News

Whatever the meal, a buffet translates to easy dining. And if you’re entertaining at home, setting up a buffet also can be a great way to feed a crowd.

At luncheon and dinner parties, I sometimes find the table pre-set with the appetizer course, which is followed by the host’s instructions, in so many words, to get up and reach for a plate on the buffet. At other gatherings, the meal begins at the buffet itself.

I wish Brownie McLean, who died at age 101 on Jan. 9, could be here to hear the many stories people are telling about her and her many escapades, including a few that I might add.

She may have been a Palm Beach social icon, but I knew her as a friend who just happened to be a client.

If one of your New Year's resolutions is to read more, I heartily recommend "Popovers and Candlelight", a new can't-put-it-down book by Marcia Biederman (SUNY Press, $19.95).

It is the story of the rise and fall of Patricia Murphy, a restaurateur who truly captured the imagination of the social and traveling public.  The book is subtitled: "Patricia Murphy and the Rise and Fall of a Restaurant Empire".

Were you a Crayola child?

I know I was, and I believe nearly everyone has been influenced in one way or another by those crayons in Crayola’s distinctive yellow-and-green box.

It’s certainly the season to deck the halls with boughs of holly. But why not deck the walls with watercolors of orchids and other tropical flora?

One of my favorite artists, Karen Eskesen, will be presenting her portfolios of watercolors of lovely blooms this week at one of my favorite events of the season, the annual Christmas Boutique sponsored by the Garden Club of Palm Beach.

Next week brings us Thanksgiving Day, perhaps my favorite holiday of all, a time to enjoy the festivities while giving thanks for so many blessings.

Because I grew up in the land of the Pilgrims, I am fully indoctrinated in all the traditions related to Plymouth Rock — the dresses, the hats and those wonderful buckled shoes. In fact, I played the part of a Pilgrim man in many school plays. Not only that, but the militia leader of the Pilgrims, Myles Standish, is said to be part of the family tree.

I could very well say I grew up in the Paramount movie house in Lynn, Mass. My sister and I never missed a Saturday, when the double feature kept us entertained and informed, thanks the “News of the World” and other newsreels.

These days, when most of the grand movie palaces have been torn down or replaced with multiplex cinemas, I am not as much of a moviegoer as I once was. But when my friends tell me about a super movie, off I go.

Summer may be in rear-view mirror, but I still have Nantucket on my mind for design and decorating inspiration.

When I think of Nantucket, I always think of weathered gray-shingled houses overlooking cobbled streets where the sidewalks wave because of their uneven bricks. It’s a look you’ll find in many historic Massachusetts towns.

From puffy to layered, from dense ripples to small shapes floating gently by, clouds are almost always on view in Palm Beach that range in colors from deep slate to light gray, not to mention those bright white puffs.

Clouds also have made their way into the home of many Palm Beachers, whether they’re depicted on ceiling and wall murals or on fabric and wallpapers.

I was so saddened to learn last week of the death of painter Ralph Wolfe Cowan, a friend who was well-known to many a Palm Beacher for his lavish portraits.

Mr. Cowan, who died at 86 Sept. 4 in West Palm Beach, was prolific, working on canvas after canvas during his lifetime. His color and sepia portraits captured some of the world’s most powerful and popular personas — Johnny Mathis, Debbie Reynolds and royal families, including the Sultan of Brunei and Monaco’s Princess Grace, Prince Rainier and Prince Albert.

I have always loved hardware stores. I’m not thinking of the big warehouse stores of today, although they certainly serve their purpose if you need the widest selection possible.

No, I’m more partial to smaller mom-and-pop hardware shops that recall days gone by, where one could find everything from paint to brushes, from garden tools to saws and nails. And that’s not to mention garden furniture, kitchen utensils, seeds for the garden, clocks, candles, toilet brushes, bath mats and even stoppers for sinks.

Every so often, I see a house I think is special, particularly one painted in a manner that takes me by surprise.  There are many lovely sections of Palm Beach and West Palm Beach, where the owners of properties go the extra mile to say “welcome home” with plantings, color selection, pathways, garden furniture or with door decorations.

I was, once upon a time, a Boy Scout.  I remember crafting with my cubs. I believe those crafting lessons helped lead to my days as a decorator. Teaching woodworking to young boys — making a tie rack, book ends or a wall plaque on which alphabet letters, made of strands of spaghetti, were applied — was a beginning of my love of design.

Independence Day is approaching, so to all I send greetings for a happy Fourth of July next week. It's that time of year when we honor our country, our freedom and the red, white and blue - although we really should do that every day, Shouldn't we?

Could The Carlyle in New York City claim the title of “America’s hotel”? I think you could argue for that, if famous and stylish guests are any indication.

All Carlyle lovers may want to check out a new — and terrific — 90-minute documentary film, Always at the Carlyle, directed by Matthews Miele, who also helmed Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s. The film premiered May 8 at New York’s Paris Theatre, where a packed house enjoyed the flick and marveled at the hotel’s history.

What is going on down the road at our next-door neighbor’s? Now, I’m not talking about the house over the hedge but our neighboring town, lovely Lake Worth.

If you’re headed to the South End in the next couple of weeks, you should head just across the Lake Worth Bridge to visit the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County.

Are we in a golden age?

Probably so, if you consider the value of gold. These days, many a gold bracelet and broach are being melted down to re-emerge, at some point, as a new piece of jewelry.  I know jewelry designers who even melt down gold pieces that they have had in inventory for some time- pieces that have not found a happy home.  But even with recent market fluctuations, gold is still valued - and silver is not far behind.

I’m Grandpa, the decorator.

And “joyful” is only one of the adjectives that can describe the birth a year ago November of my first grandchild — a boy named Bowie, born to my daughter-in-law, Victoria, and son Nicholas. “Proud” and “thrilled” are other words that might describe me these days.