the simple life

i've been in love with colefax and fowlers classic bowood wallpaper for what seems to be forever.  always in the back of my mind i fantasized about putting together a delightful and feminine room with either the walls papered, or curtains made from the fabric, or both.  as loft dweller in the city, as well as owning a tiny lilliputian size house in the country/suburbs of gorgeous green pennsylvania, neither dwelling ever seemed to be the right place to splurge.

the new york loft is large and sunny and spare, and well...super simple.  i thought about maybe having maybe a small slipper chair reupholstered in bowood for my bedroom there, but never did.

my tiny little house in the country is so fresh and plain and freshly scrubbed.  surrounded by giant oak trees, and towering pines, it is newly lime washed white brick on the outside, and inside the rooms are small, the ceilings lowish, and the old wood floors are worn, and just begging to be painted.  every wall is white or off white, and all embellishment is kept to a minimum.  think hudson bay blankets, and wicker chairs and baskets filled with firewood and shelves full of paperbacks.  imagine patchwork quilts, the odd scrap of faded chintz and mismatched furniture and leftovers from previous and grander abodes, yet the house is still, well...super simple...and my favorite place to be.  it is truly the coziest place in the world, and is my respite.

the only wallpaper in the house was a lovely sky blue wallpaper from york that just blended into the bathroom walls, which other than the kitchen was the only option for wallpaper, since the rest of the house has unpaperable, rough plaster walls.  i papered it myself years ago, and while i still loved it, it was not well done.  the pretty butterfly pattern truly just looked like an extension of what was outside the window, and the walls just disappeared and the tiny little bathroom looked bigger and open.  my faded old green silk balloon shades were perfect with it, but it had to go.  the combo was a sublime mix, but truthfully a long shower would have steamed my cheapy diy work right off the walls!

so i hired a the best paperhanger in town, lol, and was giddy with excitement after ordering my four or was it eight, tiny rolls of colefax gorgeousness.  truly i fell asleep that evening imagining hot fragrant deep soaks in the tub surrounded by those very proper, iconic grey and green blooms, earl grey filled tea cup, or bourbon tumbler perched on the side of the bath, byron candles burning, and fresh rose and pine scented air wafting in from the open window...

so imagine my disappointment when the first rolls of the fabulously gorgeous bowood were hung, and they started looking wrong to my eye.  beautiful, yes....but so wrong.  what I thought would be light and quaint and almost whimsical, looks so exquisite and decorated and formal, and almost brown in tone.  too exquisite for my humble, scrubbed, and whitewashed little house!  i had imagined it would be a very light and fresh paper, but in the tiny little bathroom, it looks very dark and sepia toned, and the room looks smaller and crowded.  instead of blending into the background like a vintage bouquet, it takes front and center stage in the humble little abode.  it is the star.  a fabulous, busy, orderly shining star that really looks like it should be in a grander georgian home in england, instead of my humble little shack in rural pennsylvania.  the green shade looks so formal and heavy and dreary now.  maybe i simply need to replace the green taffeta with white muslin, though now i am wondering if we should stop before the last two rolls are hung, and just call it a day?

alice says proceed and finish up and maybe it will look more comfortable and lighter in feel after i see the finished room, but then again, i could just start over and paint the walls in farrow and ball borrowed light, a gallon of which i just happen to have in the basement, all ready to be used somewhere, and keep the remaining paper rolls for another place, another time...

i was so excited to see the new paper.  the paper hanger is meticulous, and primed the walls with a very dark looking sizing, which makes me wonder... 

fresh free range eggs from a friends farm are always in the kitchen.

my mothers cast iron cookware is in use.

chipped mugs are the sentimental house favorite.

Catching Up

So last Monday I awakened to a beautiful Autumn morning, the kind I just live for.  The kind of morning that awakens something primal in me.  I just simply feel more alive when the days become colder and shorter.  I always feel a sense of excitement and energy, and I feel beautiful in the fall...I don't know why.  

But last Monday was different.  I really felt lousy and bedraggled and in need of a tune up.  My usual Fall energy just wasn't there. 

