Many years ago, I had a blog called Bluebonnets for Sal. Every Tuesday I’d publish a post on flowers. Years later, I still love everything floral-related and I find a way to bring flowers into my life whenever possible. One of my favorite things to make for parties are these super simple flower crowns. There’s something about these happy headpieces that makes me think of moonlit nights and forest fairies, candlelit dinners and late summer rain. I most recently made a few of these “Carnation Coronas” to celebrate the Summer Solstice. {Did you know the word crown comes from the Latin word corona, meaning garland/wreath or korone in Ancient Greek?} They are super easy to make and you can use any color scheme you’d like. Click through for my brief tutorial.

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I’ve always been drawn to nostalgic things. Hand-written notes sealed with wax, Venetian intaglios carved in glass, and 18th century botanical posters of flowers, berries, and trees… these are a few things that stir my soul and remind me of another time. A well-loved globe is another nostalgic treasure, particularly in our age of GPS and Google Maps. Interestingly, there are very few traditional globe makers still working today. Peter Bellerby and his team of painters, engravers, woodworkers, and cartographers at Bellerby & Co in London are one of the last remaining globe makers in the world to make globes by hand in the traditional style. Since the 1400s, globes were made by etching the map onto copper plates, gore by gore, and sending them through a printing press. (Gores are the surfboard shapes that cover the surface.) The fragile paper gores would then be taken, wetted, and stretched across the shape so they conjoined precisely so. This process takes the utmost care as the paper can easily rip, tear, or bubble. Bellerby uses modern printers but the rest of their process remains the same, unchanged over centuries. Every Bellerby globe is also hand painted using hand-mixed pigments, so no two are ever alike. Most interesting are the bespoke globes that Peter and his team make for clients all over the world, colored with special symbols and messages that tell the owner’s story. The company just released their first Moon Globe with the lunar landing sites along with a Silk Road Globe illustrated with spices, landmarks, animals, and people. I had the pleasure of working on two stories about this company, one for American Way (American Airlines in-flight magazine) and the other for The WSJ Magazine. This year Bellerby is collaborating with Mr. Porter on a line of Mini Desk Globes. While their bespoke globes have a lengthy wait list, these globes are ready to ship, each made with love and care. Below, you will find my interview with Peter Bellerby. I hope you enjoy his work as much as I do.

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A few years ago, I went on a magical mother-daughter trip to Paris. Together, we spent a week walking beneath the chestnut trees, feasting on French food, and time traveling in museums. One of the most memorable moments of the trip came on a weekend visit to the Paul Bert flea market. This market is a must-visit for its maze of galleries selling gilded antiques, sterling tableware, oil paintings, and vintage clothing, from Chanel to Yves Saint Laurent. That day, we stumbled upon the ivy-covered atelier of Sylvie Corbelin. Stepping through the doorway, we entered a tiny magenta jewel box filled with gold mermaid necklaces, bejeweled butterfly earrings, and diamond rats affixed to coiled rings. There, we befriended the beautiful lady behind this one-of-a-kind collection. In 2019, I returned to Paris and met Sylvie at her home in the Marais. She served tea and shortbread as I took in her whimsical home filled with assorted collections like Murano glass jars and Fornasetti umbrella stands. That afternoon, we visited about life, her line of work, and how she is designing on her own terms. Sylvie has an amazing eye and a strong point of view. Her work is heirloom quality and each design evokes something about the human experience, be it spirituality, protection, or nature. Everything is thoughtfully considered, including the backs and undersides of earrings, pendants, and rings, which are inlaid with jewels, inscribed with poetic passages, and etched with symbolism. What a gift to know such a talented soul and how lucky I feel to call her my friend. I hope you enjoy this Q&A with the one and only Sylvie Corbelin.

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Ahh, Paris. Have you ever heard a sweeter word? There is something about this city that defies every cliché. The golden light and sparkling Seine. The zinc rooftops with their terracotta chimney-pots. The chic, effortless style, the intoxicating language and culture and cuisine! It has that je ne sais quoi at every turn. Over the years, I’ve traveled quite a bit to this special city and am often asked for recommendations. While my list is ever-evolving, I thought I’d share my current round-up, to be updated over time. I hope it leads you to great adventures and plentiful tables on your journey. Santé!

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As a writer, it should come as no surprise that I adore paper goods. The love affair started back in 2008 when I was living in Florence, Italy. I used to spend hours walking around the city, ducking into stationary stores, and peering through shop windows as artisans marbled paper. Last year when I was in Paris, I found the lovely writing shop, Melodies Graphiques on Rue du Pont Louis-Philippe. The street feels a touch like Diagon Alley in Harry Potter, though instead of wand shopping at Olivander’s, Melodies Graphiques offers beautiful card sets, glass quills, and sealing wax sticks in every color of the rainbow. The owners, Giacomo Nottiani and Hitomi Takeuchi are incredibly kind and well-known in the writing community. After visiting, I learned that Hitomi — who studied under the master calligrapher and French type designer Claude Mediavilla — offers private calligraphy classes for both advanced and novice scribes in the second-floor studio. I wrote about this for Hemispheres, United Airlines’ in-flight magazine.

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Growing up, my idea of a fun afternoon meant staying in my bedroom surrounded by magazines. With scissors in hand, I’d cut out stories of people and places that spoke to me and tuck the clippings away into big accordion binders. Today, I still have these files filled with my early inspirations and I still get the same thrill from sitting down with a magazine. Knowing this, you can imagine my excitement when Yolanda Edwards, previously the Creative Director of Conde Nast Traveler, started a new travel quarterly called Yolo Journal.  Read on to learn about her passion project and more, such as her most over the top hotel experience and travel items she doesn’t leave home without.

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My grandmother always used to tell me, don’t let the grass grow under your feet, and it’s safe to say I’ve taken her words to heart in 2019. This summer in particular was full of adventure but the undisputed highlight was a sailing trip to Sardinia. Carlos got his skipper’s license earlier in the year, and we wasted no time planning our first trip together. While sailing has been on his bucket list for years, traveling to Sardinia was at the top of my mine. We’d heard the sailing conditions there were optimal so we reserved our boat and began making plans. In July, when we arrived in Olbia, the island (and most of Western Europe) was experiencing a heat wave, and our small monohull had no air conditioning. It felt like a sauna as we unloaded our provisions and luggage into the belly of the boat. When it comes to floating in open water in a closet-sized vessel with no hired captain or crew, there are countless uncertainties to consider. Needless to say, we were scared and quickly began to question our plan. While there were myriad challenges, however, what we didn’t expect were the rewards this time would bring. In facing our fear and embracing our vulnerability, we experienced a new part of the world and a new way of traveling with childlike wonder.

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