From Amy

Alexandra Stoddard's 10 Favorite Things
via Chicago Tribune Magazine, Sunday 25 February 2007.

1. Blue hydrangea: We have a passion for it in my family.

2. Bright white: I say "off-white" is "off."

3. The store Shanghai Tang: I have my clothes made in Hong Kong, but I love Shanghai Tang in New York.

4. Ribbons: When I was little, I got to pick my hair ribbon from my mother's collection that hung over her dressing-table mirror. I have an entire room of ribbons in my New York apartment.

5. "Letters to a Young Poet" by Rainer Maria Rilke: It makes me happier than the Bible. It speaks to me, and it is why I became a writer.

6. Chanel No. 5: It was my first perfume and I still wear it.

7. Antique French Regency Carved Fruitwood Table with a marble top: This is where I write my books. I got it in Grasse, France, in 1963. It was $285 and I could hardly afford it. I had it recently appraised for $35,000.

8. Scott Joplin: When my mother was dying she requested only peonies and Scott Joplin's music at her funeral.

9. Porthault linen elbow pillow: I use it on an airplane on the armrest and it's great to prop up a book. It's the greatest little indulgence in the world.

10. Ironing: I find it soothing to take something wrinkled and make it smooth. It feels anticipatory. It's what I do before a celebration. And nobody bothers me when I'm ironing.

Copyright ©2007, Chicago Tribune
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And [Amy's]

1. Hawaiian hibiscus. My mom grows them, colorful little pieces of the tropics in a part of the world that often goes without hues like those.2. French blue. The color of K's eyes, on a good day.

3. Sox Appeal. There used to be locations all over the Twin Cities. Great store. I wore my "How's Your Sox Life?" t-shirt until it was threadbare.

4. Necklaces, according to what I am told. Three people have informed me that I "have a lot of necklaces." Too many? The wrong ones? A notable phenomenon, anyway.5. "Going Blind" by Rainer Maria Rilke:

She sat just like the others at the table.
But on second glance, she seemed to hold her cup
a little differently as she picked it up.
She smiled once. It was almost painful.

And when they finished and it was time to stand
and slowly, as chance selected them, they left
and moved through many rooms (they talked and laughed),
I saw her. She was moving far behind

the others, absorbed, like someone who will soon
have to sing before a large assembly;
upon her eyes, which were radiant with joy,
light played as on the surface of a pool.

She followed slowly, taking a long time,
as though there were some obstacle in the way;
and yet: as though, once it was overcome,
she would be beyond all walking, and would fly.

[All love to H.M.S., for that and for everything.]

6. "Heavenly" perfume from VS. Inexpensive and 'obvious', it is my favorite of my current selections.

7. Hermes night tables from [f*cking] Ikea. They were cheap and easy to put together, and they are sturdy and they look like "real furniture." [No link because I'm still bitter about the whole Ikea experience, but they are growing on me a little bit. If they EVER managed to have an entire set of Poang chair/ottoman parts when I wanted to buy them, I would revise my opinion.]

8. Maroon 5. You don't have to play it at my funeral, but I just really like their stuff.

9. I am struggling to come up with something that I would call "the greatest little indulgence in the world." I suppose that depending upon one's perspective, much of what I do would be considered indulgent, although I would prefer to look at it as being parsimonious--I consider my options and choose to forgo one or two marginal options in order to get the best of one thing that I really do want, whether that is Republic of Tea or similar quality rather than a less well flavored tea that I would not enjoy as much, or the type of pens that write the best on the paper I prefer to use. Do I sound like a snob? I suppose that's the point of this '10 Favorite Things' exercise, so I shouldn't concern myself about it.
One thing that I pour money into without any real regard for budgeting is automatic car washing. I hate, hate, hate washing my car on my own, with the endless feeding of quarters and the wand that soaks my shoes and pants (and coat and gloves...) and the brush that always seems to be filled with chunks of someone else's goo. Even if it ends up costing a mint, I'd rather--in fact, I won't even think twice about choosing to--pop in a $5 to get the "double wash with underbody and 60-second dry". I stay in the car, I listen to the CD, I close my eyes and feel the car rocking all over hell, and I think, "Man, this is so much easier than the alternative." It's also cheaper than the $25+ that I could be paying for 'the works' at Ralph's, where there is a crew of smallish dudes scurrying around with rags, currying favor and begging tips. I do the Ralph's thing a couple of times a year because it makes the car look amazing and they do a better job of vacuuming than I could ever do, not to mention the way they clean the interior, even the little pouch around the gear shift lever. Yup, that's my dirty little secret indulgence: $5 car washes. I'm sooo bad.10. I don't iron. If there is any household activity that I find soothing, it would be vacuuming, I guess. This apartment is so small, relatively speaking, that it takes almost no time, and when it's done, it looks like it's been done. That sense of accomplishment is key.
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And, mine:

1. Real roses, from the yard. These is not my photo (remember, my camera is still dead), but I do own both vases.
I'm not a huge fan of hothouse roses. They smell like nothing and last about ten seconds.

2. Faded denim blue. Or navy. Or, frankly, almost any true blue color.

3. Hot Topic. I find myself laughing every time I walk in, and without fail the employees have been charming and friendly in every mall I've been in.

4. Earrings. I have far too many and just keep buying more. Combined, they are probably worth around $300, but $250 of that is one pair. They are clearly, mementos and souvenirs not investments.

5. Shakespeare, Sonnet 130:

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.

6. Very Sexy by Vicky's (though I still prefer Cindy Adams' Gossip, which they don't sell anymore--though I've just found it online...w00t!)

7. Our dining room table, which is a dumpster dive rescue from ScanDesigns that my dad fixed up for our wedding present. It desperately needs to be refinished, but it's still a lovely piece of furniture.

8. It is nearly impossible for me to pick one piece/style/composer of music over all the others. However, if we add "my funeral" to the equation, I'd like a bagpiper. Let him or her play whatever; I just want pipes. Beast knows this. Hope he remembers.

9. My greatest little indulgence? No contest: earplugs. They have completely changed my life. Between these things and Beast's C-PAP, I now know what it's like to sleep all the way through the night. Even if I wake up midway through the night, I'm not kept awake or forced to relocate to the basement to get away from the noise of his snoring! yee-haw
Best ones by far are the Leight Sleepers like the ones in the picture. Yes, they are not very sexy--pink and yellow in the ears--but neither is a cranky bedmate! Less than $5 for five pair, too.

10. Washing dishes relaxes me more than any other household chore. I probably wouldn't feel this way about it if I had to handwash every dish every day, however. There's just something about warm soapy water and a stacked full drainer (and a clean counter) that calms me down. In fact, I've got some dishes to do now; maybe I'll take care of them, since I'm done here.