The Little Red Diary

Life’s a Banquet

The Keeper of the Little Red Diary — Fri, 17 May 2013 03:08:21 +0000

Whenever I begin an image search for my “lovely library” I am always amazed at the copious amounts of masterful art and design material that man has created over the centuries. There once was a time when one must travel to Spain to view a finely embroidered flamenco skirt, or Provence, to observe the vibrant shade of blue that is created by rubbing woad on a farm-house shutter. From the elaborately designed pagodas of the Far East, to the sleek minimalism of a Karl Springer cocktail table, the world has become my oyster. And it can be just that without my having to leave my livingroom. The internet has opened more than just doors for me. It has given me the opportunity to become a backseat Auntie Mame. In the words of my favorite Broadway character, “Life’s a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death.” Not me…I have Wifi !

via:Eyepoetryphotography on Etsy

Credits: one,three and four. two and five. six. seven and eight. nine. ten.

Lovely and Delicious

The Keeper of the Little Red Diary — Wed, 15 May 2013 00:37:34 +0000

When antiquing down the Dixie Highway, we stopped at a lovely little diner to grab a bite to eat. Howley’s IS lovely, and that’s due to much more than their delicious dishes. If you want to experience a true bit of the West Palm Beach culture, stop in and enjoy the crowd as well as the eclectic atmosphere. Howley’s is located at 4700 Dixie Highway.

: Photographs by Kaki Valerius Smith

Photograph by Kaki Valerius Smith

The menu includes such delectable delights as Belgian Waffles with a scoop of ice cream, a Portobello Sandwich topped with blue cheese, roasted peppers, grilled onions and pesto, and Fried Green Tomatoes served with a BBQ remoulade. It was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!

Glamorous Recommendations:

The Keeper of the Little Red Diary — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:45:05 +0000

If you love the Little Red Diary, you will love these recommendations!

If you love the interior design style of the little Red Diary, then I invite you to follow our Pinterest page. There are 181 new images for your pleasure. The key is to take the word “The” out of our name when searching or click on the link here.

Pinned on http://pinterest.com/littlereddiary/

Glamorous Fiction: Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

A middle class girl from the Bronx chases her dreams and surrenders to chance in the glamorous Manhattan of the 1930′s.

Glamorous Non Fiction: Slim Keith: Memoirs of an Imperfect Life. By Slim Keith

A wonderfully written autobiography by one of America’s original “It Girls”. The story tells how a young girl transformed herself from virtual obscurity to one of the glamorous jet set in the 50′s and 60′s.

You can buy this book at Amazon by clicking here.

Antiquing Down the Dixie Highway

The Keeper of the Little Red Diary — Fri, 03 May 2013 01:29:09 +0000

Our friend Allie joins the jaunt, prepared to shop.

Our first stop was a romantic little shop that smelled like the lavender fields of Provence. Cote Jardin Antiques had just what the Countess ordered for a lazy afternoon in the garden.

Cote Jardin Antiques

With locations in both Washington D.C. and West Palm Beach, as well as a base in Provence, they have just the collection needed to set you up in a “maison secondaire” of your own. Through contacts in Paris and the South of France, Cote Jardin Antiques acquires unique French decorative pieces from all periods in history. Everything that we saw was delightfully charming, and the staff was warm and welcoming.

Cote Jardin Antiques

After a lot of window shopping and weaving in and out of shops we happened upon Lars Bolander’s Design firm. What a treat to be able to view his newest shipment. I have always been a fan of his work.

At Lars Bolander Ltd.

Butterflies by Nadine Kalachnikoff

At Christa’s South Antiques and Seashells

Crista’s best seller. Masks created from shells.

Lastly, we discovered “The Garden of Eden” at Mecox Home, Antiques and Design. I was astounded at the floral design work that abounds here. Taking beautiful photographs was easy when the composition had been so thoughtfully preplanned.

Mecox Home Antiques and Design

Mecox

Roots of a Bonsai Tree at Mecox Design

A Design from Mecox

Mecox

Continuing Along Worth Avenue… and Two of our Favorite Shops.

The Keeper of the Little Red Diary — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 18:21:35 +0000

As the girls and I shopped along Worth Avenue we happened upon a charming little alcove, where we fell in love with ALL that was inside. D. Dream Altalier, tucked neatly behind Worth on Via Minzer is a treasure trove of fabulous finds. Ozan Ozdemir meets us at the door of his charming shop where he sells designs by his lovely wife Duygu.

Designer Duygu Ozdemir from Istanbul.

Enthusiastic about his wife’s creations, Ozan offered that anything in the shop could be made to order. So, I indulged by ordering two tunics made especially for summer cocktails by the pool.

Fabulous bejeweled tunics at D.Dream Atelier.

Wonderful bracelets by D. Dream Atelier.

D.Dream earrings to die for.

Mary in D. Dream Atelier.

