The Host with the Most: Our Dear Mr. Toast!

Dear Mr. Toast, your Christmas Tea certainly has brought the spirit of Christmas to each of us and right on time! As a thank you gift, please accept this little treasure from one my recent time travels back to London, 1843. This is a first edition of A Christmas Carol. I absolutely must read this every year and perhaps see a play or a film version as well. If I were one of the Book People in Fahrenheit 451....I would be A Christmas Carol.

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year!
I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.
The Spirits of all three shall strive within me.

I will not shut out the lessons that they teach"

Tea in Aspen? What to wear? Oleana, of course!

Oleana Ensemble #1

Firelight's Choice

Oleana Ensemble #2 - I love the touch of lace and the headband with taffeta!

This number is mine! I will be wearing this to

Mr. Toast's First Annual Christmas Tea

(click on link in my siderbar)

on Tuesday December 1st!

The fact that I have lived in Alabama all of my life does not change that I absolutely love winter and winter clothes! Maybe it is because I was born on a frosty morn in January. So with this opportunity to visit Aspen, Colorado, I knew exactly what I wanted to wear!

I have always admired the gorgeous Oleana of Norway outfits which feature beautifully designed sweaters, wristlets, headbands, ruffled taffeta collars, and taffeta skirts.

If you are interested in learning more, click on the title of this post!

Ladies, for those of you who have not had time to shop, just tell me which of the following ensembles you would like, and I will put your name under the photo! Now which one are you wearing to tea? I don't mind if some of you choose the same one, or if someone wants to wear the one I have chosen! The more, the merrier ....and more glamorous! Trust me, I had a hard time deciding, but the tiny ruffle of lace around the neck of this sweater won me over. The skirts are long tea length. They look beautiful with suede or velvet slippers or even dressy boots.

Also, as you can see, they make the wearer look so very young and beautiful--just an added little bit of Norwegian Magic! I really would love to have a winter closet full of these clothes!

Oleana Ensemble #3

Oleana Ensemble #4

Oleana Ensemble #5


Oleana Ensemble #6


**************************************************
Thank you, Mr. Toast, for hosting this much anticipated flight of fancy! I am in much need of it and know it will become a fabulous tradition!

It is indeed, my cup of tea!
***********************************

The Light Fantastic

I rolled into Maycomb this evening just in time to catch the spirit of Gregory Peck hovering around the old Monroe County Court House. The American Film Institute has recently voted his portrayal of Atticus Finch as the number one hero of 20th century films.

No wonder he is so fond of this guy!

Not surprisingly, he was reading over To Kill a Mockingbird and remembering his dear friend. He had been expecting me he said. He pointed me down the street just a few blocks from the court house to the front porch where I would find Atticus in his rocking chair. As I walked away, I heard him say softly, "Make sure he has a wonderful time, and give your hostess my best regards!"

The court house is actually a museum...a perfect haunt for the ghostly likes of Mr. Peck.

"Good evening m'am. May I help you find someone?"

"A ball....at Willow Manor? I had a strange dream about that....Gregory Peck said I should get out of Maycomb for just once......branch out......live a little.......have a ball. Hmmm?

Well, let me see if my tux still fits."

I showed him my dress...just to prove I was not too over the top...just a little understated elegance....a little jewelry, my favorite garnet with gold earrings and and matching delicate bangle!

Suede dancing slippers. Hair pulled back in a French braid. Just the faintest hint of Shalimar...

I do love my slippers!

" A little Peck on the cheek for taking me to the ball, and then I'll change"

"Will this do? Not bad for a little ol' lawyer from Alabama?"

"Perfect, just perfect, Atticus!"

And we are off, tripping the light fantastic on the road to Willow's!

We'll be arriving any moment!

On our way to the ball!

Many thanks to the Colonel and fellow car guys for polishing up my 1930 Phantom Rolls-Royce and priming the engine for the grand tour to collect my escort from the small Alabama town where he is quietly living despite his great fame. Yes, after having channeled the spirit of his dear friend and alter ego, the most distinguished Gregory Peck, I have successfully coaxed Mr. Atticus Finch from the town of Maycomb to join me at this year's Willow Manor Ball. Miss Harper Lee has graciously agreed to watch over the children, Jem & Scout, with the help of Boo Radley, who loves the little tykes as we learned from the poignant ending of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. You may recall, that Atticus, a widower, devoted all of is time to practicing law, to justice, and to his children. I just decided it is high time that this man had a night out! The Mocking bird is on the wing, and we are on the road!!!

Looking for that certain dress...

