Getting into the (Victorian) Christmas Spirit

We spent most of our weekend in West End Atlanta at our favorite house museum, The Wren's Nest. Saturday we helped decorate the house for Christmas. Don't believe me? Well, here's proof. And here's what we were doing Sunday:



We spent a good bit of our time in the kitchen making sure there was a continuous supply of hot cider, hot chocolate and coffee for the visitors and, uh, taste testing the cake, cookies, mini cheese biscuits and chicken fingers.

Here we are in the kitchen (apologies for our overly-earnest poses - all that eating dulled our desire to pose fashionably). Lauren is pointing out the bust of Mr. Harris himself placed regally atop the fridge. Note: fridge and Christmas dish towels not original to the house. Come to think of it, the whole kitchen is not original to the house.

Outfit details: Lar is wearing a jacket and boots from Tarjay and Cheap Monday jeans. I'm wearing a H&M coat, J.Crew sweater, Blank jeans from Rockit and thrifted boots.

Up next on our to do list: decorate our own apartment for Christmas. Time to bring out our aluminum tree!

CL

Brideshead Revisited. . . revisited

I know an Evelyn Waugh novel isn't exactly light, summer reading, but Brideshead Revisited is going on my July reading list.

The soon-to-be-released Brideshead Revisited film is the reason why I'm brushing up on my Waugh. Those of you who grew up like Lauren and me, with a healthy dose of Masterpiece Theater each month, have probably already seen at least part of the 1981 Brideshead mini-series. We've seen all 11 episodes (that's 659 minutes), so you can only imagine how excited (and relieved) I am that BBC has made it into a (100 minute-long) film. The fact that Emma Thompson is in it is just icing on the cake.

Below are a couple of comparison photos of the two versions (2008 images on the left, 1981 images on the right).



Charles Ryder and Sebastian Flyte lounging around Oxford University.


Sebastian in all his aristocratic-ness.


A day of boating. Champagne? Check. Teddy Bear? Check.


Charles in Morocco searching for Sebastian.


Charles, Julia and Sebastian on the grounds of Brideshead.


I can't wait to study all the costumes in the film. There are a few images on imdb.com that show some of the clothing, but not much. I couldn't find a website for the film, but hopefully more photos will pop up online closer to the release date.


Images courtesy of www.imdb.com, http://www.abbotshill.freeserve.co.uk/StoryContents.htm, http://mrsblandings.blogspot.com/2008/02/brideshead-revisited.html

CL

A Modest Proposal

A little random blogging whilst entertaining the parents and dancing in togas... Trader Joe's now sells baby kiwi (even more delicious than their grown-up counterparts). I bought them because/despite of this sign. Hmmm... maybe Jonathan Swift was talking about baby kiwis...

LL

Sweet Tee

For all you Gone With the Wind and Roy Liechtenstein fans out there, start saving up for the new, soon-to-be-released Esperanza t-shirt line. The image below is just a sneak peak of what's to come (check out more at Esperanza's blog).
I'm a huge fan of Esperanza Clothing Co. and have mentioned them before. They always create great Atlanta-inspired designs and it looks like this season is going to be their best ever.

CL

Jane Austen Style

I might be revealing too much of myself here, but I have to for the sake of the post: I'm a huge Jane Austen fan. I love everything that's related to her: her novels, the films, the Georgian/Regency eras, Bath, England, the unlimited amount of cheesy sequels written for Pride and Prejudice etc...

Background image from www.telegraph.co.uk

So I was pleasantly surprised to find some Jane-Austen-era-inspired clothing at Abercrombie.com - of all places. I've never shopped at A&F before (I first saw these blouses on www.stylenotes.com), but that might change after today. I love the femininity of the tops and I'm sure the square-neckline and ribbon embellishments would have made these a big hit in 1810.

Considering that my Jane Austen fanaticism is usually met with eye-rolls (especially from my guy friends) and an assumption that I read romance novels (I do not!), I won't mention it again on this blog...at least not for a while.

CL

Why London is so Great: Reason #1027

I first learned about Persephone Books on Rita Konig's Girl About Town blog a few months ago. It's a charming bookstore in London that sells 72 reprinted classics. Their collection of novels, short stories, diaries and cook books are mostly written by women and each book is bound by a gray-colored jacket with fabric end paper.

I'd love to visit the shop one day. Until then, I'm grateful enough that Persephone books can be ordered from the store's website. So the only problem remains, which book do I choose?


Below are just three samples of the fabric used as end paper - reprinted classics, just like the books!

(All photos are from www.persephonebooks.co.uk)

CL

Woman of the Moment: Edith Wharton

So you knew she was/is the Grande Dame of Literature, but did you also know that she was a designer, decorator, gardener, traveler, philanthropist, and active in politics (particularly during WWI)? Well, neither did I until this morning while reading the review of Hermione Lee's new biography on Edith Wharton. It's always impressive and inspiring to hear about such a renaissance woman. It makes me feel that instead of spending so much time on facebook or watching youtube videos, I should endeavor to read more about the great and industrious Edith Wharton (and perhaps read more than just Ethan Frome and The Custom of the Country).