Fashion Plague
June 30, 2010
Every time I head to NYC (I am on the Acela as I type this), I fret over what to wear. My summer tendancy to only wear white suits battles with the practical and painful lessons I’ve learned over years of day trips — sensible shoes, black pants, carry only one bag. I stood half naked in my closet at 4:30 AM this morning for at least 10 minutes fretting over my (lack of) choices.
As such, in the last two months, a few things have made it clear how hopelessly safe I play it when it comes to fashion. First, the Couture for a Cure Fashion Show, of which Microsoft was a sponsor, had me salavating.. Here’s a quick look at the evening with some colleagues and new friends taking part in the fun..
And if there is anything that makes me want to go shopping, it’s a good Sex and the City episode — or in this case, movie. My SIL Robin, over at BigRedKitchen, hosted a Girls Night and we actually went out to the movie (you have to understand how rare this is for me!)
I know most critics panned it (Time called it gaudy and shallow), but I’m not sure what exactly they were expecting. It was gaudy… the palatial hotel, the 5 changes of clothing per scene. It was mostly shallow (e.g. Charlotte’s fretting over her ruined vintage Valentino white skirt), but isn’t a little mix of that really what we’re after in a chick flick. At least I was. At the moment in time. And Big was there in all his glory (and so finely dressed, I might add), so I couldn’t have been happier! For me, the movie was pure Eye Candy.
As far as my trip to NYC today. What am I wearing? The boring black “PR Girl” uniform/pant suit. Alas….
From Thousands of Views of DC…
May 20, 2010
I keep uncovering new blogs from a variety of women in D.C. who are at various stages of life. This week, I uncovered DC Ladies, written mostly by a mom and daughter who just wanted to do something creative together. They manage to highlight great city locations and activities in a personal way. Wonder if my little Mia will do that with me when she’s old enough to choose otherwise? 
There are thousands of DC blogs, really. Who has time for all of them? My colleague Mark has introduced me to a number of those worth following and I trust him on this, as he’s the cheeky social set master. Two of my favorite – mostly because I get to live vicariously through them – are Kate Michael at KStreetKate and Pamela Sorensen at Pamela’s Punch.
From the Daily Candy emails to high end caterers like DesignCuisine to my new favorite… the Mrs. O Watch… these only skim the surface of the breadth of eye candy content available. On my simple mind this morning… what Michelle wore last night to the State Dinner…. And I’ve gotta say, she was stunning in her Peter Soronen..(photo by the Washington Post). How does she always manage to work in a belt?! I mean, seriously!
Coming soon… the best issue and government blogs in DC…(yes, there may be a Microsoft connection somehow….)
Daughters and Mothers
May 9, 2010
My friend Laura lost her sweet mother Rosemary nearly two years ago. On a walk together recently, Laura confided that although she thought maybe the pain would subside, it hasn’t gotten easier. I believe her. Rosemary was a lot like my mom…. Young and stylish for her age, gregarious, loving life with her husband, completely head over heels in love with her grandchildren. So when Laura’s son Pierson went off to kindergarten and when daughter Jessica says a new word, Laura longs for Rosemary to be ther for the joy, the milestones.
I’m convinced that Mother’s Day must be the most emotional holiday on the planet and there are no days so powerful as the first Mother’s Day as a new mom or the first Mother’s Day without Mom. As for me, I’ve experienced only the magic of the first. And yes, I dread the second. Perhaps Libby Copland — in her loving tribute to her new daughter — has gotten me thinking as she says “Isn’t it strange how time compresses, how you can be nostalgic for a thing even as you’re in the midst of it?”
In the morning, I will head to California with my mother and my five year old daughter…it’s a work trip for me ultimately, but we’ll squeeze in some sun, sand and priceless together time… simply because we can.
Paper Doll Revelations
May 1, 2010
She sat on my lap in my office chair like she so often does, this time with book in hand..”Will you read this to me?” Often, honestly, I ask for a few more minutes. Sometimes, like that night (fortunately), we open the book and start to read. This was not just any ordinary book. It was a Disney Princess picture book of cut out paper dolls, AND mini cut out abridged version storybooks about Ariel, Cinderella, and fill-in-the-blank-princesses-who-happened-to-be-named-Mia.
It was this fill in the blank story that we began to tell. Princess Mia, describing herself, “likes dolls, Littlest Pet Shop, PollyPockets. She has a big brother who likes cars. Her daddy likes to tell silly stories. Her mommy likes to….hmm work.”
Ok, ouch.
Queen Me: “Ok, really Mia, don’t we read stories (as i’m thinking to myself “Like we’re doing right now!”).
Princess Mia: “You don’t read to me enough.”
Fortunately for me — lest I go slit my wrists out of guilt — she listed off all the things we do together — family walks, swimming, snuggling, eating. But made it abundantly clear that I couldn’t get away with the suggestion that we read together.
