Snowy New England: A Once in a Century Storm

The forecasters predicted that at 2 p.m. today we would have a bit of rain which would turn to snow showers around 6 p.m. During the night hours a Nor'easter would descend on us and last until morning. We arose early, and began putting away outdoor furniture, being careful not to slip on piles of leaves that had dropped following the five inches of snow that fell two days ago. We put in the grill and drained fountains and hoses. At the exact moment we planted the last daffodil bulb, at exactly 2 p.m., one snowflake fell from the sky. At 2:02 p.m. thundersnow began falling at the rate of an inch an hour, and has yet to stop. It is after 10:00 p.m. We are expecting two feet of snow.
The meteorologists are calling this a 100 Year Storm. The east coast has not seen an October Nor'easter like this since before the Civil War. We wonder how many layers our sisters from 1864 wore under their outer skirts. Now we know why they made flannel petticoats!









We were looking through our photo archives and found this gem of two Edwardian women riding their bikes in the snow! It gives us so many ideas for tomorrow morning. Anyone for a bike ride in the snow down Peabody Hill???

October Snow!

Summer, Autumn & Winter meet on an eve in late October!

Best In Show For Nest Weaving

We love antique trophies in all their tarnished glory, with all their dings and scratches, heralding the best of the best from The Best Bathing Beauty on the Eastern Seaboard to the Highest Jumper At Summer Camp! We've placed one of our trophies in a glass case and stacked old books, glasses and the sweetest nest(see how a discerning bird lined it all with the loveliest cotton fluff?) You can always find a trophy or two in our shop! By the way, don't you think if they handed out trophies for such things, the avian architect of that nest should have taken top place honours?

Week-end Finds

We had the best time this week-end scouring all the markets and fall festivals for special treasures. We found two gorgeous vintage 1950's glam cocktail dresses. One of the dresses has black feathers all along the neckline that blow quite fetchingly in the slightest breeze. We also found the most abfab cream heart patterned lace gloves with the most cunning jewel embellished bows at the wrists! Other treasures that just seemed to fall into our hands this week-end were two black velvet opera coats from the debutante section of Macy's; an early nineteenth century lace greeting card; a two piece Victorian plaid costume; two gorgeous Victorian puffed sleeve nightgown embroidered with rose buds and vines; a mercantile stand with a hook to display jewelry; and a basket filled with millinery flowers... To top the week-end off we sampled all kinds of delicacies from Thai food grilled right in front of us to a vat of paella. We thought about it and decided to skip the blue cotton candy! You definitely do not want blue sticky fingers when diving into trunks of antique white linens!! Here's hoping that next week-end is sunny and filled with unopened trunks filled with Victorian treasures!( Although I don't know if any week-end can top one where you saw Johnny Depp tied to a tree?!!!!!!!!)

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Antique Automobile Luggage Rack

We found this abfab antique luggage rack at the flea market this week-end. We re-purposed it to display a folded quilt and then turned it on its side and hung it as a display rack. This would be perfect in the bathroom, expanding to fit your towels. We completed the look by hanging a bundle of lavender and an antique dress from the Civil War Era. Watch for this in our Ebay auctions!

The Magic of Lavender

We have a decided penchant for lavender! Lavender takes its name from the Latin word lavo meaning "to wash." We named our first shop, "Twin Sisters Lavender and Lace," and still continue the love affair by tucking sprigs of lavender or sachets into each of our parcels that we mail. We also offer bunches of lavender for sale in our shop! In the Christian tradition, Mary hung Jesus' freshly washed clothes on the lavender bush and that is how the plant got its divine fragrance! How wonderful a scent must be that derived from infant Jesus' gown!
From the divine to the mundane, lavender was much used in the medieval toilette, for bathing, cleaning hands and washing and storing linens. From ancient times to present day, lavender is used as a moth repellent, tucked between linens and hung in between garments. In medieval times lavender was a welcome addition to home-keeping, strewn on floors to impart a delicious scent when trod on! (Remember baths were far from an everyday occurrence and deodorant's invention was a long way off!) Lavender also has its place in the kitchen and not just on the kitchen floor. It is used in salads, but more to our liking is delicious in shortbread and ice cream! As much as we love lavender to some it came to symbolize distrust. The origins of this belief trace to the passing on of the tale that the asp that killed Cleopatra hid under a lavender bush!
Lavender water was thought to cure headaches, preserve chastity and enable you to see ghosts! Seems like the perfect water to swig at your next Halloween party!!(although we would not suggest dressing like Cleopatra!)

scrumptious red dancing slippers

We found these divine red leather dancing slippers last week-end. They retain their original label from a Boston store on Marlborough Street that pledges to mend all rips! One faded pink bow has gone missing perhaps during a long ago waltz! We investigated throat, waist(isn't it funny how a shoe is described in terms of the human form?) etc. and have dated the shoes to c. 1815-1830. The tiny inside heel leather is the most wonderful shade of gold! The shoes are straights but ink scratchings inside one indicate left! Women of the period rotated their shoes so their delicate slippers stayed fashionably straight! Can you just imagine the lady who donned these slippers dancing the quadrille with its wide variety of rapid, skimming steps, such as the chassé, jeté assemblé and entrechats. I wonder if she ever had to avail herself of the guarantee of a free mend!! Do you think a suitor found the lost bow and kept it as a love token?!