You can go home again.

What a great surprise to see a great big How They Decorated in the window at the hometown shop that organized the most lovely book signing for me. 
Couldn't have been more tickled than had it been the windows of Bergdorf Goodman! 

Friends, one from first grade, insisted on a to-do and it was just terrific. All books were Sold and Signed and more ordered. The shop, Selections, will keep some in stock this summer.

My parents courted and married in this little place as did my grandparents. 
Yes- it's a small Southern town - one of the northernmost, resting along the Virginia border. Its claim to fame is Snow which falls more often here than any other place in the Triangle area and beyond. 

There is goodness and kindness. This is where I grew up. It shaped me with those things, and it gave me a little library to immerse myself in during the summer months. 
It's where I decided to write. 
To think. To grow- one never stops. 
Simply put, I have simple needs.There is no grandeur, no hustling on the street, no city sounds, just the night with its crickets and an occasional braying dog. 
It's where I learned to love, to hurt, to heal. 

Yes, Thomas Wolfe you can go home again. 
It will be different. 
It will be the same, but you will be changed by it and because of it.

home sweet home

Always attracted to these artists' renderings-the idyllic house of the 1920's and 1930's depicted on countless Christmas cards, adverts, and magazine covers, I found one of my own.

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assessing

There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up.

    Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891

My office has had many incarnations- the latest?

we'll have to see-

I'll have to see.

this weekend 

just beginning -to work it OUT.

there's no place like home

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regardless-
of the state of things there.

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return

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just back from High Point furniture market.
perhaps never -to return.

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Canovas Reprise

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Manuel Canovas fabric -Marie Amelie-

from the little augury post Curtain Call HERE

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Valentina at Leisure

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In perusing old magazines- searching interesting things to share, perhaps Christmas and Holiday posts, I found the most glorious photograph of the famed designer VALENTINA by Hoyningen Huene in FLAIR October 1950. The article entitled The Enjoyment of Leisure at Home- Fascinating!

The incredible setting- the lady's own Drawing Room. Her dress a design of her own making- is beautiful- "a harmony of greige and gray taffeta over a transparent tulle underskirt, perfectly related to the warm, low tones of the room, to the woman this room reflects"; Madame Valentina of course.

The designer elaborates~ "What you wear when you are in your own house is like a costume for the role of yourself. It must be becoming to you, it must communicate with the colors of walls, of paintings, of all the other beautiful objects you have chosen to surround you. This is so not only because the two things- a style in clothes, the atmosphere of a house- are part of the same expression. It is so because time to spend a t home is precious. "

"I am myself a working woman-if you like, a career girl. But when I am in my own house I forget that part of my life. Most women, whether they are in jobs by day or busy with other things, treasure the time they spend at home. It is a place to be oneself, to be at ease; to see friends in an atmosphere one has created to welcome them."


For this reason, I would surround myself with beautiful and creative things that reflect my taste and enhance my personality. I would discard the suitable clothes of my business day for my dress; I would be myself in my own house."

I wish I'd said that-and though I somehow do surround myself with things I love visually- I am lack than luster in the costume department. Everything Valentina the Divine says makes perfect sense.It is the stunning photograph of her dress that doesn't match the words in thinking about our today's world- almost 60 years later.

Need to step it up a bit? A lot?
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India by way of High Point

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blanket I, face and reverse

No-it's not glamorous sounding-India by way of High Point, but we seize our opportunities where we can.
And so it is with these vintage blankets-each one unique- No ordering-No repros. Vagabond Vintage is a whimsical company where I can always find something I like. I confess to doing some personal shopping while at the Market. I indulged that hankering at Vagabond.

Last year I found some pewter Milagro hearts there-Gave some and kept some. This market, I found a perfect overnite sort of tote bag made from a heave cotton stripe rug. It's good looking. I can't wait to get it.

The little treasure trove at Vagabond was in a corner of the showroom-piles of vintage saris, cut, patched, finely stitched all over, making a cozy blanket. My friend & business partner honed in on the stacks & stacks- pulling possibles- Possibly for Me, Possibly for Her. Right now we have similar ideas of what we are looking.
Stacks became piles. Piles became our picks-& then it is down to who gets what! Both sides of the blanket are cotton prints from the sari, some have the palluv portion of the sari intact & there are some pieces with small patchwork mendings.

We had a great time sitting in the floor-claiming our lot.

Here are my blankets, along with some of my inspirations- Vuillard, Liotard, de la Falaise.

Blanket II, face

I've written about my desire to some day live in one glorious room- Here is one vision, from Loulou de la Falaise.

Blanket II, reverse

Vuillard

Liotard

Blanket III

Blanket IV, face & reverse-shown just along edge of pic

Liotard

en masse

Vuillard

de la Falaise

Blanket V, face

Vuillard

Blanket V, reverse

Liotard

Vuillard

Blanket IV, face and reverse

Blanket IV belongs to the cozy (now cozier) sitting room/den. Zetta already loves it.
Blanket I has landed on top of the french daybed in the upstairs hall.
Blanket III adds another layer to my bed- They are very, very warm.

oh, & I got pillows too.

No, I haven't been to India, But I plan to some day.


de la Falaise images from HG June 2004, photographs Alexandre Bailhache
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One Year Later in My Little Town

When I started this blog, I talked with a client about finding the topic, the subject- the right note. She wisely told me- It is yours. Say what is on your mind.

Political Blogs- I am sure they are out there. Gosh, Just like any topic you imagine and some you haven't- there are blogs and more blogs. This will not be one, but it for a moment a little visit back to a year ago and a look at what I did today.

TODAY

Today I put up a little display in our public library- My HOPE is it will instill some pride and joy in a child's mind and heart.

A little glimpse at My Town-

photo by Ute Bowen( above and below)

LAST YEAR

NC Primary May 2008
we educated
we canvassed

We Cooked Out-July 2008
we ate
we laughed

Last Day to Early Vote- October 2008
we yelled
we laughed

Summer & Fall 2008
we organized
we met
(at the Miracles Barbershop)

A little glimpse at the Jazz Event our group pulled together for OBAMA last Fall-

October 2008

we sang
we danced

Last year I was campaigning for President Obama with a super motivated group of people who wanted to bring a positive message to a very small entrenched Southern town- the place I grew up and have returned to- Yes , by God, you can go Home.

As a friend said during the campaign last year- You are living in the place where CHANGE is needed. It is imperative. This road has not been, nor will it be easy here- in this little place.

November 2008
we canvassed
we worked

November 2008-after the Election

we celebrated
we educated

I HOPE things will be better. A lot of hard work has been done- and the work goes on. The group has stayed intact and is still working to improve the community-