Hello! Hope this finds you well, I? have had such a fun weekend. Dinner with? old friends on Friday and last night my closest friends and husbands and I went out for my early birthday dinner, we ate at one of my favorite restaurants, Gotham Bar and Grill, a well established classic New York restaurant and the food as it always is, was sublime!
It was such an amazingly fun evening and a much needed break in a very hectic week full of anticipation of the holidays which are creeping up really fast! Today as I do every Sunday,? I share with you seven things on my mind, here we go……
1.? A FABULOUS HOLIDAY CD! This is particularly exciting for me to talk about because the singer is none other than my very dear friend, Grace Haggerty who finally decided to check? making a CD off her bucket list! She is uber talented, with a smooth silky voice that could rival many singing legends, and most sounds like Karen Carpenter. She just came out with her holiday CD, Merry Christmas Darling and? it is the CD to have this year. Right from the start local stations have picked it up, they know a good thing when they hear it!
I would recommend this even if she weren’t my friend, because it is that good, if you love smooth jazz (courtesy of collaborations with many of the best in the business) and a beautiful voice combined with classic Christmas songs, you will LOVE this CD! What I like most is the “jazzy edge”…..I have had it blasting in my own home and indeed it has really put me in the spirit, which until last week I wasn’t really feeling. Click here to hear snippets of the album (click on the arrows in front of each song)? and hopefully you will love it enough to purchase one of your very own! So proud of you Grace!
2.? CHRISTMAS DECOR! Yep it’s official….it really is here. I must admit I started seeing a lot of people in blogland who were nearly done with their decor and it was intimidating. AND inspiring. Talk about the power of social media…it really prompted me to spring into action! I have a long long way to go and just got the tree delivered Friday (started to decorate it yesterday and hope to finish today)? but I did start doing a little bit here and there, here is what I have so far……just my mantle and a few arrangements.
Click here if you missed my post on my holiday decorating so far. I will be following up by? next weekend with my wrap up of my Christmas decorations for 2014!
3. INSTAGRAMS OF INTEREST. Always love to include my favorites of the week and this week was a plethora of beauty,? inspiration and holiday gorgeousness. Here are the ones that really captivated me……
I had to include this one…I think this is the funniest thing ever. I can imagine insisting my husband wear this…..seriously? A trend? Really?
4 MONOGRAMMED LINENS. OK you know how much I love anything monogrammed right? Well, my love for monogrammed linens knows no bounds and I am so thrilled with my recent acquisitions from Celerie and South, they have me wanting to throw a party!? Click here to visit Celerie and South. Here are my newest dinner napkins…..
5. LOVE TRUFFLES?? Have you ever tried white truffles? We attended a beautiful truffle dinner which was really incredible, such? a very special evening. Ever since, I have been somewhat fascinated by the entire truffle industry, but specifically the coveted holy grail of? truffles, the white truffle. Only found in the Piedmont region of Italy,? this has become an industry that rivals the wine trade, it is really remarkable.
I LOVE this documentary (have only watched it maybe a dozen times)? and if this subject at all interests you, think you will too. I NEED to go to the shop featured,Tartufi Morra….. it is fascinating with a capital F and soooo charming! And the truffle auction scene is one to watch even if this subject does not interest you, so captivating. This film? also happens to be super beautiful with the countryside of Northern Italy as? a backdrop, you cannot go wrong:)
6. AN ELEGANT AND EASY HOLIDAY APPETIZER. I have featured these before and made them Friday night when we had friends over for drinks,? they are so good and really easy, perfect for the holidays!
Fig crostinis, elegant and delicious! All you need is a fresh baguette or French loaf, ricotta (fresh is best but any will do), a fig jam or preserves, a little butter, honey, chopped pecans or walnuts, fresh figs (if you cannot find you can buy dried figs). Add a little butter to sliced baguettes and bake for about 10 min at 325.
Take out and spread a thin layer of ricotta cheese, then a layer of the jam or preserves, add cut fig on top and sprinkle with nuts. Finally add a light drizzle of honey and you have yourself one yummy appetizer!
Pictures aren’t so great (taken with my iPhone) but you get the idea….
7. HILARIOUS CHRISTMAS CARD PICTURES. Let’s end on a funny note….these are too much fun to not share. Check out these Christmas card pictures……(and yes these are real)!
An elegant looking bunch!
Sad but true:)
Too funny! The ratio appears to be 4 dogs for every family member:)
Speechless!
OK at least looks like they are having fun, corny as it might be;)
And my absolute fave……..
Saved the best for last……This is my favorite, they look like a lively duo, don’t you think?
Always good to keep our humor intact this time of year:). Hey, at least they sent out Christmas cards, I have yet to even think of that! Hope you are having a wonderful weekend, wishing you a great day. Thank you for stopping in, until next time…..
Oh Tina, my goodness these Christmas card photos get me every time. What are some people thinking? Well, if they are like me, they are just having FUN. That’s what matters! HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA
OK, if I could, I’d jump into the screen and give you a huge hug. You deliver such beauty and your mantle is top-notch Christmas beauty. I love how you add natural items to your space, and the balance of grandeur with the humble beauty of greenery is the perfect match. I got my first real Christmas tree yesterday, after 33 years of marriage. Being students the first 15 years of our marriage, we never had a tree. Then when we bought our home, it was so small that I only had room for a small artificial tree that just didn’t feel right. But this year, I got a small but gorgeous Fraser fur tree and it suits my taste.
I cannot WAIT to order those chargers. Thank you for always sharing your wares within the context of your lovely table. It helps me see what I can do with them and I am so excited.
Back later to shop! OH! Happy early birthday dearest Tina! Anita
All your festive fun is making me smile on this cold and frosty morning. I am not as far ahead with my buying a tree and decorating, but I have some mistletoe.
I need to keep my priorities straight, so Im hoping it works !!
Just doing a little special gift wrapping today …..:)
WHAT A FUN POST, TINA – YOUR HOUSE LOOKS GORGEOUS AND JUST LOVE YOUR MANTLES AND OF COURSE, I LOVE A MONOGRAM! THE CARDS GAVE ME A BIG CHUCKLE – ADORE THE 3 CHILDREN CRYING WITH THE JOY SIGN?TOO FUNNY. HAPPY SUNDAY!!
I know I am going to forget something! Your Christmas decor is fabulous, Tina. I am so inspired by it. The monogram linens are incredible, will have to keep that site in mind as I love linens too and they are really beautiful.
The Christmas pictures are such fun and it definitely leaves you wondering what they were thinking. The truffle video is one I will definitely be watching. It find it really fascinating too. Thank you for all this fun!
I can testify that your fig crostinis are beyond delish!!! Your mantel looks so beautiful. I will definitely download your friend’s CD – always looking for new Christmas music to download. Love all the Christmas cards. Too funny. Have a wonderful week, sweet Tina.
Hi Tina miss being on your blog. I love your friends voice, you are right she sounds a lot like Karen Carpenter. Your decor is splendid as are the napkins.
The video the truffle industry looks so interesting. Thank you for a chuckle with the pictures for Christmas.
Oh, Tina, those Christmas cards are toooo much! Can’t believe some would actually have their picture taken! And your friend Grace? Wow! She’s beautiful and has a voice to match. New career ahead of her???
So many cute, hilarious, sad-but-true, & beautiful things. The blanket scarf would be wonderful if one went to football games! As always, a wonderful post, my darling Tina-poo. Happy Holidays !!!
I have a ladies party scheduled for this week (crazy, but true) and I think I’ll be adding those fig crostini’s. They sound so good! Funny holiday cards ~ oh my goodness, the world is an interesting place;) Happy Sunday!
Great post! Love your holiday decor, great picks on the cards and Instagrams, but most of all, thanks for the reminder about Gotham. We used to live around the corner and went all the time. Always loved that place. It’s been years since we went and I think it’s time for a return. Happy Birthday!! This is a big month in our house too, between birthdays and anniversaries… 🙂 Enjoy!
This is my favorite post of the week…I actually WAIT for it to hit my inbox. So happy your dinner was good (how could it not be??) and that you got your house decorated! I am so in love with the monogrammed napkins I just ordered some as a gift and am about to order some for myself. I cracked up over the holiday photos – seriously, some people are just ODD! I added a few “follows” to my IG thanks to your post and I am going to order your friend’s CD – I need some influx of new holiday music and her voice is beautiful. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday – hopefully you will get to relax a bit. xoxo
Happy (early) Birthday Tina! Looks like you are making fabulous progress on your decorating. It all looks wonderful. And thank you for the laughs! The last couple was hysterically funny. Hope your Sunday is grand.
Thank you for such a great post! Loved, loved the documentary on white truffles. I, too, had been thinking about a new Christmas CD! Anxious for it to arrive.
Love how your decorate, your home will be amazing again, can?t wait to see it finished. Some of those cards left me ?speechless!? Gotta laugh. Happy birthday, I?m a December girl too……….
I will definitely be making those fig crostini, they look delicious. Love your home decorated for Christmas..actually: I love your home …elegant and beautiful.
Now as for the pictures: talk about creepy….What in heaven’s name goes through people’s minds….??
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Hello! Hope this finds you well, I? have had such a fun weekend. Dinner with? old friends on Friday and last night my closest friends and husbands and I went out for my early birthday dinner, we ate at one of my favorite restaurants, Gotham Bar and Grill, a well established classic New York restaurant and the food as it always is, was sublime!
