dry dock

i need to stay on course, but my mind wanders (always a problem with me). what's occupying my mind at the moment? our trim little sailboat the Frigate and the fact that i haven't set foot on it all summer. granted, things have been 
a little
 topsy-turvy 
for me, 
but not once? 
and it's september already. 
maybe this labor day 
weekend...

{photo by tim walker}

speaking of boats, boy, do i wish my 13-year old son was 5 again. i would love to use this wallpaper (below) by Otto in his room.

fine little day

fine little day

oh wait. he already has age-innapropriate sailboat wallpaper in his room. does the Ramones poster edge things up a bit? 

{loudon's room september 2010}

{close up of wallpaper & hedwig the clock}

maybe i should change his wallpaper out for something more sophisticated-nautical. something like this:

{lulu dk}

{"sunshine" wallpaper by lulu dk}

now that i notice it, good sport loudon actually has a lot of nautical ephemera in his room.

for example:

a print bought at the jayson home & garden warehouse sale

a diorama of the HMS Bounty

a close up of the Bounty

lagniappe No.2

my new favorite iPhone app is ShakeIt.  
you can make great polaroid-looking pictures 
- and oh how i love the polaroid. 
here's my little 
lagniappe:

wren 2007
{photo by stevie}

dusty bookshelves

while cleaning off every book, magazine & memento from my afore mentioned & very cluttered bookshelves today, lo and behold (ahoy!) i found my old copy of the Official Preppy Handbook . the updated version True Prep is due out soon, but i'm nostalgic for this copy. i grew up in grosse pointe, for god's sake - an approved Official Handbook town (don'tcha know) - and although a true grosse pointer never takes anything too seriously, prep style is a serious matter.

via gallery 339

this could be me circa 1979 (i had that exact same Elsa Peretti heart necklace). i love  tina barney's  photographs- she captures the true prep style and her photos for tory burch are especially prepster:

for your end-of-summer reading:

from my bookshelf (except 9 & 10) - clockwise from top: {1} A Privileged Life: Celebrating Wasp Style (given to me by richard) {2} Slim Aarons: Once Upon a Time {3} the classic The Great Gatsby {4} Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man {5} Burke's Cocktail & Drinking Recipes 1936 Reprint: with Recipes for Food Bits for the Cocktail Hour {6} vintage John Cheever {7} my all-time favorite & original copy The Catcher in the Rye {8} The Official Preppy Handbook {9} True Prep and {10} the original guide to preppy style -

Take Ivy.

drinking {part deux}

while we're on the subject of the 
well-stocked bar 
(oh, dear reader, get used to it)

 here are the 
essentials:

1) personalized cocktail stirrers, 2) absinthe spoons, 3) hermes ice bucket 4 & 5) pimm' No.1 & ginger beer, 6) square ice cubes are a must 7 & 8) lemons and beautiful cocktail napkins , my favorite, favorite glasses from h. groome southhampton, 10 & 11) fever-tree indian tonic & st. germain elderflower liqueur, 12) sliver trays

drinking

{photo via orangette}

the thought of the long path ahead has made me thirsty. 

 my drink of choice this summer? 

 the pimm's cup - ma naturalmente - 

followed (in no particular order ) 

by the dark & stormy, 

a mount gay & tonic, 

limoncello (handmade by my friend nancy) on ice, 

or when all else fails, the shandy 

(or as t-brain likes to call it - the shanty).  

is there anything better than a 

well-stocked bar?

{photos from top: miles redd, s.r. gambrel (2) & celerie kemble}

• now here's a recipe that sounds 

delicious

PIMM'S SIAGON

adapted from Toby Maloney, The Patterson House, Nashville

2 cucumber slices, about 1/4-inch thick

half a strawberry

4 mint sprigs

1 ounce Pimms No. 1

1 ounce gin

2/1/2 teaspoons ginger juice (sold at health food stores)

2 1/2 teaspoons simple syrup

1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice

club soda or seltzer.

1. with a muddler or wooden spoon, crush cucumber and strawberry half in a cocktail shaker. add 3 mint sprigs and press gently.

2. half fill shaker with ice and add Pimm's, gin, ginger juice, simple syrup and lime juice. shake vigorously, strain into a tall glass over fresh ice, and top with soda or seltzer.

garnish with remaining mint sprig and serve with a straw.

makes one drink.

{from the ny times}

lagniappe No.1

david netto

a lagnaippe 

i learned from my new orleans friend 

(while holding my third - surprise! - child) means a little somethin' extra. 

here's my first one for 'the narrows'. 

don't you just want to take a book and 

hole up 
in 
that tent 
for awhile?

herring run farm

this, of course, 
is what i would like my bookshelves to be - 
simple, organized, pretty. 
or, 
perhaps i would just like to leaf through my stacks & stacks of magazines 
in one of my favorite houses ever - i can smell the 
boxwood 
and 
cocoa mulch 
now...
this is library of my friend and 
talented interior designer sara spongberg, 
where i've had many a 
happy day.

the beginning

where to begin to make sense of my life? 

meditation? 

good works? 

therapy? 

maybe.

{my bookshelves}

but looking at my cluttered-up bookshelves, i think there 

would be a good place to start. 

those shelves, god, those shelves, 

are filled with years of mementos, memories and just plain junk 

(like my addled brain, perhaps?) 

their depths contain, but are not limited to: 

sea shells, 

family photos (ancient and otherwise), 

art books, 

sailing & small craft manuals, 

our wedding album, 

indian rupees, 

the remains of two (no less) of our beloved pets, 

classic novels, 

children’s drawings, 

half-built legos, 

travel journals, 

a red phone (not in use - but looks like a direct line to the president), 

a used-up matchbook from round hill (jamaica), 

curtain tie backs, 

a candy jar, 

several italian travel books, 

a robin’s nest (from 2 springs ago), 

mixed tapes (yes, from the 80’s), 

embarrassing book titles (‘dollhouse style’, anyone?), 

a trophy from our 2006 ping-pong tournament 

and loads and loads 

& loads 

of design magazines. 

so, i’m going on an 

expedition. 

not the one i expected, mind you, 

but the one i am able to do at this time. 

i am going to go through every single one of those dog-eared magazines and 

chronicle all that i love - 

everything that inspires me or makes me smile - 

and i’m going to record it here, along with what catches my eye everyday. 

at the end of my journey 

(fingers crossed) 

maybe i will find my style 

(& my sanity) 

or maybe, 

at the bare minimum, 

i will have the bookshelves of my dreams....

la strada della dolce vita

the robin's nest

the remains of our beloved petulia & memphis up top

the "before" shots:

well, at least there's a 

cozy place 

to sit

 & ponder....