engaged

The cake in the background, the bride-to-be with a celebratory champagne flute.
all about the RING

Don’t let the lower-case post title fool you for one little second, we are over the moon that Sarah and Connor became engaged on Friday, November 21st.

There were many trips to the airport to bring in all the players…Lizzie and Mimi from the UK, my sister from San Fran, CA
When the whole crew is in town, there is no safe bottle

This was not an easy feat- planes, trains, automobiles, long-haul flights, secret text threads, secret dress and shoe shopping, secret overnight hang-outs, location services being weirdly turned off or not working months ago.

They met in June 2024, when he was competing in a half-ironman after training with her brother, Maxwell, and then swimming, biking, and running alongside him. We were all there, seventeen of us, I think, in a lakeside Airbnb in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec. He came over for a post-race beer, stayed the night, played with the littles the next morning, and the rest, they say, I guess is all good history. When you know, you know.

Life has a way of arranging things, and this meet-up seemed destined. She told me that when he’s not there, she only wants to know when he’s coming back. That’s so good.

Connor has slipped seamlessly into the family fold; it feels like he’s always been part of the fabric. He and I talk food and wine; he arrives for dinners large and small with a nice bottle, a dip, or a charcuterie board.

Little weekend trips, shared spaces, and then he flew to France to join her as her date for Maxwell and Lexi’s wedding. They started talking about a future together pretty early in their relationship. He joined us in Andover, MA, for the family Thanksgiving in 2024, and after that, it all seemed relatively seamless.

He was like a kid in a candy store planning his proposal. It was like spun sugar; we were all entranced. He was confiding in details with Caroline and planning a surprise dinner. It was magic.

Connor picked the date, the ring, and, along with his family, planned an exquisite engagement dinner, choosing the venue, menu, and fine wines. He and his family had all the details in place, and I was the backup player, bringing in the tablescape, decor, and cake. Lexi, Sarah’s closest friend and sister-in-law, designed and brought all the floral arrangements. Together, we really knocked it out of the park.

I baked a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.
I also sugared cranberries and rosemary to decorate the cake with.
Here is the first rendition of the seating chart. It went through a few cycles of change. Change is always a constant.
Lexi and Booie are in a warm embrace with little Mazi looking on.
Caroline knew she had to be in town for this.
Newly engaged!
Sarah is opening her new shoes.
We always seem to land in the kitchen.

After months of planning, dreaming, and scheming, the day arrived. We had flown in Lizzie and Mimi from the UK, Caroline and Sean, and their three littles were also scooped up from the airport. Everyone was hiding out until the big moment. Lizzie and Mimi spent the first night at Monnie’s. We arranged for Caroline, Sean, and the kids to arrive just two hours before the big moment. Sarah and her three sisters text chat constantly, and she has such a sixth sense that I thought she would be able to smell that her sisters were back in town without being told. We were all in a group huddle holding her off. Sarah went unsuspecting to her usual Friday morning Pilates session, only to come home to Connor and an apartment full of white roses, petals strewn everywhere, champagne, a proposal, and a RING. We were a caravan of cars waiting in the wings to congratulate them both and hold her in our arms.

The event space on the day before. We moved tables, chairs, and seating arrangements. I brought in four pre-lit trees, silver candlesticks, dinnerware from home, linen napkins, and napkin rings. Lexi designed and placed the florals. Maxwell brought speakers, and Lizzie made a custom playlist.
Linen napkins from home and a template of the place settings. I have been collecting this dinnerware pattern for 38 years since Bill and I were married. Peanut gave me eight of the bow napkin rings for Mother’s Day one year, and I have added to that collection as well—the heart ornaments I bought online from Gump’s.
Our favorite selfie spot.
The finished cake.
The candles are lit, and the table is set.
Lexi’s flowers.
The bride-to-be with her grand. The two trees you see on top of the bar in the background I brought from my dining room.

There are moments in your life you don’t forget, and this was one of them. Collective goodwill and tears of joy were shared in their little house and our little network, twenty-three of us in total, all in town that day to celebrate them.

Concurrently with planning travel logistics, I was choosing dresses and shoes. I always knew I was going to gift her a new dress to wear on this special day, and Caroline and I looked at and talked about many iterations over our morning coffee talks, more text threads and screenshots to delete, delete. Surprisingly, we even strategized about her wearing red (!), plot twist, as she looks fantastic in red. Most often, you really have to go through the entire wheel to land where you are supposed to land. In the end, I landed on white and on Staud.

Staud has been a family favorite for years. Co-founders Sarah ‘Staud’ Stuadinger and George Augusto founded their company in 2015 on the premise that fashion should empower women, and be accessible too. With four fashion-forward daughters and two beautiful daughters-in-law, sign me up for that, thank you. Staud has dressed every one of them beautifully. The handbags and shoes have been on their rotation as well.

For this dinner, I chose the Charlotte Dress in Ecru for her. The scoop neck with corset bodice and a-line skirt was elegant and straightforward, and would show off her and her ring. We looked at dresses with embellishment and shine and, in the end, decided that simple was best.

