J CREW KEY CHAINS!

Even their key chains are cute! I love J Crew.

HEY, THE MILK MAN'S HERE!

For those of you unfamiliar with Ann Arbor, Michigan, we are probably in the running for Organic Food Consumption Capital of the World. We have at least six organic food store as well as a farmers market full of organically food grown by local farmers. Anyway, one of the luxuries that I have acquired from all this organic food craze is that I have milk delivered to my home by Calder Dairy and it is in glass bottles. Since we live in a 90 year old home which obviously had servants to bring in the milk, we have a milk box. Now where are those servants today?

HAPPY EASTER! WHAT ARE YOUR TRADITIONS?

Well, Happy Easter to all those family, friends and fellow bloggers.

Just a quick blog before we hit the club for Brunch. Christmas is full of traditions while Easter...is a little thin. But here are our traditions... 1. Fish Dinner Friday with Friends (we hosted it this year)

2. Saturday, Easter Party at Grandmother's place

3. Saturday Night, Dinner at my mom's and egg decorating

4. Baskets put out and kids leave a note and carrots for E. Bunny and the E.Bunny writes back.

5. We read..."The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes "

6. Eggs left by E. Bunny filled with $$ --8 inches of snow means inside egg hunt.

7. Baskets are left wrapped in cellophane with a bow and custom name card tied in the bow.

8. Baskets are hidden by E. Bunny and are hard to find.

9. Church

10 Brunch at the club

11. Visit to Great Grandma

http://www.laduree.fr/

Even more impressive this year, because I am so picky, my children's baskets are white with green polka dot ribbon, white with pink polka dot ribbon and white with aqua polka dot ribbon. I have matching paper grass, custom name tags that match the ribbon and a white bow that holds the cellophane and name tag in place. Last year, I actually put everything (ribbon, grass, name tag and cellophane) in a Ziplock bag and saved it. This year, my life was a breeze and it took 5 minutes to assemble the baskets. This year my kids received a nice book, bag of pink, green and yellow maltballs, sugarless gum, matching calculators (pink, aqua or green), pencils, a Webkin Bunny, and clear game cards (old maid, crazy-8's, etc.)..these are new, Burt Bee's travel kit and footcare kit, and misc. boy toys..gummy egg (not edible) and a little plane, frog, etc. Lots of fun and excitment. WHAT ARE YOUR TRADITIONS?

"The Other Boleyn Girl"

Well, my book group headed to the movie to see the "Other Boleyn Girl". Being a historical fiction buff, I recommended this book and the movie was bloody, but good. Covering 700 some pages in 1.5 hours was a challenge and a few details were left out..like Mary had a girl baby first and a son second....not just a son.

Also my group thought that Natalie Portman was not evil enough as "Anne". This movie is worth seeing if you read the book and like history. Thought you would find below amusing:

PREPPY MUSIC...A COLLECTOR'S ITEM

Preppy Deluxe

Just when you thought you have seen if all, here is a CD from the past...and it is still available on AMAZON (see link). Thought this would amuse you all.

SONGS:

1. Carolina Girls - General Johnson, General Johnson & the Chairmen of the Board

2. Shama Lama Ding Dong - Band of Oz

3. Rainy Day Bells - The Globetrotters

4. Did You Boogie (With Your Baby) - The Embers

5. Mr. Beach - Shagtime

6. Ocean Boulevard - Band of Oz

7. Hey Baby/39-21-46/I've Been Hurt - Buddy Causey

8. Build Me Up Buttercup - The Foundations

9. Hold Back the Night - The Trammps

10. Tams Medley - The Tams

11. Beach Baby - The First Class

12. Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes - Edison Lighthouse

13. My Baby Loves Lovin' - White Plains

14. In the Summertime - Mungo Jerry

15. Tequila - The Champs

16. Sugar Sugar - The Archies

17. Stagger Lee - Lloyd Price

18. Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love) [Worst Morning After Version] - The Swingin' Medallions

19. Shake, Rattle & Roll - The Comets, Bill Haley

20. Twist - Chubby Checker

21. Wild Thing - The Troggs

22. Rock Around the Clock - The Comets, Bill Haley

23. Baby Let Me Bang Your Box - Doug Clark,

24. Shout - Legendary Dukes

CHARITY COOKBOOKS

Well, thank you someone who purchased one of the Charity Cookbooks through my bookstore. Not sure where I am going to donate the proceeds from my bookstore....I will worry about this when it become successful.

The Junior League, plus other non-profit groups publish wonderful cookbooks. Most of the cookbooks have recipes provided and tested by their respective memberships. I have cooked many recipes from these incredible books. See my bookstore for some of my favorites. I would be happy to include any other charity cookbooks that my readers consider worthy. The proceeds go to wonderful causes! Here is a cookbook that I helped peddle while I was in the Ann Arbor League.

IT'S RED HAT MONDAY

p>Well, after a crazy month...talent show--I was in charge with my girlfriend NP (2 nights with 120 kids, lighting, sound, crew, programs, rehearsals, plus a snow storm, etc.), my birthday (breakfast, lunch, dinner) basketball game (B), tennis (B) ,Valentine parties and dinner with hubby at the club, over the top spirit week costumes for my daughters, etc., etc. Then off to Quebec and back in the swing!

I have just a good moment to reflect before I go to lunch with a girlfriend, two parties tomorrow night party, tennis tournament Sunday, birthday party sleepover for daughter C, basketball game for son T, soccer game (T), baseball clinic (T) and a school play with spaghetti dinner(B), dinner tonight with friends. I only have three more lunches and a group coffee next week, then I think my dear friends will be sick of celebrating my birthday. I think we will need that spring break to relax and for them to like me again! Is your life this crazy or are we crazy? As you can see, I have an affinity for 1950's Vogue magazine covers, I think this one is from 1952. I guess I love these covers because the 1950's style is pretty traditional and elegant. Anyway, just sharing something beautiful and if you can find a red hat for today, all the better.

MONT TREMBLANT, QUEBEC

Well, we have been gone for a bit and have just recovered from hosting two birthdays (my mom's and daughter's) and a few continued celebrations for my birthday (which was a few weeks ago) and a snow day! Anyway-- I am trying to blog a little and miss reading your blogs.

We had a wonderful trip to Mont Tremblant, Quebec. We are kind of last minute, bargain shoppers. We looked at the weather, airfare prices, and ski packages, and even with the weak US dollar, Mont Tremblant was an excellent bargain. It has a gondola, several high speed lifts, several long runs, and a great, charming village. After much debate, we decided to stay at a lovely, new ski-in/ski-out condo called L'Altitude. For eastern skiing, this place is the best! We actually drove (12 hours) with an overnight in Toronto. We ran into another family from my daughter's school (these people own a condo there) and had some great meals with them. Would I fly here...probably not... since we can fly out west for the same price. But, there is a European flare that makes this place special.

I'LL SHOW YOU MINE IF YOU SHOW ME YOURS--CHINA THAT IS!

Ok, I am a little obsessed with china and porcelain. While some have wish lists of purses, shoes and clothing, I am looking for Antique Pots De Creme for 12 or Oyster Plates in white and gold, or Demitasse cups in french blue and this is just my china list...I have a long list of sterling silver items too.

My inventory....when I as married a 15 years ago, I registered for Spode Sheffield with Stafford Flowers salad plates. I purchased Sheffield as my primary set and Wedgewood White for more casual dinners. Since a former president's wife registered for Stafford Flowers when she left office,(Tickled Pink and Green knows who I am talking about) I have never felt the same about this pattern. To spice things up, I have purchased several salad plate options including a Limoges fish set, Lynn Chase Winter Game Birds in Chestnut and Spode Lancaster in Crimson for Christmas. I also also collect Limoges, Paris Porcelain and Bavaria white (my great grandmother's pattern) all in white and gold trim. I strive to find antique Limoges with a Monogram A. I have several Herend pieces too. Love it!

