Autumn Meme etc.

I found this meme on the blog The Kitchen Door [thanks Charlotte for the link!] I love her "Prayer Request Wednesday" feature - check it out! Anyways, to the meme:

1. Share a Fall memory.
Of course jumping in a pile of leaves that my dad raked. Walking outside in the crisp air. Beautiful blue skies, orange leaves blowing in the breeze. Apple picking and eating. Waking up warm and cozy in bed.

2. Your favorite Fall clothes--(past or present)?
Warm sweaters. A gift from a friend of hand-me-down oxblood leather boots that go great with all my plaid skirts. Woolly tights.

3. Share a campfire story, song, experience...etc.
Not really a campfire song, but my college has a tradition of singing Greek hymns outside in candlelight in November. It's beautiful and haunting and amazing.

4. What is your favorite thing about this time of year?
I used to hate this time of year because I would always catch a cold that would last all winter. And I hated being cold all winter, with the snow and dreariness and all. But I have come to really appreciate fall for the beautiful season that it is. The colors and crispness of it all is overwhelming some days. In my household, everyone but me has their birthday in the fall, so it makes it a time of celebration. Plus we host Thanksgiving, and who doesn't love Halloween? I also think All Soul's Day is one of the most beautiful ideas out there, and so I try to create a WASPified Dia de los Muertos, if you can picture that. I plan to take the photos of the family members that have died and put them on the dining room table w/candles and then cook a big Mexican feast. Yummy.

5. What changes are you anticipating in your life, your church, family...whatever...as the season changes and winter approaches?
I am considering what becoming a chaplain would mean for me. How I would do it, how much schooling I would need, how I would do it w/my current life situation, etc. While I remember that my daughters are growing each and every day. I don't want to let that slip by in a cloud of busyness - where I don't recognize their awesomeness. [I didn't sign up for Moxie's Release the Yelling class, but hope to when I have more time/less insanity in my schedule.....]


Bonus: What food says "AUTUMN" at your house? Recipes always appreciated.
Pumpkin pie. I use the recipe on the Libby's can. It's the best.

* 3/4 cup granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
* 2 large eggs
* 1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
* 1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
* 1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
* Whipped cream (optional)

Blog Round-Up

There's been a lot going on this week:

Letter to Bush from a mom on mainstreet, thanks, Siren's Chronicles, for that. Friend speaks my mind.

Civil Disobedience for Climate Change?! I'm on it! P.S. That's Sir Bono and Al Gorgeous together!

What's the fastest way to become a US citizen? From TextMex

From a recent meeting at my girls' nursery school. This quote just reinforces my whole belief that nothing has changed over time. Yes the players and tools do, but not the feelings.

'The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for
authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in lace of
exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their
households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They
contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties
at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.'

Bob Blogs about my favorite superhero!

The "Forêt/Forest" Exhibit in Montreal looks awesome. I wish I could get up there to see it. Thanks bldgblog for the link.

Chicago has a climate plan. Yay! Maybe Philly will be next...?

Aerophant always blows my mind (in a good way) - it IS a beautiful world.

Apparently, my guy George Michael was busted again for drugs. Thanks to JoeMyGod for the news.... but maybe it's not really news anymore.


Cupcakes Take the Cake pointed out that people search for cupcakes in a financial crisis. So I tried seeing how often people search for religious art. It was pretty much the same until this week. Check the spike. [I wonder how many of those points over the years have been ME!?!] And, 5 Reasons why this Depression really IS Going to be Fun! From Gawker.

This week on the fashion front, we see BOTH plaids AND argyle on the Fug Report.

Idle Speculations posted a beautiful image of St Anthony the Abbott in the Wilderness. Wow. It feels appropriate for this week. Thanks, Terry.

And who knows whether the debate will actually happen tonight. I can't watch. Just like the Eagles in the Superbowl - I get too nervous to sit still. So, I'll be sending all my positive energy to Obama tonight. But in the spirit of the thing - I hope he lands some good "body checks". "Keep your stick on the ice" tonight, Barack!

Fall Collections

It's that time of year again - time for the over-sized Vogue and Elle magazines to come out. In years past Angie and I would get them on our way to our family vacation in Canada and pick out our favorite outfits.

I'm not sure I'm hip to the shoe styles that are coming out - nothing is really striking me as a must-have. Though I do love the new Prada combos (go to the Women's Collections, Advertising and then, my favorite is the black and green skirt w/jacket!) I'm searching desperately for a photo to share!

Of course Paul Smith, and Missoni are coming out with pretty things, but Paul is still going neutral on me - where are his shocking and bright solids and plaids?!?!

the 3-piece suit

It all started with Lakshmi and me talking about my favorite male, red-headed thespian, and voilà, here I am drooling over Paul Smith's collections of two years ago! How does this happen??

I like some of the cuts from the `07 and `06 collections, but the muted tones aren't doing much for me.

I remembered this clip from Agatha Christie's "Five Little Piggies," and how awesome Toby Stephens looks in a 3-piece suit. Frankly, the scene where he's at the window makes me weak in the knees, but that's another story.

Seriously, when will the 3-piece come back as the staple of men's fashion? I can take or leave hats, but the put-together suit, with contrasting tie or shirt are just drop-dead gorgeous. When will they realize it?? And sweaters on men, just look fantastic. Again, see the Christie clip to see what I'm talking about.

Paul Smith's womens' collection is phenomenal too. I love the bold colors of 2005! And the tartan.... oh, to be independently wealthy!

my current style

The personal style authors* talk about figuring out what physical attributes I want to accentuate and what colors I look good in, and take it from there. They suggest going through the closet and make sure everything fits. Do this at least once a year, and donate anything you haven't worn in 2 years or more. I don't like getting rid of clothes, a trait I've inherited from my mom, but it's a good practice. And I didn't want to do it until I got down to a size, post-delivery, that I felt comfortable about.

I started going through this style process, in earnest, after I got down to my original pre-pregnancy weight. It IS possible! Truly. Before I got there it seemed impossible. And I will give a plug right now for the book that helped me get there: "Healthy Woman" by Rodale Press.** So great! I read it and started going through and doing their suggestions right away. Within 5 months I had lost 10 - 15 lbs, and, more importantly, at least 2 inches around my hips, 3 around my waist, and toned my upper arms and jowls. That kind of change had a huge impact on my outlook, on my self perception. That's how I am more able to talk about my "assets" with apparent ease. I wasn't there a year ago. Who knows if I even would have been blogging. My image and understanding of myself is so different now than it was a year ago!

An additional thing I've learned through this process is that there's no time like the present. In order to be the person you want to be, you have to start somewhere and BE that person. That's true of my physical state of being, my mental health [be present and live in the moment, without the weight of the past or worries of the future seeping in], and my spiritual life. Be the person you want to be now.

I went through the clothes. I knew I owned and loved lots of black, but I went ahead and followed the authors' concept of putting each outfit on and figured out how many "looks" I could get out of each combination that could go together. They call these "capsules". In each capsule you have, let's say, slacks, a skirt, a couple of tops that could match, or jacket, and then accessories: shoes, scarves, jewelry that go along or complement.

I organized about 4 robust capsules in black, brown, green and purple. I had my "colors done" back in high school - sheesh I'm so 80's!!! And I was a "winter" - "with gold highlights". Anyone who has "had their colors done" has as vague an idea of what that means as I do. But basically, I look better in stronger, darker colors than I do in neutrals or pastels, with my skin tone. But then my hair and eye color tend towards the golden. So I need to take that into account when figuring out what looks good on me.

The authors also get into how to withstand fads. If you've taken the time to figure out what hemline works for you, don't cave, just because a fashion trend says that micro-minis are in. They suggest finding a tailor and riding out the fad looking good in what works for you. And even show a graph of the life-cycle of a fashion trend. When to buy as the trend is still going on, and might be on sale, but also how to determine when it will bottom out so you're not stuck w/last season's fashions looking silly.

My "look":

• I like solids. I wear a lot of solids. And mostly dark solids, up by my face.
  
• I've made the switch from regular hose to fishnets - now they come in neutral, skin-tone colors! Ingenious!
• When it comes to patterns, I adore plaids! Skirts or slacks. Maybe it's the British heritage? Or the tweedy academic upbringing?
  
• Texture. I like texture. Anything that looks woolly - but not mohair since I'm allergic.
• Big cowl necks are a fave too. Sweaters in general are good.
• No button shirts - they always gap in the middle. Embarrassing.
• No more mini-skirts. No denim skirts either, just don't like them.
• No crew neck shirts.
  
• A couple of years ago, after a huge sock purge, I made the vow that the only socks I will buy are argyle. So, now I have a bunch of wacky color combos of argyle socks and wear them with whatever color family I choose. It's fun.

I guess this is my homage to punks - fishnets, argyle and tartan - God Save the Queen!




* Looking Good: A Comprehensive Guide to Wardrobe Planning, Color & Personal Style Development (Paperback) by Nancy Nix-Rice (Author), Pati Palmer (Author) "Looking wonderful is less about fashion-designers dictating what's "in" and what's "out"-than about function-what works best for YOU..."

** I've had trouble actually finding the book that I originally bought because it was a supplement to a Prevention magazine edition (hence no ISBN). I've linked to the DVD, above, but I'm more of a 20th Century gal myself, and prefer the book. You can get a sense of the program by using this link to a Rodale article. I bought the "book" at the local grocery store, and recently saw it at Target. So, it's out there. The cover has a pink title with a svelte young woman in white workout shorts and a green jog bra.