2 September 2009
september newsletter: let's talk lifestyle
Dear Friends,
Welcome back! Does the end of summer have you antsy to get back in gear for the fall? I always feel like that, especially this year when we have so much planned at FURBISH.
I have to say I did better with the slower pace of August than I usually do. Really we all need time to regroup. I lost my last living grandparent, my maternal grandmother, last month too. I tell you that because it took my regrouping to a deeper level.
When I asked my mom what the greatest gift she got from her mother was, she said, "She REALLY lived." That was my grandmother who lived 92 years. Not an idle moment, not an occasion left to pass without festivities and observance, not an opportunity wasted. I will always aspire to the level of energy I witnessed in her.
My trip to Portland, OR had me considering life well lived too, and that inspired this month's feature written just after I got back. This is Aadi and me contemplating the vast Pacific and the wonders of sand on Cannon Beach :). Check out, too, a great end of summer recipe of mine, and excursion ideas for getting us closer to having not just a life, but a "lifestyle" too.
Coming up next week will be a Fall Kick Off. We'll be putting furnishings on CLEARANCE and introducing the first crop of new items into the store. If you were away for the summer and missed our SALE events, now is your chance!
I'm also hoping you received our SAVE THE DATE email about celebrity designer Libby Langdon's upcoming appearance at FURBISH! This is going to be a great event so please do put it on your calendars.
Here's to REALLY living.
Be well,
Uma
in this issue
quick links
FURBISH FALL KICK OFF!
Join us for a celebration of FALL on September 10, 11, and 12! All three days will be SIDEWALK SALE days in Millburn, and the FURBISH showroom will be open until 8 pm on Thursday, September 10. We will have CLEARANCE items, as well as the first crop of items for FALL. Come check it out and enjoy late summer refreshments with us!
celebrity designer event: meet libby langdon
We are so excited to announce! Furbish Home is hosting an evening event featuring Libby Langdon, HGTV personality, interior designer, style maven and author of the book, Libby Langdon's Small Space Solutions: Stylish Ideas for Every Room and Every Budget. The event is open to the public from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served.
I met Libby in NYC last spring and she is personable, approachable, and she knows her stuff. Don't miss this event.
Limited copies of the book will be available for purchase on the day of the event. Call us at 973.761.0311 to reserve yours today.
feature article: "live and let live, well"
While vacationing in Portland, OR this summer
I read that the motto for the city is "Live and let live, WELL." I loved that! This sense of living well, but in a laid back manner is what really brought me into a love affair with Portland five years ago when I made my first visit to attend a friend's wedding at the base of Mt. Hood. Now my friends and family who live in Portland joke that I'm more "Portland" than they are. I'm actually not, but my soul definitely found a home base out in the Pacific Northwest.
Having just returned from another trip there, it seems appropriate to write about the question of "lifestyle" because the quality of living in Portland can be so inspiring. Eat great food made from seasonal, locally grown produce, browse books at Powells or any of its five off-shoots, catch glimpses of Mt. Hood while driving through the city, or better yet take a drive through fruit orchards to get there, and stop to pick the berries on the way. Take a 45 minutes spin down to wine country
where you steer your car up remote gravel roads to find little wineries and estate vineyards, simultaneously chic and quaint. This is really just the beginning of the kind of "lifestyle" you can squeeze into your routine in Portland.
Of course, you have to choose to do these things even if you live there. I have to remind myself that in New Jersey we do have great farms you can visit, wine country in the North Fork of Long Island not too far away, and waterfalls along the western edge of the state and just over the river in Pennsylvania. Sure, we do NOT have Mt. Hood or the Pacific Coast Highway, but hey! It is actually more about the time we take out to do things of value to us.
Many times we fall into unconscious patterns of living and our "lifestyle" becomes a question of default. My version of default is eating too many cookies while searching for furniture hunched over my laptop for 5 hours at a time. Not so great. Thank goodness I got a good bit of Portland-lifestyle reprogramming!
The term lifestyle captures this moment in history and space where we have real choices in MANY facets of life, and we can use these choices to express who we really are. Let's use these choices well. What would we love to spend more time doing? What activities give us the greatest sense of appreciation and gratitude for all that we have and love, as well as all the beauty that exists around us? What places? Which people? What kind of food and drink makes us feel most blessed or treated? Can we include a few well chosen rituals and items in our everyday environment to connect us back with that daily? Viola! A lifestyle!
I have a definite version of a lifestyle that is my ideal. You can use this link to read about it on the website. I wrote this "manifesto" on the furbish lifestyle last summer when I was redesigning the business and also considering my life and how I could do more of what I love on a regular basis.
As it turns out, Portland really is a great place for living my personal ideal lifestyle every possible moment. At least in July, when there is no rain. It's a hosting ground for entrepreneurs and artists, and it tends to be a bit off beat, which is charming, its environs are sublimely beautiful, yet simple, and the agricultural bent gets us celebrating the basics, and it definitely is a place where exploration is de rigeur. I think I'll go back yet again! If you want to read more about the trip and consider going yourself, check out my blog, the furbish notes: a blog about life, style, and joy!
