What Would Carrie Bradshaw Do?

I've really got to stop watching Sex and the City and start editing my book. So, I went ahead and finished the series (again) and then booked a flight to NYC. Anything to stop having to remember how to spell 'unfortunately'! I'm headed to NYC in a little less than two weeks. I've already started packing. I have this great new blazer that I got at Nordstrom Rack and I'm excited to try it out, don't care that I'll have heat stroke. It's from one of my favorite brands Frame, except I didn't own anything from them until now because everything from that line is a million dollars. But, this blazer was marked down 90%!! I'm pretty sure it was a typo on the tag, because it went from $600 to $50. I love discount shopping.
I haven't been to NYC in about four years, and that's way too long. I'm only there for a long weekend so I'll have to fit in as many restaurants as possible. Even with all the gourmet food in the city, my favorite meal is always the balsamic chicken sandwich from Hale and Hearty's. I won't even bother trying to re create it because I'll just be disappointed.
In between finding the perfect outfit for my new blazer and taking online quizzes to figure out which character I am on Sex and the City (why does it keep saying Miranda!?!), I'll be working on the book.  But really, is being Miranda that bad if you take away her haircut and outfits like these...

Ok, yes it's still bad. Even though she was a successful lawyer and had the townhouse in Brooklyn, she was mean to Steve like all the time. I like Charlotte, even though she wasn't as cool as Carrie, her apartment was in "House and Garden" magazine. She was always a lady and always had a blowout. She probably smelled really nice too. To bring up my new blazer just one more time, it is defiantly something Carrie would wear. I hope. Or maybe Samantha would wear it with nothing underneath ha ha.
I actually will be working on the book, I promise. Still aiming for the September deadline. I didn't say when in September though, so I have some wiggle room. Most all of the actual writing is done, now I'm just trying to figure out what I can actually say without getting sued for character assassination :)
I also have some exciting news... The Have Some Decorum Shop will be coming to you in real life in November! I have a booth at the CALM Antique Show in Santa Barbara!!! My mom and grandma used to have a booth at this twice yearly sale back in the early 2000's. So, it's come full circle and I'll be setting up shop November 9th, 10th and 11th at the Earl Warren Showgrounds. Make it if you can! There will be lots of antiques to easily take home with you!! And my French Bulldog, Blu, will be there to great everyone and ask if you have any potato chips to give him.
Oh yeah, I'm also doing a mini sale tomorrow, surprise! I usually try to have about ten items each sale but I thought it might be fun to do a smaller sale with INSANE items this round. I try to always keep things timeless with the items I choose, they can be weird and interesting, but they better not be trendy. Trendy just isn't a word that should be used to describe your home. I like the word eclectic. Fun fact, Circa was almost named Eclectica. I prefer homes to have the juxtaposition of different time periods. A home that is all from one year is never a good look. That's where collecting comes into play. The items I put up on the shop I hope will be collected, whether it's the chinoiserie or ex-votos or oil paintings, the more the merrier. I have so many chinoiserie boxes that I just started stacking them on top of each other. And I couldn't be happier.
I was planning on taking a break for a hot minute to get back on the book route, but then something incredible happened. I found the best item this store will ever see. I'm not kidding. People travel across the world trying to find this one particular item. But because I already have one, this one goes to you.... A zebra rug!
Zebra rugs were a staple in my house growing up. There was always one in the house. Sometimes it was in the living room, sometimes the kitchen, and once it was in the bathroom.
There are many ways to style a zebra rug, not all are good. My mom wrote a whole blog about the do's and dont's that you can read HERE. I thought I'd share some more inspiration pictures for whoever the lucky (most likely) lady is who purchases this. Since I was able to score this piece for an incredible price, of course I'm going to sell it for one too. The woman who sold it to me said it had been in her family for years but she just didn't 'understand' it. As soon as she said that, I was already handing her cash.
1st dibs is the best place to really learn if you got a deal or not. I'm gonna say, this is a deal. 1st dibs sells authentic zebra rugs from $2,500 all the way to $4,800. The way to determine if said rug is authentic is pretty obvious. First, the shape. Sometimes a cow hide will disguise itself as a zebra, and it's pretty obvious.
Here's a zebra print on a cow hide:

And here's a real zebra:

Pretty obvious, no? If that has you fooled, then the second way to authenticate is by the face. A zebra rug will almost always have the head of the zebra on the rug. Not in a bear skin rug way though. The zebra's face will be flat. Then there's the tail and the mane. What I'm saying is it's pretty hard to fake. Don't fake it with a zebra print rug either, it's not good look. Now, without further adieu, here is the rug for sale.

It measures 7.3 feet long, 5.1 feet arm to arm, 4 feet middle to middle and 4.9 feet back leg to back leg. Zebra's can be either black and white or brown and white. I personally love a brown and white zebra rug, which is great because this is a brown zebra. They're much more rare than the traditional black zebras and slightly more understated in a room, while still being a focal point. The rug is small enough that it can be layered on top of any rug already in your house, it looks especially nice on top of a sisal. The best part of a zebra rug is that it really can go anywhere style wise. It doesn't look out of place in any type of home, it only enhances what is already there! Zebra rugs also age incredibly well. The more wear and love it receives, the softer it gets.
Since I love you all, the price is $1,800. I want you have this rug in your house! Just look at what you can do with it.

