Weekend Update

This is a great weekend to be in town looking for something to do. Whether you're into shopping, gardening or art, there's something fantastic for everyone.

The Nature Conservancy chooses several display-worthy gardens each year to open to the public during their "Open Days" garden tours. Saturday the Bethesda area is host to four of those gardens, including the Chevy Chase garden of Kathleen Williams, which I profiled in the January issue of Bethesda Magazine. The 97-year-old artist was a true inspiration for me. Artworks of her own creation are sprinkled throughout her garden. (They have also sat in the Corcoran and Smithsonian museums.) Her creative force and lively spirit are qualities I try to emulate in my own life. I will be going back for another visit.

Photographer Daniel Schreiber will be displaying his work along with 24 other local artists at the Bethesda Artist Market tomorrow at Bethesda Place Plaza. I know Daniel's work firsthand; he took the lovely photographs of Kathleen and her garden for my story, and also had recent shows of his photos at Discovery Gallery and Glen Echo.


Swedish home store Klaradal in Olney (voted "Best Store" by Bethesda Magazine in January) is having a Midsummer sale complete with food, fiddlers and a midsummer pole Saturday from 11-4. Klaradal, located in a quaint little house, frequently hosts fun events. Owner Sue Kopperman makes a phenomenal "Klaradini" (but you didn't hear that from me).


On a bookish note, check out the author event tonight at 7:30 at the Bethesda Barnes & Noble when writer Ali Sethi discusses his book, The Wishmaker. Don't miss author Wheeler del Torro talk about making vegan ice cream, The Vegan Scoop, at the Rockville location (in Montrose Crossing shopping center) Saturday at 3:30.

Little Mermaid

Last week when I interviewed former Bachelorette and current "Get Married" host, DeAnna Pappas, she told me that "mermaid" style gowns were a popular choice this season. Because June is the month of the bride, I wanted to hunt up the best of the mermaid to share. I could have spent days on this project. I wore my mother's gown when I got married and didn't ever go searching through gowns. What fun. I found so many dreamy takes on the classic silhouette but can't possibly show them all. So here are just a precious few from Romona Keveza, Elizabeth Fillmore and L'ezu Atelier . (L'ezu Atelier above left)

left to right: Natasha gown by Elizabeth Fillmore; Romona Keveza Couture; Romona Keveza Couture; Romona Keveza Legends

United Nude - In Shoe We Trust

Hello Miss Mono-Jane! Head to Zelaya shoes in Bethesda to find the most sassy Mary Jane in town. Wide straps, alluring little peep-toe and all in so fashionably vegan EVA. "Sexy crocs," says Tony Zelaya, owner of the eponymous shop inside Daisy Too where you can find United Nude's Mono-Jane. The avant-garde-but-fun Mono-Jane comes in colors ranging from femme pink to street-smart gray. Another can't-miss is the grown-up "Mobius" slide, the flagship shoe for United Nude created by (of course) architect Rem D. Koolhaas, the creative director and founder of United Nude, started in 2003. The sophisticated Mobius is architecture for your feet and so very nonchalantly uber-chic -- and comes in varying heel heights.How perfect is that? Oh and did I mention they're on sale? They are. Really. These will be your new summer play shoes. You're probably not going to find them anyplace else.

More of Me Maternity Please

Saturday I got to meet local designer Jessica Boulanger, the creative talent behind the DC-based More of Me Maternity. The designer appeared at a trunk show at Bethesda boutique Daisy Too showcasing her very first collection for More of Me Maternity--a summer line of dresses, tanks and maxis suitable for moms-to-be or not. Leave it to Daisy Too owner Fabiana Zelaya to find the best new mom-to-be lines to add to her shop. (But of course she would. She's expecting a baby herself in August.) Jessica, a former press secretary for Rep. Roy Blunt, just had her second baby in May and was in the store showcasing her line of dresses that, really, are way too chic to only wear for nine months. "I wanted them to look non-maternity but it's that fit that's so important...You really need that maternity fit," she says. I remember stuffing myself into "regular" clothes not wanting to invest in a whole new (and back then slightly weird) wardrobe during my pregnancy. Now women can wear Jessica's designs from "Yes, You're having a baby" till long after "It's a boy/girl!" Jessica was wearing a blue jersey maxi that was far more flattering than most filling stores right now. The cut is slimming, the V-neckline flattering, with "bra-friendly" straps to keep things neat. Her "Cupcake Tanks," are tank tops cut a bit longer for moms-to-be-- or women like me with long torsos. The line also features silk dresses and a linen dress that comes in a shimmery champagne or Jessica's signature orange that work with or without a baby bump. I wish these existed when I was in the baby biz. But I would get the maxi-dress now anyway. And, there are no babies looming on this horizon.

