Things I Must Do: Use these spoons

Aren't these so pretty? My mom still asks me for a 'Christmas List' each year, which I love because it gives me a chance to ask for pretty things that I maybe wouldn't buy for myself, she has kept all the lists that my girls made since they were big enough to write and it's such fun to see what they wanted when they were small and how their tastes have changed over the years. Mine haven't changed much, though. I usually ask for the body lotion of a new scent that I love; last year was Miss Dior Cherie, the year before was Coco Mademoiselle and then I usually ask for some type of kitchen gadget which brings us to the demitasse spoons.

I fell in love with little spoons while in Europe. I began adding sugar to my cappuccino's just so I could use the itty bitty spoon. Hence, the Christmas List request for demitasse spoons. I can't believe how beautiful these ones are and I can't believe that I still haven't used them. It's like every area of my life was on hold for two years except for basic survival while my body dealt with Lyme Disease.

It feels so good to be back and thinking about pretty things again. I am trying to rebuild a social life now and one of my goals is to have someone over for coffee and use these gorgeous spoons. I'll have to polish them first, though. Two years is a long time to just sit around doing nothing - for me and the spoons!

I'm Back!!!

Goodness gracious! I have been through so much in the 2-plus years since my last post! The good news is that I'm finally getting healthy enough to return to living my life to the fullest. Hmmmm, where to begin.... OK, so, in May of 2007 my (then) boyfriend, CE, and I went on an unbelievably amazing cruise on Oceania ( I highly recommend this line) to the Greek Islands, Malta and the Amalfi coast. We had the most amazing time and I'll dig up some pictures to post soon, anyhooo... on our third day in Greece I woke up with a BIG pimply thing on my chest, it didn't hurt or look infected so I just tried to keep it covered because it looked so icky. It looked just like a big target. Some of you knowledgeable ones might recognize where this story is going right now but CE and I didn't think it was anything that odd. So, the trip went on and I felt great and then about 2 weeks after the bite I was back at home and had a crazy, spinning almost black-out moment and was taken to the emergency room. The doctor couldn't find anything really significant but the lymph nodes in my neck where swollen and he thought that I may have some pressure in my ears from the long flight that would have caused the dizziness.

Well, my darling readers, that was only the beginning! I never got better. It took an entire year of going to doctor after doctor after doctor! Then in summer of 2008, CE was talking to a friend in an airport on the east coast and telling him that I had been sick for an entire year when a woman who had been listening to him talk about my symptoms and said that I should be tested for Lyme disease. So, I finally found a doctor that would test me and it came back positive! I was so happy to finally know what had happened to me. I can't tell you how many doctors told me that I was: stressed, pre-menopausal, depressed, eating wrong, blah, blah, blah!!!!

So, the past year has been spent doing everything my doctor recommended and guess what? I didn't get better. Tons of antibiotics, IV's, herbs, natural remedies, acupuncture, chiropractic and more things than I can remember. None of them helped! At all!! Then I started a crazy-sounding remedy that I had read about online and it's actually working for me.

I feel fabulous now for the first time in so long. Not 100% yet but definitely on my way. I've got lots more to tell you about but will save some for my next post!

It's a good coffee day

It's a fabulous Monday morning for me here in LA. My sweet boyfriend, CE, was on the east coast for business on Saturday and brought me home 2 pounds of my favorite Dunkin Donuts coffee plus a DD commuter mug! It was too late for me to brew a pot after our swing dancing adventure last night but I flew out of bed at 6:15 this morning for this yummy coffee. I wonder if NY'ers realize how lucky they are to have DD? I never (well hardly ever) eat donuts at home but in NY I make Dunkin Donuts my first stop in the morning. My last two trips I've been on the west side - no DD's near me there but a 'Bread Factory' with fabulous chocolate croissants - so sometimes I'll walk over to the upper east side to go to a favorite DD. There is an old cat that sleeps in the window of a laundry place around the corner from this DD and I swear it remembers me each time.

