BEAUTIFUL HOLIDAY WINDOW DISPLAYS FOR 2010!! PART 2!

Larinas Center Milan, Italy-

Macys-  Their windows this year or based on the stories of "Miracle on 34th Street", and "Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus".

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nicole Farhi- Mostly fashion with different paper sculptures.

 

Saks Fifth Avenue- Alot of fashion and futuristic with lots of bubbles that are supposed to be like snow.

 

 

 

 

Tiffany's- Alot of white snowy paper buildings and the glitter of diamonds.

BEAUTIFUL HOLIDAY WINDOW DISPLAYS FOR 2010!!! PART 1!

   I've searched around and have finally found some fasinating pictures of different holiday windows around the country and a few from other parts of the world.  So without further ado here they are!!

Barneys- They did some kind of a celebrity chef/food theme this year.

 

 



Bergdorf Goodmans-They tend to do more of trendy fashion windows with animals.

 

 

 

 

Bloomingdales-  Kind of on the techno side with different television screens.

Henri Bendls- Alot of fashion also.

Lord and Taylor- A little fashion and a little holiday.

 

 

 

NATIONAL FOOD HOLIDAYS IN DECEMBER!!

   December is a time to celebrate our faith, be with our families, and enjoy great food.  But, there are more food holidays in this month than you might think.  There is a national food holiday for everyday of the year.  You'll not only find out which food holidays are in December, but you'll also find suggestions on how to celebrate each holiday.

• National Pie Day, Dec. 1st:  Pies are so easy to make, especially if you start out with store bought pie crusts.  Just make a quick filling, bake, and enjoy.
• National Fritters Day, Dec. 2nd:  Try a nice apple fritter for breakfast with a big cup of joe.
• National Apple Pie Day, Dec. 3rd:  Apple pies are so easy to make, but since you just made a homemade pie, why not pick up a Mrs. Smith's pie?  Give yourself the day off from having to make one from scratch, just bake, add a scoop of your favorite ice cream and serve.
• National Cookie Day, Dec. 4th:  This is definitely the time to bake cookies.  Get out  your favorite recipe and make a extra large batch for friends and family.
• National Sacher Torte Day, Dec. 5th:  Torte is a chocolate cake that was invented in the 1800.s.  You can find many recipes online or you can just bake a regular chocolate cake instead.
• Microwave Oven Day, Dec. 6th:  For this food holiday, do something fun and find a recipe for candy that can be made in the microwave (how about some one bowl fudge).
• National Cotton Candy Day, Dec. 7th:  This is another food holiday that can be really fun.  Spend the day at a local carnival, which happens to be one of the best places to find cotton candy.
• National Chocolate Brownie Day, Dec. 8th:  On this food holiday, do something easy yet decadent by jazzing up a store bough brownie mix.
• National Pastry Day, Dec. 9th:  Visit your favorite bakery on this food holiday and stock up on all of your favorite goodies.
• National Lager Day, Dec. 10th:  Head to a pub or tavern and enjoy a nice glass of your favorite lager.  What time is it???  It's beer thirty!!!
• National Noodle Ring Day, Dec. 11th:  There are several variations of this dish.  Just go online and find a recipe that sounds good to you.
• National Cocoa Day, Dec. 12th:  Is there anything better on a cold winter night than curling up with a blanket, your significant other and a couple mugs of hot cocoa?
• Ice Cream and Violins Day, Dec. 13th:  I'm not exactly sure how this food holiday started, but does anyone really need a reason to enjoy a big bowl of ice cream?
• National Bouillabaisse Day, Dec. 14th:  Enjoy a hearty fish stew on this food holiday.
• National Cupcake Day, Dec. 15th:  This is another great food holiday. Just make your favorite cupcakes, eat 3 or 4 their small!!
• National Chocolate Covered Anything Day, Dec. 16th:  Go all out on this food holiday and make your favorite candy, maybe some chocolate truffles, or even some chocolate covered strawberries!!
• National Maple Syrup Day, Dec. 17th:  Enjoy a stack of pancakes on this food holiday.
• National Roast Suckling Pig Day, Dec. 18th:  I'm not sure who actually has time to roast a whole pig, especially during the holiday season.  Just go out and get a canned ham or some pork chops instead.
• National Hard Candy Day, Dec. 19th:  It's almost Christmas, enjoy a nice candy cane!
• National Fried Shrimp Day, Dec. 20th:  Head out to your favorite seafood restaurant and enjoy some jumbo fried shrimp.
• National Hamburger Day, Dec. 21st:  On this food holiday, go all out and make gourmet hamburgers.  Add a little chili and cheddar cheese for a nice chili burger.
• National Date Nut Bread Day, Dec. 22nd:  Date nut bread is delicious served with some sweetened cream cheese.
• National Pfeffernuesse Day, Dec. 23rd:  These are a heavily spiced cookie.  If you wanted to, you could make gingerbread man cookies instead.
• National Eggnog Day, Dec. 24th:  On this food holiday, serve up a big mug of eggnog topped with whipped cream and cinnamon (I do have an article on my blog about it and also the recipe for some nonalcoholic eggnog).
• National Pumpkin Pie Day, Dec. 25th:  Enjoy a nice pumpkin pie with your holiday feast.
• National Candy Cane Day, Dec. 26th:  After all of the Christmas activities are done, sit back and enjoy a nice candy cane (maybe make some hot cocoa and use the candy cane as a stir stick).
• National Fruit Cake Day, Dec. 27th:  If you like fruit cake, enjoy a nice slice.  If not, make a cake that you enjoy eating.
• National Chocolate Candy Day, Dec. 28th:  Go to your local big box store or even a See's Candy store and get yourself a box of your favorite nuts and chews.
• Pepper Pot Day, Dec. 29th:  This is a Jamaican soup and the recipe can be found online.  This is a great recipe to make if you're tired of the cold weather.
• National Bicarbonate of Soda Day, Dec. 30th:  Put your baking soda to use and make some delicious baked goods.
• National Champagne Day, Dec. 31st: Ring in the New Year with a glass of bubbly, or sparkling cider if you don't drink alcohol.

