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?