This cabinet was at the NYIGF and featured on Stylebeat's blog.

It reminded me of a post from Pigtown Design - Meg keeps her shoes in a repurposed steel cabinet not unlike this one.

I thought this cabinet would make a fun post, if I could decipher the message on the cabinet in the painted signal flags, but it turned out to be futile.

I tried to read the painted signal flags above using a reference card that was tucked in my needlepoint bag (Why was the reference card in my needlepoint bag? More on that later.)

I think the artist took some artistic license because all I could figure out is below.

row 1: z _ _

row 2: _ _ j

row 3: mix

row 4: l

row 5: p

row 6: z _ n

Is anyone better at translating these signal flags. An atta girl or atta boy if you figure the signals out and maybe a prize.

I know a little bit about signal flags. A couple of years ago I was a needlepoint fantatic creating dozens of signal flag needlepoint coasters for my father and several other family members - Using signal flags, I stitched names and initials on sets of coasters for various family members to use on their desks (Dad's below), summer houses and boats. It was a fun project; I could finish the coasters quickly and derived almost weekly satisfaction in the completion of another coaster. Therefore, a satisfying project... See a couple of the finished projects below. My thanks to my special aunts for their inspiration, instruction and reference card!!!

The coaster on Dad's desk.

Spells the first letter of each town where Dad has lived.

Second one, well used, in the kitchen, coffee stains and all.

Dad's initials with a j for Jr.

Writer's Almanac reports: It's the birthday of economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen, (books by this author) born in Cato, Wisconsin (1857). He was an economics professor at the young University of Chicago when, in 1899, he published his book The Theory of the Leisure Class,in which he coined the phrase "conspicuous consumption."

Veblen used the term in a sentence of his book like this: "Conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure."

There is not too much conspicuous consumption these days - the pendulum has swung dramatically: so many are just trying hard to get by.

The Writer's Almanac is a wonderful way to start your day - so many things in life are free - read a poem, listen to the birds, watch the trees move in the wind and feel the sun on your face - now that's a great start to the day and it did not cost a penny! Enjoy your weekend.

"Young Velvets, Young Prices" photographed for Vogue, 1949, from the roof of the Conde Nast Building.

(All images copyrighted Norman Parkinson Ltd., provided courtesy of the Norman Parkinson Archive, London. Norman Parkinson: A Very British Glamour, by Louise Baring, Rizzoli New York, 2009)

This is one of my favorite images. I bought this postcard when I was a young twenty-something, just new to NYC. It was always posted in a prominent spot in whatever apartment I was living in at the time. I worked on the 6oth floor of 30 Rock for 12 years and this was my view of downtown, except of course, with the twin towers.

The photograph reminds me of me and my sisters, there are five girls in our family and one boy. I remember wearing white gloves when I was a little girl; they went out of fashion when I was about 6 years old. The only other time I wore white gloves was at dancing school and Miss Is wore them too when she went to dancing school. Always a sweet image: little girl in white gloves.

Off to celebrate a 5oth birthday with 3 of my sisters ... escaping to Nantucket for a couple of days. I cannot wait for the mini-break... twin beds in ajoining rooms...talk, talk, talk...window shopping...bike riding...swimming...and an icecream cone or two!!

Why is it that we are drawn to heart shapes? Especially organically shaped hearts - that have grown directly from nature - like the heart tree above. I wonder about that. This tree does have a look of cutting shears, but maybe not. Could it be a gift of nature? Look at how the branches create the undulating top of the tree. Photo from MA BELLE.

But back to the reasons we are drawn to these lovely shapes: love love love, warmth, happiness, serendipity, chance, simplicity...

Everyday that I drove miss is to school (40 minutes away), mostly she took the bus or drove herself, but back to the story, I would see an island in the middle of the river as I crossed the Sikorsky Bridge. I called it the love island - it was uninhabited, just a spit of land covered in grasses - long, tall, waving to me as I drove by. And it was shaped like a heart. The only way to see the heart shape is from the car as I drive across the bridge - see above - a little dangerous trying to snap the picture from the moving vehicle while travelling 60 mph - this is the best shot of the island ... can you see the heart shape? It always makes me smile and think happy thoughts, no matter how difficult or traumatic my day has been.

Then there is the rock on my desk...one day it was just there...I have no idea when or where I found this rock, but I love it and it makes me smile.... When life is hard or troubling, it is soothing to look at the hard stone shaped in a heart. It gives me hope.

Imagine my surprise when I turned the rock over during my photo shoot! A little, magical inscription delighted me - from miss is at a tender age. I did not know this wonderful sentiment was inscribed until yesterday. Serendipity...to find this inscription as I write a post about love.

Seabeans, the wonderful shop in Wilton where I sell my frames and memento boards, has lots of heart shaped stones mounted on boards... picture to follow...

and my friend, jeanne over at nantucket mermaid, is always finding heart-shaped rocks and painting them for her studio - check it out here - and here, or better yet, visit her when you are on Nantucket.

and read this wonderful post from mackin ink about "the love of her life"...it is beautiful...words to remember...read it all the way through - click here

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"

PERSPECTIVE

H ibe r nat ion

Finally time to rest and reflect

and

to gain some perspective for the year ahead.

top or bottom photo from little augury

not sure where i found the others

one is obviously a book jacket.

oh my gosh is there a pea under there princess?

couldn't resist posting this pic

Tim Walker Photography as seen on

india knight's posterous

I have seen his work before,

in fact, I posted about his work and his recent book here

This photo takes the chandelier in the tree to a whole new level.