It was such an amazingly fun evening and a much needed break in a very hectic week full of anticipation of the holidays which are creeping up really fast! Today as I do every Sunday,? I share with you seven things on my mind, here we go……
1.? A FABULOUS HOLIDAY CD! This is particularly exciting for me to talk about because the singer is none other than my very dear friend, Grace Haggerty who finally decided to check? making a CD off her bucket list! She is uber talented, with a smooth silky voice that could rival many singing legends, and most sounds like Karen Carpenter. She just came out with her holiday CD, Merry Christmas Darling and? it is the CD to have this year. Right from the start local stations have picked it up, they know a good thing when they hear it!
I would recommend this even if she weren’t my friend, because it is that good, if you love smooth jazz (courtesy of collaborations with many of the best in the business) and a beautiful voice combined with classic Christmas songs, you will LOVE this CD! What I like most is the “jazzy edge”…..I have had it blasting in my own home and indeed it has really put me in the spirit, which until last week I wasn’t really feeling. Click here to hear snippets of the album (click on the arrows in front of each song)? and hopefully you will love it enough to purchase one of your very own! So proud of you Grace!
2.? CHRISTMAS DECOR! Yep it’s official….it really is here. I must admit I started seeing a lot of people in blogland who were nearly done with their decor and it was intimidating. AND inspiring. Talk about the power of social media…it really prompted me to spring into action! I have a long long way to go and just got the tree delivered Friday (started to decorate it yesterday and hope to finish today)? but I did start doing a little bit here and there, here is what I have so far……just my mantle and a few arrangements.
Click here if you missed my post on my holiday decorating so far. I will be following up by? next weekend with my wrap up of my Christmas decorations for 2014!
3. INSTAGRAMS OF INTEREST. Always love to include my favorites of the week and this week was a plethora of beauty,? inspiration and holiday gorgeousness. Here are the ones that really captivated me……
4 MONOGRAMMED LINENS. OK you know how much I love anything monogrammed right? Well, my love for monogrammed linens knows no bounds and I am so thrilled with my recent acquisitions from Celerie and South, they have me wanting to throw a party!? Click here to visit Celerie and South. Here are my newest dinner napkins…..
5. LOVE TRUFFLES?? Have you ever tried white truffles? We attended a beautiful truffle dinner which was really incredible, such? a very special evening. Ever since, I have been somewhat fascinated by the entire truffle industry, but specifically the coveted holy grail of? truffles, the white truffle. Only found in the Piedmont region of Italy,? this has become an industry that rivals the wine trade, it is really remarkable.
I LOVE this documentary (have only watched it maybe a dozen times)? and if this subject at all interests you, think you will too. I NEED to go to the shop featured,Tartufi Morra….. it is fascinating with a capital F and soooo charming! And the truffle auction scene is one to watch even if this subject does not interest you, so captivating. This film? also happens to be super beautiful with the countryside of Northern Italy as? a backdrop, you cannot go wrong:)
6. AN ELEGANT AND EASY HOLIDAY APPETIZER. I have featured these before and made them Friday night when we had friends over for drinks,? they are so good and really easy, perfect for the holidays!
Fig crostinis, elegant and delicious! All you need is a fresh baguette or French loaf, ricotta (fresh is best but any will do), a fig jam or preserves, a little butter, honey, chopped pecans or walnuts, fresh figs (if you cannot find you can buy dried figs). Add a little butter to sliced baguettes and bake for about 10 min at 325.
Take out and spread a thin layer of ricotta cheese, then a layer of the jam or preserves, add cut fig on top and sprinkle with nuts. Finally add a light drizzle of honey and you have yourself one yummy appetizer!
Pictures aren’t so great (taken with my iPhone) but you get the idea….
7. HILARIOUS CHRISTMAS CARD PICTURES. Let’s end on a funny note….these are too much fun to not share. Check out these Christmas card pictures……(and yes these are real)!
And my absolute fave……..
Always good to keep our humor intact this time of year:). Hey, at least they sent out Christmas cards, I have yet to even think of that! Hope you are having a wonderful weekend, wishing you a great day. Thank you for stopping in, until next time…..
Loved this post!! It really got me into the Christmas spirit!!! xo
Oh Tina, my goodness these Christmas card photos get me every time. What are some people thinking? Well, if they are like me, they are just having FUN. That’s what matters! HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA
OK, if I could, I’d jump into the screen and give you a huge hug. You deliver such beauty and your mantle is top-notch Christmas beauty. I love how you add natural items to your space, and the balance of grandeur with the humble beauty of greenery is the perfect match. I got my first real Christmas tree yesterday, after 33 years of marriage. Being students the first 15 years of our marriage, we never had a tree. Then when we bought our home, it was so small that I only had room for a small artificial tree that just didn’t feel right. But this year, I got a small but gorgeous Fraser fur tree and it suits my taste.
