Bloomsbury & Battle

Musings on a New Year

December 31, 2018

In years past, the start of a new year either hasn’t registered on my emotional radar (likely due to too much NYE bubbly) or has made me a little sad thinking about time flying by. This year I feel different though. I feel happy and excited for 2019 in a way I can’t explain. True, every year has its ups and downs but the downs in 2018 were, I’m not going to lie, way down there and sometimes it felt like the ups were few and far between. On the bright side, this year I grew in ways I didn’t expect and for that I am grateful.

This pic of Loulou de la Falaise, muse and right hand (wo)man to Yves Saint Laurent, on her wedding day in the seventies sums up my outlook and aspirations for 2019. Here she is confident and content, creative and basking in the joy of being herself. I want my work on this blog (the unexpected baby I created in 2018) to be filled with as much creativity and confidence as Ms. Falaise exudes here. I hope my year, and yours too, is dripping with jewels, tied up in a turban, and downed with a glass of champagne.

Toast to a new year!

-Laura

with a bow on top

December 19, 2018

‘Tis the season for party after party after party. All this merry making requires some extra pizazz in the wardrobe dept! One style I am loving this holiday season? The tie neck aka pussy-bow blouse. We have Alessandro Michele of Gucci and his grandma glamour (see above pic) to thank for the current pussy-bow resurgence and I dig it.

For starters, you know I love a button down but I am particularly piqued by a button down with a bow. Pussy-bow blouses are v. elegant and can literally be worn with everything. Wear one under a blazer for your office Christmas party… pair one with straight leg jeans (these are the gold standard) and metallic heels for your last girls night of the year…leave one undone and opened low, maybe with a hint of this, for sexy, Kate Moss vibes. Anything goes, for real.

Now the only question is whether to splurge or save. I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite pussy-bow blouses below.

Prrrfect!

-Laura

Isabel Lopez-Quesada: At Home

December 4, 2018

I like to add to my collection of art and design books by buying a book every month. I don’t notice the cost when I buy one at a time (1 book = 5 oat milk lattes) plus it helps me to stay on top of the latest and greatest so I know what book to buy next. I just ordered Isabel López-Quesada’s first book – Isabel López-Quesada: At Home – and can’t wait to study every page.

Isabel López-Quesada is a Spanish interior designer based in Madrid who’s worked on projects all over the world. She’s been published in pretty much every design magazine you can think of and is one of Architectural Digest’s prestigious AD100. Her look is all about the juxtaposition of contemporary and traditional with antiques and modern pieces side-by-side. It’s feminine but funky using lots of textures and subtle colors. Her rooms appear airy, light and infinitely livable.

I’ll post more pictures on Instagram once I’ve poured over my copy of Isabel López-Quesada: At Home but for now here are some of my favorite images of Isabel’s work.

Enjoy!
Laura

print power: printed tablecloths

November 30, 2018

Jordan and I spent our first Thanksgiving in Dallas and, while we were sad to be away from our families, it was a really relaxing few days. We ran the Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving morning then spent the rest of the day cooking and eating a feast à deux. One of my favorite parts of the day was setting the table with cherished wedding gifts – china, vintage crystal, and serving pieces from our nearest and dearest.

Hosting a dinner party, even if just for two, is a good way to test if you have the essentials to entertain on a larger scale. After setting my Thanksgiving table I made a little list of some of the things I’m still missing… a silver ladle for gravy, festive water glasses, a punch bowl (so fun for big parties) and a special tablecloth! It’s the tablecloth that really got to me last week. I LOVE the look of printed tablecloths layered with patterned china for an eclectic, collected vibe and the cream linen I used on Thanksgiving just did not cut it. I’m officially on the tablecloth hunt! Here are some of my favorites and how I would pair them with patterned china.

[richard ginori plate, simrane tablecloth]

This pattern, Oriente Italiano by Richard Ginori, is my everyday china and it is so dang versatile. I’m a bit of a china fiend and have collected a few different patterns but if I could only have one, it might be this because you can use it all day, every day. I paired it with a block printed floral tablecloth from the AMAZING French textile company Simrane. Every Simrane print is perfection – see more examples below – but I love that the dusty rose of the plate is picked up in the cloth’s floral without being too matchy matchy.

[mottahedeh plate, simrane tablecloth]

Sacred Bird and Butterfly by Mottahedeh is a famed Chinese export pattern that was used in Charleston’s Nathaniel Russell House in the early 1800s. I think it’s the quintessential china for Thanksgiving. Here I paired it with another Simrane floral (you literally cannot go wrong with these) that adds a fun, festive element to the Thanksgiving table. Keep napkins simple, maybe in a light blue linen, and litter the table with leaved clementines and votives – DONE.

[haviland plate, heather taylor tablecloth]

Dammouse by Haviland is my overtly feminine and floral china that leaves me giddy with love when I use it. It can read formal or even old lady – what can I say, I’ve got an 80 year old’s taste in interiors – so to keep things casual I’ve paired it with a simple plaid tablecloth by Heather Taylor Home. My girl crush Amanda Brooks stocks Heather Taylor linens in her store Cutter Brooks (more on that gem here) and they’re carried at the lovely L.A. interiors outpost Nickey Kehoe. I think this combination is perfect for a summer soirée… just pass the rosé!

[royal copenhagen plate, simrane tablecloth]

Royal Copenhagen = the chicest china on the planet. Beyond being my twin sister’s china (Dabs is super chic herself!) it’s graced history’s most stylish tables for over 200 years! It is beautiful on its own but here I thought why not make it live la vie bohème? It’s paired with a Simrane tablecloth that kinda looks like the batiked tapestry you’d find in a Deadhead’s dorm room…if that Deadhead studied in Paris and dressed in Heidi Slimane. I imagine it in a dining room painted in Farrow & Ball’s Mouse’s Back with the lights dim and a roaring fire nearby.

[royal crown derby plate, heather taylor tablecloth]

Old Imari by Royal Crown Derby can feel very formal and traditional. I brought the formality down a notch by pairing it with a peach gingham (also by Heather Taylor Home). Use these al fresco for one lovely picnic.

[mottahedeh plate, les indiennes tablecloth]

Two of my favorites girls use Mottahedeh’s Tobacco Leaf china so it has a very special place in my heart. I know it’s a busy pattern but I think it would look charming on top of a blue and white block print for a casual ladies lunch. This one is Les Indiennes.

Happy Pairing,
Laura

Layer Up

November 7, 2018

We finally have crisp, cool fall days here in Dallas and I am so relieved – if I had to wear a mi golondrina dress or flat sandals one more time (in OCTOBER!) I was going to scream. I love my summer stuff but it needs a rest! Anyway, am I the only person who looks in their closet when the season changes and thinks “what the hell am I going to wear?!” Somehow I got myself dressed last winter but in what I am not sure. My winter wardrobe’s state of affairs means it’s time for a refresh!

It doesn’t get THAT cold in Dallas (compared to my years living as an icicle in NYC) so yes, coats are great but even in the dead of winter there are days we don’t need them come lunchtime. Because of this, basics like thin sweaters and layering turtlenecks are the work horses of my winter closet. Also, the special somethings are great (more on that here) but you can’t build an outfit on just stand out pieces. You need the basics to add a classic touch to the unicorns in your closet.

Winter layering is an art form but SO CHIC when done well. Here are the basics I’m stocking up on, with tips on how to style them, as the weather turns chilly.

[uniqlo button down]

So good I ordered two! Size up for a boyfriend-y fit. Roll up the sleeves, pop the back of the collar ever so slightly. Half tuck into jeans. Tie at the bottom and wear with midi skirts. Rinse. Repeat.

[uniqlo merino turtleneck]

I loved a particular J.Crew black wool turtleneck for almost a decade. It’s neck finally succumbed to old age and drooped instead of scrunched so I searched for a replacement. I’m mainly pleased with this Uniqlo option (esp. the price!). Wear the neck unfolded, slightly scrunching it and the sleeves. Layer under button downs, dresses, anything and everything.

[j.crew perfect fit turtleneck]

I think J.Crew has serious work to do and could write a weekly blog post on the misfortunes of their current selection…but these turtlenecks are standbys. Buy black and light grey and replace yearly. Wear as an even thinner layer under you name it. A fitted cotton turtleneck just makes me feel like a kid again.

[everlane cashmere v neck]

I hear you can’t go wrong with these $100 cashmere sweaters. I’m buying a black v neck and sizing up so that the v hits in just the right spot. Slightly sexy when oversized and worn with a hint of a lacy strap showing. Also the opposite of sexy, but still right up my alley, worn with a grey cotton turtleneck underneath. I’m debating getting the camel crew neck too because camel = classic.

[wolford turtleneck bodysuit]

Wolford’s stretch is perfect. Seamless. Long lasting. You just feel like a million bucks in their stuff. It’s not cheap but I think the cost per wear justifies it in no time. Very celeb approved, google if you don’t believe me.

[cami nyc lace tank]

I know this could read circa 2004 going out top but stay with me. Layer this under a jacket or over any of the above and it feels so fresh. Just a pretty little thing to jazz up the everyday.

[jungmaven tee]

I’m constantly on the hunt for good quality tees that aren’t a hundred bones. One of my Insta crushes Jessie Randall (founder of these faves) swears by Jungmaven tees. I’m getting the black and white long sleeve to start out then will add a few short sleeves come spring. I’m thinking they’ll be perfectly oversized and will look great knotted with high waist jeans.

Bundle up!
-Laura

B&B Favorite: Le Manach Palmyre

October 18, 2018

I have have quite a few favorite fabrics. Dabney and I store our fave samples in one big box at her house in Atlanta then trade them back and forth, putting together design schemes when we’re bored. [side note: does fabric scheming not sound like the worst kind of torture for our poor husbands, who are either with us during said scheming or can hear our endless phone convos? They are sometimes ~~the center of our attention~~ slightly deprived when we’re together.] Of all my favorite fabrics, one at the top of the list is Le Manach’s Palmyre.

Le Manach is a luxury French fabric house founded in 1829 and acquired by Pierre Frey in 2014. Le Manach fabrics are the ultimate in style and sophistication – proof: Lee Radziwill (Jackie’s sis and most stylish woman alive) used Le Manach’s Mikado in several of her famous living rooms. Vibrantly colored chinoiseries, ikats, and florals are the brand’s calling card and all designs are historically based, some from as far back as the 17th century!

Palmyre is a cotton chintz that was first printed by Le Manach in 1931. Similar floral patterns were popular in the 19th century, one shown in the Ingres portrait below. Palmyre is Obama’s White House decorator Michael Smith’s favorite chintz because of its many layered colors. I agree – Palmyre’s twisting florals absolutely explode with color and make my heart happy.

I’d love to see Palmyre on the headboard of a girls room or mixed with wicker and eclectic antiques in a living room. I’d put it on a settee, cost be damned, and let it be the focal point. With a fabric so special, a room doesn’t need much more!

[Palmyre covers a settee in the home of UK designer Laura Jackson via @pierrefrey]

[Le Manach Palmyre]

[this picture could have been taken 5 or 50 years ago… I love that timeless quality of Palmyre via @kateguinnessdesign]

[Palmyre peeking from a corner of Carolina Irving’s apt via pinterest]

[Ingres, Portrait of Madame Moitessier c. 1856 via National Gallery, London]

[Palmyre perfection by Olasky & Sinsteden via pinterest]

[Jacques Grange uses Palmyre on upholstery at Francis Ford Coppola’s stunning Palazzo Margherita hotel]

[love draperies to insulate a front door, also the bar and basket – swoon! via pinterest]

in floral heaven
-laura

Wanderlust: La Colombe d’Or

October 12, 2018

A Calder mobile by the pool, a Picasso in the dining room…if the walls of La Colombe d’Or, a rustic, family-run inn on the French Riviera, could talk, anyone who visits would leave a world class artist. I’ve been aching to visit the tiny hotel since I first saw pictures of its crumbly walls and modern art collection.