Life has been lovely, and happy, and busy.  Full of good food and wine and all kind of indulgences, but I realized it was time to get healthy again.  I realized I wasn't balancing my lifestyle, so last Monday was the starting point for me.   

Day One 

  Yes, I documented it with a picture.  Scary because this was the morning after a week of suffering from severe allergies.  The kind that made my eyes swell so severely I could barely open them.  I came home from the eye doctor with drops and medicated ointments and antihistamines.  This was the morning I tried on my favorite brand new Anna Sui Moonlight Garden green chiffon dress in the cold clear light of day, and realized it should be a little bit looser...with my messed up morning hair, in desperate need of some TLC, and my puffy pale no makeup face...

I really felt rock bottom.  And toxic.  And flabby.

It was time to work out again, and buy some vitamins, and stretch, and sweat and lift weights and drink lemon juice and all kinds of healthy stuff.  

So I did.  I joined a gym, and I think I drank more water last week than ever in my life...

Mondays timid little yoga stretch, and 30 minutes of Cardio were followed by Tuesdays 40 bolder minutes, and Wednesdays 60...  It is amazing how quickly it all came back...

Some dry brushing with a natural bristle brush, and one very indulgent massage were included in the week.

Tried a great new Kerastase hair conditioner.  Green.  Getting a trim on Thursday.

Now this doesn't mean that I won't be baking and cooking anymore!  Not at all.  I just got a grip, thats all.

I filled the house with festive fall flowers.. I think the pretty thistley things are called sea holly?

Grocery store blooms always work just fine. I love seeing a little color outside the window.  

After my time at the gym, I have been enjoying my leisurely and euphoric walks home through the beautiful romantic streets of Brooklyn.  Missing Miss Alice terribly.  Wishing she had the time for a walk with mom.

I am pleased to say one week later I feel absolutely fantastic, and the spring is back in my step, an inch is gone from my waistline, at least, and the Moonlight Garden dress fits like a charm.  Going to keep going though, and get as fit as I can, and document my progress here from time to time.

Happy November

Friday...Again...

Somehow it has been a week since my ill fated road trip attempt.  Last evening, after packing a minimum, I tried in vain to get some good sleep, but I tossed and I turned, worrying about this afternoons drive.  The exhausting nightmare of fires in tunnels and flat tires and messed up routes just kept replaying over and over in my head.  Great...so now I am tired, headachy, and have a miserable toothache.  Looking forward to trying again today, with very pleasant results!

This morning, I truly have ten minutes to get out the door.  Today I am helping out one of my favorite charity thrift shops in Manhattan, and while I would love to rest up for my long drive, I simply can't bail...but I would really really love to jump under the covers to recharge....

Last night I packed this gorgeous skirt from The Vampires Wife, along with an old blouse I have always loved.  My casual gardening/painting clothes as well as my plaid flannel pj's are always waiting for me at my little country cottage, so I don't bring much...

My favorite velvet slides for the car, and the skirt/blouse combo.  The weather is very hot again, so I have to adapt and leave the tights and boots behind.  I always love a good bargain...these velvet beauties are Franco Sarto, and I found them for a steal...

Toothbrush, and shampoo are already there, but I always need my nail polish.  Surely I will need it after all the work ahead this weekend, though the neurotic in me fills my train case with other things I do not need...

 I can't stop baking!!!  Half of this apple tart is being put in today's take two, road trip picnic basket, the other half, Alice has already consumed...Happy Friday to all!

Autumn Roadtrip?

So if you recall, last post I predicted I would not want to leave my newly improved country cottage after a weekend spent sprucing and bonding.  

I just adore the excitement and anticipation of a road trip, especially at this time of year.  Since my little country bolthole is nowhere near a grocery store, and these quickie weekend trips make time a precious commodity, I always pack a full picnic basket of food, both for the weekend, as well as for the drive there.  Not big on stopping and losing time on the road, nor is my travel companion fond of truck stop cuisine.  My big plan was to bake an apple tart on Saturday after whitewashing the rest of the house, and painting the doors, and planting the new trees!  How did I ever think I would have the time?  Usually I put a lot of thought into what I pack, but last week I was just too busy, and I really just threw in some odds and ends from the kitchen.