Ever been punched in the gut by the truth — through the mouths of your babies? Guess who made a mid-year resolutions right then and there to read one book a day together, each and every day…yep.
“I’m King of the Geeks – I Mean World”
April 30, 2010
The self-aclaimed king himself James Cameron of Avatar and Titanic fame stopped by the Newseum this week to pay tribute to students from across the country who worked their tails off to come up with innovative solutions (on the Microsoft platform) to solve societal problems… from global warming to cleaning up the oceans to addressing gender equality. These teams were amazing. There was no one they’d rather show their work to than James Cameron, the ultimate example of groundbreaking innovation.
He was gracious, he was sincere, and he reiterated the message of how important technology and science careers are to our continued success as a nation and a culture.
Rxess
March 29, 2010
So who, really opposes healthcare for children and ensuring that families with pre-existing conditions are not prevented from care? Not many and certainly not me. However, the fact that these examples were used to ram through the largest government takeover of a section of the economy with no true accounting of the cost — KILLS me.
Shame on Republicans who were in control years ago and didn’t deal with some of the real issues — spiraling costs, the need for tort reform, testing of new ideas like buying across state lines – that could have helped address some very real deficits in the system. And now we pay for it. We’ve been bludgeoned with the hammer of government takeover, the consequences of which we probably can’t even comprehend yet, not only fiscally but in the way our healthcare will change and ultimately, be rationed.
At the end of the day… how can we afford this? Leave it to Robert Samuelson to paint the stark budget reality picture. Bottom line: we can’t. Unless, of course you see Charles Krauthammer’s prediction — that the only way the President will really be able to ensure a windfall of cash into federal coffers — the Value Added Tax.
Is there anyone who still believes the “we won’t raise your taxes one dime” claim?
Snowstorms and shovels
February 10, 2010
I teased my colleague Kathy this morning that, with that adorable little 3 year old she brought back from Russia, she also brough unending WINTER!
Not since New Years weekend of 1996 do I remember getting snowed in for so long…and with so many house guests on top of our 4 roomies. The mid 90s were the days of our 20s! When that snowstorm hit, it was my first year of DC group house single living – My BFF Missie and I, who had just moved to DC from Lancaster, our high school buddy T (who, since moving on to LA is now “Shad”), his girlfriend (announced to us on move-in day) Wendy, all of us living in a McLean couple’s home for a few years while they were overseas.
On that fateful holiday, trapped with us for days, given the icy blast and the trecherous road conditions, were Jere, Hoyt, and Jim and Kate….all faithful friends from PA who had not planned to stay all week in Virginia. I don’t remember how much we shoveled that weekend. I do remember pasta dinners and drinking games, scrabble challenges, movies and phone calls to see if the PA roads had opened. I remember us getting sick of each other too (“How the heck can Jere sleep til noon?!”). Nevertheless, the weekend was etched in our minds. And, still friends, as we gathered over this past Christmas holiday to catch up, we recounted that 96 blizzard with the whitewashed sort of fondness that time brings.
Today, our blizzard day lives are quite different. In our household, we wake to snow at 6 AM, not 10. Usually the first words out of the mouths of babes are ”Mama, are we going to school today?” Followed by long hugs, wishes for cereal (or chicken nuggets) for breakfast, and then the making of a to-do list for the day. There are snow day playdates, attempts at helping Daddy shovel, and slides down the driveway…
For me, there’s a little more time to read.. especially the work of two columnists writing about men and shoveling “it” — from different perspectives….
Ruth Marcus, continuing her unique view (which I”ve agreed with before) on the heroine Jenny Sanford, in light of Jenny’s book. She rightly lambasts Mr. Sanford as a cad (putting it nicely), and blasts Jenny for sticking around as long as she did. There is a lot hereto ponder on a cold snowy day, given what we want to believe about “til death do us part” and redeption. Whether you’re Hillary Clinton, Jenny Sanford or Elizabeth Edwards, the path you must follow is probably not framed in Vegas lights.
On a lighter note, Kathleen Parker has a refreshing and interesting take on men, why we want them, and how the shovels of 2010 have unearthed many innate desires to demonstrate worth.
Happy snow and happy reading!
5 Years Old
January 15, 2010
“Mama, am I still the littlest in the Klause family?”
“On my birthday I want to go to the spa and pick out my nailpolish and your nailpolish….You have to wear what I choose for you..”
Color choice for Mama..sort of Goth meets TidyBowl
Lady Gaga
Not your mother’s feminist
January 9, 2010
Both before and since I’ve had children, few things have driven me as crazy as the debate over “motherhood VS. work.” Seems that our polarized nation of Democrat/Republican, stay at home/work outside the home, feminist/NOTfeminist language forces us too often in one camp or the other. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve felt alone on one side of the discussion around women’s roles.
Post college, I could not get enough Naomi Wolf and Katie Roiphe, not because I agreed with everything they preached in their new wave of feminism, but because they were talking a language that was relevant to my generation. They had a refreshing honesty about female independence. Yet it seemed completely devoid of any faith perspective.