La Colombe d’Or, translated “The Golden Dove”, is perched high on the hills of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, a medieval town near Nice in the South of France. The hotel and its leafy grounds look unspoiled by time.

Opened by the Roux family in 1931, the hotel became a haven for artists like Braque and Matisse who fled south during WWII and continued to attract creatives like moths to a flame through the 1970s. A sign at the hotel’s entrance still reads “here we lodge those on foot, on horseback, or with paintings” and, in fact, most of the La Colombe’s impressive art collection was donated in exchange for a meal or short stay.

Since inception, La Colombe d’Or’s purpose has been for good food and company – a place to laze away a day with friends and enjoy the beautiful landscape. Art is displayed haphazardly on the walls with no plaques or pamphlets in sight. The food looks exquisite, the hotel rooms charming. The lobby bar is worn and loved in a way that I only dream of for my own home.

I love this quote from sculptor César Baldaccini on the magic that is La Colombe d’Or:

It has the precious scent of thyme and nostalgia and the golden color of olive oil and happy days. The Colombe is a part of my life. For me, it’s a place that’s as full of promise as of magnificent memories.

So here it is: I hereby do solemnly swear that I will spend a day of my life relaxing on the terrace of La Colombe d’Or, glass of rosé in hand, enjoying the delicious food and company of my loved ones.

[the dreamiest vingette via @chezdede, lead image of the well loved lobby bar via @jaoven]

[actor and singer Yves Montand mid jump in front of a Braque mosaic via NYT]

[from left: a painting Picasso gave Paul Roux, the founder of La Colombe; a hotel suite via NYT]

[a mobile by Alexander Calder hangs out poolside via Pinterest]

[Picasso at La Colombe d’Or]

[a Fernand Léger mosaic above the dining terrace via @lana.amsy]

Join me?
-Laura

Paradise Found: Valentino Spring 2019

October 3, 2018

I love that apps like Instagram and Vogue give us instant access to Fashion Month, the trail of fashion shows that take place from New York to Paris twice a year. When I interned for 3.1 Phillip Lim in college, I remember pouring over entire magazines devoted to Fashion Week the month after it took place. These days, thanks to Instagram, etc., we can be front row next to LSD from the comfort of our cozy beds. I’m hooked.

A few Spring 2019 shows/presentations caught my eye – Ralph Lauren’s 50th anniversary show, Brock Collection (dreamy per usual), Oscar de la Renta, and relative newcomers Beaufille and Simone Rocha – but nothing compared to the Valentino Spring 2019 ready-to-wear show that I woke up to the other morning.

Designer Pierpaolo Piccioli had escapism and the exotic artist colonies of Gauguin and Matisse in mind when he designed the exuberant Spring 2019 collection. A series of all black looks, one paired with glittery red lips, were followed by feathered, embroidered, and sequined numbers in white then saturated island tones. It was unmistakably Valentino – the vivid red, heavily decorated column gowns, and tulle confections are all signatures – but it felt fresh and cool in addition to pretty. I’m dying over the hats, the gold tribal earrings, and the touch of red on handbags (mental note: not a RockStud in sight!).

Enjoy a few of my favorite looks below.