Up early for a dash to New York City and the dress salon at Lord & Taylor. I explained to the sales lady that I was looking for a dress for a very special ball....that I loved the English country house look....
She brought out this one of a kind....now I like old fashioned things.....but this was a little too far back in the Way Back Machine ----even for me! Lady Macbeth I am not. Let's try something a little more up to date.

Now this was certainly ball worthy, but way too modern for me,
and looks more like a wedding gown. Next....

This one was almost as lovely as the model, but certainly not for right me.

Then, of all people at Tavern on the Green (I had to break for lunch) there was Charlotte Moss.... well I could not very well ask for her dress.....but I would love to know how to find her designer.....she has some gorgeous taffeta evening skirts I have seen in some magazines paired with very femine white blouses.

Then I passed a shop specializing in vintage clothes.....and I was getting closer ....this 1930's beauty was so elegant...so Katharine Hepburn......but the color was all wrong for me.



Naturally I wanted to check out jewelry at Tiffany's...surely I could find just the dress to crown with the tiara and matching diamond necklace and earrings!


Then I remembered a dress I had seen in one of Sargent's paintings....a Mrs. Chapman I believe......not time to copy it .....but wait........it reminds of something I had seen in England once upon a time......so across the Pond!

Once in London, I make my way north to the walled city of York. To my great joy and and surprise, I find my dear old friends still in business (I call this Willow Magic)... and there in the window...dresses, dresses, and dresses galore in the style I love.....and yes there is velvet! I am just a velvet kind of girl! I did spend more time than the 15 minutes I had spent there the first time I visited. Once inside, I meet owner and designer Angela Holmes sent by the angels to rescue the total lack of imagination and romance in current fashions. She walks to a collection of velvets...and the rest-- as they say--is history. At last, I have the perfect gown for the ball!

Once back home....I must make plans to call on a very famous and much admired Southern gentleman. Though he has been honored and celebrated, he has never made the Most Eligible Bachelor's List, or has even been on a date as far as I know. I am determined that he will be my escort...I think he may be sort of shy. I will ask a close friend of his...and get a few tips.

My Very First Meme!

Well, here we go! I saw this one Saturday at Willow's and thought I would give it a whirl!

What is your current obsession?

Learning to draw portraits & learning to use the Nikon digital properly...

Which item from your closet are you wearing most often?
Stegmann felt clogs...soft and woolly

What's for dinner?

Willow's New Millennium Salmon Patties (see her November 8, 2008 post)

I am planning to serve them Friday!

Last thing you bought?

Not counting groceries....
A pair of unusual alarm clocks for the Colonel and me. I found these on the way to seeking a clock for this site. The company is called VOCO - Clocks that talk ....a lot! They make a clock named Jeeves in a Box! (Steven Fry is the voice of course). They are named Good Morning Madam & Good Morning Sir! The, phrases are amazing! And seemingly endless! And hilarious! "Good morning Sir. Sorry to disturb you , but it appears to be morning. I know, very inconvenient. Something to do with the rotation of the earth, I believe."

What are you listening to?

Right now? Two ticking clocks! Oh, music? Abby Newton/cello Castles, Kirks, & Caves: Scottish Music of the 18th Century

Say something to the person who tagged you.

Willow, has the Center for Disease Control learned about this rampant spread of blog-o-monia resulting in the transmutation of PMS to PSS: permanently smiling syndrome?

Reading right now? P. G. Wodehouse

Four words to describe yourself:
I was going to say.....loyal, gregarious, inquisitive.....

but these last four words are most accurate: a real gone cookie!!

Guilty pleasure:

Doing what I WANT TO DO.....not what needs doing.....

Favorite vacation spot?

In the U.S. Seaside, Florida on the Gulf Coast (The Truman Show was filmed there).
In England.....the countryside....Yorkshire & City of Oxford

What is your favorite stringed instrument?

Cello

First spring thing?

Azaleas! A drive through Callaway Gardens, Georgia (Click on the link under Favorite Haunts.)

Best thing you ate or drank lately?

Small rack of lamb with mushrooms & sauteed spinach at The Basil Leaf in LaGrange, Georgia (last Friday)

Guenoc Victorian Claret....very recently ....I mean very

What spring flower are you most eager to see?

Native mountain laurel

Care to share some wisdom?

"Good manners are always in style." my mother

THE RULES:

Answer questions on your blog.

Drop one question, then add a new one.

If you are reading this, you are tagged!

(unless of course you are Willow or a follower thereof.....)

Does that make you a Willower?

I am adding a rule: Enjoy!!!