Das boot

I'm fairly amateur when it comes to fashion, so at the beginning of a new season, I do what the women's mags giddily instruct: Find a signature item and build your wardrobe around it. 

Introducing my signature item: Boots by Coclico, first spotted in the window at Diana Kane in Park Slope.  They were marked down from $475 to $356, so I quit therapy therapy to offset the cost. (Not really. I just quit therapy because I decided my crazy is in remission.)

Now the question is can you wear boots in the summer. An informal poll of friends resulted in a mix of winces and "ehs." But I would argue that these boots are made of an ultra-light suede and have a loose, slouchy fit. Plus I don't plan on wearing them with denim cut-offs (think Jessica Simpson in her Daisy Duke phase.) Instead, picture them paired with a flirty, summer dress. 

Das cute, no? 

Posh-luck dinner

Just your old-fashioned pot-luck fundraiser where the guests brought sushi and set their tables, replete with chargers and cloth napkins, either eco-conscious or status-conscious. Or maybe both. 

Did I mention this was in Connecticut? 

 

I spied plenty of monogrammed LL Bean totes, along with a handful of men in Nantucket red pants, and the majority of women in frothy Bohemian tops, most likely from Calypso. 

Everyone left their kiddies at home with the babysitter (or Grandma and Grandpa) and let loose.  Wine was spilled, diets were broken, and I'm pretty sure L'il Wayne was played.  

Ah, the burbs. 

Epigraph envy

"Any idiot can face a crisis; it is this day-to-day living that wears you out." --Chekhov

This is one of those thoughts that, in your head, had seemed so original--until you realized Anton said it better than you could have ever thought it. 

So now I'm quoting the New Yorker quoting Perillo quoting Chekhov. 

It's the epigraph in Perillo's new collection of poetry Inseminating the Elephant, which makes me want to go out and buy the book. 

Throw Pillows scoops WSJ

 I'm not going to say that the WSJ is reading my blog, but...

"Table tennis is ripe for reinvention," says Keith Hindle, executive vice president of London-based Fremantle, who foresees a variety of revenue streams from live ping-pong events, branded merchandise, sponsorships and league memberships.

...

"The question was could we take this game out of the basement and the cluttered garages," says Mr. Friedman. "We think the timing is just right."

Mr. Wynn goes so far as to suggest ping pong has sex appeal. "It's taking on this cool cultural space of short-shorts and retro headbands, and it's kind of goofy, but it's also got people who take it very seriously," Mr. Wynn says. "It's poker eight years ago."

Who has her finger on the pulse of what's "kind of goofy"?