Allow me to introduce you to my fabulous sister, Fannie Thomas! Fannie is an award-winning, Texas-based fine jeweler whose covetable creations are sold everywhere from ABC Carpet & Home to Quadrum Gallery. Fannie’s jewelry is layered in storytelling, nostalgia, and a spirit of playfulness that I absolutely adore. Her work is a love letter to her Texas upbringing and worldly travels, with every piece imbued with her singular eye and signature whimsy. Read on to learn more about her inspirations and creative process!

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I am so jazzed to be sharing an interview with the delightful Happy Menocal this month! Happy is one of my favorite artists, branding gurus, and stationary queens working in the biz today. I am so drawn to her whimsical perspective and joyful point of view. No matter what she creates, her work has a way of simply making me smile. It’s my *dream* to collaborate with her on a party and a custom stationary suite one day. (Happy, get ready!) I loved chatting with her and hope you enjoy our Q&A!

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I’m thrilled to be interviewing the talented pianist and composer, Brian Crain. I first discovered Brian’s work in graduate school, and ever since, his music has become the soundtrack of my working life, accompanying me on long trips, deadline-fueled nights, daily walks, and more. His songs are introspective, at times melancholy (in the very best way), and deeply, deeply beautiful. Multiple of his albums sit on the Top 100 Charts for both iTunes and Apple Music, and he’s had over 100 million plays on Spotify alone. Furthermore, tens of thousands of piano, violin, and cello players have performed his compositions around the world. I hope you enjoy his music as much as I do!

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I first learned about David Coggins through my aunt Laurie who gifted me his illustrated memoir, Paris in Winter, shortly after it came out. Little did I know just how much I would lose myself in his lyrical language and lighthearted watercolor illustrations. The book chronicles decades of the author’s New Year’s sojourns to the city with his family — the poetic vignettes are both charming and heartwarming. I often think about his beautiful stories, like his wife, Wendy, telling their children she loved them “across the white table and the forest of wine glasses,” or the hot wine with cinnamon he sipped at Le Petit Saint Benoit, or the way their son spelled out “merci” in frites on his plate. I can picture him and his family walking in their “fancies” to lunch at Le Grand Vefour, Wendy wearing her silver shoes with ribbons around the ankle, or circling the Place Vendome after dark. I agree with his sentiment that the square “would make a great outdoor ballroom. People could dance to a Chopin mazurka, minding the cobblestones of course…” Whenever I get nostalgic for Paris and her food, fashion, and art (which admittedly is often) I find myself picking up David’s book and teleporting there, if just for a moment or two…

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I am honored to be sharing a conversation with one of my all-time favorite shopkeepers and entertaining gurus, Ted Kennedy Watson. I’ll never forget discovering his store in Seattle — walking inside felt like Christmas morning with its shelves of gleaming vintage silver, tins of packaged chocolates, boxes of perfumed soaps, and Livia Cetti’s vibrant paper flowers! I bought so many treasures that day and would fly to Seattle in a minute with the sole purpose of shopping there again. Ted’s beautiful eye and knack for curating treasures is a gift. It’s no wonder that his store has been named one of the best in the country by Architectural Digest. Retail aside, Ted has been writing a daily lifestyle blog for years and it is one of my favorite places to go on the internet. He has a palpable positivity and zest for life that’s contagious, and whenever I’m in a funk or need a boost, I make a beeline to his site where I find instant inspiration. His books on entertaining (namely Ted Kennedy Watson’s Guide to Stylish Entertaining) are also wonderful, with party tips, links to soulful playlists, and wisdom gleaned from a lifetime of experience breaking bread and making memories with loved ones. Without further ado, I hope you enjoy this conversation!

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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. I had the pleasure of meeting years ago while penning a short article for The WSJ Magazine. Below, you will find my interview with Peter Bellerby. I hope you enjoy his work as much as I do.

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