A Couple of Fun Things

A couple of fun things. The kindly Patricia of pve design just posted an interview with little ol' me — complete with darling sketch of my kids hanging out in my office. The office is fantastically accurate — if much cleaner than the real one. You can check out the interview here.



Also, John Segal, one of my favorite children's book illustrators will be the Children's Museum of Manhattan this Sunday. He'll be reading and signing copies of The Lonely Moose. Rumor has it that he may be doing a watercolor demonstration as well — sweet!! Sunday, April 6th, 1:30 pm, Children's Museum of Manhattan. If you're in New York, you won't want to miss it.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It was a great weekend! Mostly because we were all together for the first time in awhile. And also because it was jam packed with fun stuff.

On Saturday we hit the matinee of Horton Hears a Who. The kids loved it. And it was especially fun because we know two of the animators that worked on the movie. (Blue Sky Studios, the company behind Horton and Robots and Ice Age, is based here in New York, very close to where we live.)

Saturday night was the Pinewood Derby. More on that later.

Sunday we wore green, ate green food at a church get together and then went to the Josh & Erin's for a traditional St. Patrick's Day feast. Corned beef, cabbage and lots of root vegetables (potatoes, beets, parsnips, carrots, and one other one I'm forgetting). Plus no less than 3 desserts. So yummy. I had seconds. And thirds. If you ever get the chance to live near Josh and Erin I highly recommend it.

We're all wearing green today and wishing good luck to all we meet. Including you.

Ben Blair turns 35

Today is Friday, March 14th. Which means that Ben Blair's birthday was one week ago on Friday, March 7th. Ben is 35 years old. And we still haven't celebrated this joyous occasion. Which is not good. Not good at all.

Here's the boring story: Ben was out of town last Thursday. Then I was out of town Friday through Sunday. Then he's been out of town again this week. It's kind of like playing tag — but at JFK, and with airplanes. He'll be back in the morning and I can't wait to see him.

To ease my guilt about leaving town on his birthday, Ben promised me we would pick a-date-sometime-in-March to celebrate. We want to make him breakfast in bed, and bake a cake, and wrap up some presents. I don't think he would mind skipping all of this, but our kids would be terribly offended if any of these traditions were taken lightly.

Just to be safe: March is slipping away fast — if for some reason the celebration doesn't happen, well then at least this blog post will mark his big day. Happy Birthday Ben Blair.

(I know we like to believe that God loves all his children equally, but I could make a strong argument that I'm his favorite because I get to be married to Ben Blair.)

Fashion Roundtable with Cate Adair of Desperate Housewives

Two weeks ago I spent a lovely afternoon at a Blogger's Roundtable with the stylist and costume designer for Desperate Housewives. Her name is Cate Adair and she has wonderful ideas and a gorgeous collection of handbags. Plus, she was super down-to-earth — especially for someone who dresses six of the most glamorous women on TV. I've been meaning and meaning to post about the event and today's the day.

This was my first Blogger's Roundtable and in case you're curious, this is what went down:

1) Yummy lunch — fresh fruit, salads and sandwiches — at Dream Hotel. (My first visit to Dream Hotel, by the way, and it is gorgeous and in fact dreamy.)



2) Chatting with the loveliest group of fashion & celebrity bloggers ever. I met mother-of-two Vera from I'm Not Obsessed, newlywed Lauren from Second City Style, Bryn from She Finds — recently upgraded from mere writer to full-fledged editor — she is adorable and friendly, and new-to-blogging Felissa from About This.

3) After the food, Cate told us about herself, answered our fashion questions and told us what to look for while we watched the Oscar's — and what to expect in stores this Spring (like stacked bracelets). A bit of Cate's wisdom: when shopping for a big event, try on the dress while wearing the "undies" you plan to wear — it makes a big difference to the fit.



4) As we talked, Cate had a model come into the room wearing some of her favorite lines. She introduced us to: Rare Vintage (a clothing store in Manhattan). John Hardy Jewelry. Jeanne Jarvaise Shoes. Rich & Skinny Jeans. Parajumpers Coats.

