APRIL FOOD DAY - Bloggers Fighting Hunger

Thank you to Meg of Pigtown Design and Chris of Easy & Elegant Life for turning good intentions into action and organizing this blogger food donation drive.

Feeding America is the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity. Their mission is to feed America's hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks - a donation of $1 provides 10 pounds of food and grocery products for hungry children and adults. CLICK HERE to donate, even a small amount can make a difference.

What's the picture of? That's my mom in my hometown's soup kitchen at the Episcopal Church at SS. Peter and John, which she ran as a volunteer for four years before moving to the Cape. The local food bank was very important to their efforts. Here's an excerpt from an acticle about the soup kitchen by Christopher Caskey of The Citizen.
(photo by Chet Susslin)

"On Mondays, she calls food banks to see what is available and form a menu. Tuesdays are for defrosting. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, she hits the sales for cheap food, and on Friday she makes last-minute changes to the menu...Each meal has to be balanced, she said. Every person is served soup, a main course, some kind of fruit, a vegetable and juice. However, that doesn't mean there is no variety.Homemade Reuben sandwiches were a recent hit. And people always gobble up a recipe she once found for spaghetti pie, Ginnerty said.“I wouldn't offer anything to my guests that I wouldn't offer to my family,” she added

Back in 2006 they served 6,500 - 7,000 meals a year. I can only imagine what the need is in 2009.

DC Designer Series: J.D. Ireland

Here's to more talented designers hailing from our nation's capital and this duo happens to be native Washingtonians - an occurrence that is more rare than common in this transient city. Joe Ireland and Julie Weber of J. D. Ireland Interior Architecture and Design are the talent behind these beautiful designs. I think elegant, comfortable and timeless are good descriptors for the rooms featured here. Love the screen and the black metal side table in the room above. (Photos posted with permission. Photography above by Scott Henrichsen)
Love the grey blue upholstery on this intricately carved wood bench. (photography by Scott Henrichsen)

(Photography by Stacy Zarin Goldberg)
Crisp and hip. The horizontal striped pillow is perfect. (Photography by Stacy Zarin Goldberg)

(photography by Scott Henrichsen)

The symmetry of this design serves this stately room well. (photography by Stacy Zarin Goldberg)
If you would like to see more of their work in person here's some good news - J.D. Ireland are the designers for the Entry Hall, Stair Hall and Back Stairs in the upcoming 2009 DC Design House which runs from April 18th - May 10th. The design house is a three-story Victorian mansion located in Georgetown so I have a feeling the stairways are going to be quite impressive.

Fab Friday: My friend M's house - all about the details

My friend M's house is a lesson in details. When you visit you find yourself repeatedly exclaiming, "Where did you find this?!" A few years ago they embarked on a major renovation of the home, and without extending the footprint, completely transformed their 1950's interiors - all with an eye for the details. The kitchen remake included incorporating in this 100 year old stained glass cupboard, formerly used in a pool hall/tavern. An antique scale to the left of the sink holds fruit.
This silver and tortoise shell heirloom piece, found in London, is a gift from her father-in-law. Great taste runs on both sides of this family. This is the most stunning tray I've ever seen.

Love the backsplash tiles above the stove.
M found this antique Italian alabaster chandelier on ebay! That's another one of her talents - finding great pieces from all kinds of sources.

Another incredible silver piece from Portobello Rd. Check out the quality of the engraving below.

A signed Warhol on diplay in the billiard room to the left of the mantle The billiard room was a former sitting room entirely transformed to meet the needs of her two teenage sons and their friends. I wish I had taken a better picture of the lighting - there are three shaded fixtures centered over the pool table. The sword over the mantel is a civil war piece. To the right of the mantle, the strong coloring of the Warhol is balanced by a strong colored, graphic photo.



The cow fur on the cushion picks up on the cow skin accent rug under the pool table. The art on either side of the window creates an optical illusion - changing depending on what angle you view it from.

Love the red & white leopard print fabric on this chair. Unexpected and fun. The embossed leather foot stool picks up on the faux embossed leather on the recently reupholstered couch. More great details below - feather and moss balls in a silver dish.

Her husband's uncle's spurs on display above.
More finds from Portobello Rd - a tea box above. The pieces below are in narrow built-ins between the kitchen and dining room which was a great use of space.

Even blankets are housed in unique pieces. I love it when you visit someone's house and you find their personality and history all through it - I think my friend's house is a perfect example of that!
For great Friday posts be sure to check out Simply Seleta's Fabulous Friday here. You can also read about her recent visit with Eddie Ross too!

My Kind of Lawn Ornaments

Whimisical, sweet, lovely... (All photos courtesy of Haven in Paris)

Brilliant Jardin. Merci. (photos courtesy of Haven in Paris)

My husband went to New Orleans and all I got was...

No - not a lousy t-shirt - my husband brought home terrific things from his trip to New Orleans. (yes, that is a cabbage around his neck) But first can I indulge myself for a moment and nominate him for a "Blogger Husband of the Year" award? You see, I asked him if he would be willing to stop by Magazine Street and take some pictures of home design stores for me. I've never been to New Orleans and I liken my request to a Blogger Hail Mary Pass. Well, my wonderful husband said yes!! Then the very kind and gracious Valorie of Visual Vamp offered to show him around the fabulous store Perch where she pointed him in the right direction - and now I have a delightful yellow papier mache bird perched in my office.


Valorie very kindly let Dan see where she and her colleagues do their creative work for clients. I love the tweedy fabric to the left. You can see the headboard in the background is used as an inspiration board.


Looks like there's a beautiful settee in the making. Then Dan was off to take pics of some of the wonderful things in this store.


Valorie was mapping out the placement of these fab plates on the floor before hanging them up on the wall. Love the all the color and patterns.

A very dreamy swedish clock that has been the topic of some great blogger posts lately.
Love the lights and the narrow mirror over to the left. Isn't the mirror below really unique and interesting?

A preying mantis rocker - so very cool!

Gorgeous fabric.

This red and white chair is one of my favorite things featured in these pics.

Valorie - thanks so much for being such a welcoming host to Dan when he visited the store. You made the whole "Can I take some pictures for my blogger wife?" fun for him.

A leftover from an earlier in the week St. Patrick's Day celebration. This looks like my kind-of city!
Not that my husband wasn't busy enough giving two presentations at a conference - I had one more request for him. Would he please eat dinner one night at Jacque Imo's? But this request I had a hunch would make Dan very happy.
Jacque Leonardi is from the next town over from where I grew up and a long, long, long time ago I briefly dated his cousin. Dan had the alligator cheesecake for an appetizer and the Cajun bouillabaisse for dinner and it was terrific! I can attest to the alligator as Dan put some on ice and brought it home to us - delish!
Here's another pic with the chef who made Dan's bouillabaisse. New Orleans looks like such a great place!!