By now you are well aware that I am a major Anglophile and I become totally English at Christmas (it is in my DNA, my Mom was English and German), I adore all the tradition of an English Christmas and had the opportunity, several years, ago to spend Christmas with a family in the English countryside. It was a glorious week….roasts every day and major celebrations with presents and extraordinary meals for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
I remember sitting in the parlor one evening and said out loud that the perfect end for that day would be a glass of port and Stilton….out of nowhere in came my hostess with a whole wheel of Stilton, the proper silver scoop server, crystal port glasses, and a decanter of vintage port…..talk about hospitality!!!!! My hostess adored Christmas Crackers and we had them for all three days. They were quite elaborate and, of course, we all sat around with our paper crowns and read aloud our silly messages housed inside. I don’t remember all the tokens inside but they were very special. I know she got at least one set from Harrod’s. Years later back home in the States I was entertaining for Christmas Day with the traditional standing rib roast, Yorkshire pudding, etc. and wanted to do Crackers for my guests (and me!) and thought I would order them from Harrod’s, you can’t get much more authentic than that….well they started around £200 at the time and went up from there….needless to say I found some locally!
I found these last year, obviously for the ladies in attendance got others for the gentlemen.
In past years I spent time with friends for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day and I always brought the Crackers and have found many locally, ones that I adored were from Burberry with super gifts inside, I got a beautiful red leather tape measure in mine one year. I have also found stunning ones at Costco (they are actually Tom Smith’s Crackers!!!)…yes, you heard correctly as well as by mailorder from Olde English Crackers where you can even create your own. Probably too late this year but you might try the Costco route, who knows. You might even get lucky at Randolph Street Market Holiday Event this Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 5 and find some vintage ones, wouldn’t that be perfection. You know you will find things for yourself and for gifts as well as some vintage Victorian ephemera.
Christmas Crackers covered in Liberty of London prints, charming.
You knew, of course, that I would give you a bit of background on when and where this tradition began, it is an interesting story. In mid-19th Century Victorian England, Tom Smith, who was a candy maker and baker, discovered while in Paris a version of an early Cracker, a sugared almond wrapped in decorated paper twisted at each end. He decided to wrap his sweets at home in the same way. The trend didn’t catch on. Being an entrepreneur he decided to include a trinket. The idea of the snap came from fireworks and in 1961 Smith presented this version to the public and shall we say the company has never looked back. The legacy of “Bangs of Expectations” was carried on by Tom’s sons, Thomas, Henry, and Walter. In 1906, Tom Smith’s company was granted the Royal Warrant by the Prince of Wales, which entitled the company to become a member of the Royal Warrant Holders Association.
I found this advertisement quite delightful.
Start now and you will be all set for Christmas 2018!
Covers of the boxes
Of course, a book recommendation for further research and enjoyment!
And another one for fun!
I know there isn’t time to make your own plum pudding (I do have a super recipe that I will share next year in plenty of time!) you can get really good ones from Crosse and Blackwell or you can make a mincemeat pie (my most favorite, I can eat an entire one myself, not all at one sitting….well maybe!) and serve the following hard sauce (which, by the way goes beautifully with poached pears or just by the spoonful!!! Bad Nena!) It is by far the best hard sauce ever, it was given to me by one of my Saks Store Managers, Bob Pike, along with the Plum Pudding recipe. Enjoy!!!!
FROM NENA’S RECIPE BOX
BOB PIKE’S HARD SAUCE
2/3 cup soften butter
3 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup Calvados (or a bit more like I add)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
Place butter (in pieces) with sugar in a food processor add Calvados and vanilla. Process until creamy. Chill. (I use a hand mixer, I no longer have a food processor and you can lick the blades!)
All photos are from Pinterest no photo credit available
If you are this far along with your Holiday plans it’s time to sit by the fire with a glass of “real” eggnog, a slice of the fruitcake, I gave you the recipe for last week, or some of the cookies that I am featuring at the end of this post, and a Christmas Story or two….here are some thoughts for you and, of course, for gifts.
This is a charming mystery with one of my most favorite detectives, Charles Lenox. He is almost my favorite but I’m afraid Armand Gamache still has the biggest part of my heart!!! But I must say Charles Lenox is very close….You can get this on your Kindle for a major bargain. An easy read and one I know you will enjoy….the mystery had me guessing until the end but not so Lenox, the smartie!!
I am crazy for all of Rhys Bowen’s stories and have followed Molly Murphy since the series began. Yet another mystery but set in the US, you know I am a bit partial to an English mystery as you shall see. Read for your pleasure and give as a party gift or a perfect grab bag present.
