meet Marlene our weekly home & design contributor

today, i have a special post. y’all know i love to partner with brilliant, talented, savvy, and creative women. so it is my great pleasure to introduce you to Marlene! Marlene is joining Style at a Certain Age as a weekly contributor. stay tuned every Saturday for a special post from MMK. Marlene and i met during my San Francisco days when i worked as the Ralph Lauren Specialist at Bloomingdale’s. Marlene worked in an adjacent department – The Wedding Registry. let me tell you first hand, this woman has a wealth of experience to share. all of the well-heeled mothers in town booked an appointment with Marlene as she would take mother and daughter under her wing to make wedding registry a breeze! here’s Marlene in her own words:

Happy April!! Happy Spring!!

April Showers bring May Flowers…shower the people you love with love!!
How wonderful to receive Beth’s Special Guest invitation to meet all of you!!
Thank you, Beth, my fellow Virgo!!

Home is my love!! Hope you all will love it too!!
On upcoming Saturdays, I will be sharing my great passions with you, hoping you will enjoy, be inspired and
“Grace Your Home and Style!” (A little sneak peek at my incubating Blog) by MMK – Marlene Meccia Kristoff
My passions come to you via years as a student of Clothing & Textiles, Art and Jewelry, as well as experience
Buying, Directing Home Furnishings, Registering Couples-Housewarmings, Personal Shopping and numerous
Consulting-Executive-Management posts on both coasts.

Many storied Retailers, Museums, and quality Specialty Stores…have influenced my life and style: Bloomingdale’s
New York & San Francisco, Neiman Marcus, Macy’s and Gump’s San Francisco, Geary’s Beverly Hills, The Los
Angeles County Museum of Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim New York, and Design Within Reach, among others.
Work and love have literally moved me from Ohio to Boston, New York, San Francisco, Beverly Hills, New York, and
back again to SF!! Special mentors, both men and women, and personal experiences have created exciting learning
and travel opportunities to England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The Philippines, and China.

These experiences have also shaped my passions for Interiors and Style of every kind.
Grace, Charm, Color, and Design have inspired my life, work, and studies since I was a little girl with Big Dreams…
always believing “God is in the details” and always remembering quality over quantity.
This will never steer you wrong or give you buyer’s remorse!

Little Pleasures:
Simple – elegant – beauty, fabulous color, and nature are loves… seeing them in every flower, textile, and sky!!
I want to live with them and believe our surroundings enhance our daily lives so happily!!
Life can be sooo challenging yet so beautiful! Let’s make it so!!!

Special treasures, memories, and personal collections are the fabric of our lives. They become who we are!
They may be from our Memories, Travels, Hobbies, Heritage, Friends, and Loves. Whether happy or sad, our
Home and Style become richer, more personal, and certainly comforting with these remembrances, joys, and loves!

So, you ask… what are some of My Loves or Favorite Things?
Along with the all-encompassing “Grace, Charm, Color and Design,”; I have great passion for:
Antiquing-Vintage Treasure Hunting, Art, Accessories, Books-Quotes, Flowers, Gardens, Film, Food & Wine,
Champagne, Crystal, Fashion, Interiors, Monograms, Music, Stationery, Tablesettings, Textiles, Themes, Views,
and Travel. Grace and Audrey Films are favorites, and Sophia Loren, of course! (I was born on her Birthday!!)
So now you will see a bit of what I am all About…and Creating Themes:
Each Saturday, I will share some of My Favorite Things with you!

Let’s visit Spring April 2021
Gifting – Creating Themes: Let’s Bring Your Gifting to Life…
Spring has sooo many upcoming celebrations! Think about those in your life this wild year!
They might be Birthdays, Showers or Engagements, Weddings, for New Baby or Home (Apartments are Homes
too!), Get Well, Thinking of you or??? Each gift becomes a theme – from the inside out!