Sarah has been a red-soled shoe lover for years. At my most recent trunk show, she mentioned offhandedly that she loved my Manolo Blahnik slingback pumps. Bingo! I think an engagement is the perfect time to be gifted your first pair of Manolos, so a suede Manolo Blahnik slingback pump it was. 🙂 I didn’t want it to read too bridal, so I opted for beige suede, giving her lots of styling options to come.

Sarah got dressed at her home with Connor, and we all got dressed at our family home. Just like old times, there were dresses everywhere, and we always had one that couldn’t quite decide what to wear. More dresses everywhere. We ultimately all got out the door looking well put together. There’s always lots of sharing too. Caroline brought with her her small white Valentino bag, a Christmas gift from me and her Dad a few years ago, for Sarah to borrow for the evening, bringing ‘something borrowed’ into play.

It was a brilliant evening—twenty-three of us all together to celebrate love, promise, and commitment.

Thank you to everyone for bringing their best.

Engaged, every day dress.

Nearing the end of the evening…
The morning after, pizza boxes and all…

Roasted Chicken Provençal

Yes, I had nasturtiams growing in the garden. Couldn’t help myself with garneshing the plate with these edibles.
I love when all hands are on deck for family meal, here is Booie helping out.
Plated and ready to serve.

Most mornings, I check in with the New York Times cooking friend app, either before coffee or after exercise, and sometimes, if I’m being honest, I peruse it while out walking. I know that walking should be a sacred experience, one in harmony with nature; yet, as a modern human, my brain craves novelty. That damn phone consistently pulls at me, seeking to give me a dopamine hit.

Dopamine hit or not, here is a recipe that consistently delivers and satisfies: Roasted Chicken Provençal from Steven Stolman, adapted by Sam Sifton.

I’ve made it for an informal family dinner. I’ve made it for a fancy formal dinner. I’ve made it for informal and fancy guests. It works every time. 

Always love a white shirt. Double win with the monogram.

With the giddy-up holiday season rolling in faster than a thunderstorm, it’s a recipe I recommend having in your back pocket. It will not disappoint, and you will come off as a Roasted Chicken Provençal rock star.

mise en place city-side on a regular Tuesday…
Kids helping with the mash.
you just have to step up to all that stuff going on in your world and plate some mashed potatoes.
Hello, beautiful Lexi and handsome Connor
family dinner….

Here is a first-time beginner tip: do not put the legs or thighs skin down in hopes of creating a crisp skin for the first 25 to 30 minutes; that precious skin will stick to the pan, and when you try to turn it over carefully, it will tear from the meat. Position the chicken pieces skin-side up and have a good baster on hand. That pan juice is liquid gold, and by basting the meat at reasonable intervals during the final roasting session, you will have gorgeous, crisp skin and juicy, delicious meat. I’ve even added more vermouth to the pan as the cooking session progresses. Keep a good eye on the whole thing, and you will be absolutely delighted.

Here it is served country-side. I spy I very cute baby in the left-hand corner.
Flowers by Lexi. Food by me. Tomatoes from my summer garden.
Sourdough by Booie.
Most everyone loves a brownie and a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.

really good white cake

Here is the white cake I baked for Peanut’s 24th birthday last August. It is Sally’s The Perfect White Cake.
How cute is Ethan with his three littles…Cooper and Ethan both have October birthdays. Seen here is the cake I baked for Monnie’s 86th birthday.

This afternoon, we will be celebrating three fall birthdays: Cooper, Connor, and Ethan, each of them born in the month of October. Later this week, Caroline and her family will be celebrating Liam’s 4th birthday in Andover, MA, with a race car-themed bounce house and a backyard class and family party.

This little guy will be turning 4 at the end of the week. He still loves race cars and now more specifically monster trucks.

While I’m not baking the cake for either of these celebrations, and I will desperately miss celebrating Liam on his big day this coming Friday, I’m still all about a good cake. Eldest daughter Caroline has been asking me about cake, too, as she wants to add a delicious white cake recipe to her repertoire.

Over the years, I’ve tried countless cake recipes. My current favorite and go-to white cake recipe is from Sally’s Baking Addiction, and it has proved to be practically foolproof and flawless. This is the recipe I have recommended to Caroline and to my sister Tracy in CA, who is a perfectionist, Sally’s The Perfect White Cake.

This is the white cake I baked while in the south of France for Maxwell and Lexi’s wedding celebration last September. Again, it’s The Perfect White Cake.
Here the leftover cake was served at the day after wedding brunch.

This cake has been my go-to white cake recipe for several years now. I even baked it as a wedding cake in France for Maxwell and Lexi last September. I baked it a few weeks ago for my mom’s 86th birthday. It is an exceptionally delicious white cake.

Everyone loves cake.

Thank you, Sally, for your baking recipes. Last week, I made your Classic Apple Crisp while in Andover, MA, for Caroline and her family, and that was a great hit, too.

