The Familjen Fabric!

Finally, finally, finally! The familjen fabric has gone to print! After plenty of annoying production problems we're now hoping for a smooth finish. The fabric will be acrylic coated and cut in to table cloth size before it reaches the shelves - but for all of you who have been waiting ( and what a long wait it has been!) we wanted to keep you updated.

Good morning!

The sun is shinging, the daffodils are starting to peep through the soil and even the chives on the window sill are starting to spring to life. The mint is definetely on its way back and I hope the oregano and tyme have survived too.

The Gift Show on the Piers!

On Saturday, I headed on over to the New york International Gift Fair for the first time ever! I had an amazing time and saw so many beautiful new things. This is a loooong post but there was so much to see and, believe me, I left out a lot (booths that didn't catch my eye). Have fun!

BeeLine Home, Bunny Williams' inventive new line was full of bright colors and new but classic forms. I also picked up a copy of her new book, Point of View and got it signed. YAY.

Gorgeous indigo lamp.

Bunny was excited about her new piece, this folding screen with photos in it. She pointed out that people have too many picture frames floating around and taking up space so why not put them into a screen?

Isn't this chair simple and beautiful? From Blue Ocean Traders. They had many impressive peices.

As you can imagine if you know me AT ALL, I was in love with these pillows with the fleur de lis on them. From Callisto Home.

I love these bundles of letters and sweet little daschund sculpture.

Yay for books! All these books had fun designs on the bindings, many of them in a set.

Total Home really had me with all the nautical accessories. I'd LOVE to have these oars to hang on my walls.

Swoon over this Japanese float vase.

These throws were all so warm and cuddly looking. I especially liked the ones with the chevron pattern on them. They were all made in the U.S. too! Sanford Design.

I found these prints very charming. One of many great companies from down south: Wendover Art Group.

LOVE.

This was another one of my fave places, Design Legacy. It had a certain whimsical quality to everything with sweet objects like this Ferris wheel or flowery fabrics.

CUTE little rabbits!

See what I mean about the flowery fabrics? Gorgeous.

Who doesn't love a garden gnome? These step stools were also really cute and I think they were unique as well as practical.

I was so drawn to the fun garden/horticultural quality to this store.

One of the first places I stopped at was J M Piers from North Carolina. They had even heard of Alicia B. Designs and were huge fans of the blog!

They had an amazing collection of tole lamps. I love this one with a big "E" on it.

I'm a huge sucker for maps. These are inset into these little trays.

Here are more trays and they are hand painted...in the USA!

OOO Veuve Clicquot tray!

This store, Vagabond Vintage, was near perfection in my eyes. I loved the look that everything seemed to be collected.

And more plants!

The faded Union Jack wall hanging and more of those tole boxes were truly captivating.

And last but not least, the first booth I visited was Oomph! Their fun bright colors and use of Quadrille fabrics are just some of the many many reasons why I love this store.

Here are more of their fun pillows and a little 'tini table on the right.

I had a great time checking out all the new products for these vendors and meeting a lot of new people. It was obvious that everyone was here for this reason and the design enthusiasm was everywhere! I'm so glad that I went for the first time and I can't wait to go again. I'm also looking forward to what these companies have in store for us in the next year. They looked original and beautiful.

Alicia B.

Snow Flowers

Sunday morning cold. Yesterday's surprise snowstorm (to us at the flower shop who toil on without benefit of constant weather updates) is still piled up on the ground. The nicest part of the snowstorm was when we drove down our plowed (quel surprise) street and discovered a neighbor had shoveled both our driveway and a path to our door. And then Tini brought us Thai food for dinner and "Julie and Julia" to watch. Our life is good, very, very good.


When I leave the shop on Saturday I always grab a handful of flowers. By then I'm so tired I just want a few stems of something simple. Maybe a few roses, this time of year a flowering branch (cherry this week) and some spring things. I usually stick them in a water glass and fall into the bath. Sunday morning I put them in vases. An odd assortment of vases, may I say, some vintage coke bottles, a basalmic vinegar bottle and this week some que cute 1 shot tequilla bottles we begged from a New Years Eve party. A strange vessel for a non drinker but too cute not to keep. Tho' I must say cleaning them out on New Years Day was a experience I'm glad I don't have every morning.