Dancing at the Derby

Last night CE and I went to the Derby in Hollywood for their Sunday night lesson/dance party! We've got a wedding coming up in a couple of weeks and then the cruise at the end of May so I thought we should brush up on our dancing - and what a great time we had! We had considered taking lessons at a regular 'Arthur Murray' type place but I'm so glad that we tried the Derby first. We learned so much in 2 hours! They teach East Coast Swing but on the last Sunday of the month you spend the first hour learning something else; last night was Latin! I feel so much more confident now and we're going to try to make it back there a time or two before our trip. The $10 cover charge is a great deal. There is a safe parking lot behind the club which only charges $5 for parking. I always think about the parking situation before venturing out to Hollywood at night. The other dancers were friendly and helpful and there were singles as well as couples. I would feel completely comfortable going there alone; there were no 'creepy singles bar' types at all. What a fun night.

Today I wish I were....

Some mornings I wake up thinking about how I would spend my day if I were in another city. Not too knock LA but a piece of my heart will always be in San Francisco. My beloved Auntie Ethel passed away a few years ago at the age of 96 after living at 150 Haight Street for most of her, and all of my, life. When she became unable to live alone we moved her to a nursing home outside of the city but we couldn't tell her that she wasn't in 'her' city. She loved that city and her life there. I'm not sure that LA is a city that you can LOVE. I having loving feelings toward NYC but haven't lived there so I'm undecided on that one. I would like to find out, though. East Coast winters may be a bit tough on this California native. But for today I am wishing I were in my city by the bay enjoying an irish coffee at The Buena Vista.

Off to Arizona!

This weekend will find me in Arizona for some family time. My father lives in a tiny western town that has one stoplight and two police cars. There is a tiny theater which shows one movie for 2 weeks at a time. I think the ticket price is $4 and a large popcorn (with a refill) is $1.50. Visiting there is like stepping back in time. We love it for a day or two and then can't wait to get back home! I have been a little bit of a recluse this week, just staying in and spring cleaning and fretting over my hair and what to wear on the cruise next month. Did you hear about the cruise ship that hit the rocks in Greece? Well, it's not the same cruise line as the one I'll be on but that IS one of our stops. Speaking of recluses - I'm going to see 'The Hoax' tonight. Has anyone seen it yet? I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend! Please continue to write in and share your own bon vivant tales with me.

Oh My Hair

I am having a hair crisis and need some input from my readers. I went to see Lynette 2 weeks ago for a trim. I love Lynette and have followed her to 3 different salons and now she opened her own small salon in Studio City so I was especially excited to see her new place and try a new style. Remember, I have had the same long, straight hair with bangs for so many years and then last November Lynette gave me an angled chin-length bob and I loved it and felt so grown-up and sexy and vixenish (word?). I got so many compliments on the new 'do. OK, so 2 weeks ago I went to Lynette's new place and told her I wanted it a little shorter and 'choppy' all around the ends - softer, not so a-line-ish. Well, I don't like it now. It looked good the first two days and I'm not sure whether to go back and have it fixed or just wait until the first week of May and just get a new cut then. I need it to look FABULOUS for this wedding on May 12Th and decent again for the cruise at the end of May. I am trying very hard to be clear with myself on what I don't like about it. That's the hard part. I saw a woman last Tuesday night at a discussion group and she had the hair cut I want. Just like mine in the front but short, short, short in the back and it was adorable. So, am I dissatisfied because I want her hair now or am I truly unhappy with my cut? I think I look like my hair needs a trim now. I guess it's that choppy thing that makes it look that way. Not one person has complimented me on this cut. Last time I got 'Oh, I love your hair' now I have heard from several neighbors and friends the exact same thing 'Oh, you cut your hair again'. So, here is my dilemma: Do I go back and ask her to re-cut it to look like that woman from last week or do I let it go another 4 weeks? Advice, please! I will look for pictures of how mine looks and how I think I want it to look and post them here as soon as possible...

Time for a Catch-Up!

Hellooooo out there! I am so grateful for my faithful readers. I am thrilled by the comments posted by Susan Silver! I am such a fan of her column and spent a couple of hours this past weekend reading catching up on some early postings on NYSD. I know she has been on the hunt for Mr. Adequate for quite some time now and then realizes that maybe she hasn't had her whole heart into the search. I think it was after one of her Aspen weekends when she recounted how she made a decision to leave a panel to go visit with a married man whom she had no real interest in and left a nice young man who had real relationship potential just hanging in the wings. All of this made me think. I had dated for a few years after my husband passed away and the men were definitely fun but definitely not 'husband material'. Then, 2 years ago, when I felt like I was ready for a relationship and truly clarified to myself what I wanted in a mate, POOF! An incredible man who had been a friend for a couple of years suddenly was single and we had a lunch together and something just 'clicked'. Now, after 2 years of dating, I think we are going to take the next step and become engaged. We tried on that ring at Tiffany last summer and he has been asking a few questions about it over the past few weeks so I think I may get a proposal soon. I will keep you posted!
Last week was full of fun for me here in LA. I ended up wearing exactly what I promised myself not to wear again: black sweater and jeans. I tried to accessorize well but I am back to my same old uniform. Once the weather warms up I will feel comfortable in my lighter colors but for now I just can't seem to get away from black. I have to start thinking about that evening wedding in May! I refuse to wear black to that. OK, I'm off for now and promise to write in more detail all the fun things from last week and what is ahead for me this week. Also, CE invited me to go on a Mediterranean cruise this summer - perhaps that's when the proposal will take place?

I Just Didn't Like The Pretzel Croissant

After all the buzz about this thing I drove to the Brentwood Country Mart to go to City Bakery and really didn't like it all that much. I had read about this in Rita Konig's 'girl about town' blog on www.dominomag.com and being a big fan of pretzels and croissants I could hardly wait to try this. I didn't love it. I thought I would so maybe the buildup was too great. It was still buttery like a good croissant but didn't have enough pretzel taste for me. I took about 2 bites of it. I did buy an oatmeal raisin cookie that was quite tasty but overall I was unimpressed with the City Bakery and the pretzel croissant. I am still missing all things NY and this made me miss the chocolate-filled croissant from the Bread Factory near 55Th and 8Th.

Wardrobe Crisis!

Well, here I am again completely depressed about what to wear! I know there are many other important issues going on in the world today but in my world this is major. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO WEAR. I like my dressy clothes. I love my pajamas and thanks to a nice Victoria's Secret gift card I received this past holiday I really like my undies. I have shoes galore and even more handbags. I am somewhat happy with my hair now. Remember it's been longish for years and years and then I started to feel like I was getting a little long in the tooth for that length (but it still works for Suzanne Somers) so last November I let my beloved hairdresser, Lynette, do whatever she wanted and I ended up with a fabulous A-line bob which worked perfectly with my naturally straight fine blonde hair. So, I've had 2 bang-trims since then and now I am looking a little shaggy and ready for a new cut. I feel much more grown-up with shorter hair and sexier and not like an older woman trying to look 20-something. I see so much of that here in LA. I have a very favorite sitcom line from 'Maude': "I am many things, Walter Findlay, but I am NOT a woman of my age". I just love that one. So, I'm going in for a cut this week. Lynette just opened her own salon which is exciting news for her. I have followed her to three different salons. OK, back to the clothes... I just don't know what to wear for daytime casual. I am sick of jeans. I have one decent pair of white denim pants that I have had for years that I love and just pulled out of the closet. I am sick of the whole LA yoga-casual look. I feel better when I wear black but am truly sick and tired of all the blondes in black here. I just don't know what to wear. I would be happier back in a city. I feel like going back to bed this morning and reading fashion magazines to find inspiration. My one great idea is to look through some magazines and find a good look for myself and then to go out and try to re-create the entire outfit. I know it doesn't sound very creative but I am desperate. I have an event to go to Wednesday night at the Montmartre Lounge in Hollywood and I imagine it will be very casual but I still need to look stylish for it. I think I need to find a fashionable friend to help with things like this. Any ideas?