Where do you find a good hat?

Last week I had my first Western-style tea party.

I am more accustomed to Asian tea houses where everyone comes as they are, huddle around a single teapot either sitting on bare ground or propped on pillows and listen as a tea expert advises on steeping time while proclaiming the medicinal values of various types of tea. The general custom is smell the first cup, toss it, and drink the rest, savoring the way it trickles down your throat and the sweet or bitter aftertaste many of them leave.

The tea party was to be a ladies tea party but due to a series of unexpected events, the party dwindled to an intimate setting for two. So Mother Hen (MH) took me to Lisa's Tea Treasures in Campbell (apparently better than the other locations), and took me down a rabbit hole into another world. A place where pretty china gets used (not stored in a dusty china cabinet), beaded doilies cover the cream, cookies (biscuits?) are dipped in lemon cream, people use knives and forks to cut their delicate sandwiches and quiche, and your table comes with a bell to summon a waitress who wears an apron and one of those small black-and-white hats a maid might wear. Everything felt so delicate. My big bulky camera felt terribly out of place. A black brick of plastic doesn't quite belong in a place abounding with teacups covered in dainty roses. A bit like me. I am reminded of a particular scene in Titanic where Rose (Kate Winslet) is questioning living a lifetime of high class poise and manners and looks about the dining room. Her eyes settle on a woman teaching a young girl how to place her napkin in her lap. I took etiquette classes when I was young but ended up forgoing all silverware and eating all those dainty tea sandwiches with my hands. How do you expect to raise a lady in Texas? My favorite food is ribs and I eat them with my hands the way a Texan should. Gretchen Wilson might be proud.

MH told me how she had fallen in love with tea time during a previous trip to England.

This made me reminisce of my trip to London in elementary school. I was clearly out of place. As we took a boat ride under the London bridge I happily belted out a verse of "London Bridge Is Falling Down" before my mother hushed me, other patrons in a pizza restaurant looked at me for using my hands to eat pizza and I looked at them because who puts asparagus on a pizza?, I giggled anytime someone said "madame" and I thought the people at McDonalds were crazy for charging 6 pence per package of barbeque sauce. Even though Americans don't say things like "madame" in a cool accent, I was reminded how wonderful it is to live in the United States. I never got to experience tea time in England, but it was one thing MH missed about the country.

Her first time to Lisa's was when an older friend had brought her when she was 23.

My first reaction to a place like Lisa's is what do I wear!?! Do I got for 'old British granny' with a modest flowery number or 'Betsey Johnson/Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland' with extra tulle underneath?!? Oh the choices. Then I remembered I have nothing like that in my closet. Actually, I was in SF in the morning and thought tea time had been canceled. Luckily, I made it back with time to stop by IKEA AND wash off the Mission district. MH was kind on me, she showed up in capris and sandals showing her turquoise toenails. What a cool mom.

Her friend had told her to wear a dress and a hat. 

A HAT!?!

Yes, a Hat.

And she scrambled to find one.

Thank goodness I did not have to go through that.

Which brings me to this post. Where do people even find a good hat? Do milliners still exist? Who wears hats besides Lady Gaga? (When she isn't using her hair as a hat.)

You've seen this one right? Las Vegas CES Show 2010.
Source: Becker/Getty

Then I was reminded horse races seem to be synonymous with fancy schmancy hats.

Here are a few of my favorites from the Royal Ascot race.

AP Photo-Alastair Grant

REUTERS-Luke MacGregor

REUTERS-Stefan Wermuth

How does this work?

Do they bring their dresses to the milliner and say make me something that coordinates? Or is it the other way around? Or do they magically have ample hats available to match every palette? It must be pretty awesome to make such cool creations. They do not get scuffed up and dirtied like shoes. They are worn prominently for everyone to see. AND they protect from the sun (at least some). How functional.

I bet this woman is a tea party pro!

REUTERS-Luke MacGregor

Yes, that is Queen Elizabeth herself. With a matching hat. Of course.
If there was a reality tv show about manners and tea parties she would be the Tyra or at least the Tim Gunn. And afterward, the whole world will know the secret to poise, being a lady, and keeping those fancy hats in place. Could you imagine her on a show like Charm School?!?

V

VH1

Glee Season Finale

OoO!

 

Look Familiar?

It's a Betsey Johnson! 

(evening goldie strapless dress + a strap
because who wants a dress falling off during a dance number. that would be a loooong day)

Just add hair band + oodles of hair spray for a Snookie poof.

As seen here.

Not quite available anymore, but I like the costumes on the show.

Especially the Lady Gaga episode!

nypost.com

Jbear and I agreed we liked Santana's the best. I can't find it but it was based off of this original.

http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gen/145117/LADY-GAGA-MAC.jpg

RANDOM:
Heather Morris (Brittany, the blonde cheerleader) was a dancer for Beyonce before her Glee gig.

Check it.

Decoration day.

{Memorial Day}
You know those place you always drive by and wonder what they are but never bother to stop?
Remember doing that as a kid? In between "Oops! I forgot my jacket!" and "Are we there yet?" is "Hey what's that?" But you never get to stop to explore.

Last week, on our way to Sausalito, Jbear mentioned there was a veteran cemetery he always passed as a kid but never got to stop. Now that we're the ones behind the wheel, we get to decide to not rush and slow down to explore. Perfect timing! It was Memorial Day, previously known as Decoration Day. In the morning I listened to stories on the radio about family traditions of heading to the local veterans cemetery and placing flowers on the graves and a touching story of a veteran who was disappointed most people treat Memorial Day as a commercial day for shopping and barbecues. Instead of stopping by the mall we stopped by the cemetery he never go to explore as a child. It was beautiful.

It's not just about those who were lost,
but also the families that were left behind.

This individual fought in World War I & II.
Both born in 1890.
He passed away in 1949 and left behind a wife
who had to continue her life without him for 43 years.

Jbear's first reaction as we drove by was 'who puts in all those little flags?' Ever grave had at least one flag in front of it. On the other side of the U.S., Beantown had their own display of flags in the Public Garden. I'll post more on the garden later.

Travels - Boston - Transportation

I purchased this helpful travel guide for my trip.

Instead of being an encyclopedia of facts,
it organizes your trip based on interests, time available and location.

My Goal: Eat chowder, lobster and take pretty pictures.
Bee's Goal: Shop till we drop.

This guide sooo helpful!!!

TRANSPORTATION
One thing I love about larger cities on the east coast is they seem to have rather efficient and useful public transportation systems. When you mention San Francisco's system (MUNI), the first word that comes to mind is unreliable. I like how many of the stops tell you how long until the next bus, but the idea of a schedule is just crazy.

The "T".
It takes you pretty much anywhere in this big college town you want to go. Every stop seems to be about a block, if not right in front of a college. The cars are clean. I never waited more than a few minutes. Forget calling a taxi- above ground, underground, to the airport. Anywhere you go, it only costs $2. What a deal!

I think this is smart. Travelers can exit out of any ticket booth so there isn't a bottleneck of people trying to find their tickets to exit. No penalty if you lose your ticket before exiting. There is no confusion over how much is left on your card or how much a particular destination is going to cost you.

Tickets for the "T" are called Charlie tickets. These are inserted into the ticket booths.






If you load a Charlie card, rides are less than $2. These are held against the sensor. Get one of these if you want to be a cool kid.

 

At the Government Center stop you can even get Dunkin Donuts.

People here must love Dunkin Donuts. That must be why they are everywhere.

If you love your Car.

Cars are no fun in Boston. Not only do you NOT have a Dunkin Donuts waiting in your passenger seat, parking can be tough to find. If you want to park close to a sporting event, be prepared to pay for it. If you would like to make a lot of money here, own a parking lot near a stadium.

Exhibit A.

Yes this lot charges $40 per car. 

Exhibit B.

And this gas station makes more money by turning itself into a parking lot during Red Sox games than actually selling gasoline.

