Treasures from Brimfield

My very first Brimfield was cool, rainy, and muddy. We left the house at 6:15 in the morning and I was decked out in my Hunters, Burberry trench and went searching for treasure. The first part of the morning was long with poking into cramped booths and finding nothing but nil. We waited for one special field, "Dealer's Choice," to open and that's where we found a few things. We went looking for art and objects; any pieces that could be used to accessorize our home and built-ins, once they're built. We found old Spalding juggling pins (with perfect patina), a pair of George Nelson oversized cast iron jacks, and a huge light bulb. Not wanting it to break, I carried the light bulb around like it was a bouquet of flowers. It got a ton of looks, and one guy asked what I was going to do with it. My friend Sheri told him that I "have a really big lamp."

One bit I wasn't expecting were the buyers from Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and J.Crew. Sheri warned us about them, telling us a story of a vendor with wire lockers, and J.Crew had swooped in at 6:30am and bought all 500-something of them she had. You can bet you'll see one in a store near you. We saw the Ralph Lauren guy making a deal on furniture. He'd buy it at whatever price was being asked (takes all the fun out of negotiating) and then a troop of guys would follow around to pick it all up. "This is going to Europe tomorrow!" we heard. That's nice.

Ika(n)t Live Without Ikat

Once I get an idea in my head I become absolutely fixated. Another design obsession that's been on the back burner of my mind for at least the past year is ikat. Say it like this: eee-kaht. I want to wear it, I want my home to wear it, Molly Cat should wear it too. I find it especially attractive when it looks worn down by love, like a diluted watercolor. What is so attractive to me about the design pattern is that it reads what I'll call, "folk-art-sophisticate." I treated myself to a silk tunic on my birthday last year and I want to treat my boudoir to a rug this year.

Men, Cars and Love

The most important men in my life not only love me, but they love cars too. It was normal to park at the back of parking lots so we'd never run the risk of door dings. My dad once asked me if I wanted to go look at, "toy cars." Expecting a new Barbie doll, I was majorly disappointed to be driven to a dealership and not the toy store. My grandpa has a small collection of old cars and would drive me around in the powder blue Karmann Ghia convertible that was originally owned by my dad. Michael loves cars too but is more intense about everything from detailing to having a rare model. Typically his work schedule conflicts with all the summer shows, but we've had two opportunities to attend in the past couple months. In June the Volvo 1800 won runner up at a show in Portsmouth, RI and today it won it's class AND Best in Show for Swedish Car Day 2011 in Brookline, MA. Hooray!

Photos (top to bottom)

1964 Volvo 1800S, BMW Z4 M Coupe, 1969 VW Karmann Ghia, BMW Z3 Coupe

An Introduction to Design

Last year on September 1, 2010 I made a commitment: a mortgage partnership with my main squeeze. For months we searched high and low, far and wide for the perfect space to make our home. To put in plain terms: we are particular. Very, particular. We wanted to buy a place that hadn't been updated in a while so we could make it over. Why pay for someone else's butt-ugly flip-renovation just to rip it out and start over. Last fall was phase one and this fall we're entering phase two. With the resurrection of the blog edition of theluxdelux, I'll share the design story.

Back and I've got the Sweat(s)

Can you believe a sweatshirt has brought my blog back from the dead? My life has changed big since my last post a year ago but who really cares when all I can think about is a $1,195 Jason Wu wool sweatshirt with baroque lace applique? It seems to be the item of the moment with Marc Jacobs and Givenchy contributing to the laid back sweaty style that will put us back $1000+. If this isn't luxury, what else is?

All I can say is that I've been fighting the urge to splurge on the Jason Wu rather than putting my money towards the second phase of my house renovation. Luckily for me and my mate, my Midwest practicality kicked it and I'll make do without.....the sweatshirt, that is. Hanes has never been so glam.

Photos top to bottom: Jason Wu, Balenciaga, Marc Jacobs

The Dream Lives On

Alexander McQueen Resort 2011. It's not the same, but I love it still.

Back to the Berkshires

Friday evening we drove both cars out to the Berkshires. The Tanglewood season doesn't start for another week and a half, but we had access to the house early and had a great weekend of R&R. Went for a jog around the neighborhood, enjoyed some nice meals, and most of all enjoyed each other's company. I just wish we didn't have to come back to the city so soon.

Five

Thursday, June 10th marked the fifth anniversary of my first date with Michael. After he played a concert at Union Station and I worked a shift at my summer Gap job, we went to Reverse at the Plaza for mojitos. I remember that it was the most fun I'd had in a long time and we finally (after three introductions) hit it off. Times flies when you're having fun.

It's not the caffeine I'm addicted to...

Before I head out for my walk to work, Michael hand makes me an Americano every morning. He takes very special care in purchasing the best beans he can find, making sure the beans are perfectly ground (yes, there is an art to it), getting the tamp just right, and having the precise 25 second pour of espresso. He makes it personal and it tastes beautiful. Before going to Toronto yesterday, he showed me all of the steps to make sure I could take care of myself while he's away. This morning I did it myself and it was like the movie version of a book: pretty good but not the same. I'm not one who is the demanding type to be waited on...he started doing it for me because he likes the hobby of it and creating the perfect espresso. Plus, everything tastes better when it's made with love.

Speak no evil.

I went with Mom to her 30 year high school reunion back in 1999. One of the women I met told me that she never heard Mom say anything negative about anyone. When I was younger I remember sharing with Mom how a girl was telling me bad things about another girl. She advised me that it's best not to say anything mean about someone because the person I was sharing that with might wonder what I say about them.

Last fall someone said to me they couldn't believe how big a friend's butt had gotten. I'd only known this person for a few weeks and blurted out, "Makes me wonder what you say about me when I'm not around." I should have kept it to myself (like I always do), but there was no hesitation and no holding back. It completely caught her off guard and I was proud of myself for being so bold (even if by accident).

I'm surprised by what people say (about people they know and don't know) and especially when they broadcast for everyone to know if by blog, facebook, or even at the office. Again, makes me wonder what they say about me when they know I'm not listening or reading.....

She's from Kansas.

Lindsey Wixson is on the radar. She's 15, from Wichita, Kansas (more Midwest pride for me to boast) and is Miuccia's little star. With her exaggerated jaw and kisser, how can you not love her Miu Miu ad?

Drill Baby Drill

Don't give me that shit. I am ENRAGED about this oil leak. What makes me even more sick to my stomach is that I feel like I can't do one thing to stop the problem. When the earthquake hit Haiti, a body could travel to help with the cleanup, provide medicine, food, shelter, listen to the people to see what they need for recovery. With this massacre I feel like my hands are tied and that makes the knot in my stomach feel tighter and bigger. How in the world are we going to stop the leak? How are people going to go back to fishing and support themselves and their families? How is the wildlife of our planet going to recuperate from the rape?

When Michael and I were driving to Maine for the holiday weekend, we needed to get gas and the first station we saw was a BP. Rage shouted out of me: Don't go there! Just because we're not in the Gulf doesn't mean we aren't affected by it or that we can't do something to show the injustice we're experiencing.

I hate, hate, hate that I can't stop the leak but what I can do is decrease my use of oil:

1. Use less gasoline. My car has been in storage since August; I walk everywhere or take public transit.

2. Use less plastic baggies. I limit the use of ziplock bags but when I do use them, I wash them out, let them air dry and then reuse them. Thanks for showing me that habit, Mom!

3. No more plastic grocery bags. I always get paper bags and then reuse them for trash bags (thanks again, Mom!) but now I will start carrying in my purse a light weight reusable shopping bag.

4. I am recycling all my plastic, aluminum, glass, and most of my paper. On Earth Day I blogged that that's the one thing I'm not doing that I should be and now I'm back in the habit. M's not as aware of it as I am, but I don't mind pulling out his yogurt cup out of the trash, rinsing it, and putting it in the recycling.

What else can we do to be less dependent?

My First Crush

My first Hollywood crush was Christopher Reeve. I have no idea who introduced me to Superman, but one of the very few VHS tapes we owned was "Superman IV." I know I watched "Annie" and "Wizard of Oz" more than anything else, but oh, Clark Kent made my four year old heart race. When I went to hear John Williams conduct the Pops a few weeks ago, they played his theme from "Superman" and showed clips on the big screen. It inspired me to watch the movie all over again and thanks to the Boston Public Library, it didn't cost me a dime to take a trip back to my childhood love.

When Christopher Reeve had his devastating horse riding accident, I found the address of the hospital where he was being treated and wrote him a letter. I received a hand written note from his daughter thanking me for the good wishes. It was really nice to hear John Williams speak at the concert about how much everyone enjoyed working with the young man playing Superman and how the crew saw a tremendous future for him. I might add that it was the horn playing in that theme song that made me want to play at age five. It still makes me want to pick up the horn. Love it.

Rising Above It All

I DVR'd Larry King's interview with Lady Gaga and watched it at 6:30 this morning while doing my hand weight exercises. She talked a lot about the rejection of social standards that can become barriers to a person and how it influences her costumes, music, and life. She said that she didn't have very many friends and was called a "freak" every day. She identified more with men than with women, wanted to dress differently, and was scrutinized for being her. Now look at her: she has millions of fan, great show business success, has won Grammy awards, is a gay rights activist, and seems like a very peaceful yet hard working young woman.

Rising above the name calling, isolation, misunderstanding, and prejudice accusations got me thinking about how we deal with people's reactions. There are some of us who never hear "good job" from a father and struggle a whole life with needing a man's approval. There are the few we hear about in the news who are called, "freaks," go to school with ammo, and gun down their classmates and then kill themselves. And then there are people who hear all the hatred words can hold and it somehow rolls off their back.... It's curious how we all respond differently to a spectrum of problems and how each one affects another differently. One can seem huge to you but small to me.

