Back to School Shopping

I love everything about Back to School. Most of all I love me some back to school shopping. This year I've found a little something for me...

Image via Design Magazine

Does this make my desk look fat?

XOXO

The Morning After

New York City, Monday August 29th, after Hurricane Irene

via Tumblr

Our state got hit hard. There are over 750,000 Connecticut residents without power this morning. The damage, in some areas, is quite extensive with trees down, power lines down and extensive water damage along our coast. For many it could be up to a week without power. I hope for them these estimates are wrong. For those of you who are nearby, we have power, showers and a functioning coffee maker! Please feel free to stop by.

After a hurricane comes a rainbow - Katie Perry

Be well all, XOXO

Before we lose power!

I need to ask you all a huge fan that would mean the world to me ... As you know I am a huge Zumba fan and that it has been such a positive part of my life for the better half of the year. My small studio in Fairfield has entered a video competition called The Pause. The winning video will win $5000. My studio's owner wants to donate all of these proceeds, when she wins, to the Susan G Komen foundation.That in itself is enough to make you want to vote, right? Look at it this way, with the click of a button you are doing so very much to contribute! In advance I thank you all for your help!



Click here to vote! 

I also want to wish all of you on the East Coast with me a safe and dry weekend. Let's hope Irene packs less fury than expected.

XOXO

Weather the storm in Style!

Those of us who live on the East Coast are bracing ourselves for The Big One. As a Category 3 Hurricane barrels ahead, looming large, ominous and headed directly toward us, we are doing everything we can to prepare for the storm. We're filling our gas tanks, loading up on batteries, ice and nonperishable necessities like crackers, bread, peanut butter, apples, bananas, chocolate and, of course red wine. (It doesn't need to be chilled to be enjoyed!)  I have notebooks and pens in the event that my laptop dies. I have my magazines including my September Issue of Vogue and plenty of things to keep me busy should the kids allow me the luxury of doing so. I can't think of anything else I could possibly want or need!

Should the power go out and trees go down, we'll don our wellies and go survey the damage. We'll do so in style, of course! Rain boots have come a long way baby, and a little wet weather isn't going to drown our sense of fashion!

Do your boots need a bit of an update? Following are some fun, preppy, trendy, and stylishly sensible options  to suit your personality.

Dolce & Gabbanna

Joules

I happen to find these boots simply Bow-dacious!

Kamik

Steve Madden, Tsunami

Hunter

Every rain storm needs a silver lining!

Embellished, Hunter

Jimmy Choo for Hunter

Missioni for Target

So what are you waiting for? Let's make a splash this weekend!
And to all of you in the path of the storm be safe and take care.
XOXO

Meet me at the water cooler!

I have something to show you...

Is this not the bestest, most cleverest thing you have ever seen?
C'est magnifique! Fantastique!

Cheers to a Happy Bubbly Day!

XOXO

a new me... an old me...

I decided to change my Twitter handle the other day. I never really loved it and chose it in haste. A good friend of mine urged me to join. She wanted me to join a slew of other lifestyle and design bloggers as guests at the Nate Berkus Show. That was almost a year ago. I wanted something that would tie in with The Entertaining House as this is a brand that I have created, that represents me well. I was blogging as Entertaining Mom. I was hoping that this would be a good handle for me but alas it was too long and all the good variations were taken. Enter the Gimlet. A new favorite drink of mine at the time with a wonderful name. But Gimlet wasn't enough and so I went with GimletMommy. I didn't love it but it was well received. The word Gimlet has a certain ring to it. It's fun and sassy. (Sort of like me!) When I met my Twitter friends in real life, I was introduced as GimletMommy and thus instantly recognized.

But, as many of you know, my world is changing. Rapidly. And while I am very much the same person, I am also redefining myself... growing, maturing, evolving. This is all a natural process in life, but I need to keep in mind that my new future is going to be vastly different from my past. This is not a bad thing at all. I look forward to all the wonder and excitement that lies ahead.Of course, there's that great unknown looming right ahead... the deep abyss, the unpaved roads, the pathless jungle. Yes, this frightens and intimidates me but I can't stop to over-think and worry. I must march on... some days in Wellies, some days in flats, some days in pumps... but I will march on and I will always put my best foot forward. I have three children relying on me. I will have to provide for three children both financially and emotionally. I have been home with them for the past twelve years and I have loved every minute of it. I have been there for them as their mother and I wouldn't have it any other way. But now I need to be there for them in a different way.

