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Sparkly Dinner Setting

Posted on December 23, 20136 Comments

I just realized that none of the four Venetian wine glasses made it into this frame. The following photos will prove that the proper wine goblets are there. What you’re seeing here are the water tumblers.

I had real guests over last night for my first dinner party in my newly redesigned dining room. The best part about the preparations was that one of the guests was doing all the cooking, allowing me to go all “Martha Stewart” with the ambience and table setting. The key to the look was the wonderful domed putz castle purchased through Anthropologie, which I then placed on an antique glass cake stand. By setting this whole arrangement onto a silver charger, I was able to maximize illumination by placing glass votives on the charger’s level rim.

Since I have already written about the porcelain,Venetian goblets, linen, and sterling flatware, I will instead explain the reason for the crazy water glasses. They’re vintage highballs featuring turquoise and gold Persian horsemen waving mallets in a lively game of polo. Over the past twelve years, I have managed to break most of my larger Venetian goblets and lacked two to make four complete place settings of one water and one wine goblet each. And I keep forgetting to order more from the original Murano source, Vetreria Colonna Fornace. Hence the crazy fun tumblers. To see the complete table setting, click the link below.

Just Because

Holiday Putz

Posted on December 16, 20131 Comment

This sparkly cuteness is parked in my living room. I think the red cellophane is a bit much, but it’s not something I can easily change.

The term “putz” was derived from the German verb putzen, which means “to clean” or “to decorate.” Originally, putz was a Moravian tradition that started about a century and a half ago when families created nativity scenes from organic materials as an annual holiday activity. By the twentieth century, putz creations had become secular, larger and more elaborate, and instead of nativity scenes, there were farms, villages, and toy trains. After World War II, Japanese companies started to mass produce cardboard structures with sparkly snow and colored cellophane windows that glowed when a C6 light bulb was inserted through a hole in the back. Nowadays, you see ceramic or plastic Christmas villages everywhere, but to me, these lack the putz charm of yore.

Thank goodness, the old hand-crafted paper and often crude putz structures from last century have been rediscovered and are being reproduced today. The two houses that I purchased were handmade here in the States. To see my second sparkly house, click on the link below.

Interior Design

One More Quiet Moment

Posted on December 4, 2013No Comments

Sporting bobbed hair, they look just like me on a thin day.

This pair of bronze Art Deco bookends is like the eye of the storm. It’s music you can’t hear, a little quiet moment during the holiday insanity.

I wanted to start a fun post series showcasing a few unique Christmas tabletop ornaments that I have recently purchased, but I have had nothing but bad luck with shipping. Therefore, nothing to show you yet. A large glass domed piece arrived today shattered, because it had been packed within a styrofoam container which was then placed loose inside a much larger box. “Fragile” was written on the inside box, but not the outside one. Someone clearly left their brains behind after Thanksgiving, and more than likely, will not return mentally to their job until after Valentine’s Day.

Family

From Uniform to Tails

Posted on November 23, 20137 Comments

My father, Edwin Sharpe Bell, squiring an Idlewild debutante in the late 1940s or perhaps 1950.

It definitely looks like an awkward moment for my father. He looks so very debonair on the outside, but inside he’s feeling like some sort of trussed up peacock. And he’s enduring it because as an eligible bachelor and newly minted member of The Idlewild Club here in Dallas, he’s required to play the part of an escort to the young ladies “coming out” that season.

Tonight the Dallas’ deb season officially begins with the Idlewild ball presenting a number of young women. I have no idea how many or who they are. For the last few years, there hasn’t been much publicity during the season. When I say “season”, I mean the traditional season that’s been an annual occurrence since 1884 before there was La Fiesta de las Seis Bandera and the Dallas Symphony’s presentation ball. The latter two are well covered in the local newspapers and blogs, but not Idlewild.

Family

For Veterans Day

Posted on November 11, 20131 Comment

Journey’s End: A History of the 657 Engineer Topographic Battalion, March 1944 – November 1945 is a booklet we found while sorting through our parents’ estate before selling the family home. It’s not designed in the way you would expect a WWII booklet to be. It’s so jubilant, carefree, colorful, and chock-full of comic-book-like caricatures. Perhaps it’s meant to be a scrapbook of sorts for the members of this battalion. The forward does state, “May this book recall the best of memories.” Using a florid style to generally describe the duties of each of the groups within the 657th, it purposely avoids serious descriptions of what actually happened.

