I ♥ New York

 

Central Park, New York City, June 2014

We were in New York two weeks ago to see "Macbeth" starring Kenneth Branagh at the Park Avenue Armory.  I am not a Shakespeare buff (Jon is) and it was the first time I'd seen the play, but I thought it was fantastic.  Did you see it?  I'd be curious to know your thoughts about it.

 

On Sunday, we visited The Frick Collection, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and afterward walked around Central Park.  This scene at the pond where people navigate remote-controlled sailboats was, I thought, reminiscent of a scene that Monet might have painted.

 

Wishing you a happy Fourth of July this weekend.

Recent Travels

Things have been busy here between our honeymoon in  Bermuda, a trip to Seattle to visit friends and work on the house.  It's been a fun spring (except for the New England weather) and we've gotten a lot accomplished at the house. We've been painting and I've been redoing the bedroom and choosing new furniture and fabrics for the living room--more about that in future posts.
 

Although our travels started in Bermuda, I couldn't help but lead with this photo I took of a Camellia in bloom at the Japanese Tea Garden at the Washington Park Arboretum. More about that below.

Jon and I honeymooned in Bermuda in early April and it was everything we imagined it would be.  We stayed at a tennis club on the island and I took this photo from our table on the terrace where we had lunch everyday.  It's paradise, if you ask  me. Jon and I want to visit Bermuda once a year, if possible.  It's only a one and one-half hour flight from Boston, which makes it an ideal get-away.

In mid-April we flew to Seattle, Washington to visit friends.  During our stay, our friends took us to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. Tulips of all colors are grown in these vast fields and then harvested and shipped to stores throughout the country.  The Cascade Mountains are in the background.

The festival features an extensive garden planted with thousands of tulips in many varieties and colors.  Wherever I looked there was a blanket of color. This was a welcome sight after a long gray winter in Boston.

I was completely awed by the color combinations. 

 

Dancing flames of red, pink, and orange.  It was hard to take a bad photo in this garden.  We were surrounded by beauty.

 

Pretty ruffles of white petals are accented by soft-pink blooms and bright blue Muscari.

The sea of color goes on and on...

This tulip reminds me of a peony, with its broad, rounded petals and variegated pink and white color.

I couldn't get enough of the pink tulips...

...especially when paired with a hot orange variety.  Pink and orange is a spectacular combination.

 

Cool, quiet purple and green.

 

More white ruffles

How about lavender and bright yellow for a change?

A mass of traditional yellow and red tulips against a weathered fence

More tulips. Thanks for hanging in there with me--I'm almost done.



 

 This white tulip with unusual furled petals is "Liberstar" and it's one of my favorites.

 

The next day, we visited the Japanese Tea Garden at the Washington Park Arboretum.  I only have a few photos of the garden as they didn't turn out very well.  It's the most peaceful and beautiful garden I've visited.

I like the contrast of the purple Azalea against the gray-green mossy ground and trees.



I took all the photos on my iphone and for some reason, the photos of the Japanese garden all look muted.   

 

And lastly, our friends took this photo of Jon and me at the garden.  Very Zen, don't you think? I realize that's Chinese, not Japanese, but I think you get the idea.

 

Thanks for following along.  No more tourist photos next time--I promise.

 

 

House Hunting Outside Paris

Actually, I'm not house hunting anywhere right now, but if you dream of owning a home in France, The New York Times suggests looking just outside Paris in Neuilly-Sur-Seine where your dollar (or a few million of them) will go a bit farther than it will in Paris.

Lovely view. 

 

The article presents a feature on a apartment in the area for sale.  Unfortunately, there are only a few photos of the apartment.

 

This photo gives an odd perspective of the living and dining room, but they probably didn't have interior design fanatics like you and me in mind when they took the photos.  It would be nice to see more details of the room.

 

I was completely charmed by the kitchen and what appears to be a La Cornue range.  I've only fiddled with the knobs on the display model at Williams-Sonoma.  I wonder what it's like to actually use it.

A serene master bath with an interesting finish on the wall panels.  What a lovely place in which to start the day.

~ Happy Monday ~

Ina Garten's Napa Valley Kitchen

If you're a fan of Ina Garten's, you probably saw the Barefoot Contessa episodes that were filmed in Napa Valley, California, where Ina and her husband Jeffrey were apparently vacationing.

I was taken not only with Ina's recipes in this series, but also with the kitchen where the episodes were filmed. 



