Life In Style

Swamp @ss Be Gone

                       Boy Wonder saves your butt...

                  

With the thermometer cresting 100 degrees on a regular basis, men are faced with the terrible reality of Swamp @ss.  Also known as Monkey Butt, Swamp @ss is that awful combination of sweat, humidity, and cotton underwear that every man experiences when wearing jeans in the heat.

It's a problem. 

Enter Patagonia's Active Classic Boxers..  The super breathable and quick-drying boxers wick away the swamp stuff before it gets you, plus they are made of 100% recycled polyester so not only will they keep you and your patute cool, they are another way for us to save the world and go green. 

As a fan of all things that wick, Patagonia has truly outdone themselves.  Unbelievably comfortable and light weight, they are available in a variety of colors and styles.  If you are old school or a bit Metro - have no fear.  They also offer a brief and boxer-brief in the same material.  And as I never want the ladies to feel left out, Patagonia has a full line of women's underwear as well. 

Patagonia is one of the most trusted names in outdoor equipment and is designed with outdoor enthusiasts in mind, so imagine what it could do for your cubicle-bound lifestyle.  I never gave much thought to underwear but I have seen the light.  A pair of these will change your life.

Check out the anti-swamp @ss collection at REI or Patagonia online. 

Wordle Me This...

 

Wordle.  Oh, this is a good one.  One of the most addictive little sites I've come upon in a long time, Wordle is  the perfect toy for wanna be graphic designers who wish they had skills.  Enter a mess of adjectives, snippets from a paragraph, or full prose and the Wordle tool will generate “word clouds” from what you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes.

You will spend more time than you'd like to admit concocting the perfect jumble of words to randomize and tinker with until it looks just so.  For all you typesetting font geeks out there - this will keep you busy for a while.  aha!

Fourth Finger Figure 8's

Beauty tip of the day, complements of the Skin Care Guru at Larchmont Beauty:

Apply eye cream with your fourth (ring) finger from the outside corner of your eye inward.  Tap the cream gently into the skin of both eyes and then trace a figure eight path outward to stimulate blood flow to the area.  Give it a couple 8's for good measure.

Note to all readers: The Larchmont Guru is a rare commodity in this day and age.  A lovely and frank Frenchman, he can diagnose any skin, hair,or beauty need and recommend THE perfect product solution for your query.  He's only in the shop on the weekends - so plan ahead.

The Driving Loafer Changed My Life

Boy Wonder emerged recently from his self-imposed blogging hiatus to share a bit of fashion wisdom For The Boys...

The Driving Loafer Changed My Life by Boy Wonder

The heat of the summer creates a problem for most men.  The desire to remain cool and look cool inevitably leads to a default footwear option: the flip flop (or man-sandal, if you are more the Armani type).  While the flip-flop is hard to beat for comfort and ease, it is often, if not always, lacking in the appropriate dress category.  You can't roll into a nice restaurant or a dinner party in flip-flops and expect the world to take you seriously. 

Enter the driving loafer.  Designed to be worn with or without socks, the driving loafer offers all the advantages of a flip flop (breezy slip-on ness), while still providing a sense of Clooney style that the flip- flop just doesn't get done.  Plus, I know no men who actually update their rubber flip-flops each summer which means we're all walking around in a serious funk of sun-dried chlorine, sweat, and beer from the last year's 4th of July party. 

Moreover, the driving shoe is versatile.  It dresses up with slacks and a blazer or down with jeans and a button up.  It says to the world, "Hey world, I am comfortable and confident in my shoe choice and I know enough not to wear my shower shoes out for sushi on a Saturday night."  Dig it. 

I proclaim this the summer of the driving loafer.

                  

In the Swim

Loving the new swim suits from Stella McCartney and Pucci...

The Wright Stuff

At 5:05 today I set off to find a little shop that I have known of for some time and never seen.  Having poured through the Jonathan Wright and Company catalog for years and ordered specialty items over the phone long distance, it was heaven to spend a serene hour wandering through the carefully curated trove of papers, desktop baubles, gifts, and curiosities Mr. Wright and his associates have assembled.  The custom letterpress invitations are to die for and the "ready to wear" papers are marvelous.  I hope the June birthday girls like their cards, if I can part with them...    

The Land of Avocados

There may be traffic and botox and smog in Los Angeles, but let me tell you - there is also PRODUCE.  Serious produce.  From the Farmer's Markets to the road stands to the vegetable aisles of Whole Foods - the California produce is unbelieveable and this Midwesterner/New Yorker is very, very excited.   Among other things, California is quite literally the land of avocados - home to about 90% of the nation's crop and a large part of the region's farming business...which means that we should all be doing our part to make really good guacamole...and enjoy it all summer long.  Here it is:

Perfect Guacamole (tried and true)

6 vine ripened tomatoes; chopped

4 T. white onion; minced

1 Serrano chili; finely chopped

2 T. fresh lime juice

1 t. kosher salt

4 ripe avocados

4 T. cilantro; minced 

In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, onion, chili, fresh lime juice, and kosher salt.  Halve the avocados, remove the pits, and scoop out the avocado flesh into the tomato mixture.  Add the cilantro.  Mix and mash with a fork, leaving some lumps.  Season with salt, add a little lime juice to prevent the avocados from discoloring, and garnish with a sprig of cilantro.

Makes 3-4 cups which will all be gone in a matter of minutes.   

Lattes In My Lobby

This is just a little blurb to let you know that there is a full-service, top of the line, barrista machine in my lobby.  Hello Hell.A.!  Cappucinos, chai, hot chocolate and the most delicious lattes you have ever had can be yours at the touch of a button.  It's built into the rent so please stop by and partake of the lattes in my lobby.

Hell. A. Katie

It's a sign.  Literally.  As I walked home from lunch hour yoga (!) and looked up into the seventy degree, no humidity, blue sky of Los Angeles, I laughed out loud and and smiled for a good New York minute.  Way up in the clouds, a happy little plane was finishing it's sky written message: WELCOME. 

After the graduation packing moving blitz of the past two months, the Ideal Husband and I landed at the doorstep of a new chapter in Southern California and boy does it suit.  L.A.'s welcome bag is full of treats...  a disarming afternoon breeze, a hot bed of good yoga, fresh food and great farmers markets, and best of all - old friends waiting with open arms. So much to see and say and taste and try - but after that nice long Life In Style nap, I'm well-rested and ready to jump in with both feet.  Let's see what the well- lived life looks like California style, eh?   

A big thank you to whomever ordered that little plane today and it's not at all little message. I feel very welcome here... 

       

Nap Time

Busy days full of moving, shaking, and question marks.  While I pack it in (literally), Life In Style rests...back soon!