LET’S CONTINUE WITH ANSWERS TO THE nenasnotes QUESTIONNAIRE…WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK, MOVIE, THEATER, TYPE OF MUSIC…
My favorite book I have TWO actually! A THOUSAND DAYS IN VENICE and Mrs. WHALEY’s GARDEN. My favorite movie was AUNTIE MAME with ROSALIND RUSSEL.PLUS, MY FAIR LADY. As far as theater I have seen many more BALLETS than OPERA’s But I love them both. I use to dance with the San Francisco BALLET as a teen and I would get to preform in the NUTCRACKER every year. Small parts. IL DIVO for SURE! As far as SINGERS GO! We just saw them in concert…….I was DOUBLE MASKED!
HOBBIES. Gardening which is an expensive hobby and Thrift store/ Salvage yards finding “THE GOODS” never skied as a dancer we were not allowed to, nor ice skating. Cooking, I suppose that could be a hobby as The ITALIAN has to EAT every night! If he is not home I LOVE to have a bowl of CHEERIOS! Other than that NO! Not much more going on with me………except I have been sick for years(SIX) and NO DOCTOR could figure me out! In September, I was diagnosed finally. Just now getting the medications sorted out and I am FEELING SO MUCH BETTER! BUT THAT IS NOT A HOBBY! Bottom line HEART SURGERY at 50 YEARS OF AGE……..LADY WINDERMERE SYNDROME discovered a year ago January (look that one up as I have yet to get it right!) Also called MAC. Then this mysterious aliment I have had for years where I would lose my vision and feel faint and be left with a headache for two days! SO very little I could do even BEFORE COVID!
YOUR HOME, MODERN, TRADITIONAL, ANTIQUES, ECLECTIC…NOT MODERN that is FOR CERTAIN……..TRADITIONAL maybe~sort of but not really me. I think if I had a bigger house it would have gone MORE TRADITIONAL. ANTIQUES MY GOD YES! French, Italian and English. My home is a combination of things I LOVE or grew up with. Having an antique shop I only bought what I really liked or knew that would sell. So, when I closed up after 12 years because the building was from the early 1900’s and not kept up; I brought most of it home with ME! THE ITALIAN was afraid of the next major EARTHQUAKE here in CALIFORNIA and that the building would collapse. It is SINKING as there is NO FOUNDATION, but it was PERFECT for what I did and was called THE HEN HOUSE.
WHO WOULD YOU HAVE AT YOUR FANTASY DINNER AND WHAT WOULD YOU SERVE…….Dinner Guests would be a mix of people!
1. AUDREY HEPBURN: NO ONE has reached her glamour and charm!2. CECIL BEATON: JUST BECAUSE! 3. TONY DUQUETTE:What an ARTIST and what stories he could tell! 4. HUTTON WILKINSON: I ADORE HIM he lives LIFE! 5. DIANA VREELAND: We are VERY similar in character from what I have read! 6. JULIA REED: I found her books after she passed but what a wonderful person she seemed to be! 7. ALI MACGRAW: I adored her growing up and she looks FANTASTIC today. 8. MY MAILMAN! Because he smiles and always has a kind thing to say. 9. GIANFRANCO FERRE: I loved his designs, but I hear he was a pain to work with! 10. THE ITALIAN OF COURSE!: He would do THE PASTA and THE MAIN course so I could CHAT with ALL these FUN, BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE.
THE MEAL would be a PASTA to start……….could be anything, but I bet it would be PESTO with a bit of whipping cream. Salmon or Trout done on the barbecue. Julia Reed’s potato casserole, green beans, and a green salad plus a strawberry dessert or a Pavlova made by me! Always fruit at the end except that is the desert so NO, but of course a LIMONCELLO made by THE ITALIAN in HOUSE! AND A CAFE if NEEDED! If its Winter time the NUTS and CHOCOLATE would arrive on the table after the DIGESTIVO!
FAVORITE VACATION SPOT VISITED AND ON YOUR LIST …. Hands down SARDINIA.
We had a Mediterranean honeymoon and I have such fond memories from there. The water was so clear. You could see the fish swimming. Porto Cervo was filled with grand yachts and sailboats. If I remember correctly the Prince AGA KHAN owned that port. It was the main center of COSTA SMERALDA. Population is 421 inhabitants! THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE I HAVE EVER BEEN! We were rescued by a TOPLESS ITALIAN WOMAN in a small speed boat as our boat got stuck in the sand not by us but by the owner of the sailboat IL CAPITANO the owner of the boat!! Bottom LINE we were about to be BEACHED! She was yelling at me in ITALIAN and I was not understanding a THING! She twirled a rope to me which I then caught after a few try’s! We got pulled out before a disaster happened! I also will ADD the entire beach was up to their waists pushing us out to SEA! GREECE is HIGH on MY LIST to SEE NEXT!!!
HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED…..Funny as I asked one of my BLOG READERS recently to write my OBITUARY. Even though she has NEVER MET ME! She is a FABULOUS WRITER and I know she “GETS ME. ”How would I want to be remembered” that is a GOOD QUESTION! I do hear FULL of JOY and ENTHUSIASM for LIFE. Also ELEGANT is another word I hear A LOT!Which to be HONEST I do not see…………I have had a lot of struggles and heart break in MY LIFE. I really NEED to give this MORE thought.I ADORE THE QUOTE “LIFE IS A BANQUET AND MOST POOR SUCKERS ARE STARVING TO DEATH.” BY AUNTIE MAME. Perhaps I would like to be remembered as a GRACIOUS BEING, CONCERNED, CARING, LIVING THE BEST POSSIBLE LIFE SHE COULD POSSIBLY LIVE. I have told my ITALIAN HUSBAND many times I will write on his TOMBSTONE “I’M STILL WAITING!” As he is a man on THE GO and I am ALWAYS waiting for him to come HOME!
HERE ARE A COUPLE OF THE VINTAGE CONTESSA’S RECIPES….
WARM GOAT CHEESE SALAD made by a REAL CONTESSA!
600 grams goat cheese(Pinky size width, maybe ring finger depends on your finger size! Can’t go wrong!
Olive oil, Fresh thyme, Bread crumbs
Marinate sliced cheese in olive oil with thyme overnight. (Do not put in refrigerator, cover and leave on counter top.) Roll cheese in bread crumbs and put in baking dish. Heat 15 minutes at 300 degrees.(watch that it softens but does not melt.) Serve on Rucola Greens dressed with olive oil and vinegar and tomatoes.
PESTO made by my Italian
1. Cuisinart full of basil leaves NO STEMS! Two fist fulls.(MAN’S FIST FULL!) 2. 1 teaspoon Salt 3. 1 teaspoon Red pepper (MORE IF YOU LOVE HOT) 4. 2/3 cups Pine nuts 5. 1 cup Whole Walnuts nuts plus 1/2 cup walnuts more or less crumbled = 5 ounces 6. 3 to 4 Garlic cloves (LARGE)peeled. 7. 1 1/3 cup Olive oil 8. BLEND. 9. Add the olive oil as you mix through the top. Taste with finger adjust as YOU like! ITALIAN WAY ALWAYS PUT ROCK SALT IN THE PASTA WATER AS YOU BRING TO A BOIL. MORE THAN YOU AS AN AMERICAN WOULD THINK. A BIT LESS THAN A WOMANS PALM OF HAND. Once you drain the pasta DONOT WASH WITH COLD WATER! IN FACT NEVER DO THAT!Dump back into the pot. ADD some olive oil, a good amount stir as you do this. Then add two Tablespoons of PESTO for two or three people. Left over pesto should be covered with OLIVE OIL so it does NOT MOLD. Then plastic wrap tight. Put in refrigerator. Good for a long time! In each individual dish on top PARMIGANO, but just a little bit DO NOT cover the top like MOST AMERICANS DO or you will not taste the PESTO only the cheese!
DO NOT be like ME!When I first met the ITALIAN I said,”I like the GREEN BOTTLE (BOX) BETTER”!!!!!!!!As that was what I grew up on
SOME OF THE VINTAGE CONTESSA’S FAVORITE LINKS……
LINKS YOU WANT ME TO INCLUDE: THE BLOG……….https://thevintagecontessa.net/2022/03/14/caftans-more/
INSTAGRAM………..https://www.instagram.com/contessa_and_her_pig/
BLOGS YOU FOLLOW…………..https://makemineaspritzer.com/snowberrys-main-bedroom-reveal/
http://www.tamerabeardsley.com.
https://1010parkplace.com/tag/brendas-blog/
I HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED ALL THE EYE CANDY AND INSIGHT ELIZABETH HAS SHARED WITH US…..I KNOW YOU WILL WANT TO SHARE YOUR THANK YOUS TO HER, ALONG WITH MINE, FOR JOINING MY nenasnotes JOURNEY. WANT MORE….BE SURE TO FOLLOW HER ON INSTAGRAM, LINK ABOVE, AND HER SPECTACULAR BLOG, ALSO LINKED ABOVE. GOBS OF HUGS…..
