Theater is Not Dead

I am mesmerized by the photography work of Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre.  They are masters at capturing a bygone era by photographing cultural landmarks in a state of ruin.  I am particularly awed by their theater series.  I've peppered this post with photos of theater performances in the era at which these theaters were at their zenith.

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Sarah Bernhardt

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King Lear and his daughters

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The Desperate Hours 1955

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Ethel Barrymore in her dressing room.

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Stage version of A Street Car Named Desire 1947.

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Two by Two

I don't know about you, but I find great comfort in the use of symmetry.  Whenever I see an out of control corner of my home, or an overly disheveled area, I use a little natural symmetry to restore a sense of calm and order.  Maybe this is due to my OCD nature, or maybe as Paul Valery pointed out, "The universe is built on a plan of profound symmetry, which is somehow present in the inner structure of our intellect. "

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"I don't know if it's a sign of all the chaos that is happening out there or not, but I've lately craved the structure and order of classical music and the balance and symmetry."   - Helen Reddy

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“The mathematical sciences particularly exhibit order, symmetry, and limitation; and these are the greatest forms of the beautiful."  - Aristotle

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"The most general law in nature is equity-the principle of balance and symmetry which guides the growth of forms along the lines of the greatest structural efficiency. "  - Herbert Read

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And I wanted to thank Laura of Built With Dreams for featuring my home this weekend on her lovely blog.  According to Laura's About section, Built With Dreams is dedicated to "real homes, where real people live – not “homes” that have been put together for a decoration magazine, but homes that people put together to make of them a cozy place to live."  So head on over and check out the new blog on the block!

Sarah Saw Something

Time for another weekend installment of Sarah Saw Something - where I share a few things of interest that I found this week in the blogosphere.

 

High Gloss - the new kid on the e-magazine block, has just released their premier issue!  Go HERE to check it out!  Report back here and tell me what you think!

There are all sorts of wonderful giveaways happening this week.  So if you're into winning cool stuff, be sure to check them out!

A Beach Cottage : $100 Anthropologie Gift Card
The Zhush : Julie LoRusso jewelry

Burlap and Blue : $30 credit at her Etsy shop

Little Emma English Home : "At Home With Country" book

Beautiful things that I saw this week at the Etsy marketplace:

I was so impressed with this very well appointment one room studio featured at Built With Dreams.  Its inspiring for a hoarding-clutter-clump like me to see that you really can do "more with less".

Yesterday, Laura at Bright, Bold and Beautiful featured a photo of my desk in a series titled "Where We Blog".  Over the next few weeks (or months) Laura will be featuring photos of the home offices and cozy spots of some of your favorite bloggers.  A quick note about my desk photo: Jenny of My Favorite and My Best wisely suggested that I get a new desk chair.  So now, I have a pretty leather parsons chair in place of that old black office-y looking thing. Thank you, Jenny.  And Thank you Laura!

And be sure to check out this post, where the lovely Anita from A Dreamer's Den did a little DIY work inspired by my napkin pillows.  So much fun!

Have a beautiful weekend and I'll see you back here on Monday!

xo

Living the Dream

Yesterday, I posted about my dream home and today, I thought it would be nice to post about my real home.  Dreaming has always served me well, but I'm also a "love the one you're with" kind of gal. I've spent the last few days indoors due to severe weather conditions here in Dallas and I've had some time to putter and rearrange furniture.  Last week, we introduced a piano into our home.  It was a gift from a friend.  I don't know about you, but when a new piece of furniture arrives in my home, I start re-thinking my furniture layout.  So, I've puttered, I've tinkered, I've re-shuffled the deck and I've taken some photos.  No doubt, it would be wonderful to have an apartment in Paris.  However, dreaming of Paris reminded me that I am living my dream.  Right now.  It just happens to be in a ranch house in Dallas.

Like most American dining rooms, ours is a multi-functional space.  In addition to eating meals, we also use the dining room for art projects, writing, working, surfing the web, play time, playing music, listening to music and general family lounging.

Here is our living room.  We have a rotating art installation over the mantle -  my three year old son is always cranking out art work and this particle board allows me to tape up the masterpiece of the moment. 

...and I'm still loving the throw pillows I recently made out of napkins.

And just for fun, I'm using a vintage suitcase and Samsonite as a make-shift side table for the chair in my office.  I'm always looking for a place to set a glass and this works beautifully. 

...and here my snow covered front yard this morning!

You can see more of my home via Flickr.
Thank you, dear readers, for allowing me to show you around my real dream home!

xo

Collaging my Dream Home

Did you see Lauren's (Pure Style Home) guest post at La Dolce Vita yesterday?  The question was simple, "What is your dream home?"  She posted all sorts of lovely, serene, photos from her inspiration file - really beautiful stuff.  That girl knows how to live!  I started thinking, of course, about my dream home.  I am inspired by so many design styles that I couldn't really envision my dream home.  I love Moroccan, Modern, French, Craftsman, Art Nouveau, Scandinavian... its a long list.  But what would I really want to live in?  Deep down - or not too deep, really - I am a boho francophile with an insatiable habit for collecting books and tchotchkes.  So i guess my dream home should encompass these qualities.  As my three year old would say, what is my "for-really-real", livable dream home? I think this might be it:

Paris apartment

tall ceilings

elegant architecture

fireplaces

ethnic rugs

heavy on the art

velvet and tufted furnishings

pops of red, blue, gold and brown 

and all well lit with natural light

The front door opens into the tiled foyer...

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 ...which leads into the main living space.

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The windows have bench seating and face the usually calm city street.

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There is a large breezeway with french doors leading to the dining room.

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The dining room opens to this wonderfully ornate kitchen.

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Instead of the little slip covered table and chairs in the photo above, 

my kitchen has a little sun room which is used for a breakfast nook.

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Off of the living room, there is a hallway...

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...that leads to a guest room.

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Another room has been turned into a library and study.

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My desk looks out over something beautiful.

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The study and guest room are across from this bathroom.

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And the boys also have their own bedroom...

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Further down the hall is the master bedroom. The light is a little different because of the foliage on the terrace.  This room is the most serene in the house and isn't cluttered with all of my books, art and ephemera.

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There are a few girly accents...

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...and the master bath.

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And of course, the aforementioned terrace,
which runs the length of the master bed and bath.

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As usual, I love to have visitors!  

Won't you come over?