The Rose Parade And Me

1975.

Miss MyHomeTown, USA

and our city float.

My Rose Parade day began New Year's Eve at 7 PM for preliminary judging. I arrived at the float building tent in full costume that had been rented from The Western Costume Co. in Hollywood. I took my place on top of the float and depicted the scene of the artist's rendering.

On Dec. 26th the float decorating had begun. For the past 4 years I had been a volunteer with my church group and spent the week between holidays from sun up to midnight freezing while gluing on flowers and seeds on award winning floats. They would announce over the PA system when a float was complete. It was always such a relief to finish early in the evening since the floats had to be driven over to Pasadena by a certain time. The announcements started to come in while I was there and I could understand the volunteers' excitement and satisfaction.

3 AM was the final judging on Orange Grove Blvd. where the floats were lined up in order. This was when the judges decided which floats would be given coveted awards whose banners would proceed the float along the lengthy 2 1/2 hour parade route.

New Year's Eve in Pasadena is usually cold. It was so cold in the pre-dawn that I wore jeans under my dress with oxford shoes. I don't think Revolution era ladies did that in 1776.

Step off was at 8 AM!

My float broke down just past the corner of Orange Grove and Colorado where all the television cameras were set up. At least I made it that far.

I shared the float with 4 Marines. One of the Marines lifted me off the float and I rode in the tow truck for awhile then they decided to put me back on the float while we were being towed.
Ooh - rah!

The day was made very special for me by my favorite uncle and his family who bought tickets in the grandstands. They stood up and waved as I floated by. They came all the way from Las Vegas just to see me do this. It was so fun to see someone I knew.

My boyfriend at the time waited for me at the end of the parade. He didn't know what side of the street I was on so he kept crossing until a police officer told him not to do it again. When I passed by on the right, he was on the left. He took me home in his little MGBGT ~ hoop skirt and all.

When I arrived back home in the early afternoon I was so tired I could hardly stand for a picture by our Meyer lemon tree.

We watched all the re-runs we could find over the next day or two to hear my name which was broadcast worldwide.

It was my 15 seconds of fame and a memory I'll have forever.

Wishing all my wonderful blog friends a very happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year that is coming up roses! 

Uh-Oh.

Seems I messed up my blog with a temporary background change. My three columns are gone! My blog crush list is gone! Ugh. I am claustrophobic at 2 columns although I like reading other blogs at 2 columns but mine seems so squished. I have been to every help site to add my 3 columns back or to widen the existing 2 columns but there doesn't seem to be any easy fool proof answer. My upper lip begins to sweat when I have to edit an Html and I flash back to Miss Moxly's 3rd class when I had to solve a word problem standing up in front of the class.

Does anyone have any advice that will not necessitate therapy? Thanks. :)

UPDATE: I am so confused.

...And On The Seventh Day...

Today is my crash day.

Yesterday would have been but an English breakfast with kippers awaited us in Pasadena with my brother's family and their new in-law additions from the marital acquisitions this past summer. It is nice having 2 permanent additions to the Mac clan.

A lovely sight for our family.

The day after Christmas was delightful, the kippers, even the water retention from the sodium overload and the riveting game of Cranium. Nothing like seeing my eldest very reserved engineer son roll on the ground finding his inner caramel apple or my eldest very reserved pharmacist brother go after our car after finding out his wife had given us contraband kippers at our departure. Both animations were priceless.

Christmas Eve had us in the kitchen.
We make our traditional cinnamon roll late at night and let it rise in the frig overnight. For the past couple of years this is something the boys have done. Hooray!


It can be very serious business. :)


On Christmas day, naps came after breakfast and seeing what Santa brought. Before family arrived for the second round I finished my preparations for the Beef Wellington with Green Peppercorn Sauce where I decorated the top of the puff pastry in holly leaf and berry cut-outs. I made two roasts and doubled the sauce. It came out incredibly delicious. The sauce is to die for on it's own and could go with any beef dish. Do give it a try, perhaps for New Year's? It takes a very long time to reduce twice so next time I would do this a day or two ahead.

Christmas Day.
Let the party begin!

The Ladies of Christmas with their Santa Hat 'Naughty but oh-so-Nice' martinis. The ladies are donning their new red feather boas courtesy of moi. I have yet to vacuum from the shedding!
I think this can wait another day.

I highly recommend a couple games of Pictionary after the martinis. My SIL was in rare form. I am convinced laughing should be the new ab exercise. We used a large easel pad of dry-erase sheets that I found at Staples. Since I don't have an easel I propped it up on a shelf and it worked fine.

Such are the highlights at the PM&P household.

Hopefully today, I will go see my Nancy Myers chick flick that I have been anxiously anticipating, drink plenty of water and put away the Waterford and Rose Point silver.
I have no delusions of high energy or of equally loafty aspirations.

It'll be tough to get back to semi-normal life this week. There is work, the decision of whether to clean up and put all of the holidays away while the boys are still here to help or let them leave with the glow of the lights still twinkling in the rear view mirror as we head respectively to the train station and airport.

I can't help to feel the pending slide into empty nestdom again. It begins on the 2nd and concludes on the 4th. Mr. P.M. and I have said many times over the last week how wonderful it has been with the boys home. There have been more dirty dishes that don't find their way into the dish washer. The washing machine has been eerily silent although I predict will go into high gear come the 1st, and trips to the grocery store have been frequent whereupon gallons of milk once again find their place in the frig. It has been wonderful, abundant in laughter, hugs and verbal 'I love yous.' What more could a mother ask Santa for?

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas too! :)

Hot "Hoochy" Coffee

This is the best recipe for a special occasion coffee to serve either with dessert or in place of. I have been making this delicious concoction for years. It's very simple and parts can be mixed and made ahead of time.

Then just add coffee and top with whipped cream and the garnish of your choice and serve.
Makes 2 servings.

Almond Mocha Coffee
1/4 c. amaretto
3 T. Kahlua or other *coffee-flavored liqueur
1/4 c. plus 2 T. half & half, scalded
1 T. cocoa
1 c. strong hot coffee, divided
1/4 C. whipping cream, whipped
1 T. sliced almond toasted or chocolate shavings or chocolate jimmies

Combine liqueurs and pour 3 1/2 T. into each of the 2 mugs.

Combine 2 T. half & half and cocoa, stirring until smooth. Stir in remaining half & half. Divide mixture evenly between mugs. Add 1/2 c. coffee to each and top with whipped cream and choice of garnish.

* I have recently discovered Starbucks Coffee Liqueur and it is unbelievable. If you do venture out and find it in a gift set with the mug, it is at the same price as without. The mug is now my favorite but I have been told it is returning to college with son2. We'll see about that one!

Wishing all my blogging friends a wonderful Christmas filled with a warmth of love and peace.

December Cocktail(s) Of The Month

This month's cocktail is all about this...

No, not my attempt of an artsy shot by putting my antique duck decoy in our evergreen pear tree pretending it's a partridge but

"The Santa Hat."

This is the cocktail we are going to make.

The cocktail needs to be a deep pink or red.

I have chosen 3.
2 rum based and 1 vodka based.
"Oh, yum!"

Let's make the Santa's Hat part first since it can be made days ahead.

To make 'the hat' ~

• 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 Teaspoon water
• 1/2 cup sweetened, flaked coconut (makes 4 or more)
  

Combine the powdered sugar and water.

and place the mixture on a plate.

Roll the outside of the rim of the glass in the sugar mixture or brush it on fairly thick and about a half inch wide starting from the top of the glass. The coconut needs something to adhere to. If the rim is coated too thin both in mixture and width the coconut will not stick very well and that wouldn't be jolly now, would it?

Take the sugar rimmed glass and press a handful of coconut to the rim.

You could use a finer textured coconut but I like the snowiness of the flake ~

"Heeeeeeere's the Santa's Hat effect!"

So festive!

