A Favorite Corner of John's House
One very wet weekend when the whole of New England felt as if it were heading out to sea, my friend John invited me, my daughter Maren, her husband Nathan, the two grandkids Bae and Reeve plus the collection of pugs (Dino, Lulu and Moss) to his amazing and wonderful house in Provincetown. It was the day after Wally’s death…my choice was to sit and sob at home or to wander off to P.Town with this delicious cast of characters and be caught up in great food, wonderful friends, lovely ambiance…do I need to tell you what I chose!
One of Many Cabinets in John's House
The whole of John’s place is akin to a Cabinet of Curiosity. Around each corner is something that surprises or delights. The bedrooms with their peeled wallpaper, exposed raw plaster and furnishings of antiques make you want to stay forever. I had the front bedroom on the second floor and from my bed, if I leaned in just the perfect way over to the left, I could see the beach and watch the waves whip over the hull of several small boats moored out there off shore. The storm raged for three days…water collected in puddles the size of wading pools down Commercial Street. We ate fine meals, played a game or two and read books by candlelight.
Front Parlor
Detail of a Favorite Stoneware Bowl
Bae with Lulu and Dino
Beech Forest Trail
Before the rain began in earnest, we went to the Beech Forest Trail which was a pure Mary Oliver experience. Mary Oliver is one of my all-time favorite poets; she lives in P.Town and has written of this trail and the surrounding dunes. There were birds of all kinds in the bare trees, many of which swooped down and ate seeds from our open hands. We saw a small nuthatch, the plain titmouse and a number of chickadees with an occasional cardinal. The sky was a threatening grey, the wind was just beginning to perk up but in our little corner of the path all was right with world.
A Day of Writing
Diane Hanna did it again! That girl, in all her tulle and flounce, came to the store for two remarkable days of writing. We filled the table with eager and fine writers; we filled the room with life stories! Thank you to all of you who attend these workshops! They would not be possible without you. We will do it all again, for the fourth year, next February 2011!
Roseland Cottage circa 1864
The last Wednesday of February was not only a wet and windy one, it was also the day that had long been scheduled to head out of town for an adventure! These road trips can’t be put off! The Patch boys (Don and John) and I had cooked up a plan for what could only be expensive trouble. We decided to travel to that little hidden corner of Connecticut called “The Quiet Corner.” Oddly enough it isn’t all that far a journey from Boston. The countryside is positively beautiful…even in a driving rain storm. There are hills and fields and estates and lovely winter structures with amazing old barns in their tumble- down state and ancient old and grand trees whose spines were quite naked and bone brown. We went first to Putnam, the home of several antique shops. Most were closed that day but one: a huge collective with some great treasure kept the three of us very happy for several hours! I found nothing to buy and that is most unusual…the guys did just fine! The whole of our time in the collective, the storm pelted the windows and streets. Rain water rushed down the stone curbs joining forces with roadways…giving the whole of Putnam and our not so little antique shop the sense of an island! Almost as if we had washed up there!
We loaded up Big Jane (my car) with their purchases and then headed into Pomfret for lunch at The Vanilla Bean. Now that was utterly delicious…complete with a huge slice of German Chocolate Cake (served with 3 forks)….I hadn’t had a slice of that cake since my Aunt Bella who would have served a huge piece on a brown transferware plate and there would have been one fork!
On our way out of town, we passed through Woodstock, CT, and it is here that we came upon this coral pink “cottage.” This was just plain jaw-dropping, breath-taking splendor. What a gift for a wet, grey day, the last Wednesday in February!
A Booth on Pier 94
A Tad of Paris at the Javits
John Derian at Work!
John's Wall of Blue Decoupage
John Derian’s booth is always one of my favorites (as is John). It is nearly impossible to resist his work, but then, why would any sane person want to! I bought several pieces out of this blue story for the store. How I would have loved buying the whole group! If only I had a bigger store! John created some truly remarkable pieces for Spring. They will be in soon and featured front and center once they arrive!
Paste
Denise Fiedler, the designer of Paste, is an old friend from early South End days in Boston. She has created Paste and lives now in San Francisco. I bought the chair series and some dogs and several wilder animals…though, we all know nothing could be wilder than Pugs and I bought a few of those too! I thought these would be good for kids’ rooms, and the chair series in one, two or threes would be terrific on a dining room wall. These pieces are created from torn and cut papers culled from antique books and embellished with vintage gold bits. Quite charming and very affordable!
Tatine Candle
Tatine was a favorite over the winter. They have several new scents, which I loved and ordered, along with Creeping Moss, which sold out early last November.
I want to mention here that the PatchNYC booth was jaw-dropping as it usually is…I bought several pieces of Don Carney’s drawings in antique frames and two new needlepoints in vintage frames…from these two genius men will also come new linen scarves. PatchNYC has also created a number of candle fragrances with the women at The Soap & Paper Factory. These women are brilliant at fragrance, and the Patch men designed the packaging. What a combination!
