Monthly Archives: January 2022

……………………Before I put my COOKIE ORNAMENTS away for another year…..I thought I would show all of these little treasures to you! Jac and I, when we lived in NYC, had cookie ornament parties in our apartment! We invited 4 friends over for a total of 6 of us to make ornaments. I’d mix the flour, salt and water to create the dough and put it in a bowl with a damp cloth over it, and we’d sit around a table and create. We used all kinds of kitchen utensils to create things such as a GARLIC PRESS which was great for making hair!…..a tooth pick to make the hole from which the ornaments were hung….and whatever thread you wanted to use to hang them with. I used gold thread. When we were finished with the ornament we put them on a cookie sheet and into the oven they went for about 1 hour or until they got golden…..Then they came out to cool, and once they were cooled we painted them with acrylic paint. Then sprayed with varnish to keep them bright. Considering they are a little over 35 YEARS OLD….they look pretty darn good…..The last party we had was in 1986! All of the ones above I made, and everyone else took theirs home…….It was great fun!!!!!….lots of wine, and lots of laughs….some of them were X rated, and some of our friends made ones that were XXX rated. Those went home with them to go on their own trees!…..LOL

……………………..My sweet Jac would be the first to say that she wasn’t very good at making these ornaments, and only made two! The little nude girl and the baby below, at the extreme left, were her two contributions. She painted the baby girl, but asked me to paint the baby in its’ onesies. You can see what the ornaments looked like from the back from the ornament at the extreme right bottom. Our friend Susan was very creative and she would add ribbon and lace and sequins to her ornaments such as the panda bear at the upper right, with the plaid ribbon bowtie……which she gifted to us.

………………..Two other ornaments Susan made for us were the center Mermaid and the Little Lady in Lace. The trouble with gluing things on is that after some years they tend to fall off. The Mermaid used to have tiny black sequins on her body and tail [all that’s left are the marks of glue], and she had two gold sequins in the shape of tiny clam shells covering her boobies…..long gone……The Lady in Lace still has her lace dress over her painted black garters, her red ribbon belt, her pearl earrings one on her fishnet veil and mesh gloves which Susan drew on!!!! Susan was a model that used to work with Jac and I all the time, but when I left 7th Avenue we lost contact. I sure hope she’s well and happy. She truly had a heart of gold, and I will treasure her ornaments forever!…………….Soon they will be carefully wrapped, and put away for another year!

…………………..There were, and are many beautiful models……but……Paulina was one of the very very best. She had it all……an incredible body and a magnificent face! Sometimes the universe just smiles on a singular person……..The funny thing was she could have cared less about being a model…..but the money was incredible!

…………………….I remember the day when Paulina walked into my studio on a “go see”………….I’ve see many beautiful girls in my life….actually the most beautiful models…..but when Paulina walked into my studio she was JAW DROPPING!!!!! I couldn’t tell you what she was wearing…..jeans and a tee? She was too spell binding….and so nonchalant, and indifferent about the whole modeling thing…..about everything……She had just arrived in the US and was making the rounds. Her agency was sending her to see everyone. It only took me two seconds to book her……She was modeling strictly for the money, so she very honestly said….She was a serious pianist. She said she had to leave her country. I’m not even sure that her family came with her. She was discovered in Paris? Her story was a little sketchy and vague, but she was stunning…….She did everyone’s shows and became an instant sensation. In the years to follow she did several National Ad campaigns for me…….Eventually she became the face of Este Lauder, and with that contract she couldn’t work for anyone else. I thought it was a shame because Este Lauder always did very commercial pretty photo beauty shots, and wasted Paulina’s potential as a super model…..but the money was good……In the photos above Paulina is wearing a black jersey cape top with a jersey pencil skirt and a leather corset belt. The photo was done for an Anne Klein campaign by the great Arthur Elgort…..One of my all time favorite photographers…….His son, Ansel Elgort, is in the new “West Side Story”. He got the coveted role of Tony, and I think he did a wonderful job…..I met him when he was a very young boy…….Paulina married Ric Ocasek, and has two sons. I always thought they were the oddest couple, but hey….l’amour l’amour!….They divorced after 26 years of marriage, and Rick passed away…. I heard she is/was seeing the screen writer Aaron Sorkin…..but that could be over by now???? She is now in her early 50’s and is working again……and still looks fabulous!