It Takes a Village...

… to get me ready to go to the Baltimore Museum of Art’s Party of the Century!

In July, I wrote about the massive renovations and restorations happening at the Baltimore Museum of Art, here. I was asked to be on the party planning committee and jumped at the chance to celebrate that, and the Museum’s 100th Anniversary this year.

There are actually two parties, both on the same night. First is a gala dinner for all of the major donors to the Museum’s restoration funds, and then there’s a fun after-party with music and dancing. I was lucky enough to be invited to the dinner, and of course, I will also go for the dancing!

That left me with a quandary as to what to wear that would be glamorous, but comfortable enough to go from cocktails at 6:00 to dinner at 7:30 to dancing at 9:30! If you’re like me, I have to be comfortable or else I get all squirmy!

I decided to create a Pinterest Page where I could pin all of the ideas I had and finally came up with an outfit, with a little lot of help from my friends. 

To start with the top, I had a piece from last year that I like – a cashmere boat neck sweater with a vintage mink collar. It’s comfortable, and fits beautifully.

On to the skirt. Little Augury, aka blogger Patricia Gaye Tapp, had pinned a number of vintage Balenciaga designs, and I found one which I thought would work, with a little tweaking. I wasn’t wild about the jacket, especially with its peplum ruffle, but I loved the way the skirt was designed, with a demi-train.

I knew I’d never find anything like this, but then I remembered one of my neighbours is a professional seamstress. After a consultation with her, she said that she could make the skirt, and we began the process. Using the mink from the top, we picked out a heavy Armani silk taffeta, in a deep brown/black moiré. I had several fittings and we agreed on things like the length, which I didn’t want to trail after me, especially with the crowd for dinner and dancing. I had visions of a Marx Brothers type skit – someone steps on the train and I keep walking , the skirt rips and I end up in my knickers!

Next up was my friend Andrea, the owner of Bosom Buddy Bags. I picked out a gorgeous evening bag at her sale a few weeks ago. It’s the perfect size, just big enough to hold my phone, some lippie and a credit card.

She also helped with the shoe situation. Since I had the stress fracture in my knee two years ago, I’ve found it impossible to wear heels. And since the party’s going to be long, and the floors are marble, I knew I had to have comfortable shoes. So I found a pair of quilted Chanel-style ballet flats, with lots of cushioning, and Andrea augmented them with satin ribbon to match.

I am having my hair and make-up done, and also getting a manicure, so by

I might actually be ready to party!

Thanks to the village of friends who invited me to the party and helped me get ready! I couldn't have done it without you!

PS: SO sorry for the wonky formatting. I was having major issues uploading, so had to write the post in the blogger editor, which is ghastly!

A Country Garden: After the Frost

We had our first killing frost of the season over the weekend, and I took the opportunity to do a final chapter in my series on a country garden. You can see the previous posts at the end of August, at the height of summer, and at the beginning of June. The bones of the garden are now exposed and you can see the framework on which the beautiful gardens have been built.

As I walked down the garden path, I realized that the urn that had held a magnificent yucca plant, now held a small conifer, just waiting to be decorated with white lights at Christmas.

The hydrangeas which had been so gorgeous only months earlier, had dried and were rattling in the breeze. However, two steadfast and sturdy hold-outs remained.

The fountain still sparkles in the sun, but soon it will be turned off as the temperatures drop below freezing.

As I headed out towards the main gardens, I was reminded of how much I love this vista, and then walking down the steps that are covered with years of lichen, to the gardens beyond.

The cutting garden took a big hit with the first frost and all of the remaining dahlias dropped overnight. They will now be cut down and the tubers will be overwintered in the greenhouse, to be planted again next spring. You can just barely see my hand holding this dahlia.

The hydrangea heads have all dried and the make a nice counterpoint to the leafless trees in the woods beyond.

A lone spade remained in the garden as a reminder that there’s still lots of work to do to put the gardens to bed for the winter.

The armillary, which is at the center of the garden now stand out.