My father, as a member of this battalion, was assigned to the First Photomapping Platoon. You can find his picture on page 18 which is just three pages past the middle spread titled “Bulletin Board”. Look for 1st Lt. Edwin S. Bell, the handsome fellow prominently displayed solo on that page. His promotion had occurred on October 26, 1945, just prior to this booklet’s publication.

Interior Design

The Only Thing Missing Is Soap

Posted on November 5, 2013No Comments

New and freshly laundered towels in my home’s original bathroom.

With these new towels, my guest bathroom will officially be ready for business, but only after I buy some soap. Their contemporary style with the use of black bands, edging, and a sans serif font is the perfect foil to the toile de Jouy wallpaper. A solid white towel would have been boring, a solid color would have been too much competition, and monogrammed towels would have been too expected and perfect. A serious towel in a quirky situation is the perfect combination.

Bath linens were purchased through Neiman Marcus.

Interior Design

Some Bathroom Humor

Posted on November 1, 20131 Comment

The original bathroom needed some essential accoutrements to make it functional for guests. So what did I do? Instead of buying soap, hand towels, bath towels, and wash cloths, the first thing I purchased was vintage linen finger towels that guests shouldn’t use. Not practical, but it’s a start.

Made from a cotton linen blend, they are hand appliquéd with whimsical figures sporting comical enhancements. Risqué towels, such as these, were made in Madeira from 1930 until 1960 and are now considered highly collectable. I’m now in the process of looking for a third. These two could use some company to make this party complete. They’re a bit naughty, but oh so nice.

Just Because

Trick O’ Treat

Posted on October 30, 20132 Comments

All items were purchased from Oriental Trading.

The goodie bags are ready and waiting by the front door, stuffed with edible weirdness and kooky treats. Again I miscalculated the bag size, and it looked like I wouldn’t be able to jam in all six items. It’s a tight fit, seams are strained, and items may be squished, but what’s Halloween without some squish? I haven’t tried any of the candy and probably won’t, but I am currently soaking a brain to see how big it grows. After eight hours it looks it may need a lifetime.

Interior Design

Kitchen Floor Tile Pattern

Posted on September 22, 20131 Comment

This plaid/checkered pattern was the chosen option. The diagonal version, seen in the foreground, is the chosen direction the tiles are to be laid. The tile is Tarkett Azrock VCT.

After six years, my kitchen’s original floor tiles had started to shift and pop up. Two years ago my contractor had pulled up many of the tiles and new adhesive was applied, but this fix did not work. Before long the tiles began to shift again, and the gaps between tiles started to widen. The main problem is the wooden sub-floor with occasional dampness under the house (pier beam) causing the wood to expand. If the tiles had been laid on smooth level concrete, I wouldn’t have this problem. And if a super thick wax sealer had been applied after the first installation, the tiles would have had a much better chance on staying put longer.

Contemporary Art

At The Reading Room

Posted on September 6, 2013No Comments

Asteroid Belt of Trash Blocking Transmissions of Love
The Art Foundation for the Texas Biennial 2013 at
The Reading Room, 3715 Parry Avenue in Dallas
September 7 through November 2, 2013
Opening reception: September 14, 7 to 9 PM

Drawing inspiration and content from Jonathan Lethem’s novel Chronic City, The Art Foundation will create a series of broadsides referencing the slow revelation of layered truths embodied within a city. Utilizing pop-culture, esoterica, and cinematic reference the works will be a layered series of pasted graffiti style “advertisements” covering the gallery wall. Considering the city as a willful entity, often suppressing transparency of intent behind emotive distraction and conspiracy, the exhibit introduces far-flung fragmented ideas as the channel from which truth is revealed, though often mistaking fanciful simulacra for the real and reality for myth.

Take-away fliers/propaganda will be available in an attempt to expand the tangled revelations beyond the gallery in an effort to mirror and permeate the city. Additional programming, including readings and lectures, will be announced during the run of the exhibit as details are confirmed.

The Art Foundation (established in 2012) is an artist collective based in Dallas, with current members Ryder Richards, Lucia Simek and Andrew Douglas Underwood.

The Reading Room (recently chosen D Magazine‘s Best Art Space) is a project space which features monthly exhibitions, readings and performances that involve text and image and is located at 3715 Parry Avenue in Dallas.

The Art Foundation and The Reading Room are participating organizations in the Texas Biennial 2013.