We didn’t get that big snowstorm over the weekend (Snowmagedden) here in Connecticut – but it sure was cold! Waterfalls and rivers are literally freezing in motion. The days are getting longer and the sun is moving higher up in the sky every day, so I know the warm temps are just a few weeks away. So, yesterday I couldn’t help but head out and grab some shots of some of the frozen waterways around my area. The waterfall is a dramatic, gorgeous location that used to power a mill – is now the backdrop for a restaurant in Chester.
What you see is about 70% ice and 20% an odd cascading spray. I think the texture is remarkable.
The creek below is gorgeous.
The Connecticut River has these ice berg type chips jamming up against the shore that crackle and sigh dramatically as you stand there.
Below, this looks like it’s moving but people were actually walking on the frozen solid shore below.
The ice accumulates around anything in the water.
The Goodspeed Opera House is on hiatus right now, but it looked lovely overlooking the river and the Swing Bridge.
I drive past these swans in this estuary all the time – together with a pretty large flock of Mallard ducks they seem to do OK.
The wetland is frozen to the reeds on the banks.
Even a fountain in a hotel portico is having trouble staying liquid:
This time of year I always miss my parents the most. They both passed away within a couple years of each other not too long ago, and I’m still not sure if I’m used to the idea. They were both born in December, so not only Christmas but two birthdays – remembering the dates and trying to figure out their ages and what to get them – was sometimes a month long project.
When we cleaned out their house back in California many of my mother’s curios made their way into my cabinets. She’d worked in gift shops for years in the evenings and loved bringing home little figurines, dolls and pieces of china that she fell in love with during her shift.
The little mice and cool cats that peek out from among my collection of china and glassware aren’t pieces I’d pick out for myself necessarily, but they really express my mom’s personality. She loved the notion of gum chewing and musical instrument playing critters – that somewhere there was another reality that was far more gentle and amusing than the one she knew.
I love her pink glasses and matching china pattern too. I can remember when our family was large and unified, these pieces laid out on the table were so elegant. When they were finally handed off to me they were cracked and stained from many years of wear. Baking soda and peroxide cleaned them up, but they still belong to Christmases past.
Jean from NotCot visited Versaille this week for a black tie party. While she was wandering the halls of the gorgeous palace she took a series of photos of the chandeliers from directly below. I must say, juxtaposed against the stunning hand painted ceilings, the photos show the palace in a lovely new “light”. Here’s one – see more.
photo by Elspeth and Evan
I suppose if I really looked back, wandered through my adolescence with a fine toothed comb, I could probably find a few instances in which spirits had been trying to get my attention.
After all, stories about the house I grew up in abounded in my sleepy backwater hometown. The previous owner, Mr. Buck, had committed suicide in the garage shortly after my parents closed on the home. He’d been a mason and had created remarkable flagstone walls, brick moon-gates, and patios throughout the property. Chatter went around that our house was rife with ghosts.
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As with everything that the artful duo Eva Milinkovic and Kriston Gene create, their Cell Bowls offer dramatic splashes of color and sensual, organic shape. Their Canadian based glass design house, Tsunami Glassworks is noted for their broad range of pieces for rooms.
With the Cell Bowls collection, some colors yield a sense of calm, such as Cerulean above, while others offer surprising explosions of lava and amber as with the Cherry and Turquoise below. Each is handmade and mouth-blown – sizes and prices: $180 small 6″; $300 medium 9″; $420 large 12″
They stand upright, greedy for light to bend through them so they can cast their spell on each passerby. They are part of the Tube Collection from Tsunami Glassworks – each hand made and imbued with remarkably unique characteristics by Eva Milinkovic and Kriston Gene.
Available in a range of colors and sizes from 20″ tall to 56″ they are designed to be arranged in groups but look gorgeous showcased singularly as well. Prices range from $250 to about $2900.
Available in frosted or shiny glass, available colors include:
black/iris
olive/aqua
cerulean
citron/jade
cherry/turquoise
strawberry/saffron
citron/saffron
amethyst/black
new blue
So Tyra Banks – or at least the nice folks that help run her website – had a relatively workable office set-up, but not one befitting a talk show queen by any means. See before pics on her website to see what I mean.
Enter Kyle Schuneman, wonder designer from Los Angeles. In just a short time, and on a very reasonable budget, Kyle transformed the former so-so space into a spot you’d go ga-ga over.
Kyle started by painting the blah off white walls a serene blue shade from Benjamin Moore’s Natura collection, which is non VOC and very eco friendly. Then he rounded up a lovely but sturdy desk and matched it with a solidly feminine filing cabinet, window panels, a crystal lamp and some accessories like the vase below.
And what office can exist without a luxurious tufted setee? Certainly not Tyra’s – so a gorgeous subtle gray one was brought in. The drama of the color is set off by the very cool frames from Ikea that are filled with wallpaper for a graphic touch. Do you love? We do!!
photos by Joe Schemlzer
Scott and Leyla Jaworski own a 1910 Victorian in Weehawken New Jersey that they’ve been remodeling since 2006 – room by room. Scott, with a background in construction, and Leyla a homestaging expert, had a loads of ideas for putting their house in order, but first they had to contend with a very wild a rambly front porch and yard. Here, Scott tells the story of how they turned their front yard from out of control to oasis:
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