Honestly I have had the best time following my friend Sarah Gayle Carter blogging around France that I feel guilty keeping it a secret. Her photos are sublime–she is an artist after all–and her commentary is pithy, interesting and often funny. Here below is her latest. You can also click on the link sign up… Continue reading Springtime in France–A Friend Shares Her Travels
Home & Garden
Lenten Roses for the Last of Lent
Lenten roses, aka hellebores, are rather un-sung heroines of the garden–in the US anyway. In Europe they are much beloved as some of the earliest bloomers, hence their name marking mid-February as the time their their petals begin to peek out. With hundreds of species ranging in color from chartreuse to deep claret, hellebores deserve… Continue reading Lenten Roses for the Last of Lent
New Site for Mecox Gardens, and a Discount for Visiting
Mecox Gardens, that most stylish of home furnishings and accessories shops, has become an indispensable resource for designers and design aficionadas everywhere. Just try getting through an issue of House Beautiful, Veranda, or Elle Decor without a Mecox Gardens credit. You can’t….So this is exciting news: Mecox Gardens has a new website. And the selection is HUGE. It’s a one-man Pinterest. It’s Houzz at a glance. It’s very good…
Design Notes From Aspen’s “New” Hotel Jerome
Luxury hotels these days out-do themselves to out-“design” one another with decidedly mixed results. While many are impressive, few are inspiring in terms of ideas you might deploy in your own perhaps more modest domestic context. A hotel we visited in Aspen last week made me want to, well, get a room. Ladies and gentlemen,… Continue reading Design Notes From Aspen’s “New” Hotel Jerome
A Spring Green Table
How pretty is this table?! So fresh and green with spring and bright with color, how could you not have a perfectly grand time sitting ’round it? Well we sure did.
Quince and Lace Curtains
I love flowering quince. One of the earliest blooming shrubs, usually right behind forsythia, or “for Cynthia” as I used to call it, quince is one of those things you can just stick in a vase and it’s beautiful. Going through seven million photos the other day I ran across this one taken few years ago… Continue reading Quince and Lace Curtains
Girls Just Wanna have Funghi
The post title refers of course to the famous Cyndi Lauper song “Girls Just Wanna Have Funghi,” but it later changed to “Fun,” which may be the version you are more familiar with. And do you remember this one… It ne-e-ver rains in California/But girl, don’t they warn ya/It pours/Man, it pours… It’s kind of an… Continue reading Girls Just Wanna have Funghi
A Quick Fix for Loose Ends
A quick and ingenious fix for loose computer cords when they’re not attached – saving you from fishing them off the floor, behind your desk, etc.
Art of the Heirloom – Original Designs for Seed Packets
Do you ever wonder who actually sits down and designs things like seed packets? How did they get the job? What a charming assignment it would be, and clearly is to those who do it.
Happy Birthday, Mama
I’ve spent most of this day trying not to write about my mama, but it didn’t work. Today was her birthday, would have been her 83rd. I’m not sure she would have liked being 83 unless she could still look and act like she was, say 63.
It’s Snuggle Season – 10 Ways to Love Your Bed!
House Beautiful has a column every month called “I Love My Bed.” It’s a hoot to peek under other people’s covers, isn’t it? Maybe you shouldn’t answer that. Anyway I wrote the one in November about designer Bunny Williams, which you can read here. I did not actually get in bed with her, but we did… Continue reading It’s Snuggle Season – 10 Ways to Love Your Bed!
Cultural Outing Ends in Stocking Feet–“With Elegant Cuban Heel and Seam”
A slightly silly stream-of-consciousness Saturday that begins as a museum visit and ends on Madison Avenue with a pair of racy stockings.