When I came across this image, I sighed, from the Adams Calyx ware, to the Kirk Repoussé silver, to the precious hot-pink Chinoiserie placemats. It was a long sigh. Let’s start with the placemats. Turns out the placemats come in paper pads–brilliant summer hostess gifts! (One for them, one for me, hee-hee.) Not just for… Continue reading Perfect Summertime Hostess Gifts – Great Paper Placemats, Napkins, Plastic Tumblers
Author: Frances
Postcard From Provence – No. 3 – Painting in Port, Beginning With Audacity
“Beginning with audacity is a very great part of the painting,” said Winston Churchill, who knew a thing or two about audacity–and about painting, too, it turns out. In the 1920s Churchill took painting lessons in the picturesque coastal village of Cassis, France, where our group also painted during the workshop I attended in May… Continue reading Postcard From Provence – No. 3 – Painting in Port, Beginning With Audacity
Postcard From Provence No. 2 – A-Painting We Will Go
Plein-air painting is not for sissies, let’s just get that straight right now. Why sit in a comfortable, climate-controlled studio, with actual furniture and an actual bathroom, when you can freeze, burn-up, blow away, be swarmed by Japanese tourists, trip on a tree root trying to get away, sprain your ankle, and drop your painting… Continue reading Postcard From Provence No. 2 – A-Painting We Will Go
Postcard From Provence No. 1 – Bonjour!
Bonjour from Aix-en-Provence, also known as Aix-and-Pains, though I don’t know why – maybe because it is hard to find a parking place. But that could be many places, non? I did once park here years ago only to return to the car to find it imprisoned by these scary iron posts that come up… Continue reading Postcard From Provence No. 1 – Bonjour!
Summer Reading to Catch Up on From Spring
I try not to read (or eat) more than I can lift, but sometimes it’s a challenge, particularly with the tons of great spring books that will take me the summer to get through. Here are a handful of my faves. Something here for everyone. Everyone like us, I mean. You know what I mean. Linens… Continue reading Summer Reading to Catch Up on From Spring
Sharing the Love From Design Chic Blog – Re-capping NC Luncheon – Pretty Table Settings
What a great–as in really good–surprise to wake up Monday morning to the blog My Design Chic post about my recent visit to Greenville, NC, where I spoke to a room full of wonderful women. It was an honor to be in MDC and a privilege to be back to where my roots are. No not… Continue reading Sharing the Love From Design Chic Blog – Re-capping NC Luncheon – Pretty Table Settings
The Best Looking Outdoor Furniture
He coined the term “exterior decorator,” appropriately enough, because that is what he is. And a darned brilliant one. John Danzer, creator of Munder-Skiles Outdoor Furniture, is brilliant, period.
Nina Griscom Handbags in Atlanta This Week
From the Department of Shameless Crony Capitalism, a quick heads-up on my friend Nina Griscom’s fabulous handbag line that debuted last fall. Happy to say they are selling like handbags (!) and the new spring line is gorge. This Thursday and Friday, April 24-25, she’ll be in Atlanta. Please click to NinaGriscom.com to email them… Continue reading Nina Griscom Handbags in Atlanta This Week
Hippity Hoppity Easter’s on Its Way
I am crazy about the Easter Bunny.
Book Browse: The Pretty and Proper Living Room
Whether you are to the manor–or the bungalow–born, there is much useful information in “The Pretty and Proper Living Room,” especially for new homemakers.
Planning a Wedding? Going to One? Please Read This.
Impeccable advice for planning a wedding with style and grace.
A Gallop Through the Getty, and Jackson Pollock’s Mural
As promised, a gallop through the Getty Center in LA. A place so large with collections so extensive that you must gallop, or at least briskly trot, to take it in within a morning. BONUS: Jackson Pollock’s famed Mural back on display.