OK OK OK now, the next huge item! A massive antique Kashmir Paisley. This is an item to collect, I have three of them, all proudly stolen from my grandma's house. The first use of the paisley pattern is unknown exactly, but possible theories state that it dates back to 1700BC from the ancient Babylon empire or from the Persian empire in 200AD, either way, this print as been around for a long time, even longer than Prince Phillip (if you can believe that!). From there, the paisley pattern has been produced all around the world, with the East India Trading Company importing paisley textiles from Kashmir and Persia to Europe, where it became a status symbol for the elite. Oh la la. The traditional paisley patterns do not depict any recognizable natural images, as it is against religion. These textiles were painstakingly woven and took more time than the average bossy French woman could wait, so it became popular to make a quilt like paisley, where multiple extra pieces from the looms were sewn together into one piece. When Napoleon went to Egypt, he brought some back as gifts for his "lova" Josephine. Josephine was often depicted wearing them as shawls or draping them along furniture in her portraits. She loved the paisley so much that she began collecting them and even would pay 80,000 euros for a single throw! She can be credited for starting the major trend of the paisley in France, as she would turn her throws into pillows, bedding, clothing, etc.

This piece is an authentic Kashmir paisley textile that's all one piece, no quilt bullshit. It would be perfect as a tablecloth since it is a very long rectangular shape. It is mainly an orange/red color with greens, blues, white and blacks throughout. The fringe at the end of the two sides gives more detail about what color threads actually went into the textile. At the center, there is a black background motif with a signature sewn in white. I couldn't tell you what the signature says though. I have an arabic tattoo on the back of my neck, it matches my moms, David's and Jenny's. But, it was translated wrong, probably because we used Google translate. Whoopsie. So, I'm no expert in language.
These Kashmir paisleys are so rare to find in such good condition, actually, they're just rare to begin with. There's a few small holes near the center, but nothing noticeable. There's also two small drops of candle wax, which makes me love it even more. This piece is from the mid 1800's and purchased in France. It measures 11 feet long and 4.8 feet wide. The paisley patten is often reproduced by dumb places like Pottery Barn. Don't be dumb like Pottery Barn, be like Josephine Bonaparte. This is an item that can be passed down for generations and generations, or stolen from you. Sorry grandma!

I especially love when it's used as a blanket, like in Martyn Lawrence Bullard's Hollywood home. We'll is actually used as more than just a blanket, the whole room is paisley and it's to die for. Now Martyn Lawrence Bullard works for the Kardashian's and his aesthetic has really gone downhill while his relationship with Kris Jenner has gone up. 

The next item is something that I went back and forth with selling. I love small landscape paintings, but what I love even more are portrait paintings. These are much harder to find because they're usually all so wrong. I hate when they're overly detailed and realistic. Those are usually the ones that make you think someone is in the hallway when it's dark. When I found this portrait of a man, I knew I had to have it. I've never seen something so perfect. The brush strokes are thick and wide and the colors are perfectly muted without being dull. He's also quite large, 2.1 feet tall and 1.8 feet wide. I especially love unframed paintings. This painting has three pieces of wood nailed into the sides as a makeshift frame. Again, it's perfect. It's unsigned which adds a little bit of mystery to the piece. Every time I look at it I say, "No wait, I'm keeping it." And then I remember that I already have a few portrait paintings and this is now my job. So, this will also be for sale tomorrow. Love it like I do is all I ask.

Here's a few ideas I found of how to style the painting even though it would look amazing anywhere. I love when a painting just rests against a wall, not everything has to be hung up! You can frame it if you want, since the wood side panels will easily pop off, but I think I would leave it unframed.

All of these items will be for sale tomorrow morning at 6am PST plus a few other special items. But if you have to have something right now and don't want someone else to get it first... email me at havesomedecorum@gmail.com
There's still lots of beautiful pieces available online right now too though! Here are just some of the ways to imagine them in your house.
I was reading THIS Architectural Digest article when I spotted a tortoise shell! Perfect example of how it can be treated as a piece of art.

A large wood Santos statue is still available as well! The best inspiration photo of how and where to style a Santos statue comes from Diandra's house in Mallorca. She used two in the bathroom on either side of the sink. This one is incredible since it comes with a base. The base almost looks like the shape of a book, so great.

Another Diandra inspiration comes from her collection of altar candlesticks. She might be the only one in the world that not only has the altar sticks, but the actual altar as well.  It would be perfect for layering or even standing alone on the ground.

I like to think that these are all pieces Carrie Bradshaw would have in her apartment. Especially if she actually moved into that pre-war building with Mr. Big in the movie. Carrie's adventurous style would translate well into an apartment. If we ever saw more than her closet, I think she would have animal prints and paisley throws and Dyptique candles everywhere.  I have to start reminding myself sometimes that they're not real people.
Ok, I'll let you get to shopping and I'll get to book writing. Email me at havesomedecorum@gmail.com if you would like to purchase anything or have any questions. Some of these items are already available at havedecorum.com but the new pieces will be added tomorrow morning at 6am PST! Don't be late! And for exclusive updates, follow Have Some Decorum on Instagram HERE
P.S. I was catching up on the Real Housewives of New York City, I'm on the episode where everyone goes to Dorinda's Berkshire house, so you know it's gonna be a good one. And what do I see in the background?! A zebra rug and tortoise shell! Dorinda is my favorite now, move over Sonja.
XOXOXOX