My updated dining room

You may remember a few years ago I purchased an antique set of caned chairs and table made by Baker -see the post HERE. While the caning looked great, it wasn't very comfortable or practical and I had decided to have cushions made.

I used Aku Merali at Marketplace Interiors in Alexandria, VA. He is a well respected upholsterer here in DC used by everyone, including the White House. He recommended attaching a pad on a wooden base to the chair instead of seperate cushions and I followed the experts advice! I am so pleased with the result and couldn't be happier. The fabric I chose is Ralph Lauren Home's English Riding Velvet in Lovat -a beautiful muted turquoise.

After picking up the chairs on Saturday morning (thanks Mark!), I decided to host an inaugural launch and had some friends over for some fresh strawberry shortcake and champagne. I bought the Paisley Table Throw from Potterybarn which coordinates beautifully with the chair fabric. To go with the dessert theme, I used my Strawberries and Cream china by Royal Doulton and some Adam styled antique silver from Ms. Pixies.

I am so happy with how it all turned out and even more pleased to share my small changes with you all.

A smokey repast

As blogger is being problematic with uploading photos, instead of a real post I'll share with you an adventure from my weekend. A friend from NYC who had never visited DC decided to come down for the weekend as my guest and see the sights. After a busy Saturday walking around the National Mall visiting the monuments and the Smithsonian museums, we decided to make a simple, filling meal at home: a salad followed by a steak, potatoes and asparagus.

For the steak, I thought I would take a tip from Jacques Pepin and fry it in butter. BAD PLAN, Jacques! After 2 minutes my apartment was filled with so much heavy smoke that you could barely see 2 hands in front of your face, setting off my smoke detector. Regrettably, I opened my windows and then the door to my condo's hallway -which then set off the entire building's fire alarm system!Sirens blaring, an annoying electronic voice repeating *WARNING WARNING* every 30 SECONDS, elevators and doors disabled for 30 minutes, I then had to explain to not only about 30 of my neighbors that it was a false alarm but also to about 10 very kind (and annoyed) firemen! All said and done, after the excitement ceased, the meal was delicious. So much for a relaxing meal for two! How was your weekend?

My Napolean complex

No, not what you're thinking, although at 5'-9", I'm not much taller than Napolean was! Rather, I treated myself to this bust of Napoleon that is currently on sale here at restoration hardware.

The surprise was how big he is and a bit out of scale for my bookcase as planned. Thankfully he's not very heavy, hollow terra cotta, and he moved around several times in my apartment last night.

For now he'll live in my entryway - bonus is that he makes an excellent bookend!

On another note, this past weekend I had the pleasure of seeing the celebrated soprano, Renee Fleming in a recital at the Kenney Center. One of her encores was a crowd pleaser and I've attached a clip of it here: O mio babbino caro by Puccini.

If you ever have the opportunity to see Ms. Fleming perform, I would highly recommend it. This was the 7th time in 10 years I've had the priveledge and she never disappoints!

Casa Milà

One of the most famous Gaudi designed structures in Barcelona is the Casa Mila, an apartment building completed in 1912. This is Gaudi at his best with an interesting amorphous shape and amazingly colorful details.

Besides the beautiful ironwork which I've shown in a few of my previous posts, many of his buildings are exceptional in their roof architecture. Not content with ugly chimneys and ventilation shafts, Gaudi would decorate these utilitarian objects and turn them into works of sculpture.

While I wasn't able to tour the Casa Mila due to time constraints, I was able to bring a small piece home with me. Over the past few years I've been collecting tiny (tacky?) miniature buildings from house museum gift shops and the main ventilation stack from the Casa Mila now sits on my bookshelf in between Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest and Gaudi's nearby Casa Battlo. What do you like to bring home from your travels as a momento?

A gentleman friend

This past weekend I stopped by Goodwood, one of my favorite shops here in my DC neighborhood, and fell in love with a certain gentleman that I brought home.

I had an unfortunate accident where a large framed watercolor in this very spot on my gallery wall fell off and shattered 3 weeks ago (in the middle of the night of course). It was fate. I was free to bring home the gentleman and as he's the only portrait I own, I feel I need to name him. Any ideas, would love to hear them?

Happy Christmas!

I hope everyone who celebrates has a very Happy Christmas! I shared my little holiday decorating last year HERE and thought I would share some of my little updates with you.I have 2 'trees' -both artificial - in my tiny apartment. The above is ceramic and is one of my prized possessions as it belonged to my grandma. My main tree, above, is a tabletop size and holds my collection of 'fun' nostalgic ornaments.

Gold edged red ribbon wraps the tree with white lights. You can see my recycled tree skirt (from a halloween costume) - gold lame - wowza!

I've talked about these church ornaments earlier HERE and I've received a few more!The country church is a pretty blue with a red door and a little tree outside. All of these churches plug into your light string and have 'stained glass'. The colonial church has arched 'gothic' windows & doors and some great white tracery details.The adobe church has that southwestern feel. Only 8 more churches to collected (although one is currently in the mail!)

The peanuts gang sits at the base of my own sad little 'snoopy' tree!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Fall Flowers

I bought a bunch of bright yellow mums this week to brighten up my coffee table in this dreary weather. It must have worked, clear skies ahead!

I arranged them in the green milkglass vase from my lily of the valley this spring. I hope you all have great weekends!