Home to My Jesus-In Seersucker

No wonder the Pharisees always stayed kinda mad at Jesus. After all, he made them look foolish on more than one occasion. Did they really want Jesus to condemn the adulterer or did they want to test Jesus’ influence? Jesus was able to challenge these authoritarians by inviting them without sin to commence stoning this woman caught in the act of adultery. It would have taken me three weeks to come up with such a clever statement to diffuse the situation.

John Chapter 8 and a couple of verses from Mathew provided all the reference necessary to let me know that yesterday’s sermon was exclusively for my country a_s.  Judgement and forgiveness is the tight little forty five minute message and I’m sitting there thinking “damn (even though you shouldn’t be thinking or saying “damn” at the handlin’) here we go again…another sermon aimed at ADG Ground Zero”….

Some top-line corollaries from John Chapter 8…Christ neither found fault with the law, nor excused the prisoner's guilt; nor did he countenance the pretended zeal of the Pharisees. Those are self-condemned who judge others, and yet do the same thing.  And then from Matthew 7:1 "Do not judge so that you will not be judged” Ok…looks like I’m gonna have to refrain from laughing at people who wear goofy shit. And “zeal”? Take that away from me and I got nothin’.

Now how in the world am I going to put fully in play the lessons from the handlin’? I posited a good while back in my post about why I love and write about clothes that I want people to learn about me and my character before casting me off as some sartorial snob. You can read it here. I declared in that post that I try really hard to offer the same latitude to those I meet…regardless of the number of tattoos you have, nose piercings or even, God forbid, vertical blinds. I can even dig deep enough and find the goodness in you if I notice a Thomas Kinkade painting hanging in your house. And that’s digging deep.

I suppose it’s no longer my authority to declare when you can or can’t wear things like patch madras and seersucker. And Allie, I’m gonna have to abandon my idea of resurrecting the Butt Police. Who am I to decide such things? And Spandex? Geez…can I really surrender my authority over such offensive fabrics? I’m against the death penalty but what about butt crack baggy jeans and backward baseball hats? 

Are y’all really comfortable with me letting go of my Pharisee-esque self proclaimed authoritarian weigh-in on all things Strip Mall? Was I delusional to think, just because I have people of distant, thank God, relation back in S.C.—who would actually be proud to make the People of Wal-Mart blog post—that I could straighten the world out on such matters? Just having an Aunt Tootie should qualify me.

 Let me conclude by saying that I’m gonna try really hard to actualize the lessons learned in Mathew and John. But I can’t promise anything. As I cobble this drivel together, my little pocket Mephistopheles is sitting on my shoulder telling me that if I don’t carry forth the mantle of sartorial judgement…the slippery slope of sartorial slovenosity will become ever steeper.

So it’s no longer upon me to declare white bucks and seersucker the current Sunday costume of choice for the masses. But for me yesterday—I was pleased to pounce. Flusser gray seersucker sportcoat, pink diagonal tone on tone Flusser button down, nicely patinated Polo white bucks and an old pair of bulletproof Hertling Irish linen trousers.

I’ve commented on the architecture of this sportcoat before but here’s a little refresher. At first glance one could quickly conclude that it’s just another ADG Fuzzy Dice contrivance. Double vented, three two roll, patch pockets with a patch ticket…finished off with an open patch breast pocket. Give me a break man! If ever the evidence would support throwing the first stone of ersatz sartorial contrivance…this might be it. But hold on a minute before you start pelting. This exact model hails from the Brooks Brothers Archives courtesy of Alan Flusser. So there.

I love this jacket. Those of you who bespeak things know that even from the same pattern, singular garments feel and fit differently based on a zillion factors. This creation fits exactly the way I like. Don’t ask me to explain further. It’s not for you or me to really understand in toto.

And Hertling trousers? I can only speak for myself—since I’ve given up my authority—but I’ll never need a nicer pair of trousers than what rolls out of the Hertling factory. I just worry about what’s gonna happen over in Brooklyn after Julie Hertling gives it up. China I reckon.

Toad did a great update on white bucks the other day. And as much as I want another pair, it ain’t in the budget and these patinated babies are good for a few more seasons.

