let's get down(ton abbey)

only 6 more days until a personal wish of mine is granted! the season 2 of Downton Abbey premieres on PBS Sunday and i've been waiting since last spring to see it. i can hardly stand it.

everything about the first season was so incredible...the clothes (and hats!) the characters, the time period (the hats!), the story, the setting...i was so aboserbed that i watched the entire season in one weekend. i loved this BBC miniseries MORE than the BBC's pride and prejudice, which is saying something since it had colin firth in it...and i don't think i'm the only one. twice recently i asked someone what they'd watched and liked recently and they gushed with me about DA for many, many minutes. if you haven't seen it, start watching it on netflix or pbs streaming right this minute (or if you're at work, the MINUTE you get home.) if you watch one episode a night and two on Saturday until Sunday when the new one premieres, you'll be 100% caught up. you'll thank me, i promise.

if you aren't convinced, here are a few stills, and a link to the website, to whet your appetite.

 oh, did i mention that the hats are amazing?

of course i love the soap-opera-ish romances and the pot-boiling feuds between the sisters, the in-laws, and the servants, but some of my favorite pieces are the little period details and social and professional expectations of the world at that time since between the sinking of the titanic and beginning of World War I there was an incredible historical turning point. also, something about the society reminds me of earlier generations of southern families. i'm glad i don't live in those times, but i'm so intrigued...

also, if i'm preaching to the choir and you've already watched the show and are as excited as i am, take 2 minutes for the character quiz to find out your downton abbey doppelganger! the last season ended as world war one began, so i can't wait to find out where the writers pick up. let me know if you'll be watching so we can chat about it.

images from google

a tree house for grown ups!

oh my...

did you see the NYT article "A treehouse grows in Brooklyn" yesterday? FIrst of all, I wrote my college essays about the book... what a classic. And secondly, if you didn't read the article....you MUST. right now. for $400 and lots of scavenging,  this burgeoning interior designer created the MOST PERFECT hideaway complete with oriental rugs, french doors, and a rocking chair. 

also, since last week's Modern Family (the treehouse episode") I've been thinking about how it would be SO MUCH FUN to have a special outdoor spot for reading, drinking wine, and pretending to be a kid...but I guess that's what a screened in porch is for. what kind of hideaway would you want to build?

romantic (and historic) getaway...

my mom brought an old martha stewart mag last week when she came to visit and there were these great photos from historic deerfield, ma. it's apparently this incredibly old community (several houses are from the early 1700s!) after seeing them and doing a little more research about fun things to do, i'm dying to visit. the  homes are soooo beautiful...

and the doors to the houses are amazing...they're almost the best part! can't you imagine nathaniel hawthorne walking out of one of these and strolling down the street?

find more here.

so many treasures...

so a few weeks ago i went to some training in the city (new york city, actually)and i got to spend one night with some sweet friends, jenny and thomas. while thomas was in class, jenny and I went juking around their neighborhood, peeking in used book stores and thrift shops along our route. then we stumbled upon the best place in the whole world... olde good things. it was filled with treasures! treasures that i wanted to bring home SOOOOO bad.

and the best part was that they were old, and cool, and moderately priced.  if you live in new york or la, or scranton, pa (what?) then you're sinning if you haven't visted olde good things and taken home everything you can fit in your car.

it's true....

so,  i mentioned that i've been super into sexy vampire books recently...is this incredibly mortifying for me? yes. did it stop me from proclaiming it on the interweb? no.

what i didn't mention was that the sexy vampire tv show, trueblood is what got me into the sexy vampire books on which the show is based. sure, i have to close my eyes at the really raunchy parts and the awful southern accents make me cringe but for some reason i just CAN'T get enough of this show. this isn't the first awful tv show i've fallen head-over-heels for. one february it was smallville, then gilmore girls, then it was NCIS. now, trueblood. anyway, since stores have started selling halloween costumes and trick-or-treat bags i thought i'd share some set photos from my fave new guilty pleasure  because i really love the way the sets look AND because trueblood is really addictive. don't take my word for it...rent the DVDs and see for yourself. and lust after the sets...or just lust. whatev.

bill's house

inside bill's house (so fab, right?)

sookie's kitchen..i love the light!

the vampire bar. too much blood red? nah.

a night in...

boone's out of town for the WHOLE next week, which means i've got NOTHING but time (nothing but time, a professional saturday, and a whole real lot of work to do.) i'd go out with the girls tonight, but it's been a rough week and i'm scheduled to celebrate a friends' birthday at a martini bar tomorrow night (whooo hooo!)

instead, i think i'm going to take a loooong hot bath, have a glass of wine, and read a sexy vampire book (which i could do all at the same time if i had this nifty gadget.)

what would YOU do if you were home alone on a friday night?

image from a.t.

garden club material?

love. this.


this week i (really..ME! biz!) was invited to our new little town's garden club. of course i can't go because i've planned meetings ALL day on Wednesday...but just to be asked is pretty fun. honestly, i'm probably not the delta garden club material...but my mama is a 1st place winner at the garden club of america's flower show (she did the MOST FANTASTIC dolly parton arrangements with cantelopes), so maybe arranging flowers and cultivating bulbs is in my blood, after all. ;)

either way, i'd love to have these pretty things by one of our windows... if i could pull it off i bet i'd be garden club material. thoughts?



















image here.

mapping it out...

 so, this weekend went over to oxford for the football game and some tailgating...which was incredibly fun. we ate delicious food, danced at a piano bar with friends, drank just enough to feel fantastic, and even hit up the bookstore on our way out of town. i made a pit stop before we hit the road in off-square books, and noticed THESE fantastic gems inside and outside of the loo...
































which made me want a vintage pull down map for our house, like whoa. turns out, this isn't only MY idea...see how cool they look in an office or living room??

 

images from me, here, here, here, and here . Find your own vintage maps at etsy or on ebay!