 The contents of Fridays hamper: one baguette, one bottle of pellegrino, one dusty glass bottle of coca-cola, a couple of lemons, six brown cage free eggs, one bag of Starbucks Italian roast coffee, one aubergine, one bulb garlic, one box of spaghetti, and one can of tomatoes...and one plastic wrapped slice of homemade plum tart...and chocolate.....and oatmeal, and maple syrup.  Oh, and one bag of apples.

 No partridge.  No pear tree.

But it wasn't meant to be.  

My usual route takes me from Brooklyn all the way across lower Manhattan, and out the Holland tunnel.  We left at 7:30ish on Friday night.  Rush hour traffic should have been waning.  After an hour and 15 minutes spent on Canal Street, chatting, and breathing deep the intoxicating aroma of food, and exhaust, and city pollution, we finally arrived at the tunnel, only to learn it was closed because of a fire!  Ok...  Well, then the GPS said go up the Westside Highway.  Gas was needed, and then out the Lincoln Tunnel we went, two and a half hours later!  Then I got lost in the dark.  Three times.  It wasn't my usual route, and I was soon very tired...

Finally on the third try, I got on 78 west, and breathed a huge sigh of relief!  It had been four hours of mishaps at this point, but no matter!  I was so excited to be heading to the fresh air, and was happily chatting, and getting into the mental groove, after all the frustration and trauma, when....BOOM!  I hit a pothole.  Y. E. P.   We tried to fix the tire ourselves, then triple AAA arrived to help when we realized there was a missing part to the jack...

So I sat on the guardrail in my black leather boots and floppy long skirt and black turtleneck and leather jacket, staring at Chase who was looking out the car window at me...

Finally fixed and just sitting in the car on the side of the road, out there in the wilds of New Jersey, we just kind of shook our heads in disbelief.  "Shall we call it a day?" I said...

So with a trunk weighted full of wallpaper and paintbrushes, and four gallons of Farrow & Ball paint, we headed back home to Brooklyn after midnight, limping slowly on our lame little spare lifesaver, and will try again this Friday.

So instead of lovingly fixing up my sweet little rural house, I truly caught up on a weeks worth of sleep over the weekend, bought a new tire, and then I channeled my energies into sprucing things around here for fall.  I hope everyone has a golden acorn sculpture, because nothing says Autumn like acorns....and maybe a gorgeous yellow mum...

Fall for me is maple syrup.  I am not a cinnamon pumpkin spice gal.  If there is any of this liquid gold left on Friday, I will repack the bottle.  

Even Chase is feeling fall in the air, and can't wait for the next road trip...

Lovely Thursday

It happens every fall.  The lethargy and soggy heat of summer are gone, and I get giddy and energetic and organized and happy.  Today was a blissful, cool, and beautiful day here in New York City.  I awakened all perky and refreshed at about 9 o'clock, which is a little later than my usual, and the cool breeze was wafting through the taffeta curtains in my room.  Is there anything more gorgeous than billowing silk and gentle morning sunlight?  Of course the never ending sirens of Brooklyn were very soon to cut through my morning zen and tranquility, but no matter.  I am back!  It happens every autumn, as I said earlier, and today my to-do list was attacked with pleasure.  For weeks I have been looking forward to visiting my little fresh air cottage in Pennsylvania, and am looking forward to a sprucing it up this coming weekend.  I was last there over Labor Day, and due to rain was only able to whitewash one exterior and formerly red brick wall.  Must finish the job!  I am going to change the paint on the front door and kitchen door, and install a new brass faucet in the kitchen.  The green paint on the front and kitchen doors has to be changed, and pink or blue has been the debate of the month!  I am leaning towards pink, as is Alice, but don't want to end up with a Barbie Dream House.  Bowood wallpaper has been ordered from Colefax and Fowler for my bathroom, and my back yard dilemma has been solved.  New trees.  Big ones.  Canadian Hemlocks.  Its all happening...yep, its all going down.  I am never going to want to come home to Brooklyn after this weekend!

