Puccinis On My Mind...

Not Puccini.
I mean Puppini!!!

These Puppinis..



The Puppini Sisters.



And my favorite song of theirs so far...Wuthering Heights.


Check out their website HERE

They are available on Amazon, iTunes etc.
Go out and get their albums. They'll put a skip in your step.

I need a drink

I'm sorry but I'm having one of those days...

Here are some favorites that might "WET" your appetite.Perfect for parties.

White Sangria
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
1 peach or apple- cut up
1/2 cantaloupe balled
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbs lime juice
1 bottle white wine

Combine all but wine for at least an hour. Add wine . Serve . Delish.

Pineapple and Rum Punch

1 very ripe pineapple peeled,cored and cut up
1/1/2 cups water
1 /2 cups gold rum
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbs fresh lime juice

2 cups cubed pineapple


Combine first 5 ingredients in a large pitcher and MASH several times with a potato masher or wooden spoon. Cover and chill overnight. Strain mixture and transfer solids to a blender/processor and coarsely chop.Strain once again- pressing to get all juice out. Pour strained pineapple punch back in pitcher- add 2 cups of cut up pineapples to punch and serve.

Can you imagine my Grandma M used to give this to my sisters and I when we would sleep over her house. it was our bedtime drink!!That's old world Italian for you. I gotta tell you it was yummy then and is yummy now..

Night Night Nog

1/2 cup Sweet Vermouth
1 tsp sugar
1 FRESH egg

Crack the egg and put in a small bowl with the sugar. Whip till blended. Add Vermouth and some ice.



Even though I need one I cant have one since I'm on Weight Watchers( and losing as I type) ...

This will be my glass soon though


Nope. This is more me...


CHEERS!

Weekly Folly

Brighton's Royal Pavilion,located in Brighton, England, is my favorite folly and the only one I have actually been to. It is well worth the trip if you are in the U.K.

Brighton is a seaside town, with a pier, similar the the Jersey Shore.

The Royal Pavilion was the brainchild of the Prince of Wales, who later became George IV.He commissioned the master architect John Nash to build it from a farmstead already there.It took eight years to finish and was completed in 1823. It is an incredibly splendid folly. It was inspired by the architecture of the Far East and is such a surprise to see it rising up from the rest of the buildings in the town.

The Music Room is a feast for the eyes and soul. In 1975 a mad man tried burning the place to ground and the Music Room was severely damaged but luckily saved.Click HERE for a panoramic view

The place,which truly is a palace,is brimming with exquisite chinoiserie.Rich colors,soaring ceilings and carved golden dragons consume your vision at every glance.

Movies shot at the Royal pavilion include ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER, OCTOPUSSY and THE END OF THE AFFAIR .








Picturs by flickr- dominic's pics,

Sunday Afternoon at the Movies

It's Oscar Day!!

I'm in LALA land and everything is about Mr Oscar.
My FAVORITE Oscar is this one right here...



Mr Baby Oskar himself.
But I wouldn't mind having the other Oscar in our household someday as well.

What Oscar day would be complete without singing the praises of the all time masterpiece of cinema and favorite of mine,GONE WITH THE WIND.

If you haven't seen it I say WHAT??

I'll never forget the first time I saw it...It was the summer of 1970 and my mother took me to see GWTW in the movie theater- all by myself- without any of my other siblings. It was one of the most special days I have ever spent with her.

Remember how it was shown each year in the movie theater? Remember the intermission in the middle of the movie- where you would run out and get more popcorn and go to the loo?

What's your favorite scene?? I certainly cannot say-too hard to choose.

So instead, here is Vivien Leigh's screen test with Hattie McDaniel- both who won Oscars for the role.




Miss Leigh's beautiful acceptance speech...


Ms Haddie McDaniel's moving acceptance speech.What a true lady she was.



Oh...and if you haven't read the book-do so. it doesn't matter if you saw the movie- its just as good if not better and there is much more to it..

Whoopie!!!!

Hey ..Im a bit hungry- how bout you?

