Goodbye, fair lady

The Duchess of Devonshire, the last of the famous (and infamous) Mitford sisters, passed away today at age 94. I'll always admire her for her style, for her tenacity in saving a historic estate and, certainly, for her love of chickens. There will never be another like her. Here is the New York Times obituary. http://nyti.ms/Y6SyG1

Here is one of the most famous photos ever taken of her, by Bruce Weber, in which she wears a Balenciaga gown while feeding her chickens. She sold the eggs from the farm shop on the grounds of her estate, Chatsworth.

 

Taken in 1952 by Norman Parkinson, this photo depicts the duchess in the "Gold Drawing Room" of Chatsworth with a painting of Henry VIII in the background.

 

Here Deborah is in 1941. The duchess was christened Deborah Mitford and was one of the six fabulous Mitford sisters, an aristocratic bunch that kept the newspaper headlines ablaze throughout the 1930s and 1940s. I've always loved that, despite her family's notoriety and upper crust lineage, Deborah was down to earth. She saved Chatsworth from falling into ruin. And she kept free-range chickens: Leghorns, Buff Cochins, Rhode Island Reds and others. What a dame.

Summer is over

I took a break from blogging this summer. But naturally, I made some blog-able discoveries. One was Cecily Rush, who is an amazing designer, sculpture and painter. She lives in a tiny New York town and makes whimsical party hats and other celebratory items under the name Cecily Rush & Co.

An example of a Cecily Rush party hat. 

I ordered this rabbit headband from Rush's Etsy site for my daughter's second birthday party, which was Peter Rabbit themed. The site is here: www.etsy.com/shop/CecilyRush.

And here's the hat on the little rabbit. 

With Day of the Dead coming up on Nov. 1, a special hat is in order, no? 

Or how about some Maleficent wings for your little one's Halloween costume?

Cecily Rush does it all: hats, crowns, favors, table pieces, gifts and decorations for birthdays, weddings and other occasions. Love this little dandy hat for that special boy's party.

And I must have this sash for Mother's Day 2015. Made of wool felt, glass glitter, paper, wire, paint, satin fabric and ribbons. Because this is a sash made for a queen, right?