Good News...

Be a bearer of good news as often as possible...Live a good life. Look for goodness inside your soul and everywhere and communicate it. Ring a bell for no good reason. Life is good. Alexandra Stoddard

Hand Painted Love Boxes on Good Things Utah

I am so excited, this box was on Good Things Utah today! Hurray!!!!!!!!!!

Flim and the BB's...

If ever you are blue... have a little Flim around. I bought this CD for Mr. C our first Christmas together. It is still well played and I never tire of it.
Best Wishes... Tiffany

Robert Held...

Robert Held is an artist that I discovered at a gallery in Sun Valley.

I started collecting heart paper weights when I recieved the most beautiful one I will ever own from my adopted Grandma Lydia's collection.

However, Robert Held is a new favorite artist and he has an amazing website. My link isn't working so it's www.robertheld.com.

Enjoy... Best Wishes... Tiffany

Anything Considered... Peter Mayle

I had considered reading Peter Mayle several times. I wanted to sit in the sun and read about a lovely "Year in Provence." The Problem was it was just too boring of a year and so I couldn't read it. However, it turns out that it was just me. We recently checked out "Anything Considered" and "A Year In Provence" from the library; I am a fair person and wanted to give it a second chance.
These books are both read by David Case who does a more that fantastic job and his voices are perfect. Now both of these books are delightful. I just didn't quite have the imagination for them having never spent any time in Provence.
After reading them, I think I would like to visit for five days and then go home. I like where I live. It is beautiful here. And, I don't really want to eat all those mushrooms even if they are blah, blah, blah in garlic butter, I just can't take so many.
If you haven't read these, they are well written, but just for fun. I hope David Case has read some more of Peter Mayle's books that I can check out. Listen to these, your laundry will do itself. Best Wishes ... Tiffany

Divine Kitchen...

Someday I'm going to have a white kitchen like my mom's. I love a white kitchen and I want it to smell like clorox wipes, because I love how those smell and I want it to have glass doors like these with lime paint on the inside! I think that would just be divine! And I want it to have all white retro appliances and another shade of green paint on the walls or maybe yellow. Lovely... Best Wishes.. Tiffany

Happy Birthday to My Friends...

Happy Birthday to Circe and Michelle!!!

Rach's Cute Wardrobe...

Whenever I see a particular cousin, Rachel, she has on the most darling outfits. When I enquire about the origin, she often says JC Penny.

I copied this skirt from their website today. I love it! And, it costs less than $20. Wouldn't it be darling for fall with a bright, cherry red sweater?

I will be watching this site for cute bargains like this one! Thanks Rach!

Best Wishes... Tiffany

Granny Chic Jewels ...

I think these may be a bit pricey for what they are, but how cute to have them both pinned to your jacket, very Granny Chic!

I love the colors!

Best Wishes... Tiffany

Day of the Dead...

What a beautiful tradition this is. I understand that several latin cultures celebrate these holidays, but this book is about Mexico.
I love this little book. Inside the cover it says, "Above a small town in Mexico, the sun rises like a great marigold, and one family begins preparations for an annual clebration, El dia de los muertos, the Day of the Dead. Soon, they will go out into the night, join their neighbors, and walk to the graveyard to welcome the spirits of their loved ones home again."
Jeanette Winter's illustrations are perfect. This book is not sad or scary, like the holiday, it is sweet and joyful, perfect to explain this celebration to children.
The celebration begins November first which is All Saints day, a day that remembers and honors children who have died. November second is All Souls Day and remembers grown people who have passed on. It is traditional that the spirits of the deceased visit their families at this time and a special altar is prepared with remembrances of the deceased; photos, a treasured possession, candles and marigolds and then favorite foods, including sweet breads and treats.
The popularity of this beautiful holiday tradition is moving north, I am happy to say, and I am going to try to make it part of our family traditions in some form. Best Wishes... Tiffany
***This post is dedicated to my friend Brooke who loves The Day of the Dead and all the beautiful things, art, traditions and people of Mexico

Granny Chic Cute of the Week...

Isn't she cute?!? She's Chika Owl.

The Sleepy Daffodil...

Hand Painted Love Boxes ... Daffodil

Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light.

Theodore Roethke

Now is the time flowers sleep tucked in their deep brown beds, but soon, little green leaves will peek up through February snows and begin collecting the light in earnest for the time when the earth bursts open in an explosion of color.

Happy October Day! Best Wishes... Tiffany

You ought to know that October is the first Spring month. - Karel Capek

The Granny Chic Candy of the Week...

Lemonheads are made by the Ferrara Pan Candy Company established in 1919 by Salvatore Ferrara. The company still occupies the original building at 2200 West Taylor Street in Chicago. According to wikipedia, "Lemonheads are a lemon-shaped, lemon-flavored candy consisting of a sweet coating, soft sour shell, and a hard candy core."

Ferrara Pan Candy also makes Grapeheads, Cherryheads, Melonheads, which I have never seen, Appleheads, Orangeheads, Jaw Busters, Atomic Fireballs, Original Boston Baked Beans and Red Hots.

I love them wrapped as shown, and I love the small ones in the large packages. I think they make fun little, cheery gifts in a cello bag with a bright bow and a happy note. My local market now sells the small boxes in the candy bar section and they are fun too. And you'll be suprised, even though you're a grown up now, they still taste really yummy. Enjoy! Best Wishes... Tiffany

Granny Chic Movie of the Week....