Please let me know your pattern...it says so much about someone and the time period in which they were married.

FUNDRAISING FUN!

Two weeks ago we had is our annual school fundraiser. As always, it is pretty crazy and loud.

As many of may agree, school fundraising is always a challenge. Many of us can relate to selling pizza kits, cookies, gift wrap, etc. Because of our busy schedule, it seems like we are usually purchasing these items that our kids are suppose to sell to neighbors and relatives.

Several years ago, I took the plunge and was PTO Co-President for our public elementary school. Luckily, fundraising is pretty easy here. We have a very generous neighborhood; last year parents donated over $100,000 to put astroturf soccer-field on the playground. Even though parents are generous, they were tired of always being asked for money here and there, so we decided on a new strategy.

We set a goal to consolidate our fundraising activities and have one big fundraiser for the school as well as give parents to write a check. We estimated that we spent $100 per child on enrichment activities so you could write a check and not have to participate in any other fundraising activities for the year. The second was initiative was creating a Bingo Night and Basket Raffle. We raised about $5000 in one fun evening.

For the basket raffle, classrooms pick a theme and families donate items for the themed basket. Raffle tickets are stuffed in buckets in front of each basket and tickets are drawn for each basket between bingo games. A basket raffle make it possible all children to win and is more fun than a silent auction. Families pay $25 to play bingo and there are prize for winners of each bingo game.

This is my friend JL wonderful basket she put together for a Movie Night Basket. She did a beautiful job.

IT GET'S BETTER:

For a University of Michigan Music Society Fundraiser, instead of a silent auction, we are going to have baskets for adults. Our auctioneer suggested that we have a buy-it-now price.

I think we may donate a scotch basket which will include a scotch tasting and 5-6 single malts, plus glasses, etc. The value is suppose to be approximately $500-600. Anyway--this should be a fun evening in the Fall.

I would love to hear any ideas you may have for fundraising. We are always looking for new ways to raise money.

I HEART RUGBY!

Always in search of suitable clothing for my teen, we stumbled across Rugby in Georgetown last April. Traditional clothing with an updated twist. Expensive, yes...but worth it. My daughter purchased an adorable pink & green bathing suit and a pink and blue rugby shirt. For those who live in one of the cities below, you are lucky. For those who live in DC, you can even eat at the Rugby store in Georgetown. The website is limited so all you get is an impression of this line. Hopefully there will be more from this company in the future.

Rugby Stores in USA:

• California Palo Alto • 369 Stanford Shopping Center • 650.566.1053Mon-Fri 10-9, Sat 10-7, Sun 11-6 San Francisco • 2071 Union Street • 415.771.8714Mon-Sat 11-7, Sun 11-6

• Connecticut Greenwich • 195 Greenwich Avenue • 203.861.7053Mon-Sat 10-6, Sun 12-5 New Canaan • 115 Elm Street • 203.966.2035Sun 12-5, Mon-Sat 10-6

• Washington D.C.D.C. • Georgetown • 1065 Wisconsin Avenue • 202.298.5928 Sun 12-6, Mon–Wed 11-7, Thu-Sat

• Illinois Chicago • 1000 West Armitage • 773.525.4627Mon-Sat 11-7, Sun 12-5
• Massachusetts Boston • 342 Newbury Street • 617.247.2801Sun 12-6, Mon-Sat 11-7
• New York New York • 99 University Place • 212.677.1895Sun 12-7, Mon-Sat 11-8
• Texas Dallas • Highland Park Village • 4200 Mockingbird Lane • 214.599.7872Mon-Wed 10-6, Thu 10-7, Fri-Sat 10-6, Sun 12-5
• Washington Seattle • University Village • 4618 26th Avenue NE • 206.526.2626Mon-Sat 9:30–9:00, Sun 11-6

Sorority Girls Today

My daughter's went to visit their cousin for little siblings weekend at Michigan State University. My niece told my daughter B that she dressed like all the sorority girls. Being a sorority girl from the1980's where I wore kelly green pants, kelly green and blue duck boot(see Tickled Pink & Green) , a frog belt and matching headband, and a monogrammed navy blue sweater with turtleneck that had frogs all over it ( I remember this outfit like it was yesterday) and I also thought I looked great! I have a hard time imagining that what my daughter wears (thought it was just Ann Arbor thing) is the attire today. Get ready all you preppy girls for your hearts to break! 1. Ugg boots

2. North Face Jacket (fleece) --one daughter is pink (above) the other is light olive green.

3. Leggings or skinny jeans

4. Headband that does not hold your hair back, it just sits on your head.

Please confirm this Canadian Preppy, Red & White Preppy or Nautical by Nature or others that are in the college scene. Maybe it is just in the north or I guess I am just out-of-it.

I AM STRANGE TOO!

Ego Alienous ("I Strange"in Latin): Tagged by Nautical By Nature

1. Since we are sharing bed making stories, I have a hard time getting into an unmade bed or a bed that does not have white cotton sheets.
2. I like Peeps (sugar coated marshmallow chicks or bunnies).
3. I do not like tomatoes...my husband does not like them either.
4. I kiss my dog on the top of her head at least 5 times a day.
5. I like Michigan in the winter.
6. Where I live, my political affiliation makes be a weirdo! People even steal our political signs off our lawn. Someday, I am going to live-wire the signs to teach these people a lesson.
7. My kids think I am a strange because I was a dance team member at a Big 10 school. They are not impressed at all. According to them, the dance team is not a real sport.
8. I spend hours and hours agonizing over the perfect invitation for my children's birthday parties. I have even had a friend bring back 25 Chinese dresses to deliver as invitations for an Asian theme party.

Thanks for tagging me "Nautical By Nature". Tag to "One Fabulous Mom" and "Red & White Preppy".

Flies in the Buttermilk..Shoo Fly Shoo

cleaver cupcakes

NAME THE PARTY THEME

Here a really cute little cupcake..I love the rolled fondant and yellow and black color combination. In terms of executing "a fly on butter", this is the best! I am struggling with a party theme in which this cupcake would be appropriate. To help me my quest, here is a little contest for you who like a challenge :

Name the Party Theme in which you would serve this cupcake. Prize...pure gratification of being the cleaverest person on my blog. Good luck!

WONDERFUL CRAZY DAY

Well, I just returned home from my second trip to the airport. My husband was heading off to London for a few days so being the loving wife, I decided to drive him to the airport (20 minutes) so I could bring home his Merrells (lots of snow here and yes, what was I thinking). Earlier to day, I went with two girl friends, my daughters, and a set of twin girls (my friends daughters, age 4) to meet our friends new daughters they had just adopted from Guatemala. Their intention was to adopt a daughter, but when they found out their little girl had an older sister, two little girls were heading to America. I loved seen Mr. W's face as he held is new daughters...nothing is better in the world than those first moments of holding your new child. There were about 20 people at the airport greeting the girls with balloons, stuffed animals, signs in Spanish, etc. It was pretty exciting. Our neighborhood is organizing two showers, a month's worth of dinners, etc., etc. They also have two other children from Guatemala plus a large group of friends with children from the same country. What a beautiful thing!

I learned that google has a great calender which allowed us to sign-into an account and self schedule our dinner for our friends. You can see which days are still available. We have new breakfast at our school where families bring in breakfast on Friday mornings and children read the newspaper while having breakfast. I guess this class used the same google calendar to for parent sign-up. I wonder if you can program automatic reminder emails?

Anyway, what a wonderful day.

