rANDOM pHOTO #4:

from Joe Ruggiero's "Redgrave" group in Norwalk Furniture's April High Point market showroom.

Honeymoon in India

I'm sure you all already realize how badly I want to visit India (it gets worse when I visit Rang-Decor's blog). Today, while catching up on my blog reading from this past week, I found another reason to visit - perhaps on Honeymoon?

Home: {hom} n. 1- one's dwelling or residence 2- the country, state, city, etc. where one lives or was reared 3- a family thought of as a unit

thesaurus: homestead, hearth, house, nest, habitation

There's this idea of home that I'm fascinated with: not just a physical location, but a place that you really feel completely and totally perfect, a retreat, where nothing in the world can harm you and no one can intrude unless you open the door and let them in. Its a great concept and I'm still looking for it. I'm sure its in England somewhere, and I'm sure it looks just like Kate Winslet's cottage in "The Holiday" or like this:

Yes, as a matter of fact I am shamelessly a daughtry geek:

I'm staring out into the night,Trying to hide the pain.I'm going to the place where loveAnd feeling good don't ever cost a thing.And the pain you feel's a different kind of pain.Well I'm going home,Back to the place where I belong,And where your love has always been enough for me.I'm not running from.No, I think you got me all wrong.I don't regret this life I chose for me.But these places and these faces are getting old,So I'm going home.Well I'm going home.The miles are getting longer, it seems,The closer I get to you.I've not always been the best man or friend for you.But your love remains true.And I don't know why.You always seem to give me another try.So I'm going home,Back to the place where I belong,And where your love has always been enough for me.I'm not running from.No, I think you got me all wrong.I don't regret this life I chose for me.But these places and these faces are getting old,Be careful what you wish for,'Cause you just might get it all.You just might get it all,And then some you don't want.Be careful what you wish for,'Cause you just might get it all.You just might get it all, yeah.Oh, well I'm going home,Back to the place where I belong,And where your love has always been enough for me.I'm not running from.No, I think you got me all wrong.I don't regret this life I chose for me.But these places and these faces are getting old.I said these places and these faces are getting old,So I'm going home.I'm going home.

There's this fabulous scene in "Garden State" that sort of explains it too:
You know that point in your life when you realize the house you grew up in isn't really your home anymore. All of a sudden even if though you have some place where you put your shit, that idea of home is gone.. .its like you can never get it back, you feel homesick for a place that doesn't even exist. . . I miss the idea of it, maybe that's all that family really is; other people that miss the same imaginary place.

I'll find this place soon, hopefully someone will be there waiting for me with an anxious but steady heart - like Buster and Roxy waiting for my mom home from a long trip

please forgive me for the Buble':

Another summer dayHas come and gone awayIn Paris and RomeBut I wanna go homeMmmmmmmmMaybe surrounded byA million people IStill feel all aloneI just wanna go homeOh, I miss you, you knowAnd I’ve been keeping all the letters that I wrote to youEach one a line or two“I’m fine baby, how are you?”Well I would send them but I know that it’s just not enoughMy words were cold and flatAnd you deserve more than thatAnother aeroplaneAnother sunny placeI’m lucky I knowBut I wanna go homeMmmm, I’ve got to go homeLet me go homeI’m just too far from where you areI wanna come homeAnd I feel just like I’m living someone else’s lifeIt’s like I just stepped outsideWhen everything was going rightAnd I know just why you could notCome along with me'Cause this was not your dreamBut you always believed in meAnother winter day has comeAnd gone awayIn even Paris and RomeAnd I wanna go homeLet me go homeAnd I’m surrounded byA million people IStill feel all aloneOh, let me go homeOh, I miss you, you knowLet me go homeI’ve had my runBaby, I’m doneI gotta go homeLet me go homeIt will all be all rightI’ll be home tonightI’m coming back home

rANDOM pHOTO #3:

this is actually one of mine - and one of my favourite so I hope you like!

England: I miss you!!!!!!! - part 2

Ok so if you're not familiar at all with English shopping - I mean "high street" shopping, not just Camden Market or Portobello Road - then you should at the very least become familiar with TopShop - I mean this place is seriously like the mecca and I'm not even kidding

So since I'm shopping for the perfect little black dress, here are some of my picks:

(I would post more, but my computer abhors me today, so sorry)

rANDOM pHOTO #2:

I think I found this on More Ways to Waste Time - its Sunday! Waste some time people, waste some time!

NOTE: the fabulous "You are my everything photo" from a few weeks ago was also from one of the posts on More Ways to Waste Time and since she (rightly so) called me out on the fact that I hadn't given her proper credit for her fabulous picture I'm attempting to rectify that now. Therefore, I really can't stress enough that visiting her blog is NOT NOT NOT even in the slightest wasting time! You will be ever so inspired so please stop by and pay her a visit as soon as you can, it will be a referral you won't regret (except of course if you get addicted like me).

Cheers!

England - I miss you!!!!!!!!

So if you know me and aren't just a lurker, you probably know that I wish I was in Yorkshire now instead of middle of nowhere Greene County North Carolina. Oh well, still trying desperately to believe everything happens for a reason. So today's post, well, let's say most (if not all) of the posts for the next week are going to have to do with the England, sort of an ode to the place I call home and a break from "cotton pickin time" reality.

