let's get down(ton abbey)

only 6 more days until a personal wish of mine is granted! the season 2 of Downton Abbey premieres on PBS Sunday and i've been waiting since last spring to see it. i can hardly stand it.

everything about the first season was so incredible...the clothes (and hats!) the characters, the time period (the hats!), the story, the setting...i was so aboserbed that i watched the entire season in one weekend. i loved this BBC miniseries MORE than the BBC's pride and prejudice, which is saying something since it had colin firth in it...and i don't think i'm the only one. twice recently i asked someone what they'd watched and liked recently and they gushed with me about DA for many, many minutes. if you haven't seen it, start watching it on netflix or pbs streaming right this minute (or if you're at work, the MINUTE you get home.) if you watch one episode a night and two on Saturday until Sunday when the new one premieres, you'll be 100% caught up. you'll thank me, i promise.

if you aren't convinced, here are a few stills, and a link to the website, to whet your appetite.

 oh, did i mention that the hats are amazing?

of course i love the soap-opera-ish romances and the pot-boiling feuds between the sisters, the in-laws, and the servants, but some of my favorite pieces are the little period details and social and professional expectations of the world at that time since between the sinking of the titanic and beginning of World War I there was an incredible historical turning point. also, something about the society reminds me of earlier generations of southern families. i'm glad i don't live in those times, but i'm so intrigued...

also, if i'm preaching to the choir and you've already watched the show and are as excited as i am, take 2 minutes for the character quiz to find out your downton abbey doppelganger! the last season ended as world war one began, so i can't wait to find out where the writers pick up. let me know if you'll be watching so we can chat about it.

images from google

well, hello Dolly....

last week we drove through sevierville, tn (home of dolly parton) twice on our way to and from thanksgiving. it was exactly eight years ago last week that i fell in love with dolly while driving home for the holiday from college and happened upon the WSEV radio station that was only playing her music and a recently released album "Just because I'm a Woman." I'd always though of her as something of a hokey, down home joke, but when i truly listened to her lyrics, i knew she was speaking deep, powerful truths...specifically to me.

I thought of Dolly and made boone listen to that same album as we were sitting in traffic in knoxville.

not only is her music incredible, but her style is unmistakeable. 

growing up in south mississippi, we had a saying "the bigger the hair, the closer to God." i guess some folks may have been joking about that, but not me. oh, no. since high school i've worked hard to have big, voluminous blonde hair. while all my friends were flat ironing their hair to pieces, i was using hot rollers (hot rollers in high school! in the year 2000!)

now i use a giant curling iron and velcro rollers to pump my hair up, but the concept is nearly identical. i have a feeling that it was dolly parton's early look (before "backwoods barbie" and all that surgery) with her flirty, fun personality that gave me the idea that this is what southern women could (and should) look and act like. (ie: they should be ferociously independent, truly smart and 'with it', able to make fun of themselves, care deeply about their appearance, and make men feel special and breathless.)

then, in college, when i learned that she donated entire libraries of books to children in her hometown and rescued injured bald eagles i realize that she truly was someone to be idolized.
and did i mention that she's for marriage equality? score ANOTHER ONE for Dolly. Yep, she once said, "Sure, why can’t they get married? They should suffer like the rest of us." ;)

i finally got to see her perform on my cousin's birthday a few years ago, and even though we were in the ABSOLUTE farthest rows away, she was still incredible..and so fun...and super sparkly...and her boobs looked enormous even from that great distance.  ;)

 

anyway, when i meet another Dolly devotee (my friend Jon from Grad school and my coworker Sally to name two of the most important) i feel like we share an extra special bond because we know how truly incredible she is...we get it.

in fact, sally told me a few weeks ago that there's a new dolly movie coming out in January. I have NO IDEA about the plot, but i  do know that i'll be buying a ticket for opening night and will try to introduce as many people as I can to the mountain angel.

Is there someone you love but no one else gets? 

a tree house for grown ups!

oh my...

did you see the NYT article "A treehouse grows in Brooklyn" yesterday? FIrst of all, I wrote my college essays about the book... what a classic. And secondly, if you didn't read the article....you MUST. right now. for $400 and lots of scavenging,  this burgeoning interior designer created the MOST PERFECT hideaway complete with oriental rugs, french doors, and a rocking chair. 

also, since last week's Modern Family (the treehouse episode") I've been thinking about how it would be SO MUCH FUN to have a special outdoor spot for reading, drinking wine, and pretending to be a kid...but I guess that's what a screened in porch is for. what kind of hideaway would you want to build?

the perfect color... ?

so there's been some buzz among my most fashionable work colleagues that this season's jcrew models' lipstick is TO DIE FOR. i absolutely love the way jcrew styles things...and noticed the super bright red-orange when i opened up the catalog, but i'm not really into lipstick with tons of color. (i'd love to wear red-red, but i haven't found the right one yet). anyway, since at least 3 women i know are obsessed with the color, i figured there are more of you out there...

 so, what IS the most perfect color and fashionable color lipstick this season?the color that goes well with nudes, with jeans, with military green, AND bright orange?

are you ready?

 

here it is! NARS heat wave.

it really is beautiful... do you think i could pull it off (or could you?)

images from jcrew , the electric, and admiral and tea,
and color from hb