Thanksgiving 2011

This was an epic Thanksgiving for me. Every year, since the beginning of time (or since the 1960s, when my mom moved to NYC), she has celebrated Thanksgiving with a long-time friend (and later, her family, which has always felt like an extension of my family). This year, our family friends had the opportunity to travel abroad over the holiday, so the tradition was put on hold. With that, my parents flew down to Austin for the long weekend. At first, I was planning to make reservations to go out. Oliver's and my jobs have been uber busy and the thought of spending hours in the kitchen over what was sure to be a lovely weekend didn't sound appealing. Then I remembered that I actually like cooking, and I especially love baking. It dawned on me that Thanksgiving for a small group could be less "maniacal party planning" and more "dinner for four;" simple, casual, relaxed and, most importantly, FUN. Let the planning begin!

Some favorite dishes came from Smitten Kitchen:
• Appetizer: Creamed Mushrooms with Chive Butter Toast
• Side: Sweet Potatoes with Pecans and Goat Cheese

After spending the morning and afternoon with Oliver and my parents, hanging out and strolling around our neighborhood (it was 75º and sunny!), I got to cooking. Can you believe I was too wrapped up in cooking and enjoying myself to remember to take pictures of each dish? Thankfully, I'm not a food blogger because I would have failed, friends. I didn't even get a good shot of the Thanksgiving table, even though I wrote a Houzz article on eclectic holiday table settings earlier that week, and took some of my own advice! Here are a couple of detail shots:

I am pretty proud of this bouquet. It was fresh and bright, just like the day!


I just wanted to show off the cute little owl napkin rings I snagged in Mineola a while back. 

I did, however, snap some shots of dessert (you know, the most important food group): Mini pumpkin pies with fresh whipped cream!


They tasted delish after brunch and leftovers over the next few days, too!
You like those green rope-themed napkins? My mom made them years ago – aren't they great? 


The rest of the weekend was spent exploring Austin. We hit the Blanton Museum of Art, roamed around the UT campus, checked out the first-ever Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Market in Austin as well as the City-Wide Garage Sale, drove to Wimberley for wine tasting, where we picked up a cute bar cart for pennies (post forthcoming), had happy hour at Hotel San Jose and popped into the shops along South Congress, and ingested way too many good dinners and brunches. I hope you all had wonderful dinners with friends and/or family – whomever makes you feel loved and thankful!

Mirror Mirror on the Wall...

…if you know what's good for you, you'll tell me what I want to hear when I ask who's the fairest one of all! Today is all about mirrors. I love a haute mirror, and seem to be collecting them now. We have an awesome (and heavy) antique mirror rescued from my parents' neighbor:


You've seen the ornate Syroco number I found a my favorite NYC thrift store, Pippin Vintage, hanging in the hall of our former apartment in NYC:


We inherited a lovely (and enormous!) mirror from my Grandmother last year that hangs proudly in our current dining area:


And on a recent trip to visit the extended family in East Texas, we scored a smaller version of "the one that got away;" a vintage reproduction Federalist convex mirror:


More than a year ago, I spotted a similar mirror in the aforementioned Pippin in New York. Not only was it was larger, made of carved wood and gilded, it was in great shape and therefore fetched something in the $200 range (specimens in like-new condition, found on such sites as 1st Dibs, often yield much higher prices). I pondered it for a while, I brought Oliver in to ponder it with me, and one day, on yet another pondering trip, it was gone. Cest la vie; it wasn't meant to be just yet (and we couldn't really afford to spend the money on it, either). So, on this recent jaunt to the thrift stores of Mineola, when I spotted a similar mirror for a mere $19, I grabbed it and walked around the store holding it, lest I lost my chance again. Seriously, I did that.

Our new mirror was priced so low in part because it is made of Syroco (essentially molded, painted resin by the Syracuse Ornamental Company). I would love a wooden version someday, but my current budget only allows for plastic, so there you have it! In the 1950s, Syroco made it possible to reproduce heavily carved accessories for a fraction of the price, churning out tons of designs originally made of wood.

The mirrors are also known as "bullseye"mirrors, especially when the glass is convex. The design usually consists of a mirror surrounded by thirteen "balls," meant to represent the thirteen original states of the union (ours has this). They also lend the mirror a nautical feel, reminiscent of portholes on ships. Another name for the style is "Girandole," which refers to the candle arms (called girandoles) attached to some in order to reflect light into a room. The convex mirror design did a great deal to illuminate an entire room before electric light was common. They come in all shapes and sizes (well, I suppose they're mostly the same shape...), as can be seen in this great round up of offerings from The Federalist, and here, from Richard Rothstein. 

It now hangs proudly on Oliver's closet door, accompanying the Pippin find, which hangs on my closet door. I'm always shifting things around, so this may not be the permanent home (I might want to display it more prominently at some point), but it works for now!


