Enchanted Revelries

Helllllloooooooooooo ..... !

I know I've been really neglecting Enchanted Revelries ... but things have been a little crazy (somewhat literally) around these parts. As many of you realize, I was in the hospital for five weeks ... including a 2 1/2 week drug-induced coma. I contracted spinal meningitis (my fifth-count-them-fifth time!), and they gave me a new drug to get rid of it. My brain had a drastic reaction to the new drug, and it gave me, what is called, a complete psychotic breakdown. It was scary to say the least! The strangest thing is I remember the entire time I was in the coma - but, as it turns out, none of it was real. It was all some bizarre alternate reality my mind had taken me to ... and it was quite a creepy place to be!

But, I'm back home now and recovering. I'm still a little weak and sometimes get confused by things ... but for the most part I'm back to normal (whatever that is!) and the doctors say I should be completely rejuvenated by the holidays.

The only thing that is kinda fun to know about is my G.P. and his nurses all say that they are still talking about me at St. Raphael Hospital. I'm the first patient in memory that managed to break the leather restraints LOL - and it took three security guards and two nurses to hold me down. I didn't know how powerful I was when agitated!


Okay. Enough of all that - and on to some enchanted revelries!

You haven’t really suffered for fashion until you’ve donned Susie MacMurray’s “Widow,” a gown hewn from black Napa leather and more than 94 pounds of adamantine dressmaker pins. Now on view at the Victoria & Albert Museum’s “Power of Making” exhibit in London, the prickly garment translates the grief of lost love into a shroud that inflicts physical pain and repels human contact and sympathy. Widow is the fourth in a series of garment sculptures that explore concepts of female identity—pins have strong associations with “women’s work”—and vulnerability. Look but don’t touch.



The Elms was the summer residence of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Julius Berwind of Philadelphia and New York. Mr. Berwind made his fortune in the Pennsylvania coal industry. In 1898, the Berwinds engaged Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer to design a house modeled after the mid-18th century French chateau d'Asnieres (c.1750) outside Paris.

Construction of The Elms was completed in 1901 at a cost reported at approximately $1.4 million. The interiors and furnishings were designed by Allard and Sons of Paris and were the setting for the Berwinds' collection of Renaissance ceramics, 18th century French and Venetian paintings, and Oriental jades.

The elaborate Classical Revival gardens on the grounds were developed between 1907 and 1914. They include terraces displaying marble and bronze sculpture, a park of fine specimen trees and a lavish lower garden featuring marble pavilions, fountains, a sunken garden and carriage house and garage. These gardens were recently restored.

Mrs. Berwind died in 1922, and Mr. Berwind invited his sister, Julia, to become his hostess at his New York and Newport houses. Mr. Berwind died in 1936 and Miss Julia continued to summer at The Elms until her death in 1961, at which time the house and most of its contents were sold at public auction. The Preservation Society of Newport County purchased The Elms in 1962 and opened the house to the public. In 1996, The Elms was designated a National Historic Landmark.

Spinning the wheel of fashion ... and the winners are! ...


This is a quilt I finished up not long ago...I still haven't got around to getting it listed on Etsy or eBay ... but I thought you might like to see it. It's based on a design by Kaffee Fassett - though not a slavish copy. I love the way the eight different size squares all fit together evenly!

I do believe this is one of the most fanciful beds and wall murals I've seen in a while! It's from Shabby Fufu as well as some other lovely romantic French furniture. Check it out if you're in the mood for a little shabby chic fufu!






Now, go make something beautiful!

♥´¨)
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(¸.•´ (¸.•´♥ Tristan ♥

ugh. I just realized that the text I found and loved - and overlayed on some of the photos - is impossible to read! So sorry - I'll never use it again - cross my heart!