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?

Give me a ring, darling!

I am in love with this ring. I am more in love with my fabulous boyfriend, CE, but this ring is really something. Last summer we stopped by Tiffany in NYC (actually at CE's urging) and it was just so beautiful in it's simplicity and very exciting for me to be trying on engagement rings. I called my mother up in the Bay Area from the Ladies Room just to share the excitement with her. For those who don't know my 'back story' there is a long, interesting one which led me to this point of considering being engaged and marrying again. I promise to share it with you soon but for now just behold this beautiful ring!

For the Love of Susan Silver

How many other Susan Silver fans are there out there? I am a devout reader of the New York Social Diary and have followed Susan's column "The Search for Mr. Adequate" since Day One. Over the past 2 years I have followed her dating life on a weekly basis so you can imagine how sad I was to learn that she will no longer be writing her weekly column. The NYSD has changed it's format beginning this week and Susan will now be a 'guest' writer. I will miss her so much. She has promised to revive her blog www.mradequate.blogspot.com so that gives me something to look forward to. If you are not familiar with Susan or her fabulous 'Search for Mr. Adequate' I believe you can still pull up her archives on www.newyorksocialdiary.com under the 'guest' heading. I guess all good things must come to an end but hopefully this will just be a new beginning for Susan and her Faithful Readers!

Pretzels

My mouth is watering at the sight of these pretzels. I think I could live on these things. Last year I swore off movie theater popcorn after a bad episode with stale popcorn at my local AMC and made the switch to pretzels and have never looked back. As most foods do, these taste better in NY. On my last trip I saw a police car against the curb at 8Th and 55Th with the officer holding the mustard bottle up in the air, steering wheel height, squirting the mustard down onto the pretzel which must have been on his lap. It was a perfect NY sight.

Spring and Leprechauns and Cheap Wine

Good morning my loyal readers! So sorry for the long absence. Your Bon Vivant has been remiss in filling you in on her daily doings and is terribly, terribly sorry! The weather here in LA has been beautiful and now with the time change this past weekend it feels like spring already. Friday night was a fun fix-up double date - I didn't predict it would be a great match but knew that the two would enjoy each others' company and they did and it was good. My dear boyfriend, CE, has a large social circle including many single Jewish friends so I was looking forward to setting up this friend of mine who is lovely and looking to start dating and socializing more. We met over at the Skylight Theater on Vermont Ave. It's been a few years since I visited that part of town but must go there again. So, we met in front of the theater and walked over to an Italian restaurant (I'm blanking on the name...maybe Palermo?) and shared a big pizza and the two didn't talk much but it was fun and lighthearted and a little noisy. After our meal we still had about 30 minutes until our show so we crossed the street to "House of Pies" and shared a big slice of chocolate cream pie with extra whipped cream. Very fun and reminded me of a high school date with 4 people sharing one slice of pie. After our pie we walked over to the theater and found our seats for the 'Brother Theodore' tribute. I was not at all familiar with Brother Theodore but our two NY guys knew the original BT from his 20-year run in NYC and frequent David Letterman guest spots. This was a tribute to the performer who was obsessed with dying but lived and performed until age 90. After the show there was a reception and feeling a little chill I decided to try a white wine and had one of those moments where I was thinking something (This must have been bought at the 99cents store) and I actually said it. Only a few people heard but it sounded very rude and I immediately apologized and looked at the bottle and it was a Charles Shaw which retails for $1.99 so my 'wine nose' was off by a dollar. Still, I felt bad for saying it out loud. I am not a wine snob in any sense of the word but this wine really did have a dusty-musty taste to it. Our evening ended with hugs and a 'This was fun lets all do it again' from CE's friend so we'll see what happens there...
Yesterday was spent at home decorating for St. Patty's day and Spring! I love the way my home looks now and I am motivated to start my spring cleaning now. Last night I moved all of the living room and dining room furniture and this morning will clean clean clean 'til this place shines like the top of the Chrysler Building! Speaking of which, I may have the opportunity to travel back to my beloved NYC for Memorial Day weekend. Ahhh, I can taste the coffee now. Dunkin' Donuts here I come.