A romantic little apartment in Paris

Remember my friend, Reba?

Here is a glimpse into her world.

 Isn't it lovely and romantic?
I'm dreaming.

Thanks for visiting.

Wine Coolers

The French are so thoughtful.

Inside my hotel room, they provided a cooler to store my wine.

But I didn't have wine to store.

So there was plenty of room for cheese and fig jam.

I've been craving my hotel room French breakfast.

Where can I get bread this densely packed with raisins in the US?

Grocery bills

Olivia's "Grocery list 4 things we never get"

And mani+pedi is part of the grocery budget.

Wise self

I was asking myself just this morning,
"Self, what if I never declutter my basement?
And what if I always have little messes?
Will I have lived an unhappy life?"

Self replied,
"Only if you make yourself unhappy about it."

Now, to live the wisdom that I know.

In Memory

Thanks for serving, Dad.

And thanks to Doug and John and Greg and Mhop and Dave and Mace

and now JD, too.

Silly song

We sang this song in church today called "Scatter Sunshine".  

I always thought it was a little campy.

One of the premises of the hymn is that if we meet the 

"world's repining" with a smile,

we can gain courage.

I was once asked if my frequent smile was masking pain.

I don't know.

Is that masking--or is it eliminating?

A second premise is that our smile will help others with their pain

(that's the "scattering sunshine" part).

 Can a smile really make a difference to someone else?

Just a smile?

I was pondering the words,

deciding if I was too highbrow to believe them,

when I noticed the little boy in front of me.

He cocked his head and gave me a little crooked grin.

hmmm...I do believe I got scattered.

And so today, the song I always thought was silly, became very wise.

What I Wore

The day started with these:

and ended with these:

Not exactly European,

but at least not European Comfort Club.

I really wanted to wear these:

Alas, they are destined to go down in history as another

"camel hair coat syndrome."*

Unless Doug calls Maria at La Pantoufle de Vair

01.42.62.75.01

annemariedanna@gmail.com

size 40

In case he's wondering...

*The camel hair wrap coat we didn't purchase in Jackson Hole 24 years ago has plagued us as the great loss of the 80's.

I need some help

In my quest for these:

I found these:

 

But they kinda belong in the European Comfort Club...
Aargh!

Help me find some comfortable shoes

that don't look like practical shoes.
Is it possible?

Am I asking too much?

Alleluia

Lucky

Rose left for Prague today.

Just a quick weekend trip.

Isn't Prague lucky?

A flippin' great meal

We ate there. 

Even though he didn't sit with us,

he was there in spirit.

(I had a Tuna Tataki burger and swiped much of Doug's milkshake)

All was yummy.

And the company was great.

Cheers to the good guys

My friend Richard Blais just won Top Chef.

Well, we may not be BFFs,

aaaand he man not know that he's my friend,

buuuut he does live next door to my in-laws.

And I did say, "Hi" to him once.

And I was smiling in a friendly* kind of way.

The thing about Richard is that he's a genuinely good guy.

This is how I know:

He helped the other chefs.

He didn't throw tantrums.

He was humble about his successes--and failures.

He didn't complain.

He didn't use language that needed to be bleeped.

And, when asked which fellow chef should have been kicked off sooner, he couldn't come up with a name. 

He really could not.

He may not be my BFF,

but he is just the kind of friend I want.

I wonder if he's taking applications.

Do you suppose he'll join us for dinner on Friday?

*"friendly" may mean goofy and stalkerish to some

My brush with fame and fashion blogs

All these years I've been waiting for The Sartorialist to find me

(okay, that one time in NYC--I was out of town when he was in ATL).

This is just as fun.

Probably more.

Rose spotted on campus and posted on a fashion blog:

Rose's thoughts:

"not really the same level as the sartorialist.. just sayin."

I'll grant her that.

But the photographer had a good enough eye to spot at least one fashionable co-ed.

(If you visit the blog, make a comment on her picture.

Answer the question I asked there:

"Cute skirt.  Does anyone know where she got it?" 

Extra points if you tell them the label is Tallulahs.

Extra extra points if you add the Tallulahs link. 

Points for what?

You tell me.

Mama's Voice

How many times do you hear your mother's voice in your head?

Probably more than once her voice says,

"Don't compare yourself with others."

She probably even says, "You are wonderful just as you are."

Sometimes our mother's voice helps.

And sometimes other voices help, too.

I like this one:

"I am the daughter in whom God is well pleased,"

(from  Iyanla Vanzant  on my once favorite show Starting Over).

What's your mantra?

My Heart Sings or Ode to Atlanta (again)

The thing is,

 I know we'll have more cold days.

 But the warm days will prevail.

 It's here.

That groundhog isn't so smart.