Suzeday Tuesday: Twenty Year Love Affair

Morning y'all! The Suze is heading back to Dallas today :(  It's been a fun week and so helpful to have her here as I slowly climb out of the exhausting, sickly 1st trimester.  It's times like these I wish we lived closer.  So I'm dedicating today to The Suze.  Specifically, her 20+ year love affair with this wallpaper sample that she's carried with her for equally as long.

It's pretty amazing in person, but ...

it's a wallpaper border, which you pretty much never see anymore and The Suze doesn't want, and ...

it's nowhere to be found.  So ...

These are small obstacles in Suzedayland, which sits on the border of reality and blue and white heaven.  So what's a girl to do?  Well, in Suzedayland one would just call up Pierre Frey and be like, "Hey P, I need something like this, hand painted, but in full panel form, stat."  This is where I would make a great rich and famous celebrity.  I bet Beyonce or Lisa Vanderpump could make this happen.

Pierre Frey does make a fabric in the same tribe as this, Macao Bleu de Chine

Gorgeous, but not as gorgeous and doesn't come as a wallpaper.

There's also David Hick's The Vase, which we all know and love.

 

via Chinoiserie Chic

But still doesn't quite stand up to the beauty of The Suze's sample, which has more depth, detail and color variation making it more traditional. 

So maaayyybe it's time to move on and say goodbye to someone who just wasn't quite working for you.  Give the Final Rose to another, more deserving, more emotionally available wallpaper.

Might I suggest Delft Bleu from Pierre Frey? 

 

or Canton Bleu? 

or Tarantelle? 

 

or throw caution to the wind and go pink with Leandre Rose? (I want this baaaad)

 

I think all of these are worthy of a hometown date, even a trip to the fantasy sweet, no? 

Feel free to share your feelings on these wallpapers or last night's Bachelor.  I equally care about your opinions on both.  

Suzeday Tuesday: Blue & White Heaven

Morning y'all!  It's Tuesday and The Suze came in town to help me try to function like a normal, not-pukey person and sneekily do my laundry while I sleep (angel's work, I have an obscene amount of dirty laundry). 

So in honor of the super hero mom and grandma powers she's bringing to my poor neglected household this week, I am giving her this home designed by Pam Pierce.  Please celebrate Suzeday Tuesday (with Booze-day?) and enjoy this bit of Blue and White Heaven (preferably with a giant glass of wine for me, since I can't have one until August - that's depressing).

* images via Antique Shops & Designers Volume 7 

{Last week, Joni from Cote De Texas ever so kindly alerted her readers to the online presence of this magazine that is not available in print to mere peasants like me in Kansas City.  I spent 45 hours this weekend going through every issue.  If you're bored you can check them all out here}

So refreshing right?  I would kill somebody for that screened in porch and those french winery doors in the third picture, those would be great for smug conversation with people taking a tour of your house. 

Have a lovely day y'all! 

Who's The Suze?

See all of The Suzeday Files

Suzeday Tuesday: Vignettes III

Thank you soo much for all of your sweet comments on the new house pics.  I can take no credit for any of the prettiness of the house since it was there when we bought it, but I'm excited to play with it and share all of my crazy whims with y'all! On the advice of The Suze, I'm leaving things as they are for a moment and living with it.  Nothing in this house needs to be changed for safety, health or mental health reasons so I want to make sure I get to know the house and make thoughtful choices before I do anything. 

Speaking of The Suze, it's been awhile since I've done a Suzeday Tuesday post.  (For new readers who are all "who's The Suze?" see here and then here).  The Suze has not provided me with any house porn lately, although she did rip out every page of this month's House Beautiful before she realized she could have just kept the entire magazine.  Anyway, I'm bringing you some more blue and white pics I took while I was in Dallas.  I stayed on the couch most of my trip because I threw out my back whilst moving big boxes and picking up my 2 year-old as he practiced his dead-weight fall (anyone familiar with that?) It was good to recharge before our big move-in day.

Enjoy!

Edward is thinking about touching the dog, but he knows it's a "mommy's toy" or a "mustn't touch." Still it's so shiny and tempting and it's a dog! Maybe it wants to be pet.  Just one touch.  I love to watch his little mind work, especially when he's up to no good. 

Hopefully, tomorrow I'll have some front door pics for y'all! That is one thing I will be changing right off the bat.  Have a lovely day!

Suzeday Tuesday: Book Hoarding is Good

"I don't want to buy this."

The Suze is whispering to herself as I turn down the aisle of Tuesday Morning.  She's flipping through a decor book, eyes glazed over, both clutching the book and slightly turning away from it.

"I don't need another book," she says to herself unconvincingly.  She doesn't see me coming.

"What are you looking at Mom?" I ask gently so she doesn't suspect another intervention.

"Oh, just another book I don't need ... but I might have to get it."

I knew when she didn't look up it was over.  She fell off the wagon.  I mean, let's be honest here, she was never really on the wagon.  Instead, she shuffled her feet behind the wagon eyeing it suspiciously while flipping through pages of the very decorating books that are threatening to close in on her personal space.  Literally, she'll set her handbag down and big, hardback decor books spill out as she quickly tries to push them back in so no one will see.

If The Suze is the Lindsay Lohan of decor book addictions, then I am Dina.  I'm an enabler.  I get the leftovers and the duplicates.  The duplicates are usually the ones she loves the most. She often can't remember if she bought them already, so she just buys it again to be safe.

