Finding Woodstock

By the time we got to Woodstock…

It was about 5:30 yesterday afternoon, 40 years after the actually concert took place. It was only happenstance I discovered my little house was about a 40 mile drive from the actual site… (I admit, until last night I had no idea that the Woodstock happened in a place called Bethel Woods…and not actually Woodstock, NY. Did you?) What luck?!

Nowadays, there’s very, very little about the original location that resembles the free-loving, mud infested festival site, but boy is it still cool.

The best part was…the evening of music. The great Arlo Guthrie performing with, as he said, “the biggest band” – a 75-piece orchestra in fact. The Boston Pops.

I’d just been wandering through the Woodstock museum and hearing clips of Arlo crooning “Coming to Los Angeles”, which, when he performed last night, was pretty freaking cool accompanied by one of the greatest orchestras of our time.

The only disappointment, I admit, was that he didn’t do Alice’ Restaurant.

Growing up near Boston, it was a tradition to watch it every single Thanksgiving, and, I was fully planning to show off by singing every single word by heart. But since I just read that the song sometimes goes on for as long as 45 minutes, now I know why he didn’t do it. I’ll have to visit him, then, on YouTube.

The rain came down like crazy. The girl behind the ticket counter predicted it. She said “it’s the curse of Woodstock”. Curse or tradition?

Lemon Drops

I woke up today thinking about lemon drops. Normally, we think of lemon drops as a drink, of course, but this week I have been working on repairing my friend’s Judy’s bracelet, which is made up of the prettiest faceted citrines…and we all know how I feel about citrine lately…

But for later…I DO want a lemon drop! The drinkable kind. I’m a huge fan of Oprah magazine, and apparently, Lemon Drops are one of her faves.

Here’s her own personal recipe, which I can’t wait to take for a test drive. What could be more perfect on a summer afternoon?

Ingredients:
Serves 2
Juice of 6 lemons
4 tablespoons sugar
6 fresh mint leaves
4 shots vodka
Ice in shaker
1 sugar-rimmed martini glass

Mix lemon juice, sugar and vodka in a martini shaker filled with ice. Shake well and pour into sugar-rimmed martini glass. Garnish with mint.

Mariachi Thursday

Need I say more...?

La Vie En Rose

La Vie En Rose isn’t just my ringtone (yes, it’s true) but also my favorite song.

The smell of roses and rose scented products has always been my fragrance of choice, ever since I was small.

I’ve been thinking a lot about roses ever since my friend Nicole sent me Rose Salve Brambleberry Rose Lip Balm.

The infusion of berry, honey, vanilla and Shea Butter gives this lip balm a wonderful scent and moisturizing ability. The company claims that…”The beautiful photo on the tin is a tribute to the owner's mother, Miss Vivian, and was taken in 1945.” Whoever Miss Vivian was, she sure was a lucky lady.

I’ve been wearing L’Occitaine Rose perfume for many, many years. It’s my all time favorite travel companion, as they sell it in a cute compact bottle.

But my current crave, is Jo Malone Red Roses Body Lotion.

The scent of roses was meant to be experienced lightly – and this lotion would bring it allllllllll together, if you know what I mean. If there’s a rose fairy anywhere out there, please hear my request??? Maybe I should direct my request to Grace Jones, who sings my second favorite version of my very favorite song.

The intro itself is worth the price of admission…

The Smell of Los Angeles

I confess -- I'm not the world's biggest fan of LA. However...I felt more endeared to the city Dorothy Parker once dubbed "a suberb in search of a city" when I found my new favorite candle company Apothia was based there. My current fave? Their "Scene" -- luscious fig, peppery juniper berry and ripe pear nectar. It warms even the coldest thoughts about that city...3,000 miles away...

As of a last week, State Fair wasn’t just a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical about Iowan prize-winning pigs, and lyrical, innocent ingénues.

It was a reality of chili dogs, funnel cakes, carnival rides, and the obligatory haunted house, which I visit no matter where I am, no matter how horrible it seems to be.

In this case, the thing broke down right in the middle – how fantastic.

I am a sucker for carousels. Every park, every country. I have to ride them.

My favorite of all time was the one of the oldest in our country, now shut down, in Coney Island. Rome was possibly my favorite.

As of last week, I’ll treasure the memory of the goat show, a festival of cheeses, and prize-winning quilts. Ah, yes…and the demotion derby. Let’s not forget about that.

"Girls Just Want To Play"

I was in the mood to wear my all time favorite color the other day, and discovered Opi’s “Girls Just Want To Play” – embarrassingly many, many months after it had debuted in their 2008 Holiday Collection.

This bright orange-red swiftly sashays through every season. I found it utterly perfect for an upcoming beachside gallivant. And the name harkens another we all know too, too well.

Believe-you-me, you’ll want to dance with Opi’s new hue on your toes.

Cute-Tees

Ahh, Brooklyn. Just yesterday I was walking through Park Slope with a dear friend and we spotted the most remarkable line of silk screened t-shirts and baby onesies, with such fantastic images of owls, dogs on the Brooklyn Bridge, llamas – you name it.

The owner said he’d pinned me as a llama person. I’m still not sure what that means, but as I explained to him, “I could be very easily if I was wearing one of your great t-shirts.”

Llama person or no, my favorite was “Perro in NYC”. Could it be that I’m craving a t-shirt or a dog? Maybe both. I’ll start with a t-shirt.

Piloboolus

Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh... Pilobolus. Grace, beauty, strength... Need I say more?