Content/Sidebar/Sidebar

I was looking through my Mother’s books and found a copy of Victoria ~ At Home With White.  Victoria as in Victoria Magazine.  Sigh.  Why did that magazine go defunct?  Those luscious photos by Toshi Otsuki and the articles of fabulous stores in France or England where you could transform you life into something deserving of, well, just something you certainly deserved. 

Seems to me there still would be an audience for that magazine.  I liked it because it was more than just a decorating magazine and more like a lifestyle magazine.  Dreamier than, say, Martha Stewart’s Living or even Romantic Home (both magazine I like a whole lot).

The book is out of print but copies are to be had from book resellers.  It makes me want to start collecting all of the Victoria books. 

My mother loved white.  Her garden is all white.  White roses, birch trees, white hydrangeas and geraniums.  It is very elegant, just like my mother was.  Just from where I am sitting I can see eight or nine books on decorating or gardening with white. 

Decor-wise she always paired it with a certain shade of blue, kind of an oceany greyish blue.   The effect is calming, elegant and surprisingly not cold considering the palette.

But back to the book – if you like the sample of pictures above then try to get your hands on a copy of the book.  You will not be disappointed.  Each page is a visual feast; photograph after gorgeous photograph.

Looking through it I was reminded of a catalog I used to get that started out selling French lace curtains.  Then they branched out, still mainly selling curtains but also decorative objects from France.  Does anyone remember that catalog and the name of it?  I want to say it had France or French in the name but I just can’t remember.  I wonder what happened to them? 

Edited to add:  And Claudia gets it!  It was Rue de France.  Doing a quick search it looks like they were bought out by the Lillian Vernon Company and then they decided to phase it out in 2004. 

And the big mystery ~ why is it that when I really like something like a magazine or a company it disappears?

The Easter Bunny came early!  Or he got his holidays mixed up because he showed up for Valentine’s Day.  My sister Nicole handed a beribboned box to me yesterday and said "Happy Valentine’s Day.  I know how you like to rush the seasons along." 

He is very dignified looking, don’t you think?  When I took him out of the package my father wondered if that was a bomb attached to him.  Men.

He (the rabbit, not my dad) came from a store in Los Altos, CA called Cover Story.  They always have really nice seasonal decorations. 

Speaking of my sister Nicole ~ she just started up her own blog called Sister’s Choice and you must stop by and say hello.  She is an amazing quilter, decorator, hostess and cook and lovely as well.  Thank you for the bunny Nicki. 

Isn’t this bird the cutest thing?  She looks a little cranky but if you laid an egg that was as big as you are you would be cranky too.  Ideally she would be on a cake plate with a cloche but I don’t have one (yet.  But this is a contender) so for now she’ll keep vigil on the table.  See the lace runner?  That is my martini pitcher.

So this is my second attempt at the entry way.  I’ve come to the realization that I just can’t take a picture of the whole of it and have it look right so I’m going to reveal it in bits and pieces.  It’s still not perfect but I’m liking it better than my first attempt.  Still struggling with that whole symmetry business.

                                                                                                                           

I decided on a bird theme.  I bought the birdcage at the De Anza Flea Market years ago and I painted it black.

In it I have a little woodpecker but I left the door open for him because caged birds just make me sad.

The woodpecker came from a clearance table at Anthropologie.  I went in there to visit my other birds – three or four ceramic birds on an iron branch made into a candelabra of sorts.  It stood about 12"-15" tall and I just coveted that thing.  Only it was way out of my price range so I would just go visit it every couple of weeks.  Eventually it would either go on sale or my resolve would weaken and I would buy it.  There was only one in the store and they don’t show it in their catalog.  Well it’s gone now so that’s that. 

I have this tendency to go on buying sprees where all the accessories I purchase are black (or are painted black – I’m not afraid to buy something for the shape and then paint it whatever color I want) or white.   It kind of works because either I’ll be in a Victorian kind of mood (and black works great for this) or a cottage mood where the white is better suited.

I’m in my Victorian era at the moment.  But that is sure to change as soon as it’s reasonable to put out Easter decorations.