One Little Gill Ties the Knot

I have not written in awhile due to the fact for the Christmas Season FTC has decided to take a little break. Lindsay was finishing up the production of “A Christmas Carol”, Jen and I were involved with a Christmas Production that was extremely time consuming, Rachel has been focused on planning her wedding, and Micah has just been a busy little bee. So with all that said, we decided to take a break. In the meantime The Finer Things Club has seen one of their very own tie the knot with a Dominican. Who knew the girl who had never had a steady boyfriend and who did not start dating till her senior year of college would have gotten married first?! Crazy! Little Laura is no longer a single gill but has made the plunge from maidenhood to married life. The wedding was an absolute blast and Micah, Jen, and I got to reunite with Rebekah on our way up to Staten Island. We picked her up on the way and had to catch her up on all the latest information happening in the Burg. We had a marvelous time sharing a two bedroom hotel room with Sarah and Mitch, making the grand total of six girls all in one tiny hotel room! It was tight but we all love each other so it was fun. We decided on the morning of the wedding we’d venture into Manhatten and get some sweet NYC food and also fit in a tiny bit of shopping. We got our bagel fix and H&M fix and headed back to the hotel where we had about 20 minutes to beautify ourselves before the wedding. Laura was an absolute stunning bride and she made all of us gills cry. Chris didn’t look to shabby either. After the wedding we all started off in the appetizer room with an assortment of food from around the world including caviar and crepes. We were in wedding heaven. After the bridal party arrived, the actual reception began in a room with an exquisite chandelier hovering above a wooden dance floor accompanied by a six person band that was extremely good. We all danced our little butts off. Laura and Chris danced like no one was watching when in fact they had an audience of about 200 people. Laura sang Chris a song and I cried and then he sang her one and I cried some more. They are just too stinkin cute together! Then once we thought it was all over we have a surprise present from behind the curtain. The curtain opens to reveal a whole slew of desserts from ice cream to cotton candy. It seriously was one of the best wedding’s I have ever been to. Which is saying a lot since I have been to quite a few weddings in my lifetime.  We had to get the usual laughing picture with Laura and reminisce a little about the good ole college days. Unfortunately the magic had to end and we drove back the next day. We said our goodbyes to Rebekah and her lovely family and finished the trip with a bite to eat at Shenandoah Pizza with some pizza and "Original Sin". It was an awesome weekend and we are all extremely happy for the new marriage of Chris and Laura. My advice to the two of you will be, “Love each other for the rest of your lives and in the meantime . . . stay finer.” 

A Northern Visitor Comes to Town

What is better than getting together, eating exquisite food and wine, and sitting down to a good book? A visit from a certain Pennsylvanian GILL!!!!

On a cold Wednesday night at around 10:00pm we (as in me and Micah) hear a little tap on the apartment door. We look out the peep hole but to our dismay the hole has been covered! We slowly open up the door to find none other than REBEKAH!! We all squeal at the top of our lungs since we haven’t seen each other in about 7 months, but quickly quiet ourselves due to the fact that we’ve been tattled on once before to our landlord about being noisy tenants. Stinking neighbors! We just love to have people over and sometimes it gets a little loud. These people need to get out more. Anyway, tangent aside REBEKAH is here! We squeeze her till we can’t squeeze her no more! She’s only a little thing and we don’t want her to break because she just got here.
We stayed up talking till almost 2 in the morning even though we had to get up early for work the next day. Sleep can be sacrificed for Rebekah though, and it was. We had the whole weekend pretty much mapped out. Thursday we visited the Ploughcroft Tea Room. Rebekah had never been and it is simply finer so I skeedattled out of work a little early and headed over. We sat there for two hours and ate the most decadent pastries and finger sandwiches. It was simply exquisite! That evening we had all of our friends over to make sure they saw little Rebekah. Friday night we ended up just hanging out at the house for awhile, but then we took Rebekah to Bull Branch. It’s one of our favorite spots just to unwind and hang out. We ended up playing celebrity head just like in the movie “Inglorious Basterds”. We made two new friends who own a beauty salon in town. They played with us and Lindsey was convinced that they were gay. Haha…I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. That was an absolute blast!
Saturday night we all went to see our friend Thomas in the onstage production “The Last Night of Ballyhoo” by Alfred Uhry. Thomas ended up getting an Irene Ryan Nomination for his performance. Way to go Thomas!! It was a great weekend visit with little Rebekah, but unfortunately she had to leave and go back to PA on Sunday. We’ll be seeing her soon though to attend a friend of ours wedding in NYC! Till we meet again, stay finer. 

