EASTER BUNNIES: WEDNESDAY MUSINGS

71087135-6488-4DE9-8A23-937746C049FFIn last year’s Easter posting I highlighted wonderful Easter eggs (actually eggs in general, including my collection) I’m featuring our hopping friend the Easter Bunny this year in many guises. When I was visiting Council Oak Antiques last week I found a treasure trove of Easter items that I wanted to share with you. Above is a wonderful painting of two charming rabbits sharing a cabbage leaf.

C1F1AF83-53BF-4884-BC07-CAFDAC509222A little boy with his pet bunnies in this delightful Victorian print. Love the nostalgia.

Always peek into corners and shelves where you will discover hidden treasures and look offseason as well you will find adds to your collections year round.

Oops…do I see a lamb by a basket of eggs…well this post is celebrating Easter and the arrival of Spring after all!!  And I love the cart of carrots. The vignettes of each vendor is lovingly executed.

I do have a couple of bunnies….one a Royal Crown Derby, I was lucky to visit and tour the factory on several occasions, (an upcoming post for sure!) that was given to me by a dear English friend who happened to live in Derbyshire. One of my fondest objects.  Isn’t he a beauty.

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Here is a cutie pie holding on to her duckie, she is a handpainted wooden fierce young lady that I acquired, many years ago, at the Randolph Street Market the March Market is this Saturday and Sunday, March 24 and 25 from 10 to 5 always the place to spend a fun day browsing the extensive collections, gaining knowledge from the vendors, sipping a delicious Bloody Mary that Candy superbly prepares for you and snacking on Artesian food. Bring your friends and make a day of it.

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A Sabino piece from my collection  D391567D-5E4D-443E-B137-9F1CA2BBD1D1

A reminder to read Paisley Rabbit and the Treehouse Contest yourself and to every child, you can find. Read my review on nenasnotes posted on February 27th ,

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What would Easter be without candy?  Nothing, in my opinion, I give up sweets for Lent and usually stuff myself with goodies Easter Sunday I don’t see this year as being different (FYI as a child we celebrated Russian Easter as well…I thought that very, very cool and Daddy did the most incredible eggs for both Easters….again, lucky me!)

I don’t eat Peeps but they are a part of any full Easter basket, to be sure, along with rich chocolate bunnies. Yum, yum!  Photos from Pinterest photo credit unknown

It seems live bunnies are wonderful pets as you can see Mike Hines, the deliciously creative florist of epochfloral, (profiled on nenasnotes on December 5, 2016) has had Murray Sparkles for eight years since he was a baby bunny, now a big boy!! The young Mike is pictured with his childhood friend, Mr. McCloud. In Mike’s words ”I’ve always been a sucker for a bunny.” Photos courtesy of Mike Hines

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I found these precious plates, along with other pieces in the set, on the Williams Sonoma site, love them!!!!!

How are you celebrating Spring, Easter, Passover…..do share your traditions and perhaps a recipe or two. I think I will do a leg of lamb this year and have leftovers to do the lamb curry that I shared with you a couple of weeks ago. Easter dinner followed by lots and lots of sweets!!!!!!

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All photos unless otherwise noted taken by me with my iPhone.

FASHION REMEMBRANCE: HUBERT DE GIVENCHY

6C698FF1-A8C6-44DC-ADDC-E30AD447BB89A week after we learned of the death of the last of the great couturiers I feel everything has been written about this extraordinary creator by those who knew him, wrote about him and treasured his memory. His creativity was unparalleled not only in the world of fashion but also in his homes and his magnificent gardens.

