If Only I Could Cook!

A part of my sales & marketing job includes doing promotional cooking segments on the local television morning news programs. This usually entails getting up very early in the morning, schlepping various ingredients and accoutrements to a television studio, and finally whipping something up live on the air while making chatty small talk with a weatherman. I can't say I enjoy it and am always extremely relieved when it is over. I never tell anyone (not even my mother) that "I'm going to be on TV" because I'm hoping no one I know recognizes me, especially with the rear view mirror make-up job I'm usually wearing.

All this aside, I've come to depend on the ever reliable Crab Cake recipe (below). It's got enough ingredients to look like I'm actually cooking something. I can throw it all into one bowl. And it cooks up after a few minutes in a pan, just in time for the perky morning anchor to say, "Yum!" Thought I'd share it with all of you and who knows...if I learn to cook...

CRAB CAKES

1 lb. Jumbo Lump Crabmeat

1 Cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs

1 Tbsp. Parsley

2 Tbsp. Mayonnaise

1 tsp. Dijon Mustard

1 Whole Egg, beaten

1/2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1/4 tsp. Tabasco Sauce

Butter for Pan

Directions: Drain crabmeat of all excess liquid and place in a bowl. Add breadcrumbs and toss to distribute evenly. Add remaining ingredients to crabmeat mixture. Mix gently to combine all ingredients. Divide evenly into six portions and form into balls. Flatten slightly to 1” thick - but do not make perfectly flat. Place portioned crab cakes on a non-stick saute pan, slightly oiled with butter. Cook on first side approx. 3 minutes on medium heat, flip and finish cooking until outside is a golden brown. Place crab cakes on plate & garnish with lemon & tartar sauce. Enjoy!

Coventry Farmer's Market Goes To The Dogs

It has become my Sunday ritual to head over to the Coventry Farmer's Market at the Nathan Hale Homestead in Coventry, Connecticut. It can't be beat for fresh produce, baked goods, farm grown herbs and flowers - not to mention culinary delights. On a recent gorgeous Sunday afternoon, Robin, (aka Bird-in-the-Hand) and I headed over to the market, only to find it overrun with dogs! Apparently, the market was celebrating our canine friends on this particular day and there were a multitude of doggy themed items to be had. Our favorite! - the dog collars designed and made by Heather Bruggeman of Beauty That Moves. They were so gorgeous in fact that Robin had trouble choosing which one to purchase as a gift for her neighbor's dog Boddington. She ended up choosing the third from the left - the one I liked, as I'm a pushy friend ;-) Either way, I am sure Boddington is quite pleased!

Heather at the Market

Gorgeous fabrics everywhere!

Fellow Market Artiste Winter Caplanson of Sleepy Moon Soaps


Gorgeous organic dyes used at Too...Cute Fiber Farm


There are many reasons to come to the market:
Robin comes for the flowers...

My girls love the Italian ice...

The husband has a Keifer's Kettle Korn addiction...

And me...I'll be found at the Howard Valley Fudge Company!

You Know What She's Thinkin'...

"I've got a fabulous bag named after me and you don't!"

Well now we can have it all too! While browsing INVITE ME DO's blog this morning I came across this affordable Hermes Bag. Now I am personally NOT a girly-girl, obsessed with my accessories, but I do have friends that are - you know who you are (Bird-In-The-Hand). For some, the sun rises and sets on their shoe and bag collection, with entire closets being designed around them. I'm probably just a little bitter on the subject, what with my size 11 feet and all. I don't come across fabulous shoes that big very often. And I do like hand bags but am not organized enough to keep transferring my stuff from one to the other. But for the rest of you, just check out the Hermes website and click on the bag thumbnail - there's lot of fun to be had there!




Had to include this photo, it's my favorite!

Not sure who this "wannabe" is but she's got the bag!

Anne Johnston Albert Relaunches "Martin"

(Anne Johnston Albert in Harper's Bazaar)

