Giddy Up

I mean, come on. Fabulous. Stirrup cufflinks. Vintage.I hesitated posting this because even though I am not a wearer of cufflinks I think it would be a good deed to have these remade to improve the Lives of Men. And the women who look at them. It's all in the details, guys, in case you didn't already get that memo.

Home Sweet Home

Home Sweet Home...

If you want to visit Newport, here is a great guide on Design*Sponge written by a one-year resident**. **good job Andrea McHugh, whomever you are...glad you are enjoying the Fishbowl.

Just Chillin'

This is the coolest ice bucket I have ever seen. It is also handmade from sterling silver. Available on Ralph Lauren's Gift Vault site.

My Change Purse Has Whiskers

This mouse. Is brilliant.

It has whiskers*.

I love a dash of humor, especially one that involves animal shapes.

Available on the Colette website.
I have to say, bringing the superbly edited finds from Colette's brick and mortar in Paris right into my computer is possibly one of the greatest bits about this thing called the internet.

*Whiskers: a favorite word...say it out loud right now.

Cuff 'Em

I am not a huge fan of the live, roving, squawking, mating Peacock. When I lived in the Village on Longboat Key there was a throng of "wild" Peacocks. They had been driven out of every other block by annoyed neighbors into a six house radius at which my house was the center. They are endangered or might come after you in the night since they are the size of Great Danes; so my neighbors protected them. It wasn't even the tourists stopping to take pictures of them in my yard, it was the mess and the loud squawking. I can still imitate them, it is quite a party favor for anyone who has lived with Peacocks. However, I do approve of the Peacock cuff above. Designed by Pippa Small and made of 14k gold and Labradorite (!!!), it is finally a Peacock related item that I can stomach after a decade of distain. It is also 14,000 Pounds on Astley Clarke.

Next is something more affordable and less Peacock. A Carnelian cuff by Asha by ADM. It is listed as approximately $995 also on Astley Clarke. But the designer Ashley Dodgen-McCormick's current collection is on her website. She is the next collectible and elegant jewelry designer, at very affordable prices using high quality stones in timeless designs. I encourage the purchase of some of her jewelry. The cuff below is a brilliant start.

Lifesaver

Tony Duquette's new book More Is More is available now...combine this with Assouline's lifestyle book GYPSET about the designer-hippie-brocade-Ibiza-gold-tan-private jet set...and we have a recipe for getting through the next week or two with a little more inspiration than these grey New England skies can provide. Add in the Tony Duquette ring above and, well, we should call it a lifejacket.

It's no secret that I am not a fan of the cold weather (unless it involves a chic shearling, two feet of snow, and a roaring Vermont stone fireplace).

Signing off: Looking for Inspiration to Keep Me Afloat...HB

Overbite

I'm not insanely fond of the Walrus. Except that cartoon Walruses are cute. And I do like their tusks. Things with fangs and tusks are pretty adorable. It's like a helpless super-bad overbite.

That said, I am not sure I would wear this cuff. But I sure admire the creativity and craftsmanship that goes into making this little guy.

David Webb...again.

Rings on Parade, Part One...

I never fully got the concept of "cocktail ring" since my Grandmother, who owned the rings and allowed me to wear them to picnic dinners (sometimes), was no longer "cocktailing". The term confused me...

...Until later when I heard stories about all of the previous cocktailing she and my Grandfather had done during the summers in the 50s and 60s. Two solid decades of cocktailing. It skips a generation; my parents did not go out and tie one on.

My love for occaision jewelry was born. To wear everyday to picnic dinners, and to wish I could have been a firefly in the yard at some of my Grandfather's Mint Julep parties.

Tony Duquette Cabochon Ring - coral, turquoise, peridot, and amethyst.
Vintage David Webb Labradorite and Diamond ring. One word: Phe-nom-i-nal.

And finally with a regal but subdued presence, another vintage David Webb ring (do you detect a theme? Yes, he was a genius). Carved onyx with rose cut Rock Crystal. So good!
Happy Monday.
p.s. These are actually all for sale right now ($$$$$$) on 1st Dibs.

If You Believe That, I Have A Bridge I'd Like To Sell You...

Brooklyn Bridge knuckle ring...need I say more?

nOir jewelry, $250

*sigh*

Peabody's Beach, aka Third Beach.

I clearly cannot just let summer go so easily. I like fall. But it also is a precursor to something more ominous. That other season that is looming down from the North. It already snowed in Vermont. That creates an awful lot of conversation about premature winter, solid precipitation, and temperature. Now is the time where I panic and begin to frantically plan mini-breaks. Where could I go by car in less than two day's drive and end up on a beach? How much is a flight to Paris (I know it's cold there, too, but it is different...)? Who said they were getting a ski house for the winter? Anything to break up anticipated monotony of the dreaded season of sleep.

It's sunny out now so I am going to try my hardest to relish in the moment and bask in the sun...

Fall is Knocking

I got slightly distracted by summer...and now there is no hesitating to say that on this sunny and chilly October morning Fall has arrived in Newport. (It is 50 degrees!)

This is my favorite door knocker in Newport. I think it's on 99 Spring Street. The house is nearly falling down, but there are lights on at night so it appears someone lives there. I don't believe they use the front door, and if someone knocked with this the door may split into shards before their eyes.

Now that the obvious beauty of summer is behind me it is time to walk slowly with a large scarf and enjoy the little details. Happy October!