If you want to leave the car at home and have a newfound appreciation for the "T", here is more information: http://www.mbta.com/
Most travel guides and maps at the airport include maps.

The wonderful world of books.

I was in a terrible mood the other day for reason I'd rather not go into. 

I headed straight to Borders and picked up a memoir.

My favorite genre.

For some reason, whenever I'm frustrated with my life or feel like life just isn't going my way it always help to read the thoughts of someone who has had it much worse. When I put down the book I have a spring in my step and the world looks much cheerier and hopeful than when I first sat down.

Jbear looked at me terribly shocked when I confessed this to him.

It isn't that I enjoy comparing myself to other people with wretched lives and deciding I have it much better, it's that the people who are able to write about the darkest times of their lives are those who are able to laugh it off and somehow find comedy in the whole ordeal. Quite the feat. It's difficult to find something to smile about when you're upset, but these authors are able to turn their tragedies into interesting, amusing anecdotes that teach you're never going to be able to enjoy life and feel free until you are able to laugh at yourself a bit. 

They are inspiring stories of hope.

I actually walked into Borders to look at travel guides but ended up reading though the entirety of Carrie Fischer's Wishful Drinking in one sitting. The title reminds me of Augusten Burroughs's Wishful Thinking (he is one of my go-to's in times like these). Both rather similar, alcoholics who meddled with drugs, lived through some outrageous ordeals and survived to tell their tales in the most humorous fashion.

 

Bee mentioned it last week so I decided to give it a try.

Around 2 years ago, I was sitting in a dreary room in front of a telephone trying to persuade some rather irritable strangers to buy tickets to her show (on which the book is based). Unfortunately, no one listened to me, not even myself. Now I really wished I attended the show! Drat! This exact same feeling flooded me when I realized Passing Strange moved onto Broadway before I could finish up midterms and see the show everyone was raving about. I must buy season tickets to the Berkeley Rep so I will never feel this way again.

To summarize what I got from the book:

*Carrie Fischer, best known for her role in Star Wars, was a product of Hollywood inbreeding.
*Poor Carrie had a very complex family scandal tree which she conveniently draws out in the book. *Her mother is Debbie Reynolds, best known for her role in Singing in the Rain (moses supposes his toeses are roses, moses supposes erroneously... that one. oh yes, with Gene Kelly.), sounds like a delightful woman. 

*Her father is Eddie Fischer, a crooner that husbands should keep their wives away from.

*Carrie has a knack for turning men bald and gay.

*One of George W. Bush's many talents is farting on demand.

*Carrie was diagnosed as manic depressive and has more recently undergone ECT, electroshock therapy, which has made her forget many things so the book is filled with bits of rediscoveries about her life. 

*Hollywood ain't so great.

*Her show was a smash and I missed it.

So.... Berkeley Rep Tickets?
Rita Moreno (Anita, West Side Story)
has a show May 13-June 12, 2011.

This one.

Morning blooms

I love waking up to flowers in the morning.

It's amazing what difference light can have on color perception.

1. No flash = purple. 2. Flash = blue. 3. Flash + desk lamp = hypercolor flowers.

No matter the lighting, dead or alive, flowers always seem to look pretty.

And why take ye thought for raiment?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. Matthew 6:28

Midnight cravings.

I'm waiting for my phone to charge.

Is it weird I am craving this right now?

Oh Kinders I miss you.
Almost as much as Jbear.

The problem with time

[5.30.2010 // Sunday...]

When you want it, its never there. 

Yet now here I am with nothing to do and on my way to a classic tummyache. 

Legal Sea Foods - local chain

I finally found a legal seafood and have a whole hour to sit, enjoy my lobster bisque,  watch planes go by and read my book. 

Mom said always go for the window seat.

Everday life has taught me to rush meals and hold my breath for another time. 

Its time to breathe and my bisque is almost gone, I have a nagging feeling I should  be doing something more productive and eating something less creamy and its only been 10 minutes. 

 Bye bye bisque.