To be honest, our weekend was productive and relaxing at the same time. I mean, other than my weekend blog posts it was relaxing!
It started out with a nice rainbow on Friday evening!
On Saturday morning, I organized the little closet in the guest room. The room doubles as my makeup studio and houses my wigs.
It really was productive. In less time than it ever takes me to wash, condition and blow dry my bio hair, I was able to organize my fake hair and even get rid of some nasty wigs that were in bad shape!
Because the sun was shining and the natural light was stellar, I got to pluck a bunch of lady whiskers from my chin. That’s always a good thing.
One of my favorite ways to while away time while waiting for moisturizer to set in is to pluck the lady whiskers from my chin. Especially when the lighting is great!
Bonaparte and I drove into Philly where we visited the Warby Parker shop on Walnut Street. He used the gift card that my kids gave him for Christmas and ended up with a great pair of sunglasses.
The place was mobbed but there’s plenty of help–and the Warby Parker staff is ridiculously friendly and helpful!
These are the shades that Anthony Bourdain ..Oops–I mean, Bonaparte picked out!
The Frenchman. He’s so serious! He tried these on but wasn’t crazy about them. I thought they were great! Oh well. We had fun!
Then we walked over to Rittenhouse Square to see what goods we could pick up at the Farmers Market.
We had a nice time walking around Philly. I ended buying tarragon for the anchovy sauce I made.
And when we arrived home, I baked bread and made a great anchovy sauce for our steak.
Here’s the recipe:
Anchovy Sauce for Filet Mignon or Steak
Peel and mince 4 shallots. Peel and grate 1 clove garlic. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Add the shallots and garlic. Cook till the shallots are transparent.
Take about four or five sprigs of fresh Tarragon. Remove the leaves from the stems and chop. Add to the cooked shallot/garlic mixture.
Add one and one-half tablespoons of anchovy paste and stir into the saucepan.
Add ¾ of a cup of heavy cream and cook until the cream reaches the boiling point and keep stirring. Don’t let the sauce boil over but cook for about ten minutes.
Add ¼ cup of champagne cognac to the sauce and cook until the alcohol dissipates.
As the sauce cooks down it’ll thicken.
Spoon over steak. This is good stuff!
My diet went out the window over the weekend. I ate way too much of the bread I made and the sauce–it was “eat-it-like-soup” great! Thank God for that broccoli!
Yesterday was Oona’s birthday. She’s 28 years old now and I just can’t figure out where the time went! I miss having her around but I admire her independence. I’m proud to be the mom of a successful and empowering young woman!
I’m not kidding when I say time flies. I remember every one of these photos as though they were taken yesterday. Oh wait. The collage WAS taken yesterday! Seriously. My baby is 28!
And that was basically the weekend.
This last week was a busy one at work—so busy, in fact, that I forgot about snapping pics of my outfits. I did manage a couple of shots though.
Friday’s ensemble. I’m really starting to tire of the clothes now. I need a spray tan. I’m tired. And I need to win Powerball so that I can stay home and write.
Thursday’s dress. I should have worn this more often because I really like it. I went with bobbed hair last week for a couple of days.
I think I wore this last Monday or Tuesday. Very classy with the bra straps sticking out. I finally took the bra off when I got into the car after leaving the office. Yes. I’m THAT woman. I begin to disrobe in my car.
Last week also brought some new hair.
This is Konis by It’s A Wig. The hair is very soft and resembles my bio hair when blown out. Less than $30. This will be great for the fall and winter.
And this is Claudia by Bobbi Boss. Hmmm. Perhaps I should have put some makeup on or gotten dressed in something other than a PJ tee. Nuh unh. I’m too lazy!
I lost about a half pound, but I’m sure I gained it back with the sauce and with all the carbs I ate over the weekend! And as I write this, I’m eating macaroni salad–there goes the thighs! And the belly.
See? The scale is in between 143 and 144. Today it is most likely at 146.
Oh…and I received a lecture from Bonaparte about my recent spending. I’ll leave it at that!
I met MY Waterloo last night when Bonaparte went over the bills. No more spending for a while! Bonaparte’s daughter snapped this photo last week–she’s in Canada and look what she found!
Welcome to the dawg days of summer. These are the summer days that make me a bit sad because it awakens my awareness that the days will be getting shorter and cooler. And although I welcome the cool weather clothing, I love the long and lazy days of summer. And so, I’ll enjoy them while I can!
And that was about it. How was your weekend?
It was hot in the City of Philadelphia–but not extremely hot–but I couldn’t help but think of one of my favorite summer songs by the Lovin’ Spoonful. Summer in the City!
YOU DID A LOT IN ONE DAY!
CONGRATULATIONS ON THE SAUCE BY THE WAY……….I KNOW THAT IS BIG STUFF!!!!!!
XO
Thanks Elizabeth! Bonaparte was overjoyed. He said it was THE best sauce ever. Better than my bearnaise and madiera and cognac sauces. It was quite good!! XOXOXOXO!!!
I’m positive I need that sauce in my life!
Angela. Make it. It is anchovilicious and then some!!! XOXOXOXO!!!!
Hi – I had a WONDERFUL weekend…saw Hamilton…I think it lives up to all the hype.
The best part of the weekend was time with both of our sons/daughter in laws…nothing makes me happier.
Nancy! You were so lucky to see Hamilton. I can’t wait to see it!!! Actually, seeing your sons is the icing on the cake!!!! Glad you had a great, great weekend!!! XOXOXOXO
Love the plaid dress where is it from? I found halter type stretch bras at Walmart mart last year to wear with these type of tops. love them. Really Walmart who would have thought. My diet is bad but my scales are broke. No excuse!