Anyway, a very much anticipated package arrived from England this morning.  After a half cup of coffee, I very carefully ripped open the box containing this beautiful new treasure.  I have become addicted to skirts and dresses again.  My old uniform of narrow black trousers just isn't working for me anymore.

Not that I won't jazz up this pale blue silk skirt from The Vampires Wife with black boots and a leather jacket.  Nothing wrong with a slightly modern Alice In Wonderland look.

I headed over to Manhattan at lunch time to meet Alice for a little pampering at the beauty shop, and some shopping.  Miss Alice was still wearing summer sandals today, and ended up really kind of cold!  I wore my favorite Altuzarra striped trousers with black patent mary janes, and felt just perfectly dressed for the weather.

We have both been too busy lately, and spending time together has become a priority.

After our stop at the beauty shop, we jumped on the 6 to Spring Street, and just had to check out our beloved Anna Sui boutique.  We love chatting with sweet Jennifer, and of course, after grabbing a few cute wardrobe additions, we had tea and coffee and cakes next door at Mariebelle New York.

Can not wait to see how charming this old brass faucet will look in my tiny little country kitchen,  

and even more excited about Bowood...

The front door color has been narrowed down to either Lulworth Blue, or Cinder Rose.  I bought a gallon of both in exterior emulsion.  Steak or Lobster?

Little Pleasures

So today was a strange hazy almost last day of summer.  I always think of the 21st of September as the first day of fall, but no matter.  It was warm and muggy here in Brooklyn.  Net-A-Porter sent me the loveliest gift of three Diptyque votives.  Miss Alice was home with me, sick with a really bad cold, yet painting up a storm...and should I feel a little bit guilty for being happy to spend a lazy day with her?  Emergen-C packets were stirred up, and dispensed, toast was toasted, and covered in honey, and snuggles were the order of the day.  We hardly ever have so much time together these days, and I couldn't help but reminisce.  Sometimes I am a little bit wistful for the early years of motherhood.  We were always together.  Tonight I roasted a chicken, fussed over my princess, caught up on tons of email, texts, and wrote lots of snail mail...

I am a cocooner.  I love my boudoir, and my quiet time, and I am a champion sleeper!  My linen closet is stocked with vintage lace trimmed Frette, so beloved and worn, holes have appeared.  Mohair blankets, homemade quilts, flea market finds, hudson bay blankets, and plenty of duvet covers all have a place in my heart, and closet.  Of course I love my Porthault prints like the next gal, but I recently realized that all of my older percale sheets are so much heavier and more opaque than the beautiful violettes pink and coeurs I bought last summer.  They almost look more like the voile I have from years past.  Wondering if D. Porthault has introduced a new lighter weight, perhaps?  Curious....

I am a fresh air gal.  In summer I sweat through the night with no air conditioner, windows open, and in winter, I sleep under tons and tons of heavy blankets, and I keep the window open as well...

Style is not a price.  I adore these satin ballerina flats from Target, and wear them as bedroom slippers.

Organizing my drawers with my favorite tights.  Opaque black is my go-to.  Found a bunch on sale last week at Atlantic Terminal Target and stocked up.  Having my eyes re-checked tomorrow morning, and I must choose between two separate pairs of glasses, or one pair of invisible bifocals.  I also am considering having the dark lenses of my new Gucci Cat Eye shades replaced with prescription.  Decisions, decisions!

A New Season

So here we are solidly in the middle of September.  The last few days of summer are trickling towards the 21st, and I just couldn't be happier about it.  August was absolutely miserable for me.  At best, I am not good with the sweltering dog days of summer, so throw in a nasty case of lingering laryngitis and Miss Alice leaving me for the first time ever to go to Russia, and I was not a happy camper!  A huge chunk of my heart was missing, even though she went with my blessing....I wanted her to have an amazing experience, and she did.  She came back a more fantastic girl than when she left.  Uncool as it might sound, I really felt like I just couldn't breath till she came home in one piece. I was an emotional mute, a pathetic teary heap on the sofa, watching old movies and reading paperbacks.  I ate baking chocolate for dinner, and I could barely walk Chase I was so morose!  They were listless, shuffling little walks.  It was simply an involuntary response.

