Well, my wool knit ponchos arrived today.  Ponchos plural because how can you stop at one when you’re being offered Missoni at a fraction of the price of Country Road?

This black and white fringed number was also a big hit with The Distressed Mother and Faux Fuchsia. In fact, I have FF to thank for drawing my attention to Gilt in the first place.  This winter, the three of us will have to find a day to synchronise ponchos.  I nominate a Saturday, ladies.  We could all wear them to brunch in our respective suburbs perhaps?  And take action shots as we sip our coffees of choice.

Missoni does have the tendency to look like an oversized tea cosy (or ‘reworked hippy stuff’ in the words of Mr SSG) when its on the floor so I apologise on behalf of my floorboards.  It was just too warm this evening for me to model woollens.  I’m planning to bring both of these to London.  If need be, I’m sure I can layer them on top of each other if it gets too cold.  I think I was being serious there.

Missoni excitement aside, tonight was also the one Monday night of the year that I voluntarily sit myself down in front of ESPN HD to watch my recording of the Super Bowl.

I have no idea what the rules of American football are but I’m fascinated by the pre game ceremony and the minutiae of the action on the sidelines.  There were live crosses to American armed forces stationed around the world who were watching the game.  The national anthem was sung by an ex American Idol and God Bless America was sung by country and western singers.  I heard that there was passionate national debate about what colour jerseys the New England Patriots should wear for this game.  Apparently leaving the presidential candidate analysis in the shade for quite a while.  This is clearly a sporting event that seems to unite Americans from all walks of life and from all over the world.

Non Americans like myself spend hours before game night googling the famous Half Time Ads as they aren’t actually shown in the Australian broadcast.  My favourite this year was Matthew Broderick revisiting his Ferris Bueller days for Honda.  Watching the ad made me wistful, happy and a little sad.  Has it really been 26 years since Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was released?  Again I ask, where did all the time go?  It’s not just Matthew Broderick that’s aged and grown up over the intervening years, we’ve aged with him.

Image courtesy of www.businessinsider.com

But it was the half time show that really blew my mind away.  Madonna, you are a legend.  You may look a little scary sometimes in your paparazzi shots these days but woman, you can still dazzle an all ages crowd with some pretty fine reworks of your hits from over the decades.  From gladiator to cheerleader, every one of your outfits dazzled.  I also admire your ability to perform in those stiletto boots.  Unlike the Ferris Bueller’s of the world, you’ve barely aged.