Posted on October 27, 2019
FOODIE FRIDAY: HALLOWEEN FAVOURITES
TGIF friends!
Well, it’s actually Saturday!! I’ve had a very busy Halloween weekend which started on Thursday with my first Halloween Party at the Homeless Shelter. I call out the Bingo there and supply prizes of candy bars, pop, and chips. For special occasions such as Halloween I bring along treat bags filled with treats which they love, Halloween cup cakes, juice, etc. and we party hard!! It went very well and I was happy to get the first batch of treat bags safely out of the house before I got at them!! Everybody went home happy!
Friday, I had two more Halloween Parties, one at TOPS, (my Taking Off Pounds Sensibly) friendship group. We were to dress up as items of food. Katherine went as a pickle, Roz a banana, Sherry was a watermelon and later handed out some delicious chopped watermelon to everybody. Sheilah went as a strawberry and gave everybody 2 strawberry flavoured tea bags and I went as a beyond meat veggie burger! Fun!
Friday evening I invited some friends to my house for my annual Hallowen get-together. I must admit if something doesn’t look visually appealing, I can’t eat it!! So many of the Halloween treats look ghastly! I had a few vegetarian friends coming so I made vegetarian lasagne and lentil and chick pea curry. My friend Anita cooked a ham and sliced it all up and decorated it with miniature pumpkins and flowers. It looked lovely! The sweet aroma of mulled wine coming from the kitchen, combined with the fragrance of apple cider scented candles made for a very cosy Halloween ambience.
For parties I tend to serve a meat dish, a fish/seafood dish, and a vegetarian dish. Rice, Cous Cous, and 2-3 salads, which always feature a kale salad and a Greek salad. Firm favourites! For appies, olives, cheese, prawns, stuffed olive leaves, and bowls of nuts and chips around. As well as sliced veggies and dips for those watching the figures!
All my guests left with little pumpkin treat bag and smiles on their faces!
This year I served the puking pumpkin! It is so easy to do and was a real crowd pleaser!
Posted on October 23, 2019
WEDNESDAY WOMAN: IRIS APFEL
At 98, businesswoman, designer, and fashion icon, Iris Apfel is feisty, fabulous, fastidious, and showing no signs at all of slowing down. I admire her energy, creativity, discipline, work ethic and down-to-earth attitude to life. She is fearless in her fashion statements as you can tell from her bold dramatic style. This girl is still in the game! Bigtime! Could she be the new face of 100?
People like her are an inspiration to fashionistas all around the world. Yes, she herself will freely admit wearing all that big heavy bling, which probably weighs more than her, can be uncomfortable at times, but style is more important to Iris than comfort. It’s the price you have to pay she will tell you. She says she is not pretty, never was pretty, dislikes the word pretty, but has something more important; style!
As an archetypal Virgo, Iris Apfel is incredibly disciplined both in her eating habits, and her daily routine. She likes order and simplicity in her life. She believes passionately in being true to yourself and unique. She has never been one to follow the crowd. She dresses for herself because as she says “Life can be gray and dull; you might as well have a little fun when you dress up’. My sentiments precisely!
The saying ‘No matter how you feel, you should always get up, dress up, show up, and never give up!’ was surely coined with her in mind. And that is why Iris Apfel is my Wednesday Wow Woman!
Hugs,
Patricia xxx
Updated on October 21, 2019
MONDAY MUSINGS: CODDIWOMPLE
Hi Guys,
Hope you had a lovely weekend despite all the crazy and disturbing stuff currently hitting our world. I don’t internalize any of it because it is totally beyond my control. Brexit, Turkey, Syria, Donald T. using his platform to market his hotels, etc. Then we have a big election today in Canada. I’ll be voting because my vote could be the one that counts. Who knows? If all that wasn’t enough excitement, New Zealand hammered poor Ireland in the rugby! Humiliating! Their worst defeat ever! But I won $10 on a scratch card, so things could be worse! Life really is a rollercoaster of ups and downs.
So what has all of the above got to do with Coddiwomple? you may well ask. I came across this word recently in my FB travels and loved it! It means ‘to travel purposefully toward an as-yet-unknown destination’. I loved everything about it because it reminded me of how important it is to have a purpose in life – whatever it may be! And to remain grounded, despite all the disturbia ‘out there’.
How do you stay grounded and peaceful in your life?
The answer my friends is to Coddiwomple each day, and while you are busy coddiwompling, take time out for a nice pleasant cup of tea, a biscuit, silence, and a sweet reminder of your purpose…your passions, your dreams and raison d’etre. There will always be Disturbia in our world. But in your world, there can be Peace and Love…
Wishing you all the joie de vivre your hearts can handle!
Hugs,
Patricia xxx
Posted on October 18, 2019
FASHION FRIDAY: LEOPARDSKIN IS BACK – FAUX AND FABULOUS!!
TGIF Girlfriends!
Everywhere I go, I’m seeing leopardskin. It’s on everything these days. Belts, shoes, bags, boots, pants, dresses — you name it! The proud Leopard is currently the King of Fashion! But then again, leopardskin never really ever went out of fashion. Real fur, yes, but modern designers have done so much with faux, it’s hard to tell the difference. You get the luxe look without the cruelty.
Having seen the displays around town, I went home and did some shopping in my own closet. I found great stuff under my very nose!! I’m going to have fun putting items together with just a peep or a pop of leopardskin! Love it with oranges, reds, and yellows!
The only additions this year were the belt, boots, and pants. I’ve put them to great use already, especially the boots!
Have fun putting your luxe leopard looks together!
Hugs,
Patricia
Updated on October 15, 2019
WEDNESDAY WOMAN: BETTY WHITE
For my table of eight, Betty White would certainly be on the guest list! I simply love that woman! She has the longest tv career of any celebrity, spanning more than 80 years, yet to listen to her now, she is so humble, modernistic in her views, and a lot of fun! Betty is probably best known for her parts as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rose on The Golden Girls, and Elka in Hot in Cleveland.
I admire the way she still jumps into life and at 97 wants to still keep working and contribute to life. She is a typical hardworking Capricorn in that regard! You can tell she is a Capricorn by her down-to-earth no-nonsense attitude to life! I love her quick wit and saucy sense of humour! And her gratitude for every kindness extended to her in life. Her words of advice on growing old gracefully are ones I have taken very much to heart. At 97 she sure is a WOW WOMAN!!
“There’s no formula. Keep busy with your work and your life. You can’t become a professional mourner. It doesn’t help you or others. Replay the good times. Be grateful for the years you had.”
She doesn’t just say the above words, she truly lives her life by them. Such a positive, kind-hearted, and lovely human being. Her lifelong dedication to animals is legendary and she has done so much to improve the lives of animals. She has used her platform to further their cause and says you can tell a lot about somebody by the way they put their hands on an animal! My sentiments precisely! Betty White is indeed one of my role models as I continue my own adventures in life.
She is a perfect example of one who has grown old with grace, gratitude, and class, which is why she is my Wednesday Wow Woman today!!
Hugs,
Patricia xxx
