To begin with, a set of much loved friends just welcomed their first daughter into this world. Oddly, they are about the same age I was when my daughters entered the universe. So on one level, it was lovely to watch their joy at the whole process. On another level, from where I sit today, I struggled to remember the heady days of tiny children and diapers. It all seems so far removed from my current “life in mid”.

By the same token, this is also the week my youngest daughter graduates from college. Four years seemingly gone in a flash. Wasn’t she just moving into her dorm?

So, on one hand I see small newborns, while on the other I see grown women: a generational gap unlike any other.

From Arielle’s birth through this week sits an astounding 26 years. Can anybody tell me where they went? For, you see, while seeming far away, my own infant daughters seem so very recent. So very, very recent. While I can’t recall crying babies and changing diapers, I can recall houses of laughter and 7 year old sing alongs. While I suffer trying to remember how our strollers worked, I remember in vivid detail a series of holiday dresses. To this very day, there are songs that drift through department stores that transport me back to something so mundane as a car ride to school. Hal says that is the way it’s supposed to be. I tell him he’s full of sh*t.

The only explanation I have to where everything went is that, quite simply, I blinked. In that blink 26 years of happiness, a few tragedies, and a mountain of memories occurred. So maybe, as blinking is a natural act, Hal is right.

I should just like to blink slower, if I may.

“Statues of guardian lions have traditionally stood in front of Chinese Imperial palaces, Imperial tombs, government offices, temples, and the homes of government officials and the wealthy, from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), and were believed to have powerful mythic protective benefits”

Well, to make a long story short; Hal and I recently picked up a piece of furniture that had quite a heady space for for something tall. After staring at said space for a tad, I turned to Hal and said “Foo Dogs”. Now, as he is a gem of a human, his technical response was “Whatever”…. which in my head sounded like “You know, you are totally right. You should run out and find the perfect Foo Dogs.”

Of course, this is what I did.

Now, the tricky part of it all is after looking high and low back East, the perfect foos showed up in Southern California while stopping in at Ann Dennis Designs in Costa Mesa. I had originally fallen in love with a different pair Ann had procured, but upon turning a corner and seeing these incredible 21″ tall vintage guys, I knew they had to be mine. My previous experience had shown me that modern versions tended toward the the smaller, less artistic variety. Not really what I was looking for by any means! The sheer fact of their size meant I also found myself shipping them clear across the country one day:

“Now, you’re sure there is enough packing in them right? You put enough ‘fragile’ stickers on them? Right?”

Now, as alls well that ends well, the (recently dubbed) “Frick” and “Frack” are now ensconced in their new home guarding an illustrious library of large, heavy art books.

Mission; Accomplished.

However, with all the commitments I had for my role as the VicePresident of Programs with the Manhattan NKBA, my time was fairly well subscribed. (I know, right?).  That having been said, I did manage to break away for one whole day of meandering around the Big Easy.

One. Whole. Day.

While I would have loved to have ventured farther, my schedule simply didn’t allow for touring more than outside my hotel’s front door. As such, I was rather limited to poking around the famed French Quarter.

As I was a tad worn at this point, I opted to spend some time in a mule carriage learning the history of the area. Cheesy as it may seem, a mule drawn carriage can provide a great tool to see the city. It was also a great way to meet my new friend Gus. (Fact: they use mules down in NoLa rather than horses as they are better geared toward manual labor).

“Laissez le bon temps rouler!!”

Which is why when I wrote about my recent love of tan suits, I was actually researching them. See how that works…

Which is how I ended up dressed like this recently in New Orleans:

For the record, the winning suit is from Bonobos, and the clever bag is my most recent addition from Apolis Global. Also for the record, they were both purchased on-line. Oddly, shopping in my new world of Connecticut has become a tad… not so simple. That, however, is an entirely different posting!

This week brings about two “well, that’s been awhile” events here in La Vida Aldrich:

To begin with, I am going to attend a trade show for the first time in, well, who knows how long. I shall be packing my bags and heading to the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) in “The Big Easy”, a.k.a New Orleans. Back in the heady high tech days of the 1990s, my life was a circle of trade shows. From Boston to Las Vegas, there was a circuit we were all very much on. This show also marks the first I have been to a large scale show as an attendee and not as an exhibitor. (There really is a marked difference, don’t ya know!) I’m quite interested to see these things from the other side of the aisle.

