COTE DE TEXAS’ Christmas List 2021

 

It’s the start of a new year and hopefully, hopefully!! we might finally be looking at the end of the pandemic!  With all the vaccines and medicines coming out -- maybe it might finally be on its way out.

I hope so.

Can we start to celebrate? Everything seems so festive now, like we are all waking up from a long sleep!

This time of year is always so fun for me.  I love putting together my Christmas list, gathering the items I like and I just hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Sooooo without further ado…..The Christmas List 2021!!!!

 

 
ORDER HERE.

This has just gone on backorder!  This is what I was afraid of – things going on backorder.  For weeks I have wanted this image to open my list with and I hate to take it down.  It’s sooo pretty!!!!  The vase below would be a good substitute:

 

 

An alternative HERE

ONE OR TWO OR THREE WOULD LOOK SO CUTE ON A TABLETOP.  HERE

 

I love this miniature olive tree for a tabletop.    HERE

 

 

 

 

Small medium and large planter.  But what a cute trash bin for the powder room!

HERE

The New York Times rated this one of their favorite woodsy candle.  I agree.  I also love the black fig.  Choose your own favorite scent from PF Candle Co.

HERE

 

This is my new favorite Nest!   It’s so exotic.   HERE

Scallops are THE decor detail of the 2020s.  The grandmillenniums can not get enough of scallops and neither can I!:

 
SCALLOPED PLACEMATS & NAPKINS IN DIFFERENT COLORS HERE

 

 

 

Beautiful scalloped plates HERE

       

 

Toile plates with pretty scalloped edges

HERE

Scalloped placemats and table runners HERE

         Without a doubt this is one of the best things I bought this year!   I have seen this trio of baskets designed by Bunny Williams for a few years.  They come with the scalloped cotton liners with colored trims and you can get them monogrammed.  They are much bigger than I realized which makes them really functional.  I got them for our bathroom.  Plus the price is so reasonable!   FABULOUS!   HERE    
 

Fabric shades, different colors and different sizes – wonderful to update an old lamp.  HERE

And more colors and styles HERE

 

 

 

These scalloped bedsheets come in different colors – but I love the blue.  Dust ruffles, drapery panels, and duvet covers too.  HERE

 

 

Scallop tray HERE

Scalloped mirrors small and large in white or black.  HERE

 

 

 

Pretty HERE

I LOVE this pendant! It comes in three shades.  The size is so good and I love the way the bottom looks.  Quick way to update a kitchen.   HERE

The most popular Visual Comfort Lamp by Kelly Werstler.  Medium and Large – perfect look with scallops!   HERE

The perfect hostess gift 5inch vase by Jaliska  HERE

 

 

White marble stands for display and buffets HERE

OMG!!  You probably heard of these pots and pans. Comes in all colors.  The Always Pan is magical!!   The spoon rests on the pan, no more dirty counters!  There are two pour spots.  The drain steamer fits right in.  This pan makes me want to cook more!    HERE

AND here is the companion Perfect Pot HERE

 

 

I love the English Emma Bridgewater

Darling jug:  HERE   or – the entire collection HERE

WONDERFUL Personalized Housewarming gift HERE

These are reproductions made in Houston, and they are just beautiful!!  A wonderful gift for yourself or daughter in law!

HERE 

all their stock HERE

 

 

   Celebrate the open airways with new luggage!  Comes in all colors.

Remember when a set of luggage was SO expensive???  No more! 

HERE

 

 

The cutest luggage for a Grand millennium – comes in other colors too.  HERE

Extra large towel warmer!!  LOVE!

HERE

            

Tissue weight wool/cashmere scarf – asst. colors.  Great gift!

HERE

 

 

 

CASHMERE HERE

 

 

Ralph Lauren with cashmere HERE

 

Cashmere open sweater HERE

with matching tank HERE

 

HERE

 

Cashmere robe – the luxe! HERE

 

Too cute!!  HERE

 
Cashmere HERE

 

Oprahs favorite pant – by Spanx.  The Perfect Pant.  HERE

J Crew half zip sweater, comes in all colors.   HERE

From Paris Hot pink sweater

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Boyfriend shirt from Paris

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So warm!

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Black sweater jacket from J Crew ala Audrey Hepburn! HERE

This shirt from J Crew goes under the jacket, but note – it’s a light peach not ivory!   Notice the cuffs – they are also ruffled.

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This is just too cute.

HERE

These velvet Maryjanes comes in asst colors, but I love the blush!

 

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HERE

Such a pretty shirt/combo for a night out.  HERE

 

This tiny evening bag is like a work of art, prettier than a Chanel that costs tons more.  This comes in all colors  HERE

As always – our nod to Nancy Meyers, blue & white stripes!

HERE

 

HERE

 

 

 

And in a sweater HERE

 

 

HERE

HERE AND HERE

     

HERE

 

MADEWELL COLLECTION HERE

HERE

     
MADEWELL HERE

CARAMEL OR BLACK HERE

      HERE

LOVE THESE JEANS  HERE

Birdies best sellers. All their shoes are darling and comfy.

HERE

 

 

 

 

WOOL SCARF HERE

 

HERE

The trendy Sweater coat HERE

Another HERE

SHORT FAUX FUX HERE

This chic puffer gives a sleek look with the lines pointing down and inward.  Great value.  Very warm and water resistant.  HERE

The sister coat, short with fur trim – comes in many colors.  I like the pink.  HERE

 

 

The teddybear coats may not be the most beautiful coats – but they are the warmest coats I have ever worn. EVER.   I have three different ones and am going to buy this one too!

HERE

Darling vest from Tuckernuck! HERE

 

 

 

Faux fur reversible HERE

Nothing is hotter this season than the Gucci label after the Gaga & Adam Driver House of Gucci movie. This is classic Gucci from the green and red ribbon to the original fabric.  Plus, it is so big and it won’t break the bank.  Doesn’t get any better.  HERE

A most popular item each year.  The gift that keeps giving – each purchase feeds starving children.   This is their new oversized tote.  HERE

 

 

This Tory comes in blue too.   HERE

 

HERE

casual Isabel Marant HERE

Sophisticated.  HERE

Flowery robe HERE

I bought these by the handful last winter.  They are slouchy which means it doesn’t pop off your head and the ball doesn’t stick up.  Really cute!

HERE

 

 

HERE

GOLD PLATED BRACELET HERE

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I like the gold mixed with the faux.  HERE 

This entire line is so pretty for faux.  Go HERE to see it all.

STILL, THE MOST TRENDY JEWELRY.  HERE

HERE

HERE

 

 

Mother of Pearl disc and chain HERE

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AHHHHH.   The best there is!   I can only afford the FREE sample size!  Seriously!   It’s a splurge, but sooooo worth it!!!  HERE

 

My bestie gave this as a birthday gift to that girl who has everything.  She absolutely LOVED it!!   HERE

I recently changed to this makeup and love it. For a change?   HERE

Perfect Hanukkah gift – 8 presents for each night from Dylan’s Candy Bar.  HERE

 

 

So cute!!! HERE

This tent reminds of the movie The Holiday!  HERE

 

Room for Two – electric.  HERE

 

 

There is a puffer hoodie too, too cute! HERE

 

For tiny dogs and cats.  HE  RE

If someone would only make a wicker dog bed for large dogs, they could make a fortune.  All of them are totally sold out.  This was it – that was reasonable.

Everyone, Have a Happy Holiday Season!!!!!!

Thank you for all your support this year and all the previous ones.  I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you reading the blog and my instagram!!!

HOUSTON, WE GOT A PROBLEM

Around forty years ago, still in my 20s, I went to a concert at the Sam Houston Coliseum (remember that old place?)  It was standing only, there were no seats.  The only barricade was the stage.   I wasn’t at a wild rap concert  - rappers and even their parents had not yet been born.  I was at a Rolling Stones show and while they were probably already in their 40s - the crowd was still very excited to see them.  It was THE Stones, after all.  I was very close to the stage and when Mick came out, the crowd surged, surged so hard that I felt claustrophobic and found it hard to breathe.  In a panic, I truly thought I might die.   I’ve never forgotten that crushing feeling and over the years whenever I read about similar stampedes, I know exactly how it happened and how it feels.

The Stones in Houston 1978.  That’s probably the back of my head at the stage, right.

  We were lucky that night in 1978, no one died in the crush.  A year later, at a Who concert in 1979, eleven people did die.  The AstroWorld concert is no different.   What a terrible tragedy repeating itself.   It seems so preventable now, looking back, hindsight and all that.  When will we ever learn from history – crowd surges are preventable???

Today,  everyone knows how the show should have been handled, now that it’s over:  from the police chief to the fire chief to concert goers, even to an interior design blogger.  We all know what went wrong and how to avoid it in the future.  

Can we just finally ban standing only concerts?

In the press and in personal conversations all around America, the hatred for Travis Scott is no different than if he had pulled out an AK47 and shot the victims from the stage. Travis Scott is a monster, the devil incarnate walking amongst us.

