General Store and trying to avoid buying 10 lbs of candy - I headed back home to watch the Belmont Stakes with the family.

Every year we always make sure to watch the Triple Crown races together. Belmont is always interesting because it's such a long race, and because you get to know the horses and the jockeys over the course of the Triple Crown so you always have a personal favorite. This time I really wanted to see Calvin Borel - winning jockey of this year's Kentucky Oaks, Kentucky Derby, and the Preakness Stakes - take home a personal Triple Crown on Mine That Bird. It was a fun race with lots of back and forth in the lead position, and a break away by Borel and Mine That Bird - who took the last position in the first leg of the race and came up to finish third. But while my favorite didn't win, it was nice to see Kent Desormeaux take his first Belmont after having won both the Derby and the Preakness twice.

On Sunday after hitting up the early service at church, I headed over to Asheville for brunch at Tupelo Honey Cafe - a local favorite that you really must hit up if you're ever in AVL - with B, J, A, and J. It was great catching up over pan perdue covered in a homemade blueberry glaze with the biggest mimosa in Asheville. It really made me miss the days I could just pop over, call up, or walk into a party and see all of my ASL friends.

Over the next couple of weeks I've got to make a trip to Charlotte, we'll be cutting hay soon (we were delayed by rain), and I'll be writing a few more chapters.

Escargots and Barbeques

2009-05-31T19:38:00.004-04:00

Friday night, K of Life from the low-land chateau, J, and I had an evening out and about in Asheville. K had suggested dinner and a show at the Asheville Community Theatre. At her suggestion we had dinner at Bouchon - a superb piece of France right here in North Carolina - and finished the evening with Divalicious, an entertaining competitive fundraiser for ACT.

For many Americans, French food is associated with stuffy dining rooms, pretentious patrons, and fussily prepared and presented dishes. I blame chefs that have created overblown atmospheres and sacrificed the potency of authentic dishes in favor of "nouvelle French inspired cuisine". Bouchon is the antithesis of those restaurants.

"Bouchon is the French word for cork. Where I'm originally from, near Lyon, France, it's the colloquial term for the little neighborhood bistro," - Michel Baudouin, the chef and proprietor via the Bouchon website. Luckily for diners, the restaurant lives up to it's owner's intentions. They serve traditional bistro food - croque monsieurs that looked delish, bouillabaisse, poulet roti, and quiche du jour - in a beautifuly restored building on North Lexington Ave.

When I saw the streetside service windows I knew that we were in for a treat, and as we walked through a restaurant that looked like it had been imported from across the Atlantic I was even more excited. Our table was perfect - the best in the restaurant according to the waiter - and was in an alcove between the restaurant's main dining room and the terrace. We had the best parts of dining outside on a perfect NC evening - light, warm temperatures, and slow breezes - but we were tucked away in an intimate little space. As for the food it was perfect. I was the only one who ordered a starter, but made sure that we all tried my escargots bourguignon which were delicious. I've never worked up the courage to try escargots before, but these - cooked in garlic butter and under puff pastry - helped me overcome my initial trepidation and they were super tasty. For our entrees, we all had Bouchon's take on pommes frites, J had a croque monsieur, K had the quiche du jour, and I had steak au poivre. We couldn't pass up dessert when everything else had proved so good, so K had a creme brulee flight, J had crepe fraise chocolat, and I had a champagne float which was champagne with fresh fruit and a dollop of lemon sorbet.

After a great dinner we walked a couple of blocks to the Asheville Community Theatre for Divalicious. A fundraising event where ACT performers compete for the title of ACT Diva, Divalicious showcases the talents of ACT regular performers and supporters as they perform Broadway standards. Viewers help select the Diva by donating money in envelopes with the performers name, and each dollar donated counts as a vote. My personal favorites were performances of As If We Never Said Goodbye from Sunset Boulevard, If You've Got it Flaunt It from the Producers, and The Lonely Goatherd from The Sound of Music. But the nights most memorable performance was a performance of Memory from Cats that featured a litter box, a ball of yarn, a wind-up mouse, and coughing up a hairball on one of the audience members. That performer, an attorney by day, won the title of ACT Diva 2009 cause that's how lawyers do it. All in all it was a highly enjoyable experience and I'm so glad that K pays attention to what's going on in WNC and invited me to go along.

