OK magazine Christmas party photos

We subscribe to OK! magazine to get our weekly dose of celebrity gossip. It is one of the better magazines if you want news about celebs without spin and speculation. It is also one of the magazines that tends to treat its subjects kindly, unlike many bloggers, no matter what, who make a living by being mean.

While the magazine generally has great access to the stars but for their Christmas party at the Surya Center Health Spa in London, they did not attract many big names. Having said that, they did have women like Chantelle Houghton, Alicia Duvall, and Nikki Grahame, who definitely know how to bring the holiday spirit to a party. More like the Marc Jacobs Arabian Nights Masquerade Ball.

Give gifts to those who need them

Like most other people we are invited to birthdays, baby/bridal showers (funny it may sound but many parties are now include men too), weddings, and other parties. We often bring gifts as is customary, and we love to celebrate with our friends and family members. What bothers me is that we (and others who give to us, despite our reluctance) end up spending thousands of dollars giving to people who already have everything. Yes, we do our part by donating to charity organizations or giving gifts directly to those who are less fortunate than us, but I often feel that if well-off people would stop giving sweaters, ties, toys, wine bottles, and the like to each other and start sharing with people who could actually use a sweater to stay warm during (as opposed to people like me who have a closet full of them), the world would be a much better place. That is why I admire Nicole Richie and Joel Madden who gave away their baby shower gifts to moms/children who needed them more than they did.

What would Jesus Buy movie review

We can only speculate but this hypothetical question definitely makes us all think. I have to admire the marketing strategists who have done a terrific job in associating Christmas (and for that matter almost all holidays all the way from Memorial/Columbus/4th of July Day to Valentine's Day and Thanksgiving) with shopping. I wouldn't be surprised if future generations might even not realize that Christmas originally was a day to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ, and thus, a time to reflect on his message of love and peace. To the best of my knowledge (I am not a Christian and have only limited knowledge of the Bible), there is no mention of shopping or even exchanging gifts in the Bible. The story of Santa Claus comes much later and it was all about helping the poor, and certainly not about giving yet another sweater or tie to someone who already has 10.

I am really not expecting that our shopping patterns will change in any way due to this movie (they better not since that is what keeps our economic engine running) but I do hope that consumers will spend a few moments to think about what makes it possible to sell all these products at such low prices, the pollution, the global warming, the sweatshops, etc. so that they can push the corporations to act more responsibly.

Christmas eve dinner menu and recipes

Like all of our meals, we relied heavily on use of organic, fresh vegetables and tried to keep the calories to a minimum for our dinner.

The appetizer was zucchini rolls. They are very easy to make. Simply cut thin stripes of zucchini and then grill them till they are soft. You can stuff them with anything you like but we used goat cheese with salad greens. Simply role it up and insert a tooth pick to hold them in place. here is how they look.
The salad was also made from grilled vegetables (Japanese egglplants and bell peppers) and greens. We also sprinkled some walnuts and fresh mozzarella cheese.
The soup was made from mushrooms (like the cream of mushroom but without the cream - added just a little bit of milk). We added chestnuts puree for added flavor.
The main dish was shrimp with vegetables in a light, creamy sauce. We ate it with focaccia bread.
The dessert was pears poached in red wine. Here is the recipe for pears in wine. I like it chilled but you can also serve it warm.

Saks Fifth Avenue Christmas window displays

A trip to New York City this holiday season included lunch at Rosa Mexicano, appreciation of the Christmas decorations at the Rockefeller Center, and window-shopping at Cartier. But there is another place to look at the windows, not necessarily for window-shopping: Saks Fifth Avenue store, which is famous for its holiday decorations. Take a look at the story that unfolds below.

Christmas decoration at Cartier in New York

One of the things that high-end retail stores do is to decorate their storefronts during the holiday season. Thus, a walk on Fifth Avenue can be a lot of fun. Stores like Louis Vuitton often displays art in its windows. Earlier I showed a picture of the Christmas decoration at Rockefeller Center. This is a picture of the Cartier store.

Christmas lights at Rockefeller Center in New York

The Rockefeller Center in New York always has something or the other going on but at Christmas time, it is the place to be. Even if you go every year, which we end up doing, it is nice to be walking around. We often visit the Saks Fifth Avenue store, Kinokuniya book store, and shop at the ever-popular Zara, Mexx, and H&M.