Rochambeau

Happy New Year ~ 2009!

 

May the new year bring you
all the desires of your heart!
Happy 2009 !
Dear Blogette's !!



As the bell tolls, I'll be doing the
New Year's Cha Cha out at  Monkey Manor
& remembering you with a special toast!
 

Red ~ White & Green

Hope you are having a wonderful
holiday season!
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*

Here are some pretty flower arrangements
 I saw this week. Sharon used white
 lilies, red roses and red amaryllis
with stunning results for her table
on Christmas Eve.



Holly and red berries in a porcelain terrine,
 grace the mantle.



Michele arranged red poinsettia's, white roses
and white lilies to create this wondrous
centerpiece for her annual Christmas tea...



and put together this gift basket of cyclamen
  coupled with Christmas cactus for
my mothers Christmas gift.



Then, my mom used white astrameria and
pyracanthia berries for her Christmas table.



the table is set.



These holly bearing bud vases, were created
for favors.  I was inspired by this
 post at Rodrigvitz Style.

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Thank you for being part of my
Happy Christmas this year!




 

Merry Christmas

May your star shine bright this day
and everyday.
May you find your gift within!
Merry Christmas
to you & to those you love!

*
Your kindness & friendship
are a great gift to me.
Thank you!

xox
Constance

Gertie Fröhlich

In 1986, Gourmet Magazine
featured a Viennese artist, Gertie Fröhlich's
amazing gingerbread cookies on the cover
of their December issue.



Her work inspires me so much I saved
 this magazine for twenty two years and
even made tin replicas for gifts that year.



The artists work was also part of an art show
in New York at the
American Craft Museum called:
 The Confectioner's Art


Now, because of the magic of the internet,
a few days ago I was able to find
 Gertie's website!



