please excuse mrs. jones from work today.  it’s time to present my paper to the memphis woman’s club (est. 1890) on sister parish, her life, and her current relevance to interior design.  preparing to take my turn at the podium has been the best excuse ever for a total mrs. parish immersion, re-reading sister and digging up all kinds of facts and legends about the grande dame.  it’s also providing an opportunity to gush (in public!) just a little more over thomas jayne, a former parish associate (and mrs. jones’s ultimate design crush), since a conversation with him last year prompted my fascination with her.

mrs. parish’s influential signatures included glazed walls, painted patterned floors,  and lacquered and painted furniture.   she also was passionate about dachshunds, ropes of faux pearls and handcrafted treasures in crochet, patchwork and decoupage.  (are you all connecting the dots here?)  what’s not to love?

as sharpay evans says in “hsm 2″, “i need a little fabulous, is that so wrong?” 

but now it’s back to work and the real world.