The first Monday in September marks an end to summer and for many women it is ingrained that it must also be an end to wearing white. I think it’s much more fun to be a fashion forward trendsetter than to abide by this tradition. After all, this is not the 1950s when “ladies” …
Three Books About Self Discovery: Keeper, Sarah’s Key, & Eat Pray Love
Three books about self discovery: Keeper, Sarah’s Key, and Eat Pray Love. In each book the characters are searching for who they are and what they want in life. Isn’t it interesting that when we get lost all we want to do is run away to find ourselves. Not until we are lost do we …
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Music is a Heart Form
Imagine yourself in a restaurant, your car, a beauty salon, or in a theatre before the show begins … There’s always music in the background, making that moment with your family or friends special and memorable. Music sets the mood and enhances or creates the atmosphere. Music is a universal language. It brings people together, …
Encouragement for Moms going back to work, and believing in Angels
My head is a running sound track and when under pressure my mind goes straight to David Bowie’s “Pressure, pushing down on me…” Life is less “pressure” and more beautiful if you believe in angels. I think of new moms going back to work this time of year with school about to begin. I remember …
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Sweet Dreams and Goodnight Moon
Once you join the motherhood, you will forgo your sleep! I love this quote by Leo J. Burke: People who say they sleep like a baby usually don’t have one. Even though we may complain about a lack of sleep, I think most mothers would say we would trade a lifetime of sleep for …
Je vois la vie en rose: I see life in rosy hues
Gertrude Stein said, “America is my country and Paris is my hometown.” Florence, Italy is my hometown but I love so many French things and the French way of life that I can relate to her quote. Oh to be around when Hemingway, Stein, and Picasso were living it up at Café deux Magots in Paris. I invite you to join me …
Our Home Town Beach
When I was a little girl I used to pretend I was a mermaid; I’d place my legs in first position and imagine I was a fish swimming in the ocean. I find when I see the ocean and feel it on my body I turn into that little girl again wishing on the moon …
Reserve Your Night
I remember eating outside at Ambasciata D’Abruzzo, a restaurant near Rome, and the waiter brought me and my husband a giant platter of antipasti and some of their house wine. We were so content I think we may have taken off our shoes! This is my favorite kind of meal, a casual family style meal …
Ashley’s Lucky Thirteen Gastronomic Guide
The Dallas Fort Worth area is a bit like the Gemini zodiac; it has two faces! The city can be sleek and sophisticated, but also down-home country. I’ve read that Dallas has four times more restaurants (from eclectic to traditional) per person than even NYC. Food groups in Texas consist of: chicken fried steak, Tex-Mex, …
Meeting President and Mrs. George W. Bush: Unwavering courage and parenting philosophy courtesy of Midland ’64
Midland, Texas is a flat, dry, hot, sandy, and windy place full of tumbleweeds, oil rigs and Friday night lights. It is where my Dad, Bill Wood, grew up. I think there is a Midland parenting philosophy; have love and respect for your children, parents, neighbors and elders. The small West Texas town were my …
Here’s looking at you kid
As a fan of Humphrey Bogart, “Here’s looking at you, kid” takes on new meaning to me as a mother. It’s the perfect way to say cheers with your children. A cocktail is any mixed drink (alcohol or not). Think beyond the Shirley Temple! When you play in your kitchen, you become your own chemist. Keep it simple, you really …
Our Daily Pasta
There is religion in food; we can worship the gastronomic experience. Our daily pasta is like our daily bread. We’ve all eaten that special warm delicious dish of pasta and thought, “Oh thank you God!” Voltaire said, “Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as …