So here's today's book in question:  Victoria Romantic Window Style (Victoria Magazine)

And here's my advice: Go get it.  You can afford it.  It's like $10.  It's nothing fancy on the outside.  I probably would have walked right by it because I judge books by their cover.

But then I would have missed out on that gorgeous, delicate, crisp, scalloped, pleated toile window action.  I might have gone through life never knowing that was even an option.  Never able to share it with y'all.  

Book hoarding is good.  

{images from Victoria Romantic Window Style (Victoria Magazine)}

It's Christmastime! But First ...

Ok y'all, I totally failed on my Thanksgiving post.  I was very, very full.  I barely even looked at a blog the week so I'm really missing everyone and ready to get back.

I never usually blog on weekends 'cause that's family time, but Kip is asleep on the couch next to me and Edward is so thrilled to be home with all of his toys that he's happy playing by himself.  So here are a few pics from my fabulous Thanksgiving.  We keep it low key.  It's so rare that my entire family is together that we're just happy to be in the same place with lots of food and wine.

We Turkey Trotted.

The Suze set the table with her pretty china and blue and white.  She did a little mix and matching of everything, including the chairs as you can see. She also did the flowers after she didn't like the arrangements she purchased.  I would be too scared to ever take a flower arrangement apart, but she's a  fearless and talented 'bud arranger.

Then people slept

And dogs slept 

And now we're home

AAAAANNNDDDD IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!!

I love Christmas more than anything in the world.  I love the magic, the lights, the songs and buying presents for people I love.  It's, as the song goes, the most wonderful time of the year! So from here on out Belclaire House is dedicated to all things Christmas: gift guides, decor, tunes and all around merriment.  Gay times to be had by all!  I'm so excited!

The lights at Highland Park Village in Dallas - one of my favoritest things ever!

Peace yo's!

Suzeday Tuesday: A Sweet Moment At Home

Little Man Standing in The Suze's Window 

I'm so thankful for sweet moments like the one above.  I love watching my little man discover the world for the first time.  I'm lucky to be able to experience the greatest joy a person can experience in this little guy.  On another note, I wish I could paint.  I think the above picture would make a beautiful painting.  I feel like I could paint with lessons, but I've never taken any so I wouldn't even know where to begin. File that under "Things To Do When Kids Go To College."

Anyway, I'm taking a little bloggy break to enjoy some time with the fam and help The Suze get ready for our family's massive binge followed by sleeps on the sofa.  We do Thanksgiving hard at our house.  I'm most excited about seeing Edward try all of our yummy foods.  I predict he loves the candied yams in hollowed out orange cups with marshmallows.  I would eat like 10 of those when I was little.  I might stop in on Thanksgiving Day with some table setting and food pictures so check back while you're marinating in your mashed potatoes and gravy. (I don't even know what that means, but it sounds heavenly) 

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!

**Thank you to Simply Beautiful Now for giving me the Liebster Award.  I'm so thankful for new readers and new blog friends.  Her blog is so beautiful and has great recipe ideas and stories.  I highly recommend you visit Simply Beautiful Now and tell her hello! 

Suzeday Tuesday: Bedroom Loveliness & Some Genius Storage ... for those still living in 1992

Helloo y'all! Finally a Suzeday Tuesday for you.  These bedrooms are all very lovely.  I especially love the first one.  Also, for anybody who doesn't have a flat screen, there are some great tips for hiding those giant boxy televisions circa 1992.  I would laugh, but when I met my husband in 2005, I had a tiny white TV in my apartment that weighed about 55 lbs.  He could not understand how I could live with something so ridiculous, but the white matched my apartment.  He literally went over to his grandparents and found a giant TV in their basement and brought it to me "to borrow" until, well, I guess until we broke up or got married.  Good thing we got married because that could have been awkward.

I absolutely love this bed.  It is so elegant.  I love the Cowtan & Tout fabric on the headboard.  Gorgeous! 

It's hard to tell in the next picture, but the linens are monogrammed in a pale lavender and the headboard is a pretty pale gray.  So tranquil. 

Even fancy people need practical storage options.  

I love the built-ins in the next bedroom and how the shelves are styled.  

Again with genius storage 'cause that TV is u-g-l-y.

Have a lovely day! If you missed it yesterday, go visit my guest post over at Bright Bold and Beautiful where I share what I am thankful for this holiday season.

Suzeday Tuesday: Fancy in London

Morning y'all! First things first, Mom, the McRib is back.  Don't pretend you're not excited.  (The Suze may have great taste, but the lady loves her McRib.  I have never tried one because I'm afraid I'll love it)

Ok, now for today's bit of loveliness.  Like most of The Suze's inspiration, this one comes to us from an old issue of Southern Accents.  Actually, I'm not 100% sure of that, but I'm guessing by the font and the layout that this is the case.

Soo imagine you're real fancy and you find out you have to move to London for a year with your entire family.  What do you do? You hire some fab designers to gussy up a traditional six-bedroom London home, duh.  In this case, this Dallas family chose Dallas designer Cathy Kincaid (whom I have always admired) and Sarah Morris, who at the time worked for Colefax & Fowler.

While reading the article I loved how the family showed up to a finished home complete with a fir wreath on the door and a lighted tree in the window just days before Christmas.  It's like my dream come true.

Gorgeous! I love the leaded-glass windows in the first picture and, of course, the owner is a blue and white collector, which is undoubtedly why The Suze felt compelled to tear out the entire article.  Oh to be so fancy ...