Production is gearing up.

Here is a custom board.

28 x 38

Last week I did a post about macaroons

and told you all about the delicious St Julien Macaroons

that I have enjoyed for the last 25 years.

James Price,

owner of St Julien's and baker extraordinaire,

sent me a tub of delicious macaroons as a thank you,

which was certainly generous and totally unexpected.

Love them James - thanks.

I enjoy them daily with a cup of Lady Grey Tea.

Almond macaroons are prefect present for Easter.

Why not bring a tub to you Easter dinner hostess?

This winter I did a series on the artists in my family:

here and here and here and here

and now for the latest installment

TA-DA

the work of the one and only

miss is,

my lovely daughter,

who is 18 today.

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

We have a tradition of making our own cards for birthdays

and Valentine's Day.

And for the last few years miss is created special artwork

as Christmas presents.

Last year I received the charming vignettes above

to illustrate our monthly activities.

I love it.

This happy piece hangs proudly in my day-office cube.

Gotta spice that place up!

Below is the Christmas present from 2008.

I made a little book with the watercolor sketches.

It is a work in progress...

I plan to add rings or ribbon to hold the book together.

We campaigned for Obama as a family.

Here I am making calls to Pennsylvania voters

miss is and dh canvassing in Rhode Island

Campaign headquarters - downtown Philly

Voter registration in Philly on Easter weekend

We hung out on a street corner in North Philly

trying to get people to register to vote in the primary.

and our invitation to the inauguration

(along with millions of other people)

We watched from the comfort of our cozy cottage in Connecticut

Lately I have created a lot of memento boards for teenage girls.

This one belongs to my 16 year old niece.

She has it loaded up with all her memories.

Fun

two days of fun

summer-like temps

back to work

latest batch of fabrics

UPDATE

The Artist Is Present

at MOMA

Two days ago that Miss Is and I visited MOMA

We did not have any one exhibit in mind

and stumbled upon The Artist Is Present

see earlier post

Miss Is remembered a New Yorker article on the exhibit

click here

We viewed the performance

then went on to other galleries.

Miss Is questioned me -

"aren't we going to the 6th floor for the rest of the exhibit?"

I was not terribly interested but said ok.

The exhibit was disturbing and challenging, yet engaging and interesting.

I am glad we viewed it.

The New York Times had a front page blurb

on the exhibit yesterday - click here

Excuse me I'd Like to See More

and so did we.

I am glad that Miss Is prompted me to see more.

Miss Is is glad we walked between the reperformance artists:

Who's Afraid of Marina?

Macarons have always been a favorite treat.

Beginning with coconut macaroons in early girlhood,

supplanted by the delicious almond St. Julien Macaroons

from White Oak Farm,

followed by my Laduree macaron discovery in 2001.

If you are in NYC today, find a macaron purveyor and enjoy.

Heavenly.

And read this terrific entrepreneurial story of St. Julien Macaroons,

originally baked in brick ovens in Sherborn, MA, now baked in Sandown, NH.

My family discovered these delicious confections in our village market.

I send these treats to special folks at Christmas,

always buying a few extra tubs for our freezer.

And for an extra treat, pop over to Paris Breakfasts

to enjoy a macaron class at the Ecole Ritz Escoffier.

Paris Breakfasts is one of my daily must reads.

I think you will like it too!

Creative mannequins at Bendel's in NYC:

dresses of curlers, rock candy, cupcake and candy wrappers,

and hard candy wrappers.

More dresses of cards, felt roll-ups, and feathers.

We could not ascend the stairs;

top floors "closed for renovations" - hmmm

that is code for ...

did some research...

Bendel's gave up its clothing.

They only sell accessories, make-up and bags now.

Who knew?

For a ribbon aficionado like me, these mannequins were fabulous

these spiffy numbers are constructed with just ribbons.

beautiful 70°

our perch for lunch in Central Park

study in contrasts

sneakers - boots

white - black

hot-cold

a new discovery

Francois Chocolate Bar

we perched next to the large open window

on the 4th floor above Madison and 64th

enjoyed iced coffee and a delicous macaron

another view from our perch

blue sky sparkling day

final stop

MOMA

Saw two interesting exhibits

William Kentridge

and performance artist

Marina Abramovic

"The Artist is Present"

free-form clover

Happy St. Patrick's day

May the luck of the Irish be with you.

Amen.

pi day

Read about Google's Doodle today

in the New York Times

Men's Fashions Magazine

article by Alice Rawsthorn

(link not yet available)

I love checking out the doodle.

It is fun, creative and gives me a little nugget of info to think about

when I do a search.

The apple falling from the tree is one of my favorites.

A couple of years ago I did a post

on the google doodle contents

click here

The earth was squishy this morning

and the snow drops were a delight to the eye.

Spring is coming.

I have had the nesting instinct;

got the studio all tidied up last weekend

and then took a look at the faded carpet.

Remember my post about use it up, make it do, do without

click here.

Well this rug has seen better days,

but we are not in the position to replace it just yet,

so the next best thing; turn it over!

See below to see what it looked like before.

I am not in bad company with this faded oriental;

check out Jenna Lyons own faded rug on the cover of domino.

MARLIN

Fun new frame

created with a Southern Proper signature fabric

Check out Southern Proper's wonderful selection of

ties, bowties

&

so much more

Sugaring Season

Illustration by Heather Ross

Read Heather Ross's wonderful story here

about the Vermont's Sugaring Season.

Heather is one of my fabric fabric designers.

It is sugaring season in my neck of the woods right now.

Ambler Farm with the sap buckets.

You can buy the syrup at the farm.

It tastes delicious on weekend pancakes.

gotta love local

Ambler Farm is where my family and I go

to walk the dog,

to clear our minds,

to buy our veggies and flowers and syrup

and just to feel the beauty and breadth of nature -

We love Ambler

and

are renewed by the place.

One of Heather Ross's whimsical fabrics

that I used for my frames.

Enjoy a walk this weekend. You can smell spring right around the corner.

another goodie package

so tidy

Just got word that I have been invited to participate

in the

Azalea Garden Festival

in Bethesda, Maryland

April 30, May 1 & 2

Excited

The Spring 2010 spring fabrics

are arriving daily.

I am very excited.

Gotta get the studio back in shape.

It is still a little chilly and damp.

May have to buy another space heater or two

or bring the whole operation inside the house.

Remember the studio also contains the automobiles...

Have you noticed a theme
graphic stripes

flowers

dots

bubbles

buttons

bubbles

bubbles and stripes
stars and stripes

ditto

and more stripes

I couldn't contain myself
I know
too many fabrics

bee's knees

fruit is good for you
plants in snow

blue and white beauty

a V&A reproduction

due from England

later in March

yup - fabric imitating graph paper

this is for a new project

and I love these big, bold

graphic stripes

do you have a favorite?