I exchanged emails with someone from back home recently and we got on the subject of funerals. A sartorial legend from S.C. passed away and he was filling me in on the funeral service. I offered the following comment in an email reply….. “Funerals…I used to worry like hell about what my family will do on my behalf—regardless of what I’ve outlined in my Will. My mom remains undone over the fact that I’ve requested cremation. I would love for the Shaw Singers or the Blind Boys from Alabama to roll in and sing two songs… “Oh Happy Day” and “Home to My Jesus”. Then I’d like for everyone to have cocktails. No open casket nonsense for me”.

So I’m gonna leave you with Home to My Jesus by the Shaw Singers. Excuse the silly dancers visual…I can’t find another version of the song to post. I love the grittiness…the granularity of this poorly recorded gospel standard. I also like what the Rev. Al Green said about the difference between the Blues and Gospel. Just substitute the words God/Jesus with Baby and you’ve got one or the other. I’m thinking the Rev. Al was hollerin’ for God not Baby when that pot of hot grits hit him upside the head.

Onward…throwin’ no stones…till Thursday…ADG

Need inspiration? Hello Europe!

So who watched the Eurovision Song Contest? A bit of history for you: this annual singing competition started back in 1956 and has launched several big careers - ABBA won in 1974 (with 'Waterloo') and Céline Dion in 1988.

This year, 39 countries participated. They use a rather loose definition of 'Europe' - included are Russia and Azerbaijan, for example - but who cares about the politics?!

I never used to watch this - tacky! embarrassing! - and never admitted to it if I did, but I thought Norway did a great job of hosting this year's contest. And the participants were um... inspiring!

Does your guy want a bold, new look? Go for a blonde fringe - Serbia shows you how!

Look to Turkey for your next party: blinding lights and Stars Wars fashion.

Want to know how to wear this summer's blue eye make-up? Look no further, Moldova has the answer!

So that's where Lara Croft from Tomb Raider has been hanging out! In Armenia and she now sings, too.

There were also serious performers. I quite like it when they sing in their own language but most of them choose English. And this bit is embarrassing: my husband voted! As in, he actually called, and not just once but three times! (for Albania)

I don't know how they organised these but they showed huge crowds in European cities doing choreographed dances together. (Think Austin Powers.) We just thought: all this fun, excitement and joy across Europe, it's so much better than killing each other in pointless wars!

The winner was Germany: sweet 19-year old Lena with the song 'Satellite'. She was a nobody before Eurovision! And now she's a star! 

Did you watch it? What was your favourite song? Did you vote?! 

Art Linkletter...R.I.P.

We could sure use a Linkletter or two these days. I never tire of watching this clip....Linkletter had such a gift of engaging these little people.


If anyone should see God on the other side...it's Linkletter.

Dressing the Neck-LFG Style

Dressing the neck is always going to be tricky business. The issue has been well covered by Will over at A Suitable Wardrobe, Chris over at Easy and Elegant Life as well as Chris at Off the Cuff. I think it was Chris Cuff who recently posited on the issue of neck dressing in warm weather. That’s an easy matter for me to reconcile…it’s too freakin’ hot and humid here in my neck of the woods to worry with encasing my goozle from now till Halloween.

I’ll not offer too much beyond what I and others have already said on the ascot/kerchief/neck subject-I’m gonna turn it over to LFG in a moment. But there's just nothing trickier than pulling off the neckerchief look. My first rule is consistent with the standard rule I have for all my sartorial contrivances…you’ve gotta not care too much what others think or you’ll end up humiliating yourself. You just flat out have to not give a shitake.

Let me also touch on what I call the Thurston Howell, III phenomenon. I don’t care how grungy, casual or aloof your outfit might be—add an ascot and the affectation is over the top. More so than anything delivered by wearing slippers. The foppish effeminacy manifest in an ascot makes Belgian shoes look like steel toe Red Wings. I wear dime store cotton cowboy handkerchiefs and the impact is the same. So why do I wear them from time to time in colder moments? Simple—I like them and I don’t like having an open neck in the winter.

You haven’t asked for advice on the matter but I’ll offer it gratuitously. Don’t dare touch this accessory unless you can run the gantlet of stares, ridicule and tisk tisking. You already know that if I don’t get some of that, I feel like I haven’t executed my sartorial rigging properly.

Even if only a hint of your neck accoutrement shows... it's enough. Enough to scream...I'm a poseur. No problem where I'm concerned. I AM a poseur.

Solid brown silk shantung was my choice for one of my recent days in London.

Never have I seen Lord Flusser without something adorning the neck.

A five dollar cotton handkerchief and you've achieved...Geezer Chic.

So LFG and I are walking to La Madeleine last Sunday. It was time to celebrate the completion of our final book project. More on the book project in a moment. LFG dressed for our lunch date and I didn’t take much notice of what she had on…it was fairly typical. The above shot is not what she wore to lunch last Sunday...this is from a previous post that she and I did on winter scarves. I just like the picture.

Then I noticed that her t-shirt seemed bunched up around her neck. Upon further inspection, I realized that she had on a scarf. I so was impressed with her little touch of panache-élan-style that I asked her to show me how she tied it. By the way…her scarf came from Gap.

Step One: Show daddy just how much scarf you have to work with!

Step Two: Once around the neck with authority.

Step Three: Knot the ends.

Final Step: Tie it once again and tuck it in. Then enjoy quiche and Orangina at La Madeleine.

Our final book report and presentation for the year. By the way, LFG made all As on every segment of the report she did on The Elephant Book. Homeless Bird was a bit more challenging than a picture book about elephants. It's a story about a young girl and the journey through an arranged marriage, widowhood almost immediately thereafter and betrayal by those close to her. It's also about empowerment, perseverance and the fruits of hard work and faith. Heavy stuff for a nine year old to process but she did a great job. Her visual aid this time was a bookstore poster. I think she'll do great on this one as well.

Rough draft from a couple of weeks ago...Daddy's editorial inputs.

The next step in the iterative process. LFG ain't too keen on iterative processes. She did two more drafts after this one.

Now THIS is the fun part.

Done. Time for fun and frolic.

And one final bit of sartorial advice from LFG. Always wear your trousers on your natural waist.

Have a great holiday weekend. LFG has dumped me for better holiday options so I'll be at the Casa...alone...sulking.

Onward. ADG

Scrub your lips with Lush

Mad about Lush? Nah... been there, done that. I went through a Lush phase about two years ago and tried the bath bombs (or whatever they're called), the soaps, the massage bars, the hair products, the foot cream... you name it, all the bestsellers. I tried them for a few weeks, then gave everything away to friends. I don't like their packaging and the smells are sometimes too overpowering. Lush is not really my thing.

But never say never. I recently read about the new Mint Julips Lip Scrub. Now, I don't usually need to exfoliate my lips but the past few weeks they've not been as soft as I like them to be... so I thought I would give this a try.

Because it is a sugar scrub, and I am paranoid of having ants and other sugar-loving creepy-crawlies in the house, for my first try I stood at the kitchen sink and applied a tiny bit (you really don't need much) to my lips. I have since given it a home in the bathroom so I can scrub away in the bath or after I've washed my face in the morning or at night.

And what can I say? Wow! It's an exfoliator all right, the bits are big enough that you can really 'scrub' your lips with them. The sugar dissolves after about 20 seconds of rubbing. At this point, I'm not sure if other people lick the rest off?... but I rinse my lips with water. It leaves an oily film behind - that's the peppermint oil. The fragrance is quite nice (I'm sure many would say delicious), it reminds me of After Eight mints.

There was a pleasant tingling sensation for about three minutes after scrubbing. To finish, apply the Baume de Rose lip balm by Terry and voilà, perfect lips. Amazing scrub!

This is much better than the only other lip scrub product that I own - a limited edition thing from MAC, called Prep and Prime Microfine Lip Refinisher, that is half scrub, half lip balm. Nice idea but the black bits don't dissolve and it's not as creamy as the Lush one.

What is your favourite lip scrub?

Blog award!

Who wants to talk awards?! I'm very pleased that I have received another blog award - this is my second one. I have a lot of friends and readers to thank, and I shall start with... Mr Pineapple Man, who gave me this bright orange sunshine award! Thank you! I'm not sure it really goes with my pink and white blog background but I'm proud to display it nonetheless!

I'm so happy that my blog is off to such a good start. It's proving to be a lot of fun. Every day I can look forward to beauty, inspiration, pictures of deliciousness, product reviews... from all over the world! The best part is... the dialogue, the interaction with all of you. I'm grateful to all my lovely followers who read and comment regularly - I love to hear from you!

The rules are:
1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Pass the award on to 12 bloggers.
3. Link to the nominees within your post.
4. Let them know they received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and the link to the person from whom you received this award.