Eve Glossy/Magazine - (you can get it 1/2 off by ordering on the website!)

When this first came out I could find it here in the states at Barnes & Noble's but uh huh no more, no mass, non piu, I can't get it there at all now so I've resorted to their website to get my fill. It really is a smart woman's version of Glamour - has the bit about home decor, Manolo Blahniks (if I've spelled this wrong I apologize, but truly I'm not a Sex & the City girl nor will I ever be capable of spending that much money on shoes), some sex talk, a recipe every now and then, recommedations for holidays/vacations, articles on women in business, etc. its just really good is all. So today when I stumbled upon, it turns out they have an article entitled 1001 Things Every Woman Should Know. Well I would totally be doing you a disservice if I didn't pass along my favourites, riiiiight? So hop on over and read the whole article yourself, you won't be disappointed I promise, just keep in mind you'll have to keep hopping because they don't publish all 1001 things at once!

Tip: REALLY good ones are #s 6 - ta da!, 8 - it seems you really CAN die of a broken heart, 13 - I kid you not there REALLY is BONE in bone china!

Chatsworth - OH GEEZ (as my favourite Uncle would say)

Ok, so its no joke that this is the specific place in England that I want to be. I'm entirely obsessed with this home, no lie. And I just read this article from the Telgraph and am seriously torn, seriously.

To begin with - I hated this house at first. I remember beginning to study it just merely because I had to pick a topic for my term paper and sort of just chose something from a long list because no one else was doing it. I had just started researching when my course group paid the home a visit. as we went through the estate village, turned the corner and crossed the bridge I honestly think my heart skipped a beat. Now it would be easy to say, especially for a aristocracy hating brit (which I am NOT) that this is pompus at its best; the window mullions are actually gold gilded and considering how many windows there are, that is certainly a fantastical feat. However, it wasn't the first time for me that seeing turned into believing. While all my British friends were disgusted with the enormous amount of wealth seemingly overflowing at this home, I was in awe, pure awe and totally and completely in love for maybe the first time in my life.

This estate has devastantingly enough continued to survive amidst wars, and funding issues since the reign of Elizabeth the 1st when it was owned by Bess of Hardwick. The first Duke built the home to impress and welcome William of Orange to England as he had helped him secure the title of King. The fifth Duke William Cavendish married Lady Georgiana Spencer (yes and I do mean Spencer as in Princess Diana descended from) and lived in the house with her and her sister (his mistress) Charlotte. Their child, Lady Georgiana Cavendish went on to marry the 5th Earl of Carlisle, George Howard, who built the second greatest stately home in England - Castle Howard. The sixth Duke of Devonshire (slightly crazy, great taste, deaf, and of course a bachelor) remodeled the home and created the lavish gardens with the help of Joseph Paxton - yeah, Paxton as in Crystal Palace Paxton, that's the one! - and Capability Brown the greatest landscape designer who has ever lived.

This is when the visitors started pouring in. The sixth Duke was well travelled, associated with the greatest designers of his time, and had all the wealth, time and money to prove his good taste and he merely wanted to show off - and he did, by allowing anyone - I mean even the lowest of the low - to walk the grounds, view the waterworks (which he would turn on for even just one pour soul, nevermind the costs incurred), and share in the breathtaking scenery that he and his friends had created.

During World War I the house was occupied by a girl's school and after they moved out it very quickly fell into disrepair. But then along came the Mitford girl - Deborah or Debo, the 11th Duchess and now dowager duchess. She literally brought the house back to life, helped establish and run the trust which continues to allow Chatsworth to survive in all its decadence to this day.

Not without their own share of soap opera dramatics, Debo never thought she would be the duchess, but after the 10th Duke died while being tended to by a suspected serial killer in World War One - and honestly I think at the time he might have been engaged to a Kennedy girl (could be wrong about this so don't take it as gospel), she took over despite roughly 14 MILLION dollars in death taxes, and has continued to do the job extremely well. At times she even runs the ticket booth at the entrance to the house herself, no lie. Now please do take into account that I have read her books (I choose to ignore her pomp and circumstance as she's never known anything else) and despite the air of superiority that so many claim she has, I just try to rationalize by thinking that she is indeed superior. I mean really, this woman has had tea no lie with Adolf freakin' Hitler. (Not that I would want to do so, what with my Jewish nose and all) but still just to say that this woman has a lived A LOT! One of her sisters was the infamous author and self confessed snob Nancy Mitford, another sister - Unity was said to be good friends with

a-hole adolf (actually, upon further reading she was in love with the man and shot herself in the head when she couldn't be with him, but she survived the shot to the head, I know people, I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried), another sister was disowned by the family when she became a communist (which she later quit to run a bar-capitalism at its height!) and yet another sister was a fascist - married to the guy who wrote Remains of the Day, her granddaughter is model Stella Tennant

- one of my absolute favourite British birds and as stated before they are very related to the late Princess Di, and furthermore (as if that weren't enough) she gets to wake up everyday in an architectural masterpiece.

But what on earth has her precious son done? No lie, he has enshrined hundreds of over-the-top modern art sculpture within the gardens in order to bring about new visitors. Now I totally understand the whole wanting to be edgy and do something new and different thing, and I totally understand the need to have the funds to continue to keep up the house and estate, and I totally understand art for art's sake - after all these things encompass what I want to do with the rest of my life, but and this is a big BUT "darling, what the hell were you thinking?". Naked Virgin Mary is NOT I repeat NOT the way to go about this! I'm going to choose to not pass too much judgement until I've seen these monstrosaties myself, but I want you to take a look and decide what you think as well. Read the article here and comment please! Stop lurking and comment!

While disagreeing rather adamnatly with his tactics, I feel entirely obligated to give credit where credit is due of course. The 12th Duke has said he wants to break down the "them vs us" stereotype that plagues Britain's aristocracy and commoners. I sincerely feel that is the stereotype that will eventually allow these homes, artwork in and of themselves, to deteriorate and eventually die out so I have to thank Mr. Cavendish as well as his son for all that they're doing, even though I might not particularly enjoy it:

Though he's keen to promote a new series of books about stately homes, he dislikes the word "stately", with its connotations of elitism and grandeur. He buys modern painting and sculpture, but doesn't regard himself as a collector because the word suggests an intellectual rigour he feels he doesn't possess.

It takes over 5.5 million pounds to run Chatsworth and last year over 95% of that was raised from visitors, so they must be doing something right. If you're ever in Derbyshire - please do go see it, you will be impressed, and possibly even fall in love ;)

The week in review:

Ok so to start it all off it was the first week back from our semi-annual sale so the hustle and bustle has died and unfortunately, so have the walk-in customers. I'm still ever so busy of course; holding the hand of my commercial painter, trying to not mame my internet support staff whilst designing the new webpage (visit, please, but keep in mind that I can't change the horrid opening photos, the pics. of our main office in "middle of nowhere" Greene County NC, or any of the sidebars or headings AND on top of that the links aren't working at the moment and I have no clue why), attempting to conjure up ideas to attract new builder clientele, and managing my few but fabulous clients. Enough about the crazy hectic bad things, lets talk about the good -

1st: LONG LIVE TRACY PORTER

If you don't know this fabulous designer, you should get to know her and soon. Most everything she does is very "done" in an over the top kind of way, which regardless of whether or it is personally appealing you must agree it is altogether STUNNING!!!!!

Love this tea set, don't you? Vivre Collection I have issues when it comes to the mildly creepy mounted animals on walls thing - It must have something to do with growing up in the South where the first day of hunting season meant no boys were in school, combined with that summer in college where I house-sat for the big game hunter and then my studying English Country houses probably didn't help this odd fetish I have, especially for the European mounts like these. Thanks Tracy!
Oh if only I weren't broke:

2nd: HOUSE AND GARDEN

Well I love House and Garden and I also love actually seeing people that I've met featured as designers - so for those of you who know me and aren't random blog stalkers as Decorno likes to put it - Timothy Haynes is my best friend Kate's uncle by marriage. While this particular home is not my personal taste, I think you'll enjoy it thoroughly so have at it!

3rd: MY FIRST NON-MARKET SEASON

yeah yeah yeah I didn't go to the furniture market this past week - I know I know I'm insane, but to be honest I just didn't feel up to it even if my boss had really pushed (which he didn't because he knows I'll get all excited and buy stuff we don't need). Its just soooooo exhausting! And if it were a buying trip strictly in coordination with my own tastes, i.e. for my own store or merely for clients that need those finishing pieces then I would go and have a ball, but other than that it just gets old after awhile. One day I tell myself one day!!!!!!!

Here are a few of the past suprises from my Norwalk friends that always do a lovely job in their Main Street showroom and next week I'll post a sneak peak at what's coming up!

I love ANYTHING tufted - the Meriwether sofa is above and the Hardwick chair below:
Candice Olsen sort of hit one out of the park on this little guy - the Beckett:

Ok, so for a split second indulge my English chintz obsession:

If I don't write tomorrow, have a fabulous weekend!

Albrecht Altdorfer: Next weekend I'm going to DC to visit family and I honestly can't tell you how excited I am to be going to the National Gallery! I've done the whole DC thing before with the Smithsonian and the Holocaust Museum and the air and space and all the memorials and stuff but I can't believe I've never been to the National Gallery and I could pee in my pants right now just thinking about it.

So this picture is an Altdorfer (one I saw in Munich) but he has some things in the collection in DC too so I'm super stoaked. To be honest, he's a master at detail. This painiting in fact is about 13" X 20" no lie! AMAZING!

rANDOM pHOTO #1:

Yeah so I have this plethora of pictures saved on both my home and work computer. They run as a slide show screensaver but there are so many at this point that I never really see the same thing more that once or twice a week. So I figured even if I don't get time to write everyday the least I could do is post a photograph. Alot of them I've just saved over the years, so unfortunately I don't know where they all come from so unfortunately I won't always be able to give credit where credit is due. I hope I don't offend all 5 of you that read my blog. Enjoy!