I want it because I do and I'm OK with that

"I am to tabletop what Imelda Marcos was to shoes. My business is dish." - Colin Cowie

I want 12 place settings of the Halo Dinnerware from my happy place (read: Crate and Barrel).

Please don't misunderstand me, I don't need them. I want them.

Some how the frivolousness of it all turns me on.

Bad Days

I spoke to my brother on the phone yesterday. He said he was having a bad day.

I haven't had a bad day in about three years. I remember the last bad day that I had. I spent it in hell at the DMV and when I finally came out to leave, my battery was dead and my car wouldn't start. I put my head down on the steering wheel and tried to figure out what to do. I wanted to cry and I didn't want to deal with my life.

However, since I wanted to go home, I couldn't afford to abandon my car and I didn't enjoy the DMV parking lot enough to live there, I figured I had to deal with it. That day, I made the decision to face my life, head on, from there on out. Everyday since then, I have.

I'm not saying I'll never have another bad day. I know that I will. It's just that I have a different definition of "bad" now. I realized I let annoyances get the best of me. Now, no matter how many challenges have presented themselves to me or how tired I am at night, I can't bring myself to have the thought of "This was a bad day". I've chosen to focus on the good and the opportunities that challenges present.

It's amazing to me that such an enormous change came about from a mental adjustment in the DMV parking lot.

I Loathe The Bus

Let me be clear.

I know I'm spoiled.

We are staying at the Doubletree Inn on the "uncool" side of the island.

We did this for two reasons: Quiet and Free WiFi.

All in all, I think we made a good decision because we really didn't want to do too much "hanging out" in downtown Key West. We go into town at night to eat. During the day we are content to lay around the very nice pool.

The hotel provides free shuttle service into town and this has been my constant source of irritation.

The pickup/drop off times are inconvenient to me, I find their refusal to cater to my whims unreasonable and I really don't like to ride in confined spaces with people that I don't know. Don't these people know I'm on vacation? Didn't they get the memo?

It's my blog, I'll bitch about people if I want to.

The drivers are nice, but seem to be a little self important, talking to each other on their walkie talkies as if they are conducting military operations.

I, for one, wish they spent a little more time driving and a little less time talking about what they are going to do and where they are going to go once they put the bus in gear.

Supper and Vacation

We ate dinner tonight at Pisces.

It was pretty cool and very expensive, although, frankly, we've done more damage.

I started out with a peach bellini. I love bellinis, even though I don't so much love the champagne. It was cold and crisp and I limited myself to one, even though I could've gone for another.

I had the grouper special, with a dijon sauce, lobster and pancetta.

Now. For the information you've all really been waiting for: the waiter was a biscuit. I could've just smooched him up.

The decor was a little spotty. The place was small and the original Warhol prints cost a fortune, but then they had cheapy cheap curtains from KMart. I love the 'high end/low end' mix, but there is an art to it and the lovely people at Pisces missed the mark. I know I'm a design snob but would have a nice simple drape from Pottery Barn been asking too much?

I don't think so.

Tomorrow we are headed into town to have lunch at Blue Heaven, shop around for a while and then catch the sunset at Mallory Square.

And Then I Walked Into A Palm Tree

I think I picked a good place to come on vacation.

This seems like a good place to go away, get lost, fall off.

I feel like a very small person on a very small island in a big world.

My life seems really far away, which isn't necessarily good. However, for the next few days it isn't really bad.

I am happy to report that I have done nothing for the past three days except lay around and eat. That's not really true. I have walked four miles every day since I've been here and yesterday I had a massage. But then I went right back to laying around.

We have had some really good meals so far. Sunday night we went to Michael's where we had great service, good food and some really expensive martinis. I had rack of lamb and a lobster tail. We also had beef carpaccio as an appetizer. There was a time in my life when I would not have been excited about raw meat, however, that time has now passed.

Last night we ate a Cafe Marquesa, which was beyond lovely. The dining room was just so beautiful and I enjoyed by yellow tailed snapper. My darling friend had lamb again and pronounced it not as good as the lamb at Michael's. I didn't so much care, thanks in large part to the French Martini that I had.

Yeah, I ordered it just because of the word "French" but trust me, my enjoyment level was not hindered in any way. It was quite tasty.

Tonight we have a reservation at Pisces, about which we've heard good things.

We are committed to getting up in the morning and spending the day in town. I'll let you know if we make it.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to everyone!

