Merry Christmas (Eve)!

Just finished my first of two Christmas desserts! A Gingerbread and Lemon curd trifle with a berry sauce. Whew! Tomorrow, it's cheesecake (egg nog edition).

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

SOTD: Vintage Polka Dots

photo, originally uploaded by A-T-G.

Simple polyester pocket square with orange polka dots. Worn with my Sesame Street fedora.

Christmas At Tiffany & Company

My husband and I went shopping for my Christmas present. I don't know what he got me but, I did stop by Tiffany & Company to peep their lovely windows.



A beautiful paper ballerina bedecked in sparkly earrings.



A paper Queen gets ready for Christmas swathed in gemstones.



A sleigh ride through a paper forest to deliver precious trinkets to loved ones.



Paper butterflies whisk Cinderella to the ball in a jewel adorned carriage.

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Each window was made out of cut paper and decorated with gorgeous jewels from Tiffany & Company!

Theme SOTD: Winter

photo, originally uploaded by A-T-G.

Friday was a "Theme" day on tPF. I peeped my entire collection and did not see a single "winter" themed scarf. Instead, I decided to wear a "Christmas" colored Red and Green pocket square.

Tiffany Poppy pocket square worn with a Mors scarf ring.

SOTD: Un Fil Indienne

Worn for a shopping trip to the City.

Toys for Tots

Each year, my husband and I fill a shopping cart with toys and then donate them to Toys for Tots. It's my favorite Christmas Tradition.



The deal we've made to each other is that we can only fill ONE cart and no single toy may exceed $20.00.



Jeff tosses toys into the cart and I re-arrange them to try to maximize space. I want to fill it as much as possible and hit every single aisle!



We HAD to get "Toy Story" toys in honor of his work.



And Batman MUST make an appearance!



When I was a little girl, many a Christmas miracle came at the generosity of strangers. Somehow, some way, my Mother would get a package to put under our tree, or my school would invite us to a party where we'd be given a present to take home, or a teacher would give us a little something. It is because of this kindness that I managed to maintain a belief in Santa Claus for much longer than my counter-parts. I still cherish this time of year because my associations with it has always been positive. I knew growing up that we, as a family, didn't have money to buy presents but, I also knew that I didn't need any to be happy. Given the choice between having a Christmas tree or getting presents, my sister and I would choose the tree! And yet, each year, come Christmas morning - when my sisters and I would tiptoe down the hall to see what, if any, goodies were to be had - we would always find boxes wrapped in snow white paper (from the North Pole) with our names written in crayon. Truly, a Christmas miracle.

For more information on Toys for Tots, click here.

Christmas Tree!

At last! My favorite part of the Holiday - cranking up the Christmas music and busting out the tree! This year we opted for a "fake" tree - mostly to keep the cats from hurting themselves if they played with it (our girls are still young and they occasionally make bad choices).


Panda helps.


Fig helps.

The results:

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Random list of things I am thankful for - in no particular order:

* the fact that I like AND love my family
* Elastic Waistbands
* Bacon
* Kiehl's
* Jeff's laugh
* kitties purr
* the existence of cupcakes
* books and the ability to read them
* slipper socks
* Tylenol

Le Monde es Vast

SOTD: Birthday Present!

It's from my MIL and it's lovely. Silk stole printed with...gourds I think? Regardless of what the pattern is made up of, the colors are divine and I love it!

SOTD: Soie Libre

Spent the day volunteering at a benefit for the Cartoon Art Museum at Pixar. In honor of the event, I wore my Soie Libre - which reminds me of comic panels!

The pic is not one of my best because I only had time to snap ONE. I adore the fact that the lights gave me bright red hair! I look good as a redhead!

Theme SOTD: Lucky

So the theme of the day is your "lucky" scarf. I found this little beauty at a vintage shop and thought I'd wear it in honor of my Aunt and Uncle:





They LOVE football! So, on a "Big" game day, I wear this scarf to bring their team "luck". I don't know if it's working too well but, the team isn't at the bottom of the standings...so....sure, it is!!

Halloween Panda!

Halloween Panda!, originally uploaded by A-T-G.

I don't tend to dress up my kitties for Holidays. Piccolo, however, had other ideas! She jumped up as I was making a fall colored paper chain and I jumped at the chance to snap a pic!

She's a natural and the camera loves her!

SOTD: Henry VIII

This one is from a vintage shop. It's a non label scarf with a fantastic pic of Henry VIII. I tend to wear this one knotted as a necklace as the scarf itself is pretty banged up.

Here's the scarf unfolded (and unwrinkled!)

SOTD: La Galere La Reale - Gavroche

Squinching my face up in my new pochette

Or puffing it up in the same pochette

SOTD: Belles Mexique

Worn with my horn Chaine d'Ancre scarf ring! Great fall colors!

Applesauce Bread

Applesauce Bread (great for fall!)

Apple Sauce:

2 tbsp butter
1 tsp cinnamon
4 Macintosh apples, peeled, cored
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp water
1/4 cup sugar

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan & cook over medium heat until apples are tender. Approx. 30 minutes. Mash

Applesauce Bread:
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 1/3 cups apple sauce
1/2 cup veg oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup walnut pieces

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Combine carrots, applesauce, oil & vanilla. Add eggs & sugar. Mix together. In another bowl, mix rest of dry ingredients. Stir dry into wet until blended. DO NOT OVERMIX!

Divide into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake 55 minutes until done.

Travels pt. 7 - A Wedding

About a week after Disneyland & LA., I flew out to NY for a wedding - one of my sisters. She got married at a tiny B&B in upstate NY.


The wishing well on the property.


A kitty on the property!

Theme SOTD: PINK scarf!

This week the tPF Scarfies decided to host a PINK scarf day - for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

I have several pink scarves and thought I'd submit them all!


Vintage Mousse - non label from a vintage shop nearby.


The Ambassador's Carriage - Hermes 70 cm (in Maroon)


Hermes Berries Twilly in pink


Ani Tigre from Hermes

SOTD: Vintage LC

Vintage Liz Claiborne stripped silk scarf

New Gavroches!

TWO new additions:


Early America





And...


La Gallere La Reale