I got to thinking about the 90′s earlier in the week, after hearing Tavi Gevinson on Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me over the weekend. Tavi, as you know, is a teen, and thinks the 90′s were oh-so-awesome, much in the way that people from my generation idealized the 80′s (mostly thanks to John Hughes). It’s not as if we were there (or if we were, we were really young), but we felt connected to it nonetheless. Tavi mentioned, understandably, My So Called Life. Which, at nearly 32, I am still in totally love with…I may more may not own the complete series on DVD. I’ve found that girls from my peer group either very much connected with the Angela Chase character or or found her annoying. I was in the former group–I even had the prissy mom, who looked like Patty, and the way cooler BFF (that would be James). I still find the show comforting, even though you’d think it might cause some teen-angst-PTSD. The Christmas show! It makes me cry, every damn time.

I found a box of photos buried high in my closet and dug through to spark my 90′s-era memories. I turned 10 at the end of 1989, so my “formative” years were neatly placed within the decade. In ’92, at age 12, we moved. I was lucky enough to have four years of junior high, as my former town had a middle school (6-8 grade) and my new town had a junior high (7-9). And, of course, we moved right smack in the middle. I still remember, clear as day, walking into school on my first day of the 8th grade. All I could think about was whether I should carry my backpack slung over one shoulder or with both straps.

I’m not one of those people who hold tight to high school. I mostly feel “meh” about it. I skipped my 10 year reunion and have no plans on going to any future gatherings. But, I had a really good high school experience. I suppose it was just a time in my life I’ve moved on from.

Some things that remind me of the decade….

• Braces. I had them for 4 years.
• Emotional breakdowns in the bathroom while getting ready for school.
• The Supers.
• Smashing Pumpkins.
• CK t-shirts.
• Vans.
• Contempo Casuals.
• The Allman Bros. Band (my first serious boyfriend always listened to southern rock because he went to Vanderbilt).
• Football players. Don’t ask me why, but I think I only dated football players the entire decade, from junior high to college. What’s embarrassing? My first ATM pin was a combination of two jersey numbers of ex boyfriends and that number STILL lives in my stand-by password. It’s totally ingrained.
• Jessica McClintock. Prom dresses!
• Laying out topless at my friend Kaitlin’s house and drinking gin with sparkling juice. She is the only friend from high school I remain close with.
• Woodstock’s pizza and Noah’s Bagels.

There’s probably a gazillion other things that I can’t think off, and what’s sad is that because I was a teen and totally focused on myself, I can’t really remember what was happening around the world at the time.

Did you grow up during the 90′s? What do you remember?

“Jobs has passed” is the text I received from my mom yesterday as I stopped to pick up Tate from daycare. It was announced seconds later on NPR.

It’s hard to articulate the immense influence Jobs had–on the world, on the computing/hardware industry, on people like my dad. I woke up early this morning and lay in bed thinking “what can I say that could possibly do justice to him or fully explain his importance?”

I always land on one thing. The man was an artist. This much isn’t really up for debate. But he was also an incredibly disciplined business-person, and the combination of the two is a rarity. He exemplified staying true to oneself, building a hugely influential modern, even futuristic, brand while maintaining a kind of hippy-dippy ethos. That seemingly odd mix really defines the Apple brand, and explains its vast influence.

I am what you might call an “early adopter” of Apple products. This is due entirely to my father, whose first computer (and by extension mine) was a Mac. I typed out my first computer-generated (yes, I am old enough to have used a typewriter) school paper on a Mac. I first experienced the Internet on a Mac. The interface and operating system of Apple computers is so ingrained in my experience that, if put in front of a PC today, I have trouble figuring out how to use it. And, not to sound smug, but I think it says a lot that Todd can easily sit down at my iMac and dive into using it, although he would argue that’s because he’s smarter than I :-)

My dad gave me his Mac to take to college, and soon replaced it with the first iMac. It was pink, and I loved it. Not as much as I loved my next iMac incarnation, however; what I called the ET model. I still think that machine is incredibly beautiful. Now I have two personal computers, an iMac and iBook, and I also use an iMac at work. As I have evolved as a creative professional, I look to people like Jobs to remind me of two things, passion and intuition. One of the things that amazed me most about Jobs was that he did not make creative decisions by committee–something that, 95% of the time, is an absolutely horrible idea. Developing creative ideas on a large scale requires a delicate balance of multiple heads and not too many hands in the pie. Jobs had the kind of vision, however, that allowed him to not only drive the creative process but, amazingly, not look to his own customer to evolve his brand. He told Business Week in 1998, “”It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” I’ve always felt that this kind of arrogance is obnoxious….unless you have the talent and the execution to back it up. Jobs did.

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. … Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

Hope you’re having a good one.

xo

I am sure it didn’t escape you that today is the 100th birthday of Lucille Ball. Google even changed their icon in honor of the day. I find that people tend to fall into three categories when it comes to Lucy–they absolutely love her, don’t know too much about her aside from some of the more iconic ILL moments, and those who find her grating and annoying. Thankfully that last group is very small :-)

I’ve watched I Love Lucy since I was a wee sprite. After Sesame Street it was one of the few shows I was allowed to watch. Growing up I was given books about Lucy on my birthday, I owned all the VHS tapes of the ILL series and, yes, I watched the TV movie. While the show is her most successful endeavor, as it should be, she also made some great movies (Yours, Mine & Ours and The Long Long Trailer being my favorites) and accomplished a great deal both professionally behind the camera and in her personal life.

Below is one of my favorite moments from I Love Lucy. It’s not as popular and well known, so I was only able to find one good video, that also has subtitles :-) This scene always cracks me up, I love the lisp.