A charming bit of fluff and why not. If you are addicted to all the Christmas films on The Hallmark Channels…this is for you. I’m more a White Christmas (I cry every year!), kind of gal!
Of course, a couple of Christie’s in the mix…definitely in the English spirit of the Holidays and a bit of murder thrown in, oh my!
A beautiful vintage A Christmas Carol, nothing more classic and again a perfect gift…I’m mad for this hand tooled leather volume.
New this year and the basis for the film in theaters now…looks fabulous and both are on my to-do list before the end of the year. And, of course, an annual must-see is the Goodman Theater’s production of A Christmas Carol, I never miss it. It runs through December 31st.
And speaking of a must-see have you gotten yourself and everyone you know to The Joffrey Ballet’s exquisite version, you have until December 30….hurry, you don’t want to miss it, if you have gone I suggest you go again the details are so intricate you need to see it more than once, that is a given! How about a doubleheader with both The Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol, treat yourself to a couple of days in our beautiful City with a stay at one of my favorite hotels, The Peninsula, The Ritz Carlton or any one of our fabulous boutique hotels with a special dinner….it is the holidays after all! So much to do and it is already the middle of December, oh dear!
A charmingly nostalgic short story made into a vintage 1966 TV piece, you can watch on YouTube, with Geraldine Page. Capote narrates it. Talk about a tearjerker!!!! It is my chum Tom Mantel’s favorite and The Toms and I watch it every year while doing our holiday marathon baking weekend. The strangest thing happened last week, I was going to bed and turned on WFMT-FM, my favorite station, and heard a familiar voice, no it wasn’t one of the hosts, it was Truman Capote reading A Christmas Memory, karma, I think so!
A beautifully written book and one I read every Christmas Eve when I was commuting from Evanston to work, I still read it every Christmas Eve day.
A lovely book on the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah which begins on December 13th.
This charming scene is actually a pop-up book, well not really it is a record album cover in The Tom’s magnificently decorated home. I took this photo all others are from Pinterest photo credits unknown.
Who says you can’t go home again…….I’m back…..yes, you heard correctly, I have been asked to work on fashion shows for Saks Fifth Avenue, Chicago and I am thrilled to do so. My first return show was for a private client at a luncheon at the newely redone Ritz Carlton Chicago (I’ll post about the hotel another time!) I thought it might be amusing to walk you through the steps in fashion show prep or Fashion Show 101, the way I do it!
Here is some of the pull. I wanted to do day into evening in color groupings and start and end with black, white and red. Several trends I included were trench coats, moto jacket, shearing, some pink (see above), blue, glitz, etc. All themes we saw in the extensive posts I did on the four major fashion markets a few weeks ago. At the moment clothes are easy to understand not too much gimmick but very wearable, elegant looks. After the pull I met with the Beauty Collections Manager, Kristina Gutierrez to discuss the look I wanted for the models….bold red lip and smoky eye. She arranged for several artists to do the models at the Store (they did their own low bun) and I must say they did a perfect job, exactly as I had envisioned!
I do the run of show (which is tranlated into a list for the attendees of the show and was printed in house) and then break it down by model to make it easy when the clothes are bagged and taken to the site. I then went to 10022 Shoes to choose from the unbelievable selection, my oh my oh my, what a collection of shoes at SFA Chicago! My new thing (and by the way I have been doing shows since I “retired” 8 years ago) is having the models carry one shoe that I have selected for that particular outfit. It is much easier for the audience to see the shoe and easy to do, works well, in my opinion. The models wear their own shoes.
I place the comps at the top of the racks so the models can easily find their spaces. I line up left to right and let the dresses undo the clothes so they are familiar with them. shoes go underneath the garments and handbags were placed on the hangers
The item you see on the top right of the rack is a model hood, which I always have in my bag of tricks, it is a huge necessity when pulling clothes over your head (get one for yourself at Sally’s or on line!) I put the moto jacket over the gold sequin dress, funky fun!
The Crew….Nena, Alberta, Katie Stickles, Stylist Manager, Megan Henry, Assistant Stylist Manager, Bryant and TaJ’ae they were all amazing, I don’t know when I have had so much support doing a show…kudos to all!
First exits in show order I have already posted this on Instagram and Facebook and the finale photo as well, but didn’t take any more shots of the show, difficult with you are in the middle of senidng models. Bryant sent them to me, he has the run of show in his hand in the photo.
