Botanical Beauty
The season of growth and reawakening has arrived. A time when the sun warms both the earth and our spirits, and drops us at the doorstep of restoration. Gardens have for centuries nourished and sustained, inspired and enriched our spirit. They provide both playground and classroom for endless learning. From Buitchart to Boboli to Shalimar Bagan, from Versailles to Villa D’Este, from Giverny to Exbury and beyond. We’ll focus less on the manicured masterpieces of world renown, and instead spotlight the simple pleasures we can all enjoy. As far back as 450 B.C. the book of Ecclesiastes...
Read MoreA New Year is a Gamble
This sophisticated, celebratory hankie sends cheer and good wishes to the recipient in a multitude of languages. What a lovely gift to start off the New Year. “Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” Oprah Winfrey Sparkling and effervescent, champagne epitomizes jubilation and revelry. The list of “best years” ends at 1949, which helps us date this charming accessory. This hankie is a hoot. Although the dice spell “Good Luck” this gentleman’s roll may have sentenced him to buying a Mathusalem or (gasp) a Nabuchodonosor for the celebration. Yikes! Seeing these...
Read MoreKitchen
Whether you love to cook, or employ the Cuisinart and Kitchen Aid only during the holidays, now is the season for sauce sorcerers, celestial bakers, and cuisine virtuosos. Who among us hasn’t relished rushing home through sleet, snow, rain or wind to savor a stovetop simmering with delectable delights? I recall one frigid evening I was caught in a Denver snowstorm with a flat tire! I had assembled spaghetti sauce the night before, and left it to simmer in a crock pot while I was at work. I arrived home – freezing, exhausted, and very late to find neighbors from across the hall outside my...
Read MoreShoes
“One shoe can change your life.” Cinderella From Manolo Blahnik to Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin To Bruno Magli, Salvatore Ferragamo to Roger Vivier, Stuart Weitzman to Edward Rayne…just the mention of their names can prompt hearts to palpitate and eyes to sparkle in anticipation. Just as the fluttering fan, delicate glove, and winsome hat, can draw attention to a lady, so too, one accessory that towers above the rest (pun intended) that when deftly employed, can capture the roving male eye like no other – the fabulous, flirtatious shoe. For centuries, ladies have understood that a rosy...
Read MoreCastles & Heraldry
“The very purpose of a knight is to fight on behalf of a lady.” Thomas Malory Fall hastens her steps in a leafy swirl of gold and crimson, as the scents of cider and cinnamon, wood smoke and pumpkins signal it’s harvest time. With a skip and a smile we saunter forth to enjoy the pleasures proffered at Reaissance Faires across the country. In pseudo-Medieval villages and hamlets, we encounter blacksmiths and barkeeps, constables and country maids. Everyone from Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Drake and Shakespeare, to knaves, knights, and troubadours stroll the streets to delight and...
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