What's in a name?

What's in a name....

So pleased to anounce the arrival of our new baby girls. 

Named after ancestral sisters


Blondie


Betty & Veronica

Eloise

Lucy & Ethel

Laverne & Shirley


DIXIE CARTER
that 
DESIGNING WOMAN
Dixie


GYPSY ROSE LEE
that
 ELEGANT STRIPPER
1911-1970

Gypsy

TALLULAH BANKHEAD
1902-1968

Talullah


ZELDA FITZGERALD
1900-1948
Zelda
&
Daisy

These flappers are 
some hot chics !!!


...under heat lamps till they are fully featherd

a redhead- a raven- and a blond
Can you guess who is who ?

"The more things change the more they stay the same."

F.Scott Fitzgerald 

and  wife Zelda

on whom he modeled the character 

DAISY

LOIS WILSON

starred as
DAISY
in the original film version of
THE GREAT GATSBY
1932

Followed by

MIA FARROW
1974

and currently

CAREY MULLIGAN

Not one of the three versions has managed to capture

the vibrancy of Fitzgerald's original prose 

but the current version

 in my personal estimation was so dreadful 

even the clothes didn't make it worth watching

Like Daisy, Zelda's personal story is equally tragic.
Therese Fowler's novel
reveals this blythe spirit whose brilliance is dimmed  
by the era in which she lived 
as much as by the shadow of her famous husband.

The Roaring Twenties
a time between eras 
the wild and the crazy
"ANNEES FOLLES"

Despite their now old fashioned sounding names, 

The Flappers of the Jazz Age 

were anything but old fashioned.  
They threw away their corsets,

JOSEPHINE BAKER
and in some cases their clothing

 bobbed their hair, 

smoked- drank- and shimmied 

throwing caution to the wind

It was a time  of 
Booze
and the 
Birth of the Blues

Yet again a Gatsby movie has snubbed the actual locale
where Fitzgerald created Gatsby 
on the north shore of Long Island
known as the Gold Coast

The original film version was all Hollywood
The 1974 version was filmed in Newport Rhode Island
and this most recent version went far afield 
to the shores of Sydney Australia

Go Figure....

when some of the most glorious estates from the beginning of the 20th century
have survived as though frozen in time, one hour away from New York City


For a real Gatsby experience  visit these gems

They can be reached by yacht or if you are in the market 
for a rich ride you could possibly arrange to test drive a Bentley
 BENTLEY MOTORS

No matter how you get there it will be memorable 
and probably a whole lot more fun then the rash of
Gatsby parties that this latest film release has sparked

                      The Vanderbuilt's Estate  and  all its contents remains a time capsule.

at

EAGLE'S NEST

EAGLE'S NEST

OLD WESTBURY GARDENS                                                                   

Furnished opulently with the original funishings and 
paintings by masters

 John Singer Sargent and Sir Joshua Reynolds

JOHN SINGER SARGEANT
Portrait of a young Vanderbuilt

THE GUGGENHEIM ESTATE

at

Sands Point

best exemplifies the excesses of the Gatsby-era.

 The original castle was built by  Howard Gould 
heir to a rairoad fortune. 

HAMPSTEAD HOUSE

On completion it so displeased him 

that he turned it into a stable 

and built a Tudor style manor house

 known as Hampstead House

Guess the house wasn't enough for Gould's wife,
or was it just TOO much ????

She ran off with

none other than.... 

BUFFALO BILL CODY

Disenchanted,
 Gould  sold the property to the Guggenheims...

FALAISE
(French for cliff)

who built their own version of a 

13th century Norman castle on a bluff above the sea

BTW...

Francis Ford Coppola filmed the  decapitated horse scene
in THE GODFATHER at Falaise

And then there is the McMansion of all McMansions

OHEKA is the second largest private residence in the United States, 109,000 square feet constructed completely of fireproof steel and concrete.  

Oheka was the vision of Financier and Philanthropist, Otto Kahn , a German Jew, who like Gatsby was never accepted into GOLD COAST SOCIETY

It was built on an  artificial hill so that Kahn could "look down on" the neighbors who had shunned him

OHEKA

The house has been meticulously restored 

as a luxury hotel
The perfect overnight for a full Gatsby experience

From coast to coast

"The more things change the more they stay the same..." 

CASTELLO DI AMOROSA

Calistoga, California

Daryll Sattui's 21st century vision of 

a medi-evil castle in the Napa Valley

NAMELESS Chickens free range at
Castello di Amorosa
and nameless chickens often end their days deliciously

whereas my  jazzy girls with their old fashioned names
 will live happily ever after even if 
  

The Motel Chix
is not a real castle

Lemon Chicken 
with Mushrooms and  Green Peppers

6 drumsticks

6 thighs

YOU CAN ALSO USE BREASTS BUT THEY ARE NOT AS JUICY

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

1 bunch scallions washed and chopped including the green parts

1 green pepper- sliced into long thin slices

2  lemons

garlic salt and fresh ground pepper

2 cups chicken stock
you can substitue 1 cup of a good dry white wine for 1 cup of stock

2-3 TBLS butter

Wash the chicken parts under cold water and pat dry

Season liberally with garlic salt and fresh ground pepper

Dredge in flour

In a large oven proof skillet heat a few tablespoons olive oil and

brown the chicken pieces on all sides.  Add oil as needed

Set the browned pieces aside and in the same skillet melt 2-3 TBLS butter.

(This does enhance the final flavor)

Saute the scallions and the green pepper slices until transluscent- then set aside

Saute the mushroom slices in olive oil

Return browned chicken, scallions and peppers to pan and pour in the stock

Squeeze in the juice of the two lemons. put the rind of one lemon in to add flavor

Bring to a simmer on top of stove.  

Cover tightly and bake slowly in a 325 degree oven for

about 3 - 3.5 hours

This dish is best prepared a few days ahead.  

To serve bring to room temperature and re-heat in a 300 degree oven for about 1/2 hour

So now you know "what's in a name"

Rela