Joan Didion's Kitchen

Vogue Magazine 1972

I never would have pictured this kitchen belonging to Joan Didion. It appears she's a real cook and this surprises me because she is so very thin  and I just never imagined her cooking. I love the wire baskets, the herb pots holding up the cookbooks, and her recipe cards in a real box!❤️

UPDATE: Thanks to PAM here is the article she posted in the comments. The 100 Greatest Home Cooks of All Time and Joan Didion is near the top of the list. Who knew? Thanks, Pam❤️

Chintz Fabric on Furniture

Would you rather have timeless Chintz on your furniture or floral wallpaper? via  The room pictured is Yves Saint Laurent's final home.

California Movie Star's Cottage Home

I love both views of this restored home owned by a movie star we all know. I'm not telling who until you fall in love with these two photos in Architectural Digest. The article is a reprint from 1993. Click here to read it and be amazed. I am usually disappointed in celebrity homes, but not this understated one.

BBC: Celebration Chocolate Cake recipe

This recipe is by Mary Berry from The Great British Baking Show. It looks easy and delicious. It is even recommended to bake with and for children. I am not sure how to convert the flour to cups but you'll figure it out. I am a huge fan of cream cheese icing! recipe here

F. Scott Fitzgerald FALL QUOTE

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Rowena Cade: Reading Chair

I blogged about this photo in 2012. It's much more meaningful since I learned all about this remarkable woman in an episode of Penelope Keith's Hidden Villages on PBS. Read more here. I love her hair and her outfit from head to toe. I am rather certain this was not staged but a chance photo by someone catching her unaware. She was such a hard worker and a real artist in cement and stone at the open-air amphitheater she created in Cornwall. Numerous links here.

Our Vines Have Tender Grapes: Movie Review

An endearing and quietly rhapsodic slice of Americana about a single year among the Norwegian immigrants in a Wisconsin farm town, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes enthralled 1945 audiences and critics with its timeless joys. Told from the viewpoint of little Selma (Margaret O’Brien), the film explores grand childhood adventures: making friends, a pet calf, Christmas, a terrifying trip down a flood-swollen river, a barn fire and a ride on a circus elephant’s trunk. In a change-of-pace role, Edward G. Robinson is a revelation of wisdom and compassion as Selma’s father, leading a fine cast that illuminates the profound power of everyday triumphs and sorrows.

I have watched this movie twice on TCM and love it. It follows the life of a close Norwegian family in a Wisconsin settlement. The family values of the whole village are wonderful and Margaret O'Brien is a treasure. I love her telling of the Nativity in the church Christmas pageant.

Maybe you can find the DVD at your library. You can stream it on Amazon and iTunes. This is a must-see movie. I have never read the book but it must be wonderful too.

BREATHE: True Story Movie with Claire Foy + Andrew Garfield

My blog is turning into a movie review site. I couldn't find anything interesting to watch on TV last night so Kanopy came to the rescue again with a fabulous movie with Claire Foy (The Crown). Just seeing that she was in it made me want to watch and I'm so glad I did. It's the love story of all time and every frame is true. The son of the couple is the producer of the film so it is partly his biography too.

After contracting polio at the age of 28, Robin Cavendish is confined to bed and given only months to live. But with the help of his wife Diana and her twin brothers, and the groundbreaking ideas of inventor Teddy Hall (played by Hugh Bonneville), Cavendish emerges from the hospital ward and devotes the rest of his life to helping fellow patients and the disabled. Click here find 8 videos about the film and the official movie trailer.

Google images has many photos of the real Cavendish Family

Oscar Winning Documentary on NatGeo Tonight

I watched the Oscars this year all the way to the finish and saw this film win Best Documentary Feature. The preview intrigued me as I am fearful of heights. I can't even climb a ladder to clean my first floor gutters much less scale a vertical rock with no rope. That's what Free Soloing is -- rock climbing without a rope. I don't expect many of you will be interested in this film but maybe you can share with someone who might enjoy a free showing. This documentary appeared in theaters in 2018. The photo above is a screen shot from my phone via my Verizon FiOS app. Your channel number for the National Geographic channel will probably be different. 

{ click photo to enlarge }

IMPORTANT: Set your DVR tonight for this -- the final episode of VICTORIA, Season 3 on PBS. I'm looking forward to seeing Albert's project: The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park for the Grand International Exhibition of 1851. I will be so sad to see this series go. This is the last season Albert was in every episode. Sniff. Sniff.

Diane Keaton Designs Rustic Residence for Herself

For the past few decades, Academy Award-winning actress Diane Keaton has spent much of her free time off set on a series of construction sites flipping houses. Who knew?

Inside you'll find distressed brick, chicken wire cabinetry, raw wooden beams, old chicken coops repurposed into pendant lights, shiplap-covered walls, subway tile, black french shower doors, and a plethora of antiques. I chose to feature the kitchen; click here to see the rest of the home she designed for herself with the help of Pinterest. The photos and article appeared in both Country Living and Wine Spectator Magazines.