Anthropologie & Austin

Ok, so I just got back from Albuquerque and Santa Fe, I know. And while I'm trying to adjust to the buckets of rain falling from our Washington skies, I get hit with this--the latest Anthropologie catalog shot partly in Austin, Texas, another fave city dear to my heart (and the capital city of the state in which I was born). What is it about Austin--the outrageously good music, the fantastic restaurants, funky architecture-- that makes good fashion sense come so easily to its real-life residents? And the catalog makers here got it just right. Culture + color = real life clothes that meld seamlessly into their surroundings--Deep Eddy, Alamo Drafthouse, Guero's Taco Bar. What better style statement is there? I'm going to hit up Anthro in Rockville today and see if I can bring a little of that Texas ease into my Bethesda burbs. I know, I know it's not Texas, it's just a store, but they got me feeling it. And that's the mark of a job well done.

Of Brides and Bachelorette DeAnna Pappas

Here come the brides. No, not us ("us," did I just say us about me and Bachelorette DeAnna Pappas??), but all the lucky brides-to-be that will be attending the Pre-Wedding Bridal Party tonight at Bloomingdale's Chevy Chase co-sponsored by Lifetime show "Get Married." The show's co-host DeAnna Pappas will be in the store from 6 to 8 to sign autographs and cheer on the brides as they plan for their own storybook wedding, meet vendors, enter contests and enjoy appetizers. In case you don't remember, DeAnna appeared in "The Bachelor" where she had a less-than-happy ending with "Brad." Then most recently, she chose "Jesse" over the single-dad "Jason" in "The Bachelorette." Though my mom still can't believe she'd jilt Jason for Jesse, the heart has a mind of its own, and apparently, a will to go on. Though her own romance with Jesse didn't work out,  she still believes in true love and looks forward to the day she will be again planning a wedding. I had a sit-down with DeAnna earlier today at her hotel (where I also got to meet her dad, Greg Pappas). She says she started hosting "Get Married" last December when she was engaged: "I was completely consumed with it and very excited for this new part of my life." DeAnna says the "party and planning and fashion and food and all of that stuff that really intrigues me." 

Biggest trend:

"Destination weddings - even with this economy. Instead of doing the huge church and all the flowers, have a small intimate ceremony with close friends and family, then come back and have a party."

On wedding planners:

DeAnna says with all the resources available to them like GetMarried.com, brides can do it all themselves.  But she says,  "Planners are geniuses. That's why they're wedding planners. If you can afford it and don't want to be stressed out on your wedding day, hire a wedding planner...They can figure out what your wants and needs are and present you with different options."

What most brides want:

"The perfect memory. What you'll remember 20 years later is the moment you said 'I do,' the moment you became husband and wife."

Most unique wedding:

"A Japanese-themed wedding, where everyone wore Japanese themed attire. And they requested that the guests wore Japanese-themed clothing as well." (ME: "Were they Japanese?'

DP: "No, they weren't.")

Fashion trends:

"Everyone's really getting into the 'mermaid' gown where it's really fitted and then flows out at the bottom. Strapless never goes out of style; they tend to be absolutely stunning."

Important advice: 

"Don't stress out. Remember it's your day. You're surrounded by family and friends and love. Enjoy it. Take it all in."

On being the Bachelorette and now the host of "Get Married":

"My life has been a whirlwind the last few years...But this is what I live for. Who doesn't want to fall madly in love, get married and have a family?"

MoCo Paused

I admit it. I've flown the coop. I've been enjoying the gorgeous state of New Mexico and just need to share with you some of the sights of Santa Fe. Years ago, when I first came to the capital city, it was nothing more than a traditional plaza surrounded by simple stores for tourists offering not much more than beaded belts and kachina dolls. By now it has exploded into an arts and tourists' mecca drawing an international crowd to its summer festivals, markets and renowned outdoor opera. Here are a few sights from around town. I'll be back in MoCo tomorrow night and will hit the ground running to get you all caught up on exciting, upcoming events.

Sculpture on Canyon Road

Folkloric art in the park

The fabulous painted glass windows surrounding a door at La Fonda Hotel

Folk art

Segways heading toward the Cathedral

Little faces beckon from a window