Tablescaping for a Tea Party

We modern girls are so accustomed to gulping down our caffeine on the go, out of a paper cup, no less!

Wouldn't a tea party be a luxurious change of pace? 

My great-grandma's good china is fussy (and fragile!) so I cobbled together a more casual tea service out of eclectic white ceramics. A flea market tin offers tasty hamentaschen and Adam's vintage toy milk truck is loaded up with condiments with for a witty way to pass the cream. 

It isn't terribly difficult to find an excuse to sip Earl Grey and savor conversation. Book club? Client meeting? Set the table with pretty paper placemats and a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils for jotting down notes. Keep the water hot and the refreshments at hand, and linger over good ideas.

Do you have an occasion that needs some tablescaping inspiration? Email me at shockthebourgeois@mac.com!

Dare to Dream: Starting with Finishes

Back home in Seattle I worked for a contractor, and I was responsible for organizing their resource library. This was a task that required a lot of restraint for someone prone to flights of decor fancy. Those shelves held a wealth of inspiration. One peek into a Flor catalogue or the discovery of some exquisite limed oak plank... the next thing I knew I'd be drawing up imaginary floor plans on my lunch hour.

Design catalogues are a pleasure spiked with pain for a girl who rents!

The Walker Zanger tile catalogue provides quite a sumptuous distraction. Adventurous patterns and patinated shades of greige are things I dare-to-dream about...

Happy weekend, friends.

xoxo

Elizabeth

Pinterest Escapism

It seems like everyone I know is jetting out for a glamorous summer holiday on the coast of somewhere far away. Not I. Luckily I have Pinterest for a daily visual vacation. These pins popped up right next to each other last night- and it was like taking a trip to Mediterranean without having to calculate currency exchange rates. 

Images: Brian Ferry found via Pinterest, Blogged here found via Pinterest

Products: Necklace from Karma Loop via Pinterest, Bags from Beklina via Pinterest, Scarves from Method Home via Pinterest

Quite a departure from my usual style, but these cool colors could tempt even the palest little blogger out of her daytime pajamas and into something breezily bohemian. After all, that zig-zagged bag looks plenty big for a laptop, and I'm sure they have wifi by the pool.

Are you on Pinterest yet?

Not Neutral on Neutrals

No matter how many colorful garments hang in my closet, I always find myself reaching for the black sweater, brown skirt, brass-studded belt, white loafers. I know what works for me.

The same is true of interiors.

Images: Apartment Therapy, Remodelista, Delight by Design, Head Over Heels, Covet Garden Issue 6

Products: English Campaign Chair from Kim Fiscus for One Kings Lane, Quail Feather Pillow from Burke Decor, Dark Nostalgia by Eva Hagberg

Spring Greens

Spring in Berkeley has a color palette all its own. Soft gray and white clouds (with teasing glimpses of clear blue), and an incredibly verdant landscape. I've been keeping Rappaccini's Garden lush with shades of green to match.

Floral arrangement & photograph by The Cottage Farm, all others by Shock the Bourgeois

I've got lovely new pieces to add to the shop, and I wish I could style them with Krissy's wickedly romantic bouquet! Such an inspired combination of petals and prickles, I absolutely gasped when I saw it. 

Off to explore my blooming neighborhood...


xoxo


Elizabeth

Hello, Stud.

Growing up is hard to do. I gave up my teenage crush on Brandon Boyd, stopped wearing camo shorts in public, and (sigh) even took out my eyebrow ring. Luckily, pyramid studs have grown up too, in softly patinated metals that give domestic life a little edge.

Bleecker Apron by Birdkage (Image by One Kings Lane), Decor Moderne Champagne Studded Mirror (Image by One Kings Lane), Studded Wrap Watch by La Mer, Pyramid Stack Rings by nOir Jewelry, Pyramid Bangle by nOir Jewelry, Dirilyte Empress Flatware (my own), Charles Fradin Daisy Fellowes Mirrored Table (Image by One Kings Lane)

Dare to Dream: All the Trimmings

Each time I wrap up a present or a package for the shop, I reach into my box of wadded ribbons with a sigh. Wouldn't it be nice to have spools and spools of vintage trimmings... and an equally splendid way to display them?

This wall of rainbow ribbons at Nancy's Sewing Basket is set up for easy clipping on rows of copper half-round gutter. Martha, of course, had the same idea.

Someday, maybe, a craft room. Or damn, at least a bigger closet!

The WarLock Wedding: Pinning Our Summer Ceremony

Are you all on Pinterest? I sure am, curating boards for everything from posh pads to furry critters. Pinterest has been a fabulous tool for organizing my thoughts for the wedding. The creative portion of my wedding planning is gradually winding down, which would be sad if I didn't have another little event to style! Because our priest of choice wasn't available for our big day in October, Adam and I will have a private chapel ceremony with immediate family and a few friends this Summer. It'll be a casual affair, but you know me- I have to fuss over things!

I pinned a few pretty things to show you my vision for a very modest Summer ceremony.

Dolce & Gabbana Pleated Dress from HauteLook, Pearl Bauble Bracelet from Kate Spade, 

Floral Centerpiece featured on Martha Stewart Weddings, 

Giselle Flower Fascinator by Velvet Owl on Etsy, Enzo Angiolini Martini Pump from Nordstrom

Planning a similar occasion? Why not create a look reminiscent of a polished-but-sweet retro courthouse wedding. The coral-colored pumps aren't the only thing that could reappear in your wardrobe. A shorter hemline (or a faint flush of pink) means that your wedding dress could later star as a night at the theater dress, a champagne brunch dress, or an anniversary dinner dress... certainly a selling point for the practical or budget-conscious bride. Wear great-grandmother's pearls, or a new piece that exudes excitement- like this bracelet, clustered with seed pearls and rhinestones. A small-scale ceremony becomes much more intimate when dressed with personal details. Cut flowers from a summer garden have extra charm when bundled in ruby pressed glass goblets (my Cape Cod glass would suit nicely, no?).

Our circumstances allow me to indulge in two very different wedding aesthetics: playfully retro in the Summer, neo-Victorian by candlelight in the Fall. Lucky me! And lucky you, since I'll have many more projects and posts to share...