I cannot WAIT to order those chargers. Thank you for always sharing your wares within the context of your lovely table. It helps me see what I can do with them and I am so excited.
Back later to shop! OH! Happy early birthday dearest Tina! Anita
Hello Tina my love
All your festive fun is making me smile on this cold and frosty morning. I am not as far ahead with my buying a tree and decorating, but I have some mistletoe.
I need to keep my priorities straight, so Im hoping it works !!
Just doing a little special gift wrapping today …..:)
I hope your Sunday is sparkling and wonderful X
WHAT A FUN POST, TINA – YOUR HOUSE LOOKS GORGEOUS AND JUST LOVE YOUR MANTLES AND OF COURSE, I LOVE A MONOGRAM! THE CARDS GAVE ME A BIG CHUCKLE – ADORE THE 3 CHILDREN CRYING WITH THE JOY SIGN?TOO FUNNY. HAPPY SUNDAY!!
I know I am going to forget something! Your Christmas decor is fabulous, Tina. I am so inspired by it. The monogram linens are incredible, will have to keep that site in mind as I love linens too and they are really beautiful.
The Christmas pictures are such fun and it definitely leaves you wondering what they were thinking. The truffle video is one I will definitely be watching. It find it really fascinating too. Thank you for all this fun!
I can testify that your fig crostinis are beyond delish!!! Your mantel looks so beautiful. I will definitely download your friend’s CD – always looking for new Christmas music to download. Love all the Christmas cards. Too funny. Have a wonderful week, sweet Tina.
Too funny, love the Christmas Pics!! I am doing your crostini appetizer this week, Sounds so delish! Oh and your friend has such a beautiful voice!
xoxo
Karena
The Arts by Karena
Thanks for the laugh! Great Sunday post.
Hi Tina miss being on your blog. I love your friends voice, you are right she sounds a lot like Karen Carpenter. Your decor is splendid as are the napkins.
The video the truffle industry looks so interesting. Thank you for a chuckle with the pictures for Christmas.
Oh, Tina, those Christmas cards are toooo much! Can’t believe some would actually have their picture taken! And your friend Grace? Wow! She’s beautiful and has a voice to match. New career ahead of her???
So many cute, hilarious, sad-but-true, & beautiful things. The blanket scarf would be wonderful if one went to football games! As always, a wonderful post, my darling Tina-poo. Happy Holidays !!!
I have a ladies party scheduled for this week (crazy, but true) and I think I’ll be adding those fig crostini’s. They sound so good! Funny holiday cards ~ oh my goodness, the world is an interesting place;) Happy Sunday!
Great post! Love your holiday decor, great picks on the cards and Instagrams, but most of all, thanks for the reminder about Gotham. We used to live around the corner and went all the time. Always loved that place. It’s been years since we went and I think it’s time for a return. Happy Birthday!! This is a big month in our house too, between birthdays and anniversaries… 🙂 Enjoy!
Best,
Lory
happy birthday!
as for those awkward family photos…
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
It really does TAKE ALL KINDS…. FUN STUFF!!! franki
You had me laughing at the end!! So hilarious! Your house looks so beautiful at this time of year, inspiring post!
This is my favorite post of the week…I actually WAIT for it to hit my inbox. So happy your dinner was good (how could it not be??) and that you got your house decorated! I am so in love with the monogrammed napkins I just ordered some as a gift and am about to order some for myself. I cracked up over the holiday photos – seriously, some people are just ODD! I added a few “follows” to my IG thanks to your post and I am going to order your friend’s CD – I need some influx of new holiday music and her voice is beautiful. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday – hopefully you will get to relax a bit. xoxo
Happy (early) Birthday Tina! Looks like you are making fabulous progress on your decorating. It all looks wonderful. And thank you for the laughs! The last couple was hysterically funny. Hope your Sunday is grand.
Thanks for the laughs!
Thank you for such a great post! Loved, loved the documentary on white truffles. I, too, had been thinking about a new Christmas CD! Anxious for it to arrive.
Love how your decorate, your home will be amazing again, can?t wait to see it finished. Some of those cards left me ?speechless!? Gotta laugh. Happy birthday, I?m a December girl too……….
Great post and Happy Birthday! Blessings
Love the holiday cards. Those families help to make ours look normal.
I will definitely be making those fig crostini, they look delicious. Love your home decorated for Christmas..actually: I love your home …elegant and beautiful.
Now as for the pictures: talk about creepy….What in heaven’s name goes through people’s minds….??
Have a Merry!!