I'm off to Key West in the morning and I'm going to try to post a couple of times while I'm there.

Don't be surprised if you don't hear from me until next week.

Decor Porn Confession

When I grow up, I want to live in Charlotte York's apartment.

I re-watch Sex and The City The Movie just so I can lust for Charlotte's apartment.

I wish it was real because I would go tour it and buy the book.

Men and Cars

The car, she is in the shop.

I have three distinct, yet interrelated car attitudes.

First, I hate having car issues. For the most part, I try to maintain a live and let live relationship with the car. I don't bother it and it don't bother me.

Sometimes, that attitude is not necessarily helpful.

Really, I am happy and blessed that it died in my office parking lot where I was safe and in good hands. It beats the side of the interstate. Moreover, I am happy and blessed that I can afford to get it fixed. It beats the cost of paying for a new car.

That brings me to the second thing. I hate paying for cars. I have no desire for a fancy car - or more succinctly - I have no desire to pay for a fancy car. Fortunately for me, my extravagant taste comes to a screeching halt at the garage door.

The third thing isn't necessarily politically correct, but here goes.

I want a man around to deal with the car.

I said it. I'm not ashamed.

I know some of you may find my brand of feminism less than radical, but I prefer to think of it as a willingness to delegate some of the responsibility in my life. Truly, when the car needs work, I wish I had a husband to deal with it. It's one of the qualities on my "dream man" list.

Keep the "dream man" in mind. I'm going to talk about him a little bit more while I'm on vacation next week.

Hello From the Bean

Hi!

When I'm not barking at Hottentots, making trouble or beanstalking my Mama, I sit around looking pretty.

Etsy Saved My Life

By now we are all well aware of my slightly obsessed and vaguely neurotic search for the perfect living room throw pillows. I could muster up some faux embarrassment about this but I'm too far gone.

Last month I enlisted the help of a very nice lady at Calico Corners who tried to help me locate some fabric with which to have pillows made. Despite her efforts we weren't able to find what I wanted. And frankly the $389 estimate she gave me to have 3 pillows made was, in and of itself, cause for pause.

Around the same time, I was doodling around on Etsy and found some pillow covers that I liked and that were what I thought I wanted but couldn't find in Charlotte - or anywhere else, for that matter. Since 2 sixteen inch pillow covers cost $30 I figured - What the Hoo.

I paypalled the woman $36 - which covered the covers and $6 to ship them from England.

Three weeks later - Voila!

They are perfect!

I can't believe it. I also don't know what I'm going to do with all my free time now that I don't have to shop for living room throw pillows.

Vacation!

I'm leaving for Key West in ten days.

I am very excited about this.

Partly, I'm excited because I've never been to Key West before and I get in a good mood just thinking about all of the streets I've never seen.

Mostly, though, I want to go somewhere warm and Not Charlotte where I can lay like a slug for a week.

Laugh if you will, but right now laying around somewhere tropical is my idea of a good time. I also suspect that cocktails, in some form, will be available.

Since I've got ten days to prepare I'm in official vacation training.

When you are a lawyer, there are two prongs to successful vacation taking: Getting Ready to Leave and Getting Out of the Office. These may sound alike, but they are actually quite different.

Getting Ready to Leave means that I have to pick up a bathing suit, a couple of blouses and some sort of a non-embarrassing bag to carry my laptop in. I also need to download some Jimmy Buffett, just because he seems like an appropriate Key West vacation soundtrack.

I also scheduled the bikini wax today because one cannot lounge by the pool with a "situation" going on down there, if you know what I mean.

Getting Out of the Office requires a little more finesse.

For one thing, I have to be a little sneaky about my plans because I don't want to tip off the law gods too early. If there is one thing I've learned over the years, it's that the law gods try to mess with you when you try to go on vacation.

Then, I have to clean all of the crap off of my desk (and credenza, that's the part that kills you) either by doing the work myself or, more attractively, pawning it off on unsuspecting colleagues. It also entails telling every single person that I speak to, think about or email for the next ten days that I am leaving for vacation. Laying the groundwork is key because people will remember that you're not going to be there and refrain from trying to call you while you're gone. It kinda works and to the extent it doesn't there is always the email out of office assistant and the ever useful voicemail greeting of: "Hi, I'm out of the office this week and am NOT checking my voicemail or returning calls. If you need immediate assistance, press zero and speak to my assistant or you can take your best shot and leave a message. Just don't say you weren't warned."