Ask Mikey Book Reviews Movie Reviews Recipes

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  Holiday decor trends: inventiveness, eclecticism

  Following the general trend in home décor, holiday trim and accessories this year are an eclectic mix of traditional and non-traditional colors and styles.Remember when blue or pastel pink ornaments were the height of kitsch? Now they’re mainstream, elegant options. And while red and green are popular hues, they are not married to each other. Red might be paired with ivory, or amethyst; green may partner with copper, caramel or bright white.As for what goes on the tree or the mantel, well, that’s the thing — anything goes.Style watchers say we’re approaching the holidays with a more open mind. Households are more diverse, relaxed and less tied to old-school ways of celebrating. So it follows that ideas of what works in décor have never been more expansive.Some general trends: Holiday HuesWhile jewel tones and creamy palettes hold strong, red is red-hot.

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  ‘A Christmas Story’ at 30: Now part of the family

  Even after three decades, the triple-dog dare doesn’t get old.The film “A Christmas Story” opened 30 years ago to mixed reviews but has shown its staying power as a holiday family favorite. Cleveland, where parts of the movie were filmed and hard-luck Ralphie dreamed big, is celebrating the anniversary with iconic leg lamps, holiday store windows like the ones that drew Ralphie’s wide-eyed stares, and stage and musical versions of “A Christmas Story.”“It becomes part of your fabric for your whole life,” said Kevin Moore, managing director of the Cleveland Play House, where the stage version of the story has become a holiday staple.In the film, starring Darren McGavin as the father, 9-year-old Ralphie was transfixed by the brightly decorated storefront windows. And he dreamed of getting an air rifle as a Christmas gift, despite warnings that he might shoot his eye out.The plot follows his determined gift-begging, his encounters with bullies and his family’s daily hopes and dreams — including a lamp in the form of a shapely leg.The Cleveland house where Ralphie’s film family lived will highlight the anniversary Friday and Saturday with appearances by original cast members and a BB gun range in the backyard.

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  F.Q. Story Historic District to host annual home tour

  Historic homes in downtown Phoenix are rolling out their welcome mats this weekend.The entire street of Willetta and 9th Avenue, just two blocks south of McDowell Road, will take part in the 29th Annual Christmas Home Tour and Gift Sale Dec. 7-8.These homes date back to the 1920s and boast architectural styles such as English Tudor, bungalow, Pueblo and Spanish Colonial. They will be decorated for the holidays and open for viewing both inside and out.The streets will be decked out with luminaries during the Saturday night tour, which takes place from 6 to 9 p.m., and carolers will be strolling by with serenades. The Sunday tour from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. will feature gift, craft and food booths to help cross some items off your Christmas shopping list. Free trolley services will also be available.Tickets can be purchased for $15 at www.fqstory.org. Bring a non-perishable food donation for a $1 discount.For more information, visit www.fqstory.org or call (602) 258-9282.

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  ‘The Girl You Left Behind’ makes for compelling reading

  A true story made headlines Nov. 4. A trove of approximately 1,500 works of art confiscated by the Nazis in World War II were seized in a Munich apartment. The value was estimated to be $1.3 billion by artists such as Picasso, Matisse and Chagall. The news goes on to say that determining the rightful owners of the works decades after they were either sold under duress or seized could take years.One might think this would be a great premise for a novel and “The Girl You Left Behind,” by Jojo Moyes, might just be that novel. Published earlier this year, it was obviously written before this news broke. The work of art at the heart of this story is of course fictitious as are the events surrounding it. The painting titled, “The Girl You Left Behind,” was painted in 1915 by French artist Eduardo Lefevre and resurfaced in 2001 in London.There are actually two girls left behind in this story. The first is Sophie Lefevre whose artist husband, Eduardo, goes to war for France in 1916. The second is Liv, a young widow in London whose husband dies prematurely in 2000. Their stories, some 80 years apart, are connected through a painting of “the girl” who is actually Sophie painted by her husband. The painting resurfaces in the story in Liv’s bedroom. It was a gift from her husband on their honeymoon. The two girls are united by a passion for this painting, which represents both their husbands’ love and devotion to them.The dual time frame storyline almost a century apart flows effortlessly from one to the other, although Sophie’s historical storyline is, I believe, the stronger of the two. Sophie, struggling to keep the family’s hotel afloat under the German occupation of France, hangs her portrait in the hotel where it is a daily reminder of the proud self-reliant girl her husband saw. She wants this reminder as the German invasion causes her to feel that the “glowing girl willful in her confidence” is slipping away due to enemy oppression and poor nutrition. Although the opening scene would have readers doubt this when she confronts the German Kommandant’s accusation that she is harboring livestock, it is my favorite scene in the book.The risk she takes in hanging the portrait in a public place is that it is also visible to all. When the German Kommandant notices the painting, his comments reveal that he is a cultured man. The portrait is the catalyst that causes Sophie to risk everything — reputation, family and her life — in hopes of seeing her Eduardo again.What follows is a wary connection made between the Kommandant and Sophie that leads to tragic circumstances.

