Ten Things I've Learned From My Mom

Happy Mother's Day to my mom!

I've learned so many things from her... these are just a few.

1. ALWAYS send a thank you note. It will always be appreciated, bring good feelings and never be forgotten.
2. HOW to make the perfect red sauce. 4T extra virgin olive oil, 4 garlic cloves, 1/2 C red wine, 1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes, 28 oz can Italian tomatoes chopped, pinch of salt and sugar, 2 T chopped fresh basil. 
3. WHEN in doubt, wear red. When my parents were married, my Dad told my Mom he loved it when she put on red lipstick. He liked her lips red so much that he nicknamed her Rita.
4. HOW to make the perfect bow for a present. She an expert bow maker. Her presents under the Christmas tree are the most beautiful. I love to save her bows.
5. DANCE and follow your dreams. She was supportive of me for majoring in dance because she knew it was my dream to become a professional dancer.
 
6. AN appreciation for old movies. The Bells of St. Mary's, Weathering Heights, Roman Holiday, Casablanca...My mom would make us hot tea and we'd get cozy on the couch for a black and white movie (it's a bonus if it's raining). 
7. NEVER discuss sex, politics and religion.  Of course she's right, it's just in poor taste. 

8. FAMILY comes first. She has always put family first. She is selfless. 
9. HOW to fix most anything for my children. When in doubt, I can always call my mom. Her knowledge is fast effecting medicine to my ears. 
10. THE most important thing that I've learned from my mom is that she is ALWAYS right! What's funny is that she says the same thing about her mother, my grandmother.

My Mom has always been able to make me smile. Wishing you the Happiest Mother's Day! xx

Pictures from my third birthday party.

It's May...the gift giving month

May blew in and it feels like Christmas time again with gift season upon us. May brings many gift giving occasions like: teacher appreciation, Mother's Day, Father's Day, wedding season, graduation...May is the month to sing, Chic's "Ah, freak out! Le freak, c'est chic..." My head always spins in May, it's the "freak out" month. 

For end of the year gifts for your child's teacher, don't freak out, remember it's supposed to be a gift FROM your child. Why not make sure your child's name is part of the gift? When pregnant with my first baby, I was reading Franny and Zooey and that's how I came up with my daughter's name, Zooey. The same is true for my son Quincy...I was reading about John Quincy Adams. You can find something with your child's name in print and make your gift extra personal and memorable. 

I take a lot of pictures and the end results make a spectacular gift for my classroom volunteers...pictures of their children throughout the year. Pinhole Press is one of my favorite places to shop. I would love this accordion brag book as a mom because it's like a parent's version of the yearbook. Aren't you always supposed to give gifts that you would love?

It's almost summer and people always need new beach towels and sunglasses. ASOS has a fashionable and affordable selection.

I combined the ideas and put them in a cute "take-out" box from the container store. 

For the graduate, give the inspiration to travel with 36 Hours in Europe. The newly engaged couple should read The New-Fashioned Wedding. You can't go wrong with books. I'm pretty sure my mother is featured in My Mom Style Icon and she would also love Domino, the book of decorating. For my dad, the Grateful Dead Father's Day card is just too cool! The ultimate Mother's Day gift would be Pino's Close to my Heart Giclee canvas.

My son recently had a classmate who had a going away party because his friend was leaving for Taiwan. We made him a personalized t-shirt at Cafe Press with a picture of his class.

Has anyone ever written you an ode? I think of John Keats when I think of odes...romantic, heavy and emotional. Now imagine a child writing you an ode...sweet, innocent and the best gift ever! Those are the best gifts...the one that comes from your heart. One of my former students personally delivered this ode to me last week...what a treasure and again THE best gift ever!

Need more ideas for teacher appreciation see here. More gift ideas for May, see here.  

Steve and Edie: 'Love Has Come For You'

You may remember the original Steve and Eydie. Now there's a new modern version, Steve and Edie. Two dynamite entertainers that come together making simple and beautiful melodies.

Steve Martin, 67, plays tinkling bluegrass sounds on his banjo mixed with Edie Brickell, 47, who has a delicate Texas folk sound. They compliment each other well. Their music is contemporary with an old-fashioned flavor. The new album (released last Tuesday) has Edie's whimsical, poetic lyrics and Martin's genius but understated style.

Edie Brickell was my first musical love. I was so excited to see that she partnered with the legendary Steve Martin (Renaissance man) on their new album, Love Has Come for You. I'm not so excited that they're NOT scheduled to perform in Texas on their concert tour (especially knowing that they were both born in Texas).

When you get to Asheville is one of my favorites but once I have the album playing, I don't stop it...I can play the whole album and love every song. Listen to Steve and Edie perform When you get to Asheville with The Steep Canyon Rangers on the Late Show with David Letterman and you'll be hooked too.

To Steve and Edie I say, "When you get to Dallas, send me an email!" xx

Make Your Earth Day, Emeraldalicious!

My daughter Zooey is a huge Pinkalicious fan. We've read all the Victoria Kann books and have even seen the play so when the new Pinkalicious book came out, Emeraldaicious, her green eyes flashed with eagerness to read it. 

You can see the Emeraldaicious book trailer here. 

Pinkalicious and her brother Peter are walking to their favorite park and while walking through the woods and she breaks her wand and tiara. She decides to make an extra-special wand out of a stick and flowers and finds out that the wand is magical. To their horror, they find their favorite park is a junkyard. To their delight, the find the magical wand makes beautiful things out of junk when Pinkalicious makes a rhyming wish.

The wand eventually loses it’s magic but Pinkalicious and Peter find that they can keep making the world Emeraldaicious by loving the Earth. This is the perfect book to read for Earth Day because it teaches recycling and reusing in an imaginative and happy way. I'm borrowing my daughter's copy to read to my second grade class.

The very best field trips are those that are outside with wide open spaces to explore. My love for the Dallas Arboretum continues to grow. Earth Day is the perfect time to talk about trees. The Dallas Arboretum offers a field trip called “Tree Works” that allows children to explore the connection to plants and people. Hands-on activities are always a hit with children...it’s THE best way to learn. Digging in the dirt to make discoveries and looking at “treecookies” were some of my favorite activities during our most recent field trip that our second grade took to the Arboretum.  

The stars at night are big and bright...so are the lights! Here's a gorgeous photo of the United States in April...perfect for Earth Day! See more photos from NASA.

Read more on the Dallas Arboretum here and here.

Wishing you an "Emeraldalicious" Earth Day! xx 

Letters from three famous Americans that are out of the little sewing box

There’s a charming German phrase, “Aus dem nähkästchen redden.” It means “out of the little sewing box.” I imagine old ladies knitting and gossiping as they sip tea.

Looking at other people’s personal and intimate letters certainly gives us a reason to use that phrase. Ernest Hemingway, Georgia O’Keeffe and Eleanor Roosevelt were letter writers...the very best kind of letter writers. Their sewing box is open. Is it gossip if they’re dead? Are we snooping by reading the private letters of the three famous Americans? Well, they’re “out of the little sewing box” now so I suppose it’s alright...

Letters have always been something I’ve enjoyed writing and receiving. There is so much more of a person’s character and personality inside their letter versus an email, text…even a phone call. Through the letters of Ernest Hemingway, Georgia O’Keeffe and Eleanor Roosevelt, we get a glimpse of their relationships and inside their heads.

The Letters of Ernest Hemingway: Volume 1, 1907-1922 

My son Quincy shares the same birthday as Hemingway. I’ve read that Hemingway’s parents taught their children the importance of letter writing at an early age. I hope my children will write to me just as Hemingway did to his parents.

Hemingway holds my attention through his novels like no other writer but reading his letters, I feel I know HIM…the real Hemingway…and he was so caring (and funny). Reading letters to his family takes you into his heart. 

Hemingway urged his friend F. Scott Fitzgerald to write to him in Pamplona: "Or dont you like to write letters. I do because it's such a swell way to keep from working and yet feel you've done something."

One letter to his mother made me laugh out loud written on September 8, 1914:

Dear Mother,

I got your card thanks very much. Our Train was 2.25 minutes late!! so no school.

