Category Archives: antiques

Fulfilling Tour of Newport, RI

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“Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit.” ~ Frank Borman

My travelogue of Newport, Rhode Island continues today. I had the opportunity to tour the Marble House, one of the mansions. High up on the Cliff Walk, overlooking  Rhode Island sound and the Atlantic Ocean, it was home to the Vanderbilts who made their fortune as venture capitalists in the NY Central Railroad and steamships. Their investments and other wealthy families foresight in our country’s future, brought more prosperity through expanding commerce.

The opulent stone palace, now a National Historic Landmark, was designed by Richard Morris Hunt and was constructed during the years 1888-1892. Once complete, it was a 39th birthday present to William K Vanderbilt’s wife, Alva. How do you wrap a present like that? In gold, of course, inside, rather than out. She loved to entertain and saw the Marble House as “her temple to the Arts in America.”

Husband and wife, had separate private reading rooms filled with books, on opposite sides of the mid-level landing of the enormous, two story marble stair case. It is where they went to get away, relax from all their social entertaining. They also built a Chinese teahouse on the property with a magnificent view where guests could go for peace and solitude away from the hustle and bustle of the Marble House activities.

Alva and William K Vanderbilt had three children. Their son, William K, Jr. was a pioneer in auto racing. Their son, Harold pursued his passion of yachting and sailed in the America’s Cup three times. Their daughter Consuelo became the 9th Duchess of Marlborough.

Photos are not allowed to be taken inside the mansion. To read more about the Marble House and to see a photo of the gold room in the Marble House, please visit this link. http://www.newportmansions.org/explore/marble-house.

It was a fulfilling weekend in New England, exploring art, history and architecture.

Return on Monday to www.AllThingsFulfilling.com where independent thoughts, words and views are all part of the business. This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

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Another “summer cottage” along Belleview Road

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Above:  Marble House, the Vanderbilt’s Summer Cottage by the Sea.

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Chinese Teahouse on the property of Marble House

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The Backside of Marble House – facing the sea

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Above: Me with the Babcocks, my niece Kara & Her husband Joe – two architects!IMAG0450

Above: Gates of Salve Regina Univ in Newport, RI – it was graduation day!

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Above & Below Images: Stopped by the International Tennis Hall of Fame – it was neat!

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Newport Harbor

Goodbye, Newport! Can’t believe we saw all these sites in Newport in one day. Well worth the stop!

Signed,  Grateful, that I returned to this area once again. Loved every minute!

Providential Visit

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All that I know of tomorrow is that Providence will rise before the sun ~  Jean Baptiste Lacordaire

It’s a city rising, moved by philanthropists, architects, artists, bankers, shopkeepers and others who have engaged in The Providence Portrait Project http://providenceportraitproject.com/  to revitalize Providence, R.I. a city full of history, art, architecture. I enjoyed a day in this city last week when I went to visit my niece who is an architect at Union Studio Architects, and is currently involved in the design of a new library in Tiverton, Rhode Island. http://www.unionstudioarch.com/ .

I encountered so many wonderful sites in Providence that had to do with architecture, history, libraries, books, art, design and education that I will share what I saw through images, rather than words. Enjoy the pictures!

My next stop will be in a city of mansions where wealthy bankers, investors, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs lived in the early days of our country. Many of them invested in the railroad which allowed for westward expansion of commerce and thus, more prosperity for citizens of our country. Many of the castle-like mansions have become museums, open to the public for touring.

Do return to All Things Fulfilling tomorrow.

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Above two images – my niece Kara explaining about the Providence Portrait Project http://bit.ly/14tLl1w.

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IMAG0356The roof top garden above Union Studio Architects

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 Image above: Symposium Books, Providence, RI  www.symposiumbooks.com

IMAG0360Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)

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Image above & below: Athenaeum Library http://www.providenceathenaeum.org/

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Twin Sisters (yeah, I know, it’s hard to believe) together at the List Art Center

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Walter Feldman Book Arts Studio http://brown.edu/academics/visual-art/facilities

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At the Gates of Brown University, Providence, RI  http://www.brown.edu/

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Image above: John Hay Library http://library.brown.edu/about/hay/

Three Images Below: Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology

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 Above: Catherine Bryan Dill Center for the Performing Arts http://bit.ly/16MpQN5

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Above Image: The Edna Lawrence Nature Lab in Providence, RI http://naturelab.risd.edu/

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Photo above & below: Strolling the streets of Providence looking at church architecture and steeples.

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A beauty, isn’t it?

Image below: Grace Episcopal Church, Providence, RI

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I found providence,  grace and many more fulfilling things in Rhode Island! Thank you Kara, for being a tour guide and showing the sites.

Please return to www.AllThingsFulfilling.com tomorrow.

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com, a company specializing in e-commerce and e-marketing for independent publishers.

Armchair Travel to Europe

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armchair travelpg“If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.” ~ John F Kennedy

Europe is an old civilization compared to the United States of America. Tourists from all over the world flock to museums in Rome, Paris, Venice, London and other cities as part of their European vacations. The Louvre has approximately seven to eight million visitors every year. People enjoy taking in a wide variety of art reflected in paintings and other artifacts – from Celtic art to the Renaissance and Baroque eras, as well as Neoclassical, Romantic and the Impressionistic period. A chance to see  architectural elements many hundreds of years old, are reason enough to visit European cities – turrets, towers, flying buttresses, steeples, spires, vaulted ceilings and gargoyles, embellish the buildings.