But is he?

This wasn’t just another music concert coming to town.  This wasn’t just another rapper stopping in Houston for the night.  This was his town as much as New York was Frank Sinatra’s and San Francisco was Tony Bennett’s and the Jersey Shore was Bruce Springsteen’s.

Travis’ is a Houston boy, born and bred.   His love for Houston is a common thread that runs through his music and his life.  His album was named AstroWorld, as was his series of concerts he performed on the old AstroWorld property twice before last week.  Time spent at that old amusement park provokes happy memories for Travis and truly for most Houstonians.  Those of us from Houston understand that sentiment.  It was a different time then.  We were still innocent.

The Hofheinz family and the mayor showing off the plans for AstroWorld, the new amusement park to be built right next to our Eighth Wonder of the World – The Astrodome, which today is probably considered the a tear down of stadiums.

Even the graphics were groovy!

For decades, we all loved the rides and the roller coasters and the corny singing and dancing variety shows at AstroWorld.  Who didn’t covet a season pass?   I wanted to work there in the summers, but of course my parents wouldn’t let me.   Little Ben Webb was luckier than me.   He was hired to drive the tram (remember trams?) full of people across the freeway from the Astrodome parking lot to AstroWorld.  In the summer.  In 100 degree heat.  Poor Ben!

AstroWorld closed for good in 2005, when Travis Scott was a young 14 year old.   He had spent his earliest years in the most dangerous of neighborhoods, living with his grandmother, but later, he moved to a nice suburb with his parents.  AstroWorld was where he went to have fun.   He graduated high school and went to UTSA for two years before leaving to pursue his music career which took off like a rocket ship.  Extremely talented and very popular with the younger crowd, his future was limitless. 

For us older women, we mostly knew him through his Kardashian connection. 

He is Kylie Jenner’s baby daddy.   Besides Stormi, the two have another baby on the way, due soon.

The week before the tragic concert, Travis took the press on a tour of Houston – showcasing the charities he has been working on these past few years. One stop was at a Sunnyside neighborhood elementary school where he had created a garden, just like the one his grandmother had in the same neighborhood where he grew up.  He brought her along to see the garden up close.

Travis’ garden will be used by the school as a teaching tool to promote healthy eating as opposed to eating only fast food.

Travis and his grandmother at the Cactus Jack Garden Center.

  Another stop in Sunnyside was the new basketball court he had built and donated to the community:  

Travis’ new court is a vast improvement over the old one.

And also, there is the art center, partnered with the prestigious Parsons School of Design – this is located on Navigation, in the east side of Houston.

  The center will connect high school students with colleges in order to create partnerships in graphic and fashion design. 

Travis’ Cactus Jack charity reached out to the food, athletic, and the art worlds – all greatly needed in the very poorest neighborhoods of Houston. But after the tragic concert, even these recipients of his giving are questioning him. It’s hard to reconcile this charitable man with the portrayal of the crazed rapper.

BUT….it makes me wonder.

Was Roger Daltrey blamed for the deaths of the eleven at that tragic Who concert?  And, don’t forget, wasn’t the Who’s Peter Townsend notorious for riling up the crowd as he smashed his guitar to smithereens at the end of each concert while Daltrey manically swung his mike around the stage and out into the crowd.  No, the Who weren’t blamed for those 11 deaths and their careers never suffered either.   I’ll bet you even forgot about that event – or maybe didn’t even know about it?

Attorneys now suing Scott say he is at fault.  He encouraged crowd surging by placing a large clock that counted down to his appearance.  The crowd started closing in when the clock was close to his debut.   It’s not the first time Scott has been sued.  He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct charges related to two separate incidents where he encouraged fans to rush the stage – in 2015 and in 2017. Once someone was injured when he fell of the balcony at a Scott concert.

 So now what?

Let’s just for once ban concerts without seating…OR at least provide sectioned off areas to prevent crowd surges.

Wouldn’t this stop a stampede, finally?

My heart goes out to the nine victims and to all those in the hospital.   It could not be any more tragic for their families. 

There has to be a better way to go to concerts where this tragedy is prevented.  Rap has nothing to do with it.  It’s the promotion of the event where the performer is at the height of his popularity.   The crowd surges, they want to be closer to the performer.   Would there ever be a deadly crowd surge at a Miley Cyrus concert – probably not.

