A Not-So-Secret Gem

My friend MB recommended a book to me this past Wednesday night, and while I'm still finishing up Connie Willis' Blackout, I decided to take her up on the offer to borrow her book. And I was entranced. I can honestly say that I have a new favorite novel: Erin McKean's The Secret Life of Dresses.

Now, MB is sewing-and-all-things-vintage obsessed, so it came as no surprise that the grandmother of our heroine (Dora) owns a vintage clothing boutique. And I was enchanted because it is set in western North Carolina. Early in the story, an exchange between Dora and a coworker puts my home state into perfect perspective:

"Is it pretty? The whole time I was thinking about North Carolina, everyone said, 'Oh, it's so pretty,' like they didn't have anything else to say about it. It was the state version of 'She has a nice personality.' "

"It is pretty; they weren't lying."

As one reviewer put it:

College junior Dora drops everything, including her iPod, to rush home after hearing that the grandmother who raised her, her beloved Mimi, has had a stroke. Once there, she runs Mimi’s, a vintage clothing store, to honor her love for the hospitalized owner. Romance abounds in this fun novel set in western North Carolina. The story gets its suspense from Dora’s crushes, the dippy Gary she left back at college and the newly met Con. Whom will she choose? And, of course, there are the greedy relatives who try to take over the store. But she has wonderful friends to support her as well as a considerable amount of pluckiness of her own.

#33 Posing with Presidential Portraits

Last weekend when my brother came to visit me here in D.C., we accomplished #33 - See (and test your knowledge of) the presidential portraits at the National Portrait Gallery. One caveat - we arrived in time to take a docent-led tour, during which he talked about a few of the famous portraits, but they were the easily recognizable ones so I think our visit still counts. Besides, I still had to explain to my brother the difference between Theodore and Franklin Delano Roosevelt's portraits.

Also, I got some classy pictures with some very classy gentlemen

In Vino Veritas

I have come closer to completing #2 - Use Groupon Deals, as this past weekend I took my brother (who was visiting me in D.C.) to a wine tasting at Unicorn Winery in Amissville, VA.

The deal was fantastic - a wine tasting of 6-8 wines for 2 people, 2 free glasses of wine to enjoy on their patio (which overlooked a pond where people were fly fishing), a free bottle of wine to take home, and 2 souvenir wine glasses. Talk about a fantastic deal. Keep 'em comin' Groupon/LivingSocial. I salute you.

I also enjoyed this winery because as soon as we walked in, we were greeted by the owner's dog, a Schnauzer. He was absolutely adorable, and so friendly! It can't get any better than that.

I've also completed #17 on my list - Visit the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria. Sam and I took the guided tour (only $5 each!), which takes you through the free public areas, and then allows you to see more of the temple along with the observation deck! And let me tell you, the view is spectacular. With the heat haze, we only had 10 miles of visibility, but were told on a clear, cool day the view is 5 times that! We could see the Capitol Building, the Washington Monument, most of Alexandria, the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge, and the National Harbor.

#46 - A Case For Israel

I have finally finished Alan Dershowitz's book The Case For Israel (of which my mother may be justly proud - it was her suggestion, and book, that I took). It is a striking account of every accusation laid at Israel's doorstep, with logical and historical proof that tear them apart. I particularly liked his layout - each chapter provides an accusation with examples of exactly who said what, then briefly gives the reality of the situation with the more extensive proof following. If you are serious about learning how to defend Israel against her accusers, including those who are blatantly dismissive or ignorant of the facts, you need to read this book.

His conclusion says it all:

"To avoid the bloody past becoming prologue yet again, we must learn from the tragic mistakes that needlessly took all these lives. I now rest the case for Israel that I make in this book. I realize, however, that the defense can never rest when it comes to the Jewish state. No matter what steps Israel takes toward peace and the two-state solution, there will always be some for whom nothing short of Israel's destruction will suffice. For that reason, Israel's best defense must remain its determination to survive and its ability to defend its citizens against those zealots - some armed with bombs, others with bigotry - who cannot abide the reality of a strong independent and democratic Jewish state."

