Yummy List

Nashville PR femme fatale Holly Gleason (Email: Torchlili@aol.com) writes a 'for women only' email list which is terrific and provides lots of "she says" content for Battle of the Sexes type benchmarks. Some sample posts:

White Chocolate Tarragon Souffle, Tage, St John
Lighter than air, looking like a cloud with a golden crown, the white chocolate tarragon soufflé marries two opposing flavors for a combination that elevates both. Earthy, rich, tingling, unfolding. It is sweetness opened up with the prickle of tarragon, which only deepens the sensation of both -- and the tarragon also fills an almost palette cleansing function as well. The person I was dining with proclaimed, "This is the dessert they will serve us in heaven."

Canal Street Jeans, New York City
Long before there was Urban Outfitters, there was Canal Street Jeans -- where punk rockers and street kids loaded up. The clothes were expensive for cheap, but they always had that style from the curb that screamed "this is right now…!!!!" Whether it was a t-shirt with a picture, slogan or slashings, the right cut of jeans, a leather jacket that matters (I STILL have mine 20 years later) or some kind of skirt that'll tease without trying, Canal Street Jeans reminds you that rock & roll in its truest sense truly is timeless.

La Bouquetiere Teas & Tisanes
Their fruit infusions will strangle you with the intensity of their flavor -- people at my house are still talking about the tongue-dance-inciting Strawberry Rhubarb, which steeps up the color of the perfect Valentine, then erupts in the most pleasing elements of each fruits flavor. And their Chocolate Orange Tea can make any dreary afternoon a circus or Christmas in a tea cup. And the range is as broad as their flavors are intense: green tea mixed with almond & tangerine, persimmons & grapefruit, blueberry & mango or black teas with fresh figs, apples & caramel and black cherries. Not to mention the Chinoiserie canisters will look charmingly sophisticated on any kitchen counter-top! In Nashville, you can buy almost all of the flavors at the Iron Gate. Or else, you can check the website.www.labouquetiere.com

Pink Feather Wreaths
Fuschia really, or just plain old hot pink. Big fluffy feathers going every which way. Utter exuberance, ultimate decadence, whimsy personified. To hang a hot pink feather wreath is to wink at the world, plant a stiletto and declare conventions are for political parties who take themselves far too seriously, this is about expanding the potential of joy this holiday season. Metropolitan Deluxe sells them -- should you feel the need to embrace your own inner front door fan dance. And if there's not one near you, rumor has it their website is mind-bending.

Cuban Coffee
A wee thimbleful. Impossible to believe the kick inside. Thick, sweet, delicious going down, 50,000 volts hit your veins -- and there's no looking back. To study, to clean, to dance the night away! Use your imagination.

Yellow Roses from Texas
Out of the blue in the middle of a bad day there they were. From anyone else, it's the sign of good-bye; from a Texan, it's deep friendship. That they were sent as a high 5 on a good run from someone who has a relationship with me so far beyond anything that would include normal interaction reminded me the power of friendship to supercede how we define it -- and served as a talisman that there's always encouragement from left field when you most need it.

The Corporate Manufacture of Word of Mouth -- Rob Walker, NY Times Sunday Magazine, 5 December
Look it up online. Find a friend who throws out nothing. This is the next wave in how things get interjected into the fiber of your life unnoticed. It is insidious, disturbing, and the wave of the future. Is a friend zealous? Working for some corporate agenda? Selling you out? Or even worse, working for an agenda as an extension of their own unrecognized vanity? Walker examines all. A must read.

"Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind" -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Too many people, too many opinions, too many conflicting agendas. When the rubber meets the road, it comes down to the difference between being informed, being educated and being unable to own your intrinsic essence. If you maintain your sense of self, your own personal code of honor and believe in the sanctity of your mind, Emerson may be the last bolster of that which should all embrace as a matter of course.

"Oceans 12"
A high jinks caper film that's about tension more than laughs with enough bold-faced eye candy to just make it a brain-numbing escape by virtue of the visual reality. The writing, though, is taut enough to zing. The plot a suspension of reality, yet realistic enough to draw you in. And the clothes are, well, delightful. Oscar performances? Probably not. But the joie de vie and onscreen camaraderie is inspiring in all the best ways, reminding us of the glory of human foibles in the quest for higher bonding. A must escape see.

I'll bet she'd add you to the list if you emailed Torchlili@aol.com, but please note - this list is NOT for Bubba's who don't want to get in touch with their sensitive side at least a wee bit.