Thursday, August 16, 2012

celebration + remembrance

this week I celebrate and remember several major influences 
who made their mark on my life...

Julia Child's 100th birthday was yesterday, August 15th.
she was and always will be a huge source of inspiration to me...
her wit, her humor, her fearlessness, her adventurous spirit...
all give me the courage to step into the kitchen every day!
I strongly encourage EVERYONE to read 
Appetite for Life: The Biography of Julia Child by Noel Riley Fitch
I've read it twice!




today, August 16th, marks the 35th anniversary 
of the death of Elvis "The King" Presley... my hometown hero.
I grew up listening to his music, watching his fantastically bad movies and simply reveling in his manly beauty.

in my teens, my friends and I would gather religiously at the gates of Graceland every August 15th 
for the candlelight vigil... 
with sideburns glued (or drawn!) on and boxes of jelly donuts in hand, we reveled in the phenomenon and enjoyed meeting people from all over the world... the impact this man had on so many lives is truly incredible and strange.

these days, I crank up the iPod and rock my kitchen to the strains of Hard-Headed Woman and Viva Las Vegas
on a regular basis.

as the King would say... TCB, baby!!



lastly, I must mention that today is Madonna's 
freakin' 54th birthday!

say what you will (haters gonna hate), but this woman has rocked my world since I was 13 years old... 
my wardrobe was testament to that!  

yes, she's a diva... yes, she's got freakishly defined arms... 
yes, she sometimes tries too hard... but she can make me dance and sing like no one is watching... and she makes me feel like a teenager again... and THAT makes me happy!

thank you and happy birthday, Madonna!