I Love the 80s

via One King's Lane

I saw Carolyn Roehme walking through an airport in my random travels of March and April.  And then I thought, why on earth would she be in the Charlotte airport--surely I'm confused...but then I read she is doing a top to bottom reno in Charleston, so it does make sense. Carolyn Roehme worked for Oscar de la Renta and had her own fashion line.  She hails from Missouri and spends her days tending a large Connecticut estate (top pic) and writing books on entertaining, flowers, and domesticity.  

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Seeing Ms. Roehme reminded me of Barbarians at the Gate, which led to an internet wormhole. Carolyn Roehme, among her other accomplishments, was married to Henry Kravis.  Henry Kravis was part of the leveraged buyout firm, KKR.   And while they made gobs of money for their investors over the years, KKR's most famous deal was the LBO of RJR Nabisco in the late 1980s.  

 Same dress as the portrait above?  Bet it's Oscar.  (Getty Images, per the watermark).

Per wikipedia, the RJR Nabisco leveraged buyout was, at the time, widely considered to be the pre-emininent example of corporate and executive greed.  (Not because of Mr. Kravis; mostly it was the SIC golden parachute the CEO got).  It comes up in law school and business school because the board of directors accepted KKR's bid lower bid over the CEO's bid ($109 vs. $112).  A book was written about the deal, Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco, which was later turned into a television movie for HBO.  You should check it out.  Super solid.  Like The Big Short of it's day.

Fun Fact:  The title of the book comes from a statement by Forstmann (head of one of the firms fighting over RJR) in which he calls that Kravis' money "phoney junk bondcrap" and how he and his brother are "real people with real money," and that to stop raiders like Kravis: "We need to push the barbarians back from the city gates."  Ahhhh.....back in the days when people thought Wall Street money wasn't legit.  

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It is said that Carolyn Roehme and Henry Kravis's townhouse (above), a large duplex at 740 Park, was parodied in the 1990 movie The Bonfire of the Vanities.  They were an "it couple" on the scene.

OMG, they look so young.....via 

Her new apartment is a nice balance, although leaning towards the formal.  And yes, that is a Vigee-LeBrun on the wall.    This 2006 NYT article is brief, charming, and very how-the-other-half-lives.  

I believe in an old interview she said she used sisal everywhere because it's dog friendly, in addition to it balancing out the antiques.  It's the Stark diamond patten sisal.  The Stark sisal would be perfect in my living room if I didn't have people sitting/crawling on the floor.  Not so soft....Also, check out those Knole sofas.  I think her LR is the first time I really noticed them (or the write-up bothered to tell me their name).  

What do you think--still too formal or could you move right in (provided you had a daily cleaning lady)?  I could totally handle those paintings, though.  And a bust or two.  The could bring some gravitas to my Ikea pieces.....

And you thought this post was going to be out neon colors and paint splatter patterns, didn't you?

Resurection

I'm back!  And I learned something about myself while I was away.  I cannot juggle work, kids, [random other obligations], an epic circus party, and the blog.  And while I feel bad, I'm confident that we will never have another epic circus party.  Because that would be excessive.

photo by Giles Clement via @gilesclement Instagram (you should follow him)

I learned something else while I was gone.  My house was dirtier than I realized.  Specifically, my kitchen area.  I had to repaint the powder room because of yet another pocket door/drywall patch issue, and the trim had never really been finished....and it's in a weird area/miniscule hallway that is kind of all trim so I just kept going.  And then the next morning I did the kitchen trim and painted the wall behind the eating area/banquette.  And it was like an angelic choir descended on my kitchen.   Even though I hadn't even started cleaning and picking up (and I had painting supplies out) everything looked so amazingly clean.  So if you are ever in a funk, and things start to look dingy, paint your trim.  And even your walls if you need to.  It's pretty easy when you aren't changing colors, and it is a total do-over on years of neglected house work.

Also on the topic of washing away your sins--power washers.  They are totally worth buying and totally addictive.  The front of my house was filthy and I barely even realized it.   In the spirit of full disclosure, I just watched my brother power wash my stuff.  But he said it was easy, the worst being that the washer is loud and your pants and shoes get soaked and a little dirty).

This guys knows what I'm talking about!  Those pavers are C-L-E-A-N.

I'll be finishing all the half-baked posts I wrote during the radio silence (well, the good ones).  The circus photos should be available in a couple weeks, and I'll do a download then.   In the mean time, you should bust out your mason jar lids and make adorable little pies for Memorial Day.  There's time, trust me.  Great for a party, or a single serving of pie.

Happy Mother's Day!

Weekly Devotional: 5.6.16

Where have I been?  Well, I've been to Tennessee multiple times for work (weird, right?).  But for the most part I am in Circus Purgatory.  T-2 weeks, people.  I took on too many other projects, and the weather has not cooperated, and holy shit am I behind.  And waaay over budget.  Those two things go hand in hand.  So mostly I have been gluing things and foiling things.  Also, Walter visited and fed me so I got fatter.  But Crack Pie is amazing--effort for the crust is worth it.

By Drew Ellis

How about this inspirational hand lettering?  There are several more gems by Drew Ellis here.

What else is up?  Let's be real--I have no idea.  I toss catalogues without looking at them, and haven't done much more than scroll through Pinterest.  So really, you should be telling me what is up.  But here are some stories I tabbed for ya.

This feature from C Magazine, which was covered at the NeoTrad.  P.S. The current House Beautiful is quite good.

A very important round-up of the World's Most Beautiful Bathroom Sinks.

via Chattafabulous

My new favorite pattern for those always delightful penny tiles.  I think hex tiles would work too.

Not sure Henry is ready for these coasters, but aren't they delightful?

Easy-peasy craft that you should try when you find an application.  In contrast to this uber complicated craft you should never, ever try.  

Pinterest/Indulgy seemed to imply this was marzipan, so....Why does anyone want to make baby heads?  F'd up, man.  And even if it is clay, I'm a little creeped out.

And if you haven't seen the Bad Lip Reading for Ted Cruz, you should.  Yes, it is no longer apropo, but delightful all the same.  Oh, and this Bratz piece from Robot Chicken was kind of hilarious.  (Not appropriate for children).