{on holiday}

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on holiday until after the new year.

hope to see you back in 2010!

happy holidays to you and yours.

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{image by lifelovepaper}

{country roads}

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country roads, take me home
to the place, i belong

... what i've been watching through my country windows

john sings about it here
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{finding the perfect tree}

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on a sunny sunday afternoon, we went to get our christmas tree.

it took an hour of measuring, debating, fussing...

and then there she was.

the perfect height,

the perfect width.

the perfect tree.

so we chopped her down and brought her home.

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{city haunt}

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a favorite city haunt.

hotel delmano in williamsburg, brooklyn.

where glamour meets delicious drinks.

yum.

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{don't forget to look up}

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what we saw looking up

during a beautiful lunch

at the museo d'orsay

in paris, france.

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{collections of vintage deer}

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i'm working on a story about collections.

which got me thinking about my own.

things i have, things i collect.

things that encourage hours of

scouring flea markets and online shops.

meet the deer collection.

vintage deer made from

celluloid and lead.

dating from the 1940's - 1950's.

made in west germany with

painted noses, antlers and bows.

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{very very good}

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looking through boxes of family recipes,

in preparation for planning holiday meals,

i came across my great grandmother's

potato salad from the 1950's.

aptly named Ginny's Potato Salad.

carefully typed with the chef's little note:

very very good.

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Ginny's Potato Salad

(must be prepared the day before)

8 boiled medium potatoes (in jackets)

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1 cup commercial sour cream

1 1/2 teaspoon horseradish

1 teaspoon celery seed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup fresh chopped parsley (do not omit or decrease)

2 medium onions, finely minced

Peel potatoes, cut in 1/8 inch slices. Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, horseradish, celery seed, and salt, set aside. In another bowl mix parsley and onion.

In large serving bowl arrange layer of potatoes, salt lightly, cover with mayonnaise-sour cream mixture,  then layer of onion mixture. Continue layering, ending with parsley and onion. Do not stir. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours before serving; the salad is better if made the day before. Yield - 8 to 10 servings, double for about 20.

Very very good.

{garlands}

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snow white leaves adorning

bannisters and doors.

a very simple garland to make

using very basic white paper.

such an adorable project from an

even more adorable blog.

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{bows, part one}

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lovely girls tied up

in lovely bows.

like little presents.

antique images of young victorian girls.

b/w portraiture shot by andrew and styled by me.

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{all a-glow}

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a sparkling candelabra all a-glow during an evening fete.

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{happy weekend}

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it's the weekend again and holiday festivities are in full swing...

+ in the CITY

martha stewart is having a craft fair.

browse handmade gifts, including kylie's wooden bangles.

+ in the COUNTRY

it's the second annual sinterklaas festival

and the handmade holiday gift bazaar.

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{the gals}

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meet the gals.

i call them darla and roberta.

it's suits them, no?

they can be found, peering through golden frames, at the met, nyc.

at this particular moment they were

discussing skirt lengths and lipstick shades.

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{culinary institute of america}

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we took a trip to the culinary institute of america for lunch.

the hallways throughout this beautiful campus are lined with windows looking into the kitchens.

in the hallway leading towards the cafe, we watched as students and professors

worked side-by-side creating artisanal breads, pastries and desserts.

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{issue 09}

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the newest issue of working class magazine is out now.

issue 09, old school.

flyer designed by the oh-so talented steve.

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{denim crush}

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i have a little denim-crush on this look and love

how she's wearing a jean jacket as a sweater.

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{image from the sartorialist}

{tweet, tweet}

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i bit the bullet and joined twitter.

follow me here.

xo.

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{balsam necklace}

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oh it's so lovely!

jessica from what i wore is wearing the balsam necklace in her post today --

a 1960's inspired photo shoot which was shot by the very talented jamie.

i'm rushing to get all the holiday pieces into the stores this week and it's sparkles galore!

everyone needs a little bling in their life, wouldn't you agree?

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{cat in hat}

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just a girl in a hat with her cat.

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{trunk show update}

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jamie was so sweet to photograph my trunk show at charlie and sam last

week that I did with alexandra grecco.

you can see more of the event here.

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{gram and the boys}

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with the passing of my great grandmother last month,
we started rummaging through some old family photos and came across this one of
gram and her two sons (the one on the right is my grandfather).
we dated it to around 1938.
my great grandfather kept this photo in his wallet
(along with bits of palm and a four-leafed clover taped to the front -- see?)
up until his death in 1981.
there is so much to love about this photo,
but what gets me everytime are her shoes.
gram and i were the same size,
and i just know these would have fit!
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this is my great grandfather in 1956 on a job,
he was an architect.
this reminds me of one of my favorite movies,
mr. blandings builds his dream house.
doesn't he look like cary grant?
and somewhere under that over coat was the photo of
gram and the boys...
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