If you prep the glasses at least the night before and set them out with your cookies and milk perhaps Santa will fill them up for you.

~ The "Naughty but oh-so-Nice"

2 parts Malibu Rum (it's coconut flavored)
Splash each of Triple Sec, pomegranate juice and cranberry juice
Dash of lime juice
* combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice ~ shake ~ and pour.

~ The "Santa Baby"
3 oz. red cranberry juice
1 oz. Malibu Rum
1/2 oz. grenadine

* combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice ~ shake ~ and pour.

If you're thinking I made up the drink names, you're right! :) HoHoHo!

~ Pomegranate Cosmopolitans (makes 6)
by Ina Garten
2 cups vodka (I use citrus)
1 cup Cointreau
1 cup cranberry juice cocktail (Ocean Spray)
1/2 cup Pom Wonderful bottled pomegranate juice
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juices (roughly 4 limes)
~ This makes a tart drink but adding **simple syrup to taste will sweeten it up depending on your guest's preferences.

• Make a batch of martinis in bulk a couple days ahead.
• Keep in a pitcher in the frig but not in the freezer. The cocktails will not dilute to the right strength if they are too cold going into the cocktail shaker. Place the pitcher on the bar and shake per order.
• Fill a cocktail shaker half full with ice and pour in enough of the recipe for one or two cocktails. This is the time to add some simple syrup. I shake for a full 30 seconds or until my metal shaker is frosty and icy cold.
• The coconut rim really can be made days ahead. Once all that sweet yum-yum dries together it's as set as can be. Did I mention to make your cocktail mixture ahead too? I think I did. See? Now you're all done and you can concentrate on your prime rib and Yorkshire pudding.
  
• Wearing a firm support body shaper to control anything jiggling while shaking is highly recommended.
  

**Simple Syrup Recipe ~

2 parts sugar

1 part water

Combine the water and sugar together.

Bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar.

Cool and store in the frig indefinitely.

Just love these coasters I found in Ladera Ranch at Confetti.
They are non-committal as they flip to one side or the other or they could be a suggestion...

Because this post is so long I'll post the hot coffee cocktail separately.

Did I mention it's 10 AM and I've been making martinis and shooting these photos all morning long?

It's gonna be a great day!
yOu AhVE oNE tOo.
hic

On Tap This Week...

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

The Spirit of Christmas Present will be very busy this week in the PM&P's household as I'm sure it will be in yours.

For my posts this week I'll have 4 delicious recipes with one being a hot coffee libation for the December Cocktails of The Month to serve on Christmas Eve and day and a preview of my New Year's Eve Decorated Cookies if I can get my act together and plan my designs this week instead of next.

I have already bought my presentation 'baskets'.
I will be using New Year's Eve hats turned upside down to place the cookies in. I like this idea very much even if I do say so myself. I haven't seen this done before so I am patting myself on the back. I can do that once in awhile, can't I? ;)

I think I will make a champagne bottle with gold leaf for the 'foil' over the cork, and add a couple of champagne flute shapes with pink dragees for bubbles. Maybe a noise maker or two, a horn, a clock and some confetti-type shapes. I'd like to hand out them out to guests as they leave after Christmas dinner.

I always think of dessert first then the main course, do you do this too or is it just me?

Speaking of New Year's Eve, our friends are hosting a couples New Year's Eve dinner/bunco party.

Isn't that a great idea? I thought so.
Marcia is so clever and a perfect hostess.
She is the owner of OutdoorInteriors.com and has over 3,000 twitter followers.
I'd follow her too if I tweeted but she'll have to settle for my friendship instead. I admire her so much and I probably don't tell her that enough.
Make that New Year's Resolution #1.

I'll be organizing my cocktails post today but will wait until Monday to publish.
First, my men and I are pulling up anchor and going to the Newport Harbor Boat Parade.

It's been going on annually for 101 years!
I can't believe we have never been before but with school projects always due the week before vacation and multiple music concerts to attend we just couldn't fit it in.