The dress is from J. Crew Factory. It’s great and comfy. Hmmmm. Walmart? I’ll have to check it out on my next mascara run!!!! XOXOXOXO
Hi there! Just discovered your blog and it’s a hoot! You’ve given me a few things to think about re: make-up and wigs. So, thank you!
Auberge Bonaparte and Restaurant on St-François-Xavier is the place to have a pre-theater dinner before heading next door to the Center. Good food. Nice service. I like it a lot and it was fun to see it pictured here.
Keep on bloggin’ ! 🙂
Hey Lea! Thank you!! Oh…I can’t wait to get to Canada–we’ll be planning on Montreal and Quebec City sometime this coming winter. It’ll be like being in Paris!! But much closer!!! Glad you are enjoying the blog–don’t be a stranger!!! XOXOXOXO!!!
Sounds like a great weekend! Love all the photos!
I spent My weekend in Paris! But today I go back to work and the feeling when you know it’s a year to the next long holiday….
Angelin. Nobody can top that weekend!! Oh I hope you had a wonderful, wonderful time!!!! Got shopping done and walked and walked for hours and had great food!! How was the weather—Hot??? XOXOXOXO!!!!
You are a scream Catherine, who else but you would post a lady whisker plucking pic?
Can I ask why you have so many wigs? Is it because you like to ring the changes and they are not overly expensive OR because they don’t last that long with continued washing etc?
Les lunettes de soleil de Monsieur Bonaparte sont génial…très élégante!
Hi Fiona. LOL. Hey, plucking is the only way to go!! I have a steady supply of wigs because I am basically hair hoarder! When I find a wig I like, I will buy multiples and since the hair I wear is synthetic and inexpensive, after two or three washings, the hair doesn’t look that great so I’ll get rid of it. Some wigs are for work and some for date night or special occasions –I like a variety!! Yay uh!! Those sunnies look fantastic on Bonaparte–don’t they? XOXOXOXO!!!!
I really love the Konis wig on you! You can definitely rock the longer hair look. Hope to see you in that wig a lot. Makes you look much younger, even if we are striving to not go there but be are beautiful, actual age! 🙂
Thanks Anne. I like the longer styles too. I’m just more comfortable in them because they don’t require much touching up. The bobs constantly have to be primped!! Thank you!! XOXOXOXO!!!!
The Bonaparte sign made me chuckle…you make me chuckle…always a fun read. 🙂
Jeanne—isn’t that sign a riot!!!! I love it!! XOXOXOXO!!!!
You never fail to make me smile!
Need cognac sauce recipe, please.
OK. Lakey. This is not a sauce that whips up in ten minutes. get a half stick of butter. Two shallots. Fresh Thyme. Fresh Rosemary. Heavy Cream. Cherries (use the dark canned ones ) Chicken Stock. Cognac. Black currant jelly. Melt the butter in the sauce pan. Add. Peel and chop the shallots and add them to the melted butter and sweat them. Then add 1 cup of chicken stock. Cook it down to half. Then add1 cup of heavy cream and cook till boiling and keep stirring. Keep it boiling for about 5 minutes. Lower the heat to a simmer. Chop the Rosemary really fine and add it to the mix. Drain the cherries. Add them. Keep cooking. Add cognac (I don’t measure) and cook it down. Keep adding more cream and cognac as needed. Add two tablespoons of the black current jelly and stir.
After all is mixed in, take off the heat to let it cool and thicken. Before serving add about one or two tblspoons COLD butter to make it silky. It’s great over game and chicken!!!! XOXOXOXO!!!!
The daggy end of summer is sucky isnt it – everything looks a bit “meh” – I am sick of the clothing I”ve been wearing all summer, it’s not yet cold enough for new autumn clothing and I’m sick of any “sales” or reduced things still hanging there in the shops and also of the non summer in Scotland at least. I have actually kept back a couple of tops and not worn them much lately so I shall wear one tomorrow – if only to pretend I have something new and exciting to wear (I haven’t), we need tactics to fall in love with what we have as there is no point buying anything new at the moment, so temporary retirement of a few things is my current option.
That sauce looks amazing, and here I am nursing 2 injured fingers after slicing up some cold roast beef to go with salad and forgetting to stop at the end of the beef and before my fingers, I wondered why it was suddenly hard to get the knife through… Idiot creature that I am. I shall be round next time you make bearnaise, I utterly LOVE it, well anything with tarragon or actually anything with anchovy, well anything really – I am gannet but I have joined WW to un-gannet myself a little.
Bonaparte rocks both sets of glasses by the way, I wish Warby Parker were here in the UK but they are not. And I love the wig closet – it looks really enticing
Juliet! Oh No!!! I feel your pain because I’m constantly injuring myself in the kitchen–mostly burns!!! But yeah, I’m not looking forward to the cool weather but I’m looking forward to a change of seasonal clothing. The evenings are cooling a bit but the days are still hot–which is fine. Today reached 93. I got a whole bunch of clothing that needs to be reloved!!! XOXOXOXO!!!!
Well done Hun, It’s nice to get organised isn’t it? Looking fabulous my dear. x Jacqui
http://www.mummabstylish.com
Hi Jacqui! Yes. It’s ALWAYS nice to get organized. And I have a Frenchman to make sure that I keep up with my organizational skills!!!! XOXOXOXO!!!!
Well, you were productive indeed! And pretty too.