5) The whole thing was sponsored by Febreeze and Cate said her favorite time to use Febreeze is when she's working with vintage clothing — which invariably comes with a scent because a) it's old, b) it's used, and c) if it's been stored correctly, it probably smells like mothballs or cedar or both. She said Febreeze freshens her vintage collection in a snap. We were sent home with Febreeze samples — I've never tried it before and I'm pretty curious to see what kind of uses I find for it.

It really was a lovely afternoon. If you're dying for more details, you're in luck — we were videoed the entire time. Check it (2 minutes, 42 seconds):


photos from I'm Not Obsessed

Super Tuesday is Super

I'm back at my desk after a few errands: picked-up a birthday present, mailed a belated gift to my mom at the post office, and VOTED! I hope you get out there today too. It's good for you, good for the country and good for your kids to see.

Lots of super things today in addition to voting. I've got plans to stop by the NY Gift Show. There's a big parade for the Giants. And tonight there's a tech meet-up I'm hoping to attend. Every once in awhile, I crave a super busy day like this.

Report on the Red Dress Show

View The Heart Truth's map

Taken in (See more photos here)

So I have to give you a quick report on the show. I loved it, loved it, loved it. So much fun. I managed to snag myself a front row, center section seat and had one of the best views in the tent.

This is who walked the red runway:

Allison Janney, you know, CJ from The West Wing, wearing Donna Karan
Ana Ortiz, Ugly Betty's sister Hilda, wearing Badgley Mischka — adorable
Ashanti wearing Tracy Reese
Camryn Manheim, from The Practice, wearing Ali Rahimi
Cheryl Hines, Curb Your Enthusiasm, wearing Catherine Malandrino

Heidi Klum wearing Marc Jacobs. I am officially in love with Heidi Klum. She is stunning.
Jenna Fischer, Pam from The Office, wearing Carmen Marc Valvo
Joss Stone wearing Max Azria Atelier


Lisa Rinna wearing Michael Kors. Hers was probably my favorite dress — the fringe was amazing.

Liza Minnelli wearing a Halston Original
Maria Menounos for Marchesa
Mary Lynn Rajskub, from 24, wearing Monique Lhuillier
Molly Sims, from Las Vegas, wearing Daniel Swarovski. I also really, really loved this dress.
Rita Moreno wearing Lily Samii. She danced the entire length of the runway and was charming.
Sara Ramierez (Callie from Grey's Anatomy) wearing Angel Sanchez — and she was absolutely gorgeous.

The First Lady, Laura Bush, opened the show (and then sat right across from me, I'm not kidding about my really good seat) and she was lovely and gracious as well. To end the show, Liza Minnelli sang New York, New York and was just generally awesome while confetti fell from the top of the tent.

The show was great. The energy was fantastic — red outfits everywhere and the audience just delighted to be a part of it. The dresses were amazing. And it was especially fun because the models/actresses were waving and dancing and blowing kisses and interacting with the audience.



I had a great time and felt so lucky to be invited. I picked up The Heart Truth red dress pins for my daughters after the show. Hooray for National Wear Red Day!

100 Percent

So I'm back. Feeling good. Yesterday was maybe 80, 85%. Today I'm 100% healthy. And I love it. As soon as I was feeling better my appetite came back with a vengeance and happily, my friend Angela who is in tune with the entire Universe, sensed this increased hunger and brought an enormous pasta dinner for my whole family. Complete with homemade sauce from her Grandma's special recipe and a crusty loaf of bread. Yummy. And did I mention yummy? Thank you Angela!

(Side note: is there anything more wonderful than a good friend to bring you dinner when you're not feeling well? Seriously. You should probably move to New York so you can live near people like Angela.)



During the worst of the sickness, I comforted myself with sips of Glow Mama. Lucy Leahy developed a drink just for expectant/nursing Mamas (I'm not currently either, but anyway...) when she found herself a bit discouraged at her limited beverage options while she was pregnant. She sent me a couple of samples of her kiwi juice concoction and I found them light, not too sweet, subtle,and pretty darn lovely. Very gentle on my upset stomach.



