Shop Girl

Reading the Sunday paper and your blogs, just kicking back staying out of the heat. Found a few little tidbits to share with you.

Eat Pray Love: The Shop in New Jersey

What did Elizabeth Gilbert do with all that money she made from selling the movie rights of her best selling book "Eat Pray Love"?

Well she opened a shop in New Jersey of course! You can read all about HERE

Have you ever been a shop girl (or shop boy)? Most times I love it, but on these hot rainy days in New Orleans, the day can be lonely, and then poof it could get exciting when Sandra Bullock might walk in the door.

August either goes too slow for some of us with unrelenting heat, and watching the hurricane season calendar come into high alert, or too fast with many kids already going back to school (in August???? This still boggles my old fashion notion that school should start post Labor Day). I wonder how you all are keeping calm, cool and collected.

Tonight, crank that AC up and watch Mad Men, and watch the final three of HGTV Design Star finally get to do an individual challenge (those group challenges were the worst format decision the producers made). HGTV Design Star is the train wreck of a show so bad it really isn't all that much fun to watch except for fellow blogger Emily, The Brass Petal, still hanging in there.

Mad Men style air conditioner

Or maybe you might deal with the heat by lopping of your locks in favor of a Jean Seberg style haircut.

Jean Seberg looks so cool

Another thing I'd like to share with you is a nice little custom made surprise in my mail box, HERE








And one more thing I found interesting, a story about the Greenbrier, the classic West Virginia hotel with the famous Dorothy Draper interiors HERE

The Greenbrier interior design by the society designer Dorothy Draper done in the 1940s
Described as: "Nothing seems to match, and that’s the point.
The result is something Lily Pulitzer and Laura Ashley
might have dreamed up together after following Alice down the rabbit hole."
Sounds perfect for a blogger meet up!

In my minds eye I see a fantastic blogger meet up here, all expenses paid so everybody could come.

We could talk and eat and drink and give each other workshops.

The Writing Room at the Greenbrier

There is a writing room at the Greenbrier, a place set aside, to gasp, actually hand write letters!

I would get an old school nun to come and give us a workshop on penmanship, and Letitia Baldrige to come and school us on the art of writing a social letter.

With age, and computer use my handwriting has gone down the toilet, so I would need to practice, practice, practice.

Sister Wolf could give us penmanship classes

Letitia Baldrige could teach us the art of social letter writing

And of course Alberto and I would love to give you all a tango workshop in the spectacular ballroom!

Alberto & I would give bloggers Tango lessons in the Greenbrier ballroom

And just on more link..

My friend Jessica Hack is an expert fabric conservator. You can read about her in Inside Out Magazine HERE

Jessica Hack sitting in front of a vintage Carnival costume in her studio
She does museum level fabric conservation

Jessica Hack has been in the textile conservation business for 31 years. Unlike restoration, which aims to bring pieces as close to new as possible, conservation seeks to stabilize the existing material and repair damage to prevent it from spreading.

Meticulous fabric conservation by Jessica Hack

Washing an important flag in the studio of Jessica Hack

Stay c00l and have fun going down the rabbit hole of links!

You'll Love This Stuff

Huff-Dewberry

Here are a few things that have caught my eye, and I thought maybe you'd enjoy them too.

First up:

How an energetic, six-foot-five designer translated his love of 1960’s cinema, space travel and farmhouses into the design of his downtown loft.

Produced, designed, written, styled and directed by Brian Patrick Flynn with photography by Sarah Dorio

Go to Decor Demon HERE to read the entire article - it is well worth your time! I was lucky to meet Brian in Atlanta, and I hope he'll invite me over the next time I'm there.

Second, another man I adore, Michael Pelkey is in this month's issue of Southern Living.
His front porch in his Key West home is featured.


The photo is from the new book Perfect Porches where you can see more of Michael Pelkey's home, as well as many other gorgeous porches. Written by Paula Wallace, a co-founder of The Savannah College of Art and Design.


Last is this clipping of a fresh way to use a folding screen. The work of Huff-Dewberry is featured in this month's "Better Homes and Gardens decorating" magazine. You can see more of Huff-Dewberry HERE.



I love the little magazines BHG puts out. They are jammed packed with photos, like little decor books. Support hard copy magazines, and buy one today!



Have a great day!

Vamp Digest - Going Into The White!

Lots of projects going on. Getting ready to repaint the kitchen, so it's time to change out the cabinet fronts that we did six years ago. The cabinets are in great shape, but the doors are outdated and fugly. We did witty wallpaper on the original laminate doors, but now Alberto is making new wood doors. We don't have the budget or inclination to rip out perfectly good cabinets. The upper cabinets are getting new doors with chicken wire insets so you can still see the white ironstone.