Wonderful Bedroom for Two Boys

Another celebrity couple are featured in a July 2017 post in Architectural Digest. This is my favorite room, shared by two young brothers. The caption below the photo in the article (link is fixed) mentions the source of all decorator items except the elephants quilts, which make the room. Sadly, since publication, the couple is no longer together. 

I made a delicious broccoli soup late yesterday garnished with leftovers. I had it for breakfast this morning and it was a delicious way to start my day. xo

Wonderful Slideshow of A Celebrity Couple's Colorado Hideaway

Whose house is this? I'm not telling. I am so impressed with their good taste. View the slideshow with 13 photos here. Click on the + sign to read the captions (the photo will get smaller). Click on the X to enlarge the photo again. Source: Architectural Digest - Read the longer article here.

Tennis: Katharine Hepburn in 1981

She was 74 in this tennis photo. I recently watched part of a movie on TCM entitled PAT AND MIKE with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. I didn't finish it because I thought the plot was too silly. I started watching it because the host who introduced the film said she actually played all the athletic parts, mainly golf and tennis and she was so good at both in real life. She also was an excellent swimmer and sailor but I don't know if she did either in the movie. Her father stressed the importance of exercise and she followed his advice and was active almost to the end of her life at age 96. 

I don't do any sports these days and I try to stay out of the sun. Walking, gardening, lawn work, and housework are about the only things I do with any regularity. Have you ever heard the old saying, "Housework, if done correctly, will kill you." That always makes me laugh. I haven't done mine correctly in a long time and I can see the wisdom behind the quote.

xo

Michael Bastian's Eclectic Livingroom

According to Michael, his rent-controlled apartment home is “a little of everything that’s been smashed together in slow motion over the past 20 years.” The plain cream canvas of the walls allows him to add as many layers of decor and furnishings as he pleases, without it appearing too cluttered.

Michael Bastian is an American fashion designer with his own label after working for Sotheby's, Tiffany's, Bergdorf's and Ralph Lauren. When asked how he arranged the salon-style wall art he said, “it should never just be paintings or just photography, but a mix -- that’s where the real magic is. There should be modern stuff, textiles, framed book covers all hanging together.” Read the entire article here.

There is a lot to see but it all works and I like it. I can aways manage to squeeze in something I love even though I have no more room. I like being surrounded by things that make me happy. The only real price I have to pay is the difficulty in cleaning under, over, and around my collections, something I'm dealing with, big time, right now. I'm not complaining as it is turning out to be very satisfying.

Enjoy your Sunday and be sure to watch the second episode of the new season of The Durrells in Corfu tonight on PBS. In case you missed the first episode last week, you can watch it on the link I provided. I so love this series. xo

Ali MacGraw Now

This is what 78 looks like and I love that Ali MacGraw is growing old so gracefully.

She's as beautiful as ever. She wrote a great article about how she has found inner peace.

Her clothing designs are beautiful and she wears them so well.

A fire burned her house down in ‘93 and took with it many of her designer treasures, including original Halstons. MacGraw has since stuck to a uniform: tees, black skinny jeans and ballet flats, plus accessories — just like what she’s wearing in the above photo — and, “one or two things a year that are hair-raisingly expensive but I know will last my lifetime.”

Royal Wedding: Duke and Duchess of Sussex

Did you get up early to watch? As promised, I did and I'm already planning my afternoon nap. This photo is from The Telegraph, @telegraph on Instagram. My television set will be on all day so I can see everything again and again and watch the specials tonight too. It was a glorious, beautiful, happy event, agreed? Princess Charlotte was adorable and I can't wait to see the Royal photos. See you later. xo

Cotswold Cottage: Burford UK

I shall be in England all day tomorrow for the Royal Wedding. I haven't been glued to the TV leading up to it but I got up early for Charles and Diana and will do the same for Harry and Megan. I started watching SUITS from the very beginning in 2011 and have seen every episode so I'm a long-time fan of the bride. I just heard on the news this morning that Charles is walking her down the isle and I think he is a fabulous choice. My dilemma is what channel to watch. BBC America might be the winner but I'll probably keep switching around until I find my favorite hosts. Maybe I'll even bake some scones today to have with my morning coffee, or should I switch to tea for this occasion? Nope. I'm a coffee girl. photo source

Mary Delany Flower Collage 1776

Narcissus by Mary Delany (1776)

Narcissus Tazetta (Hexan. Monogynia), from an album (Vol.VI, 98); Polyanthus Narcissus. 1776 Collage of coloured papers, with bodycolour and watercolour, on black ink background.

How very lovely!

Mary Delany (née Granville) (14 May 1700 – 15 April 1788) was an English artist, letter-writer, and Bluestocking, equally famous for her "paper-mosaicks" and her lively correspondence. Her biography reads like a fabulous historical novel. Collage source: British Museum

Built-in Beds in Similar Small Rooms

This sleeping chamber is in one of the bedrooms belonging to India Hicks and David Flint Wood. See more photos inside their charming English Country House. Enjoy the wonderful tour.

This one confuses me no end. Maybe it's another bedroom in the same manse in Oxfordshire, though it's not pictured in the article in Architectural Digest. I found this photo here. 

The Real Picasso

He's still quite recognizable. via

Don't you wonder what he would think of this photo?

I think he would like it.