So sad.......

I had a plane ticket to Paris. It was for today. I should be on my way to the airport right this minute. But I'm not. Bummer.

As most of you know, we had a horrible flood-ish thing at the shop last month....we managed to re-open last Saturday - YIPPEE! But now comes the insurance stuff. YUCK! I felt that I just could not leave for two weeks with all of this left unresolved. We are making a claim against the business interruption portion of our policy and it is tedious. I would hate to be "unavailable for comment" with a 9 hour time difference and have someone make a decision regarding my claim without me there. So there you have it....I should be heading off to Paris and the Maison & Objet show, but I am not. So sad. On the upside, I was at least able to cancel my ticket and use the fare for another trip.

Alright then....I'm going to work in the garden this morning with a glass of champagne......that ought to do the trick.....

Have a great Sunday!

Gratouitous flower photo

This is a lovely Passiflora and a Cascade Hops vine growing on my driveway fence. Passionflowers are so totally alien. Love it.

Michele Varian shop in SoHo. Super cute!!!

So this is the last of my NY posts from last week. Last Tuesday, after a lovely bfast at Balthazar's and a trip into Aero, we stumbled across the greatest little home decor boutique, Michele Varian. The address is 35 Crosby Street in Soho, off Spring. So well curated, such great stuff and a great line of pillows that were also available at the gift show. She also has a great pillow boutique inside ABC Carpet and Home....... If you go to NY...go to this great little find!

Barbara Barry at ABC

Inside ABC Carpet and Home is a Barbara Barry boutique...and as per BB style, it was beautifully laid out........

ABC Kitchen

Posting from my iphone is a bit tedious, so I apologize for how all of theses posts about ABC Carpet and Home got out of order. So on our last day in NY we HAD to go to BC. Mecca. It is such a beautiful store. Great merchandise. Great merchandising.....and now...a totally kick-ass restaurant! YIPPEE!!!! In the basement, across from Pipa (the AMAZING tapas bar filled to the brim with ABC chandeliers, live flamenco music, killer sangria and the best paella EVER) is the new and lovely ABC Kitchen. ABC has a farm to table concept and is the newest release by Jean Georges Vongerichten. It has a very local feel about it.... The interior is stunningly simple and elegant and the food is fab. I especially loved the vintage plates at each place setting! We had a prix fixe (my favorite) menu for $25 with the most delicious roasted beets with home made yogurt - more like sour cream, really - an amazing portobello mushroom grilled sandwich and salted caramel ice cream dessert. Dear God! Run screaming over there next time you are in NY. You wont regret it!

The Conran Shop

Also inside ABC is a lower level Conran Shop - an homage to all things modern....... I love the table of crinkle cups. I brought some home from Paris and use them in the shop - so cool!!!

Moroso...M'Afrique collection - AMAZING!!!

So there is another boutique inside ABC that totally knocked my socks off. Moroso is an Italian company that has asked Tord Boontje (my FAVORITE Dutch designer and who is behind the Midsummer Light) to design a line of outdoor furniture. The influence was based on African patterns, colors and textures and it is an unbelievable sight to see! I have never seen anything quite like it.......I have been thinking (plotting, really...)of how I can work one of these lovelies into my own garden..... The curly hooded chair (I want the black and white one) really seems like a collision between a classic French capucine chair and a scorpion... don't you think? Crazy!

ABC

more photos from ABC.......

ABC

..last of the ABC photos.....

ABC Carpet and Home

So we were in NY last week for the gift show and I totally forgot to post my photos of ABC Carpet and Home. Their merchandising is amazing! Such a great place for inspiration!

A blimp AND the Oscar Meyer Weiner truck....

All in one day and witin 15 minutes of each other..... Weird. Two
things you never see.....and then to see them together.

Outdoor project for a client.....

We are working on a back patio area for a client and we just got the
cushions back. All if these are outdoor fabrics!!! I love to use
three different fabrics so that you get the most flexibility out of
your pieces. Here we used Trina Turk's peacock fabric in orange on one
side and a Pindler & Pindler lattice in black for the other side. Then
we used a solid black Pindler fabric for the banding and the welting.
We are using the clients' inherited family chairs and we have ordered
two Luxembourg benches in Carrot from Fermob around a light teak and
aluminum extension table from Schou. The benches are set to arrive
next week sometime. And then the look will be complete. It is going to
look fantastic!!!! More pictures soon!!!!

Grand re-open day.

Whew!!! What a day!!!! It ends with a perfect dinner with Frenchy,
Sue and Eric at the most amazing Pok Pok!!! Devine!!