Monday, September 30, 2013

In From the Gardens

Funny how a three day weekend flies by isn't it? This weekend I was off to Delaware, with some friends to meet other friends for their 10 years anniversary party, so the firemen, and my friend Sam, and I decided to make a weekend out of it, and also decided to go see the Winterthur Mansion and Gardens. I can't believe I have never been there, and I was ready to move in I tell ya!
 
 I was ready for some high tea on the settee ......
 
 
 
In the rolling green hills of Delaware, in the historic Brandywine Valley, where the paper was milled for the Declaration of Independence and where three generations of Wyeths have painted landscapes, Winterthur sits as it has for generations........ a grand estate like few others in America.




WinterthurYet the story of Winterthur is also the story of the du Ponts, a family who came to the United States in 1800 and through their ardent devotion and resolve created a powerful business, a war-time legacy, a senatorial authority, and a museum that preserved the essence of American decorative arts. From 1839 to 1969, four generations called Winterthur home.

When Jacques Antoine and Evelina du Pont Bidermann built a home on their tract of land in northern Delaware, the small estate was named Winterthur after the small Swiss town where Jacques' family was from. They were a prosperous couple. Evelina's family had been nobles in France prior to the French Revolution and had immigrated to the young United States for new opportunities. The establishment of E.I du Pont de Nemours & Company, the foundation of the present-day DuPont Company, brought the couple together. Jacques Bidermann, son of one of the largest European investors of the day, visited the company to review its financial health. He found it sound, found a position there, and shortly thereafter found a wife in Eleuthère Irénée du Pont's daughter, Evelina.





Jacques Antoine and Evelina du Pont Bidermann moved into Winterthur in 1839, yet the grounds transformed and the house grew with every future generation. In these early years, Winterthur was simply a twelve room Greek-revival manor house. After the deaths of the Bidermanns, the home passed to Henry Algernon du Pont, their nephew. The young man already had greatly established himself, graduating first in his class at West Point and later as a colonel in the Civil War. For his actions at the Battle of Cedar Creek, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Under Henry Algernon du Pont's ownership, the estate's road system expanded; the roof rose, and modest changes were made to the interior; however his son is the one credited with Winterthur's legacy.

A new generation of du Pont children grew up playing amidst the fields, gardens, and streams of Winterthur in the 1880s. Perhaps this is where the love for the land and its possibilities was first sparked in young Henry Francis. With skills far different from those of his military strategist and senator father, his talents appeared elseware.
 
 
 
The Winterthur of today is the living vision of Henry Francis du Pont. He wanted to create a museum, preserving the best of American style and craftsmanship. One-hundred seventy-five rooms range in mood from the unpretentious wood-paneled grace of the Marlboro Room to the opulent Port Royal Parlor.   The museum opened its doors as the autumn leaves started to turn in 1951. Yet the home itself is hardly Henry Francis du Pont's only legacy.
 

The thousand acre estate contains many gardens, revealing the harmony and tranquility of nature around every bend of the pathways. These gardens were designed by du Pont himself over decades of meticulous arrangement. His study of horticulture and landscape design culminated in this striking success, which is preserved in every seasonal bloom that opens to delight visitors today. Who knew this gem was under my nose all the time and I had never been there!?!  Now it's back to work tomorrow!!!

Friday, September 27, 2013

Away for The Weekend

 
 
Is everybody ready for the weekend!?!?
 
It was a hectic week at work and around the Casa du Borghese, but my motto has always been work hard and play hard. I'm heading out of town early tomorrow morning to visit my friends for their 10 year anniversary in Wilmington, Delaware where we are going to tour the Winterhur Gardens before the leaves change color and the flowers are gone...... I'll be back Monday! If you pop round though, Miss Moorecock will be here entertaining in the billiards rooms with some libations and the roulette wheel........
 
 
don't ask, I think she forgot to take her meds again out of the "special candy dish"! See y'all Monday!!!
 
xoxo

From the Candy Shop



This week, in the Candy Shop we have a special treat with some melt in your mouth scrumptious delight......... Christopher Marchant- a  violinist living in New York City. Who knew playing that instrument would result in such huge biceps. I never got those kind of results playing the organ ;)  Since he seemed so popular on Wednesday, I giving free samples today! Chris Marchant who is second violinist with the group Well Strung, grew up singing and playing violin, but was not involved with theatre until he graduated Malone University in Canton, OH. Since then, he has been involved in a number of productions using his talents as a vocalist, actor, and musician. Favorite productions include Tobias in Sweeney Todd, violinist in Spring Awakening, Dennis in Sanders Family Christmas, and Provincetown's Naked Boys Singing. Wouldn't we enjoying seeing that?  
 
 So grab a hand full and enjoy, this candy is meant to be licked!
 
 
 
 
 



Thursday, September 26, 2013

Salute!!!!

Here's to being single.........
 


Seeing double......
 
 
And sleeping triple...
 
 
It's the end of the week!!!!!!!

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

I Love Well Strung Men!




I'm very excited! The first weekend in October I'll be heading into New Hope for one of my guilty pleasures at the Bucks County Playhouse. The Well Strung Quartet is coming for a performance and y'all know I love well hung, men, and classical music, so it's a no brainier for me to attend this fine event. They are all very handsome guys filled with talent. This will be my third time to see them. 



