-
Ball Gowns and Wedding Dresses
A few weeks ago, my daughter tried on her very first wedding dress. She was a little shocked at the restricted way the dress felt and the weight of it. I reminded her…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Saint Valentine’s Day
I have spent a good many of my adult years without a love of my own. But that never stopped me from embracing Saint Valentine’s Day. I fervently believe it can be enjoyed…
-
Charmed, I’m Sure
The day my mother revealed that she had enrolled me in charm school, I pitched an uncharming fit. In fifth grade the last place I wanted to be on Saturday mornings was a classroom at the back of…
-
Home from the Hill
I’ve been longing to introduce you to my grandfather, Harold Monroe Macdonald. On President’s Day next month, he would have turned 109. The title of this post is from a poem by Robert…
-
Something Old
I almost named this blog “I Love Old Things”. Because I do. Old books, old houses, old maps, old furniture. Old people. Things that have been around awhile tell tales that draw me in,…
-
New Year’s Eve Lesson (with pink suede and a baked potato)
The Christmas I was ten, my mother gave my sister and I our first handbags. They were cotton candy pink suede clutches that folded in half. All handbags given in those days contained…
-
Jewel Box
My first jewelry cache was a cream box with handpainted flowers that opened up to a pirouetting ballerina in front of a tiny oval mirror. I didn’t have much jewelry – just some bits and bobs…