Over the years I have lived many lives, each chapter totally different than the one that came before. People have come and gone from my life, not making them any less valuable or dear to my heart, but what comes with the ebb and flow of a life that has traveled down long and winding road. (Sounds like a bad James Taylor song.) I have recently reconnected with an old friend of mine - Anne Johnston (now Albert). We met as models in Milan, Italy - she just 17 and me not much older, although I thought I was so mature at the time. We both spent many years in Europe but both ended up in New York City, eventually living on opposite sides of Thompson Street in Greenwich Village. She was a wonderful friend in many ways, understanding what it was to live the life of a model, not all of it being particularly glamorous. But the thing that stuck with me - long after we had lost touch - was a period of six weeks in 1991. Anne was staying with me while in between apartments. I had just turned 30, retired from modeling, and been left by my husband - who had left a post-it note on my the kitchen table and gotten on a plane for London. (Long story I'm reserving for my life as a stand-up comic.) Anne was there for me - sharing my studio apartment, encouraging me to get out of bed in the morning and forcing me to push in my pull-out couch that I had been laying in more or less for weeks. She included me in her social life, letting me be third wheel while on dates with her boyfriend, encouraged me to eat three meals a day and put me on the path to healing. At the time I felt like she had saved my life. So enough about me...!
Several years ago before her daughters were born, Anne launched a clothing line named "Martin" (after her husband) out of a tiny store front in the East Village. She was the new trendy designer for the likes of director Sofia Coppola, model Gisele Bundchen and actress Sarah Jessica Parker. Her clothes were shown in Harpers Bazaar, Elle Magazine and British Vogue. A few years ago Anne and her husband decided to leave the big city to raise their two daughters in the country. Life with young children took precedent over trying to run a fashion business. Meanwhile, I had been searching for Anne - googling her name to death, trying to track down anyone who might know her whereabouts, when I emailed an old childhood friend of Anne's who is still in the New York fashion industry as editor at Lucky Magazine. Within a day I had a message from Anne in my inbox! We have plans to get together as we are now both living in the country, just an hour apart! Additionally, Anne is relaunching her own cottage industry, Martin from her country home. The fashion savvy of Manhattan can now breathe a sigh of relief...and me too, as little pieces of my life come full circle.

Model Gisele Bundchen in British Vogue wearing Martin

Gisele & Sofia Coppola in Martin

A favorite for Sarah Jessica Parker - US Magazine

Martin showing it's East Village Roots


Martin Redux!


Elle Magazine:"I make what I feel like wearing; clothes that look special and make you feel sexy, no matter what the trends are" - Anne

Tolland Green House Tour - 200 years of Architecture

Tolland Inn on Tolland Green

8am. Camera in one hand - coffee in the other. I am up early before work so I can take part in Julia's Hooked on House Tours Blog Party. I have always been an Antique House enthusiast, having lived in an 1855 colonial for many years. Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to see the interiors of these architectural beauties but several of the owners did come out to say hello. This is Tolland Green, in Tolland, CT. I live about a mile North and never tire of driving through this historic piece of history on my way home every day. The architecture spans two hundred years with one gorgeous home following another on a long expanse of green. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
P.S. The green Craftsman Style home below will soon be on the market I'm told - 5 bedrooms, 5 fireplaces - it's a beauty!

Primitive 1700s Saltbox Cape


The Candy Store

Hip Roof Colonial, Federal, Early 1900s Bungalow, Victorian

Colonial Farmhouse with Porch

Hicks-Stearns Family Museum


1800s Italianate House with Terrace

Gothic Dutch Colonial with Porch

Old Maple Tree on Tolland Green

Arts & Crafts Style Home


Arts Center, Town Hall, Old County Jail & Museum


Queen Anne Colonial with Porch

Saltbox, 1800s Colonial, 1700s Dutch Colonial, 1800s Colonial


Federal Colonial & Church


Quarry Stone Sidewalks

Meeting Hall, Church Steeple

Antique Cape & Garden


For additional House Tours, stop by Hooked on House Tour Headquarters!

Wedding In The Country!

One of my incarnations was that of a Wedding Planner. Unfortunately, not as glamorous as Jennifer Lopez in the film of the same name - I've never walked around with a head set in constant communication with my staff, and instead was more likely to be screaming directions from across the room. It's not an easy job, delivering a perfect day after spending gobs of money and planning every excruciating detail for a year prior. Almost tortuous, really. Needless to say I planned my own wedding last summer in three weeks flat, via email. Think about it - it's only dinner. Today I am posting about one of my favorite Connecticut Wedding facilities - The Lord Thompson Manor and it's sister property The Cottage House in Thompson, CT. I worked there years ago when I was a young mother, my first exposure to the wedding industry. It is owned by the talented husband and wife team, Andrew & Jackie Silverton, who were wonderful to me in the years I worked for them. Together they have built their business into one of the finest wedding venues in the Northeast.
So if you're looking to get hitched and planning a wedding reception - check it out! I think the photos speak for themselves...
The Lord Thompson Manor





Sister Property - The Cottage House

Watch Hill, Rhode Island

Ocean House, Watch Hill by Alexander Farnham

Ah! Summer at the beach! Last Saturday we crammed the kids in the car and headed for Watch Hill, Rhode Island - a little over an hours drive. You know how kids are - they all get along for about 3/4 of the trip and then it turns ugly ;-) But soon we arrived - no blood had been shed. We paid our $20 for parking - OUCH! and headed for the dunes, and the beautiful sands of the beach at Watch Hill.
THIS is what summer in New England is all about!

My girl's walking through the dunes to the beach.

How's this for a summer house?


Or this one!


Olympia Tea Room - Carousel - Beach - Dunes


Watch Hill Light House

Sunset, Watch Hill

Restaurant Design!