Now my friend from the Burg- her dad makes THESE amazing Gobs.

You may know of gobs by another name-whoopie pie,bob, black and white.. "A whoopie pie, sometimes alternatively called a gob, black-and-white, or bob is a baked good traditional to the Pennsylvania Dutch culture as well as New England, made of two small, chocolate, disk-shaped cakes with a sweet, creamy frosting sandwiched between them. In Western Pennsylvania they are known as "gobs."...
They can be purchased wrapped in plastic at Amish farmers' markets throughout Pennsylvania, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio and are often found in restaurants and gift shops throughout Pennsylvania Dutch Country. They can also be found in most convenience stores and supermarkets throughout New England, most commonly in the states of Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and in some convenience marts and supermarkets in New York as well as in Quincy Market located in Boston, Massachusetts." Wikpedia.

Steelers fans, my friend's dad included, bake them with yellow icing - and then they become Steelers gob.Have you ever had a gob, or whoopie pie, bob or black and white?? Well if you haven't you need to try the recipe below.

A new fancy of mine is the Red Velvet Gob. But of course, the recipe is calling it a "Red Velvet Whoopie Pie"- I like "Gob" better- more short and to the point- and "whoopie pie" sounds like a whole lotta other things. Click HERE for the recipe.

Im trying this soon.

photo credit- Wikpedia

Weekly Folly

Lucy the Elephant has been living in Margate ,N.J. since 1882. She was built by James Lafferty.She has been a cottage,a business, and a tavern . She is the only elephant in the U.S. that is a National Historic Monument. I think she's just cute- a pretty good looking for being over 130 years old.


photo by tony the misfit/flickr

Speaking of...

Leonard Cohen, one of my absolute favorite artists, who I admit, I have only become OBSESSED with in the last year.

UNKNOWN TO ME, I have been a fan of his for years, with his simply divine "Hallelujah" sung by Rufus Wainwright..


This song, is probably my favorite- and if not, one of my top three. Daughter Number 1 thinks its depressing but I think not- I think it is lovely and speaks of real love- the kind with ups and downs-the kind that lasts..I'm thinking that is maybe why there are 2 versions of music videos for the song made by the master, Leonard Cohen.


The first video must be what Daughter Number One thinks of when she hears it..




The second one is my favorite- and is what I think the song is about.In my opinion- You have to click HERE to see it- Youtube has disabled the links I usually use.

It is superb...

Enjoy... while I Dance Me to the End of Love....

Sunday Afternoon at the Movies

Welcome to my first Sunday Afternoon at the Movies.

For my very first selection, we'll be showing one of my all time favorites- Bringing Up Baby,directed by Howard Hawks and starring Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn.It was released on February 18th,1938- so it's coming up on its 71st birthday.

If you've never seen it, sit down, pop some popcorn and enjoy this snippet. If you've already seen then, then I know you won't mind watching it- its one of those movies you can watch again and again and again...

Happy Valentine's Day

Weekly Folly

Burnham's Folly, or the Flatiron Building in NYC.

Daniel Burnham designed the Beaux Arts building of limestone and terra-cotta. Located at 175 Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street and completed in 1902, it is a popular NYC site. Many were skeptical over its design and thought it would not hold up against the winds,hence the nickname, Burnham's Folly.

It was considered a sky scraper in "the day" and the area had the phenomenon of whipping girls skirts up.Gawkers would stand around the corner of 23rd Street to sneak peek and the cops would yell "23 skidoo"



photo by antkriz flickr

O.M.G.

OH MY!!!!!!I'm banana's over this...



Paulu Deen's frozen banana split- made with ice cream sandwiches from the freezer section of the grocery store, caramel, chocolate, bananas,nuts,cherries and whipped cream....Her recipes of late are out of control delicious.

SO EASY to make..takes about 15 minutes. Just need 4 hours to let it sit...This is a keeper.


