Frohe Festtage!

Two years back, Porter and I went to the American frontier for Christmas, but this time around we thought it might be grand to holiday in the dark woods and high peaks of southern Germany. The apartment transformation into the Black Forest and Alpine lands of Bavaria has begun!

(I hope everyone had the most amazing day of stuffing and thanks on Thursday. To say I'm thankful for this amazing year is an understatement - what a ride! Here's to a wonderful holiday season. I cannot even begin to communicate my gratitude for all the generosity and kindness out there. Cheers to you all!)

Playing Safe: Auto Polo

Oh, the games men play. I'm just guessing, but I would imagine the point of auto polo - if not to score goals - is to stay inside (or at least on top of) one's (upright) automobile. Was there a winner? We'll never know! 

All photos plopped over from the Library of Congress' wonderful flickr stream.

Black, White + Red All Over

For a gigantic slice of Russian publishing history, pop to the Helix Art Center in...

...San Diego.

They collect and consign every kind of Russian paper good they can get their hands on - and the results are incredible. If you know someone who loves great fonts, your holiday shopping may be complete after a digital stroll through the collection.

Click on the book covers to get the full scoop (not to be confused with Moop).

 

 

 

Acquisitions | Field Boots, Slips, Cap and Case!

Traditionally, the annual Pier Antiques Show has seemed like a real life stroll through 1stDibs.com - i.e. a fantastic experience for that 1% crew. If you stuck next to the Hermes and Chanel selections, nothing had changed, but we scoured the joint and scored some great 1%-worthy-lookin' stuff for, let's say, 72nd percentile prices. Highlights included these custom-made-for-someone-else (and barely-worn) E. Vogel field boots and a perfect little schoolboy cap. 

Then there were the loads of last minute purchases needed to finish the (honestly almost complete) design project: a flag, a 19th century monkey in a frame, a deco lamp, a sterling and glass bourbon decanter, a horse-jumping photo tryptic, six architectural sketches and an old squash racket. 

On top of all that, I meandered through SoHo and Nolita where I found a great leather iPhone case at the J.Crew men's shop and the warmest, cutest wintery espadrille-esque house slippers from the new Armor Lux shop on Mulberry Street. The latter helped me realize the true greatest failing of corporate America today: only 0.00001% of workers actually get to wear wool house slippers at the office. 

I think I need a tent.

Excuses, a King and the World's Toughest Palm Tree

Pretty incredible (in the worst way possible) that my first post in November occurs SEVENTEEN days into the month. Porter and I have been scrambling to finish up the decorating project and we've decided to keep things completely under wraps until it's ready for a big unveiling. We're pretty proud of it -- especially since we even managed to incorporate a bunch of straight lines and modern touches.

Also incredible is the fact that when King Carl XV of Sweden (I quite like his schlumpy posture in this portrait) popped over to Karlskrona, Sweden in 1860, the local artisans made him a palm tree out of the most modern handguns of the day. You can hang out next to said tree at the Karlskrona Marine Museum today. (There are also hostile pineapples made of weapon parts sitting along side, too).

Stay tuned in the next few weeks for the big decorating project unveiling - as well as a litany (I hope!) of holiday shopping guides!