in love with lucite

im crushing on lucite furniture at the moment. When i first moved into the apartment (which was gulp! almost a year ago... how did that fly by? and yes im a very methodical decorator) I was a bit intimidated by the lay out of the living room.  There are three entry points to the room and the fourth wall is a bank of windows. The two doors face each other which creates a long sweep that cuts the top of the room and I havent been able to truly make it work. But, after a year of thinking and looking and patiently working to understand the space, i think i know the perfect solution. Lucite! 

these images are perfect examples of its ability to be "there" with out really being "there" and i love how they add elegance and structure to these rooms. do you have a your favorite ? 










images: 1,2,3,4

an excerpt

"I recently received a fine printed catalog from one of my favorite antique silver dealers, SJ Shrubsole, located on 57th Street here in New York. In the introduction, the proprietor, Eric Shrubsole, tells a charming story about his parents. His mother would visit his father’s shop in London on occasion, and “from her perch of serene ignorance” she would claim surprise that he still had this or that old thing, orphaned and unsold. His father would answer in exasperation that yes, he still had this thing, and that thing, and that thing, and if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have a business anymore. Many decades later their son concludes, “My point is that inventory is the proof of a great dealer. We buy what we love; we wait for someone to love it as much as we do.”"


this little excerpt is from a post by thomas o'brien on his areo studio website. In his post he discusses his feelings about the current importance placed upon social media for/by small(er) businesses. I like that he has stopped, and asked his reader to stop, and take a moment to consider what impact this has upon a store built around objects with a history... 


but the above excerpt struck a particular cord. I feel just as this old silver shop keeper must have and joke with friends that I foster vintage pieces until they can find the right home .... because we- treasure hunters & finders of beautiful things- we buy what we love; we wait for someone to love it as much as we do .... 

soon in the shop

cottage farm is restocking. a little sneak peek of whats to come. plus lots, lots more. 

whats cooking at cottage farm

a little peek at whats cooking in the shop this week.... look for these and other pretty bits soon. 

white walls

as you may have seen yesterday there is a new apartment space in my life & first on the agenda: a fresh coat of white paint on the walls. at the moment, they are a horrid pale yellowish. this is something i will have to do myself but i dont mind, i find painting a room with a fresh coat very satisfying.

 I had to have my paint color (benjamin moore, snowfall) approved, but thats the good thing about white paint - its not scary to landlords. While deciding on a paint color i flipped through lots of my glossy archives in the hopes of garnering a few ideas about wall color - 

what i began to notice was that almost everything i've blogged, archived, tumbled and torn has white walls. i once read a decorators quote that commented on her belief that white walls make rooms to feel unfinished.

i must admit that i grappled with this though for a while and my conclusion: if thats true than perhaps i like the freedom that comes with a room feeling unfinished- possibility is everywhere, styles can be mixed and matched on a whim, texture is important for adding depth & anything is likely.

 white walls, boring and unfinished or simply possibility?

images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

for love of: laura letinsky

 recently ive been thinking about the work of laura letinsky. i attended a lecture of hers about a year ago and ive been rolling her images over in my mid alot as of late. 

like modern day vanitas they have a persistent quality of absence. i find myself studying them for clues about who has just left the room and the lives contained just outside the frame. 

beautiful to look at - soft but striking pallets and lots of little details to captivate. 

flea market find

i found this amazing jim thompson dress at the flea market on sunday. it looks like it was never worn! i cant imagine why, because it is so beautiful. the colors are rich and vibrant and perfect for summer - its a nice vintage twist on the oh so popular maxi dress. and it has pockets!!

i was delighted to find that it fit perfectly-  im thinking i will pair it with a wide leather belt, a pair of pretty jewel tone sandals & a few big chunky wood bracelets. 