The finale.
I thought it would be amusing to show you a photo from a show’s finale, probably early 1960’s, at the Hilton (I have done more shows at the Hilton than any other venue, I also did the first show at the Ritz Carlton when it first opened!) You will notice the politically incorrect item the models are holding in their hands….packages of cigarettes! The show was for a tobacco convention! Wow have times changed but we still want to see wonderful clothes on lovely models and Saks Fifth Avenue continues to be on the cutting edge of style….fun to be back doing what I love to do! Stay tuned……..there maybe more…….
Here are two of Mom’s tiny jeweled trees I keep them out all year under domes, each is around 6″ tall.
Here is one of my collection of vintage Christmas angels holding a teenie tree.
A village with bottle brush trees in one of the bedrooms at Tom Hawley and Tom Mantel’s home (every room in the house as well as outside decor is in the festive Holiday spirit).
I like to think we could have looked like this, but alas, we didn’t! I know Thanksgiving is behind us but we still have Holiday events to plan in the next month and through the end of the year. I thought some of our Thanksgiving plans might have some suggestions for your upcoming get togethers and I’ve included a recipe.
It was a lively fun show, I must admit I’m not much of a Buffett fan but did enjoy the engery of the performers. Back to the Island for us and to bed to get ready for the big day….
The tables ready for the guests…such fun to play in someone else’s home with their linens, china, glassware, etc.
I want to do this next year…stuffing “muffins”…found on someone’s blog, sorry didn’t keep info but you can use your own recipe. We put some stuffing in each bird and the rest in casseroles.
Hot carrot mold slid out perfectly, I precut and plated.
The Tom’s cranberries which we made a couple of weeks ago….yum, yum, yum!!!!
Two of these babies and they were perfection, Tommy decided to use the Confection Oven and they were really, really perfect and delicious and cooked much faster!
Including the squirrels, who were devouring the pumpkins on the side of the house. It was fascinating to watch…I think they will probably explode!
My Toms with me at the feast….
And in actuality…Tommy, Nena, and Tom……
The first three volumes in the series of designers for the House of Dior, the first, of course, Christian Dior. Absolutely magnificent and our very own Costume Collection at the Chicago History Museum is represented!
I have been an admirer of Siriano’s work since he appeared on Project Runway! His “fierce” style has just gotten better and better. It was my pleasure to welcome him to Saks Fifth Avenue Chicago on November 13, 2009, with one of his first Collections and I interviewed him later for a President’s Club event at Columbia College Chicago. He was my last personal appearance at Saks, that is the day I retired! When I have seen him over the years, he always says, “I was your last designer!”
By now you probably know I am obsessed with anything Dries Van Noten…here a two-volume set of his collections, it must be brilliant! Can’t wait to add them to my library.
One of several books that accompanied museum exhibitions…this one at the Met, as always exquisitely done!
The book that accompanies the exhibition that is currently at the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. Several of my friends have seen it and say it is a superb exhibition. I can’t find it on Amazon, only on the Museum’s website if you are interested in it.
From the Museum of Modern Art in New York featuring their first fashion exhibition (I swear I have seen fashion exhibits there in years gone by, I guess not!)
A wonderful anthology on the long-running Bazaar.
This looks amazing…a must add to your fashion library….
And speaking of DV, the man who worked with her at Bazaar and Vogue and who we immediately think of when we think fashion photography…Richard Avedon, he, of course, did much more than fashion (as did most of the “fashion” photographers) and the second book, Avedon Something Personal, goes deep into his life. There was a fascinating review in last week’s weekend Wall Street Journal…does not paint a pretty picture, well let’s judge for ourselves, shall we!
There has been so much type re this scathing “diary” that it has put it on the New York Times Best Seller List and every other book list out there. Brown, known for not pulling punches, has done it again and it is another I can’t wait to get my hands on. Probably shouldn’t be on my fashion book list, but most certainly a book that chronicles social mores.
Another one out in left field but sounds fascinating….
I think I have posted this wonderful Norman Rockwell drawing before but it is one of my favorites, so much so it is the screen saver on my iPad!
I have been a fan of Susan Elia MacNeal since her first novel featuring our heroine, Maggie Hope, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary. The Paris Spy was a bit heavier than her previous books and perhaps this wasn’t the time for me to read it. It has been very gloomy in Chicago the past couple of weeks and this did not lift my mood. That being said, it is well written, the research extensive and I greatly appreciated the addition of the books MacNeal consulted and has listed for us, for my TBR list.