#hcathome

“In the middle of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.” I was happy to find these flowering quince branches at my favorite bodega last week. But lest you think my life is perfect, I put them in a vase I knew was too small but looked pretty. Then I moved them this morning right before I was about to take this photo and they fell over and water poured onto my floor. Luckily, the vase was spared but an antique French porcelain ashtray was not so lucky. This is the proper size vase now. So that’s how my day is going so far. Happy Thursday! #albertcamus #floweringquince #hcathome #uppereastside (at Upper East Side) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKUBk-QDIqN/?igshid=nzkfslz1l42x

Winter has returned outside so I’m glad it looks like spring inside today. If you haven’t bought yourself flowering branches yet, I highly recommend them for a mood boost. The best part is that they last for weeks unlike flowers. #hcathome #quince #uppereastside #art (at Upper East Side) https://www.instagram.com/p/CL7KK5-j2M8/?igshid=io2q1p361yfg

I posted this photo almost exactly one year ago. Someone else posted it yesterday without crediting me even after I asked them to rectify the situation. So I’m posting it again to my account to remind everyone where it came from and what a luxury it was to be able to buy flowering branches for one’s home. I look forward to those days again. #cherryblossoms #hcathome #flowers #quarantinechic (at Upper East Side) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-j33bpHPxN/?igshid=v305v1xj40rh

There is nothing that makes me happier than a sunny day and a flower delivery. It’s even better when the coincide. Thank you @theflowerbx for the beautiful bouquet! #flowers #sunnyday #uppereastside #hcathome (at Upper East Side) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLHxV87jiZr/?igshid=phqqtk3f7awe

A few people have asked me about the art on this wall and specifically about the male portrait. It’s a self portrait by artist Phillip Roberts. I bought it at @christopherfilleyantiques in Kansas City in 2008. I emailed the artist and thought he didn’t reply but I found it and he said he painted it in the 1980s when he was his only available subject. He’s still painting and an updated self portrait can be found on his website and in my Storie. The harbor scene to the left was bought on @ebay for a client but I decided to keep it for myself. I think the impressionist landscape below was also an @eBay find. Next to it is a postcard by artist Julian Barnes in an antique frame. The little round portraits are from English Regency period and were found at the 25th Street Flea Market as were the top right two paintings and the middle painting in the gold frame. I paid a lot for that painting and even more to have it custom framed but it was worth it. The painting of boats with the lavender sky in the gold frame was found in Belgium. The tiny mountain landscape was bought on @eBay and perfectly filled the empty space above the lamp. The last painting in the lower left corner was another flea market find. I learned earlier this year that there are no flea markets left in NYC. I found so many amazing things over the years at them which makes me sad. What’s your best flea market find? #art #gallerywall #philliproberts #paintings #fleamarketfinds #hcathome (at Upper East Side) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDcRm1dHXLt/?igshid=8l0po1nieu2u

I was so excited to find lilacs at the store this weekend but they promptly died the next day. So enjoy these lilacs I bought a year ago and send your best suggestions for keeping lilacs alive. Merci. #lilacs #quarantinechic #hcathome #art #flowers (at Upper East Side) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-9j6sYnuI_/?igshid=ywtfph4joas5

The tulips from a recent post still look pretty as they fade way. The dropping pollen is less enjoyable especially as it causes you to play the game, do I have allergies or is this the virus. #goodtimes #uppereastside #flowers #quarantinechic #hcathome (at Upper East Side) https://www.instagram.com/p/B969LO7nCg5/?igshid=fby7ijp37s0b

For the first two weeks of quarantine, I couldn’t read a thing. It was hard to concentrate or focus so I’m glad my appetite for books has returned just in time to prevent my watching any more of @tigerkingnetflix. I’ve started rereading Emma again. I had never read it before seeing @emmafilm and now it’s become my favorite Jane Austen novel. I also want to read Conversations with Friends again and hope that Sally Rooney uses her time at home to finish her third book. There’s something about being in New York now that makes me want to pull the Catcher in the Rye off the shelf and while I doubt I will ever finish The Goldfinch, I wouldn’t mind rereading The Secret History. I feel more interested in visiting old friends than reading anything new although I should try to make a dent in that pile of books beside my bed. What have you been reading while you’ve been at home? Are you choosing the classics or diving into new authors? Are you going to finally read War and Peace or something a little less long? #quarantinechic #socialdistancing #readingisfundamental #bookshelves #art #hcathome (at Upper East Side) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-VONJ0nFso/?igshid=110o7yi1j0364