Fun Jewels

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Attended my 2nd Stella & Dot  party. The jewels are beautiful. I have been trying to get away from the simple little necklaces that I wear and move to some statement pieces.

Purchased this bracelet-okay not a statement piece but it's heavy and cool with the silver and leather combo.
Bought the center piece- a funky knotted rope. Am looking forward to attending another show.

Festive Italian Cooking

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 How lucky we were to be part of a group that purchased an Italian cooking class at our school auction. I know that the bidding was fierce-what I didn't know is that it was going to be such an informative and memorable experience.

I have attended two very fun cooking classes here and here but this topped them all.


The table was set with beautiful Italian pieces.

Filled with rice and a votive a brilliant candle is created.


My Italian grandmother used her emply tins for vases as well. She would have loved to see a table set in this way. The dahlias matched perfectly!









My absolute favorite task was creating the Arancini. A meetball sized risotto ball with cheese and marinara inside, dipped in flour, eggs, and bread crumbs then deep fried. Heaven....

The finished platter awaits the deep fat fryer.




Served with a side of marinara and it is over-the-top delicious.

I was enamored with the kitchen tools. This is a vintage milk jar that now has the task of holding flour. Even the bowl in the photo was perfect.



Check out the pots, pans, the cook top and tools. Truly a cooks kitchen.














Here is our hosts extraordinare relaxing after this wonderful extravaganza.

The sweet cat got the last of the crumbs...

In this world of busy lives I think back on the evening and am thankful for a group of amazing individuals that donated their time and talent to create such a beautiful experience. I am thankful for the hysterically funny women that I got to share this night with, our amazing husbands and the auction that made it available to us. I want to do it again next year but feel that someone else needs a chance to experience this wonderful evening.

To the Wisemans, Micales, McDonaghs & Kaufmans. You out did yourselves!

 Grazie mille di coure!!!



Longing for...Z Gallerie

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I overheard my sister talking with a friend (while loading a truck) about Z Gallerie. "I know, I know, I told you it's overwhelming!" "Just do a quick walk through, go back out the door, grab a cup of coffee and back again... slowly".

My heart races just talking about the Z Gallerie. It is a decorator's (affordable) dream come true. It sweeps you away to a glamorous place, it helps you rethink your own spaces and gives you inspiration to add pieces to create the look you wish for.

We are heading back soon. This time with a Uhaul. Reminding us of the days when Sister Ex and I would drive our own truck to each job and unload it ourselves.



Can't Put it Down

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I am not kidding. This book has me reading late into the night. It is soooo good. Read the summary below to find out what it is all about.



Review from Bookbrowse

Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon at a mission hospital in Addis Ababa. Orphaned by their mother’s death in childbirth and their father’s disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. Yet it will be love, not politics—their passion for the same woman—that will tear them apart and force Marion, fresh out of medical school, to flee his homeland. He makes his way to America, finding refuge in his work as an intern at an underfunded, overcrowded New York City hospital. When the past catches up to him—nearly destroying him—Marion must entrust his life to the two men he thought he trusted least in the world: the surgeon father who abandoned him and the brother who betrayed him.


An unforgettable journey into one man’s remarkable life, and an epic story about the power, intimacy, and curious beauty of the work of healing others.