The Queen as mum

I came across these photos on Bunny Tomerlin's blog. I love how they show the Queen as a normal mom with Prince Charles. Look at that huge smile on her face! Isn't it funny how Charles looks exactly the same now (without the baby fat!) - plus he's still as surly and dour-looking as a child!
Enjoy your weekend!

flowers!

I got flowers here at work this week! So a big THANK YOU! I thought I would share them with all of you to brighten up your day, like they did mine and now do to my desk!

WS Home 2 - ARGH!

So, I got an answer about the basket shown in the Williams Sonoma home catalog - it's not offered for sale by them!! The ONE thing in the entire catalog that is not sold by them is the thing I desperately want! I received this polite email today

Thank you for contacting Williams-Sonoma Home. The magazine basket you have inquired about is a photographer's prop and is not currently offered for sale through Williams-Sonoma Home. Please know we have not been provided any information as to where this item was obtained. However, we have forwarded your suggestion to our Corporate Buyers for review and possible inclusion in future marketing plans.

If anyone knows what this basket is, please let me know!

WS home

I love WilliamSonoma home - I anticipate the seasonal catalogs from them like it's 'World of Interiors' , 'Domino' , 'Elle Decor' or some other publication! Check out these beautiful nickel and glass trays. I am so resisting getting the rectangular tray for my coffee table! It would be SO BEAUTIFUL THERE!!!!
The Presidio bed, alone in leather and in a room setting


I especially love their Presidio collection of furniture. I hate when everything is matchy matchy -but I really love each piece so much. I want the bed, the chair, the couch and the settee/daybed! I guess you could always mix and match velvet and leather, etc. I love the clean and classic lines of them -they're very architectural!
However there is one thing in the catalog I can't find on their website or in the print version. In this photo below you see that basket beside the couch with all the 'architectural digests' in it? (yes, my eyes are that good). I would love that beside my couch with all my 'world of interiors' in it that are curerntly hiding in the recesses of my bookcase. Anyone have any idea where to find a storage container that shape and size?? I just may break down and buy it!
I went to the william sonoma home store in Portland, oregon every day I was there just to hang out! I got some great silver mint julip vases/cups there as well as a suede edged cashmere blanket! DC really needs one of these stores!! Are you listening, WS home? I would SOOO work at you part-time!

A good dinner

Recently a friend asked me about what I eat for dinner since I live alone. My mom is a nutritionist and I learned a thing or two about healthy eating from her. This was my dinner on Sunday - a chef's salad: Dark red leaf lettuce, 1 hardboiled egg, a ripe tomato, hazlenuts, salt pepper and some balsamic vinegar. Fast, easy, filling and healthy. Of course the most important part is how it's served (to me anyway) -this is my 'orleans' pattern -by haviland limoge - around the rim are different birds and a beautiful blue pattern. It makes even the simplest meal special! What is a fast easy dinner for you when you're alone?

Provincetown, MA

I spent the past week in beautiful Provincetown, MA. P-town is at the very tip of Cape Cod and had been settled as an art colony from its earliest days. The skyline of the small, quaint town is dominated by the Pilgrim Monument which I climbed up this year to take in the view, which I highly recommend! It was built from 1907-1910 to commemorate this town as the location in which the pilgrims first arrived (we're talking about the Mayflower in 1620 here, people). Roosevelt laid the cornerstone and Taft dedicated the tower once it was complete -big time! While the Pilgrims didn't settle here initially, it was known as a location for great fishing and is still known for its seafood (YUMMY). The tower was designed by a Willard Sears and was directly modeled after the Torre del Mangia in Siena, Italy and is 252 feet tall ( a lot of stairs and ramps!). looking up and down the interiorview from the top, you can see one of the 'gargoyle's' here

this is the town and the dunes and beach that make up the tip of cape cod

This is a view of the town the other direction 'south' down the cape.

The style tower seems extremely randomly placed, especially as it's built entirely out of solid granite blocks in an entirely wood and shingle town, but it is definitely distinctive. The tower is beautifully lit at night and we had the best view of it from the condo we stayed in. These are some of the pictures I took, I hope you enjoy them!

Each year I go I see magnificent rainbows -this one was a double!