Porter Chair

Isn't that a stately chair? I love the shape and drama these chairs invoke. Also the privacy. These chairs go by a variety of names; porter, balloon and canopy to name a few. The porter chair has a unique history to go with its unique shape. It was commonly used in medieval times by servants who were in charge of greeting guests at the front door of the estate. To protect the servant from the elements (cold wind etc), the chair was designed to envelope the servant to keep him ensconced at his station for long periods of time in relative comfort. It allows the person to sink back, out of the wind and cold. They were usually made out of leather or velvet but these days you see modern versions made out of cane. I would like one, in velvet please.




Photo 1 & 2 via Visual Vamp

Anne-Dublin

For some reason I found this photo on The Sartorialist striking. The looks seems effortless, breezy and totally chic. For now let's set aside that yes, she's beautiful, blonde and has a smashing tan for October. What's interesting about this look is that the sweater dress is not all that special- I probably would pass it by on a clothing rack. It's all about the accessories; delicate necklace, the cuff, a pretty pink and grey clutch and to top it off... peep toe heels. And let's not forget attitude. Note to self: always accessorize! It can make or break your look.

Free Theatre Tickets

Interested in going to the theatre for free?? If so then check out the Free Night of Theater program that just started for 2009. It's a nationwide program that offers free theater tickets for a limited time each year. Go to the following link, click "Find a Show" and you can select 2 tickets to any of the available shows. There is no charge, and new blocks of tickets are released every Tuesday until the program ends next month. Make it a date night!

Cozy in Chicago

Fall is bittersweet for me... it's my favorite season but it also signals the impending arrival of Winter. Native Chicagoans are surprisingly good natured about the cold so I decided I would be too (well- let's see what I have to say about that in February). Here are some of things that get me all excited about Fall.... what are your favorites?

The Holidays! Need I say more??

Warm Toasty Jackets & Sweaters: I love to layer myself in soft cashmere sweaters, cozy wool knits and stylish warm coats.... I literally pine for this season year round.

Apples: Apples to me epitomize the goodness of Fall. I can't get enough of them; whether it's apple butter on toast, homemade caramel apples or going to the apple orchards near Chicago for apple picking and jugs of apple cider. One of our favorite apple orchards to go to is Edwards Orchard out at Poplar Grove,IL; they have amazing cider donuts (heat them up in the microwave and they are to die for), horse drawn wagon rides and all the apples you could possibly desire. It will bring out the kid in you I promise. We are planning on going this weekend to stock up on our cider.

Foliage: I find the changing Fall foliage just as pretty as blooming Spring flowers. And there is nothing better than talking brisk walks in the Fall. I think what does it for me is the crisp, cool air-I guess I find it invigorating? Hmm. Combine that with a hot beverage and I'm good to go.

Soups: Warm soup on a cold blistery evening is bliss! I was already getting excited about making my soups/stews over the Summer! I find that soups or stews are really easy to make and you get lots of leftovers; perfect for the busy family. Our family favorites include tomato bisque with toasted cheese sandwiches and the family cure all: chicken soup. I'll be trying out a new butternut squash winter soup recipe this weekend. If its any good I'll post the recipe.

Comfy PJ's: I'm a little boring when it comes to my lounging pj's- I'm all about the boxer pajama set (brushed satin is the best). Warm flannel pj's are also great. I love to come home, change into my pj's and hunker down with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate (or cider!)

Eastern Boho?

For shits and giggles I went ahead and took a a design quiz I found on the Ada & Darcy blog and I ended up being pretty surprised by the results. Perhaps because I answered the quiz truthfully? I always thought my style veered towards "classic" instead of boho-but hey- maybe I am a little boho?!? The style description below pretty much fits me to a tee:

Eastern Boho:
-You love collecting pieces and displaying them in abstract ways in your home.
-Your home is a gallery-every wall tells a story.
-Not concerned with what your neighbors homes are like, you are true to your own style.
-Well rounded, you enjoy spending time at home as much as you enjoy going out.
-You are confident and authentic.
-Your home is rich with many details and textures.

Take the quiz and find out what your design style is!

The Industrious Tenant

Holy Schnikes! I'm still reeling from reading an article in the New York Times titled "The Industrious Tenant". It features the home of the very talented interior designer Grant K. Gibson and I think it's sheer genius. Why? Because he made his rental apartment look like a million bucks. It puts any of us to shame who think they can't make their own rental units look homey and beautiful just because you don't actually own it (that's me included). But what makes it even more special is that he did everything on a budget while making the apartment look luxurious, warm and inviting. Check the article out to find out how he did everything on a dime. Take a look!

Book Club

My sister and I decided to start our own little book club! We are both bibliophiles; if we are not busy doing something in particular you will usually see us with a book in our hands. Lately we have been stuck in a literary rut; we have both been too loyal to our favorite genres and it was time to spread our wings a little bit and see what's out there. That's how the idea for a book club started. We already had lists of books we wanted to read someday that we kept putting off. Well no longer! With that said it was pretty easy to put together a cohesive book club list. We wanted to incorporate various genres; from humor and travel writing to mathematics and philosophy. There's a good amount of classics on the list too that we had started but never finished. We are only on our second book but so far our little book club has started with a bang:)

I've never started or participated in one of these clubs before so its all very new to me but exciting nonetheless. I decided to look online for some guidance and I found a link to LitLovers, a site devoted to helping people create book clubs. It offers suggestions from creating book lists, how to run a book club and even recipes book club members can create for their meetings. From this site we were able to create some guidelines for the club because, well, every club needs rules for members to follow right? We alternate who picks the book for the group to read and the leader of the discussion group is the person that picked the book for discussion. Other guidelines we created were based on meeting times, how books are picked, and how both the leader and the group were supposed to prepare for the discussions. If you are interested in creating a book club then I suggest you check it out!

We just finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger which we found to be satisfactory but not great. I know it was popular enough to be made into a movie but we had our qualms with it. Great beginning and suspenseful ending but the characters were underdeveloped and the author tried to interlace too many sub-themes without also developing them properly. But it was a unique take on time travel- I have to give it that. To keep with the whole time travel theme we jumped right into reading A Brief History in Time by Stephen Hawking. My physics is a little rusty but the beauty of this book is that it is written for the layman- I can actually get through it without feeling overwhelmed. I do have many questions to ask the other book members and it helps that they are all engineers! Right now I'm in the middle of reading about quarks and black holes etc and I'm riveted. Who knew black holes could be so sexy?!?

Wish us luck and happy readings to all of you!