B SOUP: Picnic Basket Case

Nothing says summer like Gingham. Somehow, it just looks like the American dream. It's a fabric depiction of sunshine, a white picket fence, green grass, blue skies, a cold glass of lemonade, fresh fruit, a handmade woven basket, and everything else you'd see skimming a July issue of Martha Stewart LIVING.

Ah yes, all of the makings for a perfect family picnic. Except- Picnics SUCK. First you have to pack everything into a dozen Tupperware containers (which will inevitably spill all over your car once you back out of your driveway), then you have to unpack everything onto your blanket (which is never big enough for more than one person and a small cat) only to have every ant, mosquito, and fly in a 5 mile radius call up their friends to spread the word about the buffet you've laid out for them, all while sweating your A double $$ signs off in 90 degree heat, eating an egg salad sandwich that got squished in the Zip-loc bag on the way. To me, all of those things sound even worse than that run on sentence. Oh, and if you had kids with you- FORGET IT.. . .So if you're like me, and you think eating out of plastic containers on an anthill sounds more like hell on earth than a fun Saturday afternoon- you might be better off skipping the picnic and opting to dress like one. That way you get all of the beauty of a summer day without the rash from wet grass.Here are my picnic picks: