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Shopping the Larchmont Farmer’s Market on Sunday is part of my weekend routine and one recent Sunday my gal pal Judy Ludy (master of cook & baking) and I were inspired to create a meal of fresh ingredients that were almost solely from the market. My husband came along to document the experience and, of course, eagerly await the food.

On the menu for six guests:

Dinner:
Roasted chicken (we bought rotisserie chickens from the grill guy at the market. It saved us time in the kitchen.)
Japanese Eggplant, Mozzarella & Tomato (Slice the eggplant length wise to wrap around the cheese and tomato-hold closed with a toothpick to grill on bbq)
Roasted Squash and Zucchini (so simple-long slices grilled with evoo, sea salt and pepper)

Two desserts: Just because!
Peach Cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream (Judy’s trick-cut out a 1/3 of the sugar)

Berry Trifle (blueberries, strawberries and raspberries heated in a pot with some lemon juice and a little sugar will reap plenty of juices to be soaked up by your choice of cubed pound cake or angel food cake. I make fresh whipped cream with a touch of vanilla and sugar and then I fold in a jar of lemon curd to the mix. Judy baked a lemon pound cake for the trifle that was awesome, but you can use store bought to save time. It’s all about the layers.

And plenty of wine from Rose to Vinho Verde.

YUM!

My favorite flowers, Peonies, are abundant at Trader Joe’s. For $21 bucks I was able to create gorgeous, simple arrangements. Just snip, snip and voila! Don’t hesitate to add flowers to your home. They may only last a week, but you’ll notice them everyday they’re with you. And they signify wealth, luck and happiness. I should be so lucky to get them every week.

So cute, but soooo hairy! Penny and Lucy are adorable, sassy, and always loving. BUT, while Lucy (on right) is only 14 pounds she is a shedder. She sheds as if she were the size of a giraffe. Only hours after our cleaning ladies leave, our wood floors and the tops of our couch cushions show a fresh collage of stray fine hair. So I’m always on the search for the ideal picker upper.

I’ve tried out a multitude of products and I’ve gone through countless rolls of the sticky adhesive rollers. And finally, I’ve found a few products that help battle the shedding. Hey, it may not sound exciting, but sometimes it’s the little things that make a gals day.

From Dyson, the company known for vacuums has created the the dyson groom tool for $70 that you can use with most Dyson vacuums. I used it on the Dyson cordless model for quick clean-ups.

Lucy getting groomed. All that hair from one little dog.

Groom. Suck. Gone. That’s the motto of his handy tool that removes loose hair effortlessly and with the release of a button the bristles release and all that hair just brushed from the dog can be sucked into the vacuum. It also works well on its own and you can slide the hair right off the gadget into the garbage.

And as for our couches, Pledge, the company known for cleaning dust, has a handy, as in you hold it in your hand and with a few rolls back and forth you can pick up stray hair. You can pick it up in your supermarket cleaning products aisle for about $5.

Love when you can see the hair that gets rolled up inside the gadget. That proves to me it’s working. And my third favorite item for dog hair removal is the Swiffer. In truth, I dig the Swiffer for zipping around my house and cleaning in a jiffy.

This would have been so useful when I lived in a small apartment, but couldn’t give up riding my bike around the city. Chris Brigham came up with a stylish solution. While visiting many of his friends in small apartments in SF and more so in NY, he noticed that there is a void when it comes to elegant bike management. Bikes always get in the way – either in the hall, or leaning up against a bookshelf or something. So he decided to design something to fix that problem. He calls it simply, the Bike Shelf. So get your bikes up off the ground whether high or low. Check it out for yourself at, www.knifeandsaw.com

So into fashion you wish you could decorate your walls with it? Ever wonder what a stylish photo might look if replicated into thousands of small images? Why wonder when you can see how fashion photographer Rachel de Joode has invented her own way to cover entire walls with her work, full of charming, rhythmic patterns.

When you first walk into a room you see a powerful design, move closer and you see fashion models in various poses showing off the glamour and sophistication of fashion photography. Four different collections are currently available on SoonSaloon.com including these photos of her Les Hors D’Oeuvres collection featuring such delicious names as Angel Cake, Honey Pie, Strawberry Souffle and Petit Fours. After doing a simple search on TheFind.com, I also found several styles available from Viesso.com.

Pillows are the added value to our home decor. Bright pops of color, over sized and comfy or a way to help define out style in a room. I have been know to fall in love with a pillow and travel six hours on a plane to get it home safe and sound to place on one of my couches. With the multitude of online sites, I spend a little “me time” perusing various designs and calculating my next purchase based on how long have the other pillows been on my couch and how long will they last after my dogs take their hundredth nap on them.

My latest pillow finds are dramatically different from one another. One is quirky while the other is dramatic. I don’t see them becoming couch buddies, but I do see one as a gift for a friend and the other pure whimsy to create like characters of my family.

While the Kleins’ Studio would have a hard time fitting the Duggar family on a pillow the rest of us can have fun immortalizing our whole brood on a pillow by logging onto www.Kstudiohome.com. Select from a cast of characters that best resemble your husband, your kids, even your pets plus choose fabric and stitch color. All the pillows are hand embroidered and they use 100% organically grown hemp and cotton. Prices start at $134.

For the modern girl with a white leather couch, these pillows add the right pop. Lisa Pearl’s mission is world domination through edgy couture home accessories. She says she is seduced by the female face which is the main focus in her pillows. She prints her original photography onto the pillows and designs with the intent to be anti-trendy. She is flattered that her work is owned by a pop princess, a hotel princess and a bona-fide royal princess. Her pillows start at $220. Go to www.lisapearl.net

Swinging into the coffee shop every morning for your fancy brew can set you back an average of $20 every week. Instead make your coffee at home and carry it in a fancy travel mug. You could save up to $1,000 per year. OMG, that’s a vacation. With that kind of savings you could buy a $10 frother and try a new coffee flavor every week and still save big.

