A Place to Weather the Storm

After two cold and windy storms right in a row, I can imagine curtaining myself off from the draft in this bed.  Light would transform at dusk and dawn in this room.  Don’t you feel better just looking at it?

 I do!

Enjoy the weekend and I hope the weather is nice to you wherever you are     : )

-A.

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Kitchen Display

We are working on a new kitchen display for the showroom and it really is screaming for a decorative slab backsplash, don’t you think?  I think marble, in any state, is a natural work of art.  Add curves and a snazzy faucet and you get Drop. Dead. Gorgeous.

We aren’t quite there yet.  Still need the curvy splash.

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Yes, that is an integrated sink.

Fabulous.  I know.

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{Click the drawings to expand.}

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I’ve been gathering ideas for possible shapes from Pinterest and just about every blog I have bookmarked.  Here are some of my favorites…

I love how the slab mirrors the lines of the hood and then continues to be stunning all the way down.  We don’t have a hood so this is out of the question, but it caught my eye and I wanted to share.   I do wish they’d skipped the tile and used the slab throughout.  The bowed front sink and cabinet are pretty wonderful, though.

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This sink and backsplash are in a home just outside of Paris.  How appropriate.  This happens to be the same faucet I have drawn in.  More on that later.

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I’d stretch out the high arch part for this one and leave just a few inches of the lower backsplash.  Simple yet effective.

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These next few aren’t stone, but the lines are worth considering…

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Headlong into Fall

I don’t know about where you are, but Connecticut has rushed headlong into fall.  I woke up on Monday and the drive was covered in leaves.  It smelled like fall and I needed real shoes and another layer of clothing.  Immediately I thought, “Ok, its time to re-decorate!”  The grocery must have been studying their almanac because they set up a table of those tiny pumpkins and clusters of dried cornstalks at just the right time.

Autumn is the time of year that I don’t remember that I love until its here again.  I dislike that it is the end of warm and wonderful summer, but then again, it is something of a relief to turn off the AC and snuggle under the covers with the windows open at night.  Plus, it is so beautiful.  Vibrant, saturated ruby and mustard colored leaves are shockingly surreal.  (They were just green!!!)  

Of course, the weather will break for at least another week and we will again be in summer, but it will be short lived and Autumn will fully encompass us all.   It isn’t too far now.  Are you ready?

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 It is nearly time for apple orchards and decorative gourds and Hot Toddies.

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Falling leaves and rosy cheeks,  football and tailgating.

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Flannel blankets and plaid shirts, thermoses and apple pie.

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Sweaters and scarves and boots and wool socks.

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Earth tones and natural wonders.

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I’m ready, if a little sad to see this summer go.  Maybe an extra Hot Toddy to push this bittersweet feeling away.

Yes.  That’s exactly what I need.

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My Favorite Hot Toddy:

1 good sized mug

1-1/2 oz. Jameson

1 bag of Lipton black tea

Top with hot water

2-3 lemon slices

honey to taste

Sip for about 10 minutes then feel the warmth that reaches all the way to your toes.

MMMmmmm…..mmmmm….mmmmm

-A.

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Society Social

Just a month after I post a mass appeal for an at-home cocktail hour resurgence, I find this website dedicated to bringing the bar cart back.  Society Social appears to be THE lifestyle company for happy hour.  They sell everything you could possibly need for a fabulous private soiree including bar carts…

The Tipple Trolley

(this style is available in 11 colors and silver and gold metal finishes)

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…outdoor & indoor furniture…

The Cocktail Party table  &  chairs

(available in 13 colors)

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…vintage bar accouterments…

Cane Highball Set

(only $65, thank you very much!)

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…irreverent happy hour attire…

 the Society Social Signature Hostess Gown

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… & even the requisite bling!

“On the Rocks” Cocktail Rings

(Made in the USA – love that!)

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I am sure you have heard of her, but in case you have not had the opportunity, Mrs. Lilien is the poster girl for imbibing luxuriously.  She has her Cocktail Swatchbook, which far exceeds Old Mr. Boston’s version, and now she has released a bar cart of her own…

appropriately named The Mrs. Lilien and being sold by Society Social.

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I have a deep urge to re-outfit my own bar cart with a number of things from this wonderful little company – that set of Cane Highballs to start – but today I just don’t have the time.  However, it is safe to say that everything here…

would look just fine in my humble little home.

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What do you think of the caftans?  Could you slip into one of those the next time you play Hostess?

I am undecided.

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Visit Society Social to peruse all of their classy cocktail merchandise, then come back here and tell me what you purchase.  I am very curious!

-A.

 

 

 

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New Website Coming Soon

Our new home page …

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What do you think??

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I think its pretty.

But I would think that its pretty.  I designed it.

HA!

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We’ll have the official re-launch in the first half of September.  Keep a look out over the next few weeks for the announcement.

-A.

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