We just watched this the other night. It is a favorite, with the exception of the unnecessary fisticuffs which ensue everytime Mr. Deeds is the least bit offended by anything, and which I really think makes this a PG movie. Other than that, this is a classic Frank Capra film. Gary Cooper is so handsome and Jean Arthur is so pretty and has such pretty suits and shoes. The bad guy loses, the good guy wins and gets the girl. It's a really fun, get out the good microwave popcorn with the real butter, show. Enjoy. Best Wishes... Tiffany

Granny Chic Outfit of the Week...

I love the old fashioned look of the 3/4 sleeve blouse in the more modern bright kelly green and the waisted look with the wide belt and the darling, ouchy, but darling 30's - 40's black and white shoes. The skirt looks like a modern eyelet pattern and is so feminine and pretty.

It is hard to see in this small photo, but she has her hair in braids pinned up in a crown on her head. My grandma Lydia always wore her hair that way and I thought she looked like a princess.

Don't miss the pretty pink lipstick! And don't you love the fun feathers and beads hair pin? I don't think I could quite pull it off in that size, but maybe a smaller scale item in the same idea would work.

I read that it is a must for Granny Chicers to have a large wide brimmed hat for gardening, which I have. However, other than that all of my hat purchases have been mistakes. I can't pull off the hat thing, I always feel like I'm wearing a Halloween costume. Except for the gardening hat, which is just common sense.

I don't think this guy is looking dapper, he looks like a dope. He needs to see a few Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart and Gary Cooper movies in order to get his look together. But, isn't she beautiful! I would love to be classic glamour girl like that for just one day.
Best Wishes... Tiffany

Alexandra Stoddard's new book You Are Your Choices...

Alexandra's new book is scheduled to be released, I understand, around the first part of January. I am excited to hear more about this new book. It was mentioned on her website some time ago that this new book will not be at all gender specific.

Alexandra describes the tulips on the cover as "peachy-pink", a color that was all the rage in 1987 and 1988 when it was the color I just had to have for my prom dress. This color must be making a big comeback, I am seeing it everywhere. Happily, the gynormous puffed sleeves have not made a comeback.

In September, Alexandra was honored again to be invited to the National Book Festival in the Home and Family category by First Lady Laura Bush. She will write about that in her next news letter which is posted on her website and comes out November 1rst or 2nd.

She is wonderful and I treasure her books. Best Wishes... Tiffany

A View From Utah's Mountains...

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
-- Albert Camus


High on the Mountain Top
High on the mountain top a banner is unfurled.
Ye nations all look up; it waves to all the world.
In Deseret's sweet, peaceful land,
On Zion's mount behold it stand!

Joel H. Johnson wrote the text of this song somewhere between the years of 1862 and 1882, in part to welcome the world to Utah.

The music was composed by Ebenzer Beesley, 1840-1906, who was one of the first directors of the Tabernacle Choir and lived in the now very old Beesley home which was the view from my condo window for almost 7 years. Have a blessed Sabbath Day... Tiffany

Raoul Dufy Put Joy on Canvas...

Raoul Dufy is a favorite artist. In Marcel Brion's short introduction to a small collection of his work he writes, "His optimism did not come from laziness or a vacant mind, but rather from a fullnes of life, a harmonious and contented nature, and happiness in his environment. 'I can only give you a fraction of my inward joy,' he used to say when friends looked at his pictures. His work shows no trace of worry or anxiety, the dramatic content is entirely absent, and each touch of color, every pencil line, re-echoes like a shout of happiness."
Each scene he painted seems to me to be captured at the pinnacle of it's existence, everything in its best moment. His paintings appear to me to be growing before your eyes. The paintings don't seem static, there is almost movement in them . They are simply beautiful.
I once read that truth and beauty have the same source and so they should be sought with equal relish. And, I recently read, "For Zion must increase in beauty, and in holiness...Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments."
Dufy was quoted as saying, "eyes are made to obliterate everything that is ugly." Dostoyevsky wrote, "Beauty will save the world." It's something to think about anyway.
Raoul Dufy is a contemporary of Matisse and participated in the movement from Impressionism to Fauvism which Dufy described as. "Imagination translated into design and color." He is not as famous as some of the other masters of his time, but if you look for him you can find posters and cards on the web and in more shops that you might expect. Best Wishes... Tiffany

A Joyful Place...

"Your lifetime is primarily enjoyed in your home. Where else can you be happier than in the privacy of the environment you love? Your own home! What a blessing to know we can live joyfully in our own home, letting the mystery, magic, wonder and power of the spirit of the place feed our soul. " Alexandra Stoddard Time Alive

Wouldn't this pink sofa be the perfect spot to enjoy a Jane Austen novel? I don't have it, but our tiny living room has a great southern exposure, just the perfect place to take a nap in the sun.

And, I love to come home to the bright pot of pansies on the porch. It is amazing what they can do in the spring if you plant them right now! Crown Azure are my favorites. They are the most glorious bright blue.

One last thing, there is nothing like a good rough mat to stomp your feet on, that is surely a sign of being home.

Best Wishes... Tiffany

Granny Chic Romantic Flannels

“I ran up the door, closed the stairs, said my pajamas and put on my prayers, turned off the bed and hopped in the light all because you kissed me goodnight!" Anonymous

Ooooooooooooh! Cozy.