WINDFALLS

Gift Wraps and Decorations



Men tend to avoid women’s apparel and accessories like the plague when Christmas shopping for their wives. While
there is some reason for caution (the odds are pretty bad that she’ll go for that lacy evening gown a la Cher that
looked great on the model), I have devised here a nearly foolproof system for the man who is tired of buying his
wife (a) something for the kitchen, (b) something for the den, (c) something for the kitchen.



1. Start with a simple dinner dress, like this Albert Nipon in black matte satin ($130) from Lord & Taylor.

2. If she already has a couple of dinner dresses in the closet, she might like this Walborg pure luxe bag to carry
with them. It has an art deco scrolled envelope and multi-colored jet beading. From Woolf Bros., $80.

Or these black satin evening slippers from Shoe Biz at Lou Lattimore, $66.

If you’re still not satisfied, add some jewelry, like this 5.03 carat pear-shaped cinnamon diamond, set in platinum
and surrounded by pears, tapered baguettes and brilliants. Available at Discoveries.

3. To top things off, this gossamer headwrap in pure silk chiffon, from J’s Accessory Boutique at Christopher’s,
$75.

For a finishing touch, this sublime wrap, a perfect flow of natural blend Russian sable, designed by Paul Diener
exclusively for Marie Leavell.

Grace During Meals

When you’ve worked yourself silly getting the menu just right for that special dinner party, you’d really like to
make your table look special, too. Beni-ta Weintraub can help. She spent over two years in Japan studying Ikebana,
the ancient art of floral arrangement, learning the sculptural approach to flower design. Now living in Dallas,
Be-nita has adapted her Japanese training to American styles and tastes and will produce custom designed
arrangements for your social or business occasions, or purely to enhance your home.

“I look on my designs as living expressions of nature in sculptural form,” says Benita. “I prefer to use fresh
flowers, occasionally mixed with driftwood and naturally dried foliage.” Often, the live material will eventually
dry, leaving an attractive arrangement to be enjoyed for months.

For around $25 you can grace your table with a Benita original. She will be glad to set up an appointment to show
you photos of her work.

Benita, Innovative Floral Arrangements, 15545 Earlport Circle, 233-4090.

Hobby Houses

It’s a Small World when you talk about dolls, and that’s what Jackie Young calls her enterprise that makes houses
for Barbie and Madame Alexander dolls to live in. Good old homegrown ingenuity and the desire to save a buck
launched her on the hobby fifteen years ago that she has propelled into a business today. “I have three daughters,”
says Jackie, “and when they were younger, it cost so much to furnish one room of the dollhouse for their Barbies
that I decided to try making the things myself.” Her girls are grown now, so Jackie continues to make the houses and
furnishings for other little girls. The houses are constructed of fine Danish birch in two-room sections which can
be combined to make larger arrangements. The birch furniture is of turn-of-the-century style. Almost every
imaginable piece is available, from $2 end tables, to upholstered chairs, to $20 fireplaces. The basic two-room
house is $90.

Mrs. Young can finish a house down to the miniature wallpaper, throw rugs, and picture frames. She’ll even provide a
tiny scrub board in the kitchen for period authenticity. If you know a homeless dolly, call Jackie for an
appointment to see her houses.

5363 Waneta, 352-8186.