Fabulous Outing- Restaurants in Virginia and Maryland

My Dad and Step Mom are THE most gracious hosts. They have taken us out to dinner every night and provided a babysitter! We feel so spoiled and are loving every minute of it! Here are some of the places we've been.
The Old Angler


Located in Potomac, Maryland, The Old Angler Inn is not only a landmark, but a restaurant that has retained it's sense of class and style since it was opened in the 1800's. The fireplace, the old mahogany bar, and spiral staircase up to another dining room, all make it worth the trip and then some. The food was fabulous and the service superb! I recommend the crab cakes, after all when in Maryland....


Idylwood Grill and Wine Bar



Ask for Hedi, at this restaurant where magic happens every night. Their knowledge of wines, the menu (I had the salmon with pesto gnocci- delicious), and the atmosphere are too entertaining for words. Hedi will tell you about his homeland of Tunisia and I swear you'll book a trip!

Flemings



Forget that it's a chain, or at least you will once you walk in. The steaks are fantastic and dining here, whatever state your in, is a treat!

What a wonderful time we're having! Thanks Dad! And Happy Birthday!

Fabulous Holiday's- Lilly Tree!

Still in CT and with one visit to the Lilly Pulitzer store on Greenwich Avenue, I will have a little Lilly Christmas tree next year!
Here's what I bought at half price:







I am so excited to do a little tree next year!!! Greenwich avenue is gorgeous. Tory Burch, Vineyard Vines, Lilly Pulitzer....it's great shopping! I highly recommend it! We are having a great time and I've even seen high school friends I haven't seen for years over the last couple days.
PS The holiday party was a huge success! Even with my late and glue gunned invites. I will be calling Fine Stationary when I return to try to convince them to do a full refund. I still hate William Arthur who really screwed the whole thing up!

Next we are off to Virginia to see my Dad. Call it the East Coast Tour!

Merry Christmas! Christmas in CT!

Merry Christmas! We just finished opening gifts and we are exhausted. Landon loved seeing what Santa Claus brought! Mom has decorated the house so beautifully I have to share!!


This is her Bunny Tree by Tommy Hillfiger in the entryway.





The main tree in the living room.
















Christmas Bunny in the entryway















Just gorgeous!

Not so Fabulous- Travel over the Holidays

We were off to a great start. Isn't that always how these stories go? We were packed, got to the airport on time, through security at lightening speed, and we were ready to board our flight to Connecticut. That's when our problem began. There was an announcement that we would need to fly to Las Vegas first for more fuel. Something about a runway closed at our airport and us needing enough fuel to get to the East Coast. So our 5 hour flight, became a 10 hour flight. Oh yes we had our 17 month old with us. The good news: he was an angel. The bad news: he lost it at the airport.




Things we did right:
I had plenty of toys (some new), books (some new) and snacks.
I brought my commputer to play baby Einstein DVDs
We flew jet blue who loves kids, has TVs, and changing tables in the bathroom.
We got Landon his own seat.
We brought the car seat and used it on the plane.
We let him play with everything on the plane first and then toys and movies.
We kept him on his schedule and he napped and ate in car seat!

What we did wrong:

We thought we'd made it when we hit JFK. That's when the fun didn't start. The limo couldn't get to us for a half hour, we ran out of milk, poopy diaper, crying tired, etc etc etc.

Ahhhh the holidays. When you say to yourself: NEVER AGAIN! And then of course you always do!

Fabulous Holidays- Christmas Movies

One of my favorite things about Christmas are the films I watch this time of year. Don't ask me why but in my family we watch Tootsie and Ferris Buelers Day off for Thanksgiving after the games, but for Christmas we watch things like White Christmas.
If you haven't seen this film you are missing out. I bawl every time I watch it! They throw the old Colonel a big Christmas party to save his ski lodge and the man is so touched. The show is fabulous and the costumes divine!

I also love watching Auntie Mame during this time of year as well. It has Christmas scenes in it such as the one where Rosalind Russel is working at Macys in an effort to make money after she's lost it all and she does every order on C.O.D., because she has no idea how to do any other transaction!













Another holiday favorite is Meet Me In St.Louis. I loooooooove Judy Garland and she is gorgeous and in perfect form in this film. It has an amazing soundtrack "The Boy Next Door", "Meet Me In St. Louis", and the "Trolley Song". The true reason this is a Christmas classic, however, is the fact that their father wants them to move away, so they have their last Christmas in St. Louis. When Judy sings "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" to her younger sister, it's heartbreaking! The little girl starts bawling! Of course they get to stay...it's a musical! And they have a Christmas dance, make snow men, ride in a sleigh. It really is too fabulous for words.


Honorable mention to March of the Wooden Soldiers, a Laurel and Hardy movie that I'm strangely drawn to. It's bizarre but fun!