Saturday I spent the morning with my mom and brother working around the house. In the afternoon we had to go to our farm at Banner Elk to move some hay out of the barns up there to the stables at our house. Horses are fun, but they are a LOT of work. I'm lucky to have a family that enjoys working together as well as playing together. During the next couple of weeks we'll be putting hay up in the barns so they can stay fat and sassy through the winter. Gotta make hay while the sun is shining.

Today after church the family and I went to a 50th birthday party for a pastor of ours from the last church we attended. It was nice to get to see him and his family. They are such wonderful people and it was nice to catch up with people that we hadn't seen in a while, and a great excuse to have some amazing barbeque made by a parishoner in our hosts' current church. There is nothing quite as fun as home smoked barbeque. And who wants sauce when it tastes so good?

Looking back at this post, I suppose after eating my way through the weekend, I should diet my through the week. Somehow I don't see that happening.

Brief Updates

2009-05-26T17:37:00.004-04:00

I've been writing and editing like a madman. I have 12 complete chapters and 19 total chapters. Of course this means that I haven't been doing much of anything else, which leads to no blog updates. But briefly - other than sitting at my computer typing - this is what I've been up to:

1. I finally watched He's Just Not That Into You, New In Town, and Last Chance Harvey.

I usually like Scarlett Johansson in anything that she plays in, but I must say that throughout the movie He's Just Not that Into You I wanted to pull ScarJo's character aside and say "Listen, the man is married. You may not like the other guy who makes puppy dog eyes at you every time you walk into a room and is constantly and creepily available to you, but quit being a hooker." Luckily the movie was saved - well partly saved - by the charming Ginnifer Goodwin as "Gigi," she who discovers the power of the titular phrase and applies it to her stalled love life.

New In Town was a typical romcom fish-out-of-water story with Renee Zellweger. It was pretty standard fare, and I had more laughs at the supporting cast than the lead characters because I really love a Minnesota movie accent. (No offense to actual residents of Minnesota who I'm sure sound nothing like that.)

Last Chance Harvey was really quite good, and if you haven't seen it, I recommend it. It's a romantic comedy-drama starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson who have a powerful onscreen chemistry. There were parts that were incredibly charming, but this movie's soul lies in the moments that aren't comfortable to watch. At points I was almost embarrassed to be watching, because the actors created such a genuine intimacy that it felt like you should turn away. As far as plot goes it's certainly not groundbreaking, but the execution of it by two such talented actors made it thoroughly enjoyable.

2. I have been taking care of tons of baby ducks. Right now we have 21 little Muscovy ducks, and probably 8 more on the way. Our little brood has grown from Humphrey (Bogart) and Lauren, thanks largely to their daughter Marilyn (as in Monroe) who had 15 all by herself. Eleanor Roosevelt (we also have two drakes named Franklin and Theodore) has had 6, and right now the grand dame of the ducks at our house - Ms. Lauren Bacall - is sitting on a clutch of 10. We're lucky to have so many friends who love animals and have good places to keep them, and so we've given away all of them that we're not keeping through our unofficial Adopt-A-Duck program. They're so much fun to watch as they parade through the yard and swim.

3. I've found a new must watch TV show: Glee. By the time that Amy Winehouse's Rehab was performed show choir style, I knew I was going to like the show. But when they performed "Don't Stop Believin" at the end of the show, I knew I was going to love it. Any show that can make me want to stand in the middle of my living room and sing and dance along because of it's peppy exuberance is worth watching. (Do you hear that American Idol?)

4. Summer is here, and that means planning summer trips. I know that I'm traveling back to Atlanta, but I'm also deliberating a few jaunts to Charlotte, a trip to Raleigh around bar time to support friends taking the NC Bar Exam, and I really want to go to NYC around the end of the summer. Anyone want to go with?

5. Shopping for new Havaianas. They are the most amazingly comfortable flips ever, and at the list prices you can buy several pairs in whatever color. (Although I usually just buy black and white ones.)

6. The grill is on and ready to go, and I have to scoot over to Barnes & Noble and pick up Emeril's new grilling cookbook, Emeril at the Grill. I saw him do a promotional episode on The Martha Stewart Show, and I really want this book for some new ideas. We use ours at least three or four times a week during the summer and love eating outside, but even we get tired of the grill staples of steak and chicken. Grilled peaches with marscapone and honey sounds amazing, doesn't it?