The Plot Thickens - Kitchen House

We had a little problem with The Kitchen House. One being the fact that we couldn't put it down. Jen, Lindsey and I were good little gills but Micah and Rachel both broke commandment number four. At least Micah and Rachel were honest and admitted their rebellious behavior. Micah finished the entire book and Rachel figured since Micah finished the whole book then she could read ahead too. Well to make up for their rule breaking, they brought ALL the food to the next meeting. Which was amazing and extremely finer.

Let's talk about the book for a little bit. I'm sure we can all agree to the fact that Kathleen Grissom, the author of this amazing piece of literature, is a brillant writer. The twist she pulls at the end was so unexpected. She connects you to the characters like they were your own family. Mamma Mae and Papa George were two of my favorites. Lavinia's naivety began to start to annoy me due to the fact that she is clueless most of the time. Especially in the case of Marshall and Beattie. A huge theme in this book is miscommunication. Lavinia could have married Will Stephens if it hadn't been for the miscommunication. Maybe Mamma Mae would've still lived if Marshall had known that Belle was his sister and not his Daddy's mistress. Who knows how the story would've changed if people would have simply been honest with one another? Several cliche life lessons can be learned from this book including, "Honesty is the Best Policy" and "Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover." Other than miscommunication there are so many "what if's" which can be explored in this plot line. What if Marshall's parents treated him better? What if Mr. Waters had never been a tutor to Marshall? What if Sally had never died or Campbell would've lived? One little plot change could have changed the entire story. I absolutely loved this book and it has been my favorite that FTC has read so far. We'll be choosing another book soon, but till then, stay finer. ;)

Start of a New Book, and Addition of a New Gill

After we finished "Eat. Pray. Love." we set out on a quest for a new book. It was Jen's turn to pick but for some reason that didn't work out so well. Micah and Rachel...oh yeah, I have to introduce you to our new member. Rachel was initiated into the group! We have ourselves a bonafide new member! We read her the commandments outloud and then we had our initiation ceremony. That's one of those things I won't write about on here because it's top secret! You'll have to join in order to find out. Anyway, all the gills decided on a word for her. We've run with Elizabeth Gilbert's idea of one word descriptions from "Eat. Pray. Love." because it's just so good. Rachel's word is...drumroll..."Classic". Reason being this gill is just a classy lil thing. She has her own style, her own aura about her. She's just plain timeless. Oh, and we also decided on a word for Rebekah. Even though she is not here & didn't read "Eat. Pray. Love.", we still gave her one so she can be involved. Rebekah's word is "Vintage". No matter how far away this girl is she's still around and she's the kind of person that everybody loves. Seriously. Everybody. Anyway, back to the choosing of our new book. Micah and Rachel went to our favorite local book shop, Givens Books, to decide on our new read. Side note, try and support local wherever you can. It's just bettah! While they were there I set out to Barnes and Noble to see what I could find. (Remember when I said support local?) They called with "The Kitchen House" as an idea. After doing some research I found that one of the employees at B&N chose it as the book of the month saying it was the best book that they have ever read. So needless to say, "Kitchen House" it is. And in case you were wondering Rachel is the girl in the picture. :) Till next time friends . . . stay finer :)