I am passing this award on to these lovely followers first (rest will follow... some other time):

exPress-o
Lipstick Rules
Loveaudrey
The Alternative Wife
The Zhush

Congratulations!

Glow with sun protection

I hope everyone uses sunscreen when they're outside. As nice as the sun feels on our skin, it can do serious long-term damage. I don't want (premature) wrinkles. I definitely do not want skin cancer.

SPF 15 is obviously not enough for serious sunbathing but I like to think it's fine for my kind of weekends. My favourite is Estée Lauder Re-Nutriv Sun Supreme for Body.

"Special ingredients help guard against the appearance of sun spots and other visible signs of sun damage--even helping prevent patchiness. Sun Supreme formulas allow a natural tan that's incredibly even-toned, golden and radiant."

It is very smooth and has a light, pleasant fragrance. I like it because it contains tiny golden particles that reflect the sunlight, making the skin 'glow'!

For my face I'm currently using Sun Supreme SPF 15. I've only just opened it but I bought it last summer (it's my second jar). It looks like there is a newer one on the market now with SPF 30 - even better, I say, because I use this as a daytime moisturiser only in summer.

Golden sparkles!

I also have the Sun Supreme Rescue Serum but I'm not really convinced it's necessary. (Tell me if you are!)

When it comes to skincare I do like to use Estée Lauder products and I think the Sun Supreme series is one of the best and certainly one of the most interesting.

What are your favourite summer skincare products?

Nine Year Old Dreams-Nine Year Old Goals

One of my best buddies has honored me over the years in ways that I’ll never be able to repay. I’m not certain what I ever did to have friends as loyal. His oldest son is my godson. His next oldest son’s first name is my surname. Thank goodness that his third and final son is named for yet another one of his good friends.

 The middle boy, G., wrote this letter last October. He’s nine years old and to say that he’s focused is an understatement. He cries when they drag him home from the golf course. He realizes that academics go hand in hand with being on the golf team at a Division I school. He obviously realizes that Georgia Tech…for some reason he wants to play golf at Georgia Tech…is a strong Engineering school.

He wants to live in Pinehurst North Carolina and has surmised that he will have to work his way to greater levels of responsibility in the business world. G. assumes I suppose, that if you work hard and apply yourself that maybe you’ll be rewarded. And you can play golf every weekend…and “just be a flat out great golfer”.

He’s nine years old.

Mini update: White leather is out

Thanks to everyone who gave me advice on my Mini. Most of you said that the white leather would be a problem: high maintenance, hard to keep white, eventually the inevitable patina. Although I knew this, a part of me was still attracted to those 'limited edition' seats in black and white (with pretty turquoise stitching! do you see?), and I had several sleepless nights agonising over the decision.

We went to the showroom again and looked more carefully at the car. We've been so many times but we see something different and important every time we go there! This time we instantly zoomed in on the seats and... look what's happened to the white leather. I swear they weren't half as 'dirty' when we went last time so I was surprised.

Hence I have decided to go for black leather seats. This is the most sensible choice. I won't get so stressed out trying to keep them clean. And I will be able to continue wearing blue/black jeans - for a while I was thinking I might have to ditch all dark clothes and make white my new black (that would help keep white leather seats white).

There has been a new 'development', though, so it's not a straightforward 'I've chosen alternative one' (Mini Cooper + integrated navigation system + leather seats). Once we've ordered it - hopefully this week! - I'll be back with details!

Nature and food

It was finally sunny here and we spent most of the weekend outside. We went cycling, met up with friends, listened to jazz at an open air concert. I was feeling creative with the camera - hence the close-ups of flowers, grass and even the sky!

I also found a meadow (middle left pic) - with flowers, surrounded by tall, thick trees - that reminded me of a scene out of the first Twilight film. It's just after Bella's found out the truth about Edward and they are lying on their backs, wondering about the future - Twilight fans, you know what I'm talking about?

We went to an Italian restaurant. The prawn salad was delicious. There was also prosciutto with melon as a starter, pasta and Bellini of course. We had the watermelon at home - for me it is the perfect summer fruit.

It's another beautiful day today so I am going to sit outside... with a diet coke, maybe. I hope you had a great weekend with lots of sun, too? This will be a good week - not least because I have an award to pass on. Stay tuned!