I was mentioning to Mr. PM today that this year seems so relaxed then I realized what was so different this year...no college application deadlines to nag about, no nagging to write the grueling essays for the apps, no homework to stress about knowing I would have to start nagging next week but most importantly... no nagging of any kind!!!

Sometimes I would get so weary of being ...

... the nut cracker.

I know some of you know the process this time of year brings.

All I can say is...

"'Free at last. Free at least. Lord gawd almighty, I'm free at last.'

Now it's 'crunch time' for Friday...

For some musical energy today I have chosen
"Bugler's Holiday" by Leroy Anderson.
It will definitely put some pep in your preparations.

See you tomorrow!

Christmas Around The Casa

2009 Snowflakes

I adore silver dragees.

The Eastern sun was shining through our banner reminding me of a stained glass window.

 

Silver dragees for each of my red doors.

Pearls lights surround my entry mirror, pink and silver balls nestle in a bowl, crystal drips from frosty branches and candles warm my entry.

Starting to set up my bar.  Very retro.

HoHoHo...

Snowmen Pops!

A fun project to do with kids of any age.
Last year I had son2 bring over a bunch of his buddies with their girlfriends and make these out of marshmallows. I just had to get my hands on a holiday project and have kids over. Even big ones!


Stick 3 marshmallows on a long lollipop stick.
Spoon melted white candy coating.
Decorate with royal icing embellishments (hat, nose, eyes and buttons) Cake decorating stores usually sell these already made.
Cut a scarf out of fruit roll-ups and wrap it around.
Let set up on waxed paper and there you have it.



On a small cardboard round we started with a puddle of melted candy coating and sprinkled it with sand colored sugar and mini rock candy crystals to resemble ice. We dipped the marshmallows in the coating and arranged Frosty to look like he had seen better, colder days. I think the added palm tree finishes the effect, don't you?

Wrap them in a baggie and bring them out next year if they don't get eaten. The ones pictured are both last year's models. They will keep indefinitely.

Have fun!

The Holiday Blues

B.B. King & Lucille

When you have lyrics like...

"I haven’t had a drink this evenin’ baby
But I’m all lit up like a Christmas tree"

&

"Gave me a diamond ring for Christmas
And now I’m living in paradise"

How can anyone possibly have the holiday blues?

B.B. is my featured music today. Enjoy.

"Merry Christmas, Baby" ~ B.B. King

Hunks of Gingerbread

My version of a gingerbread man...


And because gingerbread men just aren't for Christmas...

Happy Hanukkah!


And for my close friends with whom I share pink martinis, gossip and a good laugh...


Original designs by Pink Martini. :)

Cookies and Cocktails

I'm so excited to add a couple new features to my blog.

Decorative Cookies of The Month
and
Cocktail of The Month

I will feature a post on each one then have a link to the post over on my sidebar.

If you've been following me for awhile you probably know that I like to make decorated cookies.



They are a creative outlet for me and I like giving them away.
I hope you'll enjoy seeing what I come up with.

It'll be fun to share.
I can't wait to show you MY kind of gingerbread man in a later post.

And what would my blog be without "Cocktail Time"?

Making a perfect drink is like baking.
It has to be exact or you're going to have a flop on your hands. When done right it's an art form ~ the recipe and the presentation.

I've always thought it would be fun to be a bartender. Something about the chemistry involved, the shape of the glasses each being appropriate to a certain concoction, colorful garnishes accompanied by plastic monkeys and umbrellas. Here's a post that explains my fascination with the whole 'cocktail' thing if you're wondering.

I've just added a rotating mirrored disco ball to my bar area from Target so I'm definitely ready to shake and stir things up.

Hope you'll join me!

...And a Partridge In A Pear Tree

One bird flew back into the nest late last night after finishing his finals early on the quarter system.

We went to the In n' Out drive-thru on the way home.


"One animal style, 1 plain cheese burger, 1 medium lemonade, please."

"Yes, that will be inhaled in the car before we leave the drive-thru lane."

I have never heard anyone moan while eating a burger before.