Nora Ephron

"You do get to a certain point in life where you have to realistically, I think, understand that the days are getting shorter, and you can’t put things off thinking you’ll get to them someday. If you really want to do them, you better do them. There are simply too many people getting sick, and sooner or later you will. So I’m very much a believer in knowing what it is that you love doing so you can do a great deal of it." -Nora Ephron (via Swissmiss)

As you've likely seen or heard already, writer and director Nora Ephron died yesterday.  She was 71.  Her writing was my favorite sort of thing: funny and witty, and even though she was whip-smart and wrote for intelligent people, there was never the slightest hint that she was stuck up or trying to impress people with how brilliant she was.  She managed to write about the everyday human experience in an authentic and insightful voice that was a pleasure to read.

Some well-deserved (and of course, funny, since they quote her extensively) tributes to Nora Ephron that I've seen today:
Nora Ephron, Essayist, Screenwriter, and Director, Dies at 71, by Charles McGrath for The New York Times
Love, Loss, and Nora Ephron, by Sous Style
In Memoriam: Nora Ephron, by Habitually Chic
6 Things Nora Ephron Said About Fashion That We Will Always Love Her For, by Racked

I'll always, always love When Harry Met Sally.  What's your favorite?

(Image of Nora Ephron on the set of You've Got Mail, which she directed and co-wrote, via The New York Times, photo credit Brian Hamill/Warner Brothers.)

Ladies' lunch

I mentioned last Friday that I was going to a gathering at my friend's pool over the weekend.  As if just inviting us over to her pool wasn't enough (aren't swimming pools such a treat when you're a grown up, especially when you live in a city?), my friend Jeanne also made a fantastic lunch.  It was the perfect summer meal for a gathering of ladies.  And she swore it was easy!  If you're having friends over anytime in the near future, I highly recommend this menu. 

Panzanella

Jeanne uses Ina Garten's recipe for panzanella (from the Barefoot Contessa Parties! cookbook), which is an Italian salad of vegetables with chunks of browned bread, tossed with a vinaigrette.  (Jeanne recommends skipping the capers, and says to be careful not to burn the bread.)  It's a great summertime side.   

 

Fruit Salad

We had blueberries, strawberries, and bananas tossed together.  It was simple and delicious.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches on Croissants

These were made Trader Joe's chicken salad and croissants.  Even though they weren't super fancy, they tasted awesome and so much better than an everyday turkey on wheat.   

Pair, of course, with Diet Cokes and Skinnygirl margaritas.

(Panzanella image by James Merrell via Leite's Culinaria; strawberries by Smitten Kitchen, and chicken salad by The Moonlight & Star Cafe.)

Paris in the Park

For the Chicagoans out there: tomorrow night in Millennium Park, the Harris Theater for Music and Dance will be "simulcasting" the Paris Ballet Company's live performance of Giselle on a huge screen at the Pritzker Pavillion.  (You can read about the ballet itself here.)  

The showing is free and starts at 7:30, so bring your wine and blankets out early and stake out some space.  Prepare to be wowed.

I'll be there with some ladyfriends, having my mind blown.  Isn't ballet amazing?  

Every once in a while I end up blocking traffic on the sidewalk at the corner of State and Randolph because I'm staring up at the ballerinas practicing at the Joffrey (you can see them from the street!).   

PS: Ballerinas in slow motion, and a fascinating peek inside the closet of the National Ballet of Canada.

(Images: Les Derniers Réglages by Jean Claude Sanchez; Dane Shitagi for the Ballerina Project; The New York Times; The National Ballet of Cuba, 2001 by Isabel Munoz.) 

Glitter nail polish: yea or nay?

A silly topic to start the day:

So, I'm thirty.  I'm a lawyer.  I also kind of enjoy a glittery nail polish every now and then.

My brain tells me that this is not a good thing, but my eyes typically betray me when it comes to sparkly things.  (And it's economical!  Glitter is an excellent chip-concealing device.)

I try not to wear it to work, because "glitter nail polish" sort of screams "Elle Woods, attorney."  I also worry that the appropriate age for glitter-wearing is somewhere (far) south of thirty.  But sometimes, it's just fun, isn't it?

What say you, readers?  Harmless fun, or best left to those who still have a prom in their futures?

PS: five gold glitter polishes, and tips for getting your glitter off (it's harder than one would think!).

(Image via This is Glamorous.)

I'm . . . breezy.*

Hi everyone!  Hope you had a good weekend.  Much of mine was spent outside, enjoying the sunshine.  But every time I went to get dressed the last two days, I found myself wishing for an easy-breezy white shirt to throw on with bright shorts or white jeans.  Likely because I of course own no such thing.  Here are a couple of white summer shirts that would do nicely.

Joie Balsa Sleeveless Two Pocket Top, $128.

Joe Fresh white eyelet shell, $39.  (The bad news: Joe Fresh doesn't have e-commerce just yet.  So this is probably only available to NYC-living readers.  The good news: when I was in NYC in May, they told me that they are looking at other locations, including Chicago.  So keep on the lookout!)  You can find a similar top in red here, and a similar white top here.

Reiss Beth Technique Top, $240.  (Expensive, but the detail on this top is really beautiful.)

American Apparel Wedge Shoulder Chiffon Blouse, $48.

Miss Selfridge White Broderie Tie Top,$50.

Madewell Paper Punch Tank, $38.

Joie Felix Top, $188.

Gap Pure Racerback Tank, $24.

Topshop Basic Peplum Top, $32.

Anthropologie Ruffled Racerback, $78.

Reiss Ramona Contrast Back T-Shirt, $150.  The swiss dots on this are so pretty.

Edited at 11:45 to add: I almost forgot (well, I suppose I did in fact forget) to include this little tip, which I hope spillers like me will appreciate!  My friend who is a new mom and her mother-in-law shared this handy piece of advice with me last night: Dreft, the laundry detergent that people use for baby clothes, apparently makes a great stain spray that removes everything.  Good to know for your summer whites!  I'll be ordering mine shortly.

* In case it wasn't immediately obvious to you (i.e., you've moved on from the late-nineties), the title of this post derives from this Friends episode.

(Top image via Habitually Chic.)