I will never stop being their mother. This is a role I will play for the rest of my life. This is part of who I am. But it is not all that I am. I am a mother but I am so much more. Now is the time for me to step out of my flip flops and breezy little sundresses and into pumps and something more stylish and sophisticated. Now is the time to reveal another side of me. I've always liked this side of me and now you all will see more of it.

As I  re-enter the professional world and create a new career and new life for myself I do so with confidence, my familiar effervescence, style and pride. I will be using social media (I really hate that term) as a part of what I do and because of that I really felt it important to drop the Mommy from Gimlet. I tossed out a few ideas on Twitter the other afternoon and asked for some suggestions as well. There were some great ones out there but suddenly GimletStyle hit me. I loved it instantly. Do you? Do I wear it well? Does it make my derriere look too large?

If these walls could talk: Monday's inspiration

You wouldn't exactly describe me as a wall flower. I do not blend into the background and fade away. Likewise, while I have a strong presence, I am not the "life of the party" who is always in the spotlight. I like to entertain. I like to be entertained. I also like to sit back, to listen and to take it all in. There is so much in life that needs to be observed, people, conversations, the beauty of the outdoors, the beauty behind closed doors. I don't want to miss any of it. I like personality and color - in people, in fashion and in my home. I suppose you could use those two terms to describe me - one wouldn't be far off by describing me as having a colorful personality. Color in my home is important to me. Only once I have ever lived anywhere with white walls. Only once. I was in a rental just out of college. Those white walls I found to be boring and depressing. I would stare at them and get sad. Artwork could not cover up their blandness.

When I grew up my apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side was bursting with color. It was such a happy place. It was a place where I felt alive. A place that made me feel as though anything could happen... that I could create and dream and that it could come true. Our Kitchen and Butler's Pantry was green and the inside the cabinets and cupboards were all painted a watermelon pink. We had a grey dining room, white trim and lavender ceiling. My father's office was a deep, handsome burgundy. The front entryway that greeted you when you got off the elevator was wrapped in an elegant wallpaper filled with Victorian characters. It was a grand entry (in appearance, not in size) and when I stood there waiting for the elevator I felt as though I was on stage and these were all the spectators. As a child I would dance and sing to them until the Elevator Man stopped at our floor, opened the door and the brass gate. I would then step inside the elevator and bid my people adieu! When we entered the foyer, the elegant Waverly-like black and white striped paper let guests know that they were entering an exquisite apartment. If I recall properly, there was a large back lacquered dresser for hats, scarves and gloves across a rattan bench on which I would sit to take off my shoes or boots to toss into my front closet. The ceiling, a bright orange, stared down on me with her cheerful smile. A world of color is so important to a child. I am still enchanted by it all!

How I wish I had more pictures of our apartment... especially the walls with the Victorian characters!

My childhood bedroom was dreamlike. Southern exposure meant that my room was bright bright and cheery no matter what time of day or evening. It was like living in a dollhouse... each wall was a different color. I had a yellow, pink, green and lavender wall, each pastel. A pale blue ceiling overhead and a pale green shag rug made me imagine my room to be outside in a garden. My bedding was checkered. Big checks each coordinated with the colors of the walls. I had a wicker settee and coffee table. Nothing was ever out of place of out of order. Mother was a stickler with tidiness. (My closets, however, told a very different story!)

As you can see, when you look at the following images, I like bright, bold, cheerful and colorful! So many of the following rooms inspire me for the energy and feelings they evoke. Whether something simple, like a mirror, or an inspiration board to something more complex as brightly painted or papered walls, a simple space can take on a whole new meaning, energy and feel by simply adding some color to the walls. I am looking forward to decorating my next home and am starting to gather up ideas. The following pictures have all been gathered from Pinterest. Click on them and they should take you to the original sources.