The all-male, out, string quartet,  Well-Strung, features classical musicians who sing putting their own spin on the music of Mozart, Vivaldi, Brahms, Rihanna, Adele, Lady Gaga, and more! Their debut show sold-out Joe’s Pub on May 1st, 2012 in New York after being workshopped at Ars Nova NYC in February. Well-Strung stars first violinist Edmund Bagnell, second violinist Christopher Marchant, cellist Daniel Shevlin and violist Trevor Wadleigh. Well-Strung’s  shows are directed and co-written by Donna Drake and they usually play all summer long in Provincetown, MA at The Art House. The quartet was formed by producer/manager Mark Cortale and Christopher Marchant . Let's take a look at the members more closely, like you'll mind.....
 
 
 
Daniel Shevlin (cellist) has had a very varied and geographically spread-out theatrical career. He has appeared off-Broadway in The Sandbox written and directed by Edward Albee, had toured the U.S. and Asia in productions of Rent and Cabaret (Studio 54 version), and has worked regionally as both an actor and cellist in many theaters including the Arvada Center (CO), The Maltz-Jupiter Theatre (FL), Riverside Theatre (FL), and Mason Street Warehouse (MI) to name a few. A New Jersey native, Daniel recently moved back east to NYC after having a much needed and wonderful detour to Denver for almost two years.
 
 
Chris Marchant (second violinist)  grew up singing and playing violin, but was not involved with theatre until he graduated Malone University in Canton, OH. Since then, he has been involved in a number of productions using his talents as a vocalist, actor, and musician. Favorite productions include Tobias (Sweeney Todd, nat'l tour), violinist (Spring Awakening nat'l tour), Dennis (Sanders Family Christmas), and Provincetown's Naked Boys Singing.  
 
 
 
Edmund Bagnell (first violinist) played Tobias in the first national tour of Sweeney Todd directed by John Doyle. Recent credits include Toby in Gian Carlo Menotti's The Medium starring Varla Jean Merman (The Art House in Provincetown), Charlie Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Summer Theater of New Canaan), Charlie in The Big Holiday Broadcast of 1959 written by Joanna Gleason (Fairfield Theater Company), and Oramel Howland in The Great Unknown written by Jim Wann (Pump Boys and Dinettes) and Bill Hauptman (Big River) as a part of NYMF
 
  
Trevor Wadleigh (violist) is from Seattle and currently a member of The String Collective of New York. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, taught viola at the University of Puget Sound Community Music Community and is also a co-founder of the Puget Sound Animal Rescue.
 
 
I told you they were talented and hot! A deadly combination!!!! here's a clip of there incredible art.... 
 




So if your in the area or live near by join us for a great evening on Saturday, October 5 at 8:00pm, followed by cock-a-tails at the Raven Resort. Information for their performance in New Hope is at the Bucks County Playhouse. More on Well Strung  at their website. Now excuse me, I have to go wet my whistle.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Life Lesson from A Queen #6

 
Tammie Brown
 
"Drag has given me the experience to open up to my artistic side and to express myself as a human being. I find that these garments, these clothes, are really really neat. It's like my body is a canvas.

Don't let things hold you back and always be open because things are always changing. Take what you got and use it. You're the canvas and use it and be creative. Always shoot big and aim high!
 

Monday, September 23, 2013

Monday Moments

Well, well, well, it seems summer is gone,  and the Autumn Equinox rolled in over the weekend. I am now at peace with the idea of fall being here, only because I love me some dressing in layers, jeans, dark suits, and my love for scarves. Not to mention the crisp cool air, cuddling with the boys, and the brilliant colors soon to follow.........
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Mondays.....

On Friday more than not, this is what I'm in the mind frame of......

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But when Monday arrives.......

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Sunday, September 22, 2013

Fasten Your Seatbelts........

.....it's going to be another bumpy ride........
 

 
American Horror Story- Coven airs  Wednesday October 9. Looks chic to me. Song by Lana Del Rey. And with Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates.

# Blurred Bynes...The Funniest, Most Fabulous Thing You See Today

 
If you a fan of uber hunky Robin Thicke, adore fabulous and flawless drag queens, and enjoy some delish eye candy, and enjoy a good stab at the mess that is know of Amanda Bynes, then you'll enjoy this gem. From the talents of Willam, Detox and Vicki Vox!!! They nail yet another. I know Bob will enjoy this.


Drag Queen's World

Friday night found me at the Raven Resort with the Professor to meet for  some libations, and on the video screens were all the videos playing to the dance ditty playing. When Cher's new video for Woman's World came out it was filled with a cadre of everyday women, but then Cher decided to do a all drag version that came out the end of last month, and I caught it. Have you seen it?


Any drag queen worth her Louboutins gives praise daily for the one and only Cher, I know she on my cross of wood hanging.... so it’s only fitting that some of our favorite queens are appearing in a very special video for the Dark Lady’s latest hit, “Woman’s World.” The girls have been hard at work making the fantastic new video—each will embody one of Cher’s immortal incarnations—

Shangela
 
 
 Willam
 
Manila Luzon
 
 Alyssa Edwards
 
 and of course, you can't miss...
 
Chad Michaels
 
Take a gander, what a fun video. What do you think of this drag-tastic tribute?