Scene & Heard

+ Baby, I’m back!
Wondering where I’ve been all summer?

Yeah, me too.

In case you missed the photo of my new favorite subject –– Baby Henry, who made an appearance in this column following his June 5 birth –– here’s another shot of the little guy. (You know us new moms. We’re relentless when it comes to baby pictures.)

Anyway, I’m back from the abyss, and by abyss I mean maternity leave, and by maternity leave I mean the haze of sleepless nights, soggy burp cloths, dirty diapers and endless consoling of inconsolable cries.

Ah, who am I kidding? I’m still in the thick of it.

But, I’m happy to be back to work, because the only arts and entertainment in my life right now is a musical rattle that never shuts up and a stuffed dog that sings “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” in a cringe-worthy falsetto.

Thank you to Loren Mayo for doing a killer job with this section while I was away. If you see Loren around town, please give her a hand for a performance well done.

And, please, by all means, tell me my baby is cute.

+ DWB receives a whirlwind facelift
Designing Women Boutique is apparently recession proof.

Not only did the consignment shop see a 25% increase in sales this year, it ushered in a new estate liquidation and downsizing department and added 800 square feet of new office space to its North Tamiami Trail location.

And the makeover continues.

In just one weekend last month, DWB Development Director Pam Day and a team of volunteers (Annie Sundeen, Bev Crawford, Butch Amerson, Bert Minot and John Day) enlarged and remodeled the sales floor.

The group clocked more than 400 hours primping the store before its Aug. 15 grand re-opening.

If you haven’t stopped by the boutique, you should. The entire north end of the store now houses pretty home furnishings and accessories, while the south end showcases DWB’s famous stock of designer duds.

+ s/ART/q gets graphic with its tees
Doesn’t the s/ART/q print party suit Sarasota to a tee?

(Sorry, I can’t resist a good pun.)

For the third year in a row, the artists of s/ART/q prove if you ink it, they will come.

The Rosemary District’s HuB once again hosted the popular screen-printing party, which now runs like a well-oiled machine thanks to the dozens of s/ART/q volunteers who dry, fold and organize hundreds of pieces of apparel faster than it takes most people to do one load of laundry.

The Sept. 10 event served up a variety of designs, including an old lady in a superhero cape done by the always-enigmatic Brian Haverlock. The print was a sleeper hit among new parents brandishing white baby onesies.

Also a hit among infants: Tim Jaeger’s ode to John Ringling — an illustration of the circus magnate dressed as a dorky tourist in knee socks and a Hawaiian shirt.

One can only assume that if Ringling were still around, he’d be in line at the print party, hoping to jazz up his tailored suit coat.

+ Golden Apple goes ‘Butch’ for bucks
The Golden Apple Dinner Theatre has found its niche.

Between Drag Queen Bingo and last weekend’s “Butchlesque Fashion Show,” the Apple is quickly becoming the poster theater for gender-bending entertainment.

The 40-year-old dinner theater recently filed to become a non-profit organization in an effort to pay off its debts. With events such as “Butchlesque,” billed as a fundraiser to help save the Apple, it looks like the theater is on the upswing of its struggle.

The Sept. 10 show sold out well before it opened.

None of this, however, seemed to fluster the female models, many who had never walked a catwalk before — and in men’s clothing.

Said Gail Forbes: “I heard the lights will blind me, so I won’t see how many people are out there. That’s what’s keeping me calm.”