I wanted to briefly talk about my memories of the few times I met him.  The first time was at the launch of his first cosmetic collection in 1966. It was always a ”contest” to see which of the major stores, usually the Speciality Stores….Saks Fifth Avenue, Bonwit Teller, I. Magnin (Neiman Marcus wasn’t in Chicago yet) and, of course, Marshall Field’s, would launch the newest, hottest fragrance.  I must say Saks saw it’s share of these prestigious events. Obviously a cosmetic collection by one of the worlds most illustrious designers was beyond exciting. We had a huge fashion press in Chicago at the time and they were all vying for exclusives. I didn’t then believe in exclusives if the story doesn’t run you are ”dead in the water”. Instead, we always had a press party for visiting designers in addition to a reception for clients usually to benefit a charity. All was set, caterers in place, champagne chilled and I had the tuxedoed wait staff with their champagne ladened silver trays lined up on either side of the cosmetic aisle ready for the guest of honor, M. Givenchy, his people, the President of Saks, Corporate Cosmetic VP’s and our guests. I ran up to my office to quickly change, I am in ”mid-change” when my walkie-talkie (this is before tech thingies!) is swawking….”M. Givenchy’s car has just pulled up”!  My office was on the fourth floor, I finished pulling on my clothes torn down the stairs and made it to the door to escort the entourage into the store and the reception. Whew!!  I have worked with many, many wonderful creators through the years and I can say he was one of the most gracious, charming of all.  He made you feel like you were the only person he wanted to talk to, if only for a brief moment in time. This cosmetic line was short lived and we had the privilege of a second launch several years later. AFD15AD3-A8F0-45DC-9E8C-A92419EFF774.jpegThis photo, now in the Nena Ivon Archives at Columbia College Chicago, hung on my office wall was from the first launch.  Unfortunately, like several other designer photos, the salutation has faded into oblivion over the years.

In M. Givenchy received the Designer of Excellence Award from the Costume Council of the Chicago History Museum at a sold-out black-tie gala held in the Museum in 1995 sponsored by Saks Fifth Avenue. The front and inside cover of the evening’s invitation, the evening was planned with the direction of M. Givenchy’s dear friend, Victor Skrebneski (holding my hand) who took the photo on the invitation and is seen here with M. Givenchy and Bonnie Deutsch, the President of the Costume Council at that time.  The evening was a roaring success monetarily and prestigiously   It was the talk of the town. All the guests were given a small ivory silk pocket square with the Givenchy signature and rolled hem in grey. All three images courtesy of the Nena Ivon Archives at Columbia College Chicago.

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A close up of another Skrebneski photo of one of my favorite Givenchy dresses….you by now know my love of lily of the valley…what could be more divine!!!!!  Photog found on Pinterest.

We all know of the deep friendship between Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn from the time she chose her garments for Sabrina through most of her many films, as well as her personal wardrobe.  One of my most favorite garments are in Charade, loved the film (what’s not to like) and the clothes are to die for…she seems to have a new outfit in every frame…each better than the last.

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My favorite Skrebneski photograph of a Givenchy gown. Everything is perfection….the composition, the lighting the incredible staircase, the floor and of course the gown…oh my the gown!!!!  Found on Pinterest.

Of course, a few suggestions for your fashion book library….

I have very fortunate to have worked with the creme de la creme of the fashion world….lucky, lucky me!!

COLLECTIONS: BIRDS!

95107314-4DDC-450D-B57F-FEE0BF43A45D.jpegA print found at Randolph Street Market in Paper Patty’s booth. (My photo)

Audubon book found in the NOV booth at Randolph Street Market open to two pages.  (My photo)

I don’t know about you but I am so ready for Spring, although it hasn’t been the worse Winter I have gone though. Yesterday I actually saw a “haze” on some trees which indicated, to me, a glimpse of the future, buds!  And Daylight Savings Time begins this weekend…another harbinger of Spring!!!  Living in an major urban environment I don’t see many bird varieties, mostly dear little sparrows, pigeons, of course, and, at the moment, four huge crows or are they blackbirds or ravens, sorry I’m not an ornithologist, whatever they are they are gorgeous but extrembly vocal!

6DA49802-C0CF-415E-91AC-7B853E042251A beautiful sleek American Robin, I do see them occasionally. Image from Pinterest credit unknown.37B0A860-6BEB-4280-9E02-8E57395EB64E.jpegA basket of Robin’s eggs photo found on Pinterest credit unknown.