Of course, all three of us purchased copious amounts of the lovely jewelry. Now that I am home, I am tempted to buy more online!

Earrings designed by Ozan’s wife Duygu.

I love the bracelets.

Silver with 22K vermeil.

One of a kind necklaces.

Wow!

Out along Worth Avenue we happenend upon Il Sandalo, where the Teserone brothers have been making sandals by hand for decades. We bought six pair!

The Tesorone brothers.

A neopolitan craftsman works on a pair of sandals in the shop.

Allie tries on a pair.

Sandals from il Sandalo.

Mary and Allie having drinks at the Brazilian Court Hotel.

The lobby of the Brazilian Court.

Dinner courtyard at Renato’s.

“The Little Red” Goes Pink and Green in Palm Beach – a scrapbook

The Keeper of the Little Red Diary — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 22:57:01 +0000

My sons Val and Bridger, getting ready for the flight.

Our lovely hostess for the week, my friend, Mary, ready to board.

Val watching as air speed reaches just short of mach 1.

First stop, Mary’s fabulous house designed by Lee Pruitt Interiors.

The gatherings of friends and family begin.

Off to explore.

I love the high private hedges along the streets of Palm Beach.

Fabulous front doors of Palm Beach residences.

Pretty windows.

Lush landscape.

Orchids growing on trees.

The Girls Go Shopping on Worth

Everyone is chic in Palm Beach!

Mary in D. Dream Atelier.

Jewels for all at Richter’s.

More…More…More

Butterflies adorn the ceiling at Neiman Marcus.

Coming in next post: “Two of our FAVORITE shops on Worth” and “Antiquing Down the Dixie Highway”

Thanks for the Nomination

The Keeper of the Little Red Diary — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 02:59:26 +0000

This evening, as I checked my blog comments, I saw that Diamonds and Dirt nominated me for the Liebster Award. Hmmm, My first nomination – this is exciting!!! So I’m going to give it a whirl.

Here are the rules:

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.

2. Answer each question that the tagger has set for you plus create 11 questions for the people who you have nominated to answer.

3.Choose 11 nominees and link them to your post.

4. Go to their page and tell them

5. No tag backs!

I was asked by Diamond and Dirt to list 11 things that no one would know about me even if they read my blog. So, here goes…

1. I am a breast cancer (and chemo) survivor.

2. In 1988 I worked on an archaeological dig (on site) in Caesarea, Israel digging up 2,000 year old artifacts.

3. Every Monday I volunteer as the Art teacher at an Outreach School in one of my cities most dangerous neighborhoods.

4. If I could be anybody, I’d most want to be a novelist.

5. In Jane Austen’s world, I prefer Mr. Knightly.

6. I love to forage junk shops for hidden treasure.

7. I am a graduate of the University of Alabama – The most fun four years of my life!

8. As girly as my blog is, my life is anything but! I live with a husband, two sons, and a male dog! I am the only Princess!

9. My real name is not Kaki.

10. My friends don’t know that I have a blog!

11. I am trained as a milliner (hat maker).

I am going to ask my nominees to re-post their favorite 11 images of all time.

Here are my nominees:

Style Salvation Portraits Of Elegance LILLA BLANKA

La Pouyette

The Style Schedule

My Secret Agent Lover Man

a La Parisienne

Two Girls on a Whirlwind Trip

Manion 21

Emily Evans Eerdmans

A Bloomsbury Life

Baby, You’ve Got Style!

The Keeper of the Little Red Diary — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 03:29:52 +0000

The Little Red Diary Recommends

The Keeper of the Little Red Diary — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 21:53:47 +0000

A Novel by Robin Sloan

Every evening, before I go to bed, I like to tune in to NPR and listen to KQED in San Francisco’s podcasts called “The Writer’s Block”. I have the app on my iphone; as it serves as my equivalent to hearing a bedtime story. “The Writer’s Block” wades through hundreds of new books each month, plucking out the best of the lot, and broadcasts the author’s themselves reading a favorite selection (but most often the first chapter) from the carefully chosen book. Only the most well written and thoughtful works make the list. I have found that this is a great way to discover titles that I might like to purchase in the future. My latest favorite is Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. It’s a fresh tale that melds love, mystery, and the wonder of the emerging internet into a witty tale full of interesting and peculiarly familiar characters. You too can give the first chapter a listen by clicking on the link below. I guarantee it to be an entertaining read!

NPR Podcast: KQED in San Francisco “The Writer’s Block Podcast Page“.

What Are Your Thoughts???

The Keeper of the Little Red Diary — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 20:41:22 +0000

Roland Bello Photography

The Little Red Diary has been going strong since the end of September. It has been so much fun to curate the images that you see here. But now it is time to hear from you. Leave me a comment and let me know what your thoughts are, and what you would like to see. What do you loooove, and what did you hate? I really am interested. So, go ahead SPEAK UP!

- The Keeper of the Little Red Diary