going home.

can't wait to fly home tomorrow to see my family.

there's also going to be an impromptu facebook-driven grade school reunion, as in anyone who ever went there, so that is going to be something.

then next week we're all going to my sister's in south florida for some beach time.

i can hardly believe it's finally here.

this image, by the way, comes from my 1970 yearbook, the year my twin sister and i were in the first grade.

can you tell which one's me?

i will try to post as i go, but i may be having too much fun to do daily updates. i'll do my best!

peace and love,
joan (the one on the right)

Favorite things

Oh, such lovelies.



provence breads is my favorite place in nashville. the treats are indescribable.

who needs paris when you can have these macarons without ever leaving the country?




and these bouchons look impressive, but i must say that i know my twinnie can make them, so you needn't be a frenchy to bake them at home.

Bouchon is roughly translated "little corks," by the way.




a nice little side benefit of going to provence is that anthropologie is right next door. i may have stopped in and bought this apron last week.

frankly, it was impossible to resist.

fall is here

i picked up two sacks of these beautiful pine cones on my walk back from lunch.

TODAY I SAW ... this blog

i love this blog. it is called today i saw. a very creative woman sees something, draws it, and mails it to a friend. genius.

it's going to get wild

a movie based on where the wild things are, maurice sendak's awesomest kids book ever, will open next friday. i hope it's not too scary because jack henry is already excited about going to see it with hubz while i'm gone to nyc.

if you like this little guy ...

you'll like this cute store called billett, based in japan.

i found it on twig and thistle.

i must have this squirrel. how much is 11,500 yen, anyway?

who says nashville doesn't have luxury stores?

lots of people, i'm sure. but since tiffany & co., louis vuitton, stuart weitzman, juicy couture and others have come to town, that mindset is changing. Oh, and now we're getting nordstrom in the green hills mall (next fall). sweet.

more spidey stuff

auntie dawn sent spidey stuff and boy was the boy thrilled. note the excited expression.

not only did he get a spider-man car that shoots rockets, but a handheld web shooter that shoots, you guessed it, real webs.

cecil is here!

today i returned to work after my week-long battle with shingles and a gnarly sinus infection. happily, i was greeted by this exciting piece of mail.




though the package was apparently damaged in transport, cecil the sage hen, mascot of pitzer college where my twinnie works, seems no worse for wear.

if you haven't seen the adorable video the pitzer PR office made with cecil, you should.

see it here.

though the university of my employ regularly beats pitzer in the u.s. news and world report rankings, they've got us beat on the mascot cuteness factor.

and really, what's more important?

i am not here

as in, i am not at le pain quotidien in claremont, calif. having coffee and hazelnut spread on toast. I am sick. down for the count.

in my mind, i am trying to go to my happy place.

back soon.

so stinkin' cute

my twinny works at pitzer college in claremont, california and sent me this.

it's a video the public relations department made for an alumni event.

it stars the cutest of all cute mascots, cecil the sage hen.

what's a sage hen you ask?

this guy.

I'm blue (and that's a good thing)

blue makes me happy. after tuesday's very exciting blue discovery i'm in a full on blue mood.

here are a few more sky blue things that put me in my happy place.

cue the eiffel 65 song and sing along.

you know you want to.

have a blue day!

pasta night ...

... at the belcourt. Shhh the movie is starting!

Epilogue:
"In the Loop," a sundance hit this year from britain, was a hilarious look at politics. many naughty words, so it's not for everybody.

the food and wine were provided by area merchants. tasty pasta was much better than popcorn, i must say.

new 'do

for the record, i'm a redhead once again. no more higlights, i promise.

it's a mad (men) world

"mad men" starts back up this weekend.

whether you love or hate this show, you must agree it is beautifully shot and it most certainly has affected today's fashions.

who can forget betty's floral frocks? Or joan's body-hugging dresses? or don draper's immaculate black suits? it is a stylized fantasy of the 60s in Technicolor.

here's some fun: you can "mad men yourself" at the AMC web page. see mine above.

Mad Men returns (after a year hiatus!) this sunday night.

cute times one thousand

there's cute and there's, well, these.

somebody should make up a new adjective to describe the cuteness that is dante beatrix.

i ran across these at these favorite things, and am dying to get the monkey one (for jack henry, of course, because getting one for me, would be, well, crazy.)

his name is dieter. and i love him.

vera wang = lovely

with my wedding anniversary coming up tomorrow, i have been thinking a lot about nuptials and how beautiful they can be, whether big, small, expensive or plain.

style me pretty has the most wonderful, beautiful, creative wedding photos imaginable.

my wedding day with hubz 18 years ago was quite simple and i don't regret that a bit.

but sometimes, when i see something like this vera wang gown, i wish just the teeniest bit i could do it all over again.

and wear this.

so good.

found this kombucha wonder drink at produce place on murphy road and completely love it. so delicious, you'd never know it's kombucha. asian pear and ginger ... mmmmmm.

i'm having a moment

a really good food moment.

this is an herbed turkey sandwich with whole grain mustard, piled high with sprouts, tomatoes, purple onions, cucumbers and other good stuff.

and to wash it down 'kombucha wonder drink,' a sparkling fermented beverage infused with asian pear and ginger with a hint of oolong tea.

two words: hev. uhn.

i am loving produce place on murphy road. not only do they have ridiculously delicious lunch items like this, i can get kombucha there for just $2.99 a piece plus a 10 percent discount on a case of 12.

whole foods market, eat your heart out. I'm a produce place gal now.

tasti-D-like

like. not love. we are spoiled by sweet cece's where you serve yourself and pile on the toppings like crazy. tasti-D charges extra for the toppings, so it's more expensive. and sweet cece's is locally owned. they will soon open a second shop in downtown franklin. so it's official. sweet cece's has my vote for best soft serve in town. sorry, tasti-D-lite.