The Program is all changed around lunch at a different time and alot of other changes. There was a report circulated around that I was drowned and some of my pals thot I was a ghost. May I PLEASE have SOME LONG PANTS. Every other Boy in our class has them, Lewie Clarahan Ignatz smith and every other little shrimp. My pants are so small every time I wiggle I think they are going to split. And I have about 8 or Ten inches of wrist below me cuffs thusly.

Please say I can have them long ones.

Your drowned son

Ernest Hemingway

P.S. My shirt buttons all fly off when I take a full Breath.

I feel a bit guilty reading Hemingway’s letters after knowing that it was his wish that the letters NOT be published. Hemingway wrote to his executors: “I hereby request and direct you not to publish, or consent to publication by others, of any such letters.”

I’m sorry Hemingway but I’m so happy that your sewing box is open!

My Faraway One: Selected Letters of Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz: Volume One, 1915-1933

Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz exchanged over 5,000 letters. Each letter makes the reader feel like they should not be reading such private details of their romance. That’s what letters do…exude romance. 

One letter Georgia wrote to Alfred on July 11, 1916 shares how she feels about letters.

I think letters with so much humanness in them have never come to me before- I have wondered with everyone of them- what it is in them- how you put it in- or is it my imagination- seeing and feeling-finding what I want-

They seem to give me a great big quietness- that relieves the tension that I always seem to be feeling.

Empty Without You: Intimate Letters of Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok

Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok (known as her “first friend” and referred to as Hick) became close in 1932 when Hickok, who was a reporter for The Associated Press, began covering Franklin D. Roosevelt's Presidential campaign. They wrote letters to each other for twenty-nine years and dearly, dearly loved each other…and their country. 

Eleanor Roosevelt wrote to Lorena Hickok from The White House on March 30, 1934:

Darling, I love you & I have just marked five days off the calendar. May seems so far away & yet I know I’m going to be busy & so are you & it will pass but dear one when I sit here just before dinner I wish the door might open & let you in. I wonder if always I’m not going to feel that a day is incomplete which we don’t start & end it to-gether? Well, I don’t on paper anyway. So much, much love & bless you dearest one.

Devotedly,

E.R.

Letters are treasures. I’m so glad these letters are “Aus dem nähkästchen redden.”

Want more books with letters...look here. Inspiration for writing here. 

Battle of the Books...Make Way for Young Readers!

When I told my daughter Zooey that I was coaching her team for Battle of the Books she said, "Mommy, you HAVE to make it FUN!" I think that it was pretty easy to accomplish her wish because the books WERE so much fun. 

Battle of the Books is a school program that began in the 1930's to encourage excitement in reading while exposing children to quality literature. During the competition the children are asked eighty questions that all begin "In which book" and the team has twenty seconds to agree on one out of twelve books. 

The Battle of the Books is a silent competition. Do you know how hard it is to keep kids under seven silent? I had six wonderful children on my team (grades kindergarten through second grade) and we did not /could not practice silent the whole time. It was a challenge to practice silent even for a little while. This is how we practiced most of the time, but we also practiced silently like this.   

Out of the twelve books we read, these four were some of my daughter's favorites. 

A Bad Case of Stripes | David Shannon
A favorite book of many teachers to read at the beginning of the year to encourage their class to be happy with who they are and not follow the crowd. Poor Camilla must go through her "case of the stripes" as she worries about impressing her classmates. I think Camilla is a lot like my daughter...She loves lima beans but won't eat them because her friends don't like them. She tries on forty-two outfits before the first day of school. She doesn't want to be embarrassed. "Everyone at school laughed at Camilla. They called her "Camilla Crayon" and "Night of the Living Lollipop."

Gregory, the Terrible Eater | Mitchell Sharmat
Reading about Gregory had my team giggle like crazy. Gregory likes the kind of food you hope for your children to like...eggs, vegetables, fruit, and fish. Gregory's parents want him to eat like they do...tin cans, boxes, tires, and mostly garbage. His parents take Gregory to see Dr. Ram who advises them to compromise. Mother goat says, "We have your favorite today. Vegetable soup. But there is one condition. You also have to eat the can."

