Some Exciting News...

The other day I was having one of those kind of down days...thinking of my mom...missing her deeply. Moments later someone contacted me to let me know that I'm going to be included in an upcoming book, and that my living room made the cover photo. I don't mean to be braggy, but this couldn't have been more exciting news at that moment, temporarily bringing me out of my "funk."

The book is titled, "Hers: Design with a Feminine Touch," and written by the talented and fabulous Romantic Homes magazine editor, Jacqueline DeMontravel.

Hers offers hundreds of stylish ways for creating your own private retreat and is filled with hundreds of enchanting photos of stylish homes. I'm thrilled to be included among friends Janet of FrenchBlue, Lidy of French Garden House and many more. 224 pages full!

The book will be released on December 13th, but you can pre-order copies here.

Just in time for Christmas!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Do You Covet Vintage Ephemera?

Well, I have just the book for you. Taschen recently published, Menu Design in America: 1850-1985. This hardcover book explores the golden age of design and dining through 800 menus, beginning with the bills of fare for the very first restaurants that opened during the late 1800's.


I adore vintage menus. Collecting menus is a little pastime of mine. I have some favorites framed in my kitchen and little breakfast nook. Their beautiful graphics, history and content just thrill me. It's always fun to look at the prices back in the day.

Ooh, love this one from Bimbo's 365 Club, which still exists in San Francisco. I actually own this menu...

So, if you love old menus and restaurant history, pick up a copy of Menu Design in America here.

Oh, and Happy Monday!

images from here

My Latest Treasure

A few years ago I blogged about Lesley M. M. Blume, (a gal after my own heart) and her fabulous Huffington Post column, "Let's Bring Back."

Well, good news for you lovers of nostalgia, she's released a book; Let's Bring Back: An Encyclopedia of Forgotten-Yet-Delightful, Chic, Useful, Curious, and Otherwise Commendable Things from Times Gone By.

This treasure trove of a book is filled with hundreds of forgotten objects, pastimes, recipes, toddies, riddles, proverbs, (all in alphabetical order) that definitely need to make a comeback. It's whimsical, witty and elegantly written. And if you happen to be in a down mood, it's the best "pick me up!"

I just had to share a tidbit of Lesley's fabulous quips:

ORGAN GRINDERS: Just so we can see the monkeys in those cute little vests and fezzes again.

GLAMOUR SLIPPERS: The ultimate house show: a befeathered silken, froufrou alternative to slapping, schlumpy flip-flops.

PHONE CONVERSATIONS: Supplanted by e-mails and texting, they're becoming as archaic as handwritten letters.

BUSTLES: A history-minded way to hide a large derriere.

HOTEL LIVING: This used to be a common practice in hotels of grandeur and disrepute; you would simply move into and and "take rooms." One advantage to hotel living; If you die there, you're more likely to be found in a timely manner.

GOLD TEETH: So festive. Also; handy assets in a recession.


MAHOGANY TELEPHONE BOOTHS IN HOTEL LOBBIES: They carried a surreptitious allure; it was practically mandatory to look around furtively when you were making a call inside.

PICTURE: As in "We're going to see the Bette Davis picture." Equally wonderful: "talkie."

DRESSING UP: For casinos: Lady luck is attracted to those who look the part.

For dinner: People used to do it every night: dinner jackets and evening gowns. Now showing up to dinner can be like getting slopped at a trough, and people often dress accordingly.

For flying: These days, airport attire is an assault on beauty--and often decency. Flying used to be considered a glamorous event, as did arriving; people wore their Sunday best for the occasion.

author, Lesley M. M. Blume (above)

This book is just the "cat's pajama's." You cannot put it down. A "must buy" here.

images from Booklover here

Gasp.

Yesterday my friend Karen came over to share two of her latest purchases; the newly released limited-edition books, “De Vera Objects” and “De Vera Jewelry,” by Federico de Vera. Needless to say, they are filled with the most beautiful eye-candy I've ever seen!

De Vera, a merchant, collector, and jewelry designer, had shops in San Francisco for over two decades, and has now moved to a two-level cabinet of curiosities on Crosby Street in New York City. He also has a second location on East 81st Street. His work is nothing less than exquisite.

De Vera's jewelry is museum-like in nature. He transforms antique elements (irregular fragments of gemstones, rose-cut diamonds, baroque pearls, coral branches, intaglios, amulets, Georgian shoe buckles and more) into marvelous new adornments that he likes best “when you almost cannot wear them."

Federico de Vera at home in Manhattan with his portrait collection {via NY Times, Tina Tyrell}

Each volume of de Vera's new books include some of the best objects and jewelry he has designed, collected and sold over the years. The photography and styling is staggering.

A single book is $165. A boxed set of both volumes, including one original artwork by de Vera, costs $500. Limited edition of 2,500. Prices may be a little steep, but well worth the amazing "oohs & aahs" that you will experience while flipping through them.

To purchase, click here.

I am just about to press the purchase button...I just can't help myself!

images: Anita Calero for de Vera

Dining at the Palace?

Ever imagined dining with the Royal Household? Here are some rules of etiquette via Pat Stonehouse should you be one of the lucky to receive an invite. Or we can pretend, can't we?

1. Stand behind one's chair and wait for the Queen to sit down before being seated.

2. Wait for the Queen to start eating. When the Queen stops eating, so does everyone else at the dinner.

3. The Royal family eats Continental style. The knife is held in the right hand and the fork in the left. Food is conveyed to the mouth with the fork held tines down in the left hand; the fork is not transferred to the right hand the way it is in North America. When finished, the knife and fork are placed parallel on the plate.

