Ponds of All Sizes

On yet another beautiful day (does the god of weather not realize that it's basically December?), I found myself sitting outside at a Starbucks with Alison Lukes, up from her new homestead down south for our event tomorrow. Since this is a site that toils in vapidity, the following phrase will not seem completely out of place: should you ever have need for a stylist, she should be your very first call, darling (okay, the darling for emphasis may be a bit much). She singularly made the term "stylist" a bona fide Washington occupation--and she's still the best there is.

My husband bought me a few hours of her styling services two Christmases ago, and I swear to you she changed my closet forever. Got me over my fear of Intermix (maybe it's just me, but that place, with its completely packed, unmerchandised racks and plethora of tiny gorgeous 20-year old salespeeps in dresses doooowwwntothere has always been just a wee bit intimidating, even when I had my now expired 20% discount card), pulled together three outfits from my closet that I never even realized I had that are still wardrobe mainstays, and it was a fabulous time to boot. She still comes up here often, so call her.

Anyway, sipping our coffees, enjoying the day, we got to talking about ponds: she's now in a small one, and she's more of a small fish/big pond kind of gal (and she worked for Michael Kors and Celine in both NYC and Paris, so she knows from big ponds); I always found myself to be a big fish/really small ponder (as opposed to my sister, who is the rare big fish/big pond. More on her...someday). But the more I work in Washington, and I guess the more comfortable I get in my surroundings, the more I realize how manageable a city it really is. I'm convinced the total population of Washington rests somewhere around 400, of which I know 100 (okay, 50), and recognize another 100. So I'm not sure if my pond preference is changing or Washington is just a really, really small town--or maybe it's somewhere in the middle. Either way, it's cool.

Update on tomorrow: when you buy a raffle ticket--prizes are a Jaanu diamond pendant and a copy of the humongo coffee table book In Vogue, signed by the author (thanks Vogue!)--you'll also receive a coupon for 20% off of any one Alex item, which you can use right on the spot. See you there--I'll be there with "Pam" as I've named her, the bigger-than-a-Vogue-coffeetable-book zit that decided to celebrate the day with me by making an appearance right between my eyes. Yes, I'm a cyclops. Good times. Good times, indeed.