Hello my Friends, I hope your Holiday was lovely and you ate, drank and were very very Merry.  We certainly had one Marvelous time here at La Maison Parisienne.  Everything was lovely.  Now we are full speed ahead plotting, planning and designing a most glorious Holiday Season.  We finished our annual Gingerbread House a couple weeks ago and our home is filled with the aroma of cinnamon and  spices.  When we light the house up in the evening, the stain glass windows glow and we truly believe a little Christmas Family lives happily inside.  The warmth from the light makes the aroma even more delicious.

I have been making this since I was in my late 20’s and no matter how many  times I insist I am no longer going to make it, I end up making it again  and I must say I agree with my family…it just wouldn’t be the same around here without our homemade Gingerbread House.

My tips for making a gingerbread house are as follows:

1) Make it on a dry cool day so the gingerbread gets firm and your house doesn’t crumble.

2) Keep the top pieces a little bit lighter and the bottom and side pieces thicker so they support your house.

3) I always double the gingerbread recipe

a. My sons love eating the leftovers

b. I love eating the leftovers

c. I always need more dough than I think I’ll need

4) Make the house when you have time and can concentrate so you are not stressed.

5) Make sure you have a candy thermometer if you are pouring stain glass windows.  Do not let children near the hot candy syrup!!

6) Have your ‘Mis en Place’ , make sure everything you need is in its place, organized and ready to go.

7) Remember, you can always buy one already assembled or a kit and have your children do it.  Oliver loves holding onto my hand and learning how to pipe the icing on the house.  This is much more fun and important to me than having a perfectly decorated house!!

A few pictures from our Thanksgiving dinner.  A very warm and glowing evening by the fireside.

Dishes all are a part of  The Paris House’s Collection.  We used one type of flower for impact, orange/peach roses clustered in crystal glasses we purchased in San Francisco.  All linens are from a local wool shop in Pennsylvania.  ( We live an hour outside of Manhattan and an hour from historic areas in PA so we have great sources surrounding us)

Now onto the real fun part…FASHION!!  I may be a very busy lady but I still have time to put on heels and some lipstick.  A trick that I do when I am very busy and can’t get to my salon for my blow-outs is to wash my hair the night before, put in the styling products that work well on my naturally curly hair and then I braid it.  The next day I take out the braid and I have long waves.  It saves me a lot of time, however my favorite is when my hairdresser Megan does my blow outs, no one can do it like her.  I’ll be lost is she ever moves.  The dress is a chocolate brown little number by Michael Kors and the shoes are Jimmy Choo, you may have seen them in the episode on Sex and the City with SJP.  

Today the party is over, no more Jimmy Choos, I’m still in my workout clothes and sneakers.  It sure is fun to dress up every now and then.

I can’t let you go without something delicious to kick off the Christmas and Holiday season with.

The Paris House Candy Cane Dreamtini.

3 ounces vanilla vodka

2 ounces Godiva white chocolate liqueur

1 ounce peppermint schnapps

1 candy cane stick

crushed candy cane

Mix vanilla vodka, white chocolate liqueur and peppermint schnapps in a cocktail shaker. and stir for 15 seconds.  Pour contents into chilled martini glass.  Garnish with candy cane stick on the side and sprinkle of crushed candy cane on rim.

Have a lovely day sweetie-pies.

and speaking of sweetie pies, We only have one life to live, do something beautiful today, eat something delicious, tell someone you love them  and if possible kiss a very sexy someone today

Yummy Pumpkin Pie

{ I am also so thankful that my sweet father was released from the hospital on Thanksgiving morning and able to celebrate the day with family}