Single digit temperatures continue. Working from home, couldn’t be any sweeter, and hanging in by sticking with every day dress practices: have some protein at breakfast, make the bed, put on some makeup, walk the dogs, (they don’t even really want to go out but need it in a big way), make some dinner, enjoy a glass of wine, spend time with those you love.
Sunday night dinner was simple. Baked wild cod, roasted asparagus, wild rice cooked in organic vegetable broth. Tossed the tri-color tomatoes on top for flavor and color. The rice was healthy, hearty, nutritious, delicious. Fresh bread and kale caesar salad, home-made croutons, long walk with the dogs in the cold, and I’ll call that a very good day.
Picked up this extra-wide spatula at Williams-Sonoma with intent of making oversized heart sugar cookies. Haven’t gotten to those yet but it sure works well for lifting the entire fish fillet off the baking sheet. They call it a cookie and pancake spatula, I think it’s pretty darn great when serving fish. For $9.95 it’s a great kitchen tool.
Writing this blog post while watching the best of the best compete in Sochi and oldest daughter, age twenty-three, is flying to London to train and inspire her work colleagues.
So proud of you, Linnie. Day after day you give it your best. Sure, there’s been ups and downs and plenty of bumps, but look at you, you’re flying to London, for your work, and going to train other young people, dare to dream.
And, Booie, you too, so proud. You went to Spain for a semester, knowing not a soul, and came back grown up. Not all grown up, let’s not ever stop growing women, dare to dream.
Being the mom of four daughters and two sons with beautiful and accomplished women in their lives and having the pleasure of working with women for much of my adult life, here is my message on this cold, dark, February night: dare to dream. Every day, and most importantly, the small dreams. The small ones add up.
Olympic athletes, you go. Women everywhere, you go too.
Every day dress. xoxo
photos here taken September 2013 | en route to Seville Spain
If you’re looking for a long-lasting gift, consider a Hermés blanket. Or really anything at all Hermés, can’t go wrong. Expensive up front, but delivers all year-long. Snow storms, air-conditioning chill-out, these blankets have you covered. Research shows sleep is a good thing. Cover-up, nap-time, we won’t tell.
Not a huge fan of monograms, sometimes yes, sometimes no, this piece was a gift to our youngest, twelve at the time, and here our oldest, headed towards sixty, is under wraps.
Monogram this, February nights all tucked in. Every day dress.
Keep the faith everyone, we can get through these cold, dark nights. New York Times on the sofa. xo
With yet another winter storm headed our way here in upstate New York and the entire Northeast in a deep freeze, here’s the recipe, by request, for an easy soulful stew to nourish you and yours.
This is from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, I think actually my late grandmother’s copy, and calls for vegetable juice cocktail, I use two large jugs of V8 as I always double. You can use beef or veal, the best yet has been when organic lamb stew meat was used. This is a quickie, you can even go to market at 4 pm and have dinner by 7. Add a green salad, old-fashioned buttered egg noodles, some bread, your favorite red, and dinner is served.
Beef Stew | or Veal | or Lamb
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound beef or pork or lamb stew meat
3 1/2 cups vegetable juice cocktail | I would use one large V8, when doubling the recipe which I always do, I use two
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons instant beef bouillon granules | I actually use the better than bouillon, it comes like paste in a jar and I just scoop out a big couple of spoonfuls
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
2 1/4 cups cubed, peeled potatoes | I use small red and cut them in half or quartered, depending on size, and do not peel
2 cups sliced carrots
1 cup celery
Place flour in a plastic zip-loc bag. Add meat cubes, a few at a time, shaking to coat. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven brown meat, half at a time, in hot oil. I skip the vegetable oil and use the best olive oil I have on hand. In the interest of speed I usually have two large dutch ovens going at once, you don’t want to crowd the meat as it will steam and not get nice and brown.
Return meat to saucepan. Add juice cocktail, onion, bouillon, garlic, basil, and thyme. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover, simmer 1 to 1 1/4 hours for beef (30 minutes for pork) or till meat is nearly tender. With the lamb I simply used perceived doneness. Add potatoes, carrots, and celery. Cover; simmer 30 minutes more. Skim fat. Makes 4 main-dish servings. Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.
And now the outfit, practically every women I have been speaking with has been dressed in some variation of the same this winter: black pant, black turtleneck, black jacket, flat boot. It’s been a tough one but we can get through it. I’ve got Spring Fashion inspiration going on all around me, Trunk Show going on now through Monday, February 10th. Come on by, in your black pants, visit, browse, bring a friend. You can see, touch, and feel all the new looks. Feeding and dressing others are two things I do well. 🙂 Call me at 716-445-3033.
Fashion friends, here’s one quick photo from the new line on my new iPhone. Wanted to upload the February cover and current Worth New York ad in this month’s Town & Country magazine, after countless tries of trying to get the professional images to you and failing, decided to go with the easy iPhone pic. In case you missed it, hit up your local newsstand for the February issue.
I found Worth New York some fifteen years ago or so by their national advertising in that exact magazine. Purchased my first Worth outfit while pregnant with sixth child fourteen years ago and have worn the stuff ever since.
Spring 2014 Trunk Show opens Monday, February 3rd. Call, text, or email to visit me, I will make sure you are incredibly dressed for wherever life takes you, Town or Country. 🙂
Truth be told, I have so many darn email accounts I can’t find the log-in info for my every day dress email so if you have tried to reach me, try the rcollins@worthnewyork.com instead. Upgraded the iPhone to the 5s and somehow the everyday dress email account got lost in the shuffle. Way too much going on.
ps. Both pieces seen here are available in navy and white, think we all need them. Four that is, navy pant, navy cutaway, white pant, white cutaway. Uniform dressing is the best.
Wednesday nights lamb stew dinner led to Thursday nights excursion to Jay-Z. Bringing the house together for shared meals always leads to learning new things. With two daughters and now two Costa Rica exchange students, the conversation led to pop culture. Next thing we knew husband was online booking five tickets for the following night’s concert. So, me, and four young women, age thirteen to seventeen, have all been inspired by Jay-Z.
Explicit? Yes, of course. He’s a masterful artist and sent me home with the message dream, and believe. My two older daughters, twenty-three and twenty-one, have seen him live many times. When talking to my twenty-three year old on the phone she said, ‘mom, when they show his face close up on the big screens you can really see his age’. I told her I loved that, the depth of character, the experience, the ups and downs and the lines of modern life.
I liked how he was dressed. Mostly all black, you know my favorite, and with an incredible ease of movement. My next days work outfit, I was on the road again and needed to be able to move, oversized necklace especially, inspired by Jay-Z. Thanks, man, I dream, and believe.
Every day dress inspired by Jay-Z. Have a great Saturday everyone.
