Easter at Chelsea Market

I loved Easter when I was little: new dress, new shoes, taking flowers to church to put on the cross, and the eggs. My grandparents had a huge Easter egg hunt at their house, then there was another one at the country club, and then my sister and I would take turns hiding eggs around the house to continue the merriment. My mom had an Easter tree that I helped her make one year and she taught us how to take a needle and blow out the yolks in the eggs and dye them to make ornaments. I even took a class one year to learn to make Czech Easter eggs.

But my favorite eggs of all were the sugar eggs. I remember having small ones with ducks floating in a pond of icing, large ones with a family rabbits in a grassy field, and I even got a kit one year with the supplies to make my own sugar eggs. I saw these eggs today at the Chelsea Market and my heart jumped - for a second I felt like I was age five again and the Easter Bunny was real and my stress list consisted of not being allowed to wear my new white shoes yet and my basket being too small to hold all of my eggs...

First Day of Spring

A friend of mine sent this poem to me and I thought I would share it, since I love seasons and leaves and all they symbolize, and there are lots of Margarets in my life who are very dear to my heart.

Spring and Fall: To a young child

by

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Margaret, are you grieving

Over Goldengrove unleaving?

Leaves, like the things of man, you

With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?

Ah! as the heart grows older

It will come to such sights colder

By and by, nor spare a sigh

Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;

And yet you will weep and know why.

Now no matter, child, the name:

Sorrow's springs are the same.

Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed

What heart heard of, ghost guessed:

It is the blight man was born for,

It is Margaret you mourn for.

Snow Stories

On my walk today I saw this and thought it was cool: my boot, Sophie's paw, and a bird's claw.

While the Cat's Away ...

Charles Nolan + (Cannon + Hannah in shopping mood) - (Cannon's husband (he is out of town for a few days)) = DAMAGE.

My friend Hannah and I wandered in this store today. I would like to just move right in. This is an eclectic mix of Charles Nolan's own clothing, vintage clothing, jewelry, shoes, and home furnishings. The decor is so cool - the fireplace in the picture is actually a flat screen TV with a video of a fire burning. I left with two vintage findings, Hannah with some jewelry, my name on a mailing list, and a feeling of joy over my new discovery.

The Waste Land

I love living in a place where there are seasons. A week ago this was glistening white. Oddly enough, I saw this today and thought it was so serene and beautiful. In a month or so, everything will be green. Maybe I will take a picture then to compare ....

"Winter kept us warm, covering earth in forgetful snow, feeding a little life with dried tubers ..." T.S. Eliot

A Reflection on Age and Style

I love my afternoon walks in the park with Sophie. I am able to clear my mind and take in what is around me: the textures, the colors, and the way the sunlight hits the trees is relaxing and refreshing.

Today I saw this lady sitting on a park bench - she had a certain twinkle in her eye, and I don't usually walk up to strangers, but I did. Meet Lily Axel: black crocodile loafers, camel hair coat, red cashmere scarf, lipstick and a brown mink beret. I asked if I could take her picture for a piece I wanted to write, she agreed, but wanted to see what I wrote, so I am meeting her at 5pm tomorrow at the park with a copy of this post.

I was struck with this notion that there is a type of beauty that is only found in aging. The bark on trees becomes more distinctive in time, good architecture on buildings only gets better as cracks form, and marble steps get smoother, rounder and shinier as they are stepped on year after year. Lily has a depth to her style that cannot be replicated because it requires time. She is a reminder to embrace each season of my life and when I grow up, I want to be found in a mink beret and red lipstick sitting outside in style, imbibing the world around me.