May December

Thanksgiving in Palm Beach

Our lovely room at The Breakers:

What a view:

All smiles during Thanksgiving dinner:

A quiet Black Friday on Worth Avenue:

My purchase -- a bright embroidered tunic from C. Orrico:

Early Christmas decorations:

Puffy clouds at sunset:

Preppy Pick - Canvas Bags by Wm. J. Mills & Co.

Wm. J. Mills & Co.'s canvas bags are tops in my book. Their classic shapes, fabulous colors, and sturdy construction make them my go-to bag -- I carry them daily.

I use my Ice Bag when I'm coming into the city for a night or two and I load up my duffel bag with workout clothes when I'm headed to the gym.

Here's my Shelter Island Duck Duffel bag:

I dig the bright pumpkin color; it gives the traditional design a little kick.

I wear it with the strap slung across my body like a messenger bag when I ride my Vespa around town. It's the perfect size for my daily errands:

These bags have been around the eastern end of Long Island for well over 100 years:

I remember seeing many a sailor in Sag Harbor carrying their Mills totes around the marina.

The fabric is water resistant and the zippers are heavy duty. They're well-made and durable:

I've had my bag for years and it's pretty much indestructible. I've dropped it in the LI sound more than once (oops!) and played tug of war with it when Monty thought the straps would be fun to chew on (bad dog!) -- after all that it's still good as new.

I love that the bags can be easily folded up and tucked away when you're not using them. The fabric isn't stiff and hard like some other canvas totes; these bags are super easy to store.

Here's my Ice Bag in Napthol Red filled with a week's worth of laundry:

And here's my Ice Bag when it's not in use -- folded up all nice and neat and tiny:

(I wrote about the Ice Bag earlier this year.)

I'm off to order a few more Mills bags for Christmas presents... I'm thinking duffels and totes in Cobalt Blue and Storm Grey will be perfect for a few people on my list.

Wm. J. Mills & Co.

Home

We've just returned from a delightful holiday in Palm Beach:

It was sunny, warm, and relaxing - so nice! I hope you and yours had a great Thanksgiving.

More tomorrow...

Monty Monday - Bring me, bring me!

We're looking forward to a few days of vacation in the sunshine this week.

I was packing up our suitcases today and learned that someone else really wanted to come on the trip:

Monty was very eager to climb in my luggage... I think he wanted to show me how small he could get so that he'd easily fit in my carry-on:

Soon he realized that we won't be taking him along -- boo hoo, the hotel isn't pet friendly -- and he gave me the saddest eyes ever:

Awwwww, we wish we could bring along our little buddy.

The Museum Gala at AMNH

Last night we went to The Museum Gala at the American Museum of Natural History. I have fond memories of visiting this museum when I was a kid; it's always great fun to back as a grown-up.

Cocktail hour in the Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda:

The dinosaur skeletons are as giant as I remembered:

All smiles with Chappy during cocktails:

Many cast members of Saturday Night Live were at the benefit:

Dinner in the Hall of Ocean Life (aka the whale room):

Tom Brokaw emceed the evening's program, Jimmy Fallon did a spot on impersonation of Tom Brokaw's emceeing (Tom was a good sport about it), and Jamie Niven auctioned off all kinds of neat items like an overnight stay in the museum for 10 kids/adults. All total, with benefit tickets, sponsorships, and auction items, they raised over 2 million(!) dollars last night - very impressive.

The highlight of the program was a performance by Dave Matthews:

I love his music, and happily listened to him sing Bartender, Gravedigger, and Crush. He told quirky stories and sang beautifully:

I had a great time at the party.

And as an extra bonus, Lilly Pulitzer donated these pretty patterned stuffed animals to the goodie bags we all took home:

American Museum of Natural History.

Fall Cleaning

I recently did some sorting, arranging, and cleaning in Chappy's closet. I'm a neatnik and *love* any kind of organizing, so I was happy to spend an afternoon tidying up...

Before:

Not too bad, but I prefer it super orderly.

