Category Archive
The following is a list of all entries from the southern lifestyle category.
Barton Heights
Nancy Lancaster, Virginian and English society decorator, once said, “We vulgarize everything we touch.” She was referring to a historic old home with a modern in-ground swimming pool. Born in 1897, she was very romantic about southern architecture and style. It was this aesthetic that made her a popular designing force among the English country home set. She may have known Barton Heights in its hey day, and the romantic southern girl would be drawn to it even still.
The Town of Barton Heights is the location of my novel’s back story. (Coincidentally, it was where my grandparents and great-grandparents lived.) Touted as the first trolley suburb of Richmond, the houses were constructed in the late 1800s and for many years this was a fashionable and tight-knit community. John Barton’s vision of homes with fanciful details was fully realized, and although he left town to escape hungry creditors, his house still stands. Sturdy. Defiant. Regal.
Here’s a sample of the neighborhood now…
Ring in the Wild Bells!
I always feel so hopeful on New Year’s Day — resolutions made, old friendships renewed, adventures known and unknown ahead. To be inspired, there is no greater poet than Alfred, Lord Tennyson. I turn to his writing and insight often, and today this poem seems particularly appropriate.
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1850
Thanks for reading in 2011 — I have enjoyed hearing from you, and look forward to many cyber conversations in the year ahead. I hope Sassy Living will offer you inspiration in design, literature and southern living in 2012. I have resolved to be more daring this year. How about you? Will you join me? Paint your kitchen bright orange. Or your bathroom bright pink. Maybe select a black high gloss paint to make your dining room more interesting (ok, so you can paint one wall to make certain you love it).
Or read all the Pulitzer Prize fiction selections since 1930 (which will keep you busy and could give you lots of ideas — who knows?). Support local art shows — maybe you’ll find just the right painting for your living room? And, see all the movies possible — there’s so many fascinating pieces and parts behind and in front of the camera. No matter what, let’s all be more daring. That is my resolution to myself. And, my wish for you.
The Art of the Southern Storyteller
Do you remember when Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, Glamour, et al, featured short stories? Mother would skip all the articles on child raising and casserole making to read to me. I didn’t always understand the layered characters or narrative but it definitely fueled my love of the written word. Wouldn’t it be a better world if good writing and good stories were still considered in vogue instead of news about the Kardashian family?
There’s a wonderful online journal, The Cortland Review, where writing, and stories are still high art.
TCR http://www.cortlandreview.com has been around since 1997, and it features mostly poetry, with some personal essay and fiction each issue. Why am I bringing this up? Well, my short piece, “Because” is being featured and it’s online, NOW.
I hope you will check it out, and let me know what you think. TCR is really dedicated to artists, which, for those of us who are writing, is a beautiful thing!
Designing The Help
Kathryn Stockton knows how to make a debut. Her first book, “The Help” still reigns on the bestseller lists and, most recently, the movie version has set box office records. It’s a period story which has sparked a lot of blog chatter on lifestyle and class in 1960s America.
When I read Kathryn’s home descriptions, and visually processed them while watching the movie, I was struck by how interior decorating and design often underscore our culture’s prevailing values and attitudes. In the 60s, many folks had the option to use their homes as another delineation of class, since good design was expensive and inexpensive style (and stores such as Target) were not available to the masses. Now, on virtually any budget, you can have a sassy room or apartment or house which reflects your personality and passion. There are lots of shelter publications dedicated to helping you find your decorating ”voice.”
I still live in a mid-century rancher (my folk’s house), although not as big as the movie version below. I like the builders’ dedication to function and simplicity. I have kept the real pine panelling in the living room, but the urge to paint over it is a recurring desire.
The movie’s set designers Mark Ricker and Rena DeAngelo won an Emmy for the pilot of the 60s ad drama, Mad Men. They must have scoured a lot of attics to come up with the 47 sets they had to dress. Here you can see the various homes some of the characters inhabited…an old plantation, mid-century rancher, perfectly appointed colonial, et al. Nothing says the 60s any better than a pink, make that, ALL pink bathroom.
As you flip though this montage, you can almost imagine “The Help’s” characters and their lives in Mississippi in 1964, without even knowing their story. The rooms and contents make such a vivid contribution, that design functions as an additional story character.
There’s a new 60s period drama, Pan Am, debuting this fall on ABC. Should be interesting since the television series will center around the iconic airline Pan American World Airways. We’ll see if the interiors are as expressive.
Savvy Chic: The Art of More for Less
Who doesn’t want to be stylish on a budget? And, let’s face it, most budgets are as tight as a Victorian corset. Seriously. I fell in love with Anna Johnson’s cheeky humor in her first book Three Black Skirts. She has a positive outlook, but tinges it with the practical advice of a good friend. She encourages you to love where you are (no matter the circumstances), and live where you are with style and grace. The best part is she shows you how.
In Savvy Chic, Anna shares her secrets on how to dress, decorate, entertain, and travel in high style without breaking the piggy bank. I love to entertain, so I was really appreciative of her tips on various dreamy breakfast themes and recipes (Indian Summer, Cowboy Fry-up…) and the best time to entertain that make your dollars stretch. Breakfast is number one.
She dishes on the images of good style icons (think Sophia Coppola), and how we can all learn by example. Sophia adorns her petit frame with simple lines and classic, muted colors. She always looks ravishing. Anna suggests trolling through local vintage shops for good clothes with great lines from gorgeous fabric. New York is full of these places, but I bet your town has at least one.
Anna is from Australia, but she shows a New Yorker’s penchant for creating herself and her life. You can too! Both books are a great resource, and fun to read through. So, this weekend, stay out of the heat (and if you are on the East Coast, away from the hurricane), and find a vintage shop to start building your red carpet look.
Thanks to my dearest pal Sharyn Rosenblum at William Morrow, (the savviest woman I know), for sending me Savvy Chic to review.
Southern California — Surfer Girl!
It’s not your imagination, I am a bit obsessed with the West Coast surfing culture and design elements that illuminate its off-hand style. My argument is that I am too East Coast (and New Yorkerish) to ever really embrace it. Hark. Vogue.com http://www.vogue.com/culture/article/apt-with-lsd-minnie-mortimer/has a fabulous piece on Minnie Mortimer that has me thinking.
Mortimer was born and bred in New York, but she is now a fashion designer based in Malibu. When asked which coast is home, she exclaims, “both!” The house that she shares with her Academy Award–winning husband, screenwriter Stephen Gaghan, shares a similar dynamic.
Oh, and look at those bookshelves! She has a decade of the Best American Short Stories and the Paris Review is prominently on display as well.
I chuckle whenever I see these 70s style chairs (below) that are so popular in the shelter publications. My aunt and uncle had these in their den back in the day, and my mother would refer to them as the Jetson furniture. Not exactly a compliment and besides she would argue, who wants to swivel and eat! But, I think that even mom would agree that the modern-retro-funky vibe gives the room tecture and interest. The chandelier really moves your eye upward. How about the simple vase with flowers? A great touch since so much else is going on, and with the dark grey wall paint, the white vase really pops.
Maybe California is the place I should be! Note to my friends Alex and Sarah: see what a great influence you have been on me? Especially your bi-coastal style, Sarah.
Celebrate the 4th — Add a Pop of RED to your LIFE!
Do you have plans for July 4th? Well, even if your weekend doesn’t include fireworks and grilled hot dogs and beach fun, you can still celebrate with the color red. As VOGUE Style Director Grace Coddington says, “Art is all around us.” I am taking my cues this holiday from the American flag. Blue and white intrigue me, but red really sends up a decorative flare.
A touch of red in a room can give it just the right hint of sophistication and a red lamp could signal a brave decorating soul.
I especially love red carnations. They’ve fallen out of favor which is ironic since they have been around hundreds of years and are very “British.” My mother use to gather a large bunch and put them in a white milk glass pitcher. She had a innate sense of flair! Southern and French women seem to share that trait in common.
Of course, the ultimate lover of red in decor was Diana Vreeland with her red red red living room, and the cover of her book, Allure, originally published in the 80s. If you are not sure you want to be that daring, how about some red nail polish? Easy on, easy off…and think how patriotic you will look?
Happy fourth, y’all! This is a great holiday to be brave and express yourself, just like the original patriots.
Sarah Lawrence College Summer Writer’s Seminar. Inspiring!
What a week. I have been attending the Summer Writer’s Seminar for eight years. That first year inspired me to go to graduate school. My friend, Paul August, describes the annual series as life-altering. I must agree. Poetry. Non-Fiction. Fiction. Writers together expressing themselves and their art.
I have just returned from the 2011 seminar, and I know I keep saying this but… it was the best one yet! Isn’t it great that in a culture that overvalues being famous versus being a true artist, that a place like Sarah Lawrence still exists? (I am certainly very proud to have an M.F.A. in fiction from there). Here, here! We all stayed in the dorms and ate in the campus Pub and enjoyed libations/readings on the Pub terrace in the evenings (yours truly was the cruise director for these!).
Southerners are all about stories. We hear them growing up. We remember them when we are grown. They are our past. Our future.
Friends. Literature. Place. All linked to form a life’s narrative.
Here are my great friends Anne and John, who I spent a lovely afternoon with while I was in New York…they are the very definition of hospitality and generosity.
Great authors were teaching…
And, the beautiful Sarah Lawrence College buildings…it was raining the day I took these which adds to the mystique. Hallowed ground for writers.
A heartfelt thanks to the amazing folks who put this annual week on …Susan, Alex, Deby, Tom, Travis, Katie, Mo, and and and. Every one who attended is in your debt.
Great Beach Reads!
What’s on your list? Or, as we say in the south, “what’s in your beach bag?” (I always find this funny, since even if folks know your summer plans don’t include the beach, you still get asked!). I am a HUGE Laura Lippman fan (or should I say, fangirl?). Laura has really given the mystery genre a big lift, and I think she is one of the most exciting and prolific writers today. Most of her stories are set in Baltimore, so there is a southern flair to the locales.
In this book, the narrative takes flight when a letter arrives from the protagonist’s former kidnapper. What does he want? Lots. And, that is where the story really starts moving. You will not be able to put this down!
I fell in love with Joyce Maynard’s work when she taught in the Sarah Lawrence Summer Writer’s Program several years ago. Her memoir, At Home in the World, really rocks. I literally read it in one very long night! Her storytelling capabilities are unparalleled. The Good Daughters is told in alternating voices from two “birthday sisters” as they make their way from the 1950s to the present. Joyce knows about family relationships, and, in this book, she explores fully the ties of home and family.
Thanks to my darling friend Sharyn at Harper Collins for sending these books to me to review.
Derby Day In VA!
You don’t have to be in Kentucky to be a Derby Fan! I went to a great party that celebrated the annual run for roses. There were fashionable hats, traditional foods (mint julips and Kentucky hot browns on the griddle!) and even a betting pool. It was a beautiful spring day here, and the outfits and spirit and hospitality were just as festive as several states away. Look at how wonderful every one looks…
Hosts…Jill and Torry Hoover welcomed guests to their lovely home overlooking Richmond’s James River.
