I just simply could not leave you for the weekend without a music recommendation. I learned about the snazzy English band Captain when I read they were going to open for Keane (not that I was able to go to the concert). Their up beat tempos can be a bit deceiving as their lyrics are sometimes a little bit dark. See if you notice. Rich in sound, quirky and interesting.
All right, for real this time, have a lovely weekend!
xo, Cindy
Photo Credit : Last.fm
Dear Miss Cerutti + Miss Wolf:
It's been awhile since we've been in your elementary school classes, but we haven't forgotten either of you. As is customary with each new school year, we wanted to show you some of the things we did on our summer vacation, which reflects stuff you taught us.
Physical Fitness
Exercise
Hmmm ... shouldn't you put the pin in? Is that your Robert DeNiro face? You wanna' piece a me?
Dodge Ball Revenge
We profusely apologize for the poor image quality with this one. Scott was quaking in his kicks at the thought of the g-force that would be expended in his direction should that ball explode.
Swings - weee!
They sure make the seats a lot smaller and lower to the ground these days. Scott isn't allowed to jump from the swing after the last time he fell down and went boom.
Lunch
What's cookin' good lookin'?
Nutrition 101 covered all three major food groups:
carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
Pizza has vegetables
We were a little bit scared during this meal. A man kept looking in our direction. It seemed like he might tip over. He approached our table while we were in mid-bite. Was he going for our pizza? Bad idea. No, he said that Cindy looked like Laura Bush and he adored her, Laura that is. You taught us to never speak to strangers and we didn't.
Strawberry ice cream has milk and fruit
A yummy trifecta of carbs, fats and proteins.
Playtime
Ralph Lauren's Tree House
Amazing to see this in the store, so we took the stairs.
Gold Medal Swimming
Scott pretended to be Michael Phelps - watch me, watch me! Actually, he had to swim back and forth several times because it didn't occur to Cindy to change the camera setting to continuous in order to capture this action shot - oops.
Recess
All that swimming made us put our heads down and ask the clouds to temporarily turn off the sun.
Someone tried to escape, but was grabbed by the leg.
Class Play
The Farm
We created a play that took place on a farm in the 1700s. Doesn't our set look authentic? Psych, it's the Home Sweet Home Museum.
Props
The hat was purchased years ago from Edna Mae's Millinery in Newport, Rhode Island. The dress was a rare fashion find from Target and similar to one sold by J. Crew for a lot more dough.
CostumeWe couldn't find Scott a snazzy hat that fit him, so it was a one women play. 
Why so serious?I really need to exhale already - can you hurry up? Plus, this sepia tone is adding 10 years to my face. Blink and this photo might be gone!
Method smiling
This is supposed to be like Cindy's in a cornfield. More like a field of ornamental grasses next to the pool. There were cornfields available, but we're averse to buckshot and dirt, so we improvised.
School Pictures
Time to get serious and clean up for our class pictures.
Stop squirming!
Ok, we'll be good now and act our ages - not!
One final message for each of you:
Miss Cerutti
You were Cindy's second grade teacher and beautiful enough to be on Mad Men. But, was it really necessary to write on her report card that she "talked to much in class"? She became really shy, and now, we're all paying for it.
Miss Wolf
You were Scott's fourth grade teacher and very nice. But, did you misspell the word "bully" on his report card. Didn't you really intend to reference his astrological sign, which is Taurus, the Bull?
See you next year. Write back soon.
Very truly yours,
Cindy B + Scott
PS Have a happy and safe weekend everyone! We'll be keeping an eye on Gustav as it seems to be heading for our friends down in the Gulf Coast. See you in September. xo
He: "I thought those independent auditors from a top 5 accounting firm would never leave!"
She: "Oh brother, we used Random.org, which is probably more reliable. Ok, you say it while I make the drum roll sound."
He: "Megan is the lucky winner of our 100th post giveaway and she is Queen of the Day!"
She: "Sweet! Thank you to everyone for your lovely and encouraging comments, and for joining us in our barrel of monkeys."
He: "We're heading off to the beach for one last summer fling and will be taking a brief interlude from quaint handmade as we're kind of sick of ourselves and our stuff. Having said that, our plan is to have some creative self-portraits when we get back as we're still searching for props."
She: "Ho ho ho ho ho ho - HOLD IT!"
He: "What?"
She: "You know what I would think if I just read that?"
He: "Tell me [can I stop her?]."
She: "Two words - Plastic Surgery! That's what people do, they go away for a week."
He: "No way. [thinking] We better offer up some proof so people can compare down the road."
She: "No! I don't have anything interesting. I wanted to do something like Tim Walker (link goes to his amazing portfolio). Mysterious, so the blogarazzi doesn't get us. See?
He: "Whoa, I'm not dressing up that much. Come on, it's just like pulling off a band aid."
She: "Well, o-k. Here are some photos of us to use as a benchmark in case everything on our faces suddenly shifts upwards. Just keep in mind that these are "natural" shots. I only had under eye concealer beneath one eye and Scott was sleepy, all day."
He: "It's hard to see, they're so small."
