Holiday Fête …Disco Style!

I have holiday “disco” fever. I’m ready to don my sequins and eat, drink and boogie during holiday season. Bring on the glitter...it’s time to celebrate and have some fun!

Shine: 
The holiday season is filled with fête after fête which require us to fill our closet with glittery frocks. My motto is that you can never be too overdressed or too sparkly during the holidays. It’s so much fun to get all dressed up and pile on the sequins, fur and jewelry. A little black dress is quickly pushed aside for eye-catching clothing that shines, moves and sparkles! Bring on the shine with these Sparkle Uggs, Kate Spade glitter phone case and Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe nail polish.

Wear:

My favorite collection of the moment is Haute Hippie. The designs are chic with bohemian glamour and disco pizzazz. The fringe tank would be so much fun to dance in and the sequined dress is a show stopper. Kate Spade always does holiday style with lady like sparkle. Wearing these Kate Spade Charm shoes would be like a disco ball for your feet. These 7 skinny electric blue jeans  will turn heads and inspire all night disco dancing. 

Sip:

A Prosecco Gold Rush is the disco fête drink for the holiday season. 

12 ozs sparkling wine (chilled, prosecco)

2 ozs gold flaked vodka (chilled)

1 12 ozs schnapps (cinnamon, goldschlager)

Pour Prosecco into a clear glass without ice. Add vodka and cinnamon schnapps, and stir to mix gold flakes evenly through the drink. holidays with a bubbly-based

Decorate: I love the cheerful glamour that disco adds to the home. Walking up these stairs and cooking in this kitchen would make me smile...and dance! 

Listen:
My favorite dance soundtrack has to be The Last Days of Disco. If you like to dance, you'll love it too. Other songs for a disco fête would have to include:

Bee Gees, Stayin' Alive
Deee-Lite, Groove is in the Heart
Chic, Le Freak
Jamiroquai, Virtual Insanity
Michael Jackson, You Rock My World  

Pinkalicious the Musical is Pinkeriffic!

Pretty in pink, tickled pink, pinktastic, pinkeriffic are just a few words that come to mind when describing Pinkalicious. Pink is the color of happiness and Pinkalicious is just that...a colorful explosion of pink sparkly fun.

How many times as parents have we heard, "Just one more?" It's a phrase Pinkalicious Pinkerton says when she wants another pink cupcake. Pinkalicious turns pink from eating too many cupcakes and is diagnosed by Dr. Wink as having "Pinkititis." The only way to cure it is with a healthy dose of green foods.

The Dallas Children's Theatre had an audience full of giggly girly girls in their pink tutus and tiaras but also little brothers who tagged along. My daughter's little brother was one of the boys in the audience who was tickled pink to be there. Boys like the color pink too!

Most of the boys in my second grade classroom like pink. I was listening to a conversation between some boys after one of them chose a pink Expo marker to work a math problem on the whiteboard. Another boy said to him, "Dude, pink is NOT a manly color!" In his defense, several other boys commented on how they like pink and for the whole math lesson, boys kept picking the pink Expo marker. I decided it would be a perfect time to read the Pinkalicious book to my class. Then there was more discussion...about how pink is awesome dude!

The DCT Pinkalicious musical followed Victoria and Elizabeth Kann's book beautifully. Walking into the theatre you see a plethora of pink. The lobby is decked out in pink hearts, dots, fabric, twinkle lights, tulle and they have Sprinkles red velvet pink cupcakes in the concession stand...It's a mecca for lovers of pink, a pinkapalooza!

Pinkalcious Pinkerton has the average American family (mom, dad, brother, sister) who do everything together...baking, going to the park and the doctor office. One of my favorite scenes was when Pinkalicious turns pink and the family hops on their four person bike to ride to the doctor's office. 

The music has lively numbers reminiscent of old classics. "Buzz Off" is a number when butterflies, bees and birds mistake Pinkalicious for a flower made me think of Guys and Dolls, "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat." The scene when Dr. Wink diagnoses Pinkalicious as having "pinkititis" brings a Bob Fosse style that reminded me of the musical Chicago. All the songs are enjoyable for the adults as well as the children. My little boy loved the "Cupcake Dream" where the cupcakes sing during the night.

Pinkalicious and her brother Peter are pinktastic! The family literally finds their true colors along with lots of laughter love. The show is high energy and a lot of fun. Go see it, you'll be tickled pink!

Pinkalicious is playing now through October 28th. Get your tickets here.

A Taste of Vienna

Austria is beyond rich in history. This little landlocked country has gone from being the grand Habsburg Empire to being nonaligned. Vienna was left with little to rule as the Great Depression swept the Nazis to power. Austria’s neutrality in 1955 led to better days but the past is still hauntingly present.

Our book club recently selected Daniel Silva’s, A Death in Vienna and to match the Austrian theme we ate at Jorg’s Café Vienna. My friend Margot is Austrian and it was through her that our little book club became a history lesson that we could taste.

On a cold October day a hearty Austrian meal hit the spot. Think...Traditional goulash, Gurkensalat (cucumber salad), Wienerschnitzel with red cabbage and spatzle on the side. It made for very happy stomaches. This was all found not Austria but Plano, Texas at Jorg's Cafe Vienna.

Nestled in between quaint antique shops in charming “old” Plano you can find Jorg’s Café Vienna where our book club enjoyed a taste of Austria. The atmosphere is warm and cozy with an accordion player encouraging an involuntary body sway to the oompah sounds as the friendly waiter brings another round of Austrian beer.

After eating hearty warm Austrian cuisine the belly is full but the waiter kindly asks, "How about some homemade bread pudding with Austrian rum"…you simply must say, “ja bitte!” Then when the waiter comes back with shots of jagermeister, you smile and say "prost!" Once again the belly is happy.

Jorg’s Café Vienna reminded me of an Italian Osteria where the dishes are rustic, not fancy and you feel a communal experience with the biergarten style seating and home style food and service. The Austrian "guesthouse" type restaurant is very family friendly and full of babies that all look like they've been raised on sausages. Reading "Jorg’s menu tells you that many of the recipes are old family dishes from his Mutti and Oma. When you taste Jorg’s food, you taste old world Austria and the love that went into the preparation (today and decades ago).

As soon as Margot sat down at Jorg’s restaurant, Jorg saw her and with such exciting intensity beckoned her to come meet his wife. The three of them became instant family. They share something that only expats can understand...a connection with their first home.

Many expats who live abroad can be found in restaurants like Jorg’s because there’s something about being there that reminds them of their home. The food, music and nostalgic atmosphere can link them together.

I have often thought that my Austrian friend seems to have two hearts...divided by countries. Expats have unbreakable bonds with friends and family in both places but they are torn between their old and new homes. So much of who we are is based on where we are.

Talking about Daniel Silva's A Death in Vienna (the third book in a series) stirred up many feelings. There are characters in the book that would rather ignore that the Holocaust ever happened. It’s a thought provoking story that conjures up many emotions about the sensitive subject, the Holocaust and those who helped the Nazis escape punishment.

Gabriel Allon has the cover of an Italian art restorer, but is an Israeli assassin. He is not anxious to go back to the city of Vienna where his wife and son were victims of a car bomb. Gabriel learns that a man named Max Klein may have had something to do with the bombing. Klein was a Jewish violinist in the Auschwitz camp orchestra and remembers a Nazi named Erich Radek who killed camp prisoners. Gabriel is on a quest to find him as he remembers his mother.

History shapes and molds us all. Enjoyment of literature like the book A Death in Vienna is certainly a good way to raise awareness and heighten sensitivities about how the history of an “old country” like Austria has contributed to the personas of its citizens. Notwithstanding the benefits of literature however, actually hearing, seeing and tasting culture as we did at Jorg’s Café Vienna was truly a delightful educational awakening.

I'm Eloise, I'm Six

"Hi, I am Eloise.  I am six.  I am a city child.  I live at the Plaza," said my daughter Zooey twirling around the room. Zooey recently told her grandmother that she's changing her name to Eloise. When I asked her why, she said it's because she rawther likes the sort of fun that Eloise has...throwing parties at the Plaza, ordering room service, having tea in the Palm Court in the Plaza Hotel and learning French.

I think I'd like to change my name to Eloise too! If life could be as simple is pretending you're sick so you can play, ordering room service so you don't have to cook dinner and saying ,"charge it please!" Let me try!

Hi, I'm Eloise and I'm thirty-six. I am a mom and a teacher. I like to play dress-up and wear fancy shoes and drink tea everyday...not bad, I would try on Eloise's Mary Janes any day!

Oh, to be a kid again...not just any squirmy, wiggly six year old, but a kid who has a love for the finer things in life (circa 1950s), the color pink and rooms on tippy-top floors. Oui, I am that thirty-six year old kid at heart and my daughter could easily be six-year-old Eloise.

Eloise was created when the author (also actress, singer and dancer), Kay Thompson, showed up for dance rehearsal ten minutes late. MGM's dance instructor, Rober Alton asked Thompson, “Who do you think you are?” Thompson responded in a little girl voice, “I am Eloise. I am six.”

Kay Thompson created one of the most cherished children’s books of all time that follows the adventures of spunky Eloise who does whatever she wants and gets away with it. You may have read Eloise books as a child or have seen the movies inspired by the books. It's easy to love Eloise. Her "enfant terrible" character as an overprivileged six-year-old, the terror of the Hotel Plaza in New York is hilarious.

I rawther love that Eloise is never bored! Think about all the good things that come with being the age of six...the world is still a playground. While Eloise's mother knows Coco Chanel, my little Eloise (my daughter) has a grandmother named Coco...not too far off. My grandmother, who we call Gigi, reminds me of Eloise too. She's sassy and always up for a party. Even at eighty-years-old, she has that enfant terrible personality. That's the essence of Eloise, there's never a dull moment.
 

My grandmother Gigi who is so much like Eloise

Eloise has a great big imagination and confidence to match. I love her free-spirit and the way she makes my daughter laugh. Eloise is one of those classic books that is still enjoyed by ALL ages.
I can hear Eloise reciting the poem that my dad had my brother and sister and I say when we turned six:

When I was one,
I had just begun.
When I was two,
I was nearly new.
When I was three,
I was hardly me.
When I was four,
I was not much more.
When I was five,
I was just alive.
But now I am six,
I'm as clever as clever.
So I think I'll be six
now and forever

Be like Eloise, keep your days busy and never be bored! Now go and read the book, watch the movies and charge it please, thank you very much!


My little Eloise



Five Fun Fab ways to free yourself for fall part deux

Wear: Imagine a pile of rose petals falling like leaves...that's what Tom Ford's Cafe Rose smells like, mixed with spices, Turkish rose oil and coffee. When the leaves are whirling, scents are more intense and so are the colors. Chanel's Vertigo nail color is fall in a bottle and Bobbi Brown's sparkle eye shadow makes autumn eyes shine like glitter. 

Inspire: When I was in the first grade, I played the Little Red Hen in the class play. I always loved the hen's spirit! "Who will help me cut the wheat?" Be like the Little Red Hen and bake your own bread. These French inspired hens will help give you the right attitude. You know these Three French Hens (in a print by Will Bullas) don't mess around with any lazy dogs, sleepy cats or noisy yellow ducks and of course they all wear berets. The red beret on the JCrew sweater is my favorite. 

Dress Up: Halloween is a holiday you either love or hate. I love it! I especially love dressing up my children. We talk about costumes year round. For three years in a row, my children complimented each other...Elmo and Abby Cadabby, Raggedy Ann and Andy and Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. This year, because my daughter is missing SEVEN teeth, she's going to be the tooth fairy! Halloween is so much fun! My favorite place to find Halloween costumes is Chasing Fireflies.

Watch: For all those hopeless romantics, Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights is coming to theatres this fall! I bet I've seen the 1939 Wuthering Heights starring Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier a hundered times. I think it is the most romantic story and I can't wait to fall in love with characters Cathy and Heathcliff all over again in the new Wuthering Heights this fall.  Another intense love story coming this fall is Anna Karenina. Fall is the season for romance.

Eat, Drink and be Merry: It's pumpkin time! Who knows how to bring in fall better than Bobby Flay? His throwdown pumpkin pie with cinnamon crunch and bourbon maple whipped cream will make you passionate for pumpkins! Pumpkin muffins are one of my favorite thing to make in the fall. The Pioneer Woman's recipe is by far the most moist and delicious ever! Nobody does cocktails better than Sandra Lee. Now is the time to stock up on pumpkin puree for not only pie and muffins...but pumpkin pie martinis too!  

If you missed "Five Fun Fab Ways to Free Yourself for Fall" part one look here.

Oh how we love pumpkin season.  You did know this gourd-ish squash has its own season, right?  Winter, Spring, Summer, Pumpkin.... We anxiously anticipate it every year. ~Trader Joe's Fearless Flyer

I'm going to France today...sort of!

À quelque chose malheur est bon. Every cloud has a silver lining...if you can't go to France, bring France to your home.

Wear: Something French and fabulous! If I had on one of these French inspired outfits, my day would surely be wonderful! Kate Spade has a French flair with a great sense of humor...especially this season. I love the Pardon My French and Joie de Vivre shirts. Anything striped seems French to me...bien sur! Stripes never go out of style. I love the color contrast on the Madewell shirt and the simplicity of the striped dress.

Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening. ~Coco Chanel

Use: Paper that makes you smile. Wouldn't you love to receive one of these merci or global greeting cards in your mailbox. The cities calendar will be a treat to use for the coming new year.

Tout arrive en France. (Everything happens in France) ~François de La Rochefoucauld

Read: When I need an escape, I tell my friends and family, "I'm going to France!" I do go to France...through books! These books make me happy: At My French Table, French Essence and Lunch in Paris.

Toute chose appartient à qui sait en jouir. (Everything belongs to those who can appreciate it) ~André Gide

Listen: To French Cafe Radio on Pandora and hear music from Pink Martini, Nina Simone, Madeleine Peyroux...jazzy artists that will have you imagining you're in France as you clean your house.

Art is the most beautiful deception of all. And although people try to incorporate the everyday events of life in it, we must hope that it will remain a deception lest it become a utilitarian thing, sad as a factory. ~Claude Debussy
Buy: It's the little things in life that make us smile! I love a rainy day when I can carry my red Merde il Pleut umbrella. The merde pillow is a happy little accent to any chair. Who wouldn't love to open this box of colorful macaroons?

Shit always sounds better in French!

Pardon my French :)

Five Fun Fab Ways to Free Yourself For Fall

fWhen you're busy, it's essential to find the time to do what makes you happy.

Call a good friend, find your downward chien, make a plan to do something that excites you.

Work, dinner, children, laundry, cleaning, bills, relationships, exercise...all need tending to.  Take it as it comes and when you have a window, here are some suggestions on how you can find comfort and fun in a snap.

Sip: hot tea. Tea is comforting and soothing to the soul. I find that most things can be solved with a nice cuppa. Try Mariage Freres De Stress green tea. 

Do: yoga. Practicing yoga can help to center and inspire you to be the best mom, wife and worker. Namaste! Find a yoga class near you here.

Eat: comfort food. Chicken Pot Pie is my go to comfort food and Ina's recipe just can't be beat.  I like to deglaze my vegetables with a German beer. Eating comfort food makes you happy from the inside out. Chicken pot pie is one of my favorite things to make in the fall.

Wear: whatever makes you sing, "I feel pretty!" Feeling feminine in wearing pretty clothes does wonders for your confidence and it seems to add zip and pep to your step. You could always wear the ever so feminine Austrian dirndl to your local Oktoberfest and feel like Leisl in the Sound of Music singing Sixteen Going on Seventeen...sounds like fun to me! 

Plan: something fun to do that you can look forward to. Fall Football games, concerts, Oktoberfest... Dr. Suess said, "Fun is good." It's is simple as that, you just can't beat it. My husband and I recently went to the Alabama/Michigan game and had the best time. We both graduated from the University of Alabama and were in our element surrounded by Bama fans. Fall football is fun...simple as that! Beer goes so well with football, why not sample some German beer at your local Oktoberfest? Make fun a priority! Prost!

Happy 100 Julia Child: Our Lady of Butter

Julia Child will forever be the queen of cuisine. Her joie de vivre, charm, personality, voice, quick wit and confidence make for an excellent role model for all ages. August 15th marked the centenary of her birth. There are many ways to celebrate Julia Child because she left such an incredible legacy and truly savored all of her ninety-two years of life. Simply remembering her will make you smile. Here are a few ways to celebrate Julia's 100th birthday.

Read: Two new book releases about Julia Child, Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child and Bon Appetit! The Delicious Life of Julia Child. Both books coincide with Julia's 100th birthday celebrating her life and capturing her larger than life spirit.

Reading Jessie Hartland's charming new children's book, Bon Appetit! The Delicious Life of Julia Child you will see the illustrations and little scribble notes are child-like and joyful. I'm so excited to be able to introduce Julia to my children through a bedtime story. It's sure to inspire children to try new foods and find their own talent. 

Another new Julia book is Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz. This book captures Julia's joie de vivre. Reading it we see what a fearless, funny and confident woman she was.

These two new books are a wonderful birthday present to Julia on the centennial commemoration of her birth.

Two more absolute must reads are As Always, Julia and My Life in France.

Sip: Julia's favorite drink, Angosoda:

6 oz Perrier Sparkling Water
dash Angostura Bitters
lime slice
ice

Pour Perrier into an icy glass and top with a dash of Angostura Bitters. Garnish with a slice of lime and say cheers to Julia!

Eat: Everyone should make Julia's boeuf bourguingnon every now and then. It makes your home smell like a Parisian cafe and fills the people that you love with contentment and comfort. On Julia's birthday, I made her boeuf bourguingnon. It's the middle of August and hotter than Hatties but after watching her make it on the PBS reruns of The French Chef, I simply had to make it! 

See: Julia's Cambridge, Massachusetts kitchen that was relocated to the first floor of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D. C.  If you can't see it in person, you can still view it here through the Smithsonian's virtual museum.

Watch and Listen: You know those movies you pull out when you need to relax? These are my go tos for feel good entertainment. I gave my mom Julia's The French Chef collection for Christmas one year and it has brought many happy memories back. Julie and Julia is a wonderful book and movie but the soundtrack is equally as delicious. Try cooking while listening to Margaret Whiting sing Time after Time and you will feel like Julia is cooking with you. 

Flash back to hilarious clips of Dan Aykroyd As Julia Child, watch her appearance on David Letterman, and PBS celebrates her birthday with a remix.

Buy: Julia has an app! You can download Julia Child on your ipad or nook be able to download 32 selected recipes from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It is such a joy to hear Judith Jones (Julia Child's editor) tell stories about her friend. You can also see clips from The Way We Cook, videos, photographs, quotes and grocery lists.

Quote: Words of Wisdom from Julia:

Remember, No one's more important than people! In other words, friendship is the most important thing--not career or housework, or one's fatigue--and it needs to be tended and nurtured.

Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.

This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook- try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!

Lazy Hazy Days of Summer: Part Trois

Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.  ~Sam Keen

Ride: A perfect summer must include taking leisurely bike rides with the family. I love my little Dutch bike that my husband gave me for my birthday. It's perfect for a stroll around the neighborhood with the children. I like to fill my basket with a mini picnic for the park. This bike makes me wish I lived near a bakery just so I could place a loaf of French bread in my basket.

Read: Read this dreamy book, Dreaming in French by Alice Kaplan and float away to Paris in the summer. Three American women: Jacqueline Bouvier, Susan Sontag and Angela Davis spent a year in Paris in their 20's. Kaplan writes about these women, “If you reduce them to identity labels, you have “a Catholic debutante, a Jewish intellectual, an African-American revolutionary.”

Sip: Chai tea is a staple in our house in every season but in the summertime, it must be iced. Try this delicious chai tea recipe and sip into Indian summer.

See: Ukrainian pastel painter, Katya Gridneva. She reminds me of Degas the way she works with pastels and likes to draw ballerinas and equestrian subjects. Many of her ballet models are from Russia's famous Kirov. Pastels are like a summer white wine...soft and light.

Taste:  Have you ever tried "Quince Paste?" I was intrigued because my son's name is Quincy and he likes fig jam. Quince is similar to fig jam. It's popular in Spain. Try it with cheese and as an accompaniment with dessert. Buy it or make your own.

Use: Two of my favorite summer products conjure up French Polynesia in a bottle.  I imagine the women that Paul Gauguin painted in Tahiti used something like Nars Body Glow. The smell of tiare flower and coconut oil screams summer and makes your body glow like shimmering chocolate. Another favorite is the Fresh's Sugar Face Polish. The combination of brown sugar and wild strawberries is heavenly. This is my favorite face mask because it smells so delicious and it exfoliates gently.

If you missed my summer obsessions from June and July...voila!

Farewell, My Queen (Les Adieux a la Reine)

Wouldn't you have loved to be a fly on the wall in Versailles during the chaos of the four days in July in 1789 as the French Revolution turned the monarchy upside down? Director Benoît Jacquot (who had the privilege of shooting at Versailles) allows us to be that fly...more like a mosquito buzzing through Chantal Thomas’ period-perfect 2003 novel. The story opens on July 14, 1789 when the anti-monarchist stormed the Bastille.

We see Versailles through the eyes of Sidonie Laborde (Léa Seydoux), who is one of Marie Antoinette's loyal ladies-in-waiting. It is Sidonie's job to entertain Marie Antoinette with readings from novels, plays, poetry, even fashion magazines.

Sidonie Laborde keeps her head (literally) as chaos unfolds at Versailles. She takes us through the back corridors where the servants gossip and the rats surrey. Traveling through these dark, cramped corridors is where real life happens at Versailles. Behind Sidonie's embroidering and reading we see panic, adultery, stealing and rumors circulating. The audience gets a real sense of what it must have felt like to live inside the palace.

A list is being passed around Versailles that 286 heads must fall. Marie Antoinette's head is at the top of that list. Being a foreign woman, she was the first to blame for France's problems and the one they hated the most.

We see the Queen as emotional and passionate about her friend Gabrielle de Polignac (Virginie Ledoyen). Marie Antoinette was known to have the most incredible love for her children, husband, and her closest friends. The movie focuses mostly on her friendship with Gabrielle.

Sidonie Laborde adores the Queen and will do anything for her, even agreeing to risk her life by exchanging identities with the Queen's best friend Gabrielle de Polignac. It is Sidonie who is has true loyal love for her Queen.

Gabrielle de Polignac was loathed by anti-monarchist because of her close friendship as the Queen's favorite. Gabrielle was known to have great self-confidence and beauty. She brought the Polignac family into French nobility. She was a social climber and the last of the royal favorites. Her head was on the list too.

Marie Antoinette was a romantic. She was loving and naturally flirtatious. The French did not like her...they never accepted her because she was not French by birth. She was homesick for her family in Austria and developed close relationships with friends she thought of more as sisters. It seems the French went to extremes to give Marie Antoinette a wicked reputation accusing her of having affairs with her friends.

Diane Kruger makes a stunning and very believable Marie Antoinette. Kruger (like Marie Antoinette) was not born French, their native tongue being German. Kruger also performed this role at the same age (thirty-four) that Marie Antoinette was when the Bastille fell. This detail brings a more authentic realness to the movie. 

Jacquot's Farewell, My Queen is powerful and you can't help but feel the panic and fear that the three main characters (Marie Antoinette, Gabrielle de Polignac and Sidonie Laborde) are feeling. It leaves you wishing you didn't know the history of the French Revolution.

Marie Antoinette remains one of the most fascinating people in history. Here's hoping for many more books and movies on the infamous, unfortunate Queen of France...the Austrian woman.