Update Facebook Status from Hogwarts or the Moon

Ever notice when you update your Facebook status that it states you are updating from your iPhone, Blackberry, or other mobile device? Well, now you can update from the moon, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the TARDIS, or even from The Future.

Yes, someone actually created a website to do this. And I applaud you sir.

By using this website to update your Facebook status, you can choose from where you update. And I fully intend to use this as often as possible. Even if this is the closest I will ever get to Hogwarts.

An Accidental Gelato Trip

As I was making my list of "101 Things to do in 1,001 Days" I came across tons of lists of things to do and places to go in DC. And something that tops the list - visiting a famous gelato store in Georgetown, called Dolcezza. I thought nothing of it, until I remembered my July 4th weekend.

On July 4th, as I drove some friends from a cookout in north Georgetown to the fireworks in Rosslyn, I popped a tire and had to pull over on Wisconsin Avenue. As my friends and friendly strangers tried to help (don't worry, I called AAA to help me out and they did a spectacular job of showing up and fixing my car in little under 30 min!), one nice guy jokingly said I should just give up and grab some gelato. And you know what? I did. My car had conveniently broken down right outside the Dolcezza Gelateria, so while I waited for AAA, I partook of the dark chocolate gelato. So although I was in a cruddy situation, I took a little time to sit and relax, because there's really nothing else you can do. And it felt great to just NOT worry so much, and just take what comes as it comes :)

Life lesson learned. S*** happens. Suck it up, and get on with living life.

And now I've completed #98 - Visit a Gelateria.

Quotations, Poems, and Rockstars. Oh My!

So far from my list of "101 Things to do in 1,001 days," I have completed #27, #54, and #86.

#27 Make a Quotation Book (Started: 7/2011)

Anyone who knows me knows that I love collecting quotations, and that I can recite entire movies word-for-word. There are just some movies and books that are so perfectly written, that express an emotion so wonderfully that you just know there is no possible way someone could say it better. And those quotes are worth remembering. Then there are quotations that remind me of exactly when I read a certain book, or how I felt watching that precise scene. When you can remember exactly how you felt in that moment just by remembering a line from a scene, it truly is memorable. I love that.

#54 Buy a book of poetry. Read it outside in the sunshine (Completed: 7/9/11)

I picked up 100 Best-Loved Poems at the library, and being the weekend, decided to enjoy soaking up some sun at the pool while I enjoyed some poetry. And let me just say, it was fabulous. I discovered anew old favorites, and fell in love with unknown authors. Some of my favorites:

Jenny kiss'd me when we met,

Jumping from the chair she sat in;

Time, you thief, who love to get

Sweets into your list, put that in!

Say I'm weary, say I'm sad,

Say that health and wealth have miss'd me,

Say I'm growing old, but add,

Jenny kiss'd me.

~Leigh Hunt

And while I know that this is not the original poem, this shortened version still encompasses the fantastic wordplay and sensations that Lewis Carroll portrayed in Alice in Wonderland:

Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogroves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Jaws that bite, and claws that catch;

'Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

And the frumious Bandersnatch!'

He took his vorpal sword in hand

The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

He left it dead, and with its head

He went galumphing back.

#86 See a Musical (Completed 7/12/2011)

My friend AW and I went to "Rock of Ages" at the National Theatre last week. It was absolutley brilliant. The story plot is pretty basic - boy meets girl, falls head-over-heels, but both are separated by circumstances and eventually reunite later when they come to realize what they really want. And along the way are aging rockers, Germans trying to gentrify LA hotspots, and lots of sexual inuendo and rock 'n roll classics. Its just an excuse to use famous Rock and Roll songs from the '80s, so that the audience can participate in just about every scene. And we did. My favorite part - when you first walked in, the ushers handed out fake lighters with the musical logo, that light up when you press a button. This off-Broadway performance also started Constantine Maroulis, a contender from American Idol, once upon a time. Granted, I don't watch the show, but he was pretty fantastic nonetheless.