Monday, November 30, 2009

The softer side of Versailles

Not every room at Versailles is gilding, glitz and glamour (the 3 G's). A set of rooms on the first floor enfilade feature some very pretty boiseries with colorful details.
I think they're the prettiest rooms in the palace and are a very cozy size of approx 15' square.The chamber adjacent is painted all white, I doubt this is original but I really love the look of this. It's as if you bought an old victorian or tudor house with dark paneling and wanted to brighten it up a bit. All that dark wood can get so depressing.
I just loved the way the sun streamed in across the face, picking out the brightness of the colors.
The room which was set up as a private library had beautiful red leather journals behind glass and a sparkling crystal chandelier.While the bed chamber of the apartment had a more delicate porcelain chandelier. Definitely a girls room.
This amazing turquoise rococo clock floating on mirror above a fireplace was just spectacular.Don't you think these are the prettiest rooms you've seen in a long time?I loved the subtle turquoise theme in these rooms - these chairs would have only been enhanced by footstools in red leather and maybe a sisal rug and a mirrored sidetable to hold a drink (but thats if this was my own house and not a historically accurate museum!).You just can't take a bad picture in these rooms!

pebble soup




rainy monday night. i wanted to make something simple for dinner, so i could devote a chunk of time to reading the new food and wine, last week's new yorker and of course, peruse some blogs. i decided on a tomato based soup with some onions, carrots, garlic and a cup of lentils, added chicken stock, salt, pepper, crushed red peppers and a bay leaf. foolproof? not so fast, the lentils must have been put in my cupboard before christ. it simmered and simmered, i blended some, added more chicken stock, put in slices of spicy italian chicken sausage. i made some delicious garlicky croutons to float on top. cooked a bit of pasta to add to bowl. and cooked and cooked. i'm still cooking. i'm still hungry. threw out rest of lentils. may they soften in hell. ps. it's tuesday night, the soup was ready to eat after 4 hours of cooking.. delicious with a teeny bite. i ate and felt a little happier. today at work my coworker, betty, made some sweet little trees in tea cups and a brandy snifter. they are made from, princess pine and two types of juniper. it's begining to smell a lot like christmas! now, i 'm very happy.

DIY Wreath

>DIY Day @ ASPTL

Im totally breaking all the traditional Christmas rules this year. First with not putting a wreath on my front door-but a stocking instead. Then going with black and white instead of my traditional red and gold on the staircase.



And now-the square wreath- I've seen these in magazines but could not find one in the stores-(well at least within my budget). So I had this picture frame sitting in the closet that I had purchased for $1 at a garage sale (I KNEW one day it would come in handy). I took 2 garlands and wrapped them around the frame securing it with wire-unfortunately I forgot to take my before photo. I hung it with ribbon from my dining room curtain rod-but it still needed something. ahhhh that $4 chandelier ornament! PERFECT!







I had a little trouble getting a good shot due to the gray day we are having today. So for under $10 I got my square, errr rectangle wreath!

Christmas Post

With December being blown into us tomorrow, please note the postage dates for your ISAK parcels to reach you by Christmas Day. Please allow a couple of days ontop of this to avoid disappointment,

UK Standard Post: Sunday 20th December 12noon
UK Special Delivery: Tuesday 22nd December 12noon
UK Express Post: Tuesday 22nd December 12noon

Europe: 10th December 12noon
Rest of the World: 9th December 12noon

UK Special Delivery is by Royal Mail Special Delivery service.
UK Express Post is by UPS next day delivery. This costs £10. Please contact us if you wish to upgrade.

We do wish you all a truly Merry, Peaceful and Loving Christmas.

the best of the last










the friday after thanksgiving is one of my favorite food days. my coworkers and i bring leftovers to work . this year we sampled each others' food as we sat on the 12th floor of a huge law firm, overlooking the terrace that overlooked the washington monument, the old post office pavillion and a beautiful, constantly changing sky. their turkey is always saltier and spicier than mine, they had green beans and butternut squash. i had anne's brussel sprouts and nele's red cabbage. we ate and ate. then around 3:00, we had lattes and gwen's ( my constant reader) delicious cranberry bread. if she would send me the recipe ( for the 50th time) i will post it here. you want to make this. last night i finished up the turkey in a pot pie topped with biscuits. tini feels we should just serve this on thanksgiving, it was that good. i give thanks the turkey is gone.

Holiday Gift Guide: Kitchen Edition

"Shots" would look perfect in any kitchen and quite an inspiration for a good baker!