Happy birthday Lucy, and thanks for the laughs.

L: Todd with Tate, before his foray into patatas bravas. R: My dad looks on.

Over the weekend we made our way over to Napa to meet up with my aunt Kim and her partner Ezio. They were down from Vancouver for the weekend to meet up with some friends so we popped over because they hadn’t met Tate. I almost chose not to go because I was so exhausted from the week, but I am glad I did. They had made lunch reservations at a winery I hadn’t heard of, and for good reason; when we arrived it was….a small mission-style house, a residence, surrounded by vineyards. At first I thought we had taken a wrong turn, but it was indeed our destination, and we spent the afternoon with wonderful hosts.

Instagram. Clockwise from top left: vines, my favorite old pair of gladiators, patatas bravas, attempting, as Todd says, to be brooding.

Tate was sleeping when we arrived so I hung out in the card with him for a bit so he could get some additional shut eye. I occupied myself, reading my NYT app and taking photos with Instagram. When Tate awoke and I made my way in, the group was gathered listening to the story of the winery, glasses of prosecco in hand (per Ezio’s request–the winery only serves Cabernet). The winery is owned by Bulmaro and Manuel Montes, immigrants from Mexico with long experience making wine. Bulmaro was our host and was such a sweet man. His wife, a grandma with a capital “G” was smitten with Tate (well, smitten with babies) and even took him off our hands for a half hour or so. He loved her.

Top Left: My dad and aunt Kim. Top Right: Tate and his new BFF. Center: Our hosts. Bottom Left: Feeding Tate. Bottom Right: Tate and dad before leaving the vineyard.

A lovely table had been set and we were fed the most wonderful Spanish tapas and dishes (prepared by Pilar, who makes simple and traditional Catalan-style food), including the most amazing patatas bravas. Even Tate indulged. Our main dish was a beef stew, sopped up with crusty bread from Bouchon–Pilar’s method for thickening her stew? Ground walnuts–brilliant! Luckily, she shares her recipe on the winery’s blog, here.

I don’t often drink red wine, especially cabs, which can be quite heavy, but their wine (named after their two daughters) is heavenly. It was a such a treat to try it. Tate was really sweet the entire day, despite battling a pretty nasty cold. Everyone was taken with him, especially Ezio, an Italian with a big personality. It was so cute. He teased Tate with his wine and dipped his pacifier into some chocolate cream during dessert.

Tate plays in the dirt.

I plopped Tate down in some dirt between vines and he loved it. He examined the soil around him and eventually grabbed big handfuls.

As I said above, it was an absolute treat to visit Maritas–it was the farthest thing from pretentious, a rarity in Napa county. I actually avoid tasting in and around Napa–it’s expensive and packed with tourists. I have a few wineries, like Trefethen, that I love and will sometimes hit up, but if you’re thinking of making your way to the area, I suggest you forgo Napa and hit up Sonoma County, Healdsburg and the Dry Creek road, Mendocino County, and the Russian and Navarro Valleys. I am by no means a wine expert (just an expert drinker), but I’ve had the opportunity to get some exposure to an industry that is like nothing else. I dated, casually, a guy who managed a tasting room in Healdsburg, and I spent some time visiting wineries around the Dry Creek road with his roommates, who were both working for wineries. I enjoy tasting, but it’s a different experience to sit at a wood bench and drink wine from a mason jar, walk through dark and damp cellars, and meet the winemakers. I love the juxtaposition of the finished product, that evokes such airs, and the fact that when you get down to it, it’s an agricultural foray that starts in the dirt. It’s very unique.

In any case, I could go on and on, but it was a lot of fun. We visited another winery with the group and then headed home. This makes winery number three for Tate–my mom and I stopped at Navarro on the way to Fort Bragg a few weeks ago.

Ezio and Tate indulge in chocolate (the both of them), wine and cigars (Tate said no to those).

Sunday was spent doing lots of work and just hanging around the house. This week is going to be a bit of a nightmare, and I shall look back on the weekend with a smile :-)

This Tumblr asks, if your house were burning, what would you take with you? Readers submit profiles and photos of their most prized possessions. In a way, it reminds me of Postsecret when it started, in the sense that it dives into people’s private lives and minds.

I like this guy simply for his taste in music and easy-to-carry cuisine (incidentally, we’ve had America on repeat in Tate’s room these days).

I do question, however, why so many people who submitted chose vinyl–I mean, if you aren’t taking your turntable…

Apparently this guy thinks he’ll have time to color-coordinate his belongings while escaping his burning house. At least he plans on taking his kid.

You can see more here.

So, we’ve got JGL as an early 90′s-era metal head…Natalie Portman, who continues to piss me off by being so ridiculously awesome…an old lady with crazy hair…

I’m into it.

I LOVE Catherine Deneuve, and I highly highly recommend watching 8 Women (I think the same person produced this movie) if you haven’t already. I dig the 70′s fashion, and look…it’s the French girl from The Spanish Apartment!

I love movies like this, similar format as Spellbound. I love to see the way poetry has evolved as an art form and mode of expression. Looks inspiring.

I don’t like films, documentary or otherwise, that seek to glamorize or even stylize combat. I think this will be a tough watch.

“Lesbian yodeling twins.” Sounds good to me.

These are the kinds of movies that just resonate in a different, more intense way, after having a child of your own.

Looks real. And, it’s nice to see Keira Knightley in a non-period film.

We’re off to Ashland today, and I have a busy week next week. Enjoy your weekend!

Scary stuff. I grew up with the coast, I love the ocean, but it scares the crap out of me, too.