Star Evans formerly Mona Lisa Boutique

Be ready for our most important national holiday – July 4th!  Here’s several adorable graphic tees, cool mugs and a glitzy flag bag for the big day!  Order now in order to get it all before the 4th of July!  

Here’s what I bought this year to splash red, white and blue all over my yard:  

( I am an Amazon affiliate and may get a commission if you purchase through these links.)

100 Red, white & blue strings lights from Amazon $11.89 https://amzn.to/4dRlucS

Stars & Stripes bunting 3-pack from Amazon $27.99 https://amzn.to/3ZlCD8E

Dozen mini American flags for flower pots from Amazon $6.99 https://amzn.to/3HKQlMc

My favorite good old fashioned chocolate chip cookie recipe is from Neiman Marcus.  It’s basically Nestle Toll House Cookie recipe but add espresso powder!

For sure you know his name from the famous torso shaped perfume bottles, but Jean Paul Gaultier has had an effect on you even if you are not aware of it. He was the “enfant terrible” that brought the corset-look, or bustier, into mainstream fashion. He was the first to send men down the runway in skirts and models covered in tattoos appeared in his haute couture shows. JPG used plus size models too. His silver haired models sparked the “Granny Gray Hair” trend of the last few years. Gaultier often appeared in his signature sailor stripe t-shirt and it has become a mainstay of many brands.

Jean Paul Gaultier surprised the fashion world when he announced that he was about to present his final collection last week. He is only 67 but is celebrating 50 years in the fashion business. He said that Gaultier Paris will go on and that he has a new concept which will be revealed later. It’s the “tease” that keeps us interested in Gaultier!

Our favorite Gaultier moment was perhaps his foray into music:

His farewell show featured all the usual supermodels of 2020 and also included Paris Jackson, Boy George and Mylene Farmer!

Jean Paul Gaultier always presented a combination of very dramatic looks which translated into huge perfume sales. His runway shows are always interesting to watch and aspects of his collections have always found their way into mainstream fashion. Now we look forward to the next venture!

Two friends who visited the Christkindl markets in Vienna and assorted ones in Austria and Germany this year gushed so much that I kicked myself for not heading downtown to the Chicago Christkindl Market which is always “wunderbar!” And a very good friend, a native of Vienna, related to me that he visits the Vienna market each year for warm Gluhwein and Gebrannte Mandeln or “burnt nuts.” So I couldn’t stop thinking about the Gebrannte Mandeln in their cute little red and white stripe cones. I tried several recipes until I think I found one that could be made at home and still tastes almost exactly like the ones made at the markets. The best part is that it is so simple and I was able to avoid the high price of the nuts and the crowds.

Our father has roots in Alsace, France and after eating these, he told me that his Mom who was 100% French, always made these for him. He said that these taste exactly like the ones that she would make for him.  So I think we’re on to something genuine here.

Above – My homemade German Roasted Candied Pecans. So easy.

The best tasting, most authentic recipe for homemade “burnt nuts” or German Roasted Candied Pecans that I found was from Southern Fatty:

Prep time 5 mins, Cook time 25 mins, Total time 30 mins, Serves: 3 cups.

This year is the 35th anniversary of the release of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” In 1984 when it was recorded, we were importing records, books, magazines and vhs tapes from England. We sold them thru a mail order catalog company which we ran out of our house. The morning after it was recorded, we received a frantic call from Steve, our supplier in London. He told us about Band Aid and that he had a stash of 12″‘s reserved for us. Steve had them delivered to us in two days and our phone was ringing like crazy as the flip side of the 12” record made in England was different than the US release. We sold out before we ever advertised it. The most popular flavors of the day sang on it. Those were the ones that made us the most money for many years:  Duran Duran, Culture Club, Bananarama, George Michael and U2. We still love to watch the video and interestingly, most of these pop stars are still touring and creating new music.

There have been several versions released over 35 years but we still love the original. However, we truly enjoy this French version from 2014 titled “Noel est la.”. This version was reworked and rewritten by the lovely supermodel/songwriter Carla Bruni. You may recognize the famous French tennis champion/pop star  Yannick Noah, known more stateside for being Joachim Noah’s father.  Yannick is quite a great singer/songwriter too. Hope you like this refreshing rendition! Salut!

“Noel Est La” French Band Aid 30, 2014

Here’s a few versions that you may not have heard.  They are all worth a listen and are really good and always raised money for good causes.

Here’s 1988 – the only repeats on this one was Bananarama.

And Band Aid 20 from 2004.  Bono rounded out this one with original Band Aid creators Midge Ure and Bob Geldof. Video became unavailable.  Sorry.

Band Aid 30 – 30 years from the original recording included… Bono again.

We haven’t forgotten the original reason that this phenomenon was created and we hope that the goodness that came from these recordings continues with the next generation of pop stars!

Happy Christmas!  Cheers!  Jill & Wendy

One of our favorite Christmas songs is “When A Child Is Born.”  There are so many beautiful versions of this song. But the most famous is the Johnny Mathis version.

The origins of the song are a bit bizarre. It was originally an instrumental written by Ciro Damicco for the Brazilian film from 1974 titled, “The Love of the Wolf.”  The plot revolved around a cursed young man who turns into a wolf  after he defies the devil who promises to release the curse if he gives up the love of his life. The song was originally called “Soleado” and it had nothing to do with Christmas. In fact, words were put to the music in several languages and most were not about Christmas. The English lyrics are not exactly about the birth of Jesus but it is strongly implied.

Johnny Mathis performed a lovely version with Gladys Knight and as a solo but this version with Susan Boyle is our favorite.  Take a listen.

A very stirring version by Il Divo:

And we just found this incredible one by Sarah Brightman:

Cheers!  Jill & Wendy