Heavily influenced by the Empire style in France, but especially classical Greece and Rome, America's early Federalist style flourished between 1785 and 1810, when the Federalist Party ran the country and nationalism soared as America established herself. Neoclassical influences such as straight lines, simple ornament and lightness for ease of transport. Classical figures, urns, eagles, masks embellished delicate furnishings and accessories. The late Federalist style (1810-1830) saw many of the same embellishments, but in heavier forms and more ornamentation.

I'm thrilled to own a little bit of American history – and I'm certainly not alone!

Designer Unknown, via Elle Decor


Source unknown


Markham Roberts via Elle Decor


Design by Sara Gilbane

Things I'll Miss in New York

Now that the move is official, we are often asked about what we'll miss most when we leave New York. As excited as I am for our move, there is certainly a lot I will miss about this city! Last Sunday I had brunch in Chelsea with one of my oldest friends. After eating (snarfing) we wandered over to 17th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, one my favorite stretch of thrift shops. So, here we are, with my first installment of things I'll miss about New York.

An all-time favorite shop is Pippin Vintage, which actually has two stores; jewelry and home goods. I stumbled on Pippin Vintage Jewelry when I embarked on the quest for the perfect engagement ring back in 2007 (with the help of my friend, who was with me on this lovely weekend afternoon!). Pippin had some great options, but ultimately I designed my own, based on a few vintage designs I loved. No matter, I've been a Pippin patron ever since!



As you can see, the store is chock full of treasures, and it's all displayed so beautifully – and it's not all jewelry; there are sumptuous fur coats and hats, as well as vintage buttons, scarves and gloves.

Right next door, the home store is a must every time I'm on 17th Street (and let me tell you, sometimes I go out of my way to get over to 17th so I just have to stop in).


That long hall of mirrors just beckons me! (I walked out with a mirror once...)

Beyond the hall, there is a little "front yard" with goodies:

And the main store is set in a charming wood frame house, a perfect setting for a little vintage shop.


I've come home with a handful of things, but always have to resist bringing back more. The shop owners are friendly and highly knowledgeable, making shopping there a pleasure. Every time I go in they've re-arranged a bit to make room for new wares. My first job in interior design taught me the importance of keeping a store fresh – and thereby moving lots of merchandise – was to constantly rotate and re-style. If you give a new home to something that's been sitting around for a while, unnoticed, it never fails that someone will suddenly see it and inquire about it. Successful merchandising at work: thank you Brian (my dear friend, former boss and showroom manager at Palecek in San Francisco). Pippin definitely employs this tactic, and it works!

I was really tempted to buy the little George and Martha Washington silhouette in the back. I had to remind myself that we're moving and now is not the time to bring stuff home. Damn conscience.



My next stop is always Angel Street Thrift Shop, a bustling store from which I've emerged with countless pieces of milk glass, a snazzy cut glass decanter, tumblers and two framed maps of olde world France and Spain. The shop isn't styled as well as Pippin, but that hasn't deterred me from finding tons of treasures.

The store was in the midst of a re-arragement session, so snapping a great photo was a little tough. But, you should go :)

Next up: the forever amazing Housing Works, which has ten locations (nine in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn). Housing Works does a pretty good job of merchandising in the stores, but their showstoppers are their windows, which contain items for auction. Current windows. left and right:


Images courtesy Housing Works

Just inside the shop:

Housing Works sells clothing and accessories in addition to house wares. The organization is very prominent in the home design fundraising world, which I've written about before.

West Elm is on the block, and while it's technically a big box store, they are killing it this year with cute but not at all junky ornaments and holiday decor. Definitely worth a look. Also on this beloved block is From the Source, the incredible showroom that displayed eight of Oliver's paintings for a few months (we just took them down to pack them up for the move).

Thus concludes my tour of 17th Street. If any of you have ever been to these stores, I'd love to know (and see) what you purchased!

Design on a Dime

Image courtesy Housing Works

This Thursday, May 6th, Housing Works kicks off it's sixth annual Design on a Dime fundraising event. The ticket price is a steep $150 for the opening gala, but admission to the sale itself is free and open to the public on Friday, May 7th and Saturday the 8th, 10am–6pm at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street in Manhattan.

In the event space, tons of top interior designers create fantastic room vignettes featuring new donated housewares, furniture and linens that get auctioned off piece-by-piece ("at charitable prices," as stated on the website), with proceeds going to services for homeless and low-income New Yorkers living with HIV and AIDS. This year's fundraiser benefits the renovation of Housing Works' 874 Jefferson Avenue Residence Project, a new three-story, twelve-unit development in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

Unfortunately, we will be out of town this weekend, so we'll have to miss it, which is a bummer because the roster of designers is (as always) SO impressive!

Photo courtesy Housing Works

Housing Works is one of my favorite go-to place for great thrifty housewares. I'm privy to the Chelsea location, but I love them all.