Saturday, June 25, 2011

EAT PRAY LOVE moment

SO, this was our EAT PRAY LOVE moment in NYC. We were having a romance with our pizza and gelato. This was a place called Eately and was a fantastic marketplace.








This was one of the pastry counters.













More...












I have a friend from New York, who told us to have a steak at Frankie and Johnny's. He said that he was buying if it was not the best steak we had ever had. It was amazing but big enough for 4 people to eat.

It was a great trip and wanted to share.
Hope that you are all able to have some summer fun whether in another city or in your back yard!

xo Carolyn
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Friday, June 24, 2011

Carolyn Westbrook: Awesome NYC adventures

Had a wonderful trip to NYC and wanted to share some inspiration. We had a great adventure with beautiful scenery, good food, and lots of shopping. I wonder what the budget is for the flowers in NYC? It is amazing. There are so many parks...I will have to share more pics on a seperate post. Here are some pics from ABC Carpet and Home and it was great as usual. A new place we went to was Fishes and Eddy (hope that is right). They told me they started out selling all hotel dishes and silver. Now it is new, but merchandised really unique. There were many of the vintage painted portraits that we love to name and create a story for. My friend Heidi collects these for her fabulous stores, so I gave her one and we named him Eduardo and he traveled around the world and threw fabulous parties. Anyway, loved how they worked them into the dish decor. It was a total EAT PRAY LOVE trip, as we shopped around and had some pretty yummy pizza, which will be in the next post. ABC Carpet and Home as the most incredible collection of chandeliers that I have seen anywhere. LOVE! Cannot afford one, but worth the trip.

I like the bedding floor...and I make bedding. The beds, the chandeliers, and all of the artful displays and antiques...well done. We stayed in the oldest hotel in New York. The architecture here is reminiscent of Europe. If you have not been then you need to go, but like it much better in the fall or spring. It was so crowded, I have not ever seen it like this. Sort of like Disney in the summer. I stopped by my favorite photographers studio, Mr. Keith Scott Morton and he was in the middle of a studio shoot. He had just finished shooting Katie Couric and said that she was so nice. She even made them a sandwich. Yes, but did she serve you iced tea in a Mason jar with fresh mint?? He laughed, and said no and that he wanted to come back to our neck of the woods for iced tea and Bar B Que.
Windows of ABC
Dishes and a portrait that looks a bit like Eduardo.


















Exterior of ABC Carpet and Home











Will post more for you to see!
xo Carolyn
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Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Carolyn Westbrook: Great Junking!

I was able to get to Canton Flea Market for a few hours this month, and realized how much I enjoy treasure hunting! I always try and get there early, when it is not so hot, and try and beat everyone to the buried treasure (tee hee). Collections are such an important part of any roomscape, and you know that I believe it needs to old and treasured, not some trinket bought from a store shelf. ok, maybe a few really good trinkets, but you have to have some antique patina or it looks like everyone else's house. I love stacks of antique leather bound French books. Now that is a beautiful sight. This photograph is in the new book, The French Inspired Home and here it is featured in a magazine, but you get the idea...it is all about the collections. Tarnished silver, stacks of books, a piece of antler, and a lone German sheep, looks amazing.

Plus, the bonus is, it gives you something to hunt for. I had bought just a couple of items, and was becoming a bit discouraged when I came upon a huge French mirror, dripping in swags and garlands of roses and bows. Standing about 6 ft. tall, I breathlessly asked the man, how much? He looks at me and says, how 'bout $125? Dollars? I asked...then quickly said, can you do $100? I know, shameless, but you have to ask. He quickly agreed and I could not pay him fast enough. The adreneline was racing through my veins as I shoved the money at him. I'll be back to get it, I told him. When I returned, he had a posse of women standing around it. He said, I'm glad your back, these women were about to make off with it. Usually, it is me that is left drooling over the "sold" item, but this time, I was the finder of the treasure! How exciting I thought, as I carefully put the mirror in the back of the Suburban. It was a good haul and a good day, as we sat under the shade of a tree, eating pimento cheese sandwiches with my mom and looking affectionately at my mirror. So, get out there and find your own buried treasures this summer, you will be glad that you did!!

xo Carolyn
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