And to cheer me up, Shannon from Rocks in My Dryer sent me an article her local Tulsa newspaper had written up about her great blog. It's a lovely article and was especially cheery to me because she mentioned my blog as one of her ten favorites. Thank you Shannon! You're a sweetheart.

And now here I am. Healthy, full of pasta and kiwi juice, and delighted by a newspaper mention. Life is good. I can't wait to read Michelle's guest post today. . .

Back In a Bit

Oh my. I have 3 more really good posts for today — one of them from our awesome Guest Mom, Michelle. Really. They are don't miss. But. I'm deathly ill with some sort of flue and am kidding myself if I think I can get them posted right now. This same sickness has cycled through my kids pretty quickly, so I'm crossing my fingers I'll be feeling healthy soon (oh please let it be soon). And then I'll be back at my computer.

Also. I'm feeling heart-heavy today. A great man and leader passed away yesterday. His name is Gordon B. Hinckley and he's been the leader of my church for the last 12 years. So I'm also spending time today with the rest of my peeps mourning his death and pondering and celebrating the good life he lived .

Oscar is Three

Oscar turned 3 years old last Wednesday. He is so charming it's all I can do not to eat him up. He says "bawindow" instead of window, as in "Let's look out the bawindow." He calls any body of water an "ocean of the sea," as in "Hey, there's the ocean of the sea!" when we come upon the Hudson River. Ben found this list of "Toddler Rules" and we think they fit Oscar perfectly. Especially these three:

If it does not open, it must be screamed at.
If Mommy's hands are full, I must be carried.
If it is pointed, it must be run with at top speed.

We are having a Round & Round party for him this Saturday. All about circles, polka dots, wheels, and balls. With music by JT and Dead or Alive and Ratt. I'll share details next week.

No Regrets

Halfmama just sent me a link to her amazing Chrismakkuh card. That she modeled on my own family's Christmas card. Which I modeled on the photography of Jon Von Holleben. Didn't it turn out wonderfully? I love it! Nice work, halfmama.

I confess, seeing it did give me a tiny pang of regret — after all the time we spent putting together our card, I never did get it mailed out. Not cool. And not that surprising actually — it's happened before. Clearly I love the creative part more than the practical part. Staging a photograph = fun. Addressing envelopes = not as fun.

But for realsies, no regrets. 2007 was a great year.* And now. On to 2008! Laurie (of Leap Design, Upside Up and sk*rt) captures my enthusiasm perfectly with her fabulous New Year's card:

*Although I stand by my claim that 2007 was a great year, it should be noted that at our house it will also be recorded as the Year of Infestation. Every childhood plague that relates to bugs came to our home. Lice. Lice-relapse. Pinworms. Boils. And some more I can't remember. It was ridiculous. I didn't even know what most of the ailments were until we were at the doctor's hearing the diagnosis. (What's the deal? Did we stop bathing in 2007?)

Also, as we worked to clean out our basement for the playroom conversion, at least two species of unrecognizable and slightly disturbing bugs — is it a spider? Is it an odd silent cricket? Does is have hair? — were discovered. Ben Blair said, "Our basement is the Galapagos Islands of bug evolution."

Logically, I know they are harmless, but that doesn't mean they don't completely creep me out. I owe a special thanks to Mr. Blair for being a fearless bug destroyer.

Donna Jean Pack

My sister Rachel recently posted a photo of my Mom as a young mother. Isn't she stylin? The necktie. The awesome lamp. And I totally remember the suede couch. It was gorgeous — super simple, with clean lines. Man. I have good genes.

Mom, which baby are you holding?

Happy New Year!

January rocks! I love an excuse to make goals and lists. To resolve to become a better person or live a better life. Last Sunday, we ceremoniously pulled out our trusty notebook and made our new resolutions — and several of the ones I'm looking forward to the most involved this very blog.

In fact, I better stop typing about them and get to work making them happen. In the meantime let me wish you a Happy New Year and ask you to meet me here tomorrow for an awesome beginning-of-the-year Giveaway.

photo by Annene von Durchgerockt

Baby FYI

So it's been pregnancy central for my brothers and sisters this year. My brother Salem and his wife Megan gave birth to baby number 2, last month. His name is Jared and he is beautiful. Look at that hair! Those cheeks! I can't wait to meet him.

Then. My sister Jordan and her husband Paul, plus my brother Jared and his wife Liz are each due with baby number 1 on January 1st, 2008.



Actually. I should say "were" due. Because Liz and Jared gave birth to a gorgeous little boy, Henry Wayne Stanley, on December 5th — after a crazy surprise emergency c-section. He is home and healthy and I can't wait to meet him too. Isn't that a great shot? Ben thinks he looks just like one of our babies.

And. Paul and Jordan are at the hospital as I type!

Three little boy cousins. All born within a short time. So wonderful. But labor is hard. Delivery is harder. I'll be sending up prayers for Jordan all day long.

A Few of Erin's Food Picks

When Ben and I had our weekend without kids a little while back, we asked my sister-in-law Erin for food recommendations. The New York food scene is extensive enough that no matter how many places we've tried and loved, we never come close to trying them all. Erin had wonderful ideas, keeping in mind places she knew we hadn't been to. Here they are with her notes:

For Lunch
Bouchon Bakery — Columbus Circle in the Time Warner Bldg. By Thomas Keller of French Laundry and per se fame.

Momofuku Noodle Bar — The chef was Bon Appetite's chef of the year this year. It's casual sit at a bar kind of place — think ramen noodles but totally homemade.

Rickshaw Dumplings — 61 W 23rd st. (23rd between 6th and Broadway) We love the pork and the chicken dumplings. Ben would like the chocolate dumpling.

Shake Shack — Madison Square Park, Broadway and 23rd



For Dinner
Gotham — 12 E. 12th st (between 5th and University) They have a $25 lunch prix fixe if you can't get in for dinner.

Craft — 43 E. 19th St. (bet. B-way and Park Ave. S.) Rebecca R. told me this was her favorite place they'd been, so we tried it last year. It's amazing. Same price point as Gotham.

Vong — 200 E. 54 th St (3rd Ave.) They call this French-Thai. Lots of Thai flavors but more French preparation. They have a pre-theater prix fixe that is a great price.

For Dessert
Pinkberry — This is the frozen yogurt place. There are lots of locations, all open until 11:00.
32nd street - 7W 32nd st.
Chelsea 170 8th Ave.
Columbia 2873 Broadway
Greenwich Village 177 Bleecker St.
Spring Street 41 Spring St.

Chickalicious — 203 E. 10th St. (between 1st and 2nd) One of my most favorite New York memories. You put your name in and wait in this tiny place (it seats 20) for like an hour, but then enjoy a three courses of dessert. And it's nothing like a buffet dessert, each course is simple and small and beautifully crafted. A husband/wife team runs it, the wife is Japanese and you see her influence in presentation and simplicity. It's a prix fixe menu — $21 a person. It's amazing!!

----------

What a list! Perfect for our weekend. We didn't get to every place on Erin's list, but we loved having options so we didn't have to think hard about it and could pick a restaurant close to where we were. We ended up at Gotham (classic New York) for dinner on Friday and Momofuku (super-hip, young New York) for dinner on Saturday and loved them both.

She might have different recommendations for a different weekend and a different couple. But I thought I would share this great list because I know how many people come into town for the Holidays and need food advice. Erin gives great food advice.

images from Momofuku, Bouchon and Gotham

Happy News.

My mind is spinning with so many things to report. Actually spinning. Well. Really more like pacing. I found myself pacing this morning making a mental list of things I wanted to blog about. Anyway. I'll start with 3 things.

Item number one:
Ben Blair is now Dr. Ben Blair! Thank you so much for all the comments of support on the last post. Ben was delighted and surprised when he happened to check my blog last Thursday and read all your kind words. He was really happy about it. So thank you. It's always so encouraging to imagine people out there rooting for you.

Item number two:
The weekend was fantastic. We are home and rested. We saw too many beautiful things. Ate too much wonderful food. I would repeat the exact weekend again — it was that good — with the exception of our viewing of Beowolf. Which I disliked very much.

