This & That: No. 42

Music to enjoy, an article to contemplate, a show to make you chuckle and an essential item to add to your wardrobe . . .

~Article to Read

~”Darwin Was Wrong About Dating” – New York Times

One of my favorite sections from The New York Times is the Sunday Review which is full of opinion pieces on a wide range of topics. On January 13, Dan Slater shared an interesting challenge to what many people either prefer to believe or assume to be fact regarding the behaviors of men and women when it comes to dating. Succinctly put, he presents “the possibility that our mating behavior is less hard-wired than they had believed . . .”. A wonderful article to ponder – click here to read.

~Blog

~Pretty Chic Travel

In 2009 Stephanie Gray and Jennifer Weatherhead founded a blog focused on sharing travel and style resources for smart, stylish women. Pretty Chic Travel includes posts on specific locations, as well as ideas for a wide range of destinations, I was so happy to have stumbled across what is now one of my daily reads each morning as I am regularly figuring out ways to satiate my passion for travel.

~Music

~Pandora Carla Bruni station

Last week, Erin of Apartment 34 shared her preference for the Carla Bruni station on Pandora in a lovely post about how she and husband spend date night (click here to read). As an avid listener of Pandora with a long list of varying stations (it’s free!), I quickly added Carla Bruni’s to my list. Needless to say, I am smitten. An array of French jazz musicians tickle my ears, and currently, it is my station of choice. Thank you Erin!

~Shopping

~Reiss Hadden Big Pocket Tailored Jacket

Over the weekend, I donned the black blazer I have been hunting patiently for for a handful of years now (click here to have a look). With Reiss’s 70% off winter sale currently up and running, I pounced and purchased this tuxedo style black gem. While this style is now sold out, they have a similar more classically cut jacket still available at a wonderfully reduced price – the Hadden Big Pocket tailored jacket. As someone with long arms (I stand 5’11”) and broad shoulders, their MEDIUM fits me perfectly.

~Sur la Table glassware and whiteware sale

The kitchen facelift that I mentioned earlier this month is getting closer to being ready for its reveal, but in the meantime, I wanted to alert you to the whiteware and glassware (cookware too) sale now going on at Sur La Table. I purchased these items – here, here, here, here and here, and love their quality, simplicity and ability to serve as foundational pieces of substance.

~Television

~1600 Penn

There are very few comedies that prompt me to set my DVR, but NBC’s new Thursday night comedy 1600 Penn (airing at 9:30) is a riot of laughs. Starring Josh Gad (best known for his starring role on Broadway’s The Book of Mormon), Jenna Elfman and Bill Pullman, the composition of the modern family that inhabits the white house focuses very little on politics and more on family dynamics and navigating a myriad of dramas that arise. Writer Jon Lovett, who was a speech writer for President Obama during his first term and then senator Hillary Clinton prior to 2009, is one of the show’s creators along with Gad and Jason Winer and offers his rare insights based on first-hand experience to bring credibility to the dialogues. Also, I have always been a fan of Jenna Elfman, and her role as the first-lady and step-mother to the President’s children is a wonderful  ingredient and foil to Josh Gad’s unkempt, spontaneous, yet good-intentioned character.