On the Road Again

I am leaving for a three week trip to the States in the morning. First stop is LA for WestWeek. I will be speaking at the Pacific Design Center on the Editor at Large panel on Wednesday, March 24th at 3:30. If you are in the area, do come by and say hello.

On Thursday it's off to San Fransisco for a few dinners and meetings. Scot Meacham Wood and Alexis Swanson Traina, along with Alison Pincus and Susan Feldman, the founders of One Kings Lane, are hosting a party to welcome me to San Fransisco. I am truly honored and can't wait to experience the City by the Bay.

Then on Sunday I head to Atlanta for the SFERRA & All the Best LoseCount party with Phoebe Howard. I am very excited to meet several of the wonderful Atlanta bloggers while I am in town before heading to NYC to enjoy Easter with our friends.

I will be blogging and tweeting along the way. If you want to know what I'm doing in real time, you can follow me on Twitter.

New York International Gift Fair

I will be in New York over the next few days for the International Gift Fair. I will be at the SFERRA booth on Sunday and Monday. If you are at the Javits Center stop by and say hello. We will post some of SFERRA's new lines on Twitter and Facebook over the weekend. See you next week.

Meet Kelly Wearstler - By Invitation Only

Twenty five (25) lucky All the Best readers will be invited to join SFERRA and Kelly Wearstler at ABC Carpet & Home in New York on Thursday, December 10th to celebrate the launch of her new book HUE.

You have until midnight tonight December 3, 2009 (EST) to send your request for an invitation. This event is by invitation only and 25 readers will be selected at random to attend. I wish I could be there with you, I know it will be a great event! To enter send your name to ALBRSVP@sferra.com

Old Freinds and More...

First a huge thank you to everyone for all of the emails and well wishes over the weekend, I am truly touched. I am feeling much better — thank you. I spent most of the weekend curled up with a cup of tea and a stack of books. For me, books are like old friends; they are always there to comfort and delight when you need it the most.

I was once again charmed by Jeffrey Bilhuber’s book Defining Luxury. I love that he views luxury as essential to every life well lived, a way of appreciating and sharing our joy in existence—so true!

Whenever I am in New York I stay at 70 Park Avenue, designed by Jeffrey Bilhuber. It feels very much like my own little Park Avenue pied à terre. Not only are the rooms well appointed, but also the guests are served complimentary wine in the living room each night. And even better, it’s an affordable stay by New York standards.

70 Park Avenue designed by Jeffrey Bilhuber

Enjoy a few photos from Defining Luxury. And, don’t forget about the Editor at Large Contest and Your Chance to Have Your Work Published! Until November 25, 2009, you have an opportunity to submit your BEST interior design project to The Editor at Large (allthebestcontest@gmailcom). Winning projects will be showcased in The Editor at Large Projects Database and emailed to publications of your choosing. Click here for all the details!







Book photos by Trel Brock

Review: Royalton Hotel New York

While in New York I had the privilege of reviewing the Royalton Hotel for Mr & Mrs Smith. You can read my review by clicking here. Happy Weekend!

Social Diary in New York Day One

It was so much fun to finally meet the amazing Jessica Napp from Rizzoli and fellow Southerner and designer extraordinaire Thad Hayes. Thad is as gracious as the interiors he designs. The three of us had the most enjoyable morning. I will post a profile on Thad in the next few days as well as photos from his upcoming book launch party for The Tailored Interior. Unfortunately I will miss the event by just a few days, but Thad will be sending photos for all of us to enjoy virtually.

Jessica is so sweet, she showed up with a box of cupcakes for Eddie Ross and me to celebrate our shared birthday. The cute little confections came all the way from Carlos', a great bakery located in the heart of Hoboken, NJ. Master Baker Bartolo Jr. “Buddy” has been featured in numerous publications and his cakes were voted by the Today’s Show viewers as best in America.

Lunch with Luke Pontifell, Melissa Morris and Peter Pennoyer. Both the company and conversation were completely enjoyable. Lunch was delicious, and the charming surrounds of the Century Club, housed in a land-marked 1891 McKim Mead & White Beaux Arts building, was the perfect backdrop.

Michael Devine and Thomas Burak hosted a joint birthday dinner party for Eddie Ross and me in their beautiful home. Superb food and, of course, fabulous company! Fun, fun, fun!

Jaithan, Eddie and Michael

The amazing dinner table, complete with my favorite flowers.

