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Refined Living
This Tasha Tudor illustration is from Amy’s Goose, a sweet book by Tasha’s daughter, Efner Tudor Holmes. It is only a slight exaggeration to say that it changed my life. When my child…
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When lilacs last in the door-yard bloom’d…
Those are Walt Whitman’s words. The poem seems to be an ode to spring but in his later years, Whitman admitted he was writing about the tragic death of Abraham Lincoln. That April, the lilac…
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The Lost Art of Dress and Aunt Laura
Yesterday my lovely 98 year old Aunt Laura died. She was the last of the “American Mitfords” as I called my grandmother and her five sisters. All were elegant and knew how to…
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The Caring Hour
Victoria Magazine called the time before bed, The Caring Hour, an evening interlude devoted to beauty routines and rituals – a tranquilizing hour for pampering oneself and doing those little niceties there never is enough time for. I’ve always had…
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Nothing to Wear
I lost seven sweaters to moths this year. I read I should have sanded down my cedar blocks to refresh and reactivate their repellant properties. Sadly, the sweaters were cashmere and in colors that made…
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The Novel of a Wardrobe
The Novel of a Wardrobe is the title of a lovely Parisian exhibit that just closed. It was housed in the Musée Carnavalet, the museum of Paris history. From 1902 through the 1920’s,…
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Safe Harbor
In my field, we are in the middle of tax season. The best news we give to a client is that their money is in Safe Harbor, a special place where part of…
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The Power of Lipstick
My first foray into lipstick was the night I stole a tube of lipstick from my mother’s dresser and created a work of art on my sister’s face. A Kodak moment to be…
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Belonging to Moonlight and Roses
Recently I read a teenage novel on the recommendation of a friend. It was her favorite high school read and it was lovely, set in the 1950’s. It had lots of the domestic details…
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On Handbags…
My mother worries because she says my handbag is always open. I guess she’s right. It’s just so much easier to have an open bag on the seat in the car so I…
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All Things Ballet
I have long been drawn to all things ballet – afterall, I had my first lesson at age three. I loved my black leather ballet slippers – the wrinkled toes tightened with thin grosgrain ties…
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The February House
“China tea, the scent of hyacinths, wood fires and bowls of violets – that is my mental picture of an agreeable February afternoon.” ~ Constance Spry I would add a ticking clock to Miss…