  By the way, the California sunshine looks so inviting that I could have pressed my face against my monitor to soak up some warmth, but managed to restrain myself.  I'm not complaining, but it's January in Boston and with the Polar Vortex and all that, I'm starved for sunshine right now. 

 

Anyway, a little Internet research yielded the house in Napa Valley where the Barefoot Contessa episodes were filmed.  I've convinced myself that this is  my dream house.  Doesn't this look like a fantastic place to have al fresco breakfast, lunch, and dinner?  The entrance to the kitchen is under the pergola.

This looks like a lovely space to relax with a book and take a nap after lunch.  The website shows the interior of this outbuilding, which is empty, so I haven't included the photo.

Here's the table where Ina and Jeffrey ate lunch and dinner.  Look at that grill in the background.  I can imagine grilling porterhouse steaks for dinner.  Tyler Florence makes an appearance in one of the episodes and prepares steak for Ina at one of his restaurants.

 

The dining area has plenty of built-in cabinets for storage.  This wasn't shown in the episodes, but it's so pretty, I had to include it.

Ah, the kitchen at last.  I do love this.  The dark (granite?) counter tops are similar to those in Ina's East Hampton barn.  One of my favorite features is the set of pocket doors that leads directly to the patio.  It's perfect for entertaining, isn't it?

The gas cook top is housed in a butcher block island.  And the sunshine....nothing like bringing the outdoors in. 

Another view of the island....

This is my favorite view and one that I remember clearly from the episodes, although the rustic island is not visible on the show.  Do you think that's a Sub Zero refrigerator?  It appears to have a chalkboard finish (and that was my guess from watching the show), but could that be true?  Any ideas?  Whatever it is, the refrigerator is on my wish list.

The photos of the house are from the website of Mint Locations, which represents exceptional properties in Northern California for film and photo shoots.  They have wonderful homes to view if you have some free time and want to see more of this home.

 

Keeping It Simple (in Provence, no less)

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A search on google for something else entirely led me to the website of a hotel in Provence (worse things could happen, I suppose, when it comes to the Internet). I must have let out an audible sigh when I saw this room at the Benvengudo Hotel in Les Baux de Provence. Don't you feel more relaxed just looking at the photo? The soft colors and gauzy drapes are so inviting.   The wood paneled doors make the room--it could be bland without the additional color and texture.

 

 

The flat screen television doesn't jive with my idea of a week in Provence, but it is a hotel room after all.  Some U.S. vacationers, for example, may want to keep up with events at home, like what's happening with the debt ceiling.  Not me.  I'd pass on watching television although I can't go more than two hours without checking email on my iPhone so who am I to judge?

 

After you've caught up with what's happening in the world (if you must), you could head downstairs for a relaxing and probably delicious dinner in the hotel dining room.

 

I had a cozy table for two in mind with Jon, but this would work too.

 

 

Isn't this a beautifully simple table setting and flower arrangement?  It appears as though each table has its own box of Fleur de Sel.  I just love French sea salt (yes - easily impressed and gushing a bit).

 

Leave it to the French to inject surprise by hanging a colorful and interesting painting in a very neutral space. 

 

See, it worked.  Didn't you forget about the debt ceiling for a few minutes?

 



Window Shopping



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As I dream of having my own shop and my own business, I've been admiring those who do.   Photos here of designers Heiberg Cummings store in Brooklyn, New York.



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  The following photo is from Bloom in Sag Harbor, New York.  I would love to visit this shop some day (perhaps I would run into Ina Garten--she's a fan of the shop) .  



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Straw hats and Espadrilles.  I can almost feel summer (well, maybe not yet).

 



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I love the textures and the neutral colors.



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I wonder what these canister originally held.

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And here's the exterior of Bloom.  It looks like a delightful place, doesn't it?

Here's to a happy weekend (a bit early) and to the first day of spring, even though it is still snowing in Boston.

Fall Color at Walden Pond

I hope you don't mind a few more photos, some of which have been Instagrammed (is that a word?).  Jon and I walked the perimeter of Walden Pond on Columbus Day.  It was a beautiful fall day and I took many photos from different points along the trail.  In case you're not familiar with the site, Henry David Thoreau lived in a modest one room cabin at Walden Pond (in historic Concord, Massachusetts) from July 1845 to September 1847.  

 Walden Pond is considered to be the birthplace of the conservation movement and I think you can see why from these photos.  To learn more about Thoreau and Walden Pond, visit the Walden Pond State Reservation website here.  If you're in the area, I highly recommend a visit, especially during fall.  It's a peaceful, but popular park and even a bit crowded when the weather is especially nice.