Sixties on my Mind

I've been downloading more songs from the '60s lately -- that era's been in my head since I visited the Experience Music Project in Seattle in February and heard the coolest rocker-folk cover of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" in the Jimi Hendrix exhibit.

Here's that song, plus four others from the '60s/early '70s I'm listening to now:

1. Like a Rolling Stone -- Jimi Hendrix (live at Monterey Pop Festival)

2. Groovin' -- The Young Rascals

3. Wild Horses -- The Rolling Stones (interesting video of the Stones listening to this song)

4. Over the Hills and Far Away -- Led Zeppelin

5. We Gotta Get Out of This Place -- The Animals (see this spooky set!)

Dancing With The Stars

Silly. Electric. Gobs of Fun. Just. What. I. Needed. Last night rocked!

One of my best gal pals, Molly, and I went to a live taping of Dancing with the Stars, thanks to our friend Kelly who works on the show and so graciously shared her VIP tickets (thanks, Kel!).

It was just the second show of the season, and we got to see all 12 celebrities dance since the first elimination was on tonight's show.

Not only did we geek out over the dazzling ballroom dances, sequins galore and smooth male dancers, but I jammed out on the dance floor before the show when the emcee invited people down for a dance party.

Monday nights, be warned: The bar has been raised. You'd better bring it!

I Like Your Style, PDC

I hopped over to the Pacific Design Center for a cocktail party during Westweek, the center's fancy interior design and furniture industry event that happens in March.

The Ralph Pucci party unfolded in his showroom with bright white walls and a cool mix of sleek furniture and big-wow art and sculptures. A friend who manages another impressive, modern showroom invited me, and if I didn't know any better, I would have sworn I was at an art party in New York.

Observation #1: This design crowd does not mess around when it comes to chic and daring, even sometimes puzzling, dressing.

Suit cuts and shirt patterns say loads about a man's aesthetic tastes, and a bold necklace can be a roaming piece of art. Me? I threw on colbalt blue tights with a gold dress and figured my color-blocking was a tad design-y.

Observation #2: I appreciate how this crowd takes pleasure in itsy-bitsy things that may seem insignificant to most -- the poetic curve of this table, the lushness of that midnight blue velvet, the irony of that painting. Life's more enjoyable when you seek and appreciate the pleasures all around you.

Observation #3: If a seemingly plain beige rug is laying on the ground in one of these showrooms, don't step on it. It's actually a vertically-challenged piece of art and likely costs $15k plus. Shoe marks aren't desirable here!

PDC, I like your style. I will be back!

* The dramatic entrance

* Retro-cool entrance lights. Yes, please!

* These chairs are fab!

Misadventures in Cross-Stitching

I decided I need more hobbies, things to do and explore beyond work. Naturally, I went out and bought a beginner's cross-stitch pattern so I could tap into my burgeoning arts & crafts prowess.

Easier. said. than. done!

I stiched my first 10 squares that was the starting point for my cute cupcake pattern before realizing I had threaded my needle with three full yellow threads instead of much tinier, individual strands per the directions. So when it came time to cross-stitch back over those 10 squares, it was near impossible to pull my needle chock-a-block with thread through the fabric.

"Man, this is a great forearm workout," I thought as I tried to yank and jam the needle through the other side of the damn fabric.

And then my mistake dawned on me, and all I could do was laugh -- the cupcake cross-stitch kit is labeled "for kids ages 8+."

* The thick, full threads that I had used instead of individual strands

* My first row of 10 yellow squares bursting with too much thread

Rainy Saturday Morning

It's a rainy Saturday morning, and guess what? I like it.

Not only since it's Saint Patrick's Day, but because it's cozy in here and so lush and somber out yonder.

Hot cocoa, yes please.

Buzz, Buzz, Buzzzz....

Here I am playing cool in my protective suit, just before meeting the Italian honeybees at Carmel Valley Ranch.

Full Disclosure: I was nervous!

I visited this cool,summer camp-inspired resort a few weeks ago for work, where as part of the beekeeping experience I was schooled in the fascinating lives of bees and then spied on them in the apiary, or bee yard.

It was like magic -- the beekeeper lifted a wooden slab from a white structure concealing a hive, and I witnessed masses of bees depositing pollen balls into the honeycomb, harvesting honey, talking, and even the birth of a baby bee. Upon poking through the protective layer coating the comb, the newborn bee used her wobbly legs for the very first time.

And they were so well-behaved. The bees were quiet and carrying on as we peeked into their little world.

This experience reminds me you can't always judge a book by its cover -- people, places, ideas, and bees, they can surprise you if you let them...

A Day at the Museum

Last weekend I caught up with my friend, Ashley, over some art at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena.

The whole experience of walking and talking through a museum brought me back to studying art history in Paris, and the excitement of connecting meanings and movements at museums around the City of Light.

I really enjoyed the Norton Simon's French Impressionist works -- colorful, textured paintings from the likes of Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, Degas, Cezanne, Gauguin. Plus realist works from Manet and Ingres that made you wonder what the faces were thinking, and bronze sculptures from Rodin.

We stood a few feet from Degas' seminal "Little Dancer" sculpture with a fraying tutu, though I'm not sure it's the original since I had discovered that a reproduction even commands the Musee D'Orsay in Paris.

The contemporary art section popped with bright, witty works from Picasso, as well as paintings from Henri Matisse, Georges Braque and Diego Rivera. Abstract expressionism held court with one or two fantastical drip paintings from Jackson Pollack, whom I love and learned about after becoming intrigued by this art movement by way of Kurt Vonnegut's Bluebeard.

Below, I'm taking in the biggest painting there -- a colossal abstract work from California artist Sam Francis. And, of course, I had to include a Picasso that was on display. He's simply genius...

Valentine's Day in March

The green rah-rah of St. Patrick's Day is almost here, but I'm thinking back to Valentine's Day this morning.

Thanks for your sweet card, grams and gramps -- it still makes me smile!

I'm one lucky gal to have you in my corner.