Is Travis Scott’s career over?  I guess so.  Listening to the ambulance chasers like Tony Buzbee, you would think this tragic event was premeditated murder.  I am sure everyone involved with the event has insurance for the victims.  Hopefully it will be enough to provide for the families of the deceased and injured.  Travis has offered to pay for all the funerals along with mental health treatment for survivors.

Maybe Travis will take up crown surge as a cause?  That would be admirable outcome.

His and Kylie’s fans don’t seem very forgiving right now.  Judging by the comments on social media, this could be the end of both their careers although Kylie did nothing to cause this, people are tired of her constant show of immense wealth without much social conscious behind it.

Can you balance charitable giving with untold wealth?  Yes you can.  Some are better at it than others.

Kylie Jenner posted this photo on instagram just a few weeks ago showing off her huge engagement ring Travis gave her along with a second ring he gave to their daughter Stormi.

Instagram went crazy over the rings.  Most people were disgusted.  I mean – come on.   It’s always been about a show of wealth with Kylie.  Her instagram is just one $50,000 purse after another.  Half a million dollar cars.  On and On.  Is her constant show of excessive wealth a joke on us?  It has to be, right?  She’s barely out of her teens and made over a billion $$ selling lipstick.  Kudos to her and Stormi and Travis for finally getting married and making it official.   But isn’t it enough with all the photos of her jewelry and purses and houses and cars?  When I saw this photo, I just rolled my eyes and thought – why am I even looking at this?!?!

Do we justify outrageous shows of wealth with charitable giving?

You would think after this week’s disaster Kylie would remove this photo.  But no.   Even though almost all the comments, were negative the photo remains as do all the others.

If the conspicuous spending is a joke on us, we got it.  We just aren’t laughing anymore.  And no one is jealous.

Maybe now Kylie will give back like Travis does.

If his career is over, is hers too?  I wonder. 

It’s going to take a long time for people to not associate the excess wealth with the disregard of common sense.

Whew.

I actually started to write this story because the Daily Mail posted a photo of Travis’s Houston house.  What a shocker!  I didn’t realize he still had a house here.  But it makes sense.    It is a modern house located on the absolute most beautiful street in Houston – our bid to a Paris boulevard.

When out of towners come to Houston, they are driven down this tree line boulevard with its soaring triple fountains.  The irony is not lost that the boy from the hood is now living on the prettiest street there is.  Doesn’t he deserve it?  He’s worked hard.  He is talented.  He’s given back to Houston. 

Is it all gone now because there were no chairs at the AstroWorld concert? 

Here’s the exterior.   I just don’t have it in me to post his luxe house photos, especially since he wants it all kept quiet.   I know NONE of my readers will break in and ask for an autograph.  But Daily Mail let the cat out of the bag.

This is one view that interested me.   From the see through living room you can actually see the lighted fountains that look like they are his personal property alone.  Amazing.  What a piece of property.  Except – you can just barely see an iron fence out front.  Now, instead, there is a stone fence that completely encloses the estate.  For security I suppose.  But this view of the fountain is now gone – not just for him but for his neighbors too.  Pity.

I’m  especially floored this is his house,  since his neighbor on the left is a cousin of mine and his neighbor on the right is someone I have admired for a long time – a design mentor.  Who would have thunk it?

If you are from Houston and want to see the realtor photos from the sale, here they are:   HERE

If Travis wants to sue me, I’ll get in line after the Daily Mail.

Let me know your thoughts.   I really thought I was just going to show his house and that’s all, but I just needed to say my peace.

Before I wrote this I was so anti-Travis after the concert.  But writing this story made me think about him in a different way.  Less emotional and less judgmental.

Travis isn’t the devil.  He probably will settle all the law suits and then some.  Before this happened, he was a much admired citizen of Houston – thanks to all his charities.

Let’s hope he works to change outdoor concerts and learns there is so much more to life than instagram photos that cause nothing but envy and derision.  He’s already a charitable man, maybe he and his soon to be wife can together help better the world.

God speed to all those who lost their lives and prayers to those clinging to life tonight.

Here are their faces, their names.  What’s striking is how many were big, healthy men who were hopeless against the crowd surges.

Rololfo Pena, a college student;  Jacob Jurinek, a 20 year old college student; Franco Patino, a senior at college; Brianna Rodriguez, a pretty 16 year old high school junior and dancer. 

Danish Biag, died while heroically saving his girlfriend’s life; Axel Acosta Avila, had gone alone to the concert;  Jacob Hilbert – just 14 the youngest to die, and Madison Dubiski, such a beauty.

Bharti Shahani, 22, a student at Texas A&M, she died later in the hospital.

The nine victims.  May they rest in peace.