Thomas and Ronda

New York

Off to the Big Apple for three very packed, fun filled days. I cannot wait to fill you in on all of the details and post photos. It is all very exciting! The planning of this trip started months ago when Eddie Ross and I discovered that we share the same birthday. The wheels of planning went into motion when our mutual friends Michael Devine and Thomas Burak decided to host a joint birthday dinner party in their home.

During the course of organizing this excursion, I began talking with Vicente Wolf about an exclusive partnership. The timing of my trip proved to be quite fortuitous. We are withholding the fine points of the partnership until Friday May 1, 2009 when there will be breakfast at VW Home to announce the details. I wish we could have opened it to the public and invited everyone, but the space it limited! I promise to tell you everything on Saturday and post a ton of photos!

Judging from the early response to our ‘hold the date’ invitations, it should be a great turnout. A few acceptances include: Philip Gorrivan, Robert Passal, Rita Konig, Thomas Burak, Michael Devine, Scott McBee, Tobi Fairley, Nick Olsen, Amanda Nisbet, Mary Alice Sherrill, Sara Story, Patricia van Essche, Newell Turner, Tori Mellott, Ashley Whittaker, Thomas Paul, Christopher Spitzmiller and James Andrew.

Also on the agenda, a meeting with Thad Hayes, drinks and dinner with Tobi Fairley, lunch with Peter Pennoyer, Melissa Morris and Luke Ponitfell, a cocktail party hosted by Amanda Nisbet and dinner with James Andrew and Scott McBee. I will be doing a review of Union Prime, a new steak and sushi house from Andrew Silverman, designed by Carleton Varney who was inspired by decorating’s grande dame, Dorothy Draper. Can't wait to take photos of the interior!!

Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun...off to catch a plane...

Travelogue 2009

Masseria Torre Coccaro in Pulgia ranks near the top of my travel list. Set in a historic fortified farmhouse it's a short distance from the Adriatic.

One of Masseria Torre Coccaro's beautiful bathrooms. Every room comes with it own private garden.

As most of you know, travel has become central to my life these days. In part, living in Scotland has facilitated countless transatlantic flights to be with my family in the States. However, it is more than just the distance and a desire to see family and friends, travel is now a passion and way of life.

On the agenda is the majestic Calistoga Ranch tucked into a private canyon in the Upper Napa Valley.

A big part of our decision to move aboard was the travel opportunities it afforded our family, especially our son. Over the course of the past few years I have become a sufferer of wanderlust. I relish searching for an out of the way destination, a charming village or the perfect hotel. I especially enjoy the occasion to travel and meet the many wonderful people I have encountered since founding All the Best—and the list is ever growing.

Grand Hotel Central in Barcelona is on our list of places to stay this fall. The boutique hotel in Barcelona city centre boasts a spectacular rooftop pool.

This year travel will play an ever-increasing role in my life and on my blog. I plan to take All the Best “on the road” when possible, to meet the many fabulous readers I have come to know and the extraordinary talents that have been central to this blog. A few destinations include New York, California, Texas, DC, West Palm Beach, Pennsylvania, Berlin, Barcelona and London.

70 Park Avenue was one of my favorite places to stay in 2008. It felt like my very own Park Avenue pied à terre. It was designed by Jeffrey Bilhuber and each evening guests are severed wine in the in living room.

I will unveil more exciting details over the next few weeks. Rest assured that the hotels, the interiors, the people and the destinations will not disappoint—there will also be a few surprises for all of you!

Window Shopping

This year was the first time in three years that we have been in the States for Thanksgiving and Black Friday. One of the most prolific New York City holiday traditions has to be the beautiful department store windows—a visual delight for the whole family. We decided to take in the sights and do a little window shopping.

My personal favourite was the Bloomingdale's windows inspired by Tony Bennett's new holiday album A Swingin' Christmas. I adore Tony Bennett and I love Christmas nostalgia. There are no clothes on display, just a dreamy vision of years gone by and a winter-wonderland. While I was off shopping, my sweet husband bought me the Swingin' Christmas album and it's great!



The other much-loved window was Lord & Taylor’s tribute to My Favorite Christmas Traditions. Each holiday window displays popular Christmas traditions including Christmas cards, Christmas treats, Christmas stories, Christmas ornaments, Christmas toys and Christmas songs.





To end the day and kick off the Christmas season we met James Andrew and Scott McBee for cocktails at the Silverleaf Tavern. James and Scott are truly two of the nicest people. Both are so talented, and yet very down to earth.

We had so much fun that we all met for dinner the next evening at the ingenious Manhattan barbecue joint Blue Smoke. If you are ever in the area, you must go just for the Bleu Smoke Martinis—Stolichnaya vodka, Ardbeg 10 year Whisky and blue cheese-stuffed olives. We are working to recreate this concoction at home…YUM!

