Horchow Sweepstakes

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Wednesday Deals

Home furnishings sale going on now at Anthropologie - enjoy!

2009 Chelsea Garden Show

Every year in Chelsea, London, the Royal Horticultural Society sponsers a spectacular flower show - you know how those Brits like their flowers! The first day of "viewing" is reserved for the royal family, and for the next three days the show is open to the public, every glorious garden. Famous gardeners from around the world create miniature masterpieces complete with fencing, fountains, topiary - all sprung up overnight. I had the delight of visiting the show a few years ago, and it was an incredible vision. Jamaican gardeners had created 10 foot people from foliage (think Rose Parade), thousands of orchids scented silk tents, and every inventive gardening gadget under the sun was on display (and for sale. Bad for the old credit card). This year the show is taking place May 19 - 23; if you're going to be in town, make sure you get a ticket. You'll be glad you did.

Here's a sneak preview of plans for some of the gardens coming out this year.

A few favorites from the 2008 show.

And if you're really into gardening, check out this blog by some of the gardeners working on the event - you'll get a view into how they manage to pull off a "termporary" garden once a year, as well as some of the hazards they face - from cows eating the flowers to thunderstorms.
All images: www.rhs.org.uk/chelsea.

Aesthetic Atlanta

I'm loving this month's Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles feature on the Douglass home in Peachtree Heights (for those of you not familiar with Hotlanta, everything is named Peachtree, including pets). Here's the lovely tudor-style exterior.

And (are you ready for a surprise?) here's the interior.












Kay Douglass found this charming house quite by accident years ago when driving around the neighborhood. She left the owners a note in their mailbox, asking them to call her if they would ever consider selling. She never heard back. Fast forward several years, and Douglass was again on the market for a new home, and not finding much to her liking. The realtor called her with one last place to check out. The surprise? It was the home she'd fallen in love with so long ago. Douglass set about modernizing the interior and brightening the space to offset the relative smallness of the rooms. The dining room was done in the same grey as a fireplace mantle, giving it an outdoor seating area feel.

Bright colors enliven the all-white space in the bedrooms.

A simple but elegantly conceived bathroom brings the outdoors in.

For more great finds, check out Kay Douglass' shop online: South Market. 

All images, AtlantaHomesMag.com.

Bazaar Saves Recession Money By Using The Same Cover Every Month

I began idly flipping through an "old" copy of Bazaar on the newsstand today and suddenly realized - it was the new May issue! The cover color, font, and celebrity pose were so similar to the last few issues that I didn't even notice the difference. Has Bazaar done away with its cover art department?

May and March: same pink, same hair color, same symetrical style dress, same font (especially for "Fashion"!).  April below, with very SJP hair and still clinging to that pink trend. At least the pose is different.

Thanks a Million!

Thanks to fabulous and always fashionable blog Style Redux for the mention today!  Check out her beautiful post on the fashion, decor, and cars of the Audrey Hepburn film "To Steal a Million."  And be sure to read up on the best and latest in style while you're there!  























Image: AudreyHepburnLibrary.com

Feminine Revolution

Finally. We had the feminist revolution and now we can enjoy the feminine revolution! No more blah-nilla folders. No more ugly yellow stickies. No more dippy plastic pencil cups. Woman can be powerful AND pretty. As Maggie sings in Funny Face: "banish the black... and bury the beige! From now on girls... Think Pink!" And any other colors or patterns, I might add. All items below from the terrific website, See Jane Work.

One of my favorite finds: this "framed" chalkboard would make a great reminder board at work.

I also fell in love with these desk trays by Thomas Paul - adorable, and only $8!

All images, seejanework.com.

Saturday Smile

These interiors by Elieen Katheryn Boyd just make me happy. It's all about positive colors - and yet, no single room is overwhelming. Every space is wonderfully balanced.

For more from Eileen of EKB Interiors, and to see her design for this year's Kipp's Decorator's Showhouse, check out her blog.

All images, ekbinteriors.com.

Banana Republic Launches Another Internet Tab, Confuses Me

Banana Republic and I are practically in a committed relationship - B.R. calls me every now and then, sends me frequent emails, AND snail mail (that's love). But lately I'm a little confused by the signals. $10 dresses? $300 handbags? Marc Jacobs heels AND clearance flip flops for $5 on the same website? It's kind of like multiple personality disorder. The reason for all this variety is the mall-online concept that Banana Republic has embraced - open bananarepublic.com, and you'll see tabs for Old Navy (the flipflops), Piperlime (the MJ heels), Gap, and now, a new brand called Athleta. And whichever "store" you shop at, everything goes in the same shopping cart. It's one-stop checkout. I think I like this (I say, I think) because it's wonderfully convenient and I really only have to visit one website for my tees and other basics. The bad news is that the brands are beginning to feel a little blurred. Even the new one, Athleta, seems a bit familiar.  Can you tell the difference between the lines? Quiz below.

1. Which shirt is from where? (answers at the end of the post). One tee is $10, the other is $6.99.

2. Stumped? What about this. One sandals is $69, the other is $19.50.

3. Yoga pants. But which is which? One pair is $45, the other $15.

Answer key: 1. First shirt is  Gap, $6.99. Second shirt is Old Navy, $10.00.  2. First sandal is Old Navy, $19.50. Second sandal is Banana Republic, $69.00. 3. First yoga pant is Old Navy, $15.00. Second yoga pant is Athleta, $45.00. 

How did YOU do? 

All images, bananarepublic/oldnavy/gap/athleta.com.

Henri Happily Ever After

Once upon a time, in a mall very, very far away, blogger Sanity Fair discovered the most wonderful candle in the world. She did not expect to find a marvelous scented light, because she was wandering in the strange land of Bath and Body Works, lost in a smelly forest created by the trolls of commerce and containing flasks scented like "black amethyst" and "butterfly flower" and not found in nature. Then, suddenly, she was saved by a knight clad in a brown apron and bearing a shield of package wrap and a weapon of shower spritzer. He told tales of a great artesian called "Henri Bendel" and told her that if she could brave the thicket of antibacterial hand washes and journey across the land of lip gloss, the candle of legend could be hers. For less than $20. She found the famed candle, and lived happily ever after - UNTIL Bath and Body Works stopped carrying them. Thankfully, as in all fairy tales, things were not as dire as they seemed. Henri Bendel on line still has the candles, for $30, in Amber, Apricot, Black Fig, Cinnamon Bark, Fig, Firewood, Gardenia, Lavender Leaves, Lemon Verbena, Pomegranate, Quince, Vanilla Bean, Vanilla Woods, or Coconut Leaves. Stock up!