Many of you out there are into home design but I wonder what your thoughts are when it comes to restaurant interiors. A friend of mine, Chef Jesus Seoane, has just taken over the kitchen at this fabulous new restaurant, Barça, in Hartford, Connecticut. It's located in a renovated factory space turned design center with residential loft apartments that are absolutely gorgeous. (I know, I've had the tour!) Let's face it, Hartford is not a bustling metropolis à la New York, San Fran, or even Baltimore, (BTW, I love Baltimore), and restaurant design is usually limited to small store front type spaces. Additionally, Hartford has it's share of urban issues and launching any business here, especially a restaurant, is a leap of faith. Fortunately, developer Carlos Mouta, an area real estate mogul/restaurateur has hedged his bets on Hartford! Did I mention the food is fab!

Chef Jesus Seoane


Paella for one - yum!

Paris - La Ville-lumière!

It's been one year since I married my wonderful husband and I can't help but think back on our honeymoon in Paris - the City of Light, the city of love. We rented an apartment online with Isabelle's Apartments and chose a place in the 5th arrondissement near La Sorbonne University called "Moliere". In the month of July the sun is up until 10pm. We walked the streets, sat in cafes, drank wine and truly enjoyed ourselves. I spent three years in Paris in my 20s and the city was as magical as I remembered it. Even my French returned to me and seemed to float effortlessly from my lips - especially after a glass or two of Bordeaux!


"Moliere" Apartment near the Sorbonne University

Cape Cod Vacation!

Three weeks and counting...until my one week of rest & relaxation...because as the world knows, we Americans love to work practically every week of the year! After all, we might miss something, lose something...might not be productive, competitive...make enough of the almighty $$ dollar! This is where I go looking for a cocktail at about five minutes past noon.
I am obviously in dire need of my Cape Cod vacation. We have rented a lovely, house in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, on the edge of a beautiful marsh, just five minutes from the quaint, old New England town center and more importantly, the beach. My husband, my three daughters, one of their girlfriends and I, are heading to the Cape this July to spend a glorious week of sun and fun. (I know what you're thinking, all that estrogen, lucky guy!)
The house is an 1849 Greek Revival Cape built by Captain "Scotto" Foster which was later purchased in 1912 by American Impressionist Painter, Lillian Meeser. She is the grandmother of the present owner and in the house still hang some of her paintings. Needless to say I can't wait to go. I don't know how America will carry on without me!

Lillian Meeser Painting of the Cape

Our Wellfleet House





The Marsh

Photos of the Cape by Steve Pinker

To Market, To Market, To Buy A Fat Pig...

We were off to the Coventry Farmer's Market at the Nathan Hale Homestead this afternoon - my husband, two younger daughters and I - in search of fresh vegetables and whatever other delectables we might come across. (Howard Valley Fudge Company is always there with homemade fudge in lots of different flavors!) We were running late and racing an arriving thunderstorm - by the time we got there, it had rained already and most of the vendors had packed up. No worries though - we wandered around, heading back to the old barn where there is a little shop that sells penny candy.


We were not ten minutes in the barn, my girls having purchased their candy - when we found ourselves leaving with more than we had bargained. A conspiracy between the kindly woman who ran the shop, my two enthusiastic daughters, and my husband who I will now refer to as "Softy". No, no fruits or vegetables, nor yummy fudge but "Haley" named after the homestead. An abandoned kitty the staff had adopted has found a new home.

An hour after arrival, just snug as a bug...

Clapton Live!

Had a date with my husband last night and saw Eric Clapton live at the Mohegan Sun Casino. The man once referred to as "God" (don't mean to offend anyone here) played for two and a half hours and I must admit he and his band were incredible. I have also recently read his biography and in between, above and around all the sex and drugs, is the rock and roll. He is a man obsessed with music and hearing him play for the first time just blew me away. He is, the real deal.

(Clapton 1970s)

(With Patty Boyd Harrison Clapton)

Peonies are in Bloom!

Got a fab new Sony Digital camera for my birthday from my wonderful husband. The first thing I snapped were these 10 inch peonies growing in my garden. Can't take the credit for them, the previous home owner did the planting. The hubby says all my flowers having sex is wreaking havoc with his allergies!

Career Change!

I've been putting together a travel website of Connecticut and New England as a sort of first step in exploring the possibility of generating income online. ANYWAY...in researching my lovely home state I came across a local story of the ultimate career change.
Dolores Hart, who was the recipient of Elvis' first on-screen kiss in the 1957 film Loving You, and went on to star in the 1960 cult classic, Where The Boys Are, made the ultimate career change when she left Hollywood behind to become a nun at the tender age of 25. She joined the Benedictine Abbey of Regina Laudis, in the rolling hills of Bethlehem, Connecticut.
Here, in a 1961 interview, we can perhaps see evidence of her future inclinations when the subject turns to men and marriage:
"Every man," she said good humoredly, albeit with conviction obviously born of experience, "is guilty until proven innocent." She had men neatly pigeon-holed in two classifications—those who want to tarry and those who want to marry. Nor did she lack the sophistication to recognize that the two roles were easily interchangeable. " [A] girl has to be on guard until she gets married. She must keep a wary eye on the situation. Now when I'm tempted to relax and have a good time, I try to think of how the man may react—what he may have in mind."