Perfume For the Rich & Famous

Being a perfume lover, I am always at the fragrance counter and the duty free shop in Amsterdam is paradise. Perfume is so personal and people have their favorite scent and can tell you exactly why and when they selected it. For example, ever since I was given Chanel No. 5 for a high school graduation present, it has been my favorite. My sister wears No. 5 too. My good friend ML wears Chanel Cristalle (given to her as a child) and for her 40th Birthday we even found a Chanel shaped bottle invitation and put the word Cristalle on it. My daughters are interested in the new, more trendy brands..B received LAMB for christmas and C received Grace. Most of our perfume is purchased though duty free because there is nothing else to do in the Amsterdam airport for 8 hours. I also love to collect antique crystal perfume bottles, mostly clear or cut crystal with silver tops. Now there are so many beautiful new bottles on the market that look beautiful on a vanity table.

I was doing a little research for my bookstore (because I wanted to include a perfume that Audrey, Grace, Jackie and Coco wore or that was created for them), I came across this little blog, PERFUME SHRINE which illustrates the scents of famous celebrities and dignitaries. Of course most of these stylish women wore more than one scent and here are their favorites:

Audrey Hepburn: A Life in Pictures

Audrey wore: L'interdit (original vintage, made for her), Joy, Chamade, Femme Rochas, Spring Flower Creed (made for her) Le De Givenchy, Aqua di Parma original Colonia, Ivoire Balmain.

Pink Preppy Party Girl Pick:

(made for her by Givenchy)

Givenchy L'Interdit

The Grace Kelly Years: Princess of Monaco

Grace Kelly Wore: Fleurissimo (commissioned for her by Rainer for their wedding day), Joy, Mrs. Lauder said she gifted her with Private Collection before launching it publicaly because she admired it so much on her, Estee

Pink Preppy Party Girl Pick:

Fleurissimo by Creed For Women Millesime Eau De Parfum Spray 2.5 oz

Chanel and Her World

Coco Chanel Wore: Chanel No. 19

Pink Preppy Party Girl Pick:

Chanel Coco By Chanel For Women, Eau De Parfum Spray, 1.7-Ounce Bottle

Jacqueline Kennedy : The White House Years: Selections from the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum

Jackie Wore: Fleurissimo, 1000 Patou, #5 Chanel, Jill Sanders #4, RI, Bal A, Versailles, Jicky

Pink Preppy Party Girl Pick:

Bal a Versailles by Jean Desprez for Women 0.25 oz Parfum Classic

CHEERS TO FRIENDS!

Photo: la crafiteira

Well, one thing I must say, where I live, there are a lot of really great women.... kind, compassionate, hardworking, loving, great moms, great leaders, charitable, and smart.... women. When someone gets sick, there is a month of dinners ready to go. If you need help on a school activity, there you have it, ten helpers. It is nice to be in a place where there are so many people to love your family and your children.

I am fortunate to have some wonderful friends that I have known for many years. Several live far away and I miss them...especially those who I know read my blog...JP and KL (which this picture is of us from KKG). This year, I have become friends with some really other wonderful women: CJ, JL and RM...thank you for your friendship!

I even had some great advice from a fellow blogger who doesn't know me and spent time discussing an issue with me.....what a wonderful person. Sometimes objective advice is just what you need to understand life.

In summary, I believe character and integrity in a person are very important. Many of these qualities are best displayed through a person's ability to be a good friend.

"My friends are my estate."- Emily Dickinson

PS. I love my family too!

NEW PREPPY BOOKSTORE

PARK THAT BIKE AND COME ON IN.....

THE STORE IS OPEN

photo: gina@gongfan.com

One of the blogs that I have fallen in love with is Chic & Charming. Sophia is innovative, unique and has a certain elegance and grace that is truly her own. She gave me a wonderful idea that she actually received from another blog. She has started an online store on her website.

