poor little pocahontas

my little indian princess 

(and mr prep) 

at the thanksgiving table

giving thanks, a little late

top five things i'm thankful for

(there could be so many more)

1) my family

although we are not all together for thanksgiving anymore

2) our health

thank goodness everyone is healthy

3) our happiness

though times have been stressful with opening 
our new store and the stresses of work, we are happy

4) muffy, of course

5) togetherness

four thanksgiving memories

1) arriving at grandma's late on wednesday night to join my entire family

the uncles, dad and grandpa would drink beer, the aunts, mom and grandma would be chopping and prepping for the next day and the cousins would play

2) sneaking into the box of wine with my auntie

3) watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade
4) making an entire thanksgiving feast for me and my boyfriend
from the Cooking Light magazine

three holiday treks i remember most
1) alabama to illinois

(to grandmother's house)

2) to chicago from southern illinois

(to work at the polo store on black friday)

3) to vermont from massachusetts
(to the inlaws)

two strange thanksgiving traditions

1) my father-in-law's oyster stew

2) my father's cheese salad

(made with cubed chedder, sweet pickles and mayonaise)

one thing i made this year

1) my favorite Marie Callender's Cherry Crunch Pie!

hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving!

they've set the date

what will you be doing friday, april 29th?

i declare an all-out royal-watching wedding day!

i'm actually thinking of taking a personal day, 

putting on a pot of tea, 

attempting to bake scones 

and having a little english tea party for muffy and me!

i remember watching my first royal wedding in 1981 

with my mother and grandmother.

this will definitely be an event to remember.

now, if only i could get a flight to london and stay with my sister-in-law....

faux-real fur

it's that time of year....

time for fur-trimmed collars

shearling coats

stoles and muffs

and fabulous, wintery accents

whether you have the real thing

(my grandmother gave me a beautiful mink collar years ago that i have no idea what to do with -- thinking collar and cuffs on a long black wool coat?)

or a faux

(which can be even more beautiful, and last a lot longer.

i have a great aunt's knee-length coat, my mother's retro '70s leopord with matching pillbox hat and a gorgeous hand-made silver fox)

enjoy the warmth and glamour of them all!

finally!

they're engaged!

congratulations kate & wills!

a salute

to all our veterans

those who fought, served and sacrificed 

much love, respect and honor!

 

(i love you, grandpa!)

happy birthday, dear lilly

you make my world a much brighter place!

knit gifts

with the first snow already falling in new england, 

today is the perfect time to show you some of 

the cutest knit hats and scarves!

vera bradley hat

vera bradley scarf

and a few fun ones from kate spade

                                       that's enough to make me want to 

go walking in a winter wonderland!

lbds of 2011

long, short, satin, sequins,
summer cotton, lightweight jersey,
wool, vintage lace,
spaghetti strap, tank, bateau neck, v-neck
i love my little black dresses!

if mr prep dared venture into the closet he would have a fit!

but i couldn't resist these few recently

for the office

ann taylor loft

for dress-up events
ann taylor loft

wore it to the women's success network event at the country club last night!

and for play
chicos

wore it pumpkin picking

and they all go with my favorite, fabulous fall find

tahari riding boots

fashion aside, i recently became involved with a very worthwhile organization that bears the name of my wardrobe must.

the Little Black Dress Society is a service organization committed to ending the abuse of women. they build awareness, raise funds, and positively impact the lives of women touched by abuse.


just last week i had the pleasure of speaking out against domestic violence on boston's No. 1 talk radio station.
i gave personal accounts and advocated for newly proposed guidelines to be passed for victims of domestic abuse.
(did you know in addition to breast cancer awareness month, october is also domestic violence awareness month?)


it's definitely something i feel passionate about 
and hope to become more involved with!

wishin' and hopin' and dreamin'

it's here!

the american girl wish book!

and it's basically been torn to shreds, since there are visions of dolls, accessories and furniture dancing around in muffy's head!

there are so many wishes in this book, but there is a rule in our house

(read: limit) 

for the number of items you may ask santa to deliver.

and that number is THREE

(hey, the baby Jesus got three gifts and that was good enough!)

i once remember asking for a cabbage patch kid, 

a monogrammed sweater and a highlighter pen.

(i think that says a lot about me, right?!?)

let the madness begin!

a busy october

hey!

i have missed being here.

i've missed blogging.

 i've missed reading and commenting....but i'm hoping to be back!

it was a very busy october for the prep family, starting with birthdays!

 mine

muffy's

and my sweet magnolia

then there was halloween
(she was goldilocks)

in between all of the parties, i have taken on a new business

at work that's keeping me on my toes.

and drumroll please (the BIG news i promised....)

mr prep and i are opening our first retail store!!

sorry to those of you who thought i could be prego! ha!

it's an office supply and stationery store right in the

midst of our downtown's main street and the dream of mr prep.

(it actually looks a lot different now since we're ready to open)

i'm in charge of stationery, cards and invitations so this is super fun for me!

do you have suggestions or ideas for me?

we have a couple vendors set up,

but i'd love more ideas....especially for the holidays!

thanks for all your love and support out there.

 i hope to be here more often again!