Already Fall

Why is it that every year when the Fall arrives I am shocked, SHOCKED.
How can the Summer be over so soon?

I know that most people love the change of seasons and look forward to that crispness in the air.
But not me.
It is dark when I wake up in the morning, overcast, gray and often damp when I drive to work, heavily air conditioned and dark in my office, and dark when I leave in the evening to drive home.
And I do hate the cold and the overcast and the damp and the dark.

But the change of seasons does make me appreciate the sweet summer vacation that I had, sitting by the pool and reading books, sipping pastis, playing scrabble, admiring the view and chatting about all things great and small in Aix en Provence.

And here are the gratuitous pretty pictures from Provence.

I'm still trying to figure out how I ended up here and not there. A decision here and a decision there and your entire life changes.

Yeah, it's going to be a long winter....

Passamenterie - En Passant

Les Puces Butterflies

Fontainebleau Forrest

If, like me, you are too busy to travel yet long for a little European je ne sais quoi such a a walk in the Fontainbleau Forrest or a trip to Les Puces for some flea market fun,

take a quick trip to the Passamenterie - A Style Diary blog.

This blog is written by a very stylish young lady with an eye for photography and a love of literature. I love her photos and descriptions of her everyday life.

According to the OED

Passameterie = Decorative trimming consisting of gold or silver lace, gimp, or braid.

This blog is much more that decorative trimming.

Enjoy

Hermes Heir's Hotheaded Havoc

Question: Does being born into a famous French family and given a privileged life of luxury with a beautiful wife and adorable children, a jet setting lifestyle of galas, garden parties and polo games give Mathias Guerrand-Hermes the right to not follow the rules on a transatlantic Air France flight?

Answer: Well, apparently he thinks that has some special entitlement that allows him to act like this....

Heir To French Luxury Fashion House Hermes Accused Of Grabbing Captain's Crotch On Paris-To-NYC Flight

The court complaint says the commotion Tuesday on Air France Flight 008 began when Guerrand-Hermes sat on a female passenger's armrest and ignored orders to sit down. The crew handcuffed Guerrand-Hermes until the plane landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

And seriously...crotch grabbing....is that the French way to fight?

Is 80 The New 60?

Pelican Hill Golf Course in Newport Beach

We all know that 50 is the new 30, but is 80 the new 60?

Well apparently for my father it is.

Last night, as we celebrated my father's 80th birthday, I was wondering what kept him so youthful. Is it something in the Orange County water?

Here's a man who could be sitting in a Lazyboy in front of the HD tv. But no...he's too busy with working out at the gym 4 days a week for 1 1/2 hours each session, playing golf 1 or 2 times a week, working in his garden, singing in the choir at church, going to movies, seeing his friends, volunteering for neighborhood projects, and reading books. Next month, he and my step mother are off to Spain on vacation.

I think that the secret is in the balance of elements in his life, physical, spiritual and intellectual. And moderation in all things.

Hamptons Holiday Hilarity

Because this is the time of year for the Hamptons high season I bring you some suggested reading from Newsday.com

Even if you’ve just spent millions of dollars on a new vacation home, you’ll never really fit in out East until you understand the local lingo and the ways of the uber rich.

Last year, Miles Jaffe, son of reknowned architect Norman Jaffe, self-published his satirical "Hamptons Dictionary: The Essential Guide to Class Warfare". Now he’s back with an expanded and upgraded "platinum" edition published by The Disinformation Company ($17.95).

Whether you’re in BriHa (Bridgehampton), EaHa (East Hampton), SoHa (Southampton), NoHi (North of Montauk Hightway) or SoHi (South of Montauk Highway), it’s all “unreal estate” in the Hamptons. Renting a share for the summer? Then you’re a “hampster” or a “grouper,” or better yet, a “bottom feeder." Saw a Hamptons home listed for sale for less than $1 million? That’s called “affordable housing.” Don’t know what to call your neighbor’s newly built 10,000-square-foot house? It’s a “McMansion” or “megacottage” and your neighbor is a “McMoron” living in a “rich man’s Levittown.”

If you’re still perplexed about the ways of the truly rich, The Official Filthy Rich Handbook" (Workman Publishing, $11.95). will help. The new title pokes fun at the way the rich dress, shop, party and vacation. Summer hotspots include the Hamptons, of course, where Amagansett, Springs and Sag Harbor are “hippie-luxe”; East Hampton is a refuge for “WASPs”, and Southampton has become somewhat “flash.”