Coming to the store will be new and amazing books…odd titles, wonderous reads, nonsense and must haves! I adore books… I find them hard to resist, and I assure you that you will too! In the assortment of goods will be new soaps and lotions. 80 Acres has come up with a lavender scent for their hand cream and soap that will sooth the weary soul. Lavender is tricky…this one works! I found a new group of greeting cards and journals I loved. We will have more Lucky Fish for children…those little nippers deserve a chic cotton t-shirt in the best ever sludge colors! I could go on, but I won’t, I want you to have some surprises when you come into the store!
After Dinner at Freemans
One reason for trade shows, in my book, is the dining. Not that you will find fine dining at the Javits Center! Each evening it was a new feast with great friends…the youngest of which was just over two months old! Lucien’s mother and grandmother own Bon in Tucson so each night he joined a rather fine group of diners in rather fine places to dine! If you haven’t had a chance to eat or drink at Freemans, make that a must when you’re in New York. With Don and John from Patch, we ate at Bombay Talkie, which just might have the best ever cocktails in all of the Big Apple (that might be a bit of a stretch!), but for sure, it has the most delicious Indian food! We also had a splendid meal at Cook Shop on Tenth Avenue. So, now my passion for fine food, great friends and a wicked trade show is out in the world and public! Sometimes I think I own the store just to do the food, friends and New York thing!
Wally & Lulu sleep away the month!
It is true…this is a month that one needs to take a long rest. It is the month I turn a year older, the month I question all those resolutions made just days before, the month I question owning a store (didn’t I tell you to talk to me in January about all that love of retail!). January just isn’t pretty, no matter how much you might love the cold!
This bag says it all! Pictures to come.
Don, John from PatchNYC & Maren Rossman at Oleana!
If you haven’t been to Oleana, in Cambridge MA, you must go today…this very minute! It is one of my favorite places for the best ever food! Ana Sortun, the chef owner, also owns Sofra. Which is my other favorite for coffee, pastry, a wee treat of exotic luncheon fare. Ana teaches a few cooking classes a year at Sofra and, on occasion, hosts tours to celebrate the cuisine of other cultures. Though I have taken the classes, I have yet to do the food tour…not yet anyway!
Diane Hanna at Kiskadee Coffee shop in Plymouth, MA
So here is what I want to tell you about Diane…other than the fact that I am a big fan of her work. She is a poet, a special and unique teacher and a remarkable talent who wears layers of netting and practical shoes. She hosts a writers’ workshop each February at the store. The dates this year are the 21st & 22nd…limit is twelve lucky people per day. If you’re on my email list, you will be hearing about the event, if not, check out the website for details. Join us with your blank notebooks and your pens for a day of magic!
Day One, Twenty Ten
This is just about as good as it gets! Two dear friends, Don and John, for a New Years Eve dinner and slumber party….I can’t imagine a better way to see out the old and celebrate the new! We were, three (unwashed) adults, four dogs (three of which were Pugs!), great food, Apricot Egg Nog, and twenty two years of back issues of The World of Interiors! Now, first I must tell you, these issues have traveled from attic to attic with me, all tapped up in their own boxes…just waiting for a snowy night and enough Egg Nog to see us all through the stacks. Here is the deal…we have become critical and maybe a tiny bit jaded…the old issues are not all we had dreamed them to be…not that they will be placed curb side, for next weeks trash pickup, any time soon….they were savored, with a somewhat clear eye, then placed back into their boxes, carried into the attic, put way over in the far corner, under the eves. These boxes will be shifted around for, most likely, another 22 years!
Apricot Egg Nog
10 eggs separated
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream (which you will whip)
46 ounces of Apricot nector
1 cup Rum (you could use Brandy)
1/4 cup Cointreau
fresh grated Nutmeg
In double boiler, mix egg yokes with 1/2 cup of sugar, salt and the milk…cook, over gently boiling water, until thickened…about 15 minutes. Cool
Beat egg whites until frothy, add the balance of sugar then beat until stiff…pour cooled custard over the beaten egg whites…fold in gently…add whipped cream…fold in gently. Add nectar, Rum and Cointreau. Mix to blend, cover and chill over night…Stir with wire whip, when about to serve, sprinkle each serving with fresh grated Nutmeg. Enjoy! I cut this recipe in half, for the three of us, and could easily have treated the whole neighborhood…were we willing to share!
Summer Dinner Party
Hot July night dinner party with Don & John of PATCH NYC and the women from BON, Bonnie and Crystal… our favorite store in the whole world! Well, at least our favorite store in Tucson! We ate corn fritters with fresh Nasturium butter and lots of exotic, tasty things…some Tequila with fresh limes and a shot of club soda….dessert….a fresh plum tart.
