Friday, September 05, 2008

Highlights...

We had such an amazing time in Atlanta at Anne Choi's house! She has the most incredible collections ever! I could spend forever looking through her charms and books and beads. It was simply a wonderful trip and I'm so happy that we could go down. I'm utterly grateful for the opportunity. Anne Choi is one of my favorite artists and one of my favorite people! I cannot sing her praise enough. She is the cat's meow!

Above: Anne Choi had a set of three bracelets from a girl's trip to Europe in 1911. We were all stunned by the details of the charms. Even though the binoculars were tiny and probably the size of a quarter, looking through them, one could see scenes of Paris.


Above: Cynthia and I brought along a few artist trading cards to work on while we were there. I did the backgrounds while we were in Asheville the night before we left. I was inspired by her many books about botanical folklore. The red one on the left is of dragon's blood tree, the yellow one in the middle a pitcher plant, and the fuchsia one on the right is of a mandrake root.

Above: We got some really great coffee and pistachio muffins from San Francisco Coffee Roasting Company. I'm particularly fond of the Highland blend.

Above: I'm a fan of Project Runway. I love the concept of a television show about creativity and problem-solving. Though, the inevitable drama that goes hand-in-hand with reality competitions grates on my nerves a bit. Drama aside, it's a weekly treat. One of my favorite parts of the show is when they go to Mood's to pick out fabric. I have very fond memories of going with my mom to the fabric stores and looking through the bolts of woven knits and silks and faux furs. One of our stops in Atlanta was a trip to Gail K Fabrics. It is divine! It has a wide selection of fabrics, buttons, and trims and is quite affordable. Personally, I think it's better than Mood's. You can get the same designer fabrics for a fraction of the price.

Above: Here's a photo of three of the little treasures I got. I'm quite pleased, as these designs are even more rare. One hardly see any of her charms or pins nowadays. I love the mandrake motif, especially the one in the pose of Botticelli's Venus. They are definitely worth the wait!


Above: One of the days, we had India for lunch at a great place called Desi Spice. The weather was perfect. Not too hot. Not too chilly. A nice breeze was flowing through. So, we took advantage of the outside patio. The above photo is of the underside of one of the umbrellas.

Above: Here's a shot taken from the Doll Houses and Miniature Designs shop in Lawrenceville. We stopped in to take a look at their mountains of miniature goods. I never knew the vast array of tiny treasures available. (I, of course, got a miniature glass owl.)

Above: For a couple of sweet treats, we made our way out to Decatur to The Chocolate Bar. They were quite tasty. At the top of the picture is the "homemade Oreo cookie" filled with white chocolate ganache and salted caramel and milk sorbet on the side. At the bottom and to the left is the blueberry ice cream over lemon jelly. To the right and at the bottom is the jasmine creme brulee.

Cynthia and I had such a wonderful time. It was good to see Anne and Lynn and meet Freddie and their friend, Debba. We talked about so many things - anything from dolls to Egyptian hippo goddesses. The environment was fun and relaxed and creative. I have so many ideas now. We simply could not ask for a better time!

3 comments:

Christina J. said...

Sounds like a wonderful time! Have you seen the Australian Project Runway? You can find it on You Tube. The season is almost over. There's a lot of drama in it, but it's still fun to watch.

jeweledrabbit said...

I'm drooling looking at that homemade Oreo cookie. *drool*

Andrew Thornton said...

We had such a wonderful time! It was so much fun. I really had a great time. I'm really glad that Anne Choi was able to squeeze us in and spend time with us.