If Carrie Bradshaw were a museum curator, then her ideal exhibit would be the latest show at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, The Golden Age of Couture.

From the Frist’s website:

The Frist is the only venue in the United States that will host The Golden Age of Couture as it travels the globe, so get yourself down there and catch it before it leaves in September. I was lucky enough to attend the preview last night, and it is simply splendid. As if haute couture wasn’t reason enough to visit the Frist, you can still see the Chihuly exhibit through January 2. Dale Chihuly is a wizard of a glass artist whose creations are a fantastical explosion of color, texture, and form.

All this glamour and glass is a steal at $10 per ticket. What are you waiting for?

For the next several months, you can also catch Chihuly at Cheekwood and at the Symphony.

I’m going to leave this one to our friends at Nashvillest because, well, I couldn’t have said it better myself.

From Nashvillest:

Best Idea Ever: Adults-Only Nights and the Adventure Science Center.

No, no, not that kind of adults-only. But we kind of want to kiss whoever came up with the brilliant idea of a 21+ evening at the Adventure Science Center. No longer will we be the weird adults using the toys while the kiddos wait. No longer do we have to fear crushing a child in the poop chute. No longer will 10-year-olds point and laugh as we try to wiggle into a harness for gravity-free moonwalking.

The Adventure Science Center will open after-hours (7-10pm) on both June 24 and July 27 for an adults-only Way Late Play Date, and the $15 pricetag on admission includes two very adult beverages and some maybe-or-maybe-not-adult munchies. Or you can grab an adult date and get a pair of tickets for only $25! Tickets can be purchased online in advance.

If there’s one thing I love collecting, it’s dishes. Especially saucers. When I go thrifting I bring home stacks of mismatched saucers to use as party plates. They are the perfect size for appetizers or desserts. Each one is different, but in a collection they are whimsical, cute, and really invite my guests’ curiosity. The best part is you can pick them up for about 45 cents at thrift stores. Here’s a sampling of some cute little dishes I brought home this weekend:

What are some of your favorite thrifting finds?

When I first moved to Nashville there was a local grocery delivery service that won my heart. I ordered regularly and felt a deep sense of satisfaction as I pointed and clicked my way down that virtual grocery aisle. The food was always fresh and delicious, but the best part was I never had to leave home. They brought the groceries to me. Sadly, I think this service was ahead of it’s time for this particular community. They delivered their last goods even before the economy tanked and I’ve missed them ever since.

Enter Alice. Based on the same concept of shopping for goods without leaving home and no matter where you live, Alice.com will keep you stocked full of toilet paper, plastic wrap, cat litter, air freshener, chewing gum– all those mundane things you only think about when you run out. What’s not to love about Alice? Aside from a website that’s swimming in cuteness, Alice allows you to manage your list of home essentials, offers free shipping on all your orders, and will remind you to reorder based on a schedule that you create. I’m sold!

Oh, and there’s an added bonus. The Alice community has a lovely little blog with posts about the new iphone App, new products, and even repurposing household items. Did you know you can take on of these:

And turn it into one of these:

What are you waiting for? Go ask Alice!!

Happy New Year!

Let’s start 2010 off right– with a sale. Textile Fabrics, that oh-so-awesome-yet-prohibitively-pricey fabric store, is making our dreams come true with a 40-75% off sale event beginning Monday, January 4th. Appease your inner crafter with scores of fabric for those winter projects. See you there!

It’s like going to Sundance right in your own home town. On Thursday, January 28, 2010 the Belcourt Theater here in Nashville plays host to the Sundance Film Festival USA Project in which 8 theaters across the country screen official film festival selections. Tickets are on sale right now! The Belcourt will screen “The Extra Man” starring Kevin Kline, Paul Dano, Katie Holmes, John C. Reilly, and Celia Weston. See you there.

What a week it’s been! The hubs took sick with the flu last Monday and I’ve been guiding him back to health since then. Between trips to the pharmacy and daily soup runs there’s not much time for blogging. I can’t complain, though, as he’s just about the cutest and most fun sick person there is. For that I am grateful.

In honor of Joe’s recovery and to celebrate Thanksgiving, I’ve made a list of ten things I am grateful for and celebrate in my life. Enjoy!

10 Things I’m Grateful For:

1.  My hubs. The best companion a girl could have. Period.
2.  My house, an adorable little cottage located on the best block, surrounded by the best neighbors in the best neighborhood in town.
3.  Hot soup that’s made fresh daily at the organic market in my neighborhood. There is little better on a cold day than Buffalo Chicken Soup.
4.  Snuggly blankets on a chilly night.
5.  Four seasons. And living in a climate that lets me experience them all. Blossoms, slip n slides, fall leaves, and hibernation are things I look forward to from one season to the next.
6.  The guy at MacAuthority who helped me find what I was looking for today.
7.  Google. I really don’t know what I’d do without it.
8.  My ability to manifest and create whatever I desire for my life at any time.
9.  Hearing the train early in the morning and late at night. It’s never loud enough to wake me, but if I’m already awake, I get a thrill out of knowing it’s there.
10. Travel. And the freedom to pick up and leave whenever I want… and the important things I learn along the way.

There’s my list. What are you grateful for this year? Today? Right now?

It’s not every day a girl gets to meet one of her heroes.

Some of you may remember my trip to Berkeley last August when I was lucky enough to dine at Chez Panisse, the famed Alice Waters restaurant (another of my personal heroes). It was on that same trip that I visited Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant and became a true believer in the magic of French Wine. Just minutes away from Napa and I fall wholeheartedly in love with the imports. Thank you, Kermit.

An obscure name among the mainstream, Kermit Lynch is a pioneer in the world of wine. A living legend, actually. Kermit is credited for changing America’s palette by introducing us to the pleasures of French wine beginning in the 1970s with his Berkeley retail shop and progressing on to importing and distributing wine nationally. He’s a celebrated author and winner of several prestigious French and American wine awards, but what brought Kermit to Nashville tonight was music. He’s recorded and released his second album, having been a musician since the 1960s. Gastronomy guru (and super nice guy), Jeremy Parzen offers a rather eloquent synopsis of Kermit’s musical journey here.

Wednesday night when most of Nashville was all abuzz with CMA events, I was happy to spend two hours at a Listening Party at one of my favorite venues, The Basement, for none other than Kermit Lynch himself. One of the things I love most about Nashville is that although it’s a sizable city, it retains a small town feel. Tonight’s listening party, hosted by Jeremy Parzen, could easily have taken place in anyone’s living room. Casual and comfortable, the audience asked questions and conversed with Kermit between songs while being treated to wine and hors d’oeurves, a hospitality not uncommon among my own friends.

Kermit himself is a genuine guy. It’s comforting when someone’s fun-loving nature shines through all the hype and publicity. That’s when you know the kudos are well deserved. I met Kermit after a stranger asked me to take a photo of  he and Kermit together. The two of us briefly exchanged laughs, shook hands, and raised a glass to toast life’s pleasures. It was rather fitting, since I think Kermit is a true Pioneer of Pleasure. He said he’d consider that title for his next album. I couldn’t agree more.

When I need a new fragrance, my first stop is L’Occitane. Born in Provence thirty years ago, L’Occitane is committed to using only the finest natural ingredients in their products. Their fragrances truly capture the essence of flower bouquets, rose gardens, mimosa blooms… I could go on and on. I settled on the Rose Nuit de Mai which has a romantic head note of roses with undertones of sandalwood and cinnamon. At only $40 for 2.5 ounces, the Rose Nuit de Mai by L’Occitane is truly a value and a treasure.