Just because

 Everyone needs a little Pretty in their day. Thanks to the ever-fabulous VogueandCoffee for all the photos.

Carol Channing: Larger Than Life

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This weekend I was lucky enough to be invited by a friend to the viewing of a film at the Tribeca Film Festival. The movie she had tickets for was "Carol Channing: Larger Than Life" and I have to tell you that it was just a lovely way to spend two hours. As a musical theater junkie, I had of course always heard of Carol Channing, and I knew she was the originator of the role of Dolly Gallagher Levi in "Hello Dolly" as well as Loreilei Lee, in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," which Marilyn Monroe made famous. However, this film focused much more heavily on the fairy tale love affair Carol had with her now-husband, a relationship which began when the two were merely tweens, the tender ages 12 or so, and then went on hiatus for 70 years before he reached out to her after being told she had a memoir out. Can you imagine? Proves there's no timeline for love, I suppose. And on that lovely note, Happy Monday!

Royal Wedding Mania Strikes City

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Okay, I have no idea if there is any mania to be had, although apparently there is a street fair of sorts going down in Greenwich Village this morning, ladies in fancy hats and all, to celebrate the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. And I must admit, while I did not get totally into the frenzy of Royal Wedding excitement, I do have a certain crush on all things English, so I was excited when, as I groggily turned on my radio this morning, NPR played a snippet of the vows between the cute kids, Will and Kate. His voice was so deep, and hers so soft. It was rather surprising, even as I sort of felt for them, seeming so quiet and clipped in the somber pomp of such an affair. It may have been nice to see the couple tying the knot after all, see if she had tears glistening in her eyes, or if he only had eyes for her. I look forward to the images that will come trickling out soon enough. And, in other, more me-related news, it is Friday! It is warm, sunny and glorious, and I am eager for the weekend to begin!
Update: She does look lovely, doesn't she? And he? So very English. Yup, I still love me some British men.

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Margaritaville

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Last night I met up with some friends for a long-overdue catch-up session over margaritas and Mexican food, and I must tell you, it was a lovely night out. That coming from a Southern California girl who cherishes her Mexican food being as authentic as possible. The menu at the eatery was a little jarring - they had ricotta cheese ravioli with enchilada sauce as an entree - but the food was good, in this humble eater's opinion. And the marg was a fabulous kick-in-the-head. Granted, it could have been the tequila talking, but I'm fairly certain I enjoyed my meal, and the ceviche I ordered as an appetizer was - while served in much larger chunks than I've ever experienced before, and not as flavorful as the homemade stuff I'm used to - did taste fresh and as such was a nice way to top off what had been a warm, slightly humid day. I hope this Thursday finds all of you well, and if not, go have yourself a margarita tonight, I promise it will cure all that ails you. [And no, the cheeky poster picture I included above has no bearing on the night. Tequila shots can make me a Mean Girl, but margaritas have never done me any harm.]

What a beautiful morning!

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Well I'm saddened to tell you all that the first batch of Peanut Butter Kiss cookies, the batch we all tasted, did indeed taste of dirt. So the entire batch had to be scrapped and no one could go home with anything. It was all very sad, and made me feel like a rather awful hostess. I then whipped up a second batch with butter that had been softening all day, rather than sitting in the fridge all day as the dough of the first batch had been, and the cookies are significantly better. So it's the fridge, something is very wrong there. Ah well. The second batch was brought in to coworkers to prevent, as much as possible, yours truly from gaining more weight than I already have. "Oh heavens no!" You shall say, "You needn't fret about such trivial things as weight!" Sorry, supportive ones, the numbers don't lie, and they are moving in a direction of which I am not a fan. Namely, upwards. Anyway, I hope this Wednesday treats everyone remarkably well, and I do apologize that I don't have fabulous photos of these cookies to share with you...I just couldn't bring myself to photograph the first batch as they were such a complete disappointment. So, I hope you enjoyed a picture of a beautiful kitchen that is not mine. Cheers!

Tasty Tuesday

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You'll be happy to know that my day yesterday stayed upbeat the whole day through, and while I awoke to a foggy day this morning, it has since cleared to a beautiful, pale blue sky with lots of sun. Delightful! What's even more delightful is that after work I'm having a few girlfriends over to bake cookies, so tonight my apartment will be filled with the scent of Peanut Butter Kiss cookies baking away. Hopefully they turn out well, and I'll be able to share the deliciousness of it all tomorrow. However, in the interest of full disclosure, our refrigerator possesses a certain smell that I haven't been able to get rid of no matter how hard I scrub or how much baking soda I place on the shelves to suck the odor out. As such, and due to the fact that the recipe I'm trying out calls for the dough to be chilled in the fridge for at least 3 hours prior to baking (and I'll have kept it in all night due to the circumstance of having a job) I'm just hoping they taste all right. I have all the ingredients on hand for a second batch should they be appalling, however. Wish us luck in this baking endeavor!

Eerily Cheery...

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Hi friends! I'm having an eerily cheery Monday this morning, there's something in the air that's just put a pep in my step, but I'm dealing with a certain paranoia regarding why I am so cheerful and what may come about to pull me down from my happy perch. And no, I don't know why I am so distrustful of my own cheerfulness, but here we are nonetheless. Regardless, I'm going to enjoy my upbeat feelings while they last, for it is a rather wonderful feeling to have on a gloomy Monday! I hope all your first-days-of-the-week begin in so upbeat a manner, and stay that way the whole day through!