We will rip out the lower cabinets, get a new ones, and a new sink, and new counter top, which we think will really give the kitchen a boost.

This is a work in progress that I'll share as it it develops.

Another project involves more going into the white!!!!

I repainted the cabinet in the living room white! Many of you weighed in on this HERE

Mellissa Warner has this chest in the May issue of House Beautiful -
Which gave me a kick in the butt to finally repaint my chest!

I loved the first paint job I did on this vintage Baker cabinet seven or eight years ago, but I was ready for a change.

I had to scrape of the decoupage suns I applied. I just spritzed them with water, and used a putty knife to remove them.

Then I sanded and primed the cabinet. I used Kilz 2 primer.

I couldn't remove the handles. They have a bolt system and I didn't have the right size wrench, so I left them on and used a teensy brush to paint around them.


I used Kilz cabinet paint in white, and I love the finish.
I think the white looks great against the deep brown walls. I haven't decided if I will paint the inset part yet. I want to live with it all white for awhile. I left the beautiful pecan wood top alone.



I took a break because Bryan Batt had a book signing at Octavia Books in New Orleans this past weekend.


He calls the book a "momoir".



It's all about him growing up in New Orleans, and about his mom, Gail Batt. Bryan's dad owned an amusement park, and the family is as colorful as most families are in New Orleans.

Brian read excerpts and told many stories, and answered a ton of questions the audience had for him. He's working on a second book called "Mad For Design"!


A huge crowd came out to hear Brian read, and to get their book signed.

He was so happy with the turn out of local folks who know and love him.

Anne Tuennerman from Tales of the Cocktail provided the libation for the book signing.

Tales of the Cocktail is what happens when a love for well-crafted cocktails and the city of New Orleans meet a relentless entrepreneurial spirit. Ann Tuennerman organizes the nation's premier cocktail festival (in July), bringing together the world's foremost experts on everything alcohol for a week-long libation celebration.

The Vamp with Anne Tuennerman founder of Tales of the Cocktail

Bryan's partner Tom Cianfichi was on hand to cheer Bryan on and to help get those books sold.

It was a wonderful weekend, topped off by a poolside dinner party on Sunday night to watch Treme, and I spent my day off on Monday gardening, until Alberto pulled me away for dinner at Coquette.

Bryan is traveling around the country doing book signings HERE

The book is wonderful - pick up a copy for your Summer reading!

Vamp Digest

Things are hectic.
I'm moving so fast I feel as if I'm moving back in time. Nearly fifteen years ago I "semi retired" from the world of business. I reinvented myself, and gave up my business, and stopped going to the office in a traditional 9 - 5 way.


My days remained busy, but in a different way. You all know it's different when you are not expected to show up at the same time in the same place everyday.


The business of teaching tango and producing tango events is hard work, but it's not 9 to 5 each and every day. We work super hard for intense bursts of time. And the traveling we do to teach keeps our "office" ever changing.

Now I'm back to where I was fifteen years ago, responsible for showing up in the same place at the same time. And I'm teaching tango too.

We just did a tango workshop in Florida this past weekend. We drove up the Emerald Coast. I am so glad when we can drive to our gigs. I'm not afraid to fly, but I don't really like it much.
The sad news about the Air France flight sent my prayers to them all. Many times while hovering over a turbulent Atlantic Ocean I prayed mighty hard for the safe return of each and everyone of us to our destination.

These beautiful Phillipe Stark Mademoiselle Chairs came into Perch today

I'm back at the shop today, getting things ready for a couple of photo shoots.



June is the traditional month for the start of wedding season, and the wedding images you see here are in this month's issue of Veranda, in an editorial about a very beautiful wedding in France. Pick up the issue, or check it out on line.
After years and years of producing weddings, I'm a sucker for pictures and locations such as these.

I have several Shop Keepers Homes stories working too.

One of the Shop Keepers Homes coming soon

And I'm working on something about a fabulous new book on Swedish style coming out by Rhonda Eleish and Edie Van Breems.

Interior Design by Eleish Van Breems Antiques

There's a crew coming to New Orleans in August to shoot a book project I'm involved with.

Scouting for a photo shoot in August

And we have some Bed and Tango guests coming this summer too.

We stopped at the beach on the drive back to New Orleans.

After so many years of having the "free" schedule of someone semi retired, I really appreciated these moments on the beach.


June is also the start of Hurricane season here on the Gulf Coast.