Now breakfast and then grocery shopping. I dare anyone to watch "Julie and Julia" and not feel the need to cook something fabulous instantly.

Project: Fun Front Rm

Heidi is a super fun, energetic client with a desire to branch out from her traditional style and spice things up with{you guessed it}color and pattern. She has been surprising herself with the things she is drawn to, but is a little hesitant to let loose and have fun w/it all. It really can be daunting to do something new right? I'm her biggest fan because her eye for style is great and her ideas will work, if she dares. I'm there to give her the encouragement to go for it!

With the sofa on order and the new chairs hanging around looking gorgeous, we are now on the hunt for great accessories. The thing I love about this room is the natural light and the neutral color scheme that will be fun to play with as the seasons change. Very classy, but it won't have that hands off vibe most front rooms snub you with as you tip toe by so as not to disturb their grace.

Skeleton is very important

Have you ever thought about why we need a skeleton? Just think about the meat you see in butcher’s shop.It is soft,like our own muscle.The other organs in our body are just as soft.Without a skeleton, we would slump into an untidy rubbery heap.Our muscle are strong, but without a skeleton they have nothing to pull against and we would be unable to stand up or to move.

Some organs need more protection than others.For example,the brain and spinal cord are protected by the skull and the spine.The hearts,lungs,liver and intestines are all easily damaged, so they are protected by ribs,hip bones and spine.

The whole system of skeleton and muscles is strong but flexible.It protects the most important organs, and allows us to move freely.



There are 206 separate bones in an adult’s body.As basics we start off with about 300 bones,but some join together as we grow. We have many more muscles than bones abut 656 separate muscles, making up a third of the total weight of a woman and nearly half the weight of a woman and nearly half the weight of a man.

( Source Window on the world )

Petit Trianon: billiard and guard's rooms.

In my second in-depth look at the Petit Trianon, we'll continue to explore the ground floor.

The billiard's room is adjacent to the grand stairhall and in the time when the trianon was first built, was intended for the male guests of Madame de Pompadour. King Louis XV himself supplied an ornate billiards table for the use of his guests: You see the room on the floorplan below in blue.

However, when Marie Antoinette was given the PT for her own private use, she had Louis XV's pool table moved up to the main level (1784). She then gave the billiards room over to the officers of the guard (who were stationed across the stairhall) with a more ordinary billiards table, probably similiar to the one found there now. A kind gesture on her part in my opinion, as it gave additional space to her guards that also occupied a prime corner room with views of the garden.

The room has a bust of Marie Antoinette on the mantel, beautiful herringbone floors and 'high' painted paneling. The jib door connects to the warming room, a sort of butler's pantry, where some of Marie Antoinette's personal china is displayed today.

This detail shot of a door shows how beautiful the gilded bronze hardware is. I especially love this shade of green paint.

Across the stairhall from the billiards room is the guards room, seen on the floor plan above in the darker green shade. It was inexpensively finished with plaster walls fauxed to look like stone and wood cabinets with fauxed-marble tops. The window and door in this room look out into the main entry court. The room would have been filled with cots, tables and chairs for the guards as they would spend most of their time here; I can only imagine how boring that would be!

On the opposite side of the guards room from the grand stairhall (seen in the light green on the floorplan) is an unfinished stone passageway. This sits under the main terrace off the dining room on the floor above. It provided passage from the service courtyard, servants lodgings and carriage house with the kitchens behind the grand stair.

Through this roughly finished space, servants could pass un-detected from the kitchens to their own dwellings without disturbing Marie Antoinette and her guests in the gardens. The guards would also use this space and could patrol who was coming in and out of the kitchens.

I love these hewn limestone walls and exposed timber beams. This unfinished roughness was the complete opposite look of the very finished spaces found elsewhere in the Petit Trianon, but one that is very popular and copied today. Join me next week when we explore the main level occupied by Marie Antoinette.