November 2014 • Every Day Dress by Rebecca Collins

and so it begins…

always keep moving…

From now until about the second week of January, it’s all systems go. Family, friends, food, home, we’re all about it in one way another, thinking that one of life’s greatest pleasures is sitting at table with those we hold close.

And so it begins, knowing to have great moments we need to put the time in up front. Creating special times can be hard work, therapeutic, often expensive, and sometimes downright exhausting. We had ten yesterday, not the biggest and not the smallest, simply right for this time. Celebrated second daughter’s twenty-second birthday as well, remembering that special day pushing three babies among the two of us down Delaware Ave in Buffalo NY, in America’s oldest foot race, the Turkey Trot, a 5k race/run/walk that now closes out at 14,000 participants. That day is like many of these days, long walks outdoors to nourish the body, mind, soul, spending time with loved ones, and cooking and breaking bread at table. Except that day twenty-two years ago finished with a trip to the delivery room to greet our fourth child, now there are six. Good habits. 🙂

Wishing everyone special days and special nights, with all those you hold close.

Every day dress, and so it begins…

xoxo

her first scratch pie

simple style notes: like a little black dress, white candles, linens, and roses always look good, now and later. Really don’t want to deal with gourds and leaves the morning after when we’re moving to all things green, silver, white. Hand-made glittered, ombréd place cards (second and fourth daughters made those day of) and personal salt cellars with small spoons make things personal and special. Let some things go, put fifteen year old third daughter in charge of setting table and buffet, she succeeded brilliantly. Leave the mess and dishes go, so much more fun to sit at the table hours on end sipping wine and naming all fifty states, the dishes don’t go anywhere anyways, table guests move on. 🙂

wool scarf worn as halter keeps things easy | Christian Dior

double up

Thanksgiving Eve, gathering the goods is done, prep work in process.

To keep things going have decided that when something is good, and works, double up. Mid-week cooked up some beef stew, added double vegetables, although not with the potatoes, kind of wondering why potatoes have such a bad rap with the husband, he refuses to eat them. Apple tart, times two, yet single crust, no need to double up that deliciousness, right?

Denim on denim, yup, that’s me. Double up, kitchen and wardrobe. If it works, do it twice.

Happy Thanksgiving all.

xoxo, every day dress.

The two beautiful blondes? Gwyneth and Lisa (Lisa Gersh, you can google her, no wikipedia page yet), in last week’s New York Times Sunday Styles. As this is fashion and lifestyle, still so miss Alexis’s blog, www.alexisstewart.com, even though she hasn’t posted since 2012, (Martha’s daughter), have to say we read and love Goop, even if it’s a bit commercialized, best wishes, world domination, good luck with that.

food

sweet and red

Everything’s been closed for about four days now, and neighbors in the south towns have joined together and getting through all this snow. Best wishes to everyone.

In the city of Buffalo we’ve been like a little hideaway: to brighten things up have gone to totally red lip and nail color and into roasting sweet potato fries. What you make at home can be better than what you get out. So want to tuck into a bag of chips and dip, doing the drive around without any cash to stay away from the quick mart, instead of that ditching the nude lip color and going bold and red, you’ve got to watch what you eat and drink. Sweet and red, every day dress.

lip and nail | Chanel

Had some great photos from last night simply can’t find them, oh, well.

fashion food

the fish came in

Buffalo NY and close neighbors, like Hamburg, and Orchard Park, on national news with record snow fall, low temps, roads and schools closed, three days now.

Wouldn’t you know that while UPS was closed, needed to send a few dresses back for a very good client, sorry Josephine, the local grocer, Wegman’s, was open, and the fish came in today.

Roasted some halibut and some leftover counter-top tomatoes, quickly boiled up some sugar snap peas. Red, white, and green, are you feeling it too?

Note on the wine: really loving this Butternut Chardonnay, 90 point rating on some sites, and it’s less than $15. Check it out here at Bounty Hunter, one of our favorite stops in Napa CA. at Thinking we need to buy a case or three with two daughters coming home for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Stay warm and safe everyone, every day dress. xoxo

food

make it quick

With Upstate New York blanketed in a blizzard, let’s make it quick, and keep it safe. Record low temperatures reported almost everywhere, again, let’s make it quick.

Wishing everyone a safe trip to wherever they may be going, hopefully home. Sharing here a recipe for best banana bread ever, and, you can make it quick. Perfect antidote to a snow day. Have been baking and gifting these loaves for years, one of our very fit friends calls it crack, in good jest. Almost everyone has 2 or 3 overripe bananas on the countertop, photos shown we had 6, yielding 2 cups of mashed, and 2 full-sized loaves. Should you not have sour cream on hand, simply use vanilla or plain yogurt, thinking you probably have that in the fridge.

Banana Bread | The Martha Stewart Cookbook | Collected Recipes for Every Day (love how the title divides the every day, just like here)

makes 1 large loaf of 4 small loaves

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup mashed very ripe bananas

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan or several smaller pans.

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, beating well.

Sift the dry ingredients together and combine with the butter mixture. Blend well. Add the bananas, sour cream, and vanilla. Stir well. Stir in the nuts and pour into the prepared pan.