Such fabulous ideas... not sure which I love the most or where I will begin!

Happy Monday! XOXO

How not to write...

I recently read a book recommended to me by a friend called God Never Blinks by Regina Brett. I've been struggling with my writing lately and this really struck a chord. This not only applies to writing, but anything that we want to do that for one reason or other we don't - either we never get to it, never have time, or simply just put it off... 

How not to write?

·         Let technology scare you. Postpone writing until you learn how to electronically number all the pages.

·         Get your doctorate in creative writing.

·         Start therapy.

·         Find the right writer’s group.

·         Wait until you get over your fear of rejection or fear of success.

·         Tell yourself the odds of getting published are against you.

·         Worry about how you’ll pay the bills

·         Compare yourself to everyone else.

·         Complain that it’s too hot, too cold, too muggy, or to nice to be able to write.

·         Try hard to add significantly to the world of great literature.

·         Analyze every idea before you write the first sentence.

·         Strive for perfection.

·         Declare yourself the next Shakespeare.

·         Try to write like everyone except yourself.

·         Use only big words to impress people.

How not to write?

·         Sign up for a writers’ conference instead of actually writing.

·         Constantly tell yourself you have nothing to say.

·         Consult your horoscope.

·         Make a list of all the people who think you won’t cut t as a writer.

·         File your nails.

·         Water the plants.

·         Clean the basement.

·         Open an office.

·         Build a hermitage n the backyard or an entire wing on the house to write in.

·         Look for affirmation from everyone around you.

·         Ignore your own sorrows, passions and music.

·         Whine about how nobody understands you.

·         Demand an advance first.

·         Talk to telemarketers.

·         Play solitaire on the computer.

·         Make a to-do list with writing as the top priority.

·         Complain about the English teacher you had who scarred you.

·         The professor who ignored you.

·         The brother who stole your diary.

·         The sister who read your journals.

·         Waste time envying other writers who have it so easy.

·         Edit as you go.

·         Check the rules of grammar and punctuation before you finish every paragraph.

·         Talk about your ideas so much that even you lose interest.

How not to write?

·         Wait until you have children.

·         Wait until your children stop teething, finish soccer and go off to college.

·         Wait until you have two hours of uninterrupted time to write.

·         Wait until you quit smoking, quit drinking, or find the right drink and are stone drunk.

·         Wait until your siblings move and your parents die.

·         Wait until you meet the love of your life.

·         Wait until the divorce is final.

·         Wait until you go on vacation.

·         Wait until vacation is over. Wait until you retire.

·         Wait until you find your music.

·         Wait until you feel inspired.

·         Wait until a doctor says you’ve got six months to live.

·         Then die with your words still inside of you.

****

Ok, what's your excuse for not following your dreams and passions? 

Haute Couture without the Haute price tag!

It always happens. By mid August I am completely torn. Torn by not wanting what's left of summer to end, and torn by my strong desire to break out the fall wardrobe. I tend to bore easily. I like change. Typically at the end of summer I'm fairly bored with my summer wardrobe. Bring on the jeans and the cashmere, I say! Bring on the black and white... bring on the sophistication...bring on style! bring on Karl Lagerfeld for Macy's!

I'm really quite fond of the first dress I posted... I wonder what cocktail would best compliment it?!

Happy Monday!

Shut the Front Door!

I love paint. I love painted things. I love to paint things. I love colorful doors. Especially front doors. They make such a statement, don't they? A coat of paint is like a piece of clothing, isn't it? It can make an object, in  this case, a front door, flirty and playful, fun and whimsical, classy and sexy, or calm and serene. Your front door should make an impression. It should make a statement - a statement of who you are. Honestly, I think my front door is boring and devoid of personality. Our house is on the market and I am not going to repaint it. But my next home's front door will be bright and cheery, warm and welcoming... and I'll invite you to come in and join me for a cocktail or two!

I

All images via Pinterest, sources available there

Have a wonderful weekend...

And when you leave, would you kindly shut the front door behind you?

XOXO