I'll tell you more about the weekend as I post through the next few days, but I'll mention the hotel now (so that I have an excuse to add some pics to this post). We stayed at the Millenium Hilton downtown. It's directly across the street from Ground Zero. And it has amazing views across the river. Our room was beautiful. Our bed was comfortable. We were more than content.

Item number three:
We have a new Guest Mom today! More on that coming up. . .

Big Day for Ben Blair

It's true. It's a very big day for Ben Blair.

Tonight, from 5:00 to 7:00, he'll defend his doctoral dissertation. (It deals with the tensions between teachers and schools — in case you're curious.) I've read it. All 230 pages. And it's super smart and very well written. Full of interesting words and terms like: Dialectic. Institution. Discourse. Trajectory. Cultural Form. Mythos. Logos. Bracing. Phronesis. Bureaucracy. Objectifying Consciousness. Rationale. Deliberate. Conception. But mostly "dialectic." I think it says dialectic 1 million times.

He also refers to loads of interesting thinkers and philosophers. People like MacIntyre, Dewey, Rousseau, Van Manen, Plato and on and on. The whole thing is very impressive and academic, as it should be. He's worked incredibly hard on this for an incredibly long time. In fact, we originally moved to New York, over 6 years ago, so he could accomplish this very thing.

And unlike his fellow students — or even professors, in most cases — he's done this worthy thing while also adding three kids to the family of four we had when he started. While taking turns as primary bread winner and stay-at-home dad as needed. While teaching 3 of his kids to ride a bike and snow ski. While being an exceptional father. An exceptional husband.

He even sends me cool links to share with Design Mom readers. Just today he sent a link to these too-great-for-words photos by Jan Von Holleben.

Ben Blair is a good man. No doubt he will do an amazing job tonight (but feel free to wish him luck anyway). And then he'll have a PhD from Columbia University. And then I'll call him Dr. Ben Blair.

Tonight, after his defense, he is meeting me at Grand Central Station and we are heading to a hotel for the weekend. A well-deserved weekend without any kiddies. So I won't be here tomorrow. But I'll be back Monday (well rested!) with big news about my week of Holiday Giveaways.

Hooray for Ben Blair!

Stalking Santa Report

The screening last Thursday of Stalking Santa, was even more fun than I guessed it would be. The movie was great. And the question and answer session afterwards was wonderful. It was fun to hear Chris talk about working with his wife Lisa — who plays his wife in the movie. It was interesting to hear the writer and cast member, Daryn Tufts, talk about making a feature film on a teeny tiny budget. And so cool to hear how he got William Shatner involved. There is a bunch of vintage footage in the movie and it was fascinating to hear how they created it. I love when I can get some insight into how something like this was made.

William Shatner is the narrator and executive producer. He does an excellent job and lends such gravity to the whole film. But for sure, the stars are Chris and Lisa and Daryn. And they shine! I've never watched a movie before that starred my friends and I wondered if I would feel strange watching them act out a certain role on the big screen — but they were fantastic. They were perfectly cast.

We came home with the DVD — signed by Mr. Clark of course — and it pretty much played nonstop at our house all weekend. Everyone has their favorite lines — including the one where the assistant says, "How do I explain Lloyd? You might as well ask me to explain Einstein, or Alex Trebek."

The movie is just right for tweens to adults. If you're dying for more info on the film or the actors, or want to see the Santa Papyrus and Santa Cave Paintings up close, you can get your fill by downloading the press kit from the Stalking Santa site.




Stalking Santa is terrific. You've got to see it. It's hilarious. Find the DVD it here.


Olive, who thought she was very fancy to get to stay up late, pictured here with screen star Christopher Clark, at the Stalking Santa New York Premiere.

Two Great Contests by Two Great Book Companies

My friend Hailey just let me know about a great contest hosted by Chronicle Books. It's a doodling contest to celebrate two new books by Taro Gomi. Open to doodlers and scribblers of all ages. And it runs through May 15, 2008, so you've got plenty of time to enter. Grand Prize winners will be selected by Taro Gomi himself. Find out more here.