For kids there is nothing better than Emmet Otters Jug band Christmas. It is so cute!!!! They are puppets and the songs are s cute and the story has a nice moral. I just love it!



There are a few movies I need to see which I've heard are great. Holiday Inn, It Happened on 5th Avenue, and Christmas in Connecticut. If you've seen them let me know if they're any good!

Fabulous Holidays- Christmas Playdate!

I had a little Christmas party for the mom's and kids Landon usually plays with. It was a big success! I may do it every year!
My menu was:

Fatoush Salad
Tuscan Chicken Stew
Christmas Cookies
and
Chocolate Bundt Cake

Fatoush salad is a Lebanese dish, so refreshing and light! It has mint, parsley, radishes, scallions, tomato, cucumber, and toasted pita pieces, mixed with romaine lettuce and an olive oil and lemon dressing. Delicious!

The Tuscan stew was a hit with moms and kids alike. White beans, black beans, carrots, celery, onion, chicken and chicken broth. So simple and good.



I had a baby Einstein (Baby Santas) on the playroom TV and the kids played and moms chatted while we ate lunch. A fabulous time!

Fabulous Holidays- The Christmas Boat Parade!

Last weekend Hubby and I took Landon and met a few friends down at Balboa Island in Newport Beach. There is a Christmas boat parade that happens every year and I keep missing it!
This year I circled it on the calendar and we made it!
Balboa Island looks like a fairytale Christmas Village this time of year, so lit up and adorable.



Landon was a trooper eating out and staying up past his bedtime. Hubby even let me stay a little longer so I wouldn't miss anything while Landon slept in the car! It was beautiful. We are leaving for CT to see Grandmommie at the end of the week! Wonder if Landon will get to see snow for the first time!?

Fabulous Find- Hostess of the Mostess

I absolutely adore entertaining. We went to a fabulous party Saturday night called a "Merry Birthday" party for my dear friend Alyssa's birthday. Her friend Carrie did a fabulous job and the food was divine.
It made me think about hostess aprons. If you are having a party, Christmas or otherwise, you MUST have the proper apron or you ruin your outfit! These aprons for Haute Hostess are so sassy they are almost an outfit themselves!



I think these coasters would be a great hostess gift for a holiday party. They're from Neiman Marcus and are only $39 for 100 coasters! Fabulous!

Fabulous Holidays- Broccoli Casserole Recipe

We had our small group from church over for dinner, our last meeting of the year and I made mom's famous Broccoli Casserole again! I made it for Thanksgiving, but it's such a holiday dish I had to do it again. It is such a crowd pleaser I decided to give a little gift and share the recipe. I promise you there will be none left!

Broccoli Casserole


2 Packages frozen chopped broccoli
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup mayo
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 eggs well beaten
2 Tbs chopped onion
Bread crumbs


1) Cook broccoli; drain well and cool
2) Beat eggs in separate bowl, stir in remaining ingredients except bread crumbs
3) Blend well and pour into greased 2 qt casserole dish
4) Top with bread crumbs
5) Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes

What are your favorite holiday recipes?

Not so Fabulous- Christmas Party Invites

Oh I have sung the praises of fine stationary, but alas, NO MORE! I ordered invitations for Mom's and my joint cocktail party in CT Nov 5th. I didn't get them until Dec 7th! To make matters worse (the party is Dec 23rd), they arrived without the bows. Hello!? We ordered these William Arthur invitations because of the bows! Otherwise it's a plain red card! Calling William Arthur was no help. They didn't even care. I called and asked Fine Stationary if they could overnight me bows. They said no but would get to me by today. THEY NEVER CAME.


Cut to me, going to the craft store and finding the ribbon I could closest match to the original, and then glue gunning them on! What a pain in the rear.




On another more positive note, I took Landon to see Santa this past weekend. Thanks to Magnolia Mama's nightmare two hour wait, I decided to wait until 1pm to go to the mall because Santa arrived at 11am. When we got there we were delighted to see that only four people were in line! Thanks Magnolia Mama!!!

You win some, you lose some!

Fabulous Holiday's- Sea worthy gifts for kids

I love anything Beachy and Nautical. Here are some wonderful gifts for the sea
worthiest kids on your list.


Pirate Ship Rocker


Motor Boat Rocker


Both from Nautical Luxuries. Such a cute site!







Sweaters and and swimsuits from Periwinkle Online






Nautical Robeez!







How about this adorable toy box from Wild Wood Creations Inc!





Some sea creatures and a mermaid for snuggling!





All from Art Bebe!


Bon Voyage!

Fabulous Holiday's- Christmas Angel

We have been busy this holiday! Went to a Christmas cocktail party, a dinner party and a Hanukkah party all in one weekend! Needless to say we have been exhausted as has our little Christmas angel.

This week we have our small group coming to a little holiday dinner at our place, Hubby's company holiday dinner is Friday and a birthday party and church party Saturday! Gives me the chance to dress up!

Here I am with good friends Anna Mae and Cindy from church at a cocktail party our friend Anne was giving. The food was fabulous and Anne's mom is a member of a gospel choir so we got to listen to then rehearse! So fabulous.
I got this cute velvet three quarter sleeve jacket that I love (Marshalls of course!), just in time for the Christmas season, and it just makes me feel holidayish! Forgot to take photos the other nights but will take more this weekend. Cheers!

Fabulous Holidays- Christmas Card

I have to say I am so glad I got it done! Here's the finished product. Cards went out last week! It's from our trip to Hawaii last July for Hubby's brother, "Uncle Sharpy's" wedding. I love Christmas cards with vacation photos!

Fabulous Mom- Interview with Tessa Goss

Once again I have found the perfect mom to interview. Wife, mother, actress, Tessa Goss is not only a wonderful mother but and artist as well. Here's how she manages to do it all...

1. How would you describe yourself?

A work in progress. Confidant and insecure; certain and unsure; smart and in able to find my words. In love with my husband. Obsessed with my boys.

2.How do you continue to follow your passions and dreams while being a mom?

I am pursuing the only thing I would ever want to do outside of being a full-time mother: acting.

3. How has motherhood changed you?

I’ve become a lot less self-centered. Couldn't care less about my birthday. Don’t want a thing for Christmas. Also, my heart has grown, obviously, to make room to love on those little ones. And, along with that, it has grown more compassionate for those who have little or are ill or are overseas fighting for us…

4. What do you do for yourself so that you can still be Fabulous?

I would hardly say I am fabulous. Very far from it. The main thing I do for myself is exercise. Los Angeles’ West side has so many awesome classes. So, I go to a running/weights class once a week, a spin class twice a week, and a yoga class once a week. Wow. Maybe that’s a little excessive now that I see it on paper! But exercising allows me to eat whatever I want, any time of day. Otherwise I will still eat whatever I want and my jeans won’t fit . And that’s really just no fun. If I wasn’t acting out here in the land of tight asses, I would be much less rigid about the working out. But my motto is no excuses: I refuse to walk out of a room and think I didn’t get the job because the next girl could have a quarter bounced off her rear. And, trust me, the industry is definitely that superficial.

5. What is the best mom advice you’ve ever gotten?

Other than THE Bible, my mommy-Bible is a book called “How to Talk So Your Kids Will Listen; How to Listen So Your Kids Will Talk”. (Long title!) It changed my relationship with my 4-year-old who was about to be murdered (by me). I followed the advice in the book and, in one day, we went from fighting to understanding each other.
I also was told recently that God gives us these children as they are. Our job is to mold them in to decent human beings. We can’t chance them, but we can mold them. That helped me to let go.

6. What are your top five Fabulous must haves?

I’m not much of a shopper. I love some new tops I just got at Target. Blue jeans from Banana Republic. And Ashley Dearborn shoes. That’s kind of my uniform. (Outside of yoga clothes, which I basically live in.)
But for realsies, my must-haves are cashmere socks to sleep in! Hubby and I have opposite body heaters.

7. Complete this sentence: “Being……makes me One Fabulous Mom.

Being patient..and not tired…and nurturing…and fair makes me a Mom I can be proud of.

Fabulous Holidays- Decorating for Christmas

I was feeling a little scroogey and not ready for Christmas, nevertheless I had hubby haul out the Christmas Decor. Cut to me, listening to Christmas carols on Sirius Radio and decorating the whole house! HA! Truth is any chance to be creative is fabulous and even though we are tightening the Christmas gift giving budget this year :( I can still get in the spirit!


We aren't doing a tree this year, but I did get enough greenery to satisfy my Christmas feeling. I decorated the mantle in the living room,















This is where I also put all my Christmas cards in these cute holders.

















Also did the den mantle, really has become a playroom for Landon, so I did a little Landon toy theme! Hung the Dog and Cats stockings too.


















Hung greenery over the door in the dining room and then did a little Christmas village on the side board.
















Hubby's Dad is big into trains (as you know) and his parents have helped me start my own little train village collection based on New York City where I grew up most of my life. All the buildings light up.










So far I have the Empire State Building,











The Ed Sullivan Theater,













And Radio City Music Hall.












Luckily this year we'll be in NYC to see it all in real life!!! Exciting!
Until we have more space to set up the whole train track, I do a little village scene. Too cute!










Of course Hubby got stuck with the biggest chore of putting the lights up on the outside of the house. He did come up with a genius way to save time next year, he used 1/2 inch plastic staples that will stay up all the time.

Here's my dining room table.









I did a little more decorating on my side table.








Had to use my ornaments any way I could!