Frozen Banana Split

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen


Serves:
10 to 12 servings

Ingredients

* 24 ice-cream sandwiches, unwrapped
* 6 medium bananas, peeled and thinly sliced
* 1 (12.25-ounce) jar hot-fudge sauce
* 1 (10-ounce) jar maraschino cherries, drained and finely chopped
* 1 (8-ounce) package milk chocolate covered toffee bits, divided
* 1 (12.25-ounce) jar butterscotch ice-cream topping
* 1 can whipped cream
Directions

Line a 13 by 9-inch baking pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Place half of ice-cream sandwiches evenly over bottom of pan, completely covering bottom, cutting sandwiches to fit, if necessary. Top evenly with banana slices. Pour hot fudge sauce over bananas. Top with cherries and 1/2 of the toffee bits and pour butterscotch evenly on top. Layer with remaining ice cream sandwiches and spread whipped topping over sandwiches; sprinkle with remaining toffee bits.

Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours. Remove from pan, using foil handles. Cut into squares and serve.


photo by furryscaly/flickr

In my sick stupor I forgot about this....

Incredible...



Scroll below for my doggy do do...

photo courtesy of ralphy cox

Doggy Do Do

Since the past ten days for me have meant bathrooms, ginger ale and kleenex's, I thought it fitting to give you a tour of one of my favorite rooms in my home.

I came up with the decorating idea a few days after we welcomed our newest addition, Betty Boop, who was a rescue dog.



My hubby didn't want her sleeping in our bed (he'd been away when I got her and of course she was in the bed). I couldn't let her sleep in the kitchen with the other two- she was able to jump over the fence.

So my son suggested putting her in the powder room, which I did, with a nightlight and a dog bed. She barked and howled and barked and howled for 3 straight hours. I finally couldn't take it any longer. When I let her out, I felt SO BAD. She was so traumatized. She also tore apart the bathroom- the wallpaper was in shreds, and the molding on the door ripped off the wall. Luckily she was not injured.



What a BAD idea.... especially for a new dog who was completely attached to me and who had been traumatized and living with us for just 3 days.

So in her honor-I decorated it with her and the other two pooches in my mind..

The Great Debaters

Well worth watching...for EVERY American..

On SHOWTIME this month.

Lovey Dovey

How great do my parents look? There's something to be said about marrying and having children young.It's so nice to have them around-healthy AND spry. We can learn how to navigate old age...with them!

In honor of my parents 50th(!!!!!) Wedding Anniversary today I have the perfect recipe to cook up for your own "lovey dovey".

If it wasn't my parents anniversary, I'd be making it tonight- instead- I'll be dining at Le Cirque in NYC.Not quite the home cookin' that Paula Deen serves- but I'll just have to suffer through the four star place.

Paula has cooked up a comfort dinner to top all comfort dinners...Southern Cornbread Salad,Minted Lamb, Smashed Potato Pancakes and Simply Delicious Strawberry Cake.I can't think of a meal much better than this or more perfect for next Saturday...Valentine's Day.

Tune in today for Episode PB0210H 11:30 AM ET/PT or on Feb 09, 2009 5:30 PM ET/PT on the Food Network to catch it. Click here for all the recipes.

The powerful Flu that's taking everyone down

If you haven't gotten it yet- watch out. Just about my whole family came down with it in Tampa during Super Bowl weekend.

In this video it shows people washing hands- but I don't think that helps- I think it's airborne.

My husband seems to think Vodka kills it and I think he's on to something- the only people I know who have not been hit are those who have vodka every night!

Another suggestion though- if it gets really bad-don't be a martyr- go to the ER- they can help you with IV and pills to calm it down.




Stomach flu outbreak sickens nationwide

Spring is Coming...Really

Time to order your seeds.
One of my favorite seed companies is Renee's Garden.I enjoy planting right into the ground love in the mist, nasturtiums,cosmos, sweet peas, morning glory's,chamomile, and four o'clock's- these are all fail-safe, easy to plant flowers.


It might not look like anything is going on out there but it is- underground...

How to spend a Sunday Evening..

Stillers Nation...


Nothing without the humble guy with the stogie in his mouth....

Stillers Nation