A Taste of Royal Weddings Past

I admit that I have gotten a little swept up in the William and Kate frenzy. I have visited the official website for the Royal Wedding, wondered aloud if Sir Elton will be attending, and am in the throes of preparing my own celebration at home. Nothing elaborate mind you. I have a feeling it will entail watching from my bed with Alfie, some coffee, and doughnuts. Glamorous, I know. It makes me think of Charles and Diana's wedding back in 1981. For that wedding, my sister and I were roused at the crack of dawn so that we could watch the momentous occasion, and thirty years later I vividly remember it. I've watched every Royal Wedding since then, so there is no way that I'm missing this one.

Of course, there is a lot of speculation as to who will design Kate's dress, but what I'm also curious about is what food will be served at the reception at Buckingham Palace. Do you want to know what was served at Charles and Diana's reception? Well, I can tell you thanks to a really interesting book, A Taste Of The Past by John Lane.




For William's parents' breakfast reception at Buckingham Palace, the following was served: quenelles with fish sauce for the first course; chicken breast with buttered broad beans, creamed sweetcorn, and new potatoes for the main course; salad; strawberries and clotted cream for dessert.




After the reception, Charles and Diana spent the first three days of their honeymoon at the Mountbatten family home, the Broadlands estate in Hampshire. Then they flew to Gibraltar on the Royal Flight. The onboard breakfast served to the newlyweds included lobster, prawns, roast chicken and beef, salad, and a melon fruit cup. You can see the complete menu on the menu card, above.





And what has to be the most rollicking meal served was that on the Concorde during its London to New York flight on the morning of the wedding. Travelers had a bevy of wines, spirits, Bloody Marys, Whisky Sours, Gin Fizzes, Drambuie, and Macanudo cigars at their disposal. A celebratory Buck's Fizz was served before a breakfast of tournedos of beef wrapped in bacon and grilled with pork sausages and kidney, Coulibiac à la Russe, grilled tomato and mushrooms, cheese, rolls, and coffee. I feel a little drunk and sick just listing all of that. God only knows in what kind of shape the passengers arrived in New York.

All images except for that of William and Kate from A Taste Of The Past by John Lane.

Come Rain or Shine

Leave it to Treillage, a shop in which I covet almost everything, to give us shelter from the rain and sun. For those Spring showers, why not use one of these Brelli tinted umbrellas? (You can also use it to protect you from the sun, if you're so inclined.) They have to be one of the chicest umbrellas that I've seen.





And for those sunny afternoons spent lollygagging in the garden or on the patio, how about a Pink Garden Parasol with its own bamboo stand?





It even comes in blue too.

A Sneak Peek into Lyford Cay Club

Wow! Have you seen the April issue of Town & Country yet? The photos of Tom Scheerer's handiwork at Lyford Cay Club are absolutely terrific. See the Club's living room above? Those painted palm trees are twenty feet tall! The decor has that timeless, old school resort look to it that never goes out of style. Then again, I might be partial to old school as the waiter at my neighborhood restaurant recently accused me of only ordering the old school items on the menu. (In case you're wondering, that would be lasagna.) At any rate, if you haven't read the article yet, do so as soon as you get your hands on a copy. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Photo courtesy of Town & Country, Pieter Estersohn photographer.

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

A big thank you to everyone who sent me emails and left comments in regards to my search for an antique textile to cover my living room's half table. That's it above, covered in a hot pink linen tablecloth, being employed as a drinks table. A lot of you sent me links to sources for actual antique textiles, while others pointed me in the direction of fabric that has the look of old but that is actually new.

I haven't made up my mind yet what I plan to do. Decisions, decisions. In the meantime, I'll share some of these sources with you- just in case you too have a table that you want to disguise.




Mary Jane McCarty has an amazing collection of antique textiles, tapestries, Aubussons, and trims that she uses to make the most beautiful pillows and accessories. In fact, she has sold her pillows through Bergdorf's for years. The photos above show her current collection for the retailer, one that was inspired by Scottish castles. Mary Jane used antique toile, metallic trim, early embroidery, and Aubusson for these charming pillows. I invite you to visit her website to see a broad range of her work which includes lamp shades, throws, and Christmas stockings. She also welcomes custom projects and counts Bunny Williams, John Rosselli, Kathryn Ireland, and Michael Smith as clients. In case you can't make it to Bergdorf's to see her pillows in person, you can always visit her Etsy shop.



A savvy reader of mine, Mary, loves Indian bedspreads and used to buy them at Urban Outfitters ages ago. According to Mary, they make great tablecloths and they fade beautifully as well. She recommends the Tree of Life tapestry bedspread from Turtle Island Imports. I'm showing the cream colorway above. They come in different sizes and colors, but the best part is the price: they range from $27-$44. So, if you're using it as a tablecloth and somebody spills red wine, you don't have to have a heart attack. You can simply throw it in the washing machine or even just buy a new one. Another website that Mary likes is Tilonia Home. They too sell beautiful Indian bedspreads that include batiks and floral prints.





Another suggestion was the new Timeless Linen collection from Calico Corners. These pretty linen and cotton blend fabrics, made in either the US or the UK, look like something you might find in an old English cottage. The print above is Llyta Firecracker. It's so charming and feminine...and it's currently on sale too through the end of March.




Then again, Calico Corner's Vintage Plumes is awfully good looking as well.







And finally, a lot of you encouraged me to use some Braquenié fabric for a cloth. You know that I have a weakness for Braquenié, and I did find a few options. Not that they were difficult to find! I'm very taken with the new Embroideries collection, due to be released in the US on September 1. The collection consists of embroidered linens, cottons, and silks. Here's a peek at part of the collection. Aren't the fabrics stunning?


Photos courtesy of Mary Jane McCarty, Turtle Island Imports, Calico Corners, and Braquenié.

And One More Good Idea

I tend not to talk too much about gifts that I've received from people or companies because I worry that it might make me seem like, well, a braggart. However, I did recently receive a gift from Tory Burch that I want to share with you because I think it's really clever. They're cotton travel socks that you can wear while going through the airport security check.

In the past, I've used footie stockings because I can't bear the thought of walking barefoot through the security line. It's the thought of all of those germs that makes me shudder. The Tory socks are much better looking than my drugstore stockings, and the best part is that you can then put them away in the little pouch. Oh, and you don't have to worry about sliding in the socks because the Tory logo on the bottom is made of little grippy silicone dots. Very stylish and hygienic too!

Tony Duquette Tastemaker Tag Sale

The weekend could not come soon enough. Big plans for me? Yes. I've got a date tomorrow morning (that would be Saturday) at 11am EST with One Kings Lane. They're hosting a Tony Duquette Tastemaker Tag Sale co-starring Hutton Wilkinson. The sale includes treasures from Duquette's home Dawnridge as well as from his personal collection and warehouse. The items seen above are included in the sale. I cannot wait!

If you want a tour of Dawnridge, one hosted by the chicest and most charismatic characters I know (that would be Hutton), check out the YouTube video below.

Entertaining with Eleanor Lambert

Those 1970s House Beautifuls that my friend Barry gave me are the gifts that keep on giving. While flipping through the October 1977 issue, I found this charming article on Eleanor Lambert's style of entertaining. The late, great fashion publicist (she died in 2003 at the ripe old age of 100) not only had style in spades; she must have had boundless energy as well. She was responsible for creating the International Best-Dressed List in the early 1940s, started the Coty Awards in 1943, founded the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1962, and organized the still talked about fashion show at the Palace of Versailles in 1973. It was at this show that the American designers- Halston, Bill Blass, Oscar de la Renta, Stephen Burrows, and Anne Klein- stole the spotlight from France's cream of the crop couturiers including Givenchy, YSL, Ungaro, Cardin, and Bohan. Now that was a triumph!

When it came to entertaining, it sounds as though Lambert was no less energetic. In the article, she said that she hosted seated dinners for 8 to 20 guests as often as eight to ten times a year. In addition, she also gave numerous buffets throughout the year. But it was the sit-down dinners that Lambert liked best because she loved "antique silver and china and a sit-down dinner lets me show off my treasures." Those treasures included Imari plates, Ming lacquer trays used in place of place mats, silver flatware and candlesticks, and fresh flowers. The dining room itself was equally as elegant with its salmon colored walls, Turkish rug, antique porcelain displayed in the niche, and a stunning Chien L'Ung porcelain screen hung on the wall.

In terms of food, Lambert mentioned billibi being a favorite dish of hers. In case you're wondering (and I was), it's a French soup made from mussels and cream, although Lambert used clam broth in place of the mussels. She also liked to cook with liquor, although she didn't drink. One salad that she served was composed of mixed fruit, each type marinated in a liqueur of the same flavor. She also like to put gin in her stews and bourbon in her chili. I've never tried flavoring my chili with bourbon, but I must say that I'm intrigued.









All images from House Beautiful, October 1977.

Chinese Bird Paintings

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Bird Paintings of the Ch'ien Lung Period, a 1967 book of color plates of Chinese bird paintings. Copies of the book are really difficult to find, although I did manage to track down a copy in the UK. Because so many readers asked that I show photos of the book, I'm doing just that. The book is comprised of only eight color plates, but how colorful they are. If you do manage to locate a copy, I encourage you to buy it. But in the meantime, here's a look at the bird paintings.

Green Magpie

Eclectus Parrot

Lesser Lemon-Crested Cocktaoo

Golden Pheasant

Blue-Crowned Hanging Parakeet

Red-Billed Blue Magpie

White-Eye

Yellow Wagtail

Meet Arnaud Chevalier

I recently met the most charming Frenchman. OK, so I didn't actually meet him in person but rather by email. That's the way of the world now, isn't it? But as high-tech as our introduction was, it was his art, traditional in the very best sense of the word, that really captivated me. So, let me introduce you to Arnaud Chevalier.

Arnaud is a true Renaissance man, an artist, painter, and jewelry designer whose work also includes porcelain china. I kept wondering how he finds the time and energy to do it all, and I think I have figured it out. Just look at the photos of his desk, above; there is so much inspiring stuff on it. If my desk looked like that, I might have had a Pulitzer Prize under my belt by now.

Arnaud recently designed a china collection for Emaux de Longwy titled mère des arts. Gorgeous, no?

This Louis XV clock has served as inspiration for Arnaud's mère des arts collection as well as his other work. The antique clock has been in Arnaud's family for a very long time. During World War II, his great grandfather hid the clock in a secret cellar when he found out that his family was to be removed from their home. German soldiers looted the house, but fortunately they never found the clock.




Arnaud was also responsible for these black and gold paintings. Much of his work are custom commissions. He was recently asked to paint a black and gold piece in which two lovers' initials were depicted within circles; this was to be a Valentine's gift. Now that's romantic.

The black and white paintings have made appearances on tableware as well.

Speaking of tableware, I love this bird design as seen here in sketches for porcelain and printed on stationery.

Lest you think Arnaud's work only graces walls and tables, guess again. Now you can wear Arnaud's designs on your earlobes and neck as well.

It's all rather exhilarating, isn't it? If you're interested in contacting Arnaud to discuss his custom designs, you can contact him via his website or by email at chevalier0609@yahoo.com. The mère des arts pieces can be purchased in the US at Keith Lipert in Washington D.C., at 1193 Third Street South in Naples, FL, or on the Emaux de Longwy website.