Chappaquiddick Sunset

"Willie C.! Take care, man. Stay cool. Stay cool forever."

Every few months I come across the movie Beautiful Girls on television and I always watch it. It came out in 1996 and I don't remember ever hearing about it, but since then, during my absurd number of viewings, it has become one of my favorite comfort films. One of those movies I can watch over and over and I always enjoy it.

I will confess right now that a big reason for this is that the film takes place in a small New England town in winter and it is spot on. I love that everything takes place against a backdrop of near constant flurries and cold and the even the piles of old dirty snow that line the streets in certain shots make it feel like home to me.

The movie is about a group of high school buddies reconnecting for a reunion. It is a homecoming for one particular character, Willie, who now lives in New York City and makes his living as a jazz pianist in a bar. He returns home to Knight's Ridge where the rest of this group of close friends live and work...begrudgingly facing adulthood. He, too, battles with relationship and career decisions and the broader struggle of simply growing up.

Timothy Hutton is fantastic as Willie, but this film is really the definition of an ensemble. Matt Dillon, Michael Rappaport, Uma Thurman, and a young Natalie Portman round out a cast of endearingly flawed, funny, and real characters.

There are painful portraits of regret tempered with just the right amount of humor. It is like visiting with that group of good time guys from high school and seeing how it all played out- good and bad. It is nostalgic, immediate, and emotional- all that and worth the watch....every time.

Camden, ME

Image courtesy of cardcow.com

There are so many great towns in New England. I have always considered myself fortunate to have grown up here for numerous reasons and one of them was the two weeks every summer we spent in Washington, Maine. It is a tiny town about 5 hours from Boston and my mother's family had a home there, so she and her siblings alternated weeks there in the summer months.

It was two weeks of swimming in the lake, flashlight tag, gin rummy games, and for one day....a trip to Camden. Most of the 14 days we vacationed there, we were homebodies- just enjoying being in the middle of nowhere, but when we went to Camden it was about walking around the town, window shopping, and eating out. My brothers and sister and I would get so excited for this single day trip and it never disappointed. The picturesque harbor town with its variety of shops, historic buildings, and natural beauty was, and is, the idyllic New England experience.

I have only been back once since my childhood and it was in autumn with my not yet husband, but even then I continued to be enchanted. Now I am waiting for my youngest to be just a bit older and we will make that 5 hour drive to spend few days in Camden again.

If you are considering a trip to Maine, I found the site camdenmaineexperience.com and it has a list of all the events, from the Windjammer Festival to Christmas by the Sea, for 2011. It is well worth the visit...

Image courtesy of brittanica.com

Image courtesy of Boston magazine
 

Image courtesy of camdenme.org 
  Image courtesy of Boston.com

beyond the Boston Brahmin

Dear Boston,

You know how much I love you and your cobblestone streets and public gardens. I could wander all day on your city streets and never feel lost (as long as there's a Dunkin' Donuts within shouting distance and the accent of your people in the air - I know I am home). But, Boston, for so long - for so very long - you've had the rep of being old fashioned in the worst possible way. Yes, I am talking about your sense of style. 

You, old friend, are not known for being a trend setter in any way, shape, or fashion. And though you and I agree that plenty of fashionistas strut your streets, you still get called "frumpy" or "old-fashioned" or, despite your politics, "conservative" by those who don't know you intimately. But how great to hear that things are changing thanks to Beyond Boston Chic! As I'm sure you know, BBC is a blog that's been documenting some of your better dressed natives for some time now (though the blog is new to me) and sharing their style with the world.  And hasn't Beyond Boston Chic captured your fashion-forward residents beautifully? You must be so proud of her!

Anyway, missing you a little bit extra now that it's fall and you are in your prime. Promise to write back when you get a chance though, okay?

Love,

Vivi

All images via Beyond Boston Chic

a museum for nature's oddities (and beauties)

 "The Tanager genus is a testament to nature’s variety, with 50 colorful species found in North America and Australia." via wired.com

So I'm in Boston for about 10 days right now and each day is just packed to the gills. Lots of visiting with friends and family. Lots of talking about the wedding. But a lot of getting sh*t done too like finally getting my wedding dress (task accomplished with much gratitude to Lorelei for finding it on a crowded rack at Vows and for dealing with my hemming and hawing while I tried on 20 additional dresses before returning to the first).

But thank goodness there's also been some time for a little wandering too. For example, I finally made it to the Harvard Museum of Natural History and it was amazing. Owner of the world's largest egg, Vladimir Nabokov’s collection of butterfly genitalia, and the most gorgeous and intricately made collection of glass flowers you've ever seen, this museum is like nature's cabinet of curiosities. So glad I finally got to see it and if you can't make it to Cambridge, do check out the book about the museum, The Rarest of the Rare: Stories Behind the Treasures at the Harvard Museum of Natural History - with images like these - it's a coffee table must.

"As a research fellow at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology between 1942 and 1948, Nabokov specialized in the study of blue butterflies, which he classified by genitalia rather than wing patterns. His collection has been preserved intact, right down to the cigar boxes he used to store specimen vials." via wired.com

Rickeys

It is getting warmer and before long it will be raspberry lime rickey weather -I can't wait! It is a New England staple of sorts and although there are numerous variations, including those with alcohol, I love the ones that harken back to the days of drugstore soda fountains. That was before my time, but I remember my mum would order a rickey when we went for ice cream at the local Brigham's. Even though I could barely understand the complete craziness of passing up a giant sugar cone of chocolate chip for just a drink, I was intrigued. They seemed "grown-up", so when I was about 9-years-old I asked if I could have one too. I have never regretted it- now it is the refreshing, comforting, taste of childhood summers that I am so looking forward to on our next trip for ice cream....in addition to those sugar cones full of chocolate chip of course. Raspberry Lime Rickey

Ingredients

• 1 lime, quartered
• 8 fluid ounces carbonated water
• 1 (1.5 fluid ounce) jigger raspberry syrup

Instructions
1. Fill a tall glass with ice. Squeeze each of the lime wedges into glass, and drop in. Fill glass nearly to the top with carbonated water, and top with raspberry syrup.

Images courtesy of google.com

Max and Ruby

Max and Ruby, the sibling bunnies created by Rosemary Wells, are turning thirty! If you are in the New England area, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is celebrating this milestone with Ms. Wells on November 22nd from 12-5.

Max and Ruby are darling no doubt, but author/illustrator Ms. Wells is quite fascinating herself. Over the years, she has re-released many of her picture book classics, such as Noisy Nora and Timothy Goes To School, with updated illustrations. As a fan of the originals, I always thought this was interesting, but given that decades later her books are still popular favorites, she knows what she is doing! Some Max and Ruby through the years for you .....

All images courtesy of Google