Tantalizing Toile

Toile has the same effect on me that chocolate does; when I see a pretty pattern - my heart races and all I want is more.  Ever since I eyed a toile tablecloth at Sista's house years ago, I fell in love and have been loyal to the gorgeous creations of color and designs.

 

In my fantasy life, I would dress like this every day.  Even though I would be ecstatically happy, I would still put that bored "Victoria Beckham" look on my face.

 

And if the whim came over me to do a household chore -
it would be on this little beauty...

 

 

Then I would take a break from all that hard work and read this:

 

 

in this gorgeous room 

 

 

And maybe even take another few minutes off with the Mister... he has to do all the work though...

 

 

 

And of course, I would always have these gorgeous galoshes handy just in case a storm cloud arises...  

 

 

And then I would freshen up in this ravishing room that is well equipped with lots of dimmers...

 

 

 And enjoy an exquisite dinner prepared by the Mister in this romantic room, that is also with dressed with dimmers galore. (Can you tell... I'm a little hung up on dimmers?)

 

 

 Then I would retire after a long day of "just being me" in this cozy bedroom.  Sorry Mister, you don't get a side table.  Only me - so I can be in control of the remote.

 

 

 

and dream of toile all night long....

 

 

And yes, these ARE my legs. 

I told you this is MY fantasy!

 

 

Sweet dreams ... dear friends! 

 

 

Have a wonderful Thursday!

 

And for all my family and friends back East, I hope you are OK and get power back soon.

 

 

 

 





BOO!!

HAPPY

 HALLOWEEN!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOPE YOUR DAY

IS

FULL OF TREATS!

 

 

 

 

 

RHHONY

Here I go with another guilty pleasure post.  Another Real Housewives season.... another post of random silly thoughts.  Let's begin with the cast of crazies characters.

Come on down....

 

 

 

Aviva the Diva

 

 

In the beginning of the season Aviva, I really liked you.  I respected you (as much as I could of any of the housewives).  I empathized with your childhood trauma and tried to understand your multiple phobias.  And then came St. Barth's.  You virtually turned into a complete narcissistic whack-a -doodle!  

 

 

Your most darling bazillionaire hubby flies you down to the Islands in a private jet, holds your hand every mile of the way, and you turn into an absolute nutzilla when you arrive at the gorgeous home with the in-house sexy Chef??  Granted, the inmates had taken over the asylum, but that should be no surprise to you after dealing with this crew in NYC. 

 

 

Granted, you have to deal with George's antics.  My Sista and I empathize... we have got one just like him.

 

 

Classy Carol

 

 

 

 Ohhh Carole... you are the star of the season in my heart.  I read your book waaaay before you become a RHONY and I loved it.  You are a prolific writer and seem to be a very nice person.  So what's a nice girl like you doing in a reality show like this?

 

 

 Haughty Heather

 

 

Heather.... I have the hardest time remembering  your name because you do not look like a "Heather" to me.  When I am discussing you with my girls, we call you "yummy tummy."  In the beginning you came on like gangbusters working as hard as you could getting under Ramona's skin.  I really got a kick out of how you could bait her and how Ramona would snap at you like a rabid Chihuahua.  

You are a veeeery successful business woman.  I get it.  You don't have to keep telling everyone.  I will say that you were very kind to help Sonja with her easy bake toaster oven ad campaign.  You did your best to find a sexy "J" for her signature. 

If I were you, I would go home and count all the dough you have made out of selling your slimming products to suckers like me and retire from the spotlight.

 

Cocky Countess

 

 

Countess, to be honest, I am very surprised to see that you made the cut to come back this season.  My favorite clip featuring you was not a segment of RHONY.  It happened on Watch What Happens Live when Andy showed a two minute tape of you trying to "one up" every one of the housewives. 

Countess, you certainly did not like the fact that Carole was brought on the show to invade your royal territory!  And what were you thinking when you had a fling with Tomas (silent "s")practically right on camera?  How do you say "I made a fool of myself in front of the whole world" in French? 

I think this might be your last season whether it is your choice or Andy's.  Go design your shoe line and walk away from the cameras with the little dignity you have left.

 

Screwball Sonja

 

 

  Sonja with a "sexy" J.  Where do I begin?  For all the drinking you do, you are still a beautiful woman.  I don't know who your doctor is but I need his number pronto!  At times, the camera catches you and you could be a double for Streisand.  Sorry, Barbra, I'm sure you are not flattered. 

Anyway, you are in a quandary because ex sugar daddy is cutting down on your allowance.  I don't think that brainstorm of easy bake toaster ovens is going to return you to the life you have become accustomed.  My advice to you is to leave the show and concentrate on finding victim husband number 2 and Sonja - for gosh sakes... ditch Ramona!