Make Way for Ducklings | Robert McCloskey
This beautiful book was given to me when I was a child. I used my 1979 copy for our team practices. This is one of those books that is a treasure to be passed down. The story continues to translate and be relevant to today's young readers even though it's more than seventy-two years old (written in 1941). I remember my mom reading it to me...it's one of my favorite children's books. I have fond memories of visiting Boston's Public Garden and seeing the statue of Mrs. Mallard and her eight ducklings created by Nancy Schön. Barbara Bush gave a copy of the sculpture to Raisa Gorbachev in 1991 that can be seen in Moscow's Novodevichy Park. 

Officer Buckle and Gloria | Peggy Rathmann
Poor Officer Buckle wouldn't have an audience without Gloria who could be on Saturday Night Live. Safety is not interesting, but with Gloria, the children learn while they laugh. This story is in second grade's basil reader and always brings lots of laughs. The children remember all the safety tips. Just the other week in my classroom, I stood on a swivel chair to reach for something in my cabinet and one of my students shouted out, "Mrs. Cooley, safety tip #77! NEVER stand on a swivel chair!" Oops!!

Here were the other eight books in the Battle of the Books K-2 competition:
Big Al | Andrew Clements
Click, Clack, Moo-Cows That Type | Doreen Cronin 
Ira Sleeps Over  | Bernard Waber
Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook  | Michael Garland
The Pain and the Great One  | Judy Blume
Zen Shorts  | Jon J. Muth
Zinnia and Dot  | Lisa Campbell Ernst
Leah's Pony  | Elizabeth Friedrich

La Primavera...enjoyed more fully after spring cleaning

Spring…Primavera! It’s here and it’s grand. Outside the colors are vibrant and fresh. I’m fantasizing about taking a nap on my back patio and relishing in spring like Botticelli's three dancing Graces. 

Spring cleaning on the other hand, is something I dread. I don't imagine Botticelli's three Graces having to do spring cleaning. Over spring break, that’s just what I did. Going through my son and daughter’s room for a few days straight was dreadful. Sifting through the past few years of memories and deciding what to keep was something I’ve been putting off for a long, long time.

I had help. My mom was like Botticelli's cupid, targeting me to focus on uncluttering. She was my second set of eyes and with several boxes we managed to make since of their rooms again…now much more age suitable (and I can close their drawers).

Spring cleaning requires much needed therapy. I found mine in yoga class and at the Dallas Arboretum. My yoga teacher began class by saying, “It’s spring and it’s time to clean out the clutter.” Cleaning out the clutter physically means you clean clutter out of your head too. It feels so good.

Clean the clutter out of your child’s backpack and out of your counter with this must have app artkive. I don't feel guilty about throwing away my child’s art/school work…take a picture of it and then artkive it.

Take some reading material with you before you take that nap in your back yard. There are several websites that help you to unclutter and be more productive Unclutter, Lifehack, Dumblittleman, 43folders and Martha’s spring organizing tips. 

Rewarding yourself for your uncluttering is absolutely necessary. I suggest an outing to enjoy the beautiful spring time weather. You could feel like this...

Celebrating La Primavera at the Dallas Arboretum.

Swing into Spring

Jean-Honore Fragonard’s 1767 painting, The Swing is famous for its Rococo style and flirtatiousness. It has that has that a “love is in the air” springtime flingtime feel. It's fun to know that back in 1767 it caused quite the scandal. I can’t help but sing Melanie Safka’s1971 song in my head…it just works!

“I’ve got a brand new pair of rollerskates

You’ve got a brand new key

I think that we should get together and

Try them on to see"

Flirtatiousness can translate to any century or age but springtime is the time when we feel the most flirtatious. Can't you just hear that French flirty woman singing Melanie's...la la la la la la's as she kicks off her shoe to one of her lovers?

Read: Flirtatious French writer, Colette's 1910 novel The Vagabond (the wanderer) tells the story of a woman, Renée Néré, who becomes a music hall dancer after a divorce and contemplates another marriage with a man who is crazy for her. Colette's character, Renee, is based on her own life which makes The Vagabond even more riveting. Written over one-hundred years ago, it still has relevant charm that just can't be dated.  

Smell:

Neroli (the orange flower) is associated with love and romance and known for it's calming effects. In the 17th century an Italian princess, Anne Marie Orsini (princess of Nerola, Italy) was so fond of orange blossom that her name was given to this flower...neroli. Tom Ford Neroli Portofino, Neroli 36, Neroli, and Fleurs D'Oranger are four top neroli frangrances that will sooth you and all those who come in contact with you. 

Spring Romance...Texas-style:

The Lone Star State's bluebonnets are blooming. Texas ladies like to wear pretty boots with flowy skirts and dresses. These Old Gringo boots would be perfect for a romantic picnic. I like the romance of letter writing and what a special way to personalize your letter with a Texas size return address stamp. Do you wear your heart on your sleeve? What about your state around your neck? What a perfect way to show your pride. GaugeNYC state pendant necklaces give "Deep in the Heart of Texas" a visual meaning. I love the idea of wearing my state close to my heart. 

Listen:

Madeleine Peyroux's new release, The Blue Room, is perfect for springtime flingtime love and afternoon delights. I love her versions on four of Ray Charles' songs but my favorite is her take on the Everly Brother's, Bye Bye Love with her Billie Holiday pitch...it's beautiful.

Spring Patterns:

Spring is the perfect time to mix and match patterns and colors. I can't get enough of Sferra's Piccadilly country pattern. It's just right for a picnic and Easter brunch. The kind of girl that wears the Clover Canyon Turquoise Valley Neoprene dress is a girl who wears rollerskates AND kicks them off in a swing. I'm so excited that it's time to think about swimsuits. I love these pretty feminine springtime patterns of one-piece suits by Camilla and Marc and Madewell. 

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. ~Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

It's spring...time for a brand new pair of rollerskates! And make sure you bring the key! xx

  

Shamrock's and Shepherd's Pie...Ten things to do before St. Patrick's Day!

Top Ten Irish "must do" list for St. Patrick's Day

1. breakfast: The proper Irish breakfast includes bacon, sausage, fried eggs, mushrooms, and tea.
2. eat: Have a picnic and soak in the sun for lunch then enjoy shepherd's pie for dinner. 
3. wear: AG jeans are soft, vibrant and hug you in all the right places. These jeans are in a color called Shamrock...how perfect is that?    
4. send a card: Be sure to find the perfect Irish greeting to send to your parents and friends. 
5. find a parade: Family friendly parades are not hard to find. I like that the Dallas St. Patrick's Day is making an effort to focus more on the family. 
6. Irish beer: Irish beer for St. Patrick's Day. Find one or try several. I like the Rogue.
7. Irish-style cocktails: How does a green sangria sound? I think I could drink it all spring and summer long.
8. quotes: There are so many Irish blessings and sayings but my all time favorite is this one: May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields and, until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand. You can find many more in a former post I wrote here. 
9. movie: There are three fantastic Irish movies to enjoy in honor of the Emerald Isle...watch the Commitments, Once and Waking Ned Divine
10. linens: These clover Piccadilly linens are perfect for a St. Patrick's Day picnic.

May you always walk in sunshine. May you never want for more. May Irish angels rest their wings right beside your door.

Family fun...what it's all about! Happy St. Patrick's Day!! xx

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag und prost!

Two of my friends whose birthday's I love to celebrate

BIRTHDAYS are so much fun to celebrate, especially when you're celebrating for someone else. My friend Margot just celebrated her Geburtstag and I made her a Chocolate Coffee Whiskey Spice Birthday Cake with Mascarpone Icing. 

Margot makes a BIG deal out of saying "DON'T make a deal about my birthday." Well my Austrian friend, I simply cannot say mir Wurst (it's all sausage...it doesn't matter) about your birthday because birthdays should be celebrated BIG...they are not all sausage but rather chocolate spiked with a little alcohol!

If you're a Sex and the City fan you might do what I do and relate all things in life to an SATC episode (like most people do with Seinfeld). I was recently remembering the episode when Carrie had to pay for her own birthday cake because nobody showed up to her party and then walking home alone she drops the cake in an NYC construction site...awful! Friends should always make their friend's birthdays better than they expect it will be. How do you make it special? Easy, you remember it!

Make your friend's birthday a happy one and say, Alles Gute zum Geburtstag und prost!

