Vintage Christmas Eve

I'm a little tired today. The holidays have taken their toll and now after buying for 8, I'll only be cooking for 5...both a blessing and a disappointment. I just miss the festiveness. But I wish blessings to all who couldn't make it here and especially to those who aren't with their families. Enjoy these little freebies!
Also, enjoy perusing the christmas oranament, bottle brush trees, ornaments from Etsy, and a tiny Vintage Santa.

Merry Christmas,
Gwen

Happy Hanukkah - Dad's Potato Latke's

• Dad's Potato Latke's

Ingredients:

• 
  
• 1 pound potatoes
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 2 large eggs separated and beaten well
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup oil

• Accompaniments: sour cream and applesauce

Directions:

Peel potatoes and finely grate with the use of a Cuisinart or food processor.

Peel and finely grate onion.

Squeeze all excess water from potato/onion mixture.

Spread grated potatoes and onion on a kitchen towel and roll up jelly-roll style. Twist towel tightly to wring out as much liquid as possible.

Separate eggs and beat whites and yokes separately. When beaten well, combine whites and yokes.

Transfer potato mixture to a bowl and stir in egg and salt.

Heat 1/4 cup oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Working in batches of 6 latkes, spoon 2 tablespoons potato mixture per latke into skillet, spreading into rounds. Reduce heat to moderate and cook until undersides are browned, about 5 minutes. Turn latkes over and cook until undersides are browned, about 5 minutes more. Transfer to paper towels to drain and season with salt. Add more oil to skillet as needed. 

Wintry Scenes and Wonderful Sounds

Winter kitty and "Winter" by Joshua Radin

Frabjous Finds - Christmas Gift Guide

If you live in Sacramento, there are some amazing places to buy gifts!  But if you are discerning gift giver and you love charm, elegance and a homey feel with gads of awesome there is only one place to buy gifts -  and the best shoes ever! It's The Pink House run by sweet and savvy proprietor Peggy Orr. Peggy's first calling was non-profit and for those of you who remember she ran the Camellia Festival! Now, she curates this delightful store with oodles of style. The shoes she has are by well known design houses but are styles you simply cannot get at Nordstrom. Such brands include Seychelles, Irregular Choice, Naughty Monkey, Poetic License, Sasha London, J41, Mee Too and Nicole. She also carries wares from local designers and artisans.

ADA handbags and jewelry are by a local artisan whose compiled a collection of ladies decor that cannot be matched. Her handbags are supple and unique and her jewelry is contemporary and stylish. Plus, she has an amazing story. She is of Polish descent and was in Law School when she travelled to Argentina. She dropped out of law school to follow a calling for divine handbags.

The Pink house also carries Susan Knoff's felted pins seen on Peggy in the picture featured here. Recycled cashmere hates and scarves and Ann Deaver's hair accesories.

It was by accident that I found The Pink House but as cliche's go -- A Happy Accident. I'm headed there now for a pair of shoes that I simply can't stop thinking about! You should go too! Plus, Peggy provided sweet treats at the door! What's not to love?

ADA

ADA

ADA

The lovely and sophisticated Peggy Orr.

Just the Pretty

That's right! Sometimes it's all about the pretty. Pretty houses, pretty gardens, pretty clothes whatever. It's such a cliche pretty pretty pretty. I know other modifiers sure, but I'm a purest. Why say, "stunning." When really that's just the Lexus term for pretty. Pretty is irreplaceable. I just plain like it. I like magnificent and sensational, attractive, lovely and so on. But today, just the pretty.

A bicycle ride in Paris. Photo Source

The salmon colored chair and red walls are eclectic and...PRETTY! Photo Source

Photo Source

Photo Source

This is gorgeous and I would venture to guess, delicious as well. It's grapefruit infused rum.  Photo Source

Photo Source

Photo Source

What a pretty winter ensemble. Photo Source

Chestnut Soup. Warm and wonderful! And this photo - PRETTY! Photo Source

PRETTY! Photo Source

Photo Source

Out To Lunch!

Cucumber Sandwich

Cucumber slices

Watercress or Mache

Goat cheese or Boucheron

Salt and Pepper to taste

On a toasted baguette with Dijon Mustard

Photographed by Monica Buck from Country Home July/August 2001

Before There Was Pinterest...

There was me!

I absolutely love Pinterest! It's an addiction that I feel pretty good about, in fact - I mean as far as addictions go. I'll spend and hour, sometimes two or an entire afternoon perusing the internet for pretty pictures to pin with my pinmarklet address bar pin tool. I'll use my app to pin and pin and pin - especially when I'm using the loo! But before there was Pinterest, I would while away a Sunday afternoon, long, long ago cutting up magazines and saving the prettiest and most interesting images.

Look at all the goodies I got through the years. I will periodically post pretty pictures from as far back as 1989. Those are photos from more than 20 years ago. I know it sounds out of date but literature, film, design and cuisine is often timeless! Join Pinterest and follow me there so I can follow you too! You have to apply for an invitation (Oh, such an exclusive club) then you sign up and that's that...you're hooked!