Bali High May Call You

I will have to say that out of the three sections in “Eat, Pray, Love,” Bali was my least favorite. I didn't want Liz to have a romantic interest. She was on a search for herself and in the meantime she meets this guy? She's got two guys back home who are simply driving her nuts. Why does she need another to one to take up room on her plate of regrets? The whole time in India she kept trying to get over David. I mean seriously Elizabeth! Stay away from these guys. Like my Dad would always say, "Allison. Stay away from boys. They're nothing but trouble." Take a little fatherly advice and just back off. In the one section she talks about how she pours herself into any relationship she's ever in, and this one is no different. I just needed to vent that for a minute. Back to Bali and what I did like.
I think Americans needs to take on a little more of a Balinese attitude. One of my favorite quotes in this chapter was from Ketut, the medicine man who months earlier told Elizabeth she would be coming back to Bali. He tells her to "Smile in your liver". Smile in your liver. How cool is that? I feel like sometimes as Americans all we do is complain. We go to a restaurant and complain about our food being wrong, or how the temperature in the office is too cold. I feel like complaining is one of America's favorite past times. If people had more of a Ketutan like attitude where life is a precious gift and we need to smile even when things aren't going the best, we would all be so much better off and wouldn't need to be doped up on anti-depressants. In Bali they have celebrations for everything. I think people just need to celebrate life a little more and live it to the fullest. That has been my goal for the year and I want to stick to it. Happiness and contentment have to be learned and I feel like this book shows that the Balinese have really learned it well. I need to strive to be more like them. Gilbert says on page two hundred and
sixty, "Even in my own life, I can see exactly where my episodes of unhappiness have brought suffering or distress or (at the very least) inconvenience to those around me. The search for contentment is therefore, not merely a self-preserving and self-benefitting act, but also a generous gift to the world. Clearing out all your misery gets you out of the way. You cease being an obstacle, not only to yourself but to anyone else. Only then are you free to serve and enjoy other people." Sounds like a path to success right there.  Just another good little mantra to live by. Find happiness and contentment in the little things. The more that we count our blessings the better we’ll feel. It’s just that simple. Word of advice . . . keep happy and always remember to stay finer. 

India - Om Namah Shivaya

I went and saw Eat.Pray.Love. last night with some friends. Ya know the one with James Franco and Julia Roberts? I must say it was extremely, EXTREMELY disappointing. Stick to the book. It is ALWAYS better.
India. Period. I could write about this section of the book and take up a million pages just explaining my thoughts and feelings. I would like to go to India one day. Not to study in an Ashram, but to experience a world far from my own. See the Taj Mahal. The real one. Not the one in Las Vegas. India made me think and made me think a lot. I found myself saying out loud, "Yeah. That's right" or "Oh, that is so me!" India is all about meditating and the search for the divine within. I'm not on a search for God, because I already found Him and love that fact, but even from a secular point of view Gilbert can teach us a lot about ourselves and God. In following Liz's example I tried to meditate one day over in an apartment complex that had a pond and a beautiful view of the mountains. Let me tell ya. Meditating is NOT easy. You would think that focusing your mind around one little thing would come easily. It doesn't. I sat there for 45 minutes trying to wrap my mind around . . . nothing. But nope. All I could think of was EVERYTHING! What I was going to wear that night or what I had to do once I got back to the apartment. I focused on the fly that was buzzing around my head, or if anyone thought I was really weird because I was sitting in a lotus position and meditating. Bravo Liz Gilbert. You deserve it because you did something most of us can and will not do.
Several mantras were mentioned in the book. One being "Om Namah Shivaya" which means, "I honor the divinity that resides within me." Now, I don't believe in a lot of the Eastern religions that were focused on in this chapter, but I think it’s important to embrace a personal mantra which sets the stage for how you live. One of my favorite passages of scripture is my mantra which says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (Prov. 4:23) A little long for a mantra but nonetheless I love it. India was so savory it’s hard to pick one little morsel to quote, but I will leave you with this. My favorite quote from India which is so stinking true. It’s scary. It focuses on the dilemma of a soul mate. It says, “People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that’s what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that’s holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you’ll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then they leave” (pg. 149). Ugh so perfect! Til next time ... Stay finer. :)
*Photos courtesy of Aaron Brooks (My bro)

Il Bel Far Niente - "Eat. Pray. Love."