[all images via vogue]

On island time
-Laura

Special Somethings

September 27, 2018

It’s been raining for weeks in Dallas. My plants have never looked better but all this rain is making me feel a little glum. I need crisp, sunny fall days to brighten my spirits (a new sweater, leaves turning, my favorite soup recipes…sigh) but I think they’re still weeks away. You know what’s helping to cheer me up on so many grey days? Adding a few special somethings to my closet. It’s cliche but true: when you look good, you feel good. I always feel my best wearing one standout piece and keeping everything else fairly simple. Whether it’s the perfect red lipstick (try this one and only buy the refill to save a few – PERFECTION) or killer statement earrings, we need the special somethings to jazz up the old faithfuls in our closet. Here are a few special somethings I’ve been eyeing, I hope they bring a smile to your face like they do mine!

a classic print and a date night dream

[Elizabeth & James via netaporter]

love that these hang on a little chain – librarian chic!

[LeSpecs via netaporter]

day, night, dressy, casual

[reformation fauna dress]

have the silver, now eyeing the crushed velvet

[Loeffler Randall Coco mule]

the prettiest pink

[Veronica Beard dress]

for just a hint of polka dot above your boots

[Hansel from basel via Need Supply]

the perfect size

[Ann Mashburn tote]

a top? a dress? who cares, it’s a statement maker

[Caroline Constas via shopbop]

the “it” skirt gets a floral makeover

[realisation par skirt]

prairie perfection

[Ganni dress via Intermix]

leopard from head-to-toe

[Veronica Beard mules]

perfectly priced polka dots

[Zara top]

As if!

[Loeffler Randall feather bag via netaporter]

forget the sleeve, wear your heart(s) on your ears instead

[Rebecca de Ravenel earrings]

just yes.

[Ganni top]

Later loves
-Laura

P.S. I love you, Lotion P50

September 18, 2018

How do I love thee, let me count the ways!

The one beauty product I would take to a desert island is, hands down, no question, Biologique Recherche’s Lotion P50. I’m far from the first to wax poetic on their love for the exfoliating toner dubbed “Jesus in a bottle” (here), and “the best beauty product in the world” (here) but it really is SO GOOD that I had to share. For those closest to me who have already heard me preach on it, I apologize and feel free to skip to the next post! For the rest of you, let’s get started…

I stumbled on Biologique Recherche and the miraculous Lotion P50 when I visited The Joule Spa in Dallas a few years back. I’ll never forget the way I looked when I left that facial, and every facial I’ve had using Biologique products since, YEARS younger, with brighter, healthier skin. All Biologique Recherche products are phenomenal but it’s the pièce de résistance Lotion P50 that I’m so hooked on. Lotion P50 actually isn’t a lotion at all, it’s a toner that you press onto your face and neck using a cotton pad between cleansing and serum/lotion both morning and night. There are seven different formulas (read about them here) but unless you have really sensitive skin I’d go straight to the classic P50.

Y’all – this one product has single-handedly changed my skin. I mean I spent so much time at the dermatologist’s office in high school that I seriously considered inviting him and his nurse to my graduation party. The one product that’s consistently kept my skin clear over the years is Lotion P50, even through changing hormones, excessive travel, exercise, you name it. In addition to keeping breakouts at bay, it’s also evened my skin tone and shrunken my pores. It’s not a prescription, it’s natural-ish, and it doesn’t break the bank ($27 for the smallest, $98 for the largest size). There’s one caveat I should mention…it smells…maybe like vinegar? I can’t put my finger on what the smell is but do not be deterred. No pain (or smell), no gain. I use it as a spot treatment for body breakouts and on the backs of my hands to hopefully prevent wrinkles. Hell, I’d bathe in it nightly if I could.

They like to keep it exclusive but you can order Lotion P50 online at Rescue Beauty Spa or call The Joule Spa and they’ll ship it to you.

Thank me later!
-Laura

Less

Toast to a new year!

-Laura

Prrrfect!

-Laura

Enjoy! Laura

Happy Pairing, Laura

Bundle up! -Laura

in floral heaven -laura

Join me? -Laura

On island time -Laura

Later loves -Laura

Thank me later! -Laura

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Enjoy!
Laura

Happy Pairing,
Laura

Bundle up!
-Laura

in floral heaven
-laura

Join me?
-Laura

On island time
-Laura

Later loves
-Laura

Thank me later!
-Laura