I have a passion for beautiful books. Being a struggling author...(yes, I am even working with a publisher), I am always on the quest for outstanding books and ideas for entertaining, decorating, travel, sports, etc. With three children (one is a teen) of my own who are avid readers, I will watch their interest in books and will share them with you. Since anyone can type in certain key words in Amazon.com and get similar results, I will not say that these books, etc. are difficult to find, I just have selected a few of my favorites and organized them for you. If you choose to purchase them through my site, it would be a little tribute to my time and would be appreciated. P.S. Please be patient because I am still working on a few of the categories. For example, my husband said I must have a scotch, cigar and wine book for the men's section.

TICKLED ABOUT TURTLES!

We love turtles!

We love the turtles from Palm Beach

http://www.lillypulitzer.com/

and those from the Vine, http://www.vineyardvines.com/

Those that are good to eat

(just kidding)

and those who love canine

http://www.fancynancys.com/customcollars2.htm

We want a turtle to hug

www.thepinkmonogram.com

and one that makes a nice note

(my daughter has this) store.minnieandemma.com/turtle.html

Turtles are great...they get our vote!

Herend Hand Painted Porcelain Turtle

Etiquette Class for the Chinese

There was an amusing news clip today about how the Chinese government is teaching etiquette to its citizens. With the Olympics coming this summer, Chinese leaders want the world to be impressed by the sophistication of the Chinese people (which was totally lost during the cultural revolution). In a country where we debate the proper behaviour of our dogs, comparatively, the Chinese are working on some human basics:

- Let people off the bus first before loading

- Do not spit on the sidewalk

- Do not blow your nose on the sidewalk without a Kleenex (disgusting..they even showed this on the news)

FUNNY STORY: A few years ago, my husband was invited to speak at the annual Chinese Designer Showcase in Shenzhen, China. We were actually there with two french couture designers..I need to look these guys up sometime (more stories to follow about their experience). While my husband was speaking and it was being translated, cell phones in record numbers, were ringing and conversations were being conducted. In most situations, one person's cell phone goes off in a speech, they leave in embarrassment, not here...it was the norm.

We were also invited to a elegant, formal dinner with all the fashion leaders in China. I was placed next to the editor of Vogue China and his model girl friend. We felt a little like celebrities.. if I had known that people would be taking my picture, I would have definitely dressed better. My husband was photographed as well and many young Chinese women came up and said.."Mr. A. so handsome". I said "They are probably the gals sewing your garments in the factories...of course you are great". Anyway, the interesting thing about the evening is that we were excited about a traditional formal Chinese dinner. To our surprise, the dinner was totally western fare right down to the silverware. The Chinese are so historically elegant and detail oriented, but for some reason, a small detail was overlooked... many of the people at this fancy affair were not familiar eating with silverware. Even though the Chinese may be laughing all the way to the bank, this evening was not their best work.

LESSON: "To Thine Own Self Be True" -- William Shakespeare

Chocolaté

A few years ago my husband and I took a trip to Belgium. We stumbled across a little store in Brussels. I remember the beautiful chocolates but as always, could not recall the full name. Looking for some delicious chocolates for Valentine's Day...his name came up and now his chocolates are available in the US. Not only is he one of the best chocolate makers in the world, is presentation is stunning too. Love the red heart!

http://www.marcolini.be/EN/accueil.html

Tiffany Pearls for Dessert

As many of you will see in my blog, I am always in pursuit of the perfect cake or cupcake. Here is a little number from Cake Envy that says it all.....dessert, pearls, Tiffany...what's a girl not to like. This is definitely a new twist for those Tiffany themed showers for weddings or babies. If you are out to dinner and your husband or boyfriend thinks this dessert will work in lieu of a real set, he is purely mistaken.

A PINK & GREEN LUNCH

Thought this would amuse you. Sad to say that I have actually served colored bread at one of my daughter's birthday party. Isn't presentation everything?