Houston Update

To all ye curious out there – Houston was fun. 

Once vows were exchanged and speeches spoken the after party was great. I danced like it was 1999 (not that I am certain that 99 was that good a year for dancing, I just honestly cannot remember the last time I danced that much). Husband complained that lion share of the music was current with barely one 80s or 90s hit to please those of us no longer in our twenties, but I was fine with the bump and grind, even if it made me feel a tad ripe in age by comparison.

Fashion Observations:

Over 70% wore knee length (MW, you were right!). Sure, some ladies brought long & dark & tasteful; one lady of unknown (to me) provenance busted out nude-ish color with copious sequins all over in a swirly and rather tacky pattern; but she was a stand out, hardly the rule.

Houstonians, you failed to live up to my imaginings of blinged-out horror, big hair and big everything else!

What did I wear, do you ask? I was extremely, hugely, happy with settling on my orange coat. If not I would have frozen my ass under the blasting air-conditioning during the ceremony. The black and white dress underneath was serviceable. Here are some pics, neither particularly good (my phone camera sucks, but that’s the price you pay for a smaller sized android these days).

LO’s divine Prada shoes made all the difference however! 

Thank you lady for making me feel like a Cinderella for a night and making me stand tall enough to kiss my husband ;-) I even managed a few dance moves in them before opting for a lower heeled version (yes, I went to the wedding with no less than three pairs of shoes, placed in a bag and entrusted to the concierge). 

Houston Observations: 

Living in a warm climate makes a ton of difference. I miss warm.

Nice art museum, if a little empty. I wonder if weather and museum-going are not related. Boston MFA is filled to capacity during the winter months, when options for kids and adults alike are scarce. 

My favorite piece by far was this:

It is a Phoenician sarcophagus. Notice how the head is classically Greek while the rest of the coffin shape is an abstracted version of a mummy sarcophagus from ancient Egypt – same shape just no embellishment or hieroglyphs. This disjunction, born out of a combination of two geographically and stylistically different traditions, is what makes Phoenician sarcophagi unique. Apparently they are also very rare, which explains why I have never seen one. The only other example in the USA is at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC, and there the exquisite abundance of amazing art  on display makes it less noticeable.

One of the museum buildings - the older one - is by Mies van den Rohe, and it is spectacular if underutilized by the curatorial team:

The two buildings are connected by a tunnel with an installation by  JamesTurrell - a cool way to tie in architecture and art, if not deeply meaningful (which can be said of most of his work):

Finally, we skipped the Rothko chapel. We were tired, the husband had to get ready to be a goormsman, and YES, I kind of dislike Rothko. Always have. Give me a mean de Kooning anyday. 

Bottom Line: nice trip. On to Israel tomorrow. This trip I have many more reservations about, and much more pain. None of which will be aired, or can be helped.