Tea at Trianon: Color Me Chartreuse

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Color Me Chartreuse

All Shades Blue reports on my favorite shop in Buckeystown, MD. To quote:

Virginia Crum is the daughter of an interior decorator and a small business owner. So it's no surprise that she now runs one of the most successful vintage furniture and decor businesses in the Baltimore-Washington area.

Raised in historic Frederick, MD, just 50 minutes from the Nation's capital, Crum has grown up alongside the historic landmarks that mark the evolution of this former mining town, where Union and Confederate soldiers alike passed through on the way to battle during the Civil War, and where President Abraham Lincoln gave testimony to the sacrifices that the town made during the War Between the States.

In 2002, soon after Crum, her husband and two daughters moved to her grandparents' farm just outside of Frederick, she found inspiration in a little cottage that sits on the property. "I thought to myself, 'wouldn't it be fun to decorate that cottage and do a little sale,'" said Crum. Together, with one of her friends, Crum began decorating the small house and gathering pieces for the sale. "We watched the weather and put an ad in the yard sale section of the Frederick newspaper. We then put signs up and down [route] 85."

But the cottage was small and Crum's vision could not be contained by the four walls of that little house. She and her friend hung chandeliers from the trees that surround the home on the same land that was once a pasture to the 150 cows that lived on the farm. The decorations caught the eyes - and the attention - of the drivers passing by.

Now, more than a decade later, Crum's tag sale has evolved into a monthly event with 30 vendors who fill all three of the barns that sit on the property. Crum and her team of vendors exhibit and sell their vintage wares the third Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of each month, as well as on three additional weekends, including a "Market Sale" this weekend, April 5th and 6th. Market weekends extend the sale to the grounds outside the barns, where visiting vendors bring additional finds. (Read more.)

julygirl said...: A must see location crammed with charm and lovely products to make your home especially special.; April 7, 2014 at 11:50:00 AM EDT