Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1512213
MELISSA GERSTLE Holiday cocktail. Ketel One Botanical Grapefruit & Rose vodka with grapefruit and rose-petal garnish. Holiday playlist. "Last Christmas" by George Michael, "All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey, and "The Little Drummer Boy" from David Bowie and Bing Crosby. Best hors d'oeuvres for pickup. Cranberry Jalapeño Salsa at The Festive Kitchen. Top takeaway for holiday breakfast, lunch or dinner. Since I'm not a huge fan of turkey, I serve the French fried chicken from Street's Fried Chicken, which has become a family favorite. The recipe is the perfect combination of Southern tradition and French, as the chicken is brined in herbes de Provence before being battered and fried. Flowers and greenery. I pick up flowers from Central Market or Trader Joe's and then dress them with greenery from my garden, like variegated pittosporum, a Japanese Tree or no. Tree! If we are at our house in Utah, we decorate a tree for the animals with apples, oranges, birdseed ornaments, and popcorn, and then watch as the squirrels, birds, and an occasional brave moose or deer ventures onto our terrace. If we're in Dallas, we have an artificial tree that we decorate with ornaments we've collected from traveling, ornaments our kids and grandkids have made, and some favorites from my childhood that have miraculously not broken. I also love tinsel — so old school. Holiday tradition. Rolling cappelletti — a traditional Italian dish like tortellini. The whole family gathers to hand-roll each piece on Christmas Eve. On Christmas day, it's cooked in a rich chicken broth. Holiday cocktail. Mimosas with breakfast on Christmas morning. Holiday playlist. Ottmar Liebert, Angels and Poets. Best place to pick up hors d'oeuvres. Eataly. Gifts you hope to receive. Plane tickets to a beautiful beach — that's all. Gifts you are giving. Cutco kitchen shears. Boring but so useful. Minky throw blankets. Great wine paired with a book. On your front door. Magnolia leaf wreath or chile ristra, depending on my mood. Extra gift under the tree for drop-bys. An ornament from the nonprofit Paper for Water. TRICY MAGADINI ELLETT MICIOTTO Tree or no? Yes! Although a faux one, but still beautiful. I had a phase collecting Christopher Radko ornaments. I have so many, it's not right to leave them in storage. Holiday tradition. It's a faded memory, but one I cherish: coming with my family to Dallas and ice skating around the giant Christmas tree at the Galleria. Holiday cocktail. Champagne! The holidays are a celebration. Holiday playlist. All the classics. Brenda Lee, Nat King Cole, the Carpenters, and Elvis, for sure. I'm looking forward to adding Cher's new Christmas album — a new classic! Best place to pick up hors d'oeuvres. Eatzi's, Berkley's Market, and Short Stop. Best takeaway for a holiday breakfast, lunch or dinner. The Mermaid Bar. Warm consommè, popovers, and tortilla soup, followed by chicken salad and chocolate chip cookies — all classic Dallas staples. Holiday wearables. My go-to is my Ralph Lauren Polo bear sweater. Gifts you hope to receive. I collect Baccarat crystal. When I think my collection is complete, they reinvent themselves. My top gift is the Baccarat Harmonie Colors of Joy tumbler set. Gifts you are giving. Chanel high-tops for my sister. Mi Cocina gift cards for my nephews. Classic Burberry nova check scarf for my Anglophile best friend. Host gift. Ralph Lauren's new book A Way of Living. Ralph Lauren Holiday Classic candle — an evergreen scent in classic tartan packaging. Mrs. Prindables chocolate and caramel-covered apples. Flowers and greenery. American holly branches placed in tall glass vases. Layered garlands with pine cones and oranges around my nutcracker collection. maple branch, or sprig of viburnum. Gift I love to give. Clipped herbs from my garden wrapped in twine and attached to a bottle of wine. Michelle Nussbaumer's chalet in Gstaad draped in holly and fir, photograph Melanie Acevedo, Wanderlust: Interiors that Bring the World Home. Lisa Fine's Dallas home, Miguel Flores- Vianna, Near & Far: Interiors I Love. Anton Bruehl's 1937 photograph captures the height of holiday sophistication, from The Well-Lived Life. 88