Can I just say Elizabeth Gilbert = Brilliant Writer. After reading Eat.Pray.Love. I had so many more insights to take home and share with others. This book inspired me to go after my goals and dreams. Unfortunately, a month after I read this amazing piece of literature, the inspiration has begun to wear off and I'm going back to the same mundane life. Anyways, that's besides the point. We start with Italy...as Julia Andrews would say in Sound of Music, "A very good place to start." I had the amazing opportunity to visit this beautiful country in May of 2008. It was a dream come true and will still be remembered as one of the most amazing experiences I will probably ever have. Italy for Elizabeth was all about what amazing things she could get her hands on to eat. I will testify that Italy has some of the best food I've ever tasted. In spite of her bottomless appetite, she had a few insights to offer. On page 61 she makes several statements about Americans that are surprisingly point on. She says, "Americans don't really know how to do nothing. This is the cause of that great sad American stereotype-the overstressed executive who goes on vacation, but who cannot relax." The Italians have got it right my friends. "Il bel far niente means 'the beauty of doing nothing . . . The beauty of doing nothing is the goal of all your work, the final accomplishment for which you are most highly congratulated. The more exquisitely and delightfully you can do nothing, the higher your life's achievement. You don't necessarily need to be rich in order to experience this either."
Case and point...we all just need to get better at doing nothing. How many times have you been at an airport, college campus, or even out to eat and you see people on their cell phones? Cell phone use has started to get a bit ridiculous to me. People are uncomfortable when they have nothing to do so they pull out the phone. It is sad, and after reading the first part on Italy in Gilbert's book I had a lot of rethinking to do. Try and do nothing. In the meantime . . . stay finer. ;)

Meet The Gills

Just so you can get to know everybody...Finer's Things Club consists of Five Members. The core started with Rebekah, Micah, Jennifer, and Me (Allison).We were established in the summer of 2009 and have been trucking ever since. We added Lindsay this summer because Rebekah decided to move away back home to Pennsylvania. Bummer for Rebekah but we are estatic to have Lindsay in the group. Laura and Sarah were initiated into the group but never really read with us so they are our
honorary members. This summer has proved to be a good one with lots of memories including trips to The White Hart (local coffee shop), dancing in the rain downtown, having dinner at Isabella's, and much more wonderful times! After reading Eat.Pray.Love., by Elizabeth Gilbert, we all decided what one word we are. So . . . here they are.
That's me in the green. Lil Allison. My word that they decided for me was "seeker". I love life and I love seeking out new things so maybe that's where my word came from. Next is Micah down there at the bottom in the purple with the hood. Micah is the mom of the group. Her word is "hospitable" whether she likes it or not. She is. She's got all the southern charm. Next we have Miss Rebekah with the long brown hair and the brick wall. Rebekah doesn't get a word cause she didn't read Eat.Pray.Love. with us so that's what she gets. Jen is the one in the blue. She's been labeled "details" cause she just love them. Jen is all about the details and if you tell her a story be sure to include EVERYTHING! Lastly but not least is Miss Lindsay. Lindsay has been labeled "mysterious" cause she just is. You never can know what she's thinking. So there's the gills. All five of us and don't forget to stay finer. ;)

The Finer Things Club Ten Commandments

THE GILLS
Yes. I said it. Gills. Not girls. Not gals. It's "The Gills". Here at Finer Things Club we are all gills which means we're tighter and closer than any other girlfriends around. Being a gill is something you earn. A right of passage if you will. A gill is something you can completely rely on. A "gilfriend" you know will have your back at all times. With that being said, us gills have a taken a spun of the Finer Things Club from NBC's "The Office" and have put our own twist onto things. We read books, drink tea, wine, and coffee and just plain be. I'll start off the initial post by giving you the Finer Things Club 10 Commandments. They are as follows:

1. No Taking the name of the gill in vain. (Like I said..being a gill is serious)
2. Gills Only (Speaks for itself)
3. What happns in Finer Things, Stays in Finer Things (Meaning there will be information I said that I can't report. Soyee)
4. No Reading Ahead (We have strict rules about what needs to be read, and well, reading ahead is strictly forbidden)
5. No reading books that one or more gills have already read.
6. If a gill does not do her weekly reading assignment, then she must provide the refreshment for the following meeting. (Reading your book is an absolute must)
7. The partaking of wine, tea, or coffee is required.
8. A meeting of the gills is required in order to induct a new member.
9. The gills must be open and honest about all things.
10. Gills must have an annual trip together till the day they die.

These are the rules of the gills. You can stick to ours or make up your own. Either way. It's your choice. Next post you'll be meeting "The Gills". Till then stay finer. ;)