for love of: icart

as a little girl i was captivated by the dry point etchings of louis icart. its the first piece of art i remember seeing and wanting to poses - it was hanging on the post of an antiques dealer's tent at the brimfield show... i was probably about 8. fascinated, i spent the next bit of time researching and looking at his etchings. i loved the long delicate lines of the women and they were always dressed so beautifully with such a strong but feminine presence. in my 8 yr old mind, they were perfect....the fact that there were often dogs in his images didnt hurt either. my mother bought me a reproduction of one of his prints for my bedroom. some years later and it still hangs in my childhood bedroom. 

my tastes may have changed, and at this moment im not sure exactly where there would be a place for them in my decor...though if i had a very grand bathroom i would like just one there and nothing else at all. as i revisited many of his images for this post i was struck by the same things i was as an 8 yr old - elegance above all, long lean lines, confidence and beauty. but this time i couldnt help notice a slightly provocative darkness in them...  

  

wine list wednesday

this sunday sos and i celebrated 5 yrs of happily being together. to celebrate we had an amazing meal at flour + water - they make a mean wood fired wild mushroom pizza among other things. to celebrate and pair w. this delicious pizza we chose a 2006 Pine Ridge Cave 7 cabernet sauvignon. and it was knock my socks off good! 

since it was a five yr old vintage ;) it was super smooth and the tannins were nice and mellow - it was elegant, in a way that only aged cabs can be really. what was perfect though was the rich, and still quite juicy middle. hints of violet, blackberry and prune. followed by just a twinge of smoke at the end - it perfectly brought out the earthy quality of the mushrooms with out over powering their delicacy. i woulnt recommend just drinking this wine, its too refined i think and its goes so very well with food. 


clearly i enjoyed it! 


and as an added bonus we shared a glass of their 2007 landi, lacrima di morro d'alba doc. from passito, marche. paired with the chocolate bundino with espresso-caramel cream & sea salt. lemme just tell you i nearly die of happiness right then and their. the dundino is the lightest fudge-y like dessert. luscious and the pretty lightly blossom colored desert wine had a hint of raspberry, which when paired w. the dessert became like little chocolate dipped berries in your mouth. 


 pretty sure that yr 6 is off to a good start!!!

Hunt Collection

i wanted to share some of the inspiration behind the Hunt Collection. named for the author of my favorite cook book of all time- Peter Hunt's Cape Cod Cookbook. Hunt was the artist behind peasant village & member of the provincetown community. the depth to which he was connected to his community is evident in this cookbook, which for me, is so full of magic it makes me catch my breath each time i crack its pages. the hunt collection is meant to embody the ease of summer living on cape cod. As chic as jackie o in the most light, breezy and effortless of ways. the collection lies somewhere between a day on a cape cod beach and a humid summer's evening in the back yard with gin&tonics and loads of good friends - 

a pallet of sun drenched & salt bleached days. 

 the marriage of rusticity and refinement, the quintesential new england charm. 

i hope you enjoy the collection. 

*photos: unknown. esquire. flickr. cottagefarm;hunt collection

farmers market. the sweet taste of summer

strawberries. synonymous with all things summer. they are finally ready. for the last few weeks we have been waiting and tasting the samples, but they werent ready. didnt have that sweet juicy ripeness that only the proper amount of summer sun can bring. so patient we had to be. yesterday however, all the sun and starts had aligned in the strawberry world and they were ready. 
they were still quite dear though, 3.50$ for a small pint, but the reward was worth it. i managed to get a photo before the were gobbled up - over yogurt with fresh local honey. 
next week i am hoping to make some sort of dessert, im still waiting for them to be at the market in abundance. but im thinking something with strawberries, basil and rich dark balsamic. maybe cheese cake. also isnt the linen i photographed them on divine. a huge thick linen kitchen towel, coming to the shop this week. 

i also found this beautiful food blog. My New Roots over at thecitysage. the recipes look gorgeous. i can not wait to try a few of the grain related ones. we arent vegetarians but eat meat only about once a week, if that so i am always looking for smart healthy new recipes. snow peas and pea tendrils and mint are also raging at the farmers market so i think i might make some of this simple mint pea dip and have it on toasts with a soft boiled egg one night for dinner.  