 Sooo now that Alice is back in town, and things have cooled a tiny bit, school has started, and my voice is back, I have decided to start cooking and baking and entertaining again.  I have been an antisocial slacker, and I need to catch up with loved ones.  There is something about that first falling leaf and the exciting feeling of anticipation and festivity in the air to put me in the mood!

So its almost time to wear tights again, and my sweaters are all folded nicely, just waiting for that first chill in the air...I toss the clear lipgloss, and dig out the matt red lipstick...

It is bourbon time...bye bye vodka...

I adore the smell of autumn, and fresh air road trips to Pennsylvania, and Sunday pot roast, and...apple pie!

So when I make my pie, I never deviate with the filling.  It's all about the quality of the apples.  I prefer the tangiest tartest taste, and usually like a mix of macintosh and granny smith, with very little sugar to sweeten, and some lemon, and nutmeg only.  I am not a cinnamon fan at all...too cinnabon like for my taste.   I always use an egg wash, and sometimes a sprinkle of sugar on the crust.

I remember my grandmother Millie used to add walnuts and raisins when she made apple pie, and I loved it so much, but Alice would never eat it if I added those...

The crust recipes are always changing though.  I can never find the ultimate, but I rotate between a classic pate brisee, an old fashioned Betty Crocker basic crust with crisco, and a buttery, cookie like tart crust that I usually use for summer fruit tarts.  I never get fancy with lattice tops, or cut outs.  I am a minimalist...

No ice cream, no whipped cream, black coffee on the side...

Happy September!

Soho Groove

Alice and I discovered a new favorite place this past summer.  Anna Sui on Broome Street in Soho is an occasional place for us to shop, and right next door is the sweetest little chocolate shop/tearoom called Mariebelle....

I only noticed a simple sign outside, and thought I would get a cup of coffee to go before heading home, but Alice and I were completely sucked in to this wonderful world of chocolate and coffee....

Alice tried a croque monsieur which was.........not the greatest, but somehow it made us like the place even more.

Home to Chase...

vampire dresses

so in an earlier post, i wrote about not feeling great wearing summery, skimpy dresses. give me  covered, proper, layered anything and i am happy.  boots are an addiction...give me black leather jackets, and tights, and heavy tweed coats and i'm in my element.  summer and heat aways present a style challenge for me.  not a big fan of flat humidity styled hair, nor shiny messy make up.  of course i want to look and feel nice, but you will never find me in a pair of shorts, or tan for that matter, it just doesn't work for me, and my very pale complexion needs just the right balance when exposed.  summer clothes often lack the drama needed for my happiness.  

i can't remember how I first discovered this collection of gorgeous dresses and skirts called the vampires wife, but i now have a new dress obsession.  perhaps english designer susie bick popped up somewhere in a photo, wearing one of her gorgeous creations, maybe on the arm of her husband, nick cave.  who knows.  all I know is after grappling with the whole english sizing thing, long distance I might add, because at this point everything is sent over from england, i got my first street sweeper length cotton liberty print prairie type dress, and now it is all i want to wear.  

all the dresses arrive in the most exquisite boxes, with beautiful postcards tucked inside.  i adore the fact that sizes are not sewn into the labels on the dress.    

in love with the pink lame mini cate...

i wear my cotton street sweeper with my old brown frye boots, or even kitten heels for day.  This dress is somehow feather light and cool enough for warm weather, yet covered and proper and sexy all at the same time.

both styles feel almost custom made for my figure, and both have this pretty tie in the back.

don't know why i am posting a picture with no makeup and glasses, other than i couldn't believe how flattering this dress looked even thrown on instantly after unwrapping the package, so there you go...

...and at night this fabric is so shimmery and magical.  i actually wore this ruffled, flowered mini as a top with black trousers, and can not wait for the first brisk cool early autumn day when I can put on a pair of black opaque or lace tights to cover up my mosquito bitten summer legs.  bring on the fall, and even more of these dresses...