There's too much mixing and matching going on for this fastidious gal:

Jackets and slacks = not so organized here:

Lots of folding, some sorting, and a few hours later... Voila!:

Soooo much better:

Everything all arranged by style, color, and season:

Chappy's clothes are nice and orderly now so my work here is done. Who's next?

Monty Monday - Friend of Frankie

Frankie's Friends is a charity dedicated to finding cures and saving pets with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.

Monty is thrilled that he's recently been listed as a 'friend of Frankie' on the foundation's website:

Check out his entry here - yay Monty!

Frankie's Friends.

Yippie for the Yankees

Three cheers for the Yankees on their World Series victory last night!

We went to Game 1 of the series and had this spectacular view of the action:

It was so much fun to go to a World Series game -- the energy, the intensity, and the cheers were non-stop. I can't imagine how loud and spirited it was at the stadium last night.

Yay for New York and big yay for the Yankees.

Happy Halloween

On Halloween we went to a super fun 'Pirates of Park Avenue' party.

Here's my pirate costume. Ayyyy matey:

Chappy went as a construction worker. He was very realistic and cute in his costume (although the reflective vest was quite, umm, reflective in all our photos):

Here I am later in the evening... I tried to look scary with my very lethal foam sword.

Shiver me timbers!

I hope you and yours had a happy Halloween.

An Open Letter

Dear two-wheeled friends in my garage:

I miss you!!!

Warmest regards, Mel

Park Avenue Potluck Celebrations - Pomegrante Mimosas

Pomegranate Mimosas

Makes 8 cocktails

2 cups pomegranate juice, chilled
6 ounces elderflower liqueur
1 bottle sparkling wine, chilled

Mix the pomegranate juice and elderflower liqueur in a pitcher. Add the sparkling wine. Pour into Champagne flutes or wine glasses and serve.

These delightful Pomegranate Mimosas give champagne a fun, fruity kick. I love the cocktail's ruby color; this festive red makes them the perfect drink to serve at a holiday party. The recipe is simple and easy to make and absolutely delicious to drink -- cheers!

This recipe is from Park Avenue Potluck Celebrations, an awesome cookbook that benefits The Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. PAP Celebrations was just released today, so grab your copy here.

A special thanks to Kelsey at The Naptime Chef for passing along this great recipe.

Park Avenue Potluck Celebrations.

Monty Monday - Out of the Darkness walk

Yesterday was the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's 'Out of the Darkness' community walk in Manhattan. This is always a special day for a cause that's near to my heart -- I've been going to this walk for the better part of a decade to honor the memory of my friend L., and this was Monty's fourth year participating in the walk.

It was cold (39 degrees), windy (20+ mph), and wet on Sunday -- not the best day for an outdoor event, but the turnout was great, and the soggy weather didn't dampen anyone's spirits.

Grey day at the walk entrance:

Tents, ponchos, and hoodies at the registration area:

My hound braving the elements:

AFSP has these bead necklaces that participants can wear:

Each color represents a different reason why you're walking. I took purple because I lost my friend L. to suicide, and Monty took blue because he supports the cause:

There was also a remembrance area where you could create a flyer to wear during the walk. It was so touching to look at the flyers pinned to the backs of other participants - some drew sweet pictures and other wrote the names of the loved ones they lost:

After the opening ceremony we were off in the rain:

The walk started in Chelsea and went up along the Hudson River and then snaked its way back down:

Monty was still perky and energetic after the walk:

...but we all were pretty cold and damp.

Here's Monty in the car on the way home snuggling up to the heated seat warmer:

We were both toasty warm in no time!

A special thanks to the Manhattan walk sponsors:

And a huge thank you to all my readers/friends that donated to our walk -- it means so much to me to have your support for this important cause. You guys are the best.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

The Glass House - Part II

Part II of my visit to Philip Johnson's Glass House (part I is here)...

His dog's house:

The Brick House, the counterpart to the Glass House:

This building was Philip Johnson's guest room, and it's not all brick -- there are 3 large round windows in the back and multiple skylights. Unfortunately the Brick House has water/mold damage so we weren't able to go in, but it's being restored and should be reopened in a few years.

The mixing bowl shaped swimming pool: