Category Chez moi
And the winner is…
Ashley! Amongst her many suggestions was a pendant lamp that looked like a doily draped over a light bulb. Ever eloquent, her accompanying comment was “Uuuuuuuuhhh…..???” (This is not the winner. Keep reading.) To which I said, “Of course! Tord Boontje!” Because the droopy doily is actually called “Midsummer” and was designed by Tord Boontje, a Dutch […]
Runners Up
In June 2011 I moved into my current apartment. By August 2011 the bad lighting in my living room had made me want to gnaw off my arms and legs. Because I was working too many hours at the law firm to figure out how to do that, I decided to try an alternative: I launched a lamp-finding […]
Contest Update
I bet you thought this day would never come! And, depending on what you thought “this day” would be, you might be right — I’m not announcing my engagement, peace in the Middle East, or the rescue of my favorite fountain pen from the Bank of America ATM at the corner of Van Ness and Connecticut. Sorry. But […]
The resurrection of Saint Katherine
If my shamrock were Juliet, then Romeo would be dead on my kitchen counter right now. Because look! She’s come back to life!! After a month of alarmingly quiet resting beneath barren dirt, the shamrock has sent up a slew of fresh stalks with delicate new leaves. Though still few in number, these new starts are vigorous and healthy — and I […]
I’ve got a barrel . . .
. . . in the back seat of my car. Ammon mentioned that the local nursery usually has a big sale the day after Christmas, so we went over before I left to drive back to DC. Turns out the nursery was not open this year, but as we were about to leave empty handed […]
Deck the Halls!
This week I received a mystery package in the mail: a small box bearing my address and the Pottery Barn logo but no indication of the sender. With holidays in the offing, this is NOT the season to start opening packages indiscriminately. So I sent a feeler out to my family and got these responses: Dad: Not from me.Lady: […]
Free-range Amaryllis
Last Thursday I got a note from my friend Anna wishing me happy birthday and hoping that I’d enjoyed the gift she sent. Gift? Oh dear, how awkward. I may be terrible at remembering other people’s birthdays, but I’m pretty good at remembering when people send me things (especially Anna — she’s one of the best gift givers I know; so good at coming […]
Rhino Head
Look what came today!
Fall Planting
My summer pots were wonderful, but now that the subtropical heat and humidity of the DC summer had ceded to the chilly fall, they were looking a little tired. So guess what? Today was fall planting day! I headed out early to the Merrifield Garden Center and, when I got there, discoverd I had the place to myself. That’s because […]
Let’s have a contest
Speaking of light, I don’t have enough of it in this corner of my living room (the corner with the yellow chair in it): Thing is, I haven’t figured out how to solve this problem. Nothing I think of seems right. So I’ve decided to open this up to my readers in the hopes that […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 