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  At 65, Kenny Loggins sings on with Blue Sky Riders

  Logic, it turns out, isn’t always the way to go, at least not for Kenny Loggins.Had he listened to that particular little voice in his head, the two-time Grammy winner with 12 platinum records would be kicking back at home right now in Santa Barbara, Calif. Instead, at 65, he’s hitting the stage and studio with a whole new act and a whole new sound nearly five decades into his music career.He’s got three songs on a CD tucked inside a new “Frosty the Snowman” picture book out on Imagine, Peter Yarrow’s imprint.But he’s been making serious music with the Blue Sky Riders, his country rock trio with Nashville’s Gary Burr and Georgia Middleman. They have a new Christmas CD, “Finally Home,” co-produced by Peter Asher and featuring a tune called “Dream” that has this line: “You take the glory days/I’ll take what’s on its way/No one can tell me my best days are done.”The Associated Press: How has storytelling changed for you?Loggins: At the beginning of my career, Loggins and (Jimmy) Messina, Jimmy was my mentor. I had not done anything professionally, so it was all a period of learning and just kind of sitting back and watching, seeing how things were done. Then when I went solo I started to take what I’d learned and put it into action. No matter what phase of life you’re in, it’s always a learning procedure. Then when I hit this third act, as some people are calling it, I discovered that I had a pretty clear picture of the kind of thing I wanted to do for this next part of my life. ... In “Dream,” “Too old to dream” became this pivotal phrase that Georgia developed into the chorus of the song, that sometimes logic doesn’t win out, that the heart and the passion has got to win out.

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  Ask Mikey: There are many ways to say ‘Thank You’

  Thanksgiving. A holiday started long ago that currently finds its way into homes of pumpkin scents, laced around glazed turkeys, cranberry sauce, and good-ole mashed potatoes. Yet the Thanksgiving holiday is not just seen as a time to celebrate that we all love to eat, and the food coma we eventually fall into afterwards, but a day to stop and think about what we are truly thankful for.Thankful. What does the word mean? Well according to the dictionary, it means pleased and relieved. We are relieved that we are able to share the holiday with our loved ones. We are pleased to eat delicious food with one another and to see who wins the NFL football game.Grateful. The word thankful then sparks curiosity to the related word of being grateful. By definition, to be grateful means feeling or showing an appreciation of kindness. We are grateful that we have the blessing of having food to eat. We are grateful that we have a warm bed to sleep in at night while so many sadly do not.Thank you. The dictionary described this as a polite expression used when acknowledging a gift, service, or compliment, or accepting or refusing an offer. Thank you for holding the door open for me. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, but if I have another slice of pumpkin pie I will have to be rolled out of here.Appreciative. By definition, understanding or recognizing worth. I appreciate everything that you do for this company. I just wanted you to know that your kindness is very much appreciated. I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate you as a person.Wow, just saying these words out loud gives off a positive force, don’t you think? Doesn’t it make you feel good to just say them out loud? How does it make you feel when someone says any of these to you? Pretty warm and fuzzy inside right? How do you think you can make another person feel if you said these words to them?