Awesomeness All Around

Gothic Dragon and I headed to Art With Flowers at Tyson's Galleria on Sunday for the introduction of Pearl, Apothia's newest fragrance.  Ron Robinson is pictured above (left), showing Bill the store's owner and other attendees the magic that is Pearl.   The description from the Apothia.com site reads, "Pearl is a simple, precious, polished work of art with hints of shiso leaf, plum blossom, peony, orris and warm golden amber, parallel to the formation of the pearl - a natural quality gem - small, precious and perfectly polished by nature."  The end result is a complex citrus vs a more simple citrus like O Oui Lancome to give one example I know.  I was a devoted wearer of O, Aromatonique and other citrus scents but went off of them a few summers ago and couldn't really figure out why.  One sniff of Pearl and I knew why, the simpleness of the others has become boring to me.  Pearl on the other hand is so multi layered, it's much more interesting but still fresh.  The dry down was a just showered scent on me and I was intrigued when Ron has us sniff the dry down on his wrist because on him, it was completely different, alot more herbal.  So this is a winner for both men and women.

Thanks to Stevie in LA  for spreading the word about the event, and thanks too to Gothic Dragon for writing up such a great synopsis of the day and of Art With Flowers itself.  I can't say enough good things about this store and it is indeed so much more than fragrances, it's things for the home, eclectic books and CD's, chocolates, teas, skincare, haircare, gifts.  It transcends being a store and is truly an experience.

In other awesomeness, I am now on  Nautical by Nature's blogroll which is pretty cool given how infrequently I've been able to blog the past few weeks.  Thanks Kate!  I promise to live up to the honor.

Inauguration Weekend Shopping at Tyson's Galleria

Tyson's Galleria being ten minutes away from my house is a regular Preppycrat destination, especially with Coach, Cole Haan, and the J Crew stores there but it has another find I have blogged about in the past but it's such a beautiful and unique place I have to mention it again - Art With Flowers on the third floor opposite the food court.

Art with Flowers is primarily a floral design shop but as you can see from the pic below from the store, the vibe is very stylish and laid back:





You can find a little of everything here, just check out these candles and these flasks - Paris and LiLo. Too funny.





The back area is a comfy place to hang out and get inspiration both from the flowers in the shop and the nice assortment of bridal and home design magazines:



But Art With Flowers has treats for you, not just your abode. Among the many skincare and fragrance lines they carry are Burn, Serge Leutens, Etro, Santa Maria Novella, Aesop and Floris of London:



This is one of my favorite places to hang out but going in with my camera was a revelation because looking around, there was no bad angle or view in the store. Bill the owner is a genius in making the entire store inviting and a wonderful place to browse and take time looking around.

Last but not least, if you're a fan of hard to find teas and chocolates from around the world, Art With Flowers has them, and has lovely teacups and pots.



If you live anywhere in the DC area, this shop is a must see, definitely worth the trip to Tysons if you live on the other side of DC. If you're here for the Inauguration and staying in the Tyson's area, this is a must see before you leave town.

You can find out more about Art With Flowers here.

Art With Flowers

With the financial woes hitting Tyson's Galleria mall, my wallet still not fully recovered from Princess #1's 5th birthday party, and given that I have barely posted about anything Preppy, or shopping related lately - here is a post about my fave store in the Galleria, Art With Flowers.

If you are looking for something unique in the way of gifts for the home, fragrance for yourself or your home, or in need of flower design that's just a bit different than what you'll find at most florists, Art With Flowers is the place for you. You'll find fragrances from L'Artisan, Floris London, Apothia, and Serge Lutens. They also have candles from Burn, fragrance infusers from Alora Ambiance, and Linari, skin care from aesop, and body care from Ahava. Be sure to check out the eclectic selection of books and CD's in the back of the shop and for that sweet tooth, some chocolate bars from Vosages. Their Mo's Bacon Bar might be the most bizzare candy you've ever heard of but the taste? Think chocolate pretzels, that nirvana of sweet and salty and you have the idea.

There is so much more to this shop, too much to list, more fragrances, scents for the home, candles, glassware, decorative plates and bowls, one could easily spend an hour or two browsing and sampling all the fragrances and just enjoying the waterfall in the front window and relaxing vibe (yes, Preppycrat has plopped down on the cushy sofa in the back). Be sure to stop by often, Bill the owner of Art With Flowers, makes sure to keep his selection fresh and rotates lines and items in and out.

Art With Flowers is on the third floor of the Galleria, opposite the food court.

Because I've Neglected the Preppy

Part of Preppycrat, here's a breath of fresh air from the elections. Over Labor Day weekend, we had a friend from Manhattan visit for the weekend. We had a free morning, it was a beautiful day and we decided to go for a drive to a place that was as different from NYC as it could be, the Virginia horse country.

Middleburg has unsung glories. Amongst the upscale restaurants and pubs, antique stores and art galleries we found an excellent second hand store, The Middleburg Humane Foundation thrift shop. The draw here is the riding boots - not for equestrians and equestriennes only! MHF has brand new boots, all leather, beautifully made for $50/pair. Who would have thunk it?

Another treasure we found was the Salamander Touch, a gift shop selling everything from funny and unique greeting cards, to jewelry and leather messenger bags, to Blue Q gifts, and for the men several scents from Royall Fragrances. You can even find something for the kids here from the Guess How Much I Love You line of baby care products. "Doc" is thrilled with his Royall Spyce cologne and the little princesses love Guess How Much I Love You lotion. Mommy loves that it's paraben free.

And my pal from Manhattan? She had a blast, loved being in the country and seeing the men and boys walking down the street in their polo jerseys only added to the exoticness of the day.

We're planning on going back when she's in town again.

Lavender Moon Soap Company

I dithered on whether to blog about this find - was fragrance and bath really relevant to a preppy, political blog?

I decided that yes, it was. Because every preppy I've met, whether they're a sporty prep wearing a polo shirt and chinos or a more upper east side kind of prep in an LBD or business suit, cares about the total package. His or her hair is nicely styled, maybe simply, maybe in a way that needs more maintenance but on him or her it looks just right. And he or she usually prefers some sort of fragrance. It's usually a just showered kind of scent, could be citrusy, on women maybe a light floral. Sometimes it's a more intense spicy fragrance but never applied in a heavy handed way. Most of us modern preppies need to work so we can live in the (nearly always) ONE house we own and don't want our coworkers or fellow commuters to be overpowered by fragrance.

Various places I've discovered in the past year have had little attention but are either right in the suburbs, or not far away. Lavender Moon is such a place. Located in the Creekside Shopping Center in Winchester, it offers a variety of soaps, bath gels, lotions, bath teas, even gifts for the little ones. I bought the Hydrangea and Fabulous scents. Fabulous is indeed worthy of its name, citrusy but with a floral hint. Hydrangea is a shower fresh floral, very grown up and not sweet but not heavy either, a nice compliment to a preppy look or to wear in the office.

It's a huge plus that the packaging has a preppy but sophisticated sensibility too, featuring various sizes of polka dots and trimmed with polka dot ribbon...in lavender and black. It's also a huge plus that yes, for those of you who can't make it to Winchester, there's an online store.

I can't wait to go back for the soaps. Lovely and indeed fabulous.