Then I met Lilian Calles Barger. Not only did she bridge the world of intellectual feminism and faith together for me, but she refused to be trapped into all the big church-based questions that so many in my world got stuck on — “Can women lead in the church?”, “What is their proper ”role’?, etc. She rightly pointed out that so many in the faith community are navel gasing and talking amongst themselves — yet have nothing to offer to the broader academic community when it comes to feminism and its tenants. She dared to ask, “Why would (or should) we recommend wholesale rejection of feminist ideals without engaging thoughtful feminist academics on the basis of ideas?”
It’s Lilian who’s worked tirelessly to create a third way of feminism and faith discussion that avoids preaching, platitudes, and easy answers. Classic Lilian….in one of her blog entries from the summer:
“ Why can’t we get beyond this dicotomy between motherhood and work? Women, like men, have been created for two God given purposes, relationships and creative work. They are NOT mutually exclusive.”
Since she founded the Damaris Project in 1997, she has launched salons across the country to create forums for open, honest discussion about culture and feminism. Lilian has also gone on to write books on our view of the body and the role or experience of Christian feminism. I love her unending quest for Truth.
Michelle Obama: my not-so-secret girl crush
January 7, 2010
It’s funny. Mention Michelle Obama and it seems to me that you get either fawning adoration or back-handed compliments from those who don’t really like her but aren’t quite sure how vigorously to oppose her. As with most First Ladies, the majority of the U.S. public are indifferent; they are happy to see her stick to her “issue” whatever that might be, and don’t want her to ruffle too many feathers.
Sunday’s Style section had an odd piece on her — at once acknowledging the duty portion of her role as first lady in hosting more traditional “women’s issues” events — such as around Breast Cancer and mentoring — and simultaneously showing how much more effective and warm she is when she comes out from behind the podium. The Robin Givhan article suggested that Michelle’s first year lacked focus… I disagree…Yes, she tried to do a lot, and honestly, that is one thing I like about her. She’s not afraid to try a lot of new things as she finds her way as First Lady. Yet even her key ”pet” issue, promoting healthy childhood and family eating, got a TON of traction and attention.
It’s probably no big surprise that I often find myself on the opposing political side when she takes to the airwaves and whitehouse.gov videos in an attempt at amplifying her husband’s policy (read: healthcare) agenda. However, in most settings, she comes across to me as refreshing and fun. Here’s my top 4 list of things I love about Michelle:
4) Her honesty about finding balance in managing work and family — while always putting her family first. Sure, she now has a lot of help so probably no longer has to manage the tasks that many of us do, including laundry, makeup, packing lunches, errands, and shopping. However it wasn’t always this way for her. She often refers to times when her husband was off politicking and she was the one who had to find a way to manage the essential meeting at the office while tending to a sick child at home. It may be because she still has young children that she seems to “get” the tug-of-war struggle that most working parents feel.
3) Her kitchen garden! This has been an amazing hit — it almost seems crazy that the White House inhabitants haven’t created or magnified the benefits of a White House garden since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden plot during WWII! Not only does it tie nicely to Michelle’s platform on healthy eating, but it allows her to bring in everyone from local children to the Iron Chef America crew in order to get the message across. Her team has done an amazing job of creatively promoting the garden.
2) Her inclination to tease…starting with her husband. We first saw this right after Obama was elected and the incoming First Couple sat down with Barbara Walters. Babs asked then President-elect Obama what chores he did around the house. Obama started to wax poetic about finding relaxation in washing the dishes. Calling bull*&%@ on him for the world to see, Michelle said bluntly, “Really, when you have last washed dishes?” So busted. Of course she’s much more cautious now, as it seems people didn’t like how she would pick on him. I found some of her “he doesn’t pick up his socks” comments just plain real.
1) Her style!! Yes, I said it. I am always looking to see what she is wearing!! Very shallow yes — that is if you think fashion is shallow – - I actually don’t. Like no First Lady since Jackie Kennedy has one taken such an interest in fashion (publicly). Although she has some misses and people make fun of the JCrew get-ups as if JCrew precludes her form truly being a fashion diva, I actually think this all makes it more real. What woman doesn’t hit and miss sometimes if they are truly adventurous with fashion? Yes Jackie had the storied relationship with Oleg Cassini. Yes, Laura Bush stuck pretty much with Oscar de la Renta. All perfectly fine, perhaps wise and safe. You could argue that these women knew what worked for them and didn’t drift far from their ”uniform.” But, Michelle is young enough and her personality vivacious enough that she’s willing to explore. In in the process, she’s given new life to the State Dinner Red carpets…. and, since Inauguration, kept us guessing as to ”who” she’d wear next. One need only to read Robin Givhan’s 2009 summary on fashion hits and misses to see that Michelle is all over the BEST of the year.
So, we’ll see what 2010 brings…My vote is for less of the President and more of his wife!