Every day dress, a really good white cake.

notes I wrote to myself for baking in France.
I packed and shipped all of my supplies including cake tins and parchment paper.
baking and serving cakes, year after year
another cake for Mom’s birthday. this was last year.
my grandmother’s table linen.
My sister coaching me in the crumb coat.
The cake I baked and that Tracy and Peyton decorated.
Peyton and Booie decorating a white cake this summer.
The white cake at Easter. As you can see there is a LOT of cake.
Cake is always a good idea.
Rory loves cake too.
Cake to go…

a mid-summer dinner

I set the picnic table under the trees and close to the house. We had two heaters for when the sun went down.
Very late afternoon, I had some work to do. I am a solo entrepeneaur. The two armchairs on each end were brougth outside from our dining area. I always put the two largest men on the ends with the armchairs regardless of Bill and I being hosts, I always aim to make our guests comfortable. I’m not sure picnic table benches are super comfortable for men of distingquished substance. 🙂
I made the tart city-side while working muy fashion hustle and drove it out to the country after it cooled.
I prepped the blueberry pie cityside but backed it in the country is a small countertop Wolf oven.
Mashed potatoes and foccacia prep.

While there is so much talk about fall and back to school and back to work, I’m not ready to give up on you summer ’25 just yet; in fact, I’m going to the official end, Sunday, September 21st. On Monday, September 22nd, the autumn equinox and the official start of fall in the Northern Hemisphere, I’m all yours. Until then, let’s soak in every last drop of the waning daylight.

A few weeks ago I hosted a small weeknight al fresco dinner for eight of us. I wanted to make it special, we were hosting family and friends that hadn’t been together in too long a time. Me being me, I carted dinnerware, the good flatware, and linen napkins from the city house to the country house, it’s all in a day’s effort.

Peach and burrata salad with homemad foccacia.
tomatoes from the garden.
Sliced in half with fresh rosemary.
a room with a view, my county kitchen windows
ready to bake
always good for breakfast the next day with an over easy egg on top.
Chicken from the local market is prepped and ready to go.
quickly blanched green beans laying wati to be sauteed with good butter is always a faorite.
table is ready to go.

I made a sublime peach and burrata salad using young arugula and fresh small basil leaves from my garden, and a roasted Chicken Provencal that has been a recent favorite and on good rotation. I did a small potato mash using lots of Kerrygold butter and heated whole mild to make them silky and delicious, and fresh, homegrown green beans rounded out the entree.

For dessert I baked my standard blueberry pie. Apricots have been calling my name at the farmers market so I also added in a beautiful apricot upside down tart kind of thing. Both were served with fresh whipped cream. Guests were offered to choose, most chose a small serving of each, myself included.

My husband picked the wines, as he always does. We are quite the duo, I couldn’t tell you what we drank other than it was delicious, and he couldn’t tell you where I sourced the food or how I prepared it, no matter, we made it work, and it was good.

when all is done and ready to be served i like to turn the lights off in the kitchen proper work area. It’s easeir on the eyes and makes for a better vibe. no harsh lighting during the dinner hour.
here we go… Lela Rose bustier, Brunello Cucinelli skirt, I love good clothes.
another vibe check, lighting small votive candles
later in the evening when the temperature dropped i added a great turtleneck sweater.

This was a weeknight dinner during a week I host one of four annual trunk shows, meeting women for one to one style appointments to help them choose clothing for their unique lifestyle. Trunk shows in and of themselves take a lot out of me as I take matching luxury clothing with beautiful women quite serious, yet I also love to host family for intimate and meaningful dining experiences so I guess I just have to go forth, put the work in, and enjoy the rewards.

the morning after, it was a lovely evening.

Good food and good outfits are always worth the effort.

more trunk show shenanigans waiting for me city-side the very next day. it’s all worth it.

first day of spring

strawberry plants and spring bulbs, oh, how I love you

Finally, the time when we can begin to stir again. On the first day of spring, I welcome you with an open heart.

I made myself do yard work for an hour, a promise that pays off in spades. Like any good project, you can get swept up and lose track of time once you start. It’s the starting that is the challenge.

Mise en place for bolognese sauce for tomorrow’s lasagna. I know, lasagna in spring, yet the three grands are coming for dinner, and it’s still pretty cold out there. I have been creating menus that can be prepared beforehand so that I can enjoy the people around me and not constantly be in the kitchen. Also, I have been using store-bought bone broth instead of store-bought beef broth to increase the protein value.
I’ve been all about this pearl midi-skirt and have been wearing it constantly, both here in Buffalo, NY, and in St. Petersburg, FL.
Once home,  I immediately changed into this other matched set, this one a gift from my two eldest daughters for Christmas.

More exciting activities were prepping the sauce for tomorrow’s lasagna, dressing up for a political fundraiser downtown, and undressing myself once I got home.

Grateful for the longer days. Wishing everyone brightness and the confidence to begin again, whatever that may be for you.

Every day dress, the first day of Spring, 2025.