"Tagged! ...... I'm it!"

Tres Tray Chic tagged me for a bag expose'.
Thank you!

At first I thought, "How exciting! My first tag!"
Then I kind of panicked.

I emailed my friend and said to her,
"What if it's like taking a peek inside a lingerie drawer expecting to find all Victoria's Secrets and instead you find the white granny panties with the elastic thread hanging and holes from where you use your thumbs to pull them up."

Do not ask how I know this.

Vineyard Vines mini tote in the Clam Bake pattern. $75

Not to make this complicated but I am a kind of nomadic bag user. I usually have two in my car. If one doesn't go with what I'm wearing, the other one will and I end up just transferring my wallet. My cell phone usually doesn't make the cut. I never have it with me which continuously frustrates anyone trying to get a hold of me.

I lucked out today.
I had just been to a basketball game the night before and hadn't transferred anything out of it yet. Wherever my wallet goes, so go I.

Kate Spade wallet (purple) Have you seen the pink with lime green lining??

Napkin from my Valentine's Day party....
("You have been a bad, bad boy... now go to MY room.")
Madras coin purse from J. Crew (found some spare cash - always welcome)

Quarter in bottom of tote

2 heart lollipops
2 Clinique "Raspberry Glace''" lipsticks (one in the case)
Pink marinti lipstick case
2 Lip Fushion glosses - "Beach Baby" & "Summer"
philosophy "Hope in a Tube" eye & lip cream
Piece of ribbon from a chocolate chip cookie a friend gave me at the game (delish, J!)
Pink and green pad of paper and pencil - Pier 1
Dental Floss
MIT pen & one from a trade show
"m" key ring with MIT embellishment, crystal music note, Gold's gym tag (impressive right? have not been there yet.), car key, office key
Phone (there it is!... but dead as a door nail)
Camera - in use

So now you're it:
Tickled Pink and Green
Europafox
Preppy Player
Diamonds In The Morning

(that's right home girl, this is a hand bag throw down!)

Not A Cloud In The Sky....

... but these make me wish there was!

"It's raining... it's pouring..."

I think our 'rain season' (a week's worth spaced over 3 months) is quickly coming to an end but these are so darned cute!
To be honest, I wouldn't even know how to wear them, but I love 'em!

I just received my L.L. Bean catalog for women and they are featuring many preppy, east coast flavor, nautical, pink and green items.
So fun to armchair shop!

Music to splash to- "It's raining again" - Super Tramp

The True Meaning of "Happy Hour"...

Oh...

My...

Gosh!!!

I KNEW my wish came true!!!

Companion song: "Shower (get it?) the People" - James Taylor

Happy Birthday...

... to our beautiful boy.

You make our hearts skip a beat!

"Beautiful Boy" - John Lennon

"I'll have a cocktail umbrella, and make that a double."

Everyone is drawn to something.

I love cocktail umbrellas and festive toy embellishments added to drinks.

I have little plastic mermaids that hang on the rim.


Then there are the toys that hang by their tails:

monkeys ...

cats, ...

elephants.

But my favorite is the paper parasol...

... and I do prefer pink.

My first recollection of this delicate adornment was in my Shirley Temple when I was very young.

We were vacationing in upstate NY and dining at a fancy restaurant that had a bar of all things, a cascading water fountain from one giant clam shell to another, gnomes in the gardens and a wishing well. All tacky by today's standards but in the 60's this could be considered elegant decor.


At eye level the waiter placed in front of me a tall column of pink bubbles with a stemmed red jewel resting at the bottom. I lifted out the parasol and started to open and close it. I was captivated. Naturally, it soon broke and I began to dissect it by unraveling the little stub that pushes up the canopy to open it and lock it in place. As it was being unwound, the long continuous strip of paper revealed writing in Asian characters. It was very exotic.


Outside, I imagined that the graceful flow of the Neptune fountain, friendly gnomes and the mushroom sculptured pathway lights were illuminating where the fairies lived. I wished it was true as I closed my eyes and released the penny from my grasp and heard the plop echo in the well.

I was enchanted. The evening was magical.

I believe my passion for party decorations must have began at this moment as my wish came true.

Intoxicating memory evoking song: "September Grass" - James Taylor

Crisis Intervention

I must resist!
Dooney & Bourke
Large Erica Bag $130

The kicker -
It comes in pink & green
or
green & pink
or
what I call dual ''team" color combinations

AND
has a hot pink lining!!!

I am weakening.

Large Duffle - $148

Now the question is, what am I going to do with this information?

