Get Dressed for Summer

ImageImage

I bought this dress from Marshalls recently; this style suits my body type and I don’t have many clothes in shades of red.

Image

I got this dress in March during a clearance sale at New York & Company (which has a branch in downtown Silver Spring).  There is also a big store at Westfield Shopping Plaza (better known as Wheaton Mall).  Usually, the dresses at NY & Co. are better suited to taller women, but this fit me well (a pleasant surprise)! 

Image

Image

Another find from NY & Co. during a more recent sale; this was the only one left.  This is my favorite color!  This style of dress will look good on a many different body types.

Image

Image

This is an unusually cute shrug/sweater from Marshalls.  I love the designs!  I think this will look good over a tank (beige, white, etc.), skinny jeans, and sandals.

Image

Image

Here is a pleated floral skirt from The Loft.  Yes, I refer to myself as a Loft junkie (for about one year now)- LOL!  There are SO many locations, sales, and quality products.   

Image

I got this casual shirt last fall from Zara (Spanish clothing store; Metro Center area) mainly because I loved the colors and floral pattern.   

Image

Another great skirt from The Loft- I’ve started to wear more skirts and dresses in the past year. 

ImageImageImage

A cotton, casual (yet flattering) dress from NY & Co.  It’s longer on the sides; it’ll fit petite sizes (I’m only 5’2″).  You can wear it alone or with a shrug (like I do).  Be prepared for lots of compliments!     

 

A few GREAT interviews

May 4, 2012: Tavis Smiley interviews actor Damian Lewis, star of SHOWTIME’s “Homeland” (watched by Obama)

WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show (June 15, 2012): NYC’s single women

WNYC’s Leonard Lopate (June 14, 2012): About new adaptation of “A Streetcar Named Desire” on Broadway

The Taming of the Shrew (Folger Theater)

Real life husband and wife Cody Nickell and Kate Eastwood Norris starred in the Folger’s recent adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.  As you can guess from pic above, the comedy was set in the Old West (director Aaron Posner was inspired by HBO’s Deadwood).  There was original music played onstage by the composer.  Also, two of the traditionlly male characters (Baptista and  Tranio) were turned into women.

At the start of the play, Kate is angry, bitter, and fights w/ her little sister, Bianca, and the suitors who constantly mill about her.  Of course, she is only masking her disappointment and loneliness. 

When he first arrives in town to see his old buddy Hortensio, Petruchio is a bold, brassy golddigger; he’ll marry ANY woman if she’s rich.  Bianca’s suitors (Gremio, Lucentio,  Hortensio) can’t believe their luck, b/c once Kate’s married off, they can court Bianca. 

There are a LOT of laughs in this production, BUT at the heart, it’s love story of two VERY strong-willed individuals.  If you know the text, you probably noticed that some lines were switched from Kate to Petruchio.  The final scene showed that the couple were on equal footing; the audience REALLY enjoyed the twist!