This posting should really be titled: "I will accept any of these items with open arms", but alas, it is not. It's officially the holiday season now that we've pushed past Thanksgiving (I still have tons of leftovers, YUM), it's time to think about the season of giving no matter what you celebrate! Here are some great gift ideas for the kitchen.

I received these as a gift from my sister a few years ago and i will never forget how delicious, flaky, and buttery these croissants were. I wish I had some right now. From Williams Sonoma for $39.

I'm pretty sure that I gave this to my mother last year for her birthday as one of those gifts that says "I really want to keep this for myself but I guess you can have it." I love Italian food and the recipes that my mother has made so far have been so delish. Urban Italian from Amazon.com is only $23 but I suggest buying it from your local independent bookstore...

I seem to have started a collection of aprons from Anthropologie. I keep getting them as gifts and I'm not even sorry--they're adorable! The Twittering Tea Time apron is $28.

I just straight up need this. Le Creuset Mortar and Pestle from Bloomingdales for $38.

This is the perfect little colander for one serving of pasta and is the perfect size for a tiny New York kitchen. Also from Anthropologie for $12.

These jute wine bottle bags are perfect for a gift of wine! A set of four from Wisteria for $19.

This scalloped edge silver bowl is so gorgeous. It would be perfect for a little display of ornaments, or grapefruits in the kitchen! From Eddie Ross's Etsy Shop for $55.

I'm always offending people with my current bottle opener from college and this would be the perfect upgrade... I love keys too! The Castle Key bottle opener from Anthropologie for $12.

The Brook Farm General store has so much to offer, these hand towels being one of them. They are 100 % cotton and only $18.

How adorable and vintage is this VINTAGE ice bucket!? I love the round shape of it--perfect for the Holiday Cocktail party from Brook Farm General Store for $55.

Two things I love: objects in miniature and organizational goods! These mini numbered spice jars take care of both of my needs. Digit spice jars for $5 from Anthropoligie.


I love giving gifts just as much as I love to receive them but I'm sure these will all be big hits! I'm hoping to do a guide for every area of your life but we shall see. Happy Monday!


Alicia B.

Hello!




Sunday, November 29, 2009

Sneak Peak of my Photo Show!


This weekend has been extremely relaxing but busy nonetheless. I had an entire corporate residence to design, math homework (eek), my little sister to spend lots of quality time with, and Black Friday deals to attend to! I got a moment to swing by and check up on my photography show in at Millrace Books in Farmington, CT and would love to share some of it with you!

It is set up in the gallery space of a small independent bookstore in the town where I grew up. I used to ride my bike there and get the latest American Girl books. Now I just love independent bookstores; they have such character. Above is a short description of my work!


The show is centered mainly around water. I love to photograph water.


Growing up in New England though, nothing quite gets me like nature or a beautiful sunset.

This one here was taken down on the Connecticut shore over the Fourth of July.

The show is up for one more month at Millrace Books, but this month really flies! I am very grateful for the opportunity to be able to show my work to more than just my family and friends. You know, photography makes a great gift, too! If you want to check out more, go for a day trip to Farmington, or take a look at my website, www.aliciabdesigns.com.


Alicia B.

november, ha!



my garden, she laughs at november. she'll bloom when she wants to.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

sleep, soon





saturday night, home from work. feeling slightly greenish about those who have a 4 day holiday weekend. florists keep working. i think of thanksgiving as an unpaid workday. do other people's holiday dinners last till 12:45 am? rushed from dirty dishes at home to work on friday , compared cuts and burns on hands with workmates, then tore off with a crew of 5 to begin a two day decorating job at a BIG law firm. think i walked off my mashed potatoes yesterday. today, maybe a piece of apple pie. i'm going to post a few pics from dinner, then let the weekend eating commence!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

O Christmas Tree

We broke the unwritten rule and put up my Christmas tree last night. Sometimes rules should be broken and this was one of those times.

They volunteered to do the lights. I am not patient with this step. I just want to get to the good stuff already. Our new accidental technique: icicle lights.

Delegating.

This is the make shift way the tree is being supported this year. I have no idea where the real stand has disappeared to. I'm missing a box of decorations, maybe it is in there too?

I think she could pull it off, don't you? Very festive and subtle.

The holiday season is already off to a beautiful start. We watched an all time favorite holiday movie {While You Were Sleeping} and while I loved the excuse of being out of the country last year to skip all the frantic shopping I'm still going with less is more this year and hoping for an emphasis on relaxation and good memories.