Can you believe it? Thanksgiving is next Thursday! Are you hosting your first Thanksgiving and wondering what you should be doing today, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, to get ready? Finalizing your guest list. Make sure you know who will be at your table and also any special needs they may have. For example, my guest list for any party usually looks like this…
Name… any special needs
Joe Schmo… peanut allergy
Bella Boo… baby (soft veggies + Cheerios)
Linda Smith
Riley C. Riley
So on… & So forth
Kids, with the holidays approaching, there is no excuse for cellular discourtesy at the Thanksgiving table or in front of the tree. So here are a few definite rules to follow this holiday season to ensure there’s nothing distracting you from being the belle of the ball!
Don’t:
~ Rest your cell-phone on the table or bar. Unless you’re a mother, this can be very insulting to your dinner/drink companions.
~ Play on your cell-phone in the elevator. You never know when you may get the opportunity to chat with the CEO about that amazing stitching on his pocket square. (True story.)
~ Answer your cell or text during meetings. This sends the signal that you are not engaged in the action… unacceptable!
Do:
~ Feel out the situation. Are you with a group of people that regularly tweet and/or are also addicted to instagramming every meal? Then, you’re probably safe to do the same a few times. This summer, we met up with a group of twitter buddies for drinks at the Carlyle and though the conversation was lively, I must confess we were all tweeting away. However, if you’re with your grandmother, your parents, your co-workers, your boss… just say no!
On her birthday, I just couldn’t resist sharing a little Style File from my *very* favorite of Princess Grace’s films: High Society. Two random facts before we start: It was Grace’s last film before becoming princess consort of Monaco. Also, High Society, released in 1956, was a musical remake of 1940’s A Philadelphia Story, which also had a crazy amazing line-up of stars, but we’ll have to get into that another time.
1.)Stripes are essential, flowers are abundant and a *lovely* accent (plus a little crazy) are essential in Newport…
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2.) The staple of every home is hidden bar. This one pictured happens to pop out from among the library books… that is, if you know which one to choose!
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3.) One never just walks from the dressing room to the pool in their swimsuit. Instead, one glides in a robe that makes them seem like a goddess and disrobes to reveal a suit that is just revealing enough to make one seem untouchable.
Also of note: Bing’s 2-tone brogues with matching tie and pocket square. That reminds me, if you haven’t seen Mr. Crosby’s dressing room in this movie, you should…
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4.)If you are going to get drunk at your engagement party with your ex-husband, be sure to wear something fabulous and act so charming that no one can resist you. After all, you’re “sensational, everybody says so…”
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5.) Eventually you will have to go home and sober up. This is best done while wearing a yellow silk kimono and lounging in your impeccably decorated boudoir.
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6.)Finally, and perhaps most importantly, when you do get married the next morning. Be sure you pick the Mr. Right. (*The wedding march jazzed up by Louis at the end of this video never fails to make me smile!)
It was on this day in 1929 that our very own American princess was born! I couldn’t resist a little bit of a celebration. So in lieu of random links today, how about a little advice from Princess Grace to get our week off on the right foot?
Read…
The Paper! You never know when you may fall in love with a prince and be whisked off to a foreign land.
Drink…
Tea with your closest friends this week!
Wear…
Gold! I will never stop swooning over Frances Stevens’ gilded ensemble from To Catch a Thief.
Watch…
High Society! It’s my very favorite Grace film, and later today I’ll post a Style File from the 1956 musical.
This week the time change hit the Slaughter house like a cannonball. With the days getting shorter it seems all we want to do is cook, sleep, put on Netflix, and make pretty things. So as promised, I’ll be sharing some recipes that will help us all hunker down for winter, starting with the Cranberry Orange Relish that I mentioned earlier in the week. It’s perfect for all those turkey sandwiches I’m sure we’ll all be eating during the holidays. It’s even pretty tasty to have on the side of your Thanksgiving plate as a tart little something between savory bites. Enjoy!
Cranberry Orange Relish
Ingredients: 1 cup fresh cranberries
rind of 1 clementine
fruit of 2 clementines
1/4 cup golden raisins
2T Patron Citronge (or other orange liqueur)
a little bit of sugar
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1.) Add fruit to a food processor/blender and chop fine. You can serve it on your table like this or…
2.) For more of a condiment, for sandwiches and stuff, add the mixture to a heavy-bottomed saucepan with the liqueur and cook until it turns bright red. Add sugar if it needs a little sweetening up.
Confession: I was a Brownie for only one year in elementary school. ‘Why did she quit?’ you may be asking yourself. Because the crafts just weren’t up to par. I know you’re shocked. Even then, I had a Martha-complex. Any fool can tie-dye a t-shirt, I wanted to learn to sew the dress.
However, upon reflection, there are many things I admire about the Girl Scouts. They teach girls to be confident women. They instill entrepreneurial skills. (Who doesn’t crumble each time they’re harassed by those sweet little pigtails & uniforms selling Thin Mints?) And I’d like to believe they give girls a taste for exploration–something seriously lacking in a world of hand sanitizer and helicopter parents. So today’s little ‘Dress the Part’ is dedicated to the girl I never was: Sandy the Girl Scout. Go on an adventure. Bring a little outdoors in. Buy your own badges off Etsy.
When I first started reading blogs several years ago, Alicia Paulson’s “Posie Gets Cozy” was one of the first ones I read. Not only does she make incredibly beautiful things, she is a beautifully poetic writer. She’s also the type of writer that makes you feel like an old friend after reading just a couple of posts. Needless to say, when she announced that she and her husband recently had the privilege of adopting a precious baby girl, I couldn’t help but cheer.
In case you are unaware, November is National Adoption month, and this is a cause that is very near and dear to my heart. There are so many children out there who need a family or, more accurately, a safe place to be loved. So go read Alicia (and Amelia)’s story and then pray about maybe donating time or funds to those kids who haven’t been lucky enough to find their place yet.
Eat:
Last week I posted this photo on Instagram. (How did we eat lunch before camera phones?) I couldn’t resist. This is my favorite time of year to grocery shop! Fresh cranberries and cider are on display in every bodega while baking powder and Swanson broth are sold in bulk at the market. I am a firm believer that making your own food leads to a more beautiful life so if you’ve never been much of a cook, this is definitely the time to start! I’m going to be posting lots of basic recipes over the next few months to help us all learn some skills while we hunker down for winter starting later this week with this basic cranberry relish. It’s the perfect condiment for turkey sandwiches or tart taste to have on the side of your Thanksgiving plate.
This week, I couldn’t help but laugh when I came across these LIFE magazine images from 1945. Animal sweater are *everywhere* these days, and I must admit that seeing how adorable these girls look in them, I may actually have to give in to the trend. Although, I think this saxophone sweater may be a bit more my style.
** BTW, SUPER FUN ANNOUNCEMENT COMING
YOUR WAY AT NOON! **