She: "Really ;)? Wishing y'all a happy weekend, Monday, Tuesday ... you get the picture. See you on the other side of our little break, but I'll be checking your blogs - can't get rid of me that easily."Props : Crown, Bellochio + Rose, Suili
Recently, my wallflower self has been encouraged to get up on stage and accept a couple of awards for quaint. The Arte de Pico award comes from the uber-creative Ellia of Greenbeanbaby Art. And then, Laura of the always interesting Quirkology and Monica of the beautiful M & Co awarded us with the Brilliante Weblog award. Thank you so much for the honors ladies as you all never fail to inspire us!
Monica's award involved some questions, so here we go with a rebel yell as I kind of re-interpret the rules. Scott is supposed to answer them on his own and it will be interesting to see if there is any overlap. Should be ;).
What are the last 3 things you purchased?
* Waves prints from Mav & Lena
* Damask Wooden Gocco Postcard from Krissy
* Patchwork Linen Tape from Rashida
What are the last three songs you downloaded?
* Bess Rogers - Decisions Based On Information, album
* The Kooks - Shine On, video
* Jon McLaughlin - Beating My Heart - love this!
What were the last three places you visited?
* Brooklyn, The Bronx & Queens all in the same day
* East Hampton, NY
* Cape May, NJ
What are your three favorite movies?
This is hard as we love to watch movies, but these popped into my head right away.
* Bullitt
* Rear Window
* Finding Nemo, but Wall-e might replace the fish
What are your three favorite possessions?
* Wedding ring
* Vintage sterling silver & enamel collection
* Membership card to the New York Botanical Garden
What three things can you not live without (other than family and friends)?
* iPod
* Television
* Cosy bed
What would be your three wishes?
* World love
* Good health all around
* Perform on stage with a favorite band, or any band for that matter
What are three things you haven't done yet?
* Traveled to California (04.09?), Japan, Italy, Scandinavia
* Adopted a dog
* Picked winning lottery numbers, but this one won't matter if I get my three wishes first
What are your three favorite dishes?
* Almost anything Scott makes for me, which is a lot
* Ice Cream
* My Mom's homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs
What three celebrities do you want to hang out with most?
I'm a jaded New Yorker, so don't really give a hoot, but there are a few exceptions.
* Kelly Jones, Stereophonics
* Pia Jane Bijkerk (changed from Kate Spade after thinking about it on the subway this morning)
* Steve McQueen back in the 1960s
Name three things that freak you out?
* Being scared
* Dirt on me, I wouldn't last 15 minutes on Survivor
* Snakes
Name three unusual things you are good at
* I've never lost a sock doing laundry
* Figuring out things without the directions. Actually, I'm not sure I'm good at it, but just prefer to do it that way.
* I'm very observant and will notice a message/details that might go unnoticed.
What are three things you are currently coveting?
* Nikon SLR
* Beach House
* 20/20 vision
Name three bloggers you are tagging and giving a "Brilliante Weblog" award to and seven for the "Arte de Pico" award.
* Making these choices is too much pressure because everyone who visits this blog is a Superstar.
* I'm not sure people want to be tagged and I don't want to be annoying.
* So, if you haven't received these awards yet, consider yourself awarded by me. Yay!
Note: Jen B of the Polaroid-filled Scissors Paper Glue and lovely Michelle of Cicado Studios have taken the baton and accepted their Arte de Pico and Brilliante Blog awards. Hurray!
xo, Cindy
Slim Aarons
In order to be fair, we have moved on to bands that include guys, although the lead singers are still girls - haha. I'm thinking about the book A Wonderful Time: An Intimate Portrait of the Good Life, by Slim Aarons with these music picks. One thing I learned about his photography was that he never used a stylist or makeup artist - he only worked with the "beautiful" people so I guess they didn't need any, or had their own.
Note: Slim Aarons' daughter Mary stumbled upon our blog today and left the following comment on the 100th post entry -
"I am Slim Aarons' daughter...and true...he never did work with a stylist. He was his own stylist. The beautiful people he shot were "styled" by him. He'd move flower pots around, rearrange furniture, have women re-style their hair, choose different outfits than the ones they wanted to wear etc. He choreographed every single shot he took!"
That was cool and shows how differently many photographers work today with entire teams of specialists.
Now, on to the music. These bands have a very cool vibe reminiscent of Palm Springs or Monte Carlo in the 1970s and are great listens to extend the waning days of summer. I only write about music in my library, so please share bands you know who fit the bill. Enjoy!
Beaumont
I first heard the UK-band Beaumont from their cd for kate spade. Laid back 1960's-style cocktail music. Uber-cool. 
Ivy
The New York trio called Ivy features Parisian-born singer Dominique Durand in combo with the chiming guitars and rich arrangements of Andy Chase and Adam Schlesinger.
Pink Martini
Portland, Oregon-based Pink Martini is a 12-piece orchestra that offers a language lesson in English, Spanish, Italian and Japanese. I don't always know what they're singing about, but their robust beats more than make up for it and set the tone.
xo, Cindy
Photo Credit : Other than the first one, Last.fm
I think our 15 minutes of fame are just about over as our computer cabinet was featured on Apartment Therapy Unplggd yesterday! Very cool, but seeing those photos so large has convinced me that I need to get a tripod. Thank you so much Sondra!
xo, Cindy