Bake 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean. Turn out onto a rack to cool.

ps. These loaves freeze well. Sometimes I substitute and/or add unsweetened chocolate chips, 1/2 cup per loaf. Recipe doubles well in a KitchenAid stand mixer. Photos shown I baked two.

pss. School closed again tomorrow, let’s make it quick, :).

psss. my copy here is dog-eared, even has scribbles, it’s so well-loved.

Stay safe and warm, every day dress, xoxo.

food

more hours please

Every day dress has been busy at work dressing others and putting on a local runway show to benefit women and children in our community. It’s a good gig.

Here’s some behind the scenes shots taken yesterday with the lovely iPhone. Brought the good camera, simply couldn’t get to it with all the activity, and there were professional photographers on site so better photos on their way. Made friends with one of them, Joe, by ordering him a Bloody Mary at the bar and a burger and fries. In addition to beautiful clothing we’re all about feeding others and providing food and drink, too. He was busy all day and he’s got the good photos. Can’t wait to see the upload.

Event was completely sold-out with a waiting list, way to go WNY Women’s Foundation. Two runways were needed, and these pictures are from the ‘overflow’ room, so funny that this event is so successful that the ‘overflow’ room is actually the down-low kind of place to be. 🙂

Morning of the event baked cookies for client/guests and put some nice ‘dress’ labels on the wine bottles. Underage models, there were two, got the new Essie Holiday Nail Collection instead.

Cinched the wardrobe addition of some great fur cuffs for a client that has thought about a winter white dress coat combo since July. Finally put the coat on, it was a sample brought in for a special Trunk Show, added the cuffs, had a colleague take the picture and texted her and said, Susan, you need these, they are so you and you will have them forever. Sold. She will be beautiful in them. Thinking we are all now feeling that yes it truly does get cold in winter and yes there are places to go and oh, boy, what are we going to wear.

Every day dress, more hours please. Thank you models and clients, love what I do.

fashion lifestyle

oh, anne

Blogging has been a bit slow and life has been a bit fast, isn’t that the way? While cleaning out the home office, trying to get a bit centered as always, taped up these two photos of Anne Hathaway from December 2010. They’re right beside two other tape-ups, how to work when you just don’t want to, and …can’t remember better read it again.

Not sure what about these tear-outs that have kept them around so long, loved you in Princess Diaries, didn’t understand the Oscar thing, and cried like a baby watching Les Mis on a flight home from Paris this time last year or so.

Your Elle December 2010 cover shot feels relevant today with the smoky eye, nude mouth, and long, high-lighted hair. While we might really think a chic short haircut, bright red mouth, and skinny skinny whatever is good, it’s just not that doable in the every day.

In the every day the red lip, while looking quite great, is a little hard to kiss, eat, and drink. Leaves marks on the glassware, and telltale go-to signs on others.

Oh, Anne, kind of got you going on the taped up inspiration board, these images still have my attention. Want to highlight my hair, wear a smokey eye with a nude lip, and a gold dress, and have a bit of thigh meat going on. That thigh thing just doesn’t seem to change here.

Every day dress, oh, anne, may we all be ever evolving.

fashion lifestyle

instalike

If there’s something out there with a bit of an edge and a clean line and it’s black and has silver hardware, here at every day dress it’s gotta be an instalike. Working on the social media thing, kind of slow going as we’re doing some every day living here.

Restaged this from #saksstyle, shared and tagged by twenty-four year old daughter, and had fourteen-year old daughter snap the photo while driving her home from a sleepover. Had my most likes ever (on Instagram),, 135 or so, ha, (thought that was pretty good), those two-teenaged daughters get 300+ with pictures of themselves in the garden. ha.

Black leather jacket, grey cashmere sweater, black bag with silver hardware, instalike. Should we say instalove or is that way too serious, considering all that black?

Keeping it easy, instalike, instalove, whatever. It it’s black and has some silver going on, insta wardrobe workhorse.

Bag | Saint Laurent Paris

Quilted Leather Jacket | Worth New York

fashion lifestyle

early gifting

With big food days approaching, you know, Thanksgiving and Christmas, yikes, every day dress was gifted yesterday.

Thinking we all might like to make it ahead, and couldn’t be more thrilled to have Ina’s latest in the repertoire, thank you.

Mom, client, I get to dress her in the day job, wrapped it up nicely: plain white tissue, real ribbon, small gift card, and a sprig of thyme.

Ina, we count on you. Just yesterday did your Mac & Cheese, no tomatoes in the house and used whole wheat bread for the crumb top, your recipes and way of cooking and presenting have become part of our every day life.

Can’t wait to dig into your latest volume, now we just need to make a little more room on the shelf.

Thanks, mom, client, early gifting is so much fun. xo

Ina Garten | make it ahead

ps. hyperlink to Ina Garten, Make It Ahead, so slow on the upload. You know where to find her, she’s that good.

food lifestyle

now we’re plated

Change is good. Keeps you on your toes, right? After years of serving family style starting a slow switch again to now we’re plated.

Had a chef come in three nights out of six while in Provence in September. Obviously, he plated everything. Now that we’re settled in back at home trying to recreate that French kind of feeling.

Here’s my stateside effort: