Seperated at Birth?

Top: Ina Garten, Long Island's Barefoot Contessa
Bottom: Dawn French, British star of the small screen


What do you think?

Won't Back Down

I'm such a sap this made me cry. Thanks to Brian at the The Life of BMW.

I mean, seriously, I lose things all the time

Today I just want to share one of my favorite poems, both as a permanent place to keep it, and to share it with you, my friends. Without further adieu, the great Elizabeth Bishop:

One Art
by Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.


--Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied.  It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

From The Complete Poems 1927-1979 by Elizabeth Bishop, published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Inc. Copyright © 1979, 1983 by Alice Helen Methfessel. Used with permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, LLC. All rights reserved.

The Ideal Spring Dinner Party

So I'm on the twitter. But I can't figure out how to add it to my blog. Everytime I try, I hit a wall. Which is why I think I need to marry a big nerd. So he can just swoop in and fix my life (all aspects would be nice but just internet-wise is more than sufficient). ANYWAY, I was browsing through my friends and I saw this from my old pal, Martha Stewart:

A direct link to photos of the dinner party at my house http://bit.ly/1NosPy

How could I resist? And the first photo was stunning. (See above)




Suffice it to say: My table has NEVER looked like that. And my next party is late-20's themed, so it still won't. But my GOD, what I could do with a staff of 150.

It's Okay to be Gay...

My homegurl Peter introduced me to this video over the weekend, and I just had to share it with my three faithful blog friends.

Intervention with Kristin Chenoweth from Kristin Chenoweth

And We Fell

I stole this from Kay Hanley and thought it's be fun. I don't know the rules exactly but I assumed that it was put your iTunes on Shuffle and put the answers in the order of your iTunes. Meh. Let's see if it's funny/true/revealing.

IF SOMEONE SAYS ‘ARE YOU OKAY’ YOU SAY? Just Missed the Train (Kelly Clarkson)

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF? Rudderless (Lemonheads)

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL? Ultimate (Lindsay Lohan)

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY? I'm Outta Love (Anastacia)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE? Say (Cat Power)

WHAT’S YOUR MOTTO? You Wanna Get Me High (the Donnas)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU? Galapagos (Kay Hanley)

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU? Alice Springs (Liz Phair)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN? What Love (Moby)

WHAT IS 2 + 2? Stop the Wedding (Etta James)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND? Inner Strength (Hilary Duff)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY? Call Me Irresponsible (Bobby Darin) *wow.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? Don't Mug Yourself (The Streets)

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE? Stomp (Steps)

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING? I Think That I Would Die (Hole)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL? What It Feels Like for A Girl (Madonna) *am I going to transistion? This quiz can tell my (tranny) future!

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST? Something Stupid (Robbie Williams & Nicole Kidman)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? Benjamin (Veruca Salt)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET? Lost and Saved (Juliana Hatfield)

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW? Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (Eartha Kitt)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS? Kick Start (Lisa Loeb)

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS? And We Fell (Lucero)

Don't Divorce Them, courtesy of Caity

I got this in an e-mail from Caity and of course it made me cry.


"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Saturdays are for Mimes and Stinky Cheeses

So this is what I did on my saturday night. I sat in an audience of a beautiful theatre and watched a man in a striped black and white costume dance around to Mika's "Love Today".

This clown's name is Weego.

Fierce lipsynching!

If there's one thing about Cirque Le Masque that I know it's that "that sh*t is fucked up". Seriously, I saw a woman flip her body completely over her head, and then pull herself off the ground just using her TEETH! It was zaniness that kept me both riveted and anxious the whole time. A good time was had by all!

Prior to this, we dined at the Rustic Kitchen, whose menu I found to have really gone down hill. When they first opened, they had a branch at Faneuil Hall which I thought was very fun. They were supposed to serve the greatest hits of Todd English's other restaurants and some rustic adaptations of classic Italian dishes (or at least that's how I perceived them). It was...good. In fact, everyone else at the table had better dishes than me (which might be why I am a bitter bitch about it). I noticed that since Todd has no input, the menu is straight up suburban restaurant fare. Baked Rigatoni (I have no idea if this was on before or not). They kept the mac 'n cheese (good call) but whatever. Who doesn't do a gourmet mac 'n cheese now? Anyway, Grilled Pears Filled with Gorgonzola? Might be the best thing I've had this year.
+= Yum!


And for good measure a picture of where I will one day sit and watch the opera at the Cutler Majestic:

Love

Things I Did in Upstate New York

So, the past two weekends have been a blur of family activities. I have been meaning to be a better poster to my blog (what up New Year's Resolution: it's January 27th!)and so comes today's installment in my life.

MLK weekend I went to visit my brother in the Bronx with my parents. We left early on Sunday (around 7 a.m.) and got there around 11. First up, a tour of the Bartow-Pell Mansion right around the corner from his house in the Bronx. It was a beautiful spread. The house was built in the 1830's in a Federal style. Though they don't have any original furniture the pieces they do have are all period on loan from the Met and other reputable museums and they are just gorgeous.


The Double Living Room

The only picture they allowed me to take was in this Garden room which was originally a greenhouse attached to the house (no need to go outside to garden!) and is now used for parties.



It was mad fun. Immediately following this tour we went up to Tarrytown which is a sleepy and ritzy little hamlet 10 minutes north from Pat's house. It was where the Rockefellers and other New York rich families had their country homes. We visited the home of the Bernie Madoff of his day, Jay Gould.


Lyndhurst

I think I was the only real fan of Lyndhurst in my group. It is a completely Gothic revival manse/castle situated right on the Hudson. I thought it would be a great place to have a weekend murder-mystery weekend a la the Golden Girls!

There was also a beautiful gallery upstairs that had a very church-y stained glass window. Which had a cute little frame in it from which to view the Hudson.


For dinner that night my parents, brother and I took out my friend Diane to a cute little bistro in the Murray Hill area called Artisinal. It was so so so good! I had 4 martini's so you know I was loving it. It was great french fare and it was 1/2 way for us and Diane. It was perf!


The Dining Room

And Sunday we returned so I could so my reading. All in all, It was a fun way to spend a weekend, and I encourage any of you out reading out there to do a weekend away in the Hudson River Valley!

A New Day: A New Fierce

I don't know if it's chartreuse or not, but My GOD that is an Inauguration outfit!

(courtesy of nationalpost.com)

Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself...

From Gmail today:

Funny Quote of the Day - Diogenes - "What I like to drink most is wine that belongs to others."

Taking a cue from Pink Shoes...

And I'm sure she's already done this before, but I am so obsessed I had to bring it up.
The similarities are striking.

1. The Main Character:


2. The one who tells it like it is, no holds barred. (This bitch can read)


3. The Pollyanna


Am I right?