Beach Dreams

Lately the weather, as the Brits say, has been chicken one day, next day, feathers. So I can’t be the only one dreaming of beaches this cool Wednesday. Herewith, accoutrements for a sunny daydream …

First, one needs a beach house. My husband and I once happily rented from mermaidcottages.com, a purveyor of historic beach houses on sleepy Tybee Island, just 10 minutes from Savannah. This is the Dutton-Waller cottage, circa 1938; it won the Tybee Island Historic Society Preservation Award in 2006.

This J.Crew swimsuit has a tulle overlay. TULLE. 

Gotta have this "Wish You Were Here" bangle from Kate Spade for a beach-bound foray ... 

... and these Amanda Pearl "Gobstopper" earrings. Yum. Featured at mrslilien.squarespace.com. 

I could tolerate these for about five minutes, but they do complete the look, no? Jimmy Choo "Pheonix" espadrilles in antique rose patent leather.

And how's a girl to get around without this Nirve "Wispy" 3-speed cruiser?

That was fun. Now to snap out of my reverie and get back to my real life ... baking a yellow cake with peanut butter frosting for my book club today at 1 p.m. 

Social Portraitist and Fashion Illustrator René Robert Bouché (with a Miles Redd Addendum)

For fans of loose illustrations with a whisper of Fauvist color, social portraitist and fashion illustrator René Robert Bouché (1905-1963) is it. He began his illustration career for French Vogue in 1938. He also designed sets for the theatre and ballet and ads for Elizabeth Arden and Saks Fifth Avenue. 

This is a 1947 cover for American Vogue. 

Bouché's 1958 work, "Woman with Veil." 

Love this portrait of socialite Mona von Bismarck.

An Elizabeth Arden ad. 

Another Vogue cover, with wonderful colors to celebrate the 1939 Ascot races. 

Here, interior designer extraordinaire Miles Redd uses Bouché fashion illustrations to dress up a powder room in the Atlanta mansion Boxwood, a 1920s Philip Shutze creation. 

Baby Showers Galore

This past Saturday, I was co-hosting a baby shower and was invited to another baby shower that took place on the same day. Wow. With spring comes tulips and daffodils and, apparently, babies. The shower I helped throw was great fun, and here is a glimpse ... 

I made some of those pom-pom decorations from tissue paper. (Here they are, waiting to be loaded into the car). This was one of the few Martha Stewart crafts I've attempted, because it actually looked doable. 

Baby face cupcakes. 

I got the idea for these cupcakes from the book "Hello, Cupcake!" It was a good start, but I had to tweak it. I made royal icing to attach the mini cupcakes to the base cupcake. I also used some fondant instead of doing them entirely in buttercream, then added polka dots. Voila! 

These porcelain cheese markers are my new favorite kitchen items. You can write the name of the cheeses on them, then wipe off. Fabulous. (I also found that my new favorite cheese is Italian truffle, deee-lish!). 

These cute little clothespin dolls were handmade by the woman who operates "The Dollhouse" booth at local antiques & art emporium ARTifacts. She does such a great job. The mom-to-be is going to put these in her nursery.

Here is another photo of "The Dollhouse" lady's clothespin dolls. I have gotten these before to use as gifts or to attach to bows on gifts for little girls. Isn't it such fun to put together parties? 

Le Bebe Décor and Accoutrements

With three girlfriends now expecting, and co-hosting a baby shower tomorrow, it’s no wonder I have baby gifts and décor on the brain. Baby décor has taken a turn since I was a child; no longer is it just McCoy lamb planters and ruffled curtains. Here, some favorites. 

Lucky Boy Sunday makes truly strange handmade dolls. This one is called “Beauty Baby” and is available at mashngravy.com. 

Vyconic on Etsy sells variations of this retro record player clock. 

I love the idea of a shelf filled with some Danish modern fun, like these Kristian Vedel birds, originally designed in 1959. Vedel designed them as a family of birds, children, parents and grandparents. Available at canoeonline.net.

 For more mid-century modern style, one needs some of these Alexander Girard dolls on display. Girard originally made them for his Sante Fe home in 1963. They have been reproduced by Vitra. Available at maximodesign.com.

This “Ohoy” wallpaper is based on a collaboration between 8-year-old Otto Dunker and Photowall.eu. Coming soon to finelittleshop.bigcartel.com.

This is a photo print available from Toysdream, an Etsy seller from Tel Aviv, Israel. It’s a whimsical and slightly eerie look at one of her one-of-a-kind art dolls.

Out of Brisbane, Australia comes Kristina Snerling, who makes and sells these darling handmade dolls through her online shop tinyconcept.com.au. These circus girls are ready for a turn-of-the century tightrope, aren't they?

I could go on and on, but you get the gist. Have a wonderful weekend!