Thursday, December 31, 2009

Let There Be


Wishing you a fabulous + peaceful 2010

Friday, December 25, 2009

Is Bean Back?


Valet was one of the first to report the return of the Norwegian Sweater.  It's a love/hate thing -- heavy, hot & bulky -- but I could never resist one smelling of wool & bourbon & cider & woodsmoke at the fairest college.  Perhaps better news is the upcoming launch of L.L. Bean Signature...





{model + head designer Alex Carleton}


Seems to have taken Bean about a quarter century to repond to J. Crew's pillaging of its customer base.  It will be interesting to see how it all works out.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Home for Christmas?

A bit of 'weather' along the East Coast has added some complexity to our travels,



so we're waiting it out in front of a warm fire (sort of like this)



and counting the hours until we're home for Christmas (exactly like this)!


Friday, December 18, 2009

Haute Haute Haute


If you're South of the Mason-Dixon and looking for something fabulous to do with family & friends during the holiday season, take in The Art of Affluence: Haute Couture and Luxury Fashions 1947-2007 @ Charlotte's Mint Museum of Art. This exhibition features selections from the Museum’s holdings of haute couture and luxury garments complimented by wonderful accessories that reflect the creativity of numerous fashion designers of the second half of the 20th century and first years of the 21st century.

2 thumbs up.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Lou Lou



I think I would have shut up and sat down if the kid's table looked like this when I was 6.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Currier & Ives



When I saw this shot in Country Living, I knew I had to have it. Lots of it. I immediately began to amass a rather significant Homer Laughlin Currier and Ives Red collection, piece by piece. And now, with so much china my butler's pantry is ready to explode, I need to clean house.

Find it all at estate @ Sleepy Poet Antiques in Charlotte.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

G.P. Schafer, Architect


Most everyone recognizes Gil Schafer's work as beyond beyond, so no surprise that the Greek Revival he built for himself in the Hudson Valley is equally fabulous. Take a peek...




{love old Hitchcock chairs with a farm table]


{Colefax & Fowler's 'Bowood' is brilliant under the eaves}




{i could live here}


Monday, December 7, 2009

Flower Power Deux

Hello Gorgeous plugged me into EmersonMade.  Such flower fabulousity I have never seen...



Thanks, Gorgeous.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Why?



I'm having another 'God I miss Domino' moment

Saturday, December 5, 2009

The Lure of the Western Boot

My last pair of cowboy boots, hand crafted in Texas of rough-out leather and purchased at Renton Western Wear, served me well for most of a decade until I was caught in a Seattle downpour and they were ruined. If you could have seen the patina they'd achieved, you'd have been crying along with me in that huge puddle on Second Avenue.

Here's the good news. This morning, after my mother and I spent the better part of a 4 hour phone call searching Lucchese for a new pair from Santa, I think I finally found the perfect replacement...



She thought so too.  Luckily we live 1,000 miles apart.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Mirror Mirror on the Wall



This wonderful gilded gesso mirror found at auction will be @ estate in the new year...

Tuesday, December 1, 2009