Also. Scholastic has a very cool program I just heard about. It's for all you parents of artistic teenagers. You can have your child, in grades 7-12, apply for a Scholastic Art & Writing Award. The program is now in its 85th year, and I was impressed by the list of past winners, which include Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, Robert Redford, Joyce Carol Oates, Sylvia Plath, John Lithgow and on and on.

If you think you know a good candidate, The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the nonprofit group that administers The Awards, is now accepting submissions. To find out more, visit www.artandwriting.org. And if, like me, your kids are too young for this, I suggest you bookmark the page for future reference.

Stalking Santa

We're so excited. We have these friends, Christopher and Lisa Clark. You may know Lisa from her fantastic week here as the original Guest Mom, and also as the sister of Maroon 5's awesome guitarist. And you may know Christopher from his excellent blog, The Jolly Porter, and because he's the brother of well-known bloggers Nie Nie and cJane, and because he grew up a block away from my husband.

Well. Chris and Lisa are talented in dozens of various ways, and they happen to star in a movie called Stalking Santa. The same Stalking Santa that will be featured at the Angelika Theater, right here in New York, on Thursday, November 8th. The same Stalking Santa featured in the trailer above.

Christopher will be flying out to the big premiere and we can't wait to see him. And we can't wait to see Stalking Santa. And the best part is: YOU'RE INVITED TOO! In fact, you can bring your friends, you can bring the whole family — it's going to be fantastic. Halloween will be a fond memory by that time and you'll be so ready to get stoked for the Holidays. A movie like Stalking Santa will do the trick.

Extra special bonus: the showing is free dollars and thirty free cents. Yep. It's a FREE movie, so no excuses. Put it on your calendars right away. Tell your friends.

Come to the Angelika Film Center, 18 West Houston St. (@ Mercer St.), New York, NY 10012, on Thursday, November 8th at 7:00 PM. I'll be there. My husband will be there. And if you say hello, I'll even try to introduce you to Mr. Christopher Clark himself.

UPDATE: I just heard from the Stalking Santa people. They mentioned that you can print out tickets here.

JK Rowling Report

We just got home and I wanted to report while everything was still fresh. Be warned, spoilers ahead.

The reading itself was fantastic. She read the part of Book 7 where Ron returns to Harry and Hermione (part of the Silver Doe chapter). She was great. And the audience just ate it up.

I didn't understand this until we were there, but the audience was made up of sweepstakes winners. I don't know the contest details, but apparently this wasn't an event you could buy tickets to. So the audience was made up of serious fans, which was perfect for this sort of thing. And they were here from all over the country. Georgia, Chicago, Hawaii, etc. Additionally, this specific reading was intended for an older audience. There weren't as many kids there as you might guess.

After she reached the end of the chapter, it was time for questions. Some of the sweepstakes winners had been pre-picked and were prepared with really good questions. I only took notes on a few. And I'm going to paraphrase.

Q - Why the match-up between Molly and Bellatrix?
JKR's A - Molly is a very powerful witch. Anyone that could raise Fred and George must be powerful. But sometimes that fact gets lost because her skills — like magical cooking, which is much harder than it looks, as I tried to show in the tent scenes — don't draw much attention. But I wanted to make the point that just because a woman dedicates her life to her family, doesn't mean she's not highly skilled and talented and powerful. And I liked the idea if paring Bellatrix's obsessive, disturbing love for Voldemort with Molly's maternal love. The theme of maternal love, and how being loved gives you power, was important to me throughout the books.

Q - Did Dumbledore ever have a true love?
JKR's A - Dumbledore is gay. He fell in love with Grindlewald, which sort-of blinded him to Grindlewald's true nature, and he was devastated and broken-hearted when he clearly saw what kind of person Grindlewald was. It was Dumbledore's great tragedy.

Q - Does Neville marry?
JKR's A - Yes. He marries Hannah Abbot. She becomes the next proprietor of the Leaky Cauldron. This makes Neville very popular among his students. They think it's wonderful that he lives above a pub. (You remember from that he becomes the herbology teacher at Hogwarts.)