Black and White at Ballet

Last night I strayed from Symphony Hall and took the Orange Line to the theatre district to see Boston Ballet perform Black and White. I don't know where to begin, but I'll start with beautiful, interesting, and challenging. Beautiful: the dancers moved with grace and length, portraying phrases in movement that I've been trained to hear in music. The costuming was minimal which isolated focus to the motion. Interesting: the setting was a blank canvas where my imagination was able to to have few interpretation boundaries. In the first piece I saw more lines and shapes than I saw dancers...an ensemble creating a visual effect. There were these classical style dresses (corset with full skirt) that were used as props but I continued to see them as a reference to the classical style. The ballet was very contemporary but the past is always somewhat present, influential, and where one came from (the dresses).

There was one piece that was challenging for my individual. It was a piece for six men and the dresses were looming above them with sharp lighting. The men created their own track of sounds with their voices which were warped through a mic system and sometimes it was so loud and eire that I plugged my ears. It seemed to have a flavor of Sci Fi (perhaps due to the sound effects) that gave me a rush of adrenaline and a quick pulse. It made me think about Alexander McQueen's Spring 2010 runway show. Though I only read about the show, there seemed to be a connection. How bizarre is it that in the same piece, I was reminded of Dick Van Dyke in "Mary Poppins" when he pulled down his trousers to dance with penguins.

I really enjoyed attending the performance and the opportunity of getting to know new and fun people. I'm definitely looking forward to next season!

Model of Alliteration

Karlie Kloss. Let me tell you something about this girl: she is everywhere! She has opened up for shows like Alexander McQueen Fall 2010, Karl Lagerfeld, six times in a row for a John Galliano designed show..and there's more! She's the face for Marc Jacobs' Lola, the new face for YSL cosmetics, not to mention all the editorials she's photographed for Vogue.

Why do I bring her up? I've always known she's from St. Louis and when Emily was visiting last weekend, I learned even more about her. She told me that her brother who is graduating high school this weekend said there's a really famous model who goes to his school but she's never there because she's always in New York or Europe. Uh oh... I jumped on Emily demanding if it was indeed, Miss Kloss. Turns out it is! Emily and I couldn't get over it and I immediately began showing her pictures in all my magazines, online, and basically going nutty over the whole coincidence. Both of us were radiating Midwest Pride, but Emily was especially beaming. We love her, we love all her siblings (and her parents) who all have the initials, K.K.

A Great Weekend

Michael picked up Emily from the airport on Friday and when we all met at home, we walked over to India Samaraat, our favorite (and very affordable) Indian restaurant in the area. We popped in next door at Sweet bakery for a cupcake; chocolate rhubarb for me, and Karat cake for Emily and M. We went to see John Williams conduct the Pops and there were even more kids there than Tuesday night! The music was great again and I felt even more inspired to watch Close Encounters and Superman (I've already requested them from the library).

Saturday morning the three of us picked up a Zip Car truck and took it over to Cambridge to retrieve our new bed from DWR. Getting it home was an adventure with Emily's arm out the back window attempting to hold everything in place. We had a yummy lunch at Symphony Sushi and then went for a walk through Back Bay: down Newbury Street, through the garden, on Charles Street into Beacon Hill. We hiked from there over to the South End where we had another amazing dinner at Coppa. Again, there was a crowd of people congregated outside waiting for them to open and were easily seated.

Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a thousand needles in my eye, the food there is amazing! We started with rosemary marinated mushrooms that knocked me off my rocker. I couldn't help my eyes rolling back and moaning...it was a ridiculous experience of flavor explosion. Remembering the experience makes me feel like the bottom is about to drop out all over again! I'm trying to remember what else we had......oh yeah!..Marinated peppers, another glass of that delectable chianti, ponies of Miller High Life, scrumptious homemade pasta with a mighty fresh pesto, M had a pizza, Em had some lovely looking zucchini dish (I'm still having a hard time recalling because those mushrooms dominate my brain!) When we left I was drunk cold on flavors all over again.

Sunday the three of us went for a four mile jog around the Charles River and I ran about 3/4 of the way. I am still super duper proud of myself since I'm not athletic whatsoever and have never taken to running. We had a big, healthy breakfast afterwards and then walked to the SOWA open air market in the South End, down the street from work. I found the cutest vintage skirt (thank goodness the waist measurements were on the tag or I would have never known what could fit) in a kelly green with royal roses down the center front. I can't wait to wear it! When I showed Michael the tag after we got home and I boasted that it was only $15, his reply was: you didn't negotiate?! I'm learning! I'm learning! Emily tried her first JP Licks and I had the new hard yogurt flavor: coconut almond chip; so refreshing!

Sunday evening we cooked out on the roof deck with some friends which was a great end to our weekend together. The view is the best.

I'm so glad my little friend was able to hang with M, Molly, and me for the weekend. We stick together and I've got your back no matter what. Midwest Pride!