Merry Christmas!

Parade's End

To prepare for the upcoming season of Downton Abbey, I recently viewed Parade's End via Netflix.  Set in Edwardian England, this HBO series is the film interpretation of Ford Madox Ford's novel of the same title.

Worth a watch.

Champagne train

Cages from champagne bottles have been attached together to form a train, as such.

Click on pics for a better view.

Needlepoint ornament '14

Babette's Feast

If you enjoyed watching and/or reading
Like Water for Chocolate and/or Chocolat, you will love Babette's Feast. Filmed in Denmark and released in 1987, Babette's Feast is a kind-hearted story with the spotlight on French cuisine and wines. Worth a watch. Subtitled.

Happy Thanksgiving

source

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

Helen Simonson, a transplanted Brit to the US, has written a wonderful story in 

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand.  Humorous and heartwarming, the book has lots of Britishisms and offers much hope for aging widows and widowers. 

...and the book cover for the UK printing is lovely also.

Worth a read, for sure. 

Fall gourd art

photo source

wasted paper...

photo credit

Bermuda bound...

Gone Girl

Just in time for the film release, I have finished up reading Gillian (pronounced with a hard G) Flynn's Gone Girl.  Gone Girl is a terribly twisted, dark, psychological thriller surrounding the marriage of Nick and Amy Dunne and written by an author who describes herself as having a normal childhood who loved horror movies from early on as her father was a film professor. The setting is a river-side town in Missouri upturned by the disappearance of "Amazing Amy".

The movie version, starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike is set to release on October 3rd, with a premier showing in Cape Girardeau, Missouri the day prior.

Worth a read, though perhaps not necessarily for newlyweds.

Bad Monkey

Carl Hiaasen does it again! His latest sardonic and comical novel, Bad Monkey does not fail to keep you a'laughing.  

Worth a read! 

end of summer garden views...

cherry tomatoes 

butternut squash

dead nettle, ornamental grass & nepeta

recent nest find and platter...

This fabulous nest with eggs was discovered on the ground on the golf course. 

The nest sets on a pale blue and white transfer ware platter purchased at the Plantation Shop in Amelia Island.

a beautiful spring wedding in Florida

My daughter recently married on a lovely April day at the Gasparilla Inn.

Read more here as the wedding was featured on the blog of the floral stylist. 

a visit to Winterthur: Costumes of Downton Abbey

Along with my golfing pals, I recently made an excursion to Winterthur in Wilmington, Delaware. Winterthur was home to the du Pont family dating back to the early 1800's.  We viewed 40 pieces of wardrobe designed for and worn by the actors in the British series, Downton Abbey. Wardrobe designers had only seven weeks to design and compose these costumes from the time they received the script for the season. 

Downton Abbey, Season 5 returns on January 4, 2015.