Don’t ya just wanna curl up inside here after a day of skiing? Got our sights set on Jackson Hole, Wyoming in February and beyond excited. The combination of chilly days and warm, cozy nights soon awaits!

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Check out the brand new website for the North Country Garden Club. Designed right here and developed by the ever-fabulous NetRaising, the site features events, ongoing projects and a scholarship program plus a lot more -  all with a backdrop of rotating stunning photography. 2013 marks the Club’s 100th anniversary – may the site be a nice new beginning for this time-honored horticultural institution.

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A recent trip down to Battery Park City treated me to this interesting sculpture of a soldier. At first glance it looks like the very definition of negative space. But the hole that creates the outline of the man is actually positive space. Leaving the space outside the the rectangle: negative. Either way, this sculpture, and many others in the park, were worth the visit.

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How sweet it is. A recent event-design client needed a cake to top off the celebration for her daughter’s birthday. A passion for reading led to a “book-themed” party – which led to a “book cake”. Every page was delicious.

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Construction is often ugly. The dirt, mud, scaffolding, scraps of wood. Not to mention the noise. So lucky me, to happen upon a cement truck with a beautiful design -  made only more so – by the slow spin of its very nature.

Thank you to “universal” cement trucks. One more step closer to a world of beautiful design.

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How fun is it to look up into a bright blue summer sky and see skywriting?! Five planes, flying in absolute unison, each blowing out a single puff of smoke (or a blank) at exactly the right moment, to create a letter. Of course the trick is to read it before the puffs fade away. Skywriting – though usually an advertisement – is always fun. Read it while you can.

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Photo circa 1976? Try 2010. Just yesterday, in fact. And thanks to the  iphone’s hipstamatic app, I can create all sorts of retro effects. From sepia, blue toned, discoloration, casually-off-centered and much more, my ultra-cool iphone can go old-school instantly. The graphics take you back to the old instamatic days  -  with the cube flash that rotates  -  and romanticize them for today’s designers. The photo effect is often a surprise and always a hit.

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Where else but the Guggenheim Museam can you see art and have fun at the same time? Besides being an architectural masterpiece, the museum itself is just fun. Slowly strolling up the circles, taking a dip into one of the adjacent galleries and/or seeing the artwork across the rotunda – doing the Guggenheim is as much a delight as viewing the artwork.

And a big thanks to Andrew Prokos for this stunning photo.

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Imagine waking up to this every morning. Henry the VIII did. In Surry, England circa the late 17th century. A palace of pink brick, Hampton Court Palace just outside London, was a combination of Tudor and Baroque styles intended to rival Versailles.

May your own taste decide, or side with me and choose this elegant, sophisticated, symmetrical and graphic view out of one of the upstairs bedroom windows. Symmetry always prevails.

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Forgive me if I didn’t recognize this probably famous Englishman, but I call this portrait “Someone’s Proper Grandpa” on view at the National Portrait Gallery in London. A gem of a museum: not too big, not too small -  the place is just right. Organized by centuries, the main floor, contemporary portraits, was my favorite – and especially the series by Alex Katz. Bold, colorful, casually-cool close-ups are the trademarks of this series – one that graphically focuses on the subject and nothing else.

So next time you’re over the pond, do visit this portrait delight. And be sure to stop by the cafe on the top floor: a more than splendid view of the city.

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