Things That Make Me Smile: Colorful, Splendid Life.

1) Purple Shoes.
They add the perfect *POP* of color. I love my new Chloes from Paris, and I love these suede loafers featured on The Sartorialist.

2) New Shades-of-Purple Vespas.
If you know me, you'll know that I've always dreamed of having a red canoe and a lavender Vespa. You might also know that I have a fish at my office named Aubergine. I passed this Vespa yesterday and it seemed like fate.

3) Subconsciously dwelling on Paris.
In the last few weeks I've randomly happened to watch a number of movies with French connections:

• Julie & Julia. A truly EXCELLENT and utterly CHARMING film. As she lives and loves in Paris, Julia learns and eventually masters the art of French cooking.
• Taken. A gory action film. Set in Paris.
• La Vie En Rose. Another BRILLIANT film. Set in Paris and New York. It was lovely to watch Marion Cotillard walk through Montmartre then Central Park and think about how I've taken those same steps in the past few days.
  
• Revolutionary Road. I watched this on the plane en route to Paris. Despite its dark tone, the movie sets Paris as the ideal place to be--where one discovers the answers to life's questions and really learns how to live.
  

4) Exploring Brooklyn.
My friend CLB is my best excuse for exploring Brooklyn. This week we had dinner at Clover Club, a nouveau-speakeasy she selected for us.

We sat in the back room, which had a lovely library-feel and a fireplace filled with candles.
And the cocktails aren't bad either!

5) Spending time with friends, particularly friends from far away!

Dinner with CMM, in town for the summer, at Westville East // Sassy new New Yorker RFS post-(a separate) dinner at Westville East.

Kayaking on the Hudson with MVG: We didn't fall in!


Cupcakes at Two Little Red Hens with TAG // Post-Dinner at Kefi with visiting Londoner HP!

Model as Muse exhibit at the Met with TMS, in town from L.A.!

Pool Party on Long Island with my Princeton Gals: CHW, MVG, A(K)K, CJM, LAT, EJS
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I have a great weekend planned and I hope you do too!
Enjoy one of the final weekends of summer!
Cxx.

Things that Make Me Smile

1) BOOKS!
My first true love. Here are the books I'm currently reading, to varying degrees of success:

Here's a snippet from The Bunny's extensive bookshelves; when I saw this collection early on in our courtship I knew he was a keeper:

(Apologies for the low quality of my photos. I'm relying on my Blackberry until I buy a new camera cord, which is on today's to-do list)

2) Princeton's new Bridge Program
I heard this was in the works and received an official email today with the following description:

"Twenty Princeton students will defer the start of their freshman year at Princeton this fall to spend a tuition-free enrichment period abroad focused on public service as the first participants in the University's Bridge Year Program."
I wish this had been in place when I was there, so I'm glad that 20 students are going to partake in this wonderful opportunity. I hope someday every university will offer a similar program.

3) Cynthia Rowley's tulle skirt:

(It looks better in person, and I would buy it in black.)

4) Ivanka and Jared's love.
Seriously, read this article (props to CHW for bringing it to my attention). She's my shiksa hero, and their love story is one for the ages!

5) TAG's care package.
It arrived yesterday with a note telling me that I did, in fact, deserve to veg out a bit. Thanks for being so thoughtful, for understanding me, and for bringing a huge smile to my face.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Cxx.

Weekend Recap and Happy Surprises

FRIDAY:

• Early birthday surprise for the Bunny. Where could this cab be taking us...?

Taa Daa! "Blithe Spirit"! Angela Lansbury and cast were wonderful.

It was a delight to watch AL win a Tony only 2 days later!

SATURDAY:

• Brunch with the Bunny at Belcourt.
• Post-Brunch with TAG at Alice's Tea Cup (aka our clubhouse); yes, I ate a post-brunch.
• Stroll to Tiffany to get a new backing for my most beloved earrings. Cost of jewelry repair plus steam cleaning? Only $8.67. As I said to the customer service associate, "This is the best purchase I've ever made at Tiffany!" His response? "Yes, it IS possible!"
  

They needed a spiffying up! Don't they look great?!

These earrings are my perfect piece of jewelry. I feel like my best self when I have them on.

• Post-Tiffany stroll down 5th Avenue. I wandered into the Rock Center Anthropologie and noticed a familiar looking woman who spoke with an English accent. I quickly recognized her as an actress from "The Norman Conquests." I congratulated her on a job very well done, a compliment that she graciously accepted. I haven't enjoyed a show as much as I enjoyed "Table Manners" in a long time. Little did we know that the very next day she would be onstage with her cast at Radio City (also in Rock Center) accepting the Tony for Best Revival of a Play!
  
• Dinner at Morandi with my gorgeous friend, MBM. We shared meatballs and tagliatelle bolognese. Delicious!
  

SUNDAY:
The highlight was watching the Tonys, of course. When I was younger and an aspiring actress (I've acted since I was 5 and used to have an agent), the Tonys helped me dream. As I got older, the Tonys helped me select which shows to see on my annual trips to NYC. One of the best shows I've ever seen, "Contact", was selected as one of the shows I saw on my 16th birthday weekend celebration because I was so in awe of the Tonys performance.

Highlights from this year's awards ceremony included honors for some of the shows I most enjoyed this past season:

• Blithe Spirit: Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play (Angela Lansbury)
• Equus: Best Sound Design of a Play
• Next to Normal: Best Original Score, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Alice Ripley), Best Orchestrations (tied with Billy Elliot)
• The Norman Conquests: The Bunny's friend is a producer on this show, and we were particularly pleased when it was announced that he won a Tony for "Best Revival of a Play"
  
• Shrek: Best Costume Design of a Musical

(I may well be the only person in NYC who saw "Hair" and didn't like it. Ah, well.)

MONDAY (the Happy Surprise!):
After a long and exhausting day at work, I came home and found this package from mon amie Parisienne, MLPR, waiting for me:

Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Sacre Coeur, Arc de Triomphe...and Beaubourg? Or, instead, apartment buildings of the banlieue? Haha.

Back in April I mailed MLPR a pack of postcards that you can cut, fold and paste into 3-D scenes of NYC, a city that she dearly loves.

Her gift to me couldn't have been more PERFECT!
We are obviously sending propaganda to each other to inspire upcoming visits!
I can hear Paris calling my name.....
Thanks, M, for making me smile, for warming my heart, and for setting a happy tone for my week!

I do have SO SO much to be grateful for, and so many things to make me smile.

Cxx.