3 things uma loves right now
Low Painted Asian Chest: I LOVE this chest that just arrived in FURBISH. The hardware, hand-painted details, and black lacquered finish are classic, sophisticated, and the low shape keeps it feeling current, modern even because it has the shape of the new media consoles that have been coming out.
This chest is so perfect for sitting under a bank of windows or tall pieces of art. There are so few pieces of this available right now, it is almost one-of-a-kind. It combines really well with golden and brandy-like colors, plus stone and beige. Available for $3457.
Wood and Bone Lock Box I LOVE this bone and wood inlay box. The high contrast pattern makes it the perfect piece to punch up softer schemes or give a display of traditional accessories a more updated feel. Here is one displayed with my personal collection of Indian miniature paintings. Available now for $137. Alternate design also in-store now.
Classico Velvet I LOVE this velvet by Rodolph Fabrics. Some version of this beautiful color that is like aged copper seems to be cropping up in many of my current designs. It looks lovely with grey, blue, taupe, beige, black, gold. You have to see it in person to appreciate the nuances. Call us to receive a swatch or view in the store. Available for order for $178/yard. Many other gorgeous colors available.
5 places where you can research your lifestyle!
Half of putting more "style" into life is knowing and living what you really love, and getting fresh inspiration on a regular basis so you can keep doing it. Here are my favorite methods for getting inspired to live better, with some local suggestions to get started.
Hit the museums. Why do museums work so well? They elevate art and the artifacts of life so that we go into a mode of observing and reflecting rather than doing and acquiring. Search for interesting museum exhibits in the area and schedule the time to go! The Met, the Moma, and the Guggenheim are the standards, but you can also get off the beaten path. For example, try the Newark Art Museum and the Cooper Hewitt Museum of Design.
Appreciate good food. Go to a Farmer’s Market. This is the best time of the year for diversity of produce, and the vegetables are SO beautiful to look at. Yesterday I picked up white eggplants, orange tomatoes, tomatillos, and more. Each have such lovely color and texture to consider. Have a really great meal out in a new place. Maybe try a new cuisine or a famous place for your favorite cuisine. Soak it all in: the environment, the tastes, the luxury of eating out.
Be in nature. Go to the beach, take a walk on the Appalachian trail, go apple-picking again this fall. Drive through the pine barrens. Being outside in a beautiful place creates immediate feelings of gratitude, peace, joy. We regularly walk in the South Mountain Reservation and I am always amazed at how calm and meditative I feel there.
Go flea marketing and antiquing. The joy of a find! I love to go to Pennsylvania, for example the flea market in Saylorsburg, PA. It is often less crowded and less expensive than the New Jersey and New York spots, and they have cool stuff! I can almost never part with things I find at markets and antique shops because they seem like such treasures discovered this way.
Explore. Visit new neighborhoods and towns and window shop. I love going to Madison/Chatham, Montclair, Red Bank, Westfield. Or the ultimate, go into NYC to comb the West Village, Nolita, Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn, just about anywhere in the city will do!
The more you get out there, the more you will know about what living well means to you. Why? Because the experiences that really move you will become touchpoints for you, and soon you will see some trends that will pave the way for your personal style for life.
summer bread salad
Michael loves tomato bread salad, so we started attempting to make it at home. Over many years (we just celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary!) I have morphed it beyond tomatoes into a summer vegetable "extravaganza." A bit of effort, but well worth it. This recipe is for 2 to 3 people as a main course.
- 1 red bell pepper, roasted or sauteed, cut into short strips
- 1 large heirloom tomato, cubed
- 1 zucchini, cubed, sauteed with only about 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil, until browned
- 3/4 cup of corn, frozen or cut from 3 ears, seared on a skillet with only about 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil, until brown and roasted
- 1/4 cup of chopped red onion, soaked in ice water for 15 minutes or more, then drained
- 1 small clove of garlic, minced
- 2 teaspons red wine vinegar
- 4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tbsp of sliced fresh basil leaves
- mixed salad greens
- 1 1/2 cup of fresh mozzarella, cubed
- 3 large slices of artisan bread, toasted, rubbed with the cut half of a garlic clove, and brushed with olive oil, and torn in bite-size pieces
Put the red pepper, tomato, zucchini, corn, and red onion into a large bowl and combine. Mix the garlic, vinegar, and olive oil in a small bowl to make a vinaigrette. Add enough vinaigrette to well coat the vegetables. Reserve remainder for another salad. Stir in basil. Prepare individual plates with a small bed of mixed salad greens. Top with vegetable preparation. Add mozzarella and bread cubes to each plate (keeping various elements separate will allow any leftovers to keep better). Enjoy!
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© 2009 uma pimplaskar
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