I Heart NYC

The 'Influence of the Design Blogger' panel went really well! It was exciting to see so many people from the design world coming together for the sole purpose of learning more about this exciting medium and powerful communication tool. We, the blogging community, really are at the forefront of something big and very special.

Bloggers Shane Reilly of Shane’s Studio and Decorati Access, Michael Devine of The Devine Life, me, Marisa Marcantonio of Stylebeat, and Grace Bonney of design*sponge

The beautiful Jerry Pair showroom. A very special thank you to Susan Frame, showroom manager, and the entire Jerry Pair team for your gracious hospitality and the lovely cocktail party.

Michael Devine of The Devine Life; Marisa Marcantonio of Stylebeat; me; Grace Bonney of design*sponge; Shane Reilly Founder of Decorati; Dan Cahoon President of Jerry Pair and Associates

Barbara Brown, Vice President of Jerry Pair and Associates and Thomas Burak

Michael Devine with his beautiful fabric line. John Rosselli & Associates will now be the exclusive showroom for Michael Devine fabrics in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Michael’s fabrics will soon be available from Decorati.

Shane Reilly, me, Michael Devine and Michelle Adams

It was so nice to finally meet the talented Michelle Adams, founder and designer of Rubie Green fabrics. Unfortunately our meeting was much too brief, but I hope to profile Michelle and her beautiful fabrics very soon.

One final note, if you are a designer and would like to start a blog of your own, Decorati can help. You can sign-up to blog with Decorati. Click here to find out more about their new blogging initiative. You can now leave your thoughts and comments on the Decorati Access site.

On the Agenda

This is going to be a wild and wonderful week, to say the least! Tonight I will be at Neiman Marcus for a book launch party. This summer I mentioned that PaperCity Magazine teamed with Assouline to produce the jaw dropping new book Domestic Art. Well, it is finally available and I can't wait to own this book.


Then it is off to NYC for the annual Decoration & Design Building Market Event. On October 16th I will be at Jerry Pair to discuss the Influence of the Design Blogger. The event is sponsored by Decorati. You can visit the D&D website for more details. I will return to Texas late Thursday, then it is off to Dallas/Fort Worth and home to Scotland on Monday!


Yesterday I had the most lovely and fun evening with fabulous handbag and shoe designer Elaine Turner and her marketing director Heather McLeskey. I will have a complete profile on Elaine next week. In the meantime you must visit Elaine’s website. Her handbags are to die for, you will love them!! I am now the proud owner of the gorgeous handbag at the front of the above photo.

Off to Texas and NYC

I am leaving bright and early in the morning to fly to Texas. I will also be in NYC for a few days to participate in the D&D Building Market Event. I will be attending several great events in Houston and I will update you as soon as possible. I am now off to finish packing my carry on and then it is off to bed. I have to be up at 3:00am...sigh!!

As far as my carry on goes, I must have a great book, my iPod, hand sanitizer and Burt's Bees Medicated Lip Balm with Clove Oil - I am addicted to this stuff!! I know that I have asked this of people that I have profiled, but I will ask you too, what are your MUST have items for travel?

John Rosselli+Michael Devine+Decorati

John Rosselli & Associates will now be the exclusive showroom for Michael Devine fabrics in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Michael’s fabrics are still obtainable from Michael Devine Home and will soon be available from Decorati.

John Rosselli, a man of impeccable taste and style, opened his first antique shop in New York fifty years ago. The shop immediately became a destination for discerning interior designers and architects. In 1990 John opened a showroom in New York’s D&D Building. The showroom has become renowned for its savvy collection of furniture, lighting, upholstery, fabric, and wallcoverings. House & Garden magazine twice named John Rosselli & Associates one of the Top Ten showrooms in the U.S.

October 15-16 is the annual D&D Building Market Event in New York. In addition to Michael’s fabrics, John Rosselli & Associates will be adding Camilla David and Carolina Irving textiles. During the D&D Building Market Event there will be an opportunity to meet the designers at John Rosselli. You can visit the Decoration & Design Building website for more details.

I am thrilled to be apart of the D&D Building Market Event this year. On October 16th I will join Michael Devine, Grace Bonney and Marisa Marcantonio at Jerry Pair to discuss the Influence of the Design Blogger. The event is sponsored by Decorati. As I mentioned earlier, Michael’s fabrics will soon be available on their website.

Be sure to check out Decorati Access for my most recent interview with Madeline Gelis. Their online magazine just keeps on getting better!