WEIRD HOLIDAYS TO CELEBRATE IN DECEMBER!!!

   When people hear the word December, they think of Christmas, or Hanukkah....but many people are unaware that for the entire month there is a holiday to celebrate each and every day.  These holidays are not known by most average Joe's, so I figured I would take the time to share these little known holidays with you.

• Dec. 1st, Eat A Red Apple Day-  How about a red apple pie?  Mmmmm, sounds good to me.
• Dec. 3rd, National Roof Over Your Head Day- Most Americans are very thankful for having a roof over their heads.
• Dec. 4th, National Wear Brown Shoes Day- No black, no white, just plain old brown shoes, please!
• Dec. 6th, Mitten Tree Day-  This is actually a cute holiday to celebrate in schools.  All you have to do is set up a fake tree, and have children bring mittens (if you can find any that own them) to hang from the tree.
• Dec. 8th, Take it in the Ear Day- Have your son throw a baseball at your head and see if anything rings afterwards.
• Dec. 10th, Festival For The Souls of Dead Whales.  On this day we will take a moment of silence and play some whale moaning songs.
• Dec. 12th, National Ding-a-Ling Day.  This is all they could come up with.  I'd like to know the ding-a-ling who thought this one up!
• Dec. 19th, National Oatmeal Muffin Day.  Wake up and treat yourself to a healthy snack. Good for your health and good for your colon!
• Dec. 20th, National Games Day- Gather around the living room coffee table with the family and get out one of your favorite board games.  In this day and age, game nights have become a thing of the past.
• Dec. 21st, Look At The Bright Side Day and Flashlight Day- Seems like this day will be filled with brightness and light, Yaayy!!!
• Dec. 23rd, Roots Day- Trace your family roots.  See if you can find any skeletons in some relatives past closet.
• Dec. 26th, National Whiners Day- Alot of you are probably thinking to yourself..."I don't wanna do this day"!  Quit your whining and get busay!!!
• Dec. 29th, National Card Day- Go out and buy a deck of them or send someone a belated Christmas one!
• Dec. 30th, Festival Of Enormous Changes At The Last Minute.  I'm not sure what this day is, but yeah, why not change something at the last minute today?  Perhaps your clothes, after you've already gotten dressed.  Oh, I've changed my mind again!  Maybe I'll come up with something later.
• Dec. 31st, Unlucky Day- I guess they expect us to embrace our unlucky selves today.  Celebrate your bad luck and maybe it won't last all day!

The Double Life of Veronique

Only because it's one of my favorite movies, exploring life's mysteries. I get a different feeling each time I watch it and the cinematography (another kind of photography :)) is lovely.

(Images via Bill's Movie Emporium, Wonders in the Dark, the rasx context(#3,5) and the moviedb.)