Put the kettle on

TEA has a soothing, relaxing quality that has always set me right. I first started drinking tea when I was in the seventh grade. My parents took a trip to England and when they returned my mom served us tea just like they had experienced in Great Britain…on a tray with sugar, milk and toast. I was hooked. I still prefer my tea the British way, with milk and sugar.

When I wake up in the morning, I’m anticipating my first sip. Making tea is a happy ritual. Listening to the water hiss, selecting my tea, the delicate aroma when the hot water touches the tea, the heat of the cup in my hand…everything about tea is comforting. Taking the time to prepare tea in the morning allows me to slowly wrap my head around the day.

My favorite accompaniment with tea is sourdough bread toasted with strawberry jam and the Dallas Morning News. 

Tea always tastes better loose

Tea has a cultural individuality. No two teas are exactly alike and each has its own trademark flavor…like wine, tea has a terroir (where the roots of a plant nestle into the ground and the tea takes on the sense of the place).

I like to start the day with Tazo Awake tea. It’s bold, black and smells heavenly! Later, I switch to Twinings chai to spice up the mid-morning. Then in the afternoon I enjoy a peppermint tisane to calm down the day and smooth away the rough edges.

Wouldn't you love to drink tea from this Italian Hybrid Collection?

It is contentment times two to share a cuppa with a friend. Some of the very best conversations take place with tea. Sharing a cup of tea with a friend is the perfect recipe for a lasting friendship. If tea cups could talk they’d spill all kinds of warm secrets. 

My daughter likes to drink tea with me. It’s a delight to share tea with her. I like to prepare for her a chamomile tea with honey.  Making tea for someone you love and sharing sips together is high up on my list of best moments. 

When I sip my tea, I feel warm and cozy inside. I’m content and everything is right. Tea makes the world a better place.

Put the kettle on, it’s always a good time for a cuppa.

If you are cold, tea will warm you;
If you are too heated, it will cool you;
If you are depressed, it will cheer you;
If you are exhausted, it will calm you.
~William Gladstone 

Happy Birthday to my Grandmother!!

 Happy birthday to my Grandmother!!

Fervent Bridge Master, Frequent cocktail maker and Faithful Irish Catholic

If there were a trophy for having the most fun in life, my grandmother, Patricia Ann Shaughnessy Stricklin would win! She was like a magnet...people loved to be in her company and she was always the life of the party.

My grandmother (who liked to be called Pat, I called her Mema) simply had what it took to be très chic and glamorous without even thinking about it. Even after five children she managed to keep her girlish figure and ALWAYS wore red lipstick. She had many friends…some were life-long like the girls above that she shared most of her school days with.  

Pat was the baby of eight siblings, the mother of five children, grandmother of ten grandchildren AND great-grandmother of three!

As a young girl, one of her favorite subjects was French. She went to a Catholic boarding school in New Orleans for a short time and St Matthews in Monroe. She also studied French at the University of Louisiana in Monroe.

She was a Gold Life Master Bridge player (not many points away from Diamond Life Master Bridge player). She also played scrabble, backgammon and poker. She was quick and witty on top of that.

I remember her taking me to the fancy casino boats in Shreveport to gamble and being so impressed at how she made friends with the whole blackjack table...calling people by their first names, having the table in stitches, and teaching them how the game should be played…the fun way!

My grandmother had a “sweep the kitchen” attitude with cooking. If you’ve got it, use it! She taught me how to add things to my pasta for flavor and now I can’t put steak in my spaghetti without thinking of her! If she were to order a pizza, she’d really say “sweep the kitchen!”

She was of the generation of cocktails at five and her favorite drink was W.L. Weller bourbon with Tab. My mom remembers my grandmother cooking when she was a child. Mom says, “She’d have a cocktail and cigarette in one hand, a novel in the other and be cooking at the same time.” Being full of energy and quick to move from one thing to the next, that was just the kind of thing she could do.

My grandmother would have celebrated her eighty-first birthday today. She passed away last week. She will be missed every day. I love you Mema!

Four generations together

Her favorite Madonna song: 

Take a bow, the night is over

This masquerade is getting older

Lights are low, the curtains down

There’s no one here…

Say goodbye