 

You two remind me of

 

Cinderella's Two Crazy Drunken Stepsisters

 

And last but certainly not least...

 

Ramoner

 

 

Ramoner.... the only nice thing I can say is that my feelings for you have never changed throughout the seasons.  You are as crazy now as you were during the first episode.  I will give you a warning though.  There is someone in the background that is dying to take your place.  This person tries to snatch as much camera time from you as possible.  So beware that you are not replaced by...

 

  

 Malicious Mario

 

 

 

In closing, I pose one question to all my fellow RHONY Sista Fans...

 

 

What gentleman was referred to the most this season by the housewives and yet only made one cameo appearance?

 

 

Hot to Trot Harry!

 

 Harry, all I can say is you must have an awful lot of cashola to get all that action! 

 

Happy Tuesday!

 

 

  



Lenna - My Pot Guru

A lot of people walk by our house while I am watering my flowers and compliment me about how beautiful our flower pots look.  I always give a sly smile (just like they do in commercials) and graciously say thank you.   I have no right to take the credit.  I have a secret weapon.  Her name is Lenna.  She works at my nursery, Calloways, and even though I have actually planted the plants, my pal Lenna is my designer extraordinaire.

For ten years, I have bought my flowers at Calloways.  I met Lenna years ago when I found out she was the designer who was constructing the gorgeous landscapes in the pots throughout the nursery.  I introduced myself and asked begged her for help.  She took pity on me and has always been more than helpful when I ask for help.

Lenna always asks me what pots I like and what colors that I want to accentuate in my yard.  She then walks around the nursery and picks the plants that I would like.  Lenna arranges them as if they were in my pot and I use my trusty iPhone to take a picture. I buy the plants and arrange them exactly as seen on my phone. And then I sit back and take all the credit.

 

These are some of Lenna's beautiful creations...

 

 

 

 

Not only are the flowers beautiful - love the shape and color of the pot.

 

 

Just reminds me how much I love Fall. 

 

 

 Great idea to add the gourds to the arrangement.

 

 

 

 

 This is a round arrangement for the middle of the table.

 

 

 

And now... presenting a few of Lenna's my creations....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All set for Halloween... now all I need is the candy.

 

*****

Thinking about all my family and friends on the East Coast - lots of prayers going your way.  Stay safe!

 

 

 



He Sees Paris; He Sees France...

I have found that blogging can be an incredibly wonderful hobby and yet it can give me numbing anxiety in the middle of the night.  The kind of stress that all of a sudden my eyes pop open and my heart races with the thought I have run out of ideas to write about.    I start asking myself questions like what the heck am I doing trying to write something that someone other than myself would find interesting. I always say a quick prayer and ask God to give me some inspiration and try to fall back to sleep. 





He always answers in the most incredible ways.

Last week, I did my usual Thursday thing.  I played in a tennis match, and got my rear end kicked.  I got in the car, swore to myself the opponents were cheaters and  it was all my partner's fault, and then I consoled myself by going shopping.

I went to our small department store in town.  The place was practically empty.  While looking for some sweaters, I noticed a man behind me also looking through the racks in the ladies section.  A sales lady repeatedly kept asking him if he needed help.  I paid no attention... just assumed she thought he was a shoplifter and honestly, I felt she had everything under control - no need to don my batwoman costume.... yet. 

I took my time shopping and did notice he was always in the same department as me, but I didn't worry because the sales lady was on his tail.

As I exited the store, I noticed two police cars and the man (from the ladies department) stood by them in handcuffs.  I started walking to my car when a police officer approached me and asked to talk to me.  I'm thinking ...holy bananas... they think I was in "cahoots" with this guy who was shoplifting!  What's the Mister going to say when I call him for bail money?  The young officers and store manager told me that I was not "in trouble" but it was imperative that they get a statement from me.  I told them that I did not witness him taking anything.  They then told me that he was not shoplifting but he was actually on the floor taking pictures up my skirt.  For one millisecond I swear I thought I was on Candid Camera or that show that Betty White plays tricks on people. 

Within minutes,  I am peering at a tape in the store's security office of me with my full "reader" arsenal - glasses on my head, on my face and another pair hanging on a chain.  The tape shows me trying to look at the price of a sweater totally oblivious of the guy on the ground on his back peeping up my skirt. I'm ashamed to say this happened in two separate instances.

By the way... I don't want any of you to get the wrong impression of me.  I am a height-challenged, ab-challenged middle aged fairly young woman who dresses very traditionally.  No cleavage (due to lack of) and I had  bike shorts under my very conservative tennis skirt.

The officer asked me if I wanted to file charges.  He explained to me that if I didn't fill out a report, this guy would do the same thing to other women. I couldn't bear the thought of him doing it to anyone else, especially a young girl, so I filed the paperwork.

I have watched about 10 million shows where a security expert advises you to always be aware of your surroundings.  Maybe I should have watched 10 million and one shows. 

I think the message is clear in this story.  Not only did I learn some valuable lessons, I also was "inspired" to write my blog!

Have a great Sunday!

Cheaper than Dirt

 

 

This post is for all my friends that are not fortunate enough to live in the great state of Texas.

 

This is a picture of a store in a strip mall that houses a Target,  a Lowes, and a Joanne Fabrics.

 

Happy Saturday, y'all!



Dude's Favorite Things

Who's Dude, you may ask?  Mary Anne Dude is one of my oldest and dearest friends.  We went to Camp Tegawitha and high school  together.  How did she arrive with a name such as Dude?  She can thank me, although I'm pretty sure she's not overly excited that it has stuck with her for all these years.

Dude works in NYC in the fashion industry. She has a very handsome son that will some day marry my daughter.  He doesn't know it yet.  I have two girls - he can take his pick.

I have asked my dear friend to put a list together of her favorite things.  She was nice enough to oblige.  Just like every other "favorite things" guest column, I reserve the right for commentary. 

Benziger Chardonnay...just because I love it!  It also is a great family story. Thirty years ago, the Benzigers moved their entire family from New York to Sonoma to fulfill their dream of building a winery.

 

I concur - Benziger Chardonnay is a great wine and reasonably priced.  I told the Mister I would be an absolute dream of a wife if he would build me a vineyard in our back yard. 

 

If you're going to have cheese and crackers to accompany your Benziger Chardonnay, at least part of your appetizer will be healthy!  Mary's Gone Crackers are organic and free of everything - wheat, gluten dairy and trans fats.  Best of all... they are delicious!

 

 

I have not tried these yet.  Dude says they are sold at Whole Foods.  How the heck could they be that good without those good things like artificial preservatives?

 

 

 



 

My favorite recipe - kale, cucumber, celery, apple and lemon.  It's a delicious dose of "health" to balance out all my "unhealthy" choices!

 

I remember the days in high school when Dude had two breakfast choices - cocoa puffs or fruit loops.  PS...If it's good enough for Oprah, it's good enough for moi!

 

Williams-Sonoma salad chopper scissors help prepare salads in minutes.  Greatest invention!

 

These look great.  Will have to put these in the Mister's stocking this Christmas.  He's a sucker for new kitchen gadgets!

 

The Kitchenaid expandable colander.  Sits over the kitchen sink.  Great for draining pasta, washing fruits and veggies.

 

Helloooo Santa!  Another "must have" for the Mister's stocking!

 

 

 

Love the LL Bean Canvas Tote (mine is extra large).  First of all, it lasts forever!  I've had mine for 25 years and it's still in great shape.  It's my go-to beach bag, boat bag, catch-all etc.  In fact, a friend of mine, Clare, always gives it as a wedding shower gift, with the couples' last name or initials on it.  She then fills it with bath towels.  A great gift!

Note to self... steal Clare's idea and take all the credit myself!  

 

Love this product!  Benefit's Brow zings is a great product to fill out my shapeless brows.  First, you apply the tinted wax to the brows, then tinted powder on top (it adheres to the wax).  It is awesome!  Just gotta make sure I'm not driving while applying!

 

I need this stuff ...just put out an APB last week to find out where my eyebrows went!

 

 

 

 Sunday NY Times Styles Section!  Fashion, parties, weddings, socialites... an awesome Sunday morning read!   "The Social Sports Pages!"  These pages make my Sunday so special with a cup of coffee and flipping through every word and photo.

 

The McKinney Gazette doesn't seem nearly as fun....note to self... order a subscription to NY Times.  

 

 

 

Love the NY Times crossword puzzle!  Mondays are the easiest - and forget Saturdays. 

 

And I remember the days when my good buddy, Dude,  had difficulties with the People Puzzler!

 

Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer the board game to online Scrabble or Words with Friends.  There is something about being in the same room with the other players that makes it more interesting and fun.  I also enjoy Travel Scrabble on the plane or the beach.

 

 

Aha... now I found out how my old friend graduated from the People puzzler to the NY Times Crossword puzzle!  Note to self... put Scrabble on my Christmas list.



Thank you dear Dude for calling  me (from vacation)  right away when I texted you that I was writing a blog. There was nobody more excited for me than you!  You texted everybody in your phone book and told them to read my blog. You're a great buddy!

Dude & Me
Convent of the Sacred Heart
Halloween 19??

TGIF!
Have a great weekend!