REMEMBERING VICTORIA MAGAZINE... 

Last week I heard someone mention Victoria Magazine. 

I was a little startled since I hadn't thought about it for a couple of years. I went up stairs to my guest bedroom and there they were... every issue from the beginning until the time Nancy Lindemeyer left as editor in chief.

 

The first publication was released the winter of 1987/1988  The second came the following October. 

 Phrases like "Autumn... A Sentimental Journey" and "Come Gather at Our Table" only peeked my appetite for what lay inside. Beautiful photography, travel, recipes, fashion and regular features such as "favorite things" and "Children's Corner" allowed me a sense of anticipation that was never met with disappointment. 

Toshi Otsuki's artistic eye produced photographs that took my breath away. I wanted my home to look like his pictures.

Carefully chosen artists and writers in residence allowed personal glimpses into their private lives and passions. 







The year they photographed Christmas at Tasha Tudors, we got to see her light real candles on her tree. Nancy, Toshi and the crew kept a fire extinguisher close at hand. 

Reading Victoria Magazine transported me to another place and time, one where I was engulfed in all things feminine and beautiful. 

I planned my children's weddings with Victoria magazines and books as my "bible".  We even built a maypole for my daughter's reception. We literally had ribbons dancing in the breeze.

Nancy Lindemeyer was the heart and soul of the magazine and when she left in the year 2000 it was a sad day. The magazine continued for another two years but it was never the same.

Not wanting it to end, I held onto all my issues. I re-read them from time to time and I always find something inspirational. It is a decade I cherish.

Here's a link to Nancy's current journal...

http://nancylindemeyer.blogspot.com

The complete collection of the original Victoria Magazine are available to purchase on DVD.  The cost is $99.  Follow the link... http://www.hoffmanmediastore.com/victoria-complete-collection-dvd.html

A REMARKABLE WOMAN AT ALMOST 80

This was posted on the Today show this morning. Thought I would pass it along.  What a cute lady!

Paddy & Nico

Britain's Got Talent 2014

MADAME C J WALKER...

the first self-made female millionaire and truly remarkable woman

 (1867–1919)

Madam C J  Walker, born Sarah Breedlove, created specialized hair products for African-American hair and was the first American woman to become a millionaire through her own business. She would come to be known as the greatest benefactress of her race.

Born into difficult circumstances, Sarah's parents were poor ex-slaves who worked on a cotton farm in Louisiana. . She was orphaned by the time she was seven, a wife at fourteen, a mother at seventeen and a widow at twenty.

At the turn of the century there were few options for a black women to earn a living. Sarah became a washerwoman and then a cook. At thirty-three she began to lose her hair. Desperate to find help she claims...

"One night I had a dream, and in that dream a big black man appeared to me and told me what to mix up in my hair. Some of the remedy was grown in Africa, but I sent for it, mixed it, put it on my scalp and in a few weeks my hair was coming in faster than it had ever fallen out. I tried it on my friends: it helped them. I made up my mind to begin to sell it."

The first product she made was called Madame C. J. Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower. She used her own “before and after” pictures to demonstrate the products effectiveness. It focused on a clean and healthy scalp.

One side benefit was that the product also straightened the hair and made it more manageable.

She began by selling her product door to door, gaining a fiercely loyal clientele. An ingenious marketer and saleswoman, Madame Walker placed her system of hair care in Black colleges all over the United States. She advertised in Black newspapers, and eventually it became available in drug stores. 

Letters began pouring in from all over the country... women attesting to the benefits of her products.

Sarah developed the concept of  a "Beauty Culture" and emphasized cleanliness and professionalism with a strict outline for appearance, moral conduct and character.

At first she set up a correspondence course for her "Beauty Culture"  but she revolutionized the industry when she opened a Beauty College in New York City. Young black women were taught three things...

1 How to be neat, clean, properly attired and well mannered.
2 How to use Madame’s hair care system on customers.
3  How to sell Madame's hair care products.

