By Invitation only......what do I want to do, reality or fantasy?

Hi there, its our monthly By Invitation only post and this one is a good one. BIO is a group of bloggers who get together and post about an agreed upon theme for that month. Its great fun to see each others interpretations.   

 The idea this month is to talk about something(s) we want to do reality or fantasy, something on our personal "bucket list". I have had so many, some have fallen off the bandwagon like make the cover of Seventeen magazine of course sporting bright blue eyeshadow(back when I was a teenager) to wanting to marry David Bowie (still love his music but Iman I am going to let you keep him) to wanting to adopt a chimpanzee instead of having kids (I will take my three boys over) "Charlie", yes I had already named him to going to medical school (too grueling and I still get faint at the sight of blood....a definite no no in the world of medicine)  But there's a whole list of a "grown up" variety that I have now and with luck at least some of these will happen! SO ready to see what they are? Lets go, and in no particular order they are.......(you know theres no way there is just one)!   1. Visit Nepal/The Himalayas. Now 10 yeas ago I would have said to make it base camp 2 on an Everest expedition. Anyone who knows me well knows I had an absolute obsession with all things Everest. Think I had read every book.seen every movie on the subject. Even called a few expedition companies to find out just how it all goes down (you prepare for such a quest about  year in advance in case you are wondering) But in the end between my claustrophobia, fear of heights, absolute inability to give up cheese, fresh pasta and cappuccino, innate desire for luxury and warmth and hating bad hair days..this is not to happen in this lifetime. However my fascination with the region, its people and culture continues and I would love to visit this beautiful sacred land........and watch the expeditioners from afar (from the comfort of my hotel room...hehe)

  2. Attend midnight mass at The Vatican on Christmas eve. This has been on my mind for a while now, hubby are you listening? I have it all planned out, we are there for the Christmas holidays sleep in late that day so we will be bright eyed to make midnight mass that night. We, along with thousands of fellow Romans head out for a wonderful late Italian feast/dinner then proceed to walk to the church. As we are on our way.....it starts snowing, a beautiful light magical snowfall. The song Ava Maria can be heard faintly in the distance(this part is key to my dream)........ahhhhh, can you visualize?

   3. To write a screenplay, again anyone who knows me well knows this about me. I have had several ideas for a great screenplay that would translate well to the Broadway stage. One play in particular that I am not letting go of and go back to every now and then....you heard it here first:) What a thrill it would be for someone to read it, love it and get excited about it and then want to produce it. It would be satisfying to at least finish it.....Can you imagine!!

  4. Visit Fiji, I have always visualized that this is as close to heaven as you can get. I mean look at that water, look at that remote tiny island.  I can so easily visualize hanging on a hammock all day, tropical drink on hand, plenty of reading material with not a care in the world. I think this might be the ultimate place to go and just "veg out" and leave the world (and worries) behind. Anyone I know who has been says its really as beautiful as it is in the pictures......just wish it wasn't so darn far!!

  5.To rent a house in Tuscany or Provence for a month during the summer, this is something I know I will do, I am determined. Better yet, maybe two weeks in Provence then 2 in Tuscany...that way I can come back here to my blog and tell you about both places! I would love to rent a lovely villa for an extended period of time, have a bicycle at my disposal, ideally said house would come with a garden (a healthy thriving fruit and vege bearing garden) where I could pick fruits and veges on a daily basis and plan our meals around the days pickings. I see myself pedaling into town, saying buongiorno or bon jour to the local townspeople, grabbing bread from the local bakery, visiting local wineries and educating myself about wine....all in the name of "blog research" of course:) Afternoons will be spent in my hammock reading the 30 books I have had on my reading list for the last year!

  6. To own my own farm. I have spoken of this often. I really would love to buy a farm one day before I am too old to really enjoy it, restore the farmhouse, have a small vineyard, a massive garden, let my husband fulfill his inner cowboy and ride and lasso to his hearts content while I garden, blog of course, and eventually open up my own little restaurant right on the farms property.This would be the perfect time to put the finishing touches on my screenplay too!  Visitors from near and far are welcome! To be continued........

  

 7. Spend a month driving across country. I have been to a lot of places. But there are still so many I want to visit and revisit. This particular trip would send me all directions. South I would want to visit some of the great southern cities, places like Charleston, Savannah, horse country in VA, Nashville, Atlanta, New Orleans, Austin, Dallas and Houston.....then I really want to drive and experience the great vast lands of Montana, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming..I want to feel like I am in The Horse Whisperer and if you want to throw in a horse whisperer like Robert Redford, I won't complain!! I want to explore the rugged coast of Seattle and head to wine country in California and drive the entire Pacific Coast Highway.....want to head to the windy city of Chicago and eat deep dish pizza and see if it's really "all that"  and end things with a bang in the northeast, visiting Nantucket, Martha s Vineyard, exploring Maine and New Hampshire and  ending this month long trip with a giant lobster dinner in a quaint Maine coastal town!! I have been to a lot of these places but my husband hasn't really gotten to visit the south and only a few places on the west coast...so think this is a trip we have to make happen. And some trips you cannot fully enjoy unless you drive them. 

 8. Open up a darling chic super cool cafe/bookstore/coffeehouse/shop. Yes it would be a lot of things to a lot of people. This is a place where cool sophisticated people in the know want to come, whether to have a light lunch or  a casual dinner with a  friend, pick up their morning coffee and a French or Italian newspaper (yes I will carry them in all languages), browse the books or select a beautiful item for their home or as a gift. It can all be done under one charming roof! I would have authors come in for readings and signings, local jazz bands come on jazz nights to perform, baronistas join us to give talks on coffees around the world and oenophiles would do sold out wine workshops. Sound like fun? I think so! In terms of look......Think the bakery from Its Complicated mixed in with a little of the Meg Ryans's books store in When Harry met Sally with a smidgeon of the great shop in Somethings gotta give (was the former Barefoot Contessa shop owned by our friend "Ina"). I would have black and white marble floors (honed and old looking) neat lighting, lots of antique mirrors, french music playing.....Get the picture? A lot of work....yes. Super cool to own it......even a bigger yes!

  There!! If I can even do half of these things I will be a happy girl. Nothing that is so extreme that its out of the question, right? Anything on my list something you too want to do? So lets see if all goes according to plan....... Nepal, Rome, Fiji, Provence and Tuscany will all be stamped on my passport while I will return home to my farmhouse to  put the finishing touches on my screenplay and get ready to open up my cafe/shop. Sounds like a good plan to me!  Your turn...whats on your list either reality or fantasy to do in your lifetime? As always, many many thanks for stopping to say hello and see what's happening over here....wishing you a wonderful day! Want to see more bloggers posts on this subject and their interpretations? Click here to visit Marsha the brainchild of BIO....and there will be a link to all the others at the bottom of her wonderful post!  

By Invitation Only....an old fashioned Christmas!

Before I begin, just want to mention again that I am guest posting over at TG Interiors. I was asked to speak  about my blog, how and why I got started, what's happened since and about my online store. I think you might find it interesting! I was honored to be asked to guest at one of my favorite blogs so please do visit us there, click here to visit!

H there! It is time for our monthly By Invitation Only which by now you know, is when a group of talented bloggers get together to post on an agreed upon theme and it is so much fun to see each others interpretation,  I must say it's an honor to be part of such a truly talented and accomplished group. This months theme was a lot of fun......to create a perfect fantasy Christmas day. Fun, fun fun!

I cannot help but think of going back to simpler, less chaotic times, a time when families sat down to talk and didn't rely on texting to announce dinner is ready or that your chatty teen needs to call it a night  and you can still hear her talking, a time when friends socialized by sitting down face to face over a cup of coffee not by email, a time when kids were out on the neighborhood streets just hanging out playing ball, breathing the fresh air, when moms beckoned to their families at 5 pm for  dinner which the whole family would sit down for! So a perfect Christmas? It didn't take long to figure that out.........

This  brings me to my fantasy..... an old fashioned country Christmas. And my fantasy guests? My family, that's all I want for this special Christmas!  I would love to transport my family back in time just a few decades when the only technology might have been a new cool TV or maybe a cordless phone and that's where I might be happy to call it quits on technology. In my "fantasy Christmas"  we are spending it for the first time in our newly bought and fully restored country farmhouse. And it will be nothing but quality family time.  So welcome to my old fashioned country Christmas..........

   As we drive into town, the distant glow of twinkling lights greet us........

  And look at that, the carolers are already strolling through town, singing our holiday favorites!

 I always cannot help but get giddy with excitement when I get my first glance of our beautiful country home, standing proudly on a hill looking majestic in the white pristine snow.....

Its all lit up, and our beautiful Christmas tree fully decorated greets us when we enter (as long as I am getting to make this up...my dear husband drove to Vermont the weekend before and chopped down the tree, then fully decorated it and got the house all ready...yea, I know fat chance:)  We are all exhausted and have a few busy days ahead so we all decide to retreat to our rooms and call it a night. A few shots of our country abode......

  Its light, casual, elegant but above all inviting (dogs included)!  I light the fire in my toasty bedroom and dream of homemade waffles in the morning with the fresh Vermont syrup I got just down the road on our way in.....

 The next morning we all wake up, happy to put on our cold weather clothing and decide to go ice skating....no better old fashioned activity than that, so we head to the town pond which is in full swing.... 

We walk through the winter wonderland to get to town for the festivities that await......

After an afternoon of skating and catching up with new and old friends alike.....our family returns later that afternoon to a homemade lunch while I have been busy putting the finishing touches on all the holiday decor.......

 

And a warm bowl of hearty chili is the perfect answer to those ravenous appetites...

  My motto while we are here is "leave your diets at the door", you have entered comfort food heaven people! 

We soon settle down for an late afternoon  of board games..oh yes we do love our board games. Christmas in the country is practically synonymous with board games. Fierce games of Monopoly and "every man for himself" Scrabble marathons are commonplace over here!  And of course we make time for some of our ol favorites.......