C9A4EE8E-ED8D-4BC6-9D3D-C2F5C7D761B1A charming watercolor (one of two) of an English Robin given to me by a dear English friend who is no longer with us….I have it close to where I can constantly see it to remind me of her and our weekly Sunday chats!  I found the hand carved destressed white wood frame at RSM and feel it compliments it perfectly.  I love the difference between our Robins…ours sleek and their British cousins, short and stout!!!!  I love both.  (My photo)

More nests, 1870’s English prints, from Paper Patty’s extensive collection you can find her on the Balcony of Plumbers Hall at the next RSM on March 24 and 25  (Also my photos).

1860’s Italian lithographs from Paper Patty’s vast collections of birds and many, many other images  (My photos).

9106E498-4FDC-431B-9BA8-9A6605D87E53.jpegOne of my vignettes, I try to group like items together, here you see several variations on the bird theme, a book of poems given to me by another dear friend, two already framed pictures…the larger a lithograph print with metal frame, the small round carved wooden Italian frame surrounding a delightful miniature watercolor of a bird’s nest.  The concrete bird is the lone element left from my Evanston garden (and Mom’s over two hundred English roses plus other cutting flowers!) part of the birdbath shell with a cherub (which now reside in a friend’s country estate).  I used one of my iPhone filters to distress the image, I think makes it a bit moody!

Speaking of pigeons, and these most certainly are not the ones on the streets of Chicago…….here are two amazing lithographs from a new friend I follow on Instagram who has kindly let me share these with you.  You can follow at cpgoodrich  on Instagram  I think what I like most about Social Media is how you can make new friends virtually.  Everyone I have contacted to share images and more with me for nenasnotes, has been so willing to do so.  It, to my minds eye, makes my posts a bit more personal, hope you agree. C884ED91-00E2-4FBE-8A2D-7CCB8038E295More from Cary, this time glorious hummingbirds.

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296F4747-E8F6-4204-BE21-6204884A13BFSilver plated Woodcock mounted on a wooden disk.

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A vintage needlepoint piece.

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Charming wooden bird and it’s little house (I’ll do a post on birdhouses in the future.)

The above 4 images are of items at Council Oak Antiques in South Bend, Indiana. Pat is always so generous in accommodating my wacky requests. Again, we are Instagram ”friends” you can find her posts at patricia_mcmahan_smith and I am so excited to finally meet her in person this weekend.  I’ve been to the store and the selections are beyond fabulous. I’ll be like a kid in a candy store.  I can’t begin to imagine what material I will find for upcoming posts!

A couple of books….there are hundreds, that I found appealing…

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Of course, I couldn’t do a post without a bit of fashion…how about a vintage 1960’s Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture…what makes this even more special to me is when I visited the Lasage Atelier in Paris I held the sample for the embroidery, an incredible experience.

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NENA’S BOOK NOTES: THE ENGLISH WIFE

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I have been looking forward to reading this book, I do like Lauren Willig’s Books. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, but I don’t think it was what it turned out to be…a mystery, yes…a love story or two, yes…family secrets, definitely yes….a telling of The Golden Age, a bit…but more a story of lost trust, betrayal, upholding tradition. I found it to be more Daphne Du Maurier than I was expecting.

The book opens with a Twelfth Nignt Ball (why is it called the Twelth Night Ball, you will find out) being held at Bay and Annabelle Van Duyvil’s Hudson estate. Bay is found dying, with a jeweled dagger in his chest, by his spinster sister, Janie and divorced cousin, Anne…Annabelle is nowhere to be found, although Janie insists she saw her “under the ice of the river”. The last words Janie thinks she hears from her beloved brother is “George”. Who is George??!!  The headlines scream “Knickerbocker Murders Wife and Kills Himself! Murder and Suicide on the Hudson!”  Those are the first 10 pages!

We switch years and locations throughout the book and find ourselves in London where Bay and Annabelle meet, we learn both their back stories and how their “friendship” progresses and how they come to the States (no spoilers from me). We also learn about Janie, her domineering mother and her cousin Anne (what is her relationship with her cousin, Bay?!). Is Annabelle who she says she is…you will find out. Why is she terrified of Giles Lacey.  Who is Georgie?

Janie can not bring herself to believe Bay is a murderer nor that Annabelle is having an affair with the architect of their new home and sets out to find the truth and enlists the help of a reporter, Burke, and so the adventure begins. Secrets are uncovered, Mother Van Duyvil’s domination of the household tightens, the Coroner’s Inquest brings many of the loose ends together but there is much more to be discovered.  Families are torn apart, unspoken liaisons are exposed, and the murderer revealed (again, no spoilers, but a surprise to me).

Okay, did I like the book….let’s say I didn’t dislike it. You, by now, know I don’t do negative reviews. The writing is tight, as mentioned, I am a fan of Lauren Willig, it held my interest, the story interesting (I usually don’t like different time periods but these were tight enough not to bother me…we aren’t doing “time travel” here!) I guess I just didn’t care about the characters. I expected more about the people of The Golden Age, yes, of course, they are discussed…the class differences both in England and the States, the manners, etc.  I would like to have had more. I wondered about the several different directions the plot took…but think, in the end, all was resolved. In the near future I’m participating in an on-line book club discussion and I’ll let you know if I learn anything new. Would I recommend you read it, yes if you like a book with interesting plot twists, a protagonist who doggedly pursues her goals and ends up being the strong woman we know she will become, some predictable events others not so much. Will it hold your interest I think so. Let me know your thoughts.

COLLECTIONS: PAISLEY TEXTILES

 

 

5E98AAE5-16F5-4ED0-B779-26F05FB81C60.jpegI’ve been fascinated with paisley forever and in my very eclectic home it works perfectly in many ways from draping the back of a chair, to pillows, to the layering of authentic vintage pieces, Ralph Lauren textiles, and modern fashion shawls on my day bed (I’ll feature the “made” bed in another post, it is a pillow explosion!!!!) to many other renditions of the paisley pattern.

In the above illustration you see how the paisley shawl was worn during Victorian Times. While watching the superb second season finale of VICTORIA on PBS (having planned on doing this post for a long time) I was thrilled to see the Queen pick up a paisley shawl and wrap it around her shoulders….heaven!!!

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Paisley’s origin goes back centuries in India, Iran and other countries but the name came from where it was manufactured in the 19th Century, Paisley, Scotland. Just as Queen Elizabeth II attended her first fashion show during London Fall 2018 Fashion Week to present the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design to Richard Quinn, she also made a huge endorsement to the British fashion industry. The same was true of Queen Victoria. This being said the royal presence and seal of approval is a huge boom to any industry in the UK.

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Some examples of paisley in clothing

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Wooden paisley fabric stamp

Above images from Pinterest photo credit unknown

There are many sites and articles and, of course, books where you will find more information on this glorious pattern. I wanted to share my own collection in my home as well as share some from my Pinterest account where you will find many more examples.

50D97176-BCB4-4E6E-9F1E-AA5AD1E4E7AF.jpegOne of my window ledges with vintage bamboo shelves (mostly holding novels and to be read books) collectibles (of course, many treasures found at Randolph Street Market ) and festooned with a vintage paisley fragment next to antique lace panels backed by two panels of green drapery, one silk one velvet perhaps overkill, to me not too much!!!!  Linda Heister helped me get the drape exactly right…took a bit of time with me standing on my build-in daybed and adjusting all the elements just so! She also gave me 4 pillows also made from vintage paisley fragments. They are unadorned, I will, at some point in time, do some trim.

5D3F6AF2-F441-4207-B8FC-976F30F8DFF4.jpegThe elements of the top of my painted antique French daybed one of my first purchases for my room when I was in high school. One piece I would always keep. The upper right you can see a peek of the base which is a fitted sheet from a long ago Ralph Lauren linen collection (I have several just in case one wears out) the stripe is a mix of pattern (I often use it as a table cloth especially for Christmas time dinners) on the bottom left the tradition paisley pattern which layers over the stripe and the black banded piece is a challis shawl from a Gloria Sachs outfit (worked with her on many personal appearance trunk shows at Saks Fifth Avenue, Chicago).  The outfit was three pieces, jacket, slim skirt and this shawl each a different paisley coordinating pattern, loved it, wore it, wish I had it now…more to the point wish I could fit into it now!  At least I can enjoy, and wear the shawl!

35D23D7B-0C0E-49C8-BA87-AF4BF86C5C6D.jpegThis pillow sham is at the head of my bed and holds my guest bed pillow  love the combination of paisley patterns  F153C9CD-D13F-454E-9924-BAD694F95EC3.jpegInteresting assortment….actually three paisleys the base is yet another vintage fragment that I used to “upholster” a love seat in the library area of my apartment, a few of my vintage pillows and two bolsters one more vintage paisley and the smaller piece made from a watered velvet paisley that I found in a remnant bin that I also had upholstered on my antique dining chairs (my point here is don’t walk away if there are holes, tears, small amount yardage, think of how you can use them in your decor…use your imagination and creativity). The lily of the valley rug  drapped over the caned settee is one of my many needlepoint projects. Most of my pieces I do from charts rather than painted pieces. I will do a story on my needlework later (of course I will!!!!!)

79D971F6-36CC-4D3D-9941-5218F60D6DF7.jpegI showed you this pillow in another post it was a gift from my friend and former boss, Michael Hawley (you can check the nenasnotes archives on his profile) he had it made for an Antiquity piece when he was at Gumps in San Francisco, yet another of my treasures. At the moment it resides on one of aforementioned watered velvet dining chairs.

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A closeup of one of my many full paisley shawls (this one is on my “comfy sit in all the time” chair) it is in mint condition…not always easy to find, especially the centers which are often solid red or black, and usually quite pricey. I have gone that route but LOVE to find that illusive bargain.  I actually found a beauty last summer at RSM! Love the treasure hunt, that is why I always look forward to the monthly Randolph Street Market. I don’t drive so can’t get to antique malls, etc. a joy that we can visit this always fascinating event right in the heart of the City….thank you Sally Schwartz!!

The above photos are my images

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The above  images are all from Pinterest photo credit unknown.

FROM NENA’S RECIPE BOX

CURRIED LAMB

I have done this recipe to rave reviews for years it is from the Life Picture Cookbook. I use leftover leg of lamb which I usually serve for Easter the recipe below call for lamb shoulder…choice is yours. You can substitute beef, veal or pork, I never have. I serve with small bowls of the following toppings…shredded fresh coconut, chutney, peanuts or pistachios, Golden raisons, chopped hard boiled eggs, perserved lemon slices, chopped green onions and lots of white rice. It serves 6. Does keep well if you have any left over it can be frozen without the add ons.

3 pounds lamb shoulder

1/4 cup flour

2 cloves minced garlic (I use the jarred garlic, which I love)

4 large white onions, sliced

3/4 cup butter

4 small apples, pared and chopped

4 Tablespoons curry powder (I use Spice Islands and probably add a bit more)

4 Tablespoons dark brown sugar

4 Tablespoons raisons

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

2 lemons sliced

4 Tablespoons shredded fresh coconut

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 teaspoon grated lime peel

1 Tablespoon salt

Cut meat into 2-inch cubes, roll it in the flour.  Sauté the garlic and onions in butter in a large skillet for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.  Add meat and sauté for 10 minutes (less is using leftover lamb), stirring constantly.  Add apples and curry powder.  Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the remaining ingredients and two cups of water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour.  The aroma is a killer!!!  Serve over white rice and accompanying garnishes. Enjoy. Suggested wine…your choice but I would do a love a full bodied red  Dessert I would do a fruit sorbet with season fruit and a slash of orange liqueur.