Sunday 24 July 2011

Year of Style - July

This month's theme is 'Summer Chic'.  I would be in heaven if I had chic any time of year, but for some of us, summer is an especially difficult time.  So here are my favourite of Frederic's hints:

Think about getting a great wash-and-wear cut.  He says that this is the definition of a really good haircut, actually, that it doesn't need much styling at all.  Can't say I've had that many of these, can you?

Got a new haircut and hate it?  Change the color of your lipstick.  A brighter shade will bring out the character of your face and make the cut less important.  Thankfully, I've not had very many of these either.  That said, perhaps this is the trick when I'm long overdue for a cut...

Keep a pair of scissors in your glove compartment to cut wildflowers along the roadside (but be sure to leave some for others).  I have a fat picture of me telling Bill to pull over so I can cut some flowers, but it's a lovely idea all the same.  Maybe you still have a car...not that I really miss it that much.  Mind, since reading this I've been eyeing some of the weeds I pass on my walks!

Grow basil in a pot all summer long by keeping it on a sunny windowsill and watering it often.   When we were visiting Norma I had to admire to beautiful purple basil plant out on her deck. 

When the temperature rises, simplify, simplify.  You don't have to get 'dressed up' to have style.  Some of the best style advice I've seen is from the Small Notebook, her three piece ruleBrilliantly simple.

Make Turkish-style grilled chicken, marinated in yogurt and fresh cumin seeds.  I wonder if old cumin seeds would suffice?

Make Moroccan iced tea by mixing mint tea with orange juice; serve over ice and use orange slices for garnish.  Norma told me one of her favourite drinks was an 'Arnie Palmer':  half iced tea, half lemonade.  Bill's always turned his nose up at iced tea, but our welcome basket in California included bottles of cool green tea and all the sudden he's a convert.    Yea!

4 comments:

Pauline Wiles said...

Thank you... I'll be checking out the Small Notebook link and the Moroccan iced tea sounds wonderful.

Anonymous said...

I think I am long overdue for one of those wash & wear cuts. I am trying to imagine life without a car...

Rick Stone said...

Unfortunately it would be impossible to exist here in Oklahoma without a car. Mine was in the shop all last week and I was starting to have withdrawals. The only good thing is we do have two cars so I was not afoot the entire day each day.

As for a wash & wear cut, there is a benefit of having a hairline like Bill and myself. ;->

Shelley said...

Rick - Bill often complains that people don't appreciate the advantages of hair properly: it protects the skin on the head from some injuries and some sunburn and is good at catching sweat before it runs into one's face. But I envy him the far shorter time it takes to make himself presentable. Not that I'm prepared to give up my head protection, you understand. I appreciate why you say that it's not possible to do without a car - or access to a car - in most of Oklahoma. I do wonder if some of the very new or very old areas might not lend themselves to being without. Mom never drove, so of course we managed for years with one car, but then I could walk to school, to the library, the Y and to the Safeway (now a Wal*Mart). In Jr High I had to get the bus, but once when I missed it I did manage the 2-3 mile walk home though it was further than I usually walked. That said, my best friend and I used to walk around all day with our dogs and our little transistor radios - barefoot even. I remember loads of stickers, though. Weren't we silly?