Click here to see my tree chandelier post

I believe this.

For anyone interested in American Decorative Arts, especially furniture,

you must visit Yale University's Furniture Study.

It is a fabulous resource.

"Furniture Study is a working library of approximately

one thousand examples of furniture and wooden objects

- American made and made for the American market -

ranging in date from the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries."

On Fridays the Furniture Study is open to the public.

Soon after your arrival at the Gallery,

you will walk outside to Chapel Street,

then into the depths of a non-descript building on York Street.

It was all quite exciting...as we did not know what to expect.

In the temperature controlled basement the furniture was lined up on

platforms in an orderly fashion: arranged in chronological order in groups of

chests, tables, chairs, desks, clocks, sideboards, wood turnings,

fireplace equipment and looking glasses.

My friends and I had the most amazing private tour.

The curator had placed 5 chairs on display to begin the discussion.

Starting with information on the origin of the collection:

a donation in 1930 from Mr and Mrs Francis P. Garvan, collectors from NYC,

to a quick review of periods from

colonial to federal to neo-classical to revival and finally to modern.

Photographs are not permitted to be published

so I decided just to listen and enjoy the tour.

The collection's focus is on learning.

I encourage you to travel to New Haven for your own tour.

Listen to an audio slideshow here if you cannot visit.

Did I mention that it is free. You can make a donation if you like.

And lunch afterwards - there are so many good restaurants in New Haven.

I cannot wait to go again with my sisters.

Here is an example of how the Furniture Study was helpful to one family:

AH: What’s the most interesting thing that has happened in your job since you started?
KCh: A person called up about a group of chairs that he had grown up with. The caller’s family was originally from Connecticut, and he wanted to compare one of his chairs to our side chair from Wethersfield, Connecticut, in order to ascertain if it was from the same maker, the same set. The family came en masse. Our chair still had its original upholstery, and the needlework—from the mid-1700s—was in pretty good condition. So we put them together and measured and photographed. We were able to share some information from the accession documents and our comparative files on forms and makers. It was so rewarding to share this with them—it turned out to include not only information on the chair and its provenance, but also aspects of the family’s own genealogy. They retired their own chairs once they saw the difference in condition between a chair under our care and one in active use. The caller decided to hire someone to remake his chairs so that he could give one to each family member. All this was inspired by their visit.

Read the whole interview here :

And Thanks to EB of Diligent Joy for discovering this hidden treasure trove.

My daughter's school is 350 years old this year.

Yes, that's right - the little school house built on New Haven Green in 1660!

Here are all the kids on the football field

for a fun shot with terrific color on the trees as backdrop.

quess where this is?

same place

then and now

the high line

in chelsea

miss is and i are off; nyc bound on a glorious day

inspiration awaits

from the met and moma,

to old elevated rails,

to the streets

ciao

Amazing September issue of Harper's Bazaar

UK edition

just arrived in today's post

The magazine measures 9.5" wide by 13" long

beautiful and luxurious,

almost seems decadent

in these times of crimping and saving.

I feel like I am reading a giant coloring book.

Style piece on Christian Louboutin

What fun to sport some red soles.

I just love the

LO Ve

from his 1992 collection

see below

So did everyone else

this shoe made up 85% of his sales in 1992, his second year of business

"In 1992 I incorporated the red sole into the design of my shoes. This happened by accident as I felt that the shoes lacked energy so I applied red nail polish to the sole of a shoe. This was such a success that it became a permanent fixture." Christian Louboutin

and then there is the other guy...

When I lived in London in 1985-86

I lived just around the corner from

I had no idea who he was

but his window displays in his Chelsea shop were over-the-top-fabulous.

I regularly detoured to go by the shop

and was always intrigued

by cool shoes that I couldn't imagine wearing.

Who knew how popular they would become.

Manolo Blahnik's self-portrait

oh i couldn't; i just ate a grape.

One of my all-time best finds

gorgeous chandelier

from the 19th century

Got it at a local country auction.

It was the 2nd to last item

on a rainy summer day

almost 16 years ago.

Miss Is was still in the stroller

most everyone had left

I had very little competition

luckily

because I didn't have a lot to spend

S O L D

to me

the winning bidder

It gets a little dusty so I rigged up this clever cleaning apparatus

much better than the last cleaning technique

when I laid the chandelier carefully on the ground

close up of the grapes and leaves

the purple glass is beautiful

Here is where it hangs

with the haying picture that I love so much.

There is a story behind everything you see

in this photo.

This may be the beginning of treasure posts.

I thought about this chandelier when I saw this on

Pigtown Design

A treasure recently spotted by PD

PD commented that this would look nice in a garden.

Yes, I agree.

I have been admiring just such a garden in my neck of the woods

at this wonderful little antique

you can see two fun chandeliers hanging in their garden

look carefully

do you see the pulley system

how ingenious for the candles

another view

The second chandelier has twigs winding all over it

I do not know the people who live here

nor have I ever driven by when the candles are burning.

It must be lovely.

Dining under the stars, with the sounds of the garden

and candles flickering overhead.