She raised the black woman’s self-esteem and confidence about their own beauty and intelligence, empowering them economically.

The most revolutionary thing Madame Walker did was to recruit a sales force. She held public meetings and put on demonstrations in order to recruit women to become "Walker Agents."

Eventually she organized a National Convention for her "Walker Agents" giving away prizes and incentives to motivate her troops.

(Does this sound familiar... Mary Kay, Avon, Amway... Madame Walker definitely blazed a trail.)

At her passing she had recruited over 25,000 black women from the US, Central America, and the Caribbean. This was the grass roots of direct marketing.



Madame Walker lived in a 32 room mansion in Irvington, New York called Villa Lewaro. She left it as a monument to her name and as an example of what hard work can do. 

Her home in New York

"I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there I was promoted to the washtub. From there I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations. I have built my own factory on my own ground.  I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them. 

Madame C J Walker

Two-thirds of all her fortune was left to African American charities.

TAX DAY!

Just paid my accountant a bucket load of money so he could explain to me why the raise I got was cancelled out by the fact that now I pay more taxes. I kept repeating the mantra...

"I nourish the world and the world nourishes me"

At this rate we are going to be on bread and water. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Got to love tax day!

WHY I LIKE KATE... 
 

Will, Kate and little George are in the news this week as they  travel down under. How fun to catch a glimpse of their family.

where to begin...

THE HATS - She makes wearing a hat look truly fashionable. For as long as I can remember we, in the US, have been a little puzzled by the English and their hats. Now suddenly they are brilliant, unpredictable and the perfect element to complete an outfit.

 

Not since Jackie Kennedy has someone worn a hat with such flair.

 

THE LOVE STORY - I think we all felt a twinge of sadness when things didn't work out for Diana and Charles. To see their son appear to be truly and madly in love with a beautiful woman gives me hope that maybe there are still fairy tales that come true.

 



I have watched them pose side by side when everything in the picture screamed... "I wish you would all go away so I could throw my arms around him." And then... she did!

SHE WANTED TO BE A MOTHER - How refreshing! Here she is with George, who definitely has her good looks.

 

SHE'S REAL - She blew everyone away when she appeared with her new son completely unashamed of her "baby bump" 

SHE'S NOT AFRAID TO WEAR IT TWICE- She runs the gamut between inexpensive clothes off the rack to designer gowns (Alexander McQueen is one of her favorites) When she travels she wears clothes made by designers from that country. I think that's thoughtful and good PR.  And then there are those pumps she has worn multiple, multiple times. I bet she owns more than one pair.

 

SHE HAS GREAT TASTE - Never garish or immodest she is a beautiful fashion show that never seems to end.

 

A BEAUTIFUL HOMAGE to the women Will loves...

 BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY! 

Katherine Jenkins and the Mormon Tabernacle choir

THE PRAYER

The Paso Doble

TOO PRETTY TO EAT  

www.lizybbakes.com

I had a cookie decorating business for 12 years. I lived and breathed cookies and cookie cutters. Whenever I see edible works of art, and there are many out there, it brings back some good memories. 

Here is the best sugar cookie recipe I have ever used and the recipe for making your "royal icing" actually taste good!

SUGAR COOKIES

 2 c. butter (no substitutions)

4 egg yolks 

1 1/2 c. sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

4 - 4 1/2 c. flour

Mix dough and chill for at least an hour. Roll out on floured board to 1/4" thickness and cut as desired.  Place on Parchment covered cookie sheet and bake at 350 for approx. 12 minutes.

ROYAL ICING

2 lbs powdered sugar

3 TBS powdered egg whites

Place the dry ingredients in your 

Kitchen Aid and mix.  Slowly add water to thin. To flavor add...

1/4 tsp almond flavoring

1/2 tsp clear vanilla

1/2 tsp butter flavoring

OPTIONS - 1/4  tsp orange extract   

                    1/4 tsp mint extract

www.bakedideas.com

Happy Decorating!