Weekend To Do: Striking Out

We're trading out high heels for Cowboy boots and heading to West Texas for the Buffalo Gap Wine & Food Summit. Proving that Texans know a thing or two about a great cut of meat and fabulous wine, Perini Ranch is hosting their 8th annual gathering of culinary greats for a weekend of fine wining and dining. Tickets to the event sold in just around eleven minutes. Award-winning chef Stephen Pyles will be this year's special guest, joining the equally stunning rooster of Texas greats. For a full list, check here. If a true taste of Texas weren't reason enough to hit the road, it's also bluebonnet season in these parts. God bless the beauty of Texas. 

To read more about the Buffalo Gap Food & Wine Summit, click here.

Toast: Luhrmann's Jazz Age

What would Daisy do? What wouldn't Daisy do is more like it. Inspired by her devil-may-care attitude. Left, Carey Mulligan channeling her Daisy Buchanan in Dior Haute Couture. Photographed by Mario Testino for Vogue. / Right,  A decadent dinner designed by Jordan Payne Events with Gold Leaf Stemware, Mottahedeh Charger, and Gold Leaf China.

It seems like we've been seeing a version of The Great Gatsby trailer for years now. We know, it takes time to transfer the literary genius of F. Scott Fitzgerald to the creative genuis of Baz Luhrmann. Still, it feels like they've been working on it forever. With May just around the corner, the premiere of what will undoubtedly be Oscar material is almost here. While you're sure to be familiar with the material, let us just wax poetic about the translation. We're talking about the Jazz Age meets 21st-century world director Baz Luhrmann and his wife, costume designer Catherine Martin have created for the Silver Screen. 
 

Director Baz Luhrmann on set with Carey Mulligan.

To get you up to speed, you should know Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge, Romeo + Juliet, Australia) creates a fusion of old worlds with an appeal to the contemporary age with an outstanding modern soundtrack. For Gatsby, we're talking Lana Del Ray, Jay-Z, Bryan Ferry, Jack White - and that's just for starters.There are chills just thinking about how good it will be! (If you don't believe how enrapturing this is, just rent Romeo + Juliet or listen to the soundtrack.) 

Just as phenomenal is Martin, who is not just Luhrmann's wife but every bit his equal. (Her own list of accomplishments, including Oscars, is just as long as the Mr.'s.) She not only adorned Carey Mulligan with Tiffany & Co. diamonds and Leonardo DiCaprio with custom Brooks Brothers, but she collaborated with Miuccia Prada on 40 cocktail and evening dresses reinterpreted from past Mui Mui and Prada for the film.

Catherine Martin's sketches for The Great Gatsby. Photos via Grazia/Prada.

There aren't enough exclamation points in the world to describe how much we are anticipating this film. To get you in the mood, we're sharing our favorite looks translated to tabletops and links from the cast. Here's to knowing it will hold up to the original. "Can't repeat the past?...Why of course you can!" - F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby.

"And I like large parties. They're so intimate. At small parties there isn't any privacy." - F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby. Left, Mulligan as Daisy caught on set. Right, A re-imagined Jazz Age. Get the look with Resource One Petal Linens (exclusively at P.O.S.H. Couture Rentals), Gold Radiance Charger, and Simply Ivory China.

 

"All I kept thinking about, over and over, was 'You can't live forever; you can't live forever." - F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby. Left, An ice blue setting for the Ice Queen. Get the look with Gold Glass Chargers, Royal Gold Glassware, and Gold Lyons Flatware. Right, Mulligan in Miu Miu dress embroidered with Swaroski Elements and Miu Miu heels. Photographed by Mario Testino for Vogue.

Get your fill of the Jazz Age and The Great Gatsby with these links.
The full trailer and soundtrack (finally!) here.
More on Miuccia Prada's Sketches here.
Read an interview with Tobey Maguire plus a behind the scenes look at the set design in Architectural Digest here.
A full fledged dinner party inspired by the Jazz Age (and featuring P.O.S.H.) here.
More of Carey Mulligan via Vogue here. 
An Afternoon with Leo via Esquire here.


 

billet-doux: The Chagall Collection

 

The beautiful and colorful imagery of Marc Chagall in The Chagall Collection by Bernardaud, currently available at the Dallas Museum of Art. Image courtesy of the DMA.

We are having a serious love affair with Bernardaud’s tabletop pieces entitled The Chagall Collection. The art of setting a table is taken literally with Limoges porcelain pieces depicting the Russian-born and French artist's work. Marc Chagall was known for his colorful painting, sculptures, and even costumes, especially in France. What we wouldn't give to see a full tablescape built around these gorgeous pieces of art. To see these beauties in person, get thee to the Dallas Museum of Art. Not to toot our own horns, but Dallas is the only U.S. city featuring Chagall's work then it's all back to France. To read more about this fantastic exhibit entitled Chagall: Beyond Color, co-organized by La Piscine Museum, Roubaix, France, and the DMA (and exclusively in these two cities)  visit here. 

Marc Chagall, Costume for a Clown (Aleko Scene II), 1942, Private collection, Paris © Archives Marc et Ida Chagall. © 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris

Marc Chagall, Model for the curtain "The Firebird", The Enchanted Forest, 1945, Private collection, © Archives Marc et Ida Chagall. © 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris

Marc Chagall, Between Darkness and Night, 1943, oil on canvas, private collection;  © 2013 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris

 

Tabletop Tuesday: Blue + White

Mottahedeh Lace Charger with Blue+White China is the perfect foundation for a timeless setting. Serving fresh blueberries in our Vintage Glass Compotes is a nice added touch. Rentals, POSH.

Blue and White china calls to mind the tablescapes of the most iconic of tastemakers, from the timeless Jackie O to the more modern Tory Burch. When we see a place setting like this we think of memories being made around the table by friends and family, long weekends on the East Coast, and Southern pomp and circumstance. There is definitely no reason to be blue when looking at this gorgeous foundation. We've had our mind on this beauty since last Fall, when Mathes and Co. designed it for the NACE Color Me a Cure Tablescape Competition. It is the perfect toast to the longer days of Spring and Summer. This fantastic celebration of classic designs (blue + white china, striped linens) calls for guests to linger long after the food has been served. We can just imagine the conversations that would fill the air. 

Natural Grand Chiavari Chairs for comfortable sitting makes it that much easier to enjoy a gorgeous centerpiece from JACKSON DURHAM / A beautiful Navy Stripe linen from LA TAVOLA FINE LINENS sets the tone for a relaxed yet luxurious table.

Design in the Details: Clockwise from top right, Blue + White B&B, Elise Cut Crystal Stemware adds elegance, hand caligraphy, tchotchkes for a whimsical touch, Blue + White Dinner Plate, Jackson Durhams floral elegance.

Concept + Design, MATHES AND CO. EVENTS
Floral Design, JACKSON DURHAM
Rentals, POSH COUTURE RENTALS
Linens, LA TAVOLA FINE LINENS
Photography, BEYOND

If you're thinking about scalloped edges

Whimsical design in unexpected places - that's what really inspires us. Just take the scalloped edges that are making the rounds from the sweetest Spring fashions to festive, colorful chargers. We love the lining of these shorts for their unique take on hemlines. It's such a fresh take for an adult short look. Taking that inspiration to tabletop, we love the idea of adding an acrylic scalloped charger for an undeniably chic accent to any tablescape. It's time to get scalloped!