Happy Decoration day / Memorial Day! Don't forget to remember your passed loved ones and those who have so bravely fought for our freedoms. I decided last minute to stay in town and because of the hot weather have been nesting. Lilies from the Dupont farmers market.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend and is enjoying lots of goodies! Easter has always been my 2nd favorite holiday (after Thanksgiving) since it includes family and good food with no stress! Enjoy the start of spring!

This past weekend, I hosted Easter dinner for six and thought I would share it with all of you via the weekly Tablescape Thursdays at Between Naps on the Porch.

I hope everyone who celebrates Easter has a magnificent day! Cherry blossoms are just on their last legs here in Washington as you can see above. Beautiful weather though which brought out tremendous crowds to the Tidal Basin yesterday. Picture above shows the Jefferson Memorial through the cherry blossoms.

I came across a fascinating article on the blog Prairie Mod, which unveils how the American flag drove Frank Lloyd Wright into graphic design. The article quotes Wright's son John:

“Papa loved the five pointed white stars of the blue field. He said the red stripes meant to be brave; the white, to be pure; the blue, to be true.”

Above is a 1937 Town and Country magazine cover featuring one of his flag-inspired illustrations. As Wright collectors know, his graphic designs are exceedingly rare. What once cost 50 cents in 1937 will run a present-day collector upwards of $950. Check out the whole article right here. Happy Fourth!

There's a great store tucked away on a small street in L.A. called French General that always has some great imports and hand-made housewares. I love this festive garland ($96 for 12 flags) that would be great for summer holidays and celebrations. Check it all out here. Matt just called me "Kenny Bloggins", so no special garland for his graduation weekend.

Above from top to bottom: Digital Classic Camera by Minox ($270); Chicago Cubs 1931-33 Cap ($25, many other old-school teams available); striped watch band ($22); ergonomic Colombian calf suede loafers ($350); the original Bay Rum After Shave ($15); Van Morrison's newest greatest hits album ($9); Tervis Tumblers ($36 for four 12 oz.) with hundreds of logos. Below: Triumph Anorak lightweight, breathable, waterproof ($179); Fat Tire hat ($14); 4 Valve Watch by Mecchaniche Veloci ($5,700); Battenkill Rolling Golf Bag Cover ($169); Jet mini alarm clock ($48).

This morning I started getting really excited for Fourth of July—in Chicago that holiday is the ultimate in Americana display, and I really love all of it. Bring it on! It got me thinking about flags and all the trimmings that get busted out in July. I looked back to my all-time favorite issue of Domino Magazine (September 2007) where rebel fashion duo Cindy Greene and Johnson Hartig of Libertine had their homes featured. Above is a scan from the issue (sorry for the spine distortion) of Hartig's atelier hallway where he has 30 American flags hung in the hallway and an East Lake chair reupholstered in Scottish tartan—used simply as a holding area for the Goodwill-bound. Have a great weekend!

Some believe that Mother's Day in the U.S. was started by social activist Julia Ward Howe after the Civil War as a call to unite women against war. It's fitting that there's a connection to war, because this holiday may be the most fatally wounding if one forgets it. May 11th people. You have 16 days.

Top photo: Heath Ceramics small teapot ($67). From top, left to right: King's Road bag by Jane August ($800); John Robshaw hand-painted Rose Pichhwai pillow ($70); Outline Vase ($48); Gel Bracelet ($30); Silver Sapling Flatware ($14 each); Alora Reed Diffuser ($80); Virginia Johnson magenta cotton scarf ($98); Etro silk pillow ($244); Henry Road grid tablecloth ($115); Alvar Aalto vase ($135); 18K gold cuff with diamonds ($4,500).

Everyone join with me on this St. Patricks day to say Happy Birthday to my friend PVE! She has a special relationship with all things green and shamrocky due to the shared holiday! She does such a great job of bringing thought and meaning to everyone who reads her blog through her wonderful drawings. I hope you can all stop by her blog today to wish her a Happy Birthday and a Happy St Patricks Day!

The bright young thing mentality: the penchant for fantasy and masquerade had become an expression of the disregard they felt for the immediate past or the immediate future. They lived -or tried to live - outside their time. Philip Hoare, Serious Pleasures, the life of stephen tennant

To those of you who celebrate, Merry Christmas! I hope you are all enjoying my White House tour, I know I am. Thank you so much for your informative comments. I have to admit I sadly know very little about this important building's history and am enjoying the lesson!

I hope everyone who celebrates has a very Happy Christmas! I shared my little holiday decorating last year HERE and thought I would share some of my little updates with you.I have 2 'trees' -both artificial - in my tiny apartment. The above is ceramic and is one of my prized possessions as it belonged to my grandma. My main tree, above, is a tabletop size and holds my collection of 'fun' nostalgic ornaments.

Probably the most famous room in the White House (at least in my understanding) is the East Room, home to some of the most memorable events in the building's history. The largest room in the house, it was originally refered to as the Public Audience Hall but the name was thought to sound too reminicent of a throne room and so has since been referred to as the more democratic sounding East Room. The room has changed notably from the 19th century. During Grants administration, the room was highly ridiculed as being 'steamboat Gothic', as seen below in 1873. Thanks heavens curators haven't decided to go back to this version of the room!The room's transformation was done most notably by the architectural firm McKim, Meade and White, seen here below in 1904. McKim based the Louis XVI design on the famous Salon de famille at the Chateau de Compiegne, seen below. The details were perhaps slightly less refined due to the limited headroom, but notice the same heirarchy of pilasters and paneled chair rail: a notable inspiration.Later, from 1949-1952, when the room was dismanteled during the remodeling of the white house, the original paneling was damaged and had to be recreated. The picture below shows a detail of the paneling today (ignore the switchplate cover which I thought was a bit hilarious -thats the best they can do?!). The paneling was done in a simpler fashion but is perhaps more elegant to my eye. Certainly, at the least the ceiling is preferable if not the paneling. During the Kennedy administration, Jacqueline Kennedy made her famous bid to save the quality and history of the White House. She hired notable interior designer Stephane Boudin who oversaw a lot of the elegant transformation of the interiors including painting the red marble fireplaces a clean white, seen above (which I wish would be brought back into the room; the Clinton's had the white paint removed). The curtains are of similar fabric to what Boudin chose although with a more complicated valance, done by Mrs. Bush. The gilded valances are original to the McKim renovation of the room.The Aubusson styled carpets were installed by the Clintons to help preserve the wood floors.During the holidays, the central window curtains are opened to display a Creche. In most images I've ever seen, these curtains have been closed for whatever reason -is it the view?In this image from 1920 below, you can see a different window configuration from the McKim renovation which I prefer. I suppose during the Truman administration, when the room was changed and simplified, only the central window made the cut?The beautiful mahogany doors and doorframes, seen below, are original to the room from 1815 when the room was first finished after the burning of the White House. Prior to that it was partitioned into spaces as needed, including Abigail Adams hanging her laundry here! The theme in this years decoration is the peacock, which I think is a lovely color combination with the gold.