[While I'm certainly not in Paris, "I Love Paris in the Springtime" -- whether sung by Sinatra, Nat King Cole, or Ella Fitzgerald -- seems somewhat on point here. Or perhaps Fergie's, "Shopping for Labels, Shopping for Love," since spring seems as good a time as any to "shop" for love. In some other blog I will discuss my recent experience with match.de.... Or maybe just a simple Madonna, "Dress You Up In My Love." So many possibilities.]
Anyway, I have decided to declare that spring is finally here. I'm sorry, but it's been really rainy generally, there was a beautiful warm and sunny day on Saturday, which schizophrenic weather pretty much means we're in spring, right? So today I donned my somewhat obnoxious and really, really not "me" spring coat. It's a lavendar on lavendar floral (see why it's not me??) pattern that vaguely reminds me of the tapestry like material that Julie Andrews, as Fraulein Maria, fashioned into playclothes for the Von Trapp children in "The Sound of Music" -- but in a springtime color. Oh, and the buttons are matte finish lavendar flowers. I. Love. This. Coat.
When I put it on and reached into the pockets, I found a penny. Admittedly, an American penny, so not as valuable, but sooooo full of luck, right? AND it's a little bit of Abraham Lincoln over here, which seems appropriate in this, the 200th anniversary year of his birth. (Sidenote: Obviously, Lincoln is a huge icon in the US generally and, of course, Obama's frequent references to him and his cabinet, as covered in Doris Kearns Goodwin's "A Team of Rivals." If you are an attorney, it becomes an even bigger deal, with every legal magazine having pieces on Lincoln's impact on law and human rights, if not an entire series. If you are an attorney licensed in Illinois, hold onto your hats and your recycle bin because you will be positively overwhelmed by the mail you receive discussing upcoming celebrations. If you want to "get your Lincoln on," I'd recommend checking out the Illinois State Bar Association (http://www.isba.org/). You will be greeted by an image of Abe himself on the home page AND you can download a free calendar for the year with an image of the commemorative bust compliments of the bar association fees of me and others (http://www.isba.org/teachers/lincoln/calendar/).
I am a bit sad to see winter behind us as I found interesting the extent to which people here bundle up for what I consider relatively mild weather. It's all relative, I suppose. In particular, I find the use of scarves here fascinating. I have a scarf for my winter coat that is, admittedly, primarily decorative. It has a crepe layer of fabric connected in the center to a piece of silk fabric with a nice modern paisley pattern, creating a frilly yet functional for mild weather like this scarf. And it perfectly matches my coat. (A shout out to Rose at Mark Shale for making this ensemble, including a wicked pair of leather gloves with paisley pattern that looks like a henna tattoo, possible, because I never would've figured it out.)
That said, my choice of scarf stands out a bit over here because it is not crazy thick and knotted up around my neck creating a suffocating barrier between my neck and all that fresh air, the latter being the preferred type of scarf here. And I normally think of women as more likely to wear scarves because, well, we would use them as accessories, but that's not the case over here. The thicker the scarf, the more likely it's cravatting (yes, I know that's not a real word) its way around the neck of a guy. A guy may be too manly to wear gloves, but a scarf is an essential.
Another area in which my attire is a bit noncomformist is workout attire, particularly for running. On the weekends, I like to head up to the river and run along the paths on each side of the river. Great view of the beautiful museum buildings on the "Museum Shore," you can get in some mild hill-climbing by climbing stairs and crossing bridges, lots of people out and about, and of course the opportunity to see boats and barges on the river. Unless it's actually freezing, my typical attire is knee-length running tights, a long sleeved wicking shirt, and a lightweight nylon vest with a pocket in the back for the evil CrackBerry so I can pretend that I am running away from it. Prior to the experience with Mario, my hair would be pulled up in a pony tail. Compare this to the typical runner I would encounter on the trail -- full length tights, turtleneck shirt, long sleeved jacket (often a thick fleece), gloves, and a hat. I would die of heat exhaustion in that get-up before I even left the house. I am curious to see what summer running attire looks like here, though. I mean, if the guys are willing to wear Speedos at the beach, I imagine I am in for some sightings of tiny running shorts on the path. If spring's already here, shouldn't be long before I find out!
[Okay, so I drafted this posting last night and was planning on posting in when I got caught up on the posts from the past few weeks. However, I feel compelled to release it now because I may have been quite wrong about spring being here because it was snowing this morning. Hmmm.... So I'm back in the winter coat, but the lavendar one is at the ready in the car if things change later in the day!]
No comments:
Post a Comment