Q - Does Hagrid ever marry and have children?
JKR's A - No. Sorry. Sorry. [Then while the audience voiced disappointment] I kept him alive. Come on!

Q - Would Snape's portrait hang in the headmaster's office at Hogwarts? And if yes, would Harry visit it?
JKR's A - Technically no, because Snape sort of abdicated his office. But Harry would have insisted. So yes, Snape's portrait would be there. And no, Harry would not visit it. Although Snape loved deeply and was brave — two qualities I very much admire — he was still a mean and vindictive person and he was not kind to Harry.

Other things I remember JKR said:
-The series is a prolonged argument for tolerance.
-Even though many people dislike the books for this reason, I think it's healthy to question authority, and important to know that the government and press don't always tell the whole truth.

Anyway. It was a wonderful evening. Carnegie Hall is beautiful. JK Rowling was delightful. Dessert afterward was delicious. And my kids got some unexpected sex ed.

JK Rowling portrait via Guardian Unlimited.

Brilliant Lego Ads

My husband, Ben Blair, sent me a link to these Lego Ads. I wonder if they're available as posters. So freaking brilliant. And beautiful.

Saab 900

I was parked at my community center yesterday and noticed an older Saab 900 parked next to me — it was a 4-door, which I like even more than the 2-door pictured. I adore the look of this car and like to daydream about buying one. It's one of my ongoing dilemmas. I develop crushes on older model cars, but I'm just not committed to the relationship. Is it possible to find a perfectly restored Saab that as easy to maintain as, say, a 2007 Honda?

The car we brought to New York when we moved here was a red, 1983 Landcruiser. Also one of my favorite cars, but too hard/expensive for us to maintain at the time, so we sold it. I still miss it.

Publicolor

Kelcey at The Mama Bird Diaries wrote to me about Publicolor.

Paraphrasing from their website: Publicolor was founded by industrial designer Ruth Lande Shuman in 1996, to push back at our nation's growing drop-out rate. Publicolor teaches innercity students the marketable skill of commercial painting, which itself can break the cycle of poverty, then helps students transform their own school's environment and that of nearby community sites. So far, Publicolor has transformed over 84 school buildings and over 100 community sites, impacting the daily lives of 150,000+ teachers and students.

I love this kind of thing. You can see before and after photos of some of their projects here.

On the Calendar

Tomorrow night:
Brandi Carlile at the Fillmore



Friday night:
Dinner at Jane.




This month:
The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze in Sleepy Hollow. The very same Sleepy Hollow that Washington Irving wrote about in The Headless Horseman. In fact, the Old Dutch Church in the book still stands there today. This will be our first year to attend the blaze. So excited.



Thanksgiving :
We won't have any family around this year and have decided we aren't up for a big flight. So we've been looking for good spots we can drive to and spend Thanksgiving weekend. Some place like a cabin in Vermont, or a farm in Pennsylvania. Then last Saturday I was getting my hair done and asked my stylist for advice on good vacation spots and she suggested Plymouth, Mass.

I was totally stunned. This will be our 7th Thanksgiving in New York, less than three hours from Plymouth, and we have never thought to visit the site. And now I am so delighted with the whole idea I can barely stand it. If you can't be with family, is there a better place to spend Thanksgiving than on Plimouth Plantation?

Mini Harvest

We planted a small garden this year. Our first since moving to New York. Although it's kind of a random assortment of vegetables — cauliflower, zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers, some kind of hot peppers, and lots of herbs — it has been wonderful to watch it grow and have the kids help me tend it.

I can't say we were dedicated gardeners. Weeding and watering happened sporadically at best and we never did add any fertilizer. But the earth of New York is apparently made to grow things. And we have a handy little harvest despite the neglect.

Handy enough that I keep needing to give baskets of vegetables away. But I had to take a picture first because the little harvest looks so yummy and wholesome sitting there on the kitchen counter.

Fashion Week

It's a sign.

First I met the lovely and gracious Chloe from Project Runway at BlogHer. She was a sweetheart to speak with. And she said Tim Gunn is really as wonderful as he seems. (Side note