She spends in a week what you make in a year

{Marie Douglas-David, soon-to-be-ex-hubby George David, and actress Julie Delpy at The 10th Anniversary of Green Cross International and Global Green Founded by Mikhail Gorbachev. MGDavidJDelpy_101104, originally uploaded by Global Green USA.}

Currently duking it out in Hartford Superior Court and on the front pages of the Hartford Courant are the Davids, one of America's uber-rich couples, he the former CEO of United Technologies, she a countess and former Wall Street type who apparently spends more in a week than what some people make in a year.

Click here to see what she spends it on. No really. Click.

I have a hard time wrapping my head around those types of numbers as weekly discretionary expenses. I know that there are people out there who are far more wealthy than 99.9% of the rest of us, and I know that in a divorce there is a little fudging of numbers going on, I just wonder if I was ever that rich would my lifestyle escalate to one where I spent that kind of money on clothes, hair, facials, flowers etc., every week. Every. Week. Oh, sure, in the beginning there would definitely be a shopping spree and lots of travel, but I don't think I could keep it up. There've been too many instances in my life (as a newlywed, as a new divorcee, etc.) where I had to be super-frugal, and even get a second job, just to make ends meet. I'm not saying I would maintain my current lifestyle 100%. I just don't think I could spend four grand a month on my hair.

What about you? Would you be all Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous?

Hooked on Holiday House Tours Blog Party

Welcome! I'm participating in Julia's Hooked On Holiday House Tours blog party today. If you like looking at holiday decorations, need to get in the holiday spirit, or harbor some voyeur tendencies, then you may want to pop on over and check out the 50+ homes on display.

I live in a Victorian apartment building that "went condo" in the late '70s, so we have lots of charm and period detail, but with modern electric, plumbing, sheetrock, etc. We also have lots of great neighbors who can get quite festive when the occasion calls for it, and the holidays are no exception. We throw some great parties here, including one just to "deck the halls" i.e., decorate the lobby and the landing of each floor.

Here is the tree in our lobby, decorated with handmade ornaments depicting historic scenes from Hartford.

Before he played for the Sox, Babe Ruth batted for the minor leagues in Hartford.

A mod blue and white tree on the landing to my floor.

My front door. Welcome! (Note, I wasn't tipsy, I just couldn't take a straight picture with my dorky camera).

This year my wreath is silver, pewter and white. And fake. :-( It is very dry in the building and a girl can vacuum the doorway only so many times....

My tree, which I just put up this weekend. I love the smell of a real tree, but a) see note above re: the dry air in the building and b) The Lounging Party [aka my cats] think any living plant is their personal salad bar, just waiting to be chomped on. They did, however, "assist" with the decorating and frequently rearrange things while I'm at work.

My BFF Marie Louise of Cottage Industries brought back this petit chat from her honeymoon in Paris last year. The starfish is from Cape Cod.

I'm in love with the face on this little owl and acorn ornament.

As you can imagine, with a name like Robin I have a lot of bird ornaments on my tree (including the one in my new header above). Many were gifts from my dad growing up.

Even my chandelier gets a little dressed up for Christmas.

Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to check out the other tours at Hooked On Houses. But before you go, please have a cookie, made by Meghan of Two Ladies In Waiting for our condo Christmas party the other day. I promise they have no calories!

In stitches

{needle and thread, originally uploaded by Thru Jenn's Eyes.}

I am a girl who wears skirts. And dresses. Mumsie always said "Dress for the position to which you aspire," and I'm sticking with that rule, even though I am always "overdressed" compared to some of my co-workers. I like getting dressed up for work every day and I curse whoever invented "casual" dress code. I have a thing for heels and handbags. And accessories. I'm a girly girl, and not ashamed to say it.

I tore the hem of my skirt today during a run-in with an unruly file cabinet. I mended it at my desk (while wearing it) and it wasn't until I was threading the needle that I really took a good look at the sewing kit. It's a little plastic box with 7 spools of colored thread (there were 8 but I lost one). Of course the black thread is almost gone, followed closely by the navy. There's a plastic thimble, safety pins, a threader and a couple of needles. And then I realized: I have had this sewing kit in every desk I've ever sat at, at every job I've ever had, since graduating college. That's almost twenty years.

I'm sure the gals at Basket of Kisses would agree that "Joan" would be proud.

{Christina Hendricks as "Joan Holloway" in AMC's "MadMen"}

Joan Holloway dresses like the hot ticket she is, and keeps aspirin, a sweater, safety pins and a fifth of something in her desk. For emergencies.

What do you wear to work? Does anyone like getting dressed up anymore?

Sorry for the long absence. Thanksgiving melted right into a non-stop 10 days of work and travel that I only recently surfaced from. Just in time for Christmas shopping!

When you wish upon a bone

{Silver Wishbone Necklace from MissAshleyLu's Etsy Shop}

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving! May your day be filled with good food, good company and good fortune. Don't fight over the white meat and leave room for dessert, because someone slaved over that pie crust and you don't want to disappoint them. Skip the football game and go for a walk; your heart (and waist) will thank you. Make some little kid's day by cleaning off the wishbone and breaking it with them.

This year I am thankful for my family; my BF; my BFF; friends who get up at the crack of dark to go walking with me (and are willing accomplices in so much else); that I have a job that pays well (even though I am ready to jump out the window these days), a nice apartment, a good car, a warm coat, etc.; all of you who keep stopping by even though my crazy life has meant sporadic posting lately; and that the cats did not have a hairball on the white duvet cover today. Yet.

I'm wishing for my government to stop bailing out big businesses with my tax dollars, for an end to the war in Iraq and a swift conclusion to the escalating activity in Afghanistan, for there to be less hunger in the world, less suffering, more hope. Oh, and that the exiled African diplomat who keeps emailing me will finally come through with my millions.

What are you thankful for this year? What are you wishing for on your wishbone?

West wingnut

The West Wing is my new crack.

I have no idea where I was from 1999-2006, when the show originally aired. Well, I know where I was, I just can't pin down the specifics of why I didn't watch it. It has all my favorite things - great writing, witty banter, smart female characters, realistic plot lines and a talented cast and crew to bring it all together. I'm sorry I missed it the first time around, and although I've caught a glimpse or two on Bravo, it's not the kind of show where you can jump feet first into one episode and know all you need to know to understand it (like Law & Order). Add to that the following:

1. Continued media/blog speculation that "the West Wing is coming true" with the election of Obama and his appointment of Rahm Emanuel (alleged inspiration for the "Josh Lyman" character on WW),


2. there is nothing on now that Mad Men is over for the season and Lost won't be on until January (!!)


3. my increased need for escapist entertainment during this, the busiest season of my work year


4. my neighbors, Meg & Mo (aka Two Ladies In Waiting) and Lyrical Uncertainty & his wife Muffin, blathering on about their mutual love of WW and arguing over whether a certain incident happened in season 2 or season 3


5. the fact that said neighbors have most seasons on DVD

... and you have a recipe for me becoming a hermit. I watched 5 episodes in one sitting yesterday.

Ooh! And because I love floor plans almost as much as I love maps, look what I found online:

Gotta go. Episode 10 is about to start, and The Lounging Party is waiting for me.