Tag: refined

Friday fun and frivolity, plus March Madness and sporting event etiquette

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Happy Friday readers! Today is a good day for a little fun and relaxation to help ease into the weekend. First, let’s all take a moment to stop and smell the wildflowers:

 

Wildflowers!

 

Springtime in Texas is synonymous with wildflowers. We happened upon these while taking a walk in the neighborhood yesterday. We are not very good at identifying plant life, but we think this is Showy Evening Primrose or Oenothera speciosa.

Readers who know something about flowers, please feel free to weigh in or correct our guess.

What we do know is that we love wildflower season and will enjoy it while it lasts.

Next, we ran across something the other day that we think is not only a hoot, but also rather ingenious. The Garden & Gun Southern Food Bracket. Click here to see how your favorites foods and flavors fare during this entertaining (and hunger inducing) take on March Madness. We are pulling for pulled pork barbecue.

Regarding the real March Madness, for the record, the Re-find gang bleeds blue — Kentucky blue! The University of Kentucky Wildcats will battle it out against the Ohio State Buckeyes (it hurts to type that school’s name and mascot). We’ll do our best to be on our best behavior during the game and to practice good sportsmanship, but sporting event etiquette is a bit tricky, given smack talk is not only acceptable, but also expected. That said, always keep it friendly.

Have a great weekend and GO CATS!

Cheers!

 

Q: Do I give a hostess gift at dinner out?

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Hello readers and happy Wednesday!

Recently, a reader asked if, when meeting her boyfriend’s parents for the first time, she should give a hostess gift at dinner out or wait until the dinner party moved back to their home.

In this situation, it’s appropriate to wait until going home, because unless the gathering is, for example, a birthday or anniversary celebration one wouldn’t bring a gift to a restaurant dinner.

Next, we brainstormed on a few hostess gift ideas for the return to the parent’s house. Here’s a list that will work not only in this situation, but any time you need to bring a gift. We recommend keeping a few of these items on hand for last-minute or “emergency” giving.

A host or hostess gift is a simple gesture of thanks in advance. A bottle of wine is a fast and easy classic, but if your hosts are teetotalers or you are feeling creative, consider the following simple and thoughtful gifts.

For her we recommend “fancy” guest soaps (we love Anthropologie for these, but one can find lovely soaps at nearly every department store, gift shop, drug store and sometimes even at the supermarket).

Most of us can never have too many tea towels or linen napkins. We found these cute little numbers at the Girlscantell shop on Etsy.com:

Coffee lover flour sack tea towels, $20 for set of two, image courtesy Girlscantell

For him, you might need to get a little craftier, so we decided that a single-handed salt and pepper mill might do the trick. Or a professional corkscrew with foil cutter, which we found at Sharper Image for $39.95.

A tasty item that anyone would love is Bella Cucina Walnut Sage and Pumpkin Spice pesto, $12:

Image courtesy Bella Cucina

The Bella Cucina olive oil is also divine. We love all things lavender and Becker Vineyards in Stonewall, Texas has it. Get lavender bouquets, room spray, body scrub, soap and everything else you can imagine made out of the fragrant purple flower at 830-664-2681 or www.beckervineyards.com.

Finally, a shameless plug for Re-find’s new gift shop. Click here to learn more about the Store. Today, we’re featuring the Le Cafe notecards, because you may just want to send a thank you card to the host and hostess after the lovely dinner out or at their home.

Le Cafe mug and notecards

With these gifts (and a thank you note), you’ll be invited back in no time.

Cheers!

More Re-find …

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Hello gentle readers. My, it has been far too long since we last blogged. But, as you may have noticed, we’ve undergone a little renovation of sorts. Re-find now has a fancy new logo:

Oooh, ahhh, logo love

Plus, we’ve added several new pages, including “Ask Melanie” for all of your burning etiquette and style questions; “Style,” which covers the meaning of refined style, both inside and out; “Services,” where you can learn about personal styling consultation and how to book Melanie Spencer to speak to your group; “Philanthropy,” because there is nothing more charming or stylish than giving back; and “Store,” which is where you can buy Re-find merchandise.

Please take a look around and, as always, let us know what you think.

In other news, we recently visited a cozy cocktail lounge in Houston and just have to share a few photos with you, because this bar exemplifies simple elegance, with a healthy dose of hip. Enjoy this little photo tour of Leon’s Lounge (1006 McGowen St.), owned by Under the Volcano owners Pete and Vera Mitchell.