  After all this fun, I look at the clock and it's nearly 6:00 when we are finishing up a long Monopoly battle royale.....time for dinner!

  Looks like my mini chicken pot pies are ready to come out of the oven! Only prerequisite..you must come to the table in your pjs and robe. Comfort food calls for being comfortable!    No one objects to crawling into our cozy pjs, cashmere robes and socks..this is about as "high fashion" as things get around here and that's just how we like it!

   We are all wiped from a fun and full day, but not too tired to  grab one more bite of the fresh apple pie we picked up from the farm in town.....

We all go to bed dreaming of Christmas the next morning! We wake up to heavy falling snow..it could not be more perfect, it is truly a winter wonderland!

 

I hear a knock and sure enough, there's my trusty milk delivery...ahhh nothing like fresh milk in the bottle!

 But before I can get out of bed and touch my feet to the floor, my husband surprises me with coffee in bed, even with a small votive of flowers and a local paper!!!!! (remember this is a dream)

Before long we have all gathered around the tree and spend the next few hours, opening up each others gifts, reminiscing about past holidays and just lounging in our pjs while the snow continues to pile up outside.

  I start preparing our special Christmas dinner and all kinds of wonderful scents permeate the air......

Breakfast is casual and country but delicious (robes are welcome)!

After breakfast we spend a few hours in the kitchen baking delectable pretty Christmas cookies that look almost too good to eat! Almost being the key word :) 

After taking a long afternoon walk in the cold wintry air, we head back for our Christmas early dinner, as we are heading home, snow starts gently falling once again......

Before long we are sitting down to a wonderful country Christmas dinner, with a roaring fire as our backdrop, softly playing carols filling the air, all the while ensconced in our beautiful cozy home while the snow rages on outside.......

J. Hobick

After feasting on all of our tried and true holiday dinner staples until we literally cannot move a muscle...we all head into our own cozy nooks of the house to "recuperate", mine is my bedroom where a large roaring fire welcomes me and lulls me to a much anticipated snooze..........

 Of course the perfect ending to a perfect day is sneaking into the kitchen for a few yummy bites of leftovers.....

I take one last lingering look outside my window to take it all in and hope to keep a little of the magic with me as we head  back home tomorrow and out of the corner of my eye, you will never guess who I see........

Thank you for joining me on my fantasy Christmas day! Hope you enjoyed it....ho ho ho!

If you want to see other bloggers ideas of a perfect fantasy Christmas day click here. I assure you it will be well worth the time, as the talent is breathtaking! Thank you so much for joining me for my special fantasy Christmas, I had so much fun putting this together and would really love to be able to recreate this one year! Who knows.......maybe I will add it to my Christmas list:)


Don't forget to visit me at TG Interiors, click here.

By Invitation only- Thoughts on October

Good October morning to you....its time for an another installment of By Invitation Only where a group of bloggers get together and each serves up their own interpretation of that months said theme. This months is titled "Thoughts on October".....and what does this month mean to us? This was a fun one for me because A. I love fall  B. I do have a few fun things on my agenda,  C. Its my sons birthday month and D. the sleeveless shirt season is officially over..woo hoo!.......so we have some nice things that happen to fall in October.   I am sure it has a slightly different meaning for each of us but here is my own personal thoughts on the month.........

My oldest sons birthday is in October....hard to believe he is turning 25 this year! 

It means soccer games. Lots of them. Love it when I have a reason to throw on a toasty sweater or wrap. And love it when they win!

It means having an opportunity to wear and buy more beautiful soft cashmere scarves and sweaters...just love the "cozy season"

October is a license for lots of cooking  of delicious comfort foods. Nothing is off limits:) Including a decadent chicken pot pie.....

It is the perfect month for  carving out time for a one or two day road trip to admire and ogle over falls parade of colors, nothing beats fall foliage in the Northeast!

For some reason I get very into antique stores in the fall...so October is a time to explore and discover some new ones!

This particular October means road trip with one of my dearest friends in the whole world...we are heading to beautiful Newport, Rhode Island!

October is a month ripe for apple picking

October means adding a little fall decor throughout the house to welcome in the new season

It means Halloween and getting to see all the cute little kids in their adorable costumes!

October is all about gorgeous clothes and an excuse for a little retail therapy (hellooooo Ralph Lauren)

A surplus of apples...hopefully enough to be inspired to bake that homemade apple pie!

October is a time for quiet walks with Teddy taking in the magic of the season of fall

A great excuse to get a brand new fabulous handbag....like clockwork every fall, I indulge and splurge on a really great new bag.

And lastly October is a month like every other to be thankful for good health, the blessing of family and company of great friends....you included!
So that sums up October and what it means to me....a lot of goodness, and hopefully happy times ahead. How about you....what does October mean to you?  Anything happening this month that has you excited? Thanks for stopping in and hope you have a fabulous October day! Be sure to stop on over at the brainchild of By Invititation Only, Marsha over at Splenderosa to see other talented bloggers' takes on October. Click here to visit.