Her figures are made out of gingerbread,
dragees, seed's, candied flowers and fruits.
They are not intended to be eaten,
but admired!  They will last for years
if you apply hairspray once a year.
~~~*~~~

 
(Steph asked to see one of my tin angels)

Hope you're feeling at peace and tasting
all the sweetness of the season this holiday!
~*~
xox
Constance

Visions of Sugarplums!

Do you know what a Sugarplum is?

(Sugarplum Fariy found here)

The dictionary defines a sugarplum as a small round or oval piece of sugary candy. English being the flexible language it is, the name could be used very sparingly, much as we would use a spice today. In the 1540's, however, sugar started being refined in London which lowered the price considerably, although only well-off families were able to use it lavishly. Preserving with sugar allowed the sweet fruits of summer to be enjoyed all year round, especially during the holiday season.have come from the resemblance to a small plum. Or it could have come from actual plums preserved in sugar, a relatively new idea in 16th Century England. Prior to this time sugar was so expensive that it was used very sparingly,

(Browniepoints shares the Sugarplum above)

 much as we would use a spice today. In the 1540's, however, sugar started being refined in London which lowered the price considerably, although only well-off families were able to use it lavishly. Preserving with sugar allowed the sweet fruits of summer to be enjoyed all year round, especially during the holiday season.

This recipe appeared in an issue of

Saveur Magazine.

Recipe

2 cups whole almonds
1/4 cup honey
2 tsp grated orange zest
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup finely chopped dried apricots
1 cup finely chopped pitted dates
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 400. Arrange almonds on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast in oven for ten minutes. Set aside to cool and then finely chop. Meanwhile, combine honey, orange zest, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg in a medium mixing bowl. Add almonds, apricots, and dates and mix well. Pinch off rounded teaspoon sized pieces of the mixture and roll into balls. Roll balls in sugar and refrigerate in single layers between sheets of wax paper in airtight containers for up to one month.

Speaking of Sugarplums,  Did you see the San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker on PBS last night?  The dancing, the music, the set's, the costumes.....all perfection!

(above the Sugarplum Fairy dances)

Christmas in Jefferson

Hope to see the holidays in your
neck of the woods!  Here are a few in mine.



The House of the Four Seasons.



Julie's House



Doug and Phillis' House.



Inside the Sagamore House
during the Christmas Candlelight Tour,
(where I worked as a docent).



Decorating the Sagamore, red apples
coupled with white amaryllis,
a fresh and pretty combination.
 



Candles illuminate a porcelain dish.



Here's Kellie.



Playing her Celtic harp, an ethereal
touch for me the tourists! Then,
last night we heard some more music.



Bobby Baylor of Fort Worth, Texas sang great
 tunes after we dined in the Excelsior House
Ballroom. I was fortunate to sit by
him during dinner.



 It turns out he is  also a Baptist
 minister and I must add, one cool dude!
We spoke of music, how it has the
power to transform mood's &
also tap into a person's creative mind.



My mom (second from right) and friends
got up to dance to New York, New York.
It is a special place to be this season!
Hope all is happy, all is bright!

 

Santa Sightings

Here Comes Santa Claus!



In the garment district, LA



Flying over Wilshire Drive,
 also in LA.



Snowboarding Santa!





Japanese Santa




Spanish Santa



Santa Oragami




Annual  Santa's from around the globe have congregated for the annual World Santa Claus Congress in Klampenborg, north of Copenhagen, five months before Christmas.



More than 13,000 Santas set a Guinness World Record at a charity event on the walls of Londonderry in Ulster.




Happy New York Santa

And where would
Santa be without his 'Little Helper'?
~
Hope your holidays have been
festive so far!

The Artful World of James Vance

 The day we met, James Vance was working his magic 'setting stage' before the grand opening of the new shop Bodega, in Asbury Park.   We became acquainted through the
 owner, Mike Buess.   While watching James at work, it was impossible not to admire his creative abilities and passion for what he does.  To say this man is talented, is an understatement.


The Dog Collection



Can you believe this ingenious series
of paper dogs?



James created this collection
for the windows of Bergdorf Goodman.

 

Each canine, a masterpiece.



These prize winning pooches were sculpted only of Foamcore and glue!  Can you believe it?  Simply amazing!!




But the artist has other tricks up his sleeve!  Look at this gigantic crow holding court in the Dior window at Bergdorf's.....stunning!



(Chandelier created for Berdorf Goodman)



SHEDDING LIGHT ON JAMES VANCE
A Mini Interview


 
(James Vance, now)

R~ Thanks for being here today James.  It's a pleasure to have an opportunity to learn more about you!  Please tell us about where you grew up and what it was like.
~




(above:  James Vance ~ then)

JV~ We lived directly behind a shopping mall in South Florida. I remember doing a lot of 'playing' in the home furnishings and appliance departments, rearranging furniture, and plastic food.



(Pen created for window at B.G.)


R~Was yours a creative environment?
~
JV~ I created my own environment. I had a uncontrollable imagination, always overflowing with ideas.  I lived most of my time in a dreamworld or in Televisionland.




(Typewriter created for window of B.G.)


R~ Did you attend art school?
~
JV~ I studied Graphic Design for a while, but at the time, I was more interested in the world of the avant garde and my budding career in nightclubbing.  I left school to live in a storefront gallery in South Beach. This was the real start of my education.



(Phone created for window at B.G.)


R~  Can you tell us a bit about your creative journey?
~
JV~ Over the years, I have worked as a window dresser, set designer, prop stylist, muralist, graphic artist, event designer, art director, interior designer, gallery director, basically, every job that has now become a reality show on Bravo!  I suppose I have a hard time focusing and I enjoy mixing it up.


 
(Hand created for window at B.G.)


R~ When did you start designing art pieces for the windows at Bergdorf Goodman?
~
JV~ Just for the past few years. I feel so privileged to work with such a amazingly talented team of artists. Their director of visuals, David Hoey, is someone I've admired for a long time, a creative genius.
Some of my paintings were shown in the windows at Bergdorf Goodman back in the late Eighties. So I guess it's true what they say, 'Once a window dresser...'



(James before the opening of Bodega)


R~ Where do you find your inspiration?
~
JV~ Ideas usually force themselves on me, I have a hard time keeping my mind quiet.

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R~ Do you have an artistic philosophy?
~

JV~ Not so much a philosophy. I do like to keep it fresh by forcing myself outside of my comfort zone. If a project sounds interesting, I take it on, usually not knowing how I'm going to pull it off.

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R~ I've heard you are also a DJ?  Is this true?
~
JV~ It's something I've always done, here and there, over the years.  Music has always played a part in my creative journey.  Since most of my gigs are in Asbury Park these days, I've taken the alias of 'DJmeatnmore',  from a local butcher shop.

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R~ Is being a DJ an artistic job?  Is it the
same as creating other art?
~
JV~ My approach is more 'curatorial', and yes, any job can be done artfully. But mostly, I'm just paying homage to Apollo, and spreading the love.

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R~Thanks James, this was really great!
Happy Holidays~

Le Divan Fumoir Bohémian

Have you met Florizelle in Paris?
We met through Ulla a few years ago.




Le Divan Fumoir Bohémien, her site
 is filled to the brim
with interesting artworks.



Florizelle has an keen eye for the unusual,
and sometimes the quirky.



She has a special reverence for
 the past, finding and
sharing forgotten treasures.



On her site you will discover wonderful
 places and fabulous photographs.....



divine fabrics....



& intriguing artwork!




If you've never visited
Le Divan Fumoir Bohémiain before,
you should take a ride over....



to her place in
Paris~


Drink in the ambiance of
 artists and artisans
from the past and present.



Check out whatever fancies you
by paroozing the archives
cataloged on the left of her site.
~