With the exception of one incredibly-wrong-but-well-intentioned gold-banded amethyst ring (have we met?), I have never exchanged or returned a gift in my life. Even if the size is wrong (and it often is – I am usually a Men’s Small, not Medium) I’ll wear the baggy sweater because it was a gift. See, despite my darnedest efforts to prove the contrary, I am quite a sentimental soul, and the idea of returning or exchanging a gift that someone cared enough to pick out for me is unthinkable.

If someone did that to me, I think, as unflappable as I like to pretend to be, I’d be just the tiniest bit hurt. (So if you have, don’t tell me.) Sometimes we’re not who we profess to be. This is one of those times.

Luckily this year I was fortunate to have my family stick to the Wish list I posted a while back, and they did not disappoint. My favorites were easily this Cole Haan bag and the magnificent new Private Blend from Tom Ford, ‘Santal Blush’. The Brooks Brothers’ certificate will come in quite handy as well. Christmas isn’t just about the gifts and presents, but I certainly won’t complain if they’re always like this.

A bow-tie and a jacket from Brooks Brothers, of course.
(And some very fun underwear that will remain my little secret.)

These are my new favorite pants. It’s not so much the crazy madras patchwork style that I like, but the comfort they provide. It feels like the softest pair of cotton pajamas, only you can get away with being preppy instead of a slob.  I found them in the Brooks Brothers outlet on our last trip to Maine, and I intend to wear them everywhere this summer.

Like Boston, where I am headed today. Hopefully there’s some room at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Summer Soiree, otherwise I’ll wander the South End window shopping, as that’s the only shopping I can afford these days.

The next day we trekked down to Amore Breakfast to see Leanne and have some of her incredible once again I marveled at all that was in bloom – immense stands of stately Siberian iris stood swaying in the wind, their blossoms floating like deep-purple butterflies.

Creeping phlox was just finishing its show, throwing out a stray burst of magenta here and there, and everywhere the Rosa rugosa, finally covered in full bloom – a sight we don’t ever get to witness.

After a breakfast of the righteously-renowned Black and Blue French toast (I opted for the Blue variation, with fresh Maine blueberries – the sweetest on earth), we walked back up to the village before hitting the outlets.

On every Ogunquit trip we make a shopping excursion to the Kittery outlets. Well, I shop, while Andy drives and parks the car. Occasionally he’ll go into a place that peaks his interest or coincides with his style (which means he’ll go in Gap and Banana Republic if he’s feeling especially adventurous, and Calvin Klein if he needs underwear, but that’s about it).

This time, I noticed that Coach had a new location, so we swerved into the parking lot and I told him I just wanted to look for a minute. Now, I know I’m not in need of a new bag, and certainly not another Coach bag, in black no less. Notice I said “need”. Desire, want, wish, and pragmatic-decisions-in-the-event-of-a-once-a-season-sale-on-top-of-clearance-prices are totally different things.

I did, however, need a decent bag for toiletries, as the free one I got with some cologne purchase years ago was on its last soap-stained legs. I’d been eyeing versions by Prada and Louis Vuitton, but hundreds of dollars for that minor item is a waste, even by my questionable standards. When I saw a two-zipper Coach case for half off, with an additional twenty percent off that, I couldn’t refuse.

Unfortunately for my American Express card (which actually split apart a few weeks ago, no joke – I had to tape it back together, literally), the case was in the vicinity of a messenger bag that was also half off, with the additional twenty percent on top of it, so I took a deep breath, rationalized and cajoled with my waning voice of reason, and ended up getting $450 worth of merchandise for about $160. Hey, it could have been a lot worse – there was a dark blue canvass bag that would have been ideal for summer, but I refrained.

Still on a high from that deal, I made Andy pull over for Brooks Brothers (it should be noted that I don’t even bother to stop at Brooks Brothers or Coach on a regular basis because even the sale prices are too exorbitant, but in these troubled times it seems the outlets are having sales on their already-reduced items). There was a 40% off store-wide sale, and I splurged on a pair of madras pants. I normally wouldn’t do such a thing, but shopping has a way of building on itself. I was helpless at this point. The upside is that they are the softest pair of pants I’ve owned in a while, and they make up for the summer look that I gave up in the navy canvass bag.

For dinner we switched things up and went out to Gypsy Sweethearts. Our habit is to leave that (or The Old Village Inn in the Fall) as a safety choice for our last night in town.

This time we enjoyed a perfect meal at our corner table, basking in the setting sunlight (and savoring the beef tenderloin wrapped in bacon, covered in a sinful blanket of bearnaise sauce).

Our dinner complete, we made our way to the Oxygen O2 Lounge, where Khris Francis was having his opening show of the season. We had seen Mr. Francis when he first started playing Ogunquit a number of years ago, and followed him intermittently during his stay at The Front Porch. Now he was back across the street where he originally began, and we had back-of-the-room seats (for our own safety).

Andy and I enjoyed the show immensely – the change of venue has reinvigorated both Francis and his material, and he looks to have a winning summer.

This was our first time at the Oxygen (to the best of my recollection – I’ve given up on proclaiming absolutes because my memory is shot), and it was a great experience – the staff was incredibly polite and attentive, without a bit of attitude, and that impresses me more than almost anything else. I’ll forgive a lot, and enjoy the good things that much more, if there is genuine appreciation for customers. We’ve been pretty lucky in that most of Ogunquit functions that way.

Once the show was done, we crossed the street and found ourselves back at Bread and Roses, with the door still open, and the desserts still scrumptious.

My search for the perfect pink jacket from Brooks Brothers paid off, as did the matching tie and Ted Baker shoes, but perhaps even more fortuitous was Andy’s selection. He surprised me with this bright cross between fuschia and aubergine. I would never have thought of pairing it with pink, but it worked wondrously well.

Once dressed, we awaited the arrival of our guests.

Our wedding party was a small, intimate one, made up of the people who meant the most to us: my parents, Andy’s Dad and sister Karen, our “Aunt” Elaine, my “matron-of-honor” Suzie, and our officiant, Chris.

We gathered in the suite before heading downstairs to The Bar for a pre-dinner cocktail.

The Bar is a traditional old-Boston affair, with dark wood, tufted chairs and chintz banquettes. We occupied a corner beneath a few ancient oil paintings, where a smartly-dressed waiter brought us sidecars, and Suzie fortified herself for her rehearsal dinner speech.

Then it was time for dinner. Andy and I chose the Top of the Hub as a fun way to begin, and a good introduction to the whole city of Boston beneath us.

The food was excellent, and we have to thank Andy’s father Tom and sister Karen for an amazing dinner, matched only by the breathtaking view. (In a fun semi-celebrity side-note, Michelle Kwan was having dinner at the table behind us, though no one other than me knew, or cared, that it was her. Figure skating is a real sport, people, and she is a two-time Olympian…)

Suzie gave a lovely speech as only she could, and then it was time for her and Chris to whisk me away for one final evening of bachelorhood.

{To be continued…}

{”The Madison Fit Pink Three-Button Panama Sport Coat” – doesn’t exactly slide off your tongue, does it?}

For the past few weeks I’ve been on an epic quest to find a pink sport coat for a certain rehearsal dinner coming up. I honestly didn’t think this would be a big deal, but as the days, and then weeks, passed, I was coming up with nothing. Even the internet couldn’t produce a cheap pink suit that I could dolly up and pass off as halfway decent. When last in Boston, I scoured the entire length of Newbury Street – stopping everywhere – Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs, Lilly Pulitzer, Ted Baker, Rugby, Zara, Annabelle Jones (okay, that was for an opera coat, which I did find) – and even went off the Newbury path to Saks, Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, Macy’s, and Club freaking Monaco. All to no avail.

A few FaceBook friends suggested Brooks Brothers, which I’d been avoiding because I knew they might have one, but I also knew it would be more than I could afford to spend, rehearsal dinner or not. As is usual in these fashion quests, the heart leads the head, so I gave in and checked out the Brooks Brothers site and found this pink sport coat - all Spring perfection and dream realization coupled with that hefty pricetag I looked at but instantly justified. After bookmarking the page, I decided to try calling the Brooks Brothers’ outlets within a three-hour radius and seeing if they had any pink sport coats before placing the online order.

I started out with the Lee, MA outlet, which suggested I try Manchester, VT (I’d made the trek for Burberry, surely I could cajole Andy into another emergency stop for Brooks Brothers – he would be the one sitting next to me at dinner after all), but Manchester only had them starting at size 40 – Long. They directed me to Lake George, NY (right in my upstate NY backyard, which was news to me) and they had one in a size that would fit with only minor tailoring.

The next day we made the quick trip to Lake George, and I am now the happy owner of a Brooks Brothers Pink Sport Coat (at a hugely discounted price – about 75% off). Yes, we have a rehearsal dinner outfit. Well, except for the shoes. I’m looking for something in pink…