I left the cutting garden and began walking over to the vegetable garden. It’s immediately apparent how much thought, and work, has gone into making this such a special place, when you see vistas like this one.

The huge datura plant has now gone to seed, and when I looked closely, I could just make out the words “Baltimore, MD” at the base of the iron urn which had held the banana plant.

There were still a few hyacinth beans left on the arbour, their brilliant purple being a bright spot of colour.

It was sad to see the dahlias drooping, after how pretty they were just a month or two ago. This one was making a valiant effort to stand against the elements.

The espalliered apples have been pruned back to encourage new growth next year and prevent disease

The low clear autumn light was perfect for catching the sun highlighting the rainbow chard stalks.

One of my favourite images is these last remaining fig leaves catching the morning sun. They almost appear to be floating in the air.

As I rounded the corner to return to the driveway, I came across a part of the garden that I hadn’t seen before. There before me stood a magnificent buck, just basking in the sun.

And beyond him, a classical allée of trees culminating in the focal point of an even more classical urn and a bench for resting, and contemplating  how fortunate I am to be able to spend time in a place like this.

As I headed out the driveway, the sparkle of the sun glittering on the pond caught my eye.

And I smiled to see the sweet little red barn, happily basking in the meadow.

While I am anxious to take pictures of the garden in the snow, I’d be happy if it’s still a month or so before it arrives!

China, My China

With the holidays rapidly approaching, I’ve been seeing the most gorgeous images of beautiful place-settings of china everywhere. Even though I am not going to be in the States to celebrate Thanksgiving, I will be having dinner with some friends in London who just returned from living in Brooklyn for two years!

I’ve been looking at some of the beautiful table settings on Pinterest, and keep finding the most creative images, so I thought I’d share some of them with you. Click the image for the link back to the Pinterest page.

Which image is your favourite? What traditions does your family have? It’s not a holiday dinner in my family until something catches on fire.

#ThisIsBaltimore: October Edition

I sat down with the coordinator for the lecture series I was asked take part in, and we decided that I would also do a small walking tour. While it won’t necessarily feature the same buildings as the lecture does, it will also be about buildings and have the theme of “Look Up”. That was always one of my father’s admonitions: Look up! The buildings stay the same at street level, but when you look up, you see the real deal.

This was one of my favourite images taken in October. A rainy afternoon and an abandoned umbrella.

Baltimore’s Charles Village neighbourhood is filled with these Painted Ladies.

Fountain in Mt. Vernon at night

And during the day.

The scaffolding is almost completely removed from the Washington Monument.

Under Armour has painted several tanks with local sports heroes. This is Cal Ripken, Jr. You can read an interview with founder, Kevin Plank, here. We share a similar philosophy.

The Halloween window at McLain Wiesand Custom Furniture.

Baltimore’s iconic rowhouses in a vibrant fall sunset.

In my eternal quest to learn new things, I am going to try and develop an app for the walking tour I am leading. I hope to call it “Look Up Baltimore”. Wish me luck!

Happy Birthday, Bunny!

One of my favourite people, Bunny Williams, had a big birthday recently! She is one of the most influential designers around and has such a keen eye and great sense of style. I thought I’d share some of her rooms that I love the best. Enjoy!

Classical rustic pool house in Connecticut

Retreat in Delaware

Bunny’s pantry with her collections of china

Home in Richmond, Virginia

I learned at an early age that a house is for enjoying life and sharing it with others. One must be careful with good things, but they should never be banished to a closet. It’s the chip or crack that proves something was used and loved.
Bunny Williams

Virginia Bedroom

House in the Dominican Republic

The “Affair with a House” house in Connecticut

Minimalist rooms can be so beautiful, but I can’t live in one; I love objects too much.
Bunny Williams

Bathroom in Richmond, Virginia

Sky blue room.

I am lucky enough to have had the opportunity to meet Bunny on numerous occasions and admire her tremendously, not only for her design work, but her work with shelter animals.

All of my very best wishes for a Happy Birthday, Bunny!