The Look

"I do love shoes that make my legs longer."-Amy Adams

To Have And To Hold

from this day forward...

Wishing you a lifetime of love and great happiness together.

Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria
Victoria was born on May 24, 1819, and lived for 81 years and 243 days.
When King William IV died on June 20th 1837, Princess Victoria became queen at the age of 18. She was described as a "studious, thoughtful, accomplished, serious and quiet but cheerful girl".
Victoria still holds the record for longest-serving monarch ever: she ruled Britain and its empire for nearly 64 years.

Victoria was crowned at Westminster Abbey on June the 28th, 1838. After the ceremony there were fire-works and a fair in Hyde Park, and that night most of the theatres in London were open free to the public.



Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha arrived in London on October 10th 1839. Albert belonged to the family of the Duchess of Kent and was the Queens first cousin. He was born on August 26th 1819 and visited England as a guest of his aunt the Duchess. At Kensington Palace, Albert shared lessons with his cousin Princess Victoria and they became firm friends.

On February 10th 1840 the marriage was celebrated in the Chapel Royal of St James Palace. The Prince wore the uniform of a British field-marshal. The Queen wore white satin trimmed with orange flower blossoms, a bridal wreath and veil of Honiton lace.

I saw this question posed on a site on the internet:

"Why is the Wedding dress white?"

The answer given was this:

Queen Victoria chose white not because it symbolized purity, but because she wanted to show her people that she would run the country in an economical way. White was a much less expensive color to make than the colors typically popular for wedding dresses at the time (red, black, and purple). Plus, it gave her the option of using some lace that she already owned, rather than having something specially made. So basically, the white dress was originally a political move.

Not On An Empty Stomach

Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint in Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest"

Eve Kendall: I tipped the steward five dollars to seat you here if you should come in.
Roger Thornhill: Is that a proposition?

Eve Kendall: I never discuss love on an empty stomach.
Roger Thornhill: You've already eaten!

Eve Kendall: But you haven't.
North by Northwest

A Strong Woman

Audrey Hepburn

Is one who feels deeply

and loves fiercely,

her tears flow

just as abundantly

as her laughter.

She is...

both soft and powerful

practical and spiritual

Her essence

is a gift to the world.

To De-Clutter

"Getting rid of the clutter is not about letting go of things that are meaningful to you. It's about letting go of the things that no longer contribute to your life ...

so that you have the time and the energy and the space for the things that do." - Elaine St. James (from the chapter, "Getting rid of stuff doesn't mean getting rid of everything" in the book, Living the Simple Life)*

*I saw this quote in my friend Sherri's blog here:
http://sherricassaradesigns.blogspot.com/2011/02/letting-go-of-few-things-de-cluttering.html
She is a professional Interior Designer and Home Organizer in Long Beach California. See her blog for great interior design tips.

Happy Easter

"Happy Spring" to all my peeps!

Spring

"The snows have dispersed,

now grass returns to the fields and leaves to the trees."
-- Horace

First and Last

"Men always want to be a woman's first love-

Women like to be a man's last." -Oscar Wilde

Not This Way

"There comes a time when you have to make a new path,
a new road, ...your own way. Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason."
-Jerry Seinfeld

Lessons

"Never try to teach a pig to sing.

It wastes your time and annoys the pig."- Mark Twain

Head Over Heels

“I fell in love with her courage, her sincerity, and her flaming self respect. And it's these things I'd believe in, even if the whole world indulged in wild suspicions that she wasn't all she should be. I love her and it is the beginning of everything.”

- F. Scott Fitzgerald

Yay The Kids Are Home

Today Athena and Mat arrive in Los Angeles for a few days stopover en route to a holiday in England where they will visit Mat's family and catch up with friends. We are so happy to have them home!

Tracy's Lovely Tea Party

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!" ~Robin Williams

This is my dear friend, Tracy. Every year she hosts the most amazing tea parties for her girlfriends.

This year's party was held yesterday. It was a spectacular Spring day...very sunny and hot.

Along with traditional hot tea we were welcomed with chilled champagne and italian fruit drinks and iced tea.

Here I am with Tracy. Her son Wade and my daughter Athena were in the same Kindergarten class. We also starting teaching around the same time at the same school.

Tracy is a wonderful baker. Everything she makes is out of this world delicious. These are little mini carrot cakes and divine little raspberry almond tarts.

Her table is set with lovely china. Some have been handed down from her grandmother, mother and some are gifts from family and friends. It's always fun to see how she mixes and matches her table settings.

We all marvel at her patience. Look at her beautiful shortbread cookies that she decorated so beautifully.

I love her little glass bunny candle holders.

Everyone receives a little goodie bag of treats.

I love her tea sandwiches!

Home made muffins...

and yummy scones. (Not pictured thick clotted cream and freshly made lemon curd)

These lemon bars were so so good!

We started out with chilled gazpacho soup. It was perfect for a hot, sunny afternoon.

Along with the gazpacho Tracy made asparagus and prosciutto wrapped in puff pastry.

Tracy you are truly one of the sweetest friends I know. I treasure your friendship.

Everyone enjoys Tracy's tea parties!

"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea. " ~Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady