...to look a lot like...well! Just a peek at some of my weekend doings: gathering the raw materials. I know it sounds crazy, but I really did get my tree this weekend. Fresh from Virginia, cut just last week the guy said. It smells divine.
Inscribed: “My new dodge and / winter coat – not / much dodge but lots / of coat.” Never mind that the fur collar is a little incongruous with the palm trees....
I have loved hearing all that you are serving up tomorrow ~ the diversity of your meals and the excitement with which you approach them. Thank you for sharing. 
This past sunday morning was spent at the market gathering ingredients for my two contributions to the Thanksgiving table (potato soufflé and cranberry sauce), along with a jar of red pepper jelly to jazz up all those holiday platters of cheese and crackers. Have you ever noticed that at this time of the year complete strangers have a tendency to voluntarily confide in you the secrets of their holiday dishes? One woman, for example, leaned over to me and said that the key to her potatoes was the addition of puréed celeriac root. And a rather distinguished gentleman in a tweed jacket, with wicker shopping basket in hand, added that the only way to cook collard greens was in bacon fat. Oh, the camaraderie of cooks!
Another find from Michigan, c. 1865. Uninscribed ~ though I was able to date it based on an embossed patent mark along the right edge (which I couldn't read until I scanned it at a high resolution!). This tintype, which measures approximately 1 x 3/4 inches, is what was known as a "Little Gem." These tiny portraits were inexpensive and convenient, made with a camera which utilized 9 to 16 lenses to create multiple identical images on a single plate. The plate was then cut down, providing the sitter with a handful of photographs that could be distributed to others. The tintype became particularly popular during the Civil War, not only because of its low cost (literally pennies), but because it was on developed metal ~ making it easy for a soldier to tuck an image of his loved one into his pocket without harm.
So this is what had me swooning at Stenton ~ a pocket book made in 1744 by Hannah Logan for John Smith (who she would eventually marry in 1748). At the time John Smith proposed, Hannah was 28, which then was considered an unusual and rather advanced age to be married. In another unusual move, her parents allowed her complete freedom in her choice of a husband ~ something she exercised by refusing a considerably more wealthy suitor in favor of Smith. It was apparently quite a love match, as described by Smith: "the most perfect Harmony our Souls seem'd entirely knit and united together." He chronicled their relationship in his diary, which was published in 1904 and most effectively titled as follows:
As if the thought of a house full of books wasn't wonderful enough, the sight of the textile collections at Stenton really sent me into a tizzy. In fact, I do believe there was some squealing involved...as quilt after quilt was pulled out, and cupboards opened to reveal straw bonnets, satin shoes and embroidered white cotton gowns. Mary Norris, the daughter of Sarah Logan and Isaac Norris, granddaughter of James Logan, and wife of John Dickinson (after whom, incidentally, my alma mater was named), was a renowned needlewoman. She was responsible for several of the quilts in the collection, including perhaps the blue-green silk quilt pictured above, dating to the late 18th century. Stenton's collections also contain more humble objects, such as linen sheets, pillow cases, and laundry bags ~ extraordinary for the very fact that they have survived the rigors of everyday use.
Saturday was a gray, dreary day, but a small group of hardy souls (including Meg of Pigtown*Design and Stefan of Architect Design) overcame the rainy day blues to drive up to Philadelphia to visit two of America's oldest surviving houses ~ Stenton (built 1723-1730) and Cliveden (built 1763-1767) ~ ending the season on a serious high note!
I immediately went digging for this photograph after reading David Colman's piece on men's fashion in The New York Times. Another find from Michigan ~ mounted on card and inscribed: "11 Marshall St." Father and son...or perhaps brothers?
In 1908 Frank Lloyd Wright was commissioned to design a house for the Grand Rapids clothier Meyer May, and his wife Sophie. Completed in 1909, the house is a classic example of Wright’s “Prairie School” style, standing out amongst its Victorian neighbors with refreshing modernity. The linear horizontal lines of the pale-brick house are reinforced by a low cantilevered roof and long terraces. One of the most beautiful aspects of the house is its art glass windows and skylights ~ which on a late fall afternoon fill the interior with a golden glow. Many of the interior details were designed by Wright, with important contributions by George Niedecken who worked to finish the project after Wright’s departure for Europe in 1909. Niedecken’s work includes an extraordinary mural of hollyhocks that wraps around a dividing wall between the foyer and dining room.
(a few more photographs here!)
This weekend I rekindled my love affair with home cooking. Funny how when one is relaxed, time in the kitchen becomes a delight (rather than a chore)! Sunday morning, I made myself a cup of tea, grabbed some of my favorite cook books off the shelf and jumped back into bed. After planning a week's worth of meals, I threw on some clothes and headed to the market. In the bag: new potatoes, fresh sage, butternut squash, cauliflower, baby spinach, local mozzarella, and a half gallon of apple cider. Spinach quiche was the first item on the menu (much to the delight of my stitching group). And later this week: potato chowder (courtesy of Heidi Swanson) ~ a recipe too good not to share:
The only thing I will tell you about this was that it was a gift. (Oh, and click to view larger...because you really should take a closer look.)
All of a sudden it is November. Really, when did that happen? Anyway, I am back from Michigan ~ and somehow the evenings seem shorter and the mornings colder. Haven't had a chance to go through the photographs from my trip, but I do promise that there is a house tour to come in the next couple days. In the meantime, I thought I would warm you up with thoughts of green gardens, cozy houses, and a couple things to tempt the palate:
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