Better yet, as I’m going to be attending as an officer of the Manhattan Chapter of the National Kitchen and Bath Association, rest assured there is some serious wardrobe going on! I mean, it is ME after all!

This year’s KBIS also marks the first time I have been down NoLo way in quite a bit. Truth be told, the last time I was in New Orleans was just before the city was subject to the will of Hurricane Katrina. As I was leaving the city after that trip, I was really quite in love with the thick air and Southern Style of it all. At that time, I had plans of coming back, shopping for Regency antiques and drinking on river boats. Needless to say, we all know how that turned out. I’m looking forward to catching up with it all. Or not. I guess that remains to be seen (reference above statements re: trade show).

In any case, here’s to New Orleans and what may lay in store for both of us!

| Photos by me… “The last time…” | 

Anyway… last week I had the great fun to attend “a thing” in New York at the lovely that is Niedermaeir. Far from being a standard issue “show and go” or “meet and greet”, “Designing a Glamorous Life” ( you are going to want to click that link btw!) played out much more like a fabulous cocktail party. Yes, there was networking. Yes, there were great stories (The story of how Holiday House came to be was particularly resilient). Yes, there was food and beverage, but there was also hair product.

That’s right: hair product.

Now, while I totally get that the evening was about how to create glamour in any number of ways. I’m just sayin’ that the way my hair looked when the witty and clever Frank finished completely fit the bill.

So, let’s review: “networking” + “great fun” + “inspiration” + GOOD HAIR?

“#Winning”

| Original images by Vital Photography |

Clearly worthy of a giggle or six if not more for those of us prone to looking around and thinking “well, back when I was ____ (insert age), people used to actually talk to one another”.

| Original graphic via Wrong Hands|

The thing is, between you and I, I’m feeling a bit drab now. Lovely as they are, my clothing palette has been mainly in those darker, textured tones so favored for Fall and Winter in the Northeast. As a result, lately I have been feeling a tad too Victorian Widow.

So, as everyone here sits and waits (quite on the edge of our seats, I might add) for Spring 2013 to arrive, I have turned to dreaming of wearing lighter fabrics in lighter tones. Let’s call it my own personal escape, shall we?

Which, of course, means I am currently obsessed with tan suits. Not “Wedding in Honolulu” tan suits. Not even “Hey, wow, look at my broad shoulders” line backer tan suits. No, I am currently infatuated with tan suits that can be paired with bright colors (bow ties anyone?),  and worn for bright sunny day meetings. These meetings will, naturally, be be followed by al fresco lunches and a walk in the park.

In other words; fun tan suits. Something rather like these, methinks…

| Original Images via HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE |

To the left, i have placed a (quite recent) photo of myself.

“Why?”, you may ask.

Well, having spent the vast majority of 2012 with a buzzed dome ( the result of long hair angst meeting electric clippers in my bathroom one day), my ADD has kicked in and I now feel it’s time to do something else. What that “else” may be, dear friends, is rather entirely unknown.

Now, anyone who has known me for any period of time anticipates that every 18 months or so, i give my hair/look a different direction. It’s rather organic by process and I really have no idea where I am going to end up with it.

These days (obviously), I’m kinda’ feeling a bit scruffy and classic.

Of course, in order to move forward, one must look back. Right?

Thus, a quick review of my hairstyles for the past 12 years or so has me (in no particular order)

long haired
short haired
high lighted
dyed
curly haired
natural looking
wavy haired
flat ironed
not natural looking
buzzed
spiked
faux-hawked
mow-hawked
buzzed again

any combination of any of the above

Therefore, in my efforts to regale and amuse, take a look at some of *MY* favorite looks from days gone by.

Of course, sometimes the good things are bad in retrospect.

But hey, how does that old physics rule go? Something about “a body in motion…”

… in no particular order and featuring some familiar faces…