We decorate our living rooms, our dining rooms, customize our kitchens and make our beds when guests come over, but the last place we give detail to seems to be the bedside table. Instead the bedside table seems to be the place to plop an alarm clock.

Without creating clutter, use your bedside as place to show off a memento, a favorite photo and have a pleasant scent nearby to lull you into a restful sleep. I’m not one for tchotckes, instead I choose specific items to set on a bedside table that play off the color, decor and mood of the room.

My seashells are from various vacations, but you can buy online at SeaShellCity

Currants and Acai reed diffuser from The Fragrance Collection by Glade, FragranceCollection. It’s a soft subtle scent that each time I get into bed, I just think aaahhhh….
Moroccan tea glasses, $35.99 at Amazon
Parisian wallpaper coasters were a gift, but were available at Athropologie where there are plenty of other stylish options.
Small silver textured frame was found in the home decor aisle at TJ Maxx. It’s one of the best places to find frames at affordable prices.

The mirror frame in the photo is from a design shop on La Brea in Los Angeles, but you can find a similar style at Target.
Found a just as lovely blue vase at Bellacor.
Lotus Bamboo scented candle from The Fragrance Collection by Glade adds the right pop of color and has a delightful touch of citrus. Find out more at, FragranceCollection

Sometimes it’s the little things that mean so much. Like inventive hostess gifts brought to the party held by your stylish friends, or the gifts you bring to the family or friends that have you in their home over the holidays. Just saying thanks isn’t necessarily enough.

Absolutely Delicious

Bring the Dessert

Kiss My Bundt has been voted best cupcakes in LA (that’s how good they are –that they beat cupcakes). Skip the cupcakes and go one step trendier with a bundt cake. Large Cakes (Big Ol Bundt) is $32. Price for 2-day shipping option is approx $18. So, you’re looking at about $40 to get a Big Ol Bundt shipped, www.kissmybundt.net

25 layer crepe cake for $50 from www.charlestoncrepecompany.com

Breakfast Success

How many times can I say YUM? Three bread trio includes Pumpkin bread, White chocolate caramel walnut and classic Banana bread. It seems Oprah is a fan. Bread Trio for $28 from www.hannahbananabread.com

Bringing a bottle of wine? Choose a $40 wine and cheese pairing from www.pastoralartisan.com

Gift cards- While cheese platters and wine are great hostess gifts according to a recent survey, 79% of shoppers plan to buy a gift card.

Give a Williams-Sonoma gift card and pair it with whimsical holiday cookie cutters, a sweet apron, the cookies and add in a recipe card of your favorite baked sweet. Snowflake Cookie Cutters, $12.50, Gingerbread Apron, $18

It seems almost impossible to get together during the holidays so make a date in 2010. Give an American Express gift card for $25 or $50 to treat your friend to a day out or gift a restaurant card like Cheesecake Factory and give it with a 2010 calendar journal with dates already marked letting her know that you are ready and willing to party.
Calendar Journals, $16

For The Home

A sleek and stylish way to serve up some chips and dips. And now the hostess doesn’t have to fuss in the kitchen to give you sishes to serve up the snacks. Ceramic servers are oven and microwave safe for reheating and dishwasher safe. B. Smith Chip and Dip 3-Piece Serving Set. Available at www.bedbathandbeyond, $29.99

Porcelain salt & pepper wells for $24, www.globaltable.com
Fancy salt and peppers like Himalayan pink salt and Des Moines pepper, $9-$14 from www.cubemarketplace.com

Picnic Time cheese boards from $25 to $35 from www.kohls.com

Bring along the acoutrements for your hostess’ favorite drink. All she needs to create the perfect martini. Cocktail shaker, $15; two glasses, $6; apple martini, $3; olives, $3, cocktail book, $8 -Total $35 all available at TJ Maxx

Personalized linen cocktail napkins, set of 6 for $20 from www.wisteria.com

Dress a table in winter whimsy. Nordic embroidered napkins, set of 4 for $30.60 from www.wisteria.com

Personalize It

We all seem to forget the personal touch of a handwritten card and when we do we usually don’t have any cards in the house. Instead of writing your hostess a thank you note, give her personal thank you notes as a gift. Set of 15 for $35-36 from www.minted.com.

Give your stylish hostess a new pair of silver earrings to wear to her next invite. And package them in a pretty ceramic catchall that can hold other small jewelry or a chic, inexpensive clutch.

Silver earrings, all $25 each from Sam’s Club
Butterfly and dragonfly mini jewelry catchall, $16 each at Anthropologie
Pink blush clutch, $13 from Charlotte Russe

Lambie robe for $49.50 from www.bathandbodyworks.com

Get all wrapped up. Give one to five different people or all five to your hostess. Five big, soft scarves for $29 from www.wisteria.com

This is a game they can tote along on all their travels. A leather travel backgammon set that comes in three color variations and top it with an elegant gold monogram stamp. Travel backgammon $50 from www.mrsmonogram.com

For the family or friends that just adopted a dog, or just the ones that treat their pooches like kids, treat the dogs to tres cool toys and the hostess to rocking T-shirts to express her love. Your gift makes a donation to The Rescue Train, an animal rescue organization.
Jax and Bones dog toys for $14, www.jaxandbones.com
Cuter to Neuter, Puppies Rock, Mutt Lover T-Shirts, $20-$35, available at www.therescuetrain.org