4. Should one happen to drop something on the floor, pretend nothing has happened. Footmen will discretely attend to it.

5. Once seated, no one leaves the table until the Queen leaves. It is considered bad manners to leave the table and visit the restroom during the meal.

6. Personal belongings such as cell phones and purses should not be placed on the table.

7. Looking for salt and pepper shakers? They won't be found - instead, look for a salt cellar, which looks like a tiny bowl with a small spoon, and a pepper caster.

8. Don't ask for things not directly within reach. One needs not ask to have anything passed when dining with the Royals. All food is served by footmen, and each guest's place setting has its own individual salt cellar, pepper caster, mustard pot and butter dish.

9. Refrain from clinking glasses to have the newlyweds kiss, as the Queen wouldn't appreciate having her exquisite crystal chipped.

10. What traditionally is called "dessert" is called "pudding" in England. After the pudding course comes the dessert course, which is the fruit course. At this time, each dinner guest is presented with a finger bowl on a gilt plate with a knife, fork and spoon. Guests are to lift and position the finger bowl and napkin to the left of their place setting and lay out their own cutlery for the fruit course. After the fruit is eaten, guests use the finger bowls.

Here are some wonderful books available about dining at the Palace.

For the Royal Table - Dining at the Palace, by Kathryn Jones - "This book is filled with photos of the dining table all set, the silver gilt services, the Victorian goblets, and all the fabulous gilt serving pieces collected for the Royal Collection by King George IV the first 25 years of the 19th century. Can you imagine being a server carrying a large Sevres platter from the Louis XVI service dating to 1760?" -The Anglophile

Dinner at Buckingham Palace, by Charles Oliver --"When Queen Victoria dined-whether it was breakfast or a dinner party for hundreds of guests-it was no casual affair, and this elegant volume, based on the diaries of the son of a royal servant during the Victorian era, pays homage to the pomp, circumstance and food that came from the royal kitchen, and the dining habits of the present Queen and her family."-Publishers Weekly

Bon Appetit!

Do You Love Vintage Luxury?

Then you must read/borrow/buy the book, "100 Legendary Trunks: Louis Vuitton." My friend Karen gave this to me as a holiday gift and it's one of the most gorgeous books I've ever seen!

It features over 800 of the most beautiful photos ever. Everything kind of trunk; trunk bed (that's right) steamer trunks, tea case, toiletry kit, circus trunk, library trunk, and caviar box from the rich & famous dating back to the 19th century.

A LV trunk for flowers, imagine...

This book will knock your socks off. All 496 pages housed in a hard slipcase!

It's available here and here...

Enjoy!

Every Picture Tells a Story, Don't It?

Back in April of 2009 I blogged a few of my Favorite Things... which included an image of a trophy given to "The Parisian Cloak Company," in Kansas City for best dressed store window during the United Fashion Show in 1915.

Recently I was contacted by Joe Boeckholt. Joe stumbled upon my trophy photo and gave me some interesting history on it. Harzfeld's specialty store of Kansas City was originally known as the Parisian Cloak Company and was started in 1890. Small world, eh?

Last year Joe and Michele authored a book on Harzfeld's. The Boeckholts uncover the story behind Harzfeld's specialty store, from its first offering of coats, blouses, petticoats and furs to the beloved Petticoat Lane flagship location and regional network of satellite stores.

If you're interested in Kansas City history, this is a great read. You can purchase it here and visit Joe & Michele's blog here.

Thanks Joe & Michele for my copy of this book!

Holiday Must-Have: French Essence

Many of you may already be familiar with the warm & charming Vicki Archer. I met Vicki some time ago via the blogging world (her blog is titled French Essence.) She is such an amazing woman!

Ten years ago Vicki bought and restored a seventeenth-century property in Saint-Remy-de-Provence, and told the story in her book My French Life, a true classic.

Vicki's beautiful dressing table

Now the moment we've been waiting for... Vicki's second book, French Essence. In this fabulous book, Vicki collaborates with photographer Carla Coulson. The book is a celebration of Vicki's daily life in Provence. Vicki shares the ambiance and beauty of this beautiful area. The book is filled with gorgeous photographs of lush gardens, timeless interiors, hauntingly beautiful village lanes, and inspired aesthetic details.

one of Vicki's favorite chapters in the book is about the French circus..."'the big top' was an an interior to love - the textures, the colour, the lighting even the simple velvet covered seating."

French Essence is definitely a treasure. Not just the content of the book, but the delightful Vicki that many of us have grown to love via her blog!

Be sure and add French Essence to your Christmas list! You can purchase it here or here.

image credit: Carla Coulson

Worth a Thousand Words...

I love old books...the worn leather covers, grand libraries with nooks and crannies loaded with information to sift through. I'm not even an avid reader, but there is nothing like holding a book in your hands and feeling the pages run through your fingertips. And, I happen to be crazy for old libraries...

One of the most beautiful books I've come across recently, "Libraries," is by the gifted German-based photographer Candida Höfer. This book was published in 2005 and is still available to purchase via used book dealers. Ms. Höfer's book documents wonderful libraries from all over the world. The details are absolutely stunning. Take a look for yourself...



137 color plates in this book, beautifully capturing seats of knowledge around the world from the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York to the Bibliotheque nationale de France in Paris, the Villa Medici in Rome and others.





Stunning, isn't it? If a picture is worth a thousand words, than this book is real treasure. It's available here at Amazon starting at $64.64 for a used copy.

Definitely something to add to the holiday list!

photo credits: Candida Höfer, Libraries