Give Me a Home Where the Buffalo Roam

This was the scene at Casa de Holtzman on Thanksgiving morning:

Ebony and Ivory (aka Kenni and Vinni) were soaking up the short lived sunshine, while Elli was inside giving me the stink eye about her dinner. To be fair, she got plenty of turkey later in the day when we got home.

We went out to the family ranch for TG dinner. It's in the high desert, so it gets cold out there. Here is what I wore:

I wore grey corduroy jeans from Old Navy, a white tank with silver sequin trim that I got at Stein Mart, and the white cardi trimmed in studs that I bought to match my Jax dress (but didn't). Here's a look at my necklace - a vintage Avon piece that my mom gave me.

On my right arm, my silver/crystal costume bracelet and a chocolate/white diamond ring.

On my left arm, my Seraphanite bracelet from the Southwest Indian Foundatin and my yelloe gold wedding set.

             When we got to the ranch, the weather had taken a nasty turn.

First, we visited with Fertile the Turtle. He was formerly named Arthur before he moved to the ranch.

He has a hot rock and a heat lamp out there to keep him toasty. He's also hibernating, so........

Then we headed over to the chicken coop.

Baxter the Yorkie kept a close eye on the girls as they scratched for feed.

                                   I put on my fluffy faux fur and joined him.

One of the Rhode Island Reds wanted to become my best friend.

                 Mimi gave them some canned pumpkin for their TG dinner.

Last, but never least, we visited with Budreau, a Flemish giant. And boy is he!!!

Surprisingly, he is very friendly -  and that's a good thing, because those feet are enormous.

He even loves Doc !!

We had a very good day. Of course, on Black Friday, I went to the mall, like everyone else. I actually like the crowds and the holiday spirit. Look what was hanging in Macy's:

The same Calvin Klein dress that I got at Saks last year!!! It's funny, but I paid less at Saks than it cost at Macy's. I got a few other things while I was there.

a black velour warm up suit trimmed in red. It is made by Jones New York. I got a cute dress that was made of a denim-like fabric, made by Taylor. It came from Nordstrom.

Then, at Ann Taylor, I got a silk knit dress and a printed skirt.

And finally, at the Limited, I got a metallic skirt and two thin belts. I didn't have plain belts to hold my jeans up.

Yesterday, we hung around the house and did some home repair. Doc fixed the master bathroom faucet and also did this:

He installed two reading lamps over the bed. I just went for a run and then made beef stroganoff for dinner.

Well, that's about all for this issue of my blog. Elli had to go to the vet yesterday, but I will tell you about that tomorrow. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, and had some fun, also! See you soon !

Less than 8 hours

And then I am off for an extended Thanksgiving weekend!!! Today I have a pretty important meeting, so I wore my new Jax dress from Saks:

It's a thick scuba knit with Venice lace appliqued down the sides. I thought that the lace was white, so I bought a new sweater to wear over this dress, but the lace is definitely ivory, so scratch that. Instead, I wore my very old Baranda cardigan, which has to be one of the best items I ever bought, in terms of how often I have worn it and how long it has lasted.

I also wore my iron cross style necklace that I got at JCP a long time ago - it has also been one of my best purchases ever.

On my right arm, my black metal "lace" cuff from INC and my mother of pearl spaceship ring.

On my left arm, my leather/crystal cuff that I got in Baltimore and a white gold wedding set.

Today, I will be short and sweet. Only one link - Jess from www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com has Turning Heads Tuesday. But never fear, I will keep you update throughout the weekend!!

A Pre-Hoilday Holiday!!!

We are traveling out to Luke's house for Thanksgiving this Thursday. Since my mom is 95, it would be way too much for her to do in one day. So Doc and I took her out for an early Thanksgiving dinner at Maggiano's Little Italy this weekend. In preparation for that, I went for a nice long run in Central Park, and ran into my little Egyptian geese family.

First, I saw Mama goose, giving me the stink eye for getting near her babies.

Her little ones are almost as big as she is. But their feet aren't red yet. They do still have their baby spots, like fawns do. So I tossed them some Central Park approved bird food.

                                    Before long, both Ma and Pa joined in on the action.

I hadn't seen them for a while, since October 17th. I was kind of scared that a coyote got them, but I knew that as soon as they could swim, they would be hard to find. They swam across the lake to be nearer to the restaurant that sells the bird food. I guess they don't have bird brains, after all!!

This is how they looked on October 17th. They were hanging out near the shore line, learning to swim, and it seems as though they got the hang of it.

Then I got dressed to go to Maggiano's. Here's what I wore:

My printed pants are from Cache, and the grey cold shoulder knit top is from a strip mall store near my house.

Here's the back view. Doc likes it when I wear my hair up. I wore a fairly elaborate statement necklace that I got the last time I went to the mall, about a month ago.

On my right hand, a bracelet made of safety pins, made by a dear lady who has passed away, and my mabe pearl ring.

On my left hand, my wedding rings and a silver/crystal costume bracelet.

I wore my Dolce Vita tan suede gladiator type sandals, In this picture, you can see the feather print on my pants.

 So what did we have to eat at Maggiano's? We started with Italian sausage flatbread and the house salad, which was lettuce, red onion, bacon and some type of sweet and sour dressing. Doc had a salmon club sandwich.

I had the spaghetti with meat sauce. It was so delicious that I looked up the recipe on the Internet, and will be attempting to recreate it.

                     My mom had the gnocchi is a creamy tomato and vodka sauce.

      They were having a promotion, so I go to take home an entire serving of baked ziti.

On the way home, Doc wanted to stop at South Coast Plaza to go to Barnes and Noble. Saks is right next door and they were having a 70% off sale. They had one last year, and I saw a suitcase that I wanted, but my old one still had some life left. Well, I have taken it on about 5 or 6 trips since then, and it has a tear in the top. So I went over there, and......

I got a $200 suitcase for $40!!!! I like bright suitcases since they are easier to see on the luggage carousel.

I had decided to go with a soft sided suitcase, and this one has a zipper that can expand it by three inches, in case I decide to stuff it full. (Which I am sure that I will).

Elli also had an early Thanksgiving. She loves Cesar brand food for small dogs, so here was her feast:

This one is her absolute favorite !!!! Here she was, afterwards:

On Sunday, we went back to the new Mongolian BBQ. I was actually still full from the day before. I ate half of my spaghetti at the restaurant, and then the rest later on that night.  So I pretty much took this home:

And it's back to work today !!!! But I only have to work two days, and then I have 6 off. YAY!!!
So here is what I am wearing today:

My trusty ivory Ann Taylor slacks with a red V neck T shirt and a black and white polka dot shirt jacket. I wore my favorite heavy gold tone costume necklace.

                                           I used a red, black, and green scarf as a belt.

On my right hand, a white enamel/crystal ring, a gold bracelet, and a ruby bracelet.

On my left arm, my wedding rings and a red leather and goldtone cuff bracelet.

         I wore some very high heeled pewter shoes that I have been largely ignoring.

And that's about all for today, except for the gob of links that usually happen on Monday. First,  Rachelle at www.pinksole.com has How I Fall. Then, Deb at www.elegantlyfashionable.com has Classy Monday. Next, Ana Luiza at www.northwestblonde.com has Start the Week Stylish. And finally, Cherie at www.stylenudge.com has Shoe and Tell. Have a great day!!!