simple sundays

happy easter. 

retail therapy

i have been very very good for a long time, but these last two weeks i broke my shopping dry spell for a few vintage pieces -  

to wear with cropped navy pants or jeans to the flea on sunday's. cause sf is cold in the summer. 

to wear with a light linen navy cargo shirt and topsiders to run errands. masculine/feminine my fav. combo and i love the colors & the skirt's got great texture. 

to add to my collection. 

to wear out on my 5yr anniversary, or 30th birthday, or a friends wedding - or all. i just couldn't pass up something that beautiful - it will make my closet much much happier. 

to wear with jean shorts, a striped T and my beloved two tone grey vans with crazy retro custom laces- and make up for the one i passed on at a flea market a few months ago. still kicking myself over it. 

and now i shall return to retail hibernation for the next 6 months. 

wine list wednesday

all of the fresh spring vegetable are bursting from the farmer's market - snow peas, mint, pea tendrils and lots of lemons - and so a crisp bright wines was most certainly the only option - 

Terra Robles made by the Robert Hall vineyard. 

its bright on the tongue - perhaps just a hair too acidic, but has nice citrus, grapefruit and pairs nicely with food. what i particularly liked about the terra robles is the lovely mouthful of orange blossom and honey - quite unexpected but very welcome - 

delightfully priced at 9$

pair with fresh pea and mint risotto. 

modern lady

ive been a bit obsessed with the edwardian period as of recently - watching downton abbey quite obsessively to drink up as much of the costume/clothing as possible. while i must admit i would have no hesitation walking the streets in a true edwardian dress, they are a bit hard to come by - but when i saw these skirts

i couldnt help but notice how perfectly they captured the romance of the edwardian clothing but with a distinctly modern sensibility - so now im not the hunt for something similar - i was thinking one of these long pale and flowing skirts would be divine paired with a blue chambray button-down and big leather belt

 

what do you think? would you rock one?

images: decojumeau & the sartorialist

for love of: janine antoni

im sure many of you are familiar with the amazing work of janine antoni. she is a sculpture/performance artist who's work explores, among other things ideas of femininity and rituals of the everyday. 

Cradle, and im sorry for the image angle, but it begins with a tiny silver baby spoon resting inside an entire graduate of other spoons until it ends with the shovel of a backhoe excavator. 

i love how often she incorporates family relationships, objects and history. Umbilical is a silver cast of family heirloom silver, the artist mouth and her mothers hand. truly her work gives me goose bumps, i would love to experience a pice first hand but for now videos and photographs will have to suffice. this is a great ART21 video interview with antoni about the piece in the photograph below 

sneak peek

i havent prepared the usual wine list wednesday so instead i thought i would give a little shop preview of whats to come at Cottage Farm in the next few days. 


with summer fast approaching strawberries will soon be here! i can not wait to make my first rhubarb and strawberry tart ........ these vintage baking and serving pieces are all provencally inspired for your kitchen. 

the book shelf, revisited.

i finished the last book i was reading, the great house, a while ago and have since been with out. i do sometimes like to take a little reading break but im feeling the itch again for an hour or so in the evening to sit and read. i received a kindle for christmas and while it took me a bit to warm-up to the idea i rather love it now for some types of books, mostly novels and non-fiction. 


have you read any good books lately? ones that you just wish everyone else would read so you could talk about them over a few glasses of wine? please do tell. 
im thinking i might pick up the classic Susan Sontag essay collection On Photography  i read it in graduate school but with all that was going on i think i missed a few things. 





On another reading list - im thrilled! beyond belief to have acquired a full set of domino magazines. i came a little late to the party and only had a few so now, thanks to christine at thepostageservice i will be pouring over these until my little hearts content!! the word excited really doesnt express the extent of my joy..... 


images Irina Troitskaya and Decor8