Please, someone take one for the team and report back!!

Go Team Pink & Green!!!

Inspirational song: "Got My Mind Set On You" - George Harrison

In A Galaxy, Far, Far Away.....

...there was a shining star...No, this is not Darth Vadar.

It's Shiseido's "The MakeUp" Pre-Makeup Cream with SPF 15 and it is the BEST.
I had received a small sample from one of my "Happiest Places On Earth" (Nordstrom) and immediately bought the real size.

I have always disliked that icky, greasy, and heavy feeling of sunscreen on my face so I have rarely used it but FINALLY I have found one I can use every morning. Since it is also a primer, it goes on smoothly and somehow finishes with a slight powder feel so the finish is matte. Great base! I use it under my philosophy super natural. which also has an SPF of 15.

Alas, I know, SPF 15 x 2 does not equal = SPF 30.
I wish it did.


I am a BAD, BAD So Cal gal, though. Having been born and raised in LA and supposedly knowing better, every year I purposely exposed my fair, northern European based-near-flawless-adolescent and early 20's skin beginning with my annual ritualistic Memorial Day Burn at
Huntington Beach.

"Ugh!"

I was trying to keep up with my Italian boyfriend's bronzed family who all scoffed at my lack of melanin. All summer long I tried in vain to become even the slightest shade of beige only to reach September as Navajo White or Egg Shell (depending on your preference of pale paint chips).


When I had my lovely Kate Somerville facial, which BTW, worked wonderfully at getting those small lines to go into temporary hiding, the rep actually recommended the Shiseido "Sun Protection" Stick Foundation with SPF 35. It comes in two tints and a translucent.
I'm planning for this to be my next purchase when I recover from my Lilly bag expenditure.

Could be awhile.


After that, (I am a resilient shopper), my next "got to have" will be the Shiseido "Benefiance" Full Correction Lip Treatment. I sampled this and I would like to give it a longer test run. I've tried many of the lip treatments -
Lip Fusion XL,
philosophy lip and eye creme,
Epicuren balm,
Dr. Perricone (ouch!)
and for the quickie going out of the door,
philosophy Big Mouth or Bare Escentuals Buxom.

I would love to hear what you have tried, what you can't be without, what worked and what didn't.
Please share!

Inspirational song: "Here Comes The Sun" - George Harrison

A Southern California Wedding

"Becca + Jim"

B-E-A-UTIFUL Hydrangeas!


This was a picture perfect wedding and apparently an online magazine thinks so too.

Southern Weddings magazine.


I guess even California qualifies if it's in the Southern region of the state. :)
Scroll down on the site from the link above and you will see Becca + Jim.

It is the wedding of my BBF's (am I too old to use that term?) daughter, Becca. It was held in August and was absolutely spectacular. I don't know how they came up with all the ideas they did. I still crave the champagne with Pama that I tasted for the first time. Sooooo good!

The 1st Part of the article also has some stunning photos. My friend is tending to her daughter in one of them. I have never seen her look more beautiful as well.

Ah, to be young and beautiful!

Lillypalooza!

Please excuse the alliteration but I have a penchant for pretty pink purses. My new Lilly tote came in and it is very nice. I don't know if I love it though because it is very big. The print bag was a nice surprise. I am figuring the duo is a "two-fer" because I love the print as much as the shiny bright color.

Here is a snap of the lining. Love it!I hadn't even taken the tissue off the end caps yet when I took this. Must have been too excited to notice!

The light pink enameld ends are a nice touch. The croco paneled pockets on each side are as deep as the bag and easily hold a bottle of water.

So the jury is still out but I'll probably keep it because I just cannot resist that beautiful pink!

For My Proper Pink Martinis

New Lilly coasters!Perfect.

For The Bride

This is going to be a fun year!

One niece and two nephews announced their engagements over the holidays. One family will have two weddings! I am looking forward to the festivities, shopping for gifts and finding out what all the latest trends are.

I am sending a few little gifts for my niece.The Juicy engagement key ring.
A jewelry holder for her real ring should it ever leave her finger,
personalized on the back with her initials and her fiance's with the date of their engagement.
"I Do" panties by Betsy Johnson.

..... and personalized note cards by Anna Griffin to acknowledge all the well wishes coming her way.

"Here Comes The.... Wisdom For a Perfect Day"

If you know a mother-of-the-bride a fun gift would be this book...It is artfully and humorously written by Leslie Milk who is the lifestyle editor of the Washingtonian. Leslie uses her own experience in giving her support to her daughter while planning the wedding of her daughter's dreams. It is light and funny but also thought provoking with good advice for the bride's family.

Spring Color Trends

At Pantone the Spring '09 colors are blooming.
Salmon Rose is on the pallet. It looks similar to the Sunset Pink at Vineyard Vines.

Here is a cute cardigan in Sunset Pink from VV.


Pink and green are also showing up in jewelry. Kate Spade has enameled bangles. Each one has their own hidden idiom.
For pink - "Tickled Pink". For green - "The Grass Is Always Greener". Cute!

And these....

Rolling in Dough

It's been a busy baking week.
Today I finished my hearts and gave them to my son's high school jazz band. I also made extras for my dinner party this weekend.

The middle of the white cookies is crushed cherry lollipops that melt as the cookie bakes producing a hard candy. It's so pretty held up to the light. They just glow. The red hearts have red sanding sugar sprinkled on and the pinks hearts have pearlized dragees. All bagged up in glassine paper and ready to go.

Hmmm, this basket looks familiar.
Going out the door.....

Common Sensa

With all my baking lately I've had to taste test. I've gained 3 pounds in 3 days and I haven't been tasting all that much and still have not even eaten one baked cookie. Cookie dough doesn't count, does it?

I received an email from the Sensa people. I should be on week 3 of my trial package and congratulations should be in order according to them. Why is it that I cannot even attempt this simple action of sprinkling non-flavored granules on my food? I sprinkle enough salt on things that I qualify to have my own salt-lick so I don't have an aversion to the sprinkling act itself. Neither the salty or sweet sprinkles taste like anything. I guess it would also help to take it out of the box and use it. Has anyone tried this and been successful?

I am now totally motivated. My new pink Lilly bag arrived yesterday and it is bigger than I thought it would be and STILL my butt looks big. If that adage is correct - the bigger the bag, the smaller the butt looks, it ain't working. Time to use some common Sensa!

(Photo of the bag coming soon, not my back side for comparison - charging up camera and hiding the wide angle lens) :)

Cookies - Part Deux

A pod of dolphins

Once in awhile I will bake and decorate special cookies upon request. This week I was happy to make them for the Dana Hills High School girls' varsity soccer team in celebration of the end of their season. This is the third year I have made them special cookies. This year I was wracking my brain of what I could create that would be different than a standard soccer ball cookie so I decided to make their school mascots and icons from their school logo. The school logo is comprised of dolphins, a scallop shell, and a sailing ship. I printed out the logo and made a tag to use as part of the presentation.

A pretty scallop with a pearl dragee'

Ready for assembly

I made a blue dolphin and scallop shell cookie and wrapped it in the cello bag with raw sugar for a sand effect. I also made the pearl charms, my first and extremely simple jewelry design. The blue Swarovski crystals are in school colors and there is a lacy cap on top of the pearl.

On the back of the logo tag, I wrote 'because the world is my oyster'. They had a rough season only winning one game and I wanted to remind them that they have everything going for them and that the world is just waiting for them to seize it. The satin rope with a pearlized sheen, royal blue grosgrain and printed boat ribbons completes the nautical theme.

Congratulations girls for hanging in there and finishing your last game today in the freezing rain! You are truly winners!

"A tisket, a tasket...

Michael's has the greatest lined baskets at 40% off. They come in a variety of styles with either a pink, green, lavender or blue cotton print or ticking that is removable. This one cost me under $10. Of course with Valentine's Day ahead, I was initially visualizing an entire row of heart shaped cookies individually wrapped in red or pink glassine paper (a la martha) which I already bought from katespaperie.com. They call it German tissue paper. It is lovely.

Then I thought it might also serve as a caddy for all my larger vanity accoutrements like brushes and hairspray or my ever increasing arsenal of anti-aging miracle potions. I think I am single-handedly stimulating the economy with my philosophy and Dr. Dense purchases from QVC.

My thoughts then raced to all the junk on my night stand - books, flash light (earth quake country), calendar, pens and paper and the last defense of more anti-aging ammo before surrendering for the night. I use a reader's case to hold my pens in style.

But driving home, the basket probably served the best purpose sitting shotgun. It held all the junk I had to remove from the seat so I could put the basket there in the first place! Suddenly it was the keeper of my life in the fast lane holding Valentine's to be mailed, faxes from the office to take home, an extra pair of sunglasses, a couple jazz CDs and the multiple bottles of water that keep mysteriously reproducing but never empty. I am heading back tomorrow for its fraternal twin in blue.