7. My dad bought a plastic owl to go in our grape vines (We have them b/c my brother and I secretly harbor desires to be vintners in our old age.) and it is truly creepy. Because we have so many birds living around us - not just the ducks, but also songbirds, chickens, turkeys etc. - that pluck the grapes before they're ready to harvest, we've needed to put up something for a while. Plastic snakes weren't an option as they would fall out of the trusses too easily or become concealed by the vines causing us forget where they were and subsequently give us heart attacks when we find them. So Dad bought the owl, but he hasn't put it up yet. It's been sitting on the kitchen counter and it looks at me everytime I look up from my computer. I should just get up and turn it around or angle it so it's not staring at me directly, but the creep factor of its yellow eyes has me transfixed. Perhaps if I named it, it wouldn't be so creepy. How does Olive the Owl sound?

8. I got a mailer the other day from Wingate about my five year class reunion during Wingate Homecoming. It'll be exciting to go back and visit the alma mater, so I've started making plans for my trip in mid-October. I'm not much for watching the football game (I'll admit that I only go for the people watching), but I can't wait to see everybody again! If I can find a venue, I'd love to have a pre-reunion meet and greet someplace in Charlotte.

Not a lot going on really, so let me know what's going on with you!

The Birthday Week

2009-05-12T22:15:00.004-04:00

1. Birthday was kind of blah. Given that it fell on a Monday this year I wasn't really in the mood for anything involved. Last year I had PMBR on my birthday. The year before I had a Constitutional Law exam on it. So my expectations were pretty low for the actual day. But I spent the day working and cleaning. Thankfully, the fam bought a cake and we had a quiet evening at home.

2. Had a great haircut from Marc Edward & Co today in Asheville in the Grove Arcade. The stylist really knew what he was doing, and he had some helpful suggestions for keeping it a little longer on the top but shorter on the sides. But we talked about the gray hair. May need to do a demi-permanent hair color soon or I'm going to look like a grandfather (which I won't mind once I'm grandfather age, but for now is kind of sad.)

3. I got a Kitchen Torch! J, K, L and I (seriously considered putting these in alphabetical rather than grammatical order just for English major fun) went to Morganton, NC to see Ghosts of Girlfriends Past Saturday. Matthew McConaughey's character, Connor Mead, was a schmuck in the beginning, but in learning his lesson the movie was hilarious. At one point I was shaking because I was laughing so hard. Following the movie we went to Gepetto's for pizza. When I got to the table there was a package on it where I was sitting. I hadn't seen anybody carry it in (sneaky women), and was completely surprised that the girls would get me anything. They know that I LOVE to cook, and have an obsessive love for creme brulee, but don't have all the necessary equipment. When I opened the package from Williams-Sonoma (Who doesn't love their wrapping paper, dark green ribbon and the pineapple ornament?) I had no idea what I was getting, and was completely surprised to receive a Kitchen Torch. I'll have to dig my ramekins out of my storage building and make these delightful ladies a delicious dessert.

4. I'm teaching my Mom how to use her Blackberry. Other than the calendar - which she mastered by entering in her entire May schedule by herself - I've taught her how to open messages, send and receive texts and emails, and save a contact. But she still finds turning the volume up and down a little difficult because she forgets which icon the volume is.

5. Upcoming plans:

- Must go to Neiman's (I have birthday money that must be used on something frivolous.)
- Angel's and Demons, The Proposal, My Life in Ruins, and Star Trek must be seen
- Dinner with C and J
- Creme Brulee for the girls

The Run for the Roses

2009-04-30T13:57:00.006-04:00

Even if you will not be in attendance at the Oaks tomorrow or the 135th Kentucky Derby on Saturday, you can still partake in one of the most important of Derby traditions: the Mint Julep.

A Mint Julep for One

Mint Julep by ghollifield on Polyvore.com

2 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons sugar
6-8 mint leaves
1/2 cup crushed ice*
2 ounces bourbon**

Chill a silver tumbler or collins glass. Put sugar, water and mint leaves in chilled tumbler. Reserve at least one sprig for garnish. Using a spoon or muddling stick, break the mint leaves into the sugar water. Add the ice and pour bourbon over it. Do not stir. Garnish with reserved mint. Let the mix stand until the bourbon diffuses and the tumbler is frosty.

* You may also used shaved ice, but the measurement should be a little less than 1/2 a cup while more than 1/3.
** I recommend Blanton's or Knob Creek. If you don't have bar measuring tools, 2 oz = 4 tablespoons. For a non-alcoholic version you can replace the bourbon with unsweetened tea.

Ladies put on your big hats, gentlemen throw on your seersucker or linen suits, eat some Derby pie, drink a julep, and watch those horses run.