Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Waiting for spring.

Buffalo has rather schizo weather each spring. A day or two here will be sunny and almost warm, and a day or three there will be cloudy and windy - maybe even snowy. I'm really looking forward to the warmer days ahead, when I can just throw on a lightweight dress and pair of sandals and call it a day. These photos are from Dave's cousin's wedding last July, when I employed just that sort of dressing technique. Here's hoping I can do it again soon!


The wedding was at the Botanical Gardens, which are beautiful. After the lovely ceremony, guests had the opportunity to wander the grounds before heading to the reception. Neither Dave nor I had been there in years, so we were glad for the chance to check it out and snap some totes awesome blog pix.

garden8

Dress: BCBG

Shoes: from my sister's wedding

Purse: vintage, 20s?

Scarf: vintage Vera, wool, great grandmother's

Photos by Dave.


gardens2


gardens1

checkers

I fell 100% in love with this oversized checkerboard.

garden6

Hideyhole.

fountain

View from hideyhole.

shrimp_plant

Shrimp plant! This exists!

ghost_flower

Spooooky ghost flower.

purple_flower

I was so excited to get a picture of this flower called "Confident Pride" (because that's hilarious), but realized later that it's actually "Confederate Pride," which is considerably less cool.

koi

mirror2

We found a twee mirror on our way out.

Spring, please come soon!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Giallo chair

greatest_chair_in_the_world

If you didn't already guess, then you need to know that I have an insatiable taste for kitsch. So when Dave and I saw a photo of this chair in a preview of a local estate sale, we both flipped. The estate was that of a lady who was an interior designer in the 60s, and she had sooooo many amazing pieces that I would love to own, but this was the one that we both set our hearts on (as well as being the only thing in our price range). It reminds me of something that should be on the set of a 60s Italian horror film, straight out of any of Mario Bava's Technicolor sixties-does-Victorian giallo flicks or even Suspiria (my all-time favorite spooky movie)! Or maybe a Fellini film, like Juliet of the Spirits.

cherub_chair

We debated leaving it there and going back another day later in the sale to see if the price dropped, but after watching other folks' reactions to it we knew we'd have some pretty stiff competition and there'd be no way it would still be around. After some hemming and hawing about the price on my part, we took it home! Dave said to regard it as an art piece. I like buying art.

I so wish I could've met the lady who originally owned this. Walking around her home, you really got a feel for her sense of style, and it was so in line with my own that I think we could've found plenty to gab about. When Dave spoke to her caretaker, she told us that the woman attached the rhinestones herself, then placed the chair directly across the entryway so "you'd walk into the room and the first thing you'd see is those eyes glinting in the light and staring back at you." That sounds exactly like something I would do!! We also think she painted and upholstered the chair herself, refurbishing an old piece. I should mention here that she had respect for history and antiques, as she was a board member of the local historical society and decorated the Teddy Roosevelt Inaugural Site in Buffalo.

Bringin' it on home.

Oh, yeah.

Carrying on with enthusiasm and excitement!

Dave's best impression.

Dave's best angry cherub impression. Is it not accurate?

Stare of Terror

All photos by Dave, except for the ones I took of him.