These days, a gift may be literally taking the place of our “presence,” so let’s make them memorable and beautiful!
Little pleasures have directed and personalized my joy of selecting, creating, and gifting by theme for my work,
clients, friends, family, and loves. Whether picking flowers for a vase, selecting ribbon and wrap for a gift, sending a
card for a Special Occasion, it is a joy to Grace the lives you care about! The smallest personalized detail shows
your love, thought, and the meaning behind it all! I enjoy the process of creating a memorable gift or package,
whether hand-delivered or sent across many miles. I hope you will too! It is a reflection of who we are…and who
we love!!

shop Caspari napkins and paper plates

Who does not love receiving a gift…especially one charmingly wrapped in our favorite color, with our own initials,
name or card with the image of a beloved artist or a special hobby??

You might find it helpful to think about or make lists of those you wish to gift
with their favorite things: Color, hobby or interest, the significance of an actual date, Month with its color, flower, and
birthstone or gemstone.

Hopefully, these ideas and images inspire your own themes and creativity to make your gifts memorable and fun
for those you love and care about. Some of mine are here…. hope you enjoy!

This was a Birthday Gift for a Best Friend – whose name is Dot.
She loves Gardening & her pup, Olivia….
So what paper, ribbon color did I choose?? Why Polka Dots in Olive Green, of course, with a Garden Tree card!!
Everything has meaning…

This is a fun Spring Birthday treats for my nephew…
His fabulous B-day card is a mutual favorite artist of ours – Georgia O’Keeffe Sunflower by Caspari. It tops off 2
little gifts wrapped in a classic, slightly masculine, tailored stripe on top and Royal Blue beneath with spring green
grosgrain ribbon. Chic & youthful at the same time.
These gifts even prompted a lovely Thank you card for his Auntie!!

Everything Caspari is quality…we have worked together for years. They continue to support worldwide Museums
and Artists!! As a respected publisher of finely designed and printed paper products for 70 years, their collections
have drawn inspiration from fine art, textiles, ceramics, and interior design.

April Birthday Collection for B (she refers to herself as b or B)
For this little collection, for the daughter I never had, I chose her favorite girlie colors since she was a child:
Shades of Pinks and Purples!!
Her initials RBM in script, personalize the little pouch of Peony Jo Malone treats! Festive – charming girlie gold & glitter adorn her Cavallini Vintage B-Day Postcard, little heart sticker, and pouch! As I am half Italian, their products
have always charmed me!! They are all quality and printed in Italy!!

FYI. I overwrapped the 2 – piece box itself, so they could use it to store items even after the gift was opened.
One can never have enough beautiful storage!

Congratulations – Wedding & New Home Gift
For a special nephew and his wife who recently were married and purchased a new home – cabin in the woods, I
chose natural & gold Italian Rossi Wrap Paper and Card that also has a lined envelop, for their gift of a charming
Earthenware Pitcher to Grace their New Home. It is Art and Function, wonderful for water, lemonade, or bearing a
bouquet of wildflowers as a centerpiece.

January Happy Birthday Gift for a Dear Friend who loves everything
Silver and Sparkles!!
Of course, I chose Shiny Silver Wrap with his Birthstone Garnet Ribbon
and Bugle Bead trimmed Card.
Handwritten initials were added to personalize; we both share a love of
Stationery and Monograms!!
We worked together years ago, Crane & Co.!

A last snowfall prompted this shimmering Silver Thinking of you gift with Blue Letter-press Snowflakes, shimmering
satin ribbon & Royal Blue ink, of course!! I hope you feel inspired to create or plan some of your own memorable
gifts …until next week. Enjoy!! xoxo MMK

ladies, please join me with a very warm welcome to Marlene! thanks so much for taking time from your busy schedule to add beauty to our lives. it truly is the simple things in life that add so much joy!

About The Author

Beth Djalali

is the Founder and CEO of Style at a Certain Age. She writes Sundays-Fridays on all topics ranging from fashion, health, wellness, home design and more.

She’s 66, 5’8, and size 8.

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