Leon's Lounge in Midtown, Houston

Front window display

Black and white checked tile and carved wood barChandelier detail

Beautiful stained glass window in bar area

Seating area in room off of main bar

Menu coming soon, but until then, you can have a snack

We hope you enjoyed the tour. Cheers!

We see London, we see France … gasp!: Part II

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Let us start this post by saying we are not prudes. We think that if a lady has lovely legs, she should be all means play up that asset. However, we do not think she should play them up so much that we see her, well — um — assets. Know what we mean?

Recently, we were in Austin and met a few friends downtown on the famed Sixth Street. Normally, we are not into Sixth Street shenanigans, but we felt game this particular evening and so, we joined the party.

As the evening wore on, we noticed more and more young ladies flowing into the establishment and it seemed as each one arrived, we saw more and more leg and more and more breast and … well yes, it began to resemble KFC up in that club.  

Most — and we feel confident saying most, because trust us, we were in the covered minority — of the “dresses” were so short in fact, we were afraid that after one or two of the questionable “dance moves” of the women, we might see something no one expects to see outside of certain gentleman’s clubs.

Ladies and gentlemen, we don’t know any other way to say it, please for the love of sweet Pete, cover your chocha! We assure you, the quality of humans you attract might be of a higher caliber if the junk in your trunk is appropriately clothed and you won’t have to worry about Dad having a heart attack because he just saw said junk in a “Girls Gone Wild” DVD commercial.

Cheers and happy Monday!

M

Need closure? Try (almost) custom shirts

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Whether your cup size runneths over or not, you’ve probably dealt with a gaping, pulling or boxy and too short/long button up shirt. Recently, we discovered Rebecca & Drew, a store that makes and sizes its shirts according to height, waist and bust size.

Custom tailoring is of course nothing new and we’ve beaten you over the head advocated having clothing altered for years. But this is revolutionary. This will save us so much time and possibly cash, which we can now spend on buying and drinking wine volunteerism and our retirement fund.

Rebecca & Drew is based in New York, but there is a location in Houston and you can purchase online. We recommend visiting a location if possible for a proper fitting, because as we learned, you may need to try on several sample shirts moving up and down in waist size and cup size until you find the perfect fit. Also, pricing differs according to the area in which you live. For example, the shirt dress we are obsessing over admiring is $250 out of New York and $165 from the Houston location. 

Houston readers can find the local store, owned by the delightful Lindsay Aronstein, who was patient and helpful beyond words, at 2015-D West Gray in the River Oaks Shopping Center. UPDATE: Austin readers, Lindsey is planning a trunk show in the coming weeks, so check back for details.

So, today’s takeaway: Splurge now for the right fit, so that later, you aren’t — er — falling (out) all over your friends, family and acquaintances.

Cheers!

M

Table this discussion: Salt and pepper’s here!

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When it comes to dining, there are of course scores of rules designed to keep things civilized and to make life easier on those who are gathered around the table. One of the first things we remember learning as a wee tot was not to “divorce the salt and pepper.” It’s easy to remember and it prevents losing track of one or the other among the rest of the tableware.

That said, we are big fans of Fiesta and with its bright colors, it’s nearly impossible to miss. Check out these cute little green shakers ($14. 99 on the Dinnerware USA website:

Photo courtesy Dinnerware USA

We own a vintage set, but ours don’t match, because we are cheeky. Or because someone divorced the salt and pepper. Sigh.

So, from our table to yours, cheers!

M

Being kind on the run

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Is it already Tuesday? Please forgive us for leaving you high-and-dry yesterday, but we are still running around like lunatics catching our breath from the whirlwind hold onto your hats fun working road trip to Mobile, Ala. for the LoDa Art Walk. Pardon the shameless self promotion, but click here if you’d like to see photos of the show.

As mentioned, we were in Mobile, Ala. for a few days for the art walk. While there, we also had a grueling refreshing walk of the exercise variety, in which we arose at the indecent  early bird hour of 6:45 a.m. The reason we bring this up is not only to pat ourselves on the back for keeping up our fitness regime, but also to relay that the other morning walkers, bikers, joggers and dog walkers — literally every single one of them — bid us a good morning or a quick hello upon passing.

Wow.

It was such an unexpected treat and such a gentile way to start the day, we almost completely forgot about having risen so early in the middle of the night morning. We may even conduct an experiment to see if Texans are that friendly in the early hours. Maybe.

Cheers!

M

Simple, yet elegant pleasures: fine chocolates

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Today we have another installment of our new regular feature, ”Simple, yet elegant pleasures.” As mentioned in the last “Simple” post, when it comes to living with style and class, one doesn’t have to spend a lot of money. In fact, some of the simplest, most elegant pleasures in life are inexpensive or free.  

Today’s pleasure: fine chocolates. 

For a few dollars, you can enjoy the bliss that is biting into a sinfully creamy piece of chocolate. We prefer the dark variety, but feel free to go with milk or even white, if that’s how you roll. Some of our favorite chocolates are:

Lindt Lindor Truffles: ($15 for a 19 ounce bag and worth every penny) These delicious Swiss truffles feature a hard chocolate shell with a creamy chocolate center that literally melts in your mouth. They are so rich, you’ll likely only ever want one at a time, so the bag will last and last.

Photo courtesy Lindt

Godiva: One can of course never go wrong with Godiva, which is Belgian chocolate.  The Dark Chocolate Lovers Tasting Set (below) is $20 regular price (on sale as of the date of this post for $15), but you can grab a single bar at most grocery stores, as well as book sellers, gift shops and on and on. We like to buy a big bar, wrap it up and give it as a hostess gift to other chocolate lovers.

Photo courtesy Godiva

Dove: This unassuming American chocolate (yes, sometimes America gets chocolate right). We love the Promises chocolate squares, because they are small, but decadent and each individually wrapped piece has a little message on the inside of the wrapper.

Grab and go bags and bars are fabulous and convenient, but to kick your chocolate experience up a notch (Bam! Emeril would be proud), visit your local chocolatier. The sights, the aromas and meeting your chocolate maker are all part of the fun.

Once you have chocolate in hand, we recommend you rent “Chocolat” and enjoy a little eye candy with your candy (we heart Johnny Depp and not just because he’s from our home state of Kentucky).

Image courtesy IMDB.com

Cheers!

M

Hail to the Chief

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President Barack Obama visited Austin, Texas on Monday (click here to read the Austin American-Statesman story). Whether you are a Republican, Libertarian, Democrat, Tea Party member Independent or otherwise, a presidential visit is a big deal. 

Many friends and acquaintances of Re-find covered or were otherwise present for a variety of reasons during the President’s arrival at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, the speech at the University of Texas and other stops on the trail.

Official White House photo of speech at UT by Pete Souza

(Click here to see more photos and get some behind the scenes scoop of the President’s visit by our former colleague and award-winning photographer Jay Janner)

One friend mentioned that the arrival was very well-organized and that even the protesters were well-behaved — until the President whisked past the masses in his motorcade. The friend reports that obscene gestures were made at the President.

It hurts to type those words.

We honestly never thought we’d have to do the following, but as it seems people are raised by wolves, we’ve compiled a list of presidential Do’s and Don’ts. This time, the Don’ts come first:

Don’t

Flip off the President. Ever. Even if you don’t like his or her party, policies, personality or person. For the love of God, just don’t do it.

Yell obscenities at the President. Even if you are protesting his or her party, policies, personality or person. You’ll likely get more attention for your cause if you are courteous, thoughtful, accurate and well-informed.

Do

Respect the office and maybe even the person. It is the understatement of all understatements to say that being President of the United States of American is not an easy job.

To quote Sigmund Freud, “Civilized society is perpetually menaced with disintegration through this primary hostility of men towards one another.”

To make progress in our society, further the causes we hold dear and create real, lasting and meaningful change, we must learn to speak calmly, learn to listen, refrain from name-calling, treat one another with respect — especially when we disagree — and, most importantly, overcome any and all urges to flip the President the bird.

Cheers!

M

Napkin 101

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Normally, we try to avoid manual labor on Sunday, but yesterday we were overcome with the urge to iron the linen napkins and tea towels. Perhaps because they had just been laundered and were looking pitifully wrinkled in a pile on the dining room table, begging to be starched and pressed. We obliged and are feeling quite pleased with ourselves.

Voila!

Freshly starched and pressed linen napkins and tea towels

Much better. Now we can rest easy. What do napkins have to do with etiquette? Well, there are a few rules of thumb regarding napkins that we thought we’d review.

Do

Fold your napkin and half with the fold toward you on your lap upon sitting down to a meal.

Leave it on your chair (not on the table or on your plate) if you have to excuse yourself from the table, then place it back in your lap upon your return.

Place it unfolded, but not wadded up next to your plate or in front of you on the table when you are finished dining.

Place it unfolded on your lap during afternoon tea, during a shower or another type of gathering with heavy hors d’oeuvres served buffet style or where you’ll be seated in a living room or away from a dining table.

Don’t

Put it on the table until you are finished with your meal.

Throw it on your plate.

Wad it up.

Tuck it into your shirt.

There you have it, Napkin 101. Bon apetit!

Cheers!

M