Moving

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Moving out of dorm roomIf you’ve got a college student, you immediately recognize this scene: Moving out of the dormMoving out of the dorm room. Seems as if this weekend everybody’s doing it. Including us. My younger daughter had lived in this room on campus for two years — and I think she’ll admit that she’s not the most organized of housekeepers. This is the girl to whom the floor is New apartmentmerely another place to store clothes. (Plus, her room inspections are the only tests in college she’s ever failed — but you didn’t hear that from me.)  Luckily she didn’t wait for the last minute to get started. Her advance efforts plus helpful friends turned a monumental job into a doable project. It only took four carloads to empty the room — plus three bags of trash, five bags of recyclables and several items donated to charity — and only one day and a few aspirin for me to recover. And the cool part? She moved into an off-campus apartment in an older house that is so cute and in a fun and funky part of town. Well, it really is more like a studio apartment with a tiny kitchen and bathroom attached, but we love with the fireplace, the hardwood floor and the black-and-white tiles. And I promise that this photo was taken immediately after moving in and it will never ever look this way again.

Food

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Strawberries

With a day-long break in the rain that's been attacking north Alabama for the past two weeks, it was dry enough to get some strawberries today. This bowlful smelled so fresh and sweet it was as if summer came to my kitchen.

Books

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Hmm …  a friend on Facebook posts about going to dinner at Christ Church in Oxford, England, where Harry Potter scenes were filmed. I, on the other hand, take a Facebook quiz about which Harry Potter character I am, although the typos and misspellings in those quizzes drive me so crazy that I WANT TO MAKE A QUIZ ABOUT WHY CAN’T YOU Eat, Pray, LovePEOPLE SPELL AND PUT APOSTROPHES IN THE RIGHT PLACES???? And then that puts me in such a contrary mood that I think I’ll write about other things that make me crazy — things that other people absolutely adore  … such as the book “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert. Many, many friends whose opinions I respect and recommendations I follow love this book. Love, love, love it. They think it’s a powerfully female story about one woman’s journey to discover and accept who she is. They kind of get all starry-eyed when they talk about it. And listen, I’m all for everybody having their own opinions and liking what they like for their own reasons. So with all due respect to everybody who puts this book in the you-gotta-read-this pile, I think that instead of a classic, it actually is a powerfully narcissistic story about one woman’s self-indulgent justifications and her ability to come up with something that validated her $200,000 book advance. I despise books in which everybody loves the narrator/main character and thinks the narrator/main character is the best thing since sliced white bread for no discernible reason whatsoever. Such as in this book. Such as in the fan club that Ms. Gilbert gathers around her everywhere she goes with no effort on her part. Such as everyone who meets her falls in love with her and wants to do things for her. Or so she says, as she journeys around the world and dabbles in other cultures to erase the pain of a failed marriage and love affair. Look, when faced with broken relationships, most of the rest of us women learn about our submerged talents and unknown strengths and authentic selves by going to work and getting the kids ready for school and fixing the leaky toilet every day on our own all by ourselves. I’m just saying.

And which Harry Potter character am I? Harry! According to the quiz (corrected for spelling and grammar), I’m “destined to do great things and highly ambitious. Sometimes, in order to go after your dreams, you seem to disregard rules — there is a slight haze (?) in your sense of right or wrong but in the end, you’re a good person.” Phew! That’s a relief.

Giving

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French pressMy younger daughter, a college senior, recently realized she had a bunch of money on her dining card — minimum meal-plan fees she’s had to pay the school although she never ate on campus. And since she’s going from full-time status to part-time status this summer and moving off campus, she had to use the money or lose it. Fast. Before, when she’s wanted to get the balance down, she would load up on fruit and non-perishables in the campus cafe and then try to distribute the bounty to friends, random strangers and anybody she came across who was hungry. However, the balance this time was rather more substantial and would take a ton of bananas and little boxes of cereal to erase. But in an unbelievable stroke of luck, a Starbucks recently opened in the main campus library. And — students could use their meal cards there! Jackpot!!! Can you imagine going in to a Starbucks with practically an unlimited budget? Of course, if it were me, I’d zero in on one of those huge and expensive espresso machines and buy out all those adorably cute mugs. And I could see where someone with an entrepreneurial bent would try to parlay the windfall into bigger profits. But my daughter had a better idea: She said she’s had so much fun buying drinks for everybody in line (“A round of lattes for everybody!”) and French presses and other goodies for the baristas who work there. “It made me wish I were really rich so I could go around buying stuff for people all the time and making them feel good,” she said. “The definite highlight of my week.” If she’s learning the value of giving rather than receiving, then I think her college education is going to pay off.

Decor

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Women's restroomsAm I the only person who judges a restaurant in part on Women's roomsits women’s restroom? I mean, cleanliness is a must, of course, but I want to see some creativity and imagination, too. It doesn’t have to be luxurious or upscale elegant, but a spa-like feeling of pampering is a definite plus, as is some feminine whimsy. I mean, I’m sort of a captive audience here, so use this space to wow me and get your message across — that’s the way I look at women’s rooms,Women's rooms anyway. For example, Urban Standard, a coffee shop in Birmingham, Alabama, is in a cool and stylishly renovated downtown building. However, the bathrooms obviously had to be put in new and so lack the exposed brick and tin ceilings of the main rooms. Solution? Distinguish the women’s room with eye-catching art work such as this bigger-than-life piece painted directly on the wall. Definitely ups the cool factor in what’s really just a generic space. Check out more about Urban Standard at http://www.urbanstandard.net. Another of my favorite Birmingham bathrooms is in Chez Lulu, http://continentalbakeryandchezlulu.com/, a fun and funky bistro that features homemade desserts and breads from its next-door sibling, Continental Bakery. Chez Lulu’s women’s room is tiny but full of textures and colors and vintage finds that make you think of browsing Saturday-morning flea markets with your best friends and then stopping by for lattes and croissants. (My favorite is the almond croissant, because almonds are good for you, right???) I love the beaded lampshade and the plump and cozy fainting couch here, which I usually use for setting my purse on and then walking out empty-handed. But that just gives me an excuse for a return visit.

TV

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What could be better than a cozy rainy Sunday evening at home, with everybody accounted for, some of the New York Times still left to read and Amazing Race coming on later. I can’t wait. Will Luke and Margie nice-en up? Will Cara and Jaime finally realize that the whole world does not speak English? Will Tammy and Victor be victorious? And will Kisha and Jen … well, my annoyance at them for escalating the whole Luke and Margie confrontation evaporated during this past episode, when Jen was so valiantly trying to face her body-paralyzing fear of water and Kisha was so bravely supportive of her sister. Seems as if Luke and Margie would understand something about trying to overcome obstacles. I’m just saying.

Fashion

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Capri pantsAre you like me and find yourself turning to seasonal uniforms, fashion-wise? My cold-weather go-to outfit is a black turtleneck with boots and jeans. Boring but classic, I guess. As temperatures start rising, the turtlenecks get folded up and the boots get cleaned and stored and it’s time for capri pants. I remember 10 years ago or so when capris went mainstream again, invoking days of  Grace Kelly/Jackie Kennedy sophistication instead of the dowdy and baggy gardening attire they’d become in the past couple decades. “I could never wear these new capris,” I remember saying then. “They’re only for young girls with good legs.” Today, of course, young girls with good legs wear short shorts and us moms and grandmoms gratefully have made capris our No. 1 summer basic. I love how they’re cool and comfortable but still allow me to sit and bend and move around without fear of … well, exposure. Unlike shorts, you know. But capris are not trouble-free. The problem is finding ones that fit and flatter your legs as well as your middle. Not easy. If the leg openings work, chances are the waistband won’t. And vice versa. And if you find the perfect fit, it’ll be in lime green or electric turquoise blue or some other tropical color that in the store you can talk yourself into thinking you’ll wear all summer but really you wear them only once to the neighbor’s cookout and then never again. That’s why I felt as if I’d hit the jackpot when I recently found two perfect pairs of capris. I had been on the lookout because my only wearable pair of denim capris — hand-me-ups from one of my daughters — had moved from the “wear only at home” category to the “wear only when doing yard work” category. And you can’t get through summer in Alabama without denim capris. Luckily, I scored at Belk’s with a pair of dark denim (Ralph) Lauren Jeans Co. The rise is high enough to prevent muffin tops but low enough not to be matronly. The other pair is a lightweight denim from Gap. It’s a Limited Edition with a lower waistband and slash pockets that I’ll take out and sew shut for a smoother line. So I’m all set — except today it’s sort of cool and rainy and makes me think I need boots and turtlenecks again.

Beer and Food

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Beer coolerOne thing my husband and I are good at is Beer on tapgoing out and drinking beer. Now, I’m not talking about frat-party beer from our college days, which I believe my husband knows more about than I do. What I mean instead is the education about and appreciation of good beer. I was beer-ignorant until I learned from my husband that good beer should be considered exactly like good wine, with richness of flavors and variety of styles just as any other fine food. And that works for me, because really after half a bottle or glass, I’m done — I like beer’s fresh first-half taste best. I can handle about two or three first halves in an evening, which my husband doesn’t mind because, as he says, that leaves more for him. We especially like discovering those wonderfully small handcrafted local beers that are best enjoyed with great company in cool and cozy brewpubs. Sadly, we mainly have to do our beer tasting when we travel since Alabama is one of only three states in the country that limits alcohol by volume for beer to 6% and the only state that limits beer containers to no more than 16 ounces. Alabama also enforces antiquated restrictions that effectively stifle local microbreweries and limits brewpubs. This means that in my state you can’t buy most of the specialty/gourmet beer available almost everywhere else. Georgia and North and South Carolina all went through the same thing and successfully changed their laws to allow the sale of specialty beers. Free the Hops, a non-profit group, is trying to do that in Alabama. Learn more at http://www.freethehops.org/.

And speaking of beer, one of my favorite places in Birmingham to grab a sandwich and bottle of beer is gone. Tria Market in Homewood was a small upscale grocery here you could get a sandwich from the deli or a meat-and-three (or four) from the hot-food counter, add a bottle from the beer cooler and sit down at tables in the middle of the store and enjoy a great people-watching meal. A few weeks ago it closed for “remodeling” and the Web site says it will reopen in May.  However, a Tria manager I held hostage and demanded an answer from talked to said it would reopen in three months or so as a Middle Eastern-style restaurant with a few basic groceries for sale along the lines of a European market. A former chef from Bottega (one of food-celebrity Frank Stitt’s restaurants) will head up the kitchen and the space will be designed by the same person who did Ocean, another of Birmingham’s premier and stylish eateries. Can’t wait!

Books

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Olive KitteridgeRun, don’t walk, to your nearest bookstore or computer and buy Elizabeth Strout’s “Olive Kitteridge,” the 2009 Pulitzer Prize fiction winner. I first heard about this book on NPR and I’ve since read it three times and recommended it to all readers I know. This has it all: Lovely and lyrical writing, subtle details that stay with you, stories you can’t forget and powerfully ordinary characters. The book is a series of short stories that follow the lives of folks in a coastal Maine village over several years — some people we get to know well and others just sort of pass through, leaving more questions than answers behind. This is the sort of read that makes you think. And want to reread it so you can think some more. If swine flu-closings furlough you from work, pick this book up and take it home. And even if your workplace remains blissfully swine flu-free, pick it up, anyway. You’ll be glad you did.

Family

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BellydancingToday is the 25th birthday of my older daughter, Lizzy Jane. Brushing teethShe had the bad luck to be born first, so I got to practice all my non-maternal skills on her. Luckily, she proved to be resilient, smart and independent and thrived no matter how many stupid mistakes I made. (Who knew rocking babies to sleep every night — three Playgroundsor four times every night — and letting them drink apple juice all day was bad for them???) Today, she is such a loving mom to my 13-month-old grandson, Capt. Adorable, that I constantly am in awe of her parenting skills. No protracted, drawn-out, miserable bedtimes for her! She also is a talented dancer and performer, as well as a teacher and budding choreographer. Plus, she’s the best money-manager I know — she can come out of a grocery store with a week’s worth of tasty and nutritious meals on less money than most people spend on a pair of new shoes. (Not that I myself have any personal knowledge of blowing the budget on gotta-have shoes, you understand. Because that would be wrong.)  I have no idea where she learned all this — books? magazines? Dave Ramsey? — but I do know that I am incredibly proud to be her mom. Happy 25th birthday, Lizzy Jane!