If you are a connoisseur of European culture, there is a new blog that you will enjoy called Castles and Coffeehouses: Exploring European Art and History. http://castlesandcoffeehouses.com/. Blog writer C S Carley shares all sorts of interesting information geared around the humanities. And of course, she can’t mention European art and history without including just a little bit of how religion fits into the overall picture. It played such a major role in the world’s development during the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Travel along with C S Carley as she shares her knowledge of places abroad and finds all kinds of fulfilling things to explore and write about.

Return tomorrow to All Things Fulfilling, where sharing independent thoughts, words and views is all part of the business. This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

In Terms of Personal Fulfillment

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Life is like art. You have to work hard to keep it simple and still have meaning.~ Charles de Lin

I’ve always been a person who has lived relatively simply. Four years ago when I moved to this community of Steamboat Springs Colorado, I came to the area nearly devoid of all of my possessions. My accummulations  of  a thirty year marriage have been locked up and stored, and I came with little more than clothes in a suitcase and some business items.

My grandmother’s antique dining room set, my mother and father-in-law’s beautiful desk, my mother’s china, even our wedding album of photographs were left behind. Not wanting to accummulate more, I have been very careful not to amass “stuff” while I have been here. Learning to live without attachments to material things helps a person to stop and consider what is really fundamental to their existance. I’ve learned what really matters,and less is really more. http://bit.ly/reHMkv.

Today, I want to take a survey. If given four choices, what would rank first in terms of your personal fulfillment. What would you most appreciate having if you had little? Pick  just one thing. Let’s see, in the end, where people place their values. Join in by responding.

See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling. This blog brought to you Sue Batton Leonard, author of Gift of a Lifetime:Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected

Things that Sparkle

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“It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. “

 ~Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Tis the season for illumination. Today, on All Things Fulfilling I am going to focus on all things that shine. 

  • A clear star lit night
  • Tinsel on the tree
  • New parents and child experiencing their first Xmas together.
  • Icicles hanging from the eave of a roof
  • Lives spared by a Kiwanis and UNICEF Maternal and Neo-natal Tetanus vaccine
  • Polished silverware
  • Rudolph’s red rose
  • A gemstone given as a surprise gift
  • Glitter on a holiday card or an ornament
  • Candles on a tree, a mantel or on a festive holiday table
  • Snowflakes as they fall from the sky
  • A child’s face when they discover a book that draws them in
  • A beautiful painting, surrounded by golden frame
  • Crystal stemware
  • Someone who is passionate about the Art they create
  • Sequins on festive holiday clothing
  • Love discovered, love renewed in the spirit of Christmas
  • The face of the elderly or a veteran knowing and feeling that others really care
  • Twinkling white lights decorating a house
  • A lit lamp post standing sentinel for the arrival of holiday guests 

If you really want light up your own spirit this year, adopt a holiday family. Make some one else’s holiday shine by giving some gifts or fixing’s for a big holiday meal.Holiday buying this Christmas,  was especially fulfilling for me. I bought a few items for a set of twins who otherwise may not have had Christmas at all. More fun than the gifts given inside of the box, I created wrapping that really showed that I cared. When all is said and done, I think the packaging will be as treasured as much as the gifts inside! 

This year, buy one less gift for your own family, and give it to a family less fortunate and in need.  Here is a website that lists the top five Christmas charity projects. http://bit.ly/8ZBCef. 

Make your heart merry and illuminate the spirit of someone else this holiday season!

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Landscapes, Seascapes and TableScapes

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“Art allows us to lose ourselves and find ourselves at the same time.” ~Thomas Merton 

A mix of business and pleasure took me on the road over the past few weeks. I saw landscapes and seascapes far different than what the magnificent Northwest Mountains of Colorado have to offer! 

I like to explore all different kinds of art in Steamboat and in other towns, too. I came across a “Scape” of a different kind in the historic and artsy town of Frederick, Maryland. I visited The Little Pottery Shop and I learned about the wonderful art of Table Scapes. 

The Little Pottery Shop http://bit.ly/tdNhBT  is not only a retail establishment, but it also has a studio for creating handcrafted pottery. The artisans had teamed up with The Loft at AI, an antiques gallery next door, to showcase the displays of their pottery, both hand built and thrown on the wheel. The TableScapes were a feast for the eye! It was like browsing through the “I Spy Books.” Antique drawer knobs and other baubles were adapted for napkin rings, the table linens, glassware, chairs, candleholders, flower vases and other ornamentation all contributed to the overall visual effects. Each table beautifully carried out the theme and other accessories helped create the scene. http://bit.ly/hA0U1s. 

There were 12 enchanting TableScapes:

  • The EnchantedForest
  • Made in Maryland
  • Scare-tacular Table
  • A Walk inProvence
  • The Wedding to Remember
  • Christmas Memories
  • Thanksgiving Turkey Table Talk
  • Indian Treasures Table
  • A Day at the Beach
  • The Madhatter
  • Down on the Farm
  • Serving up the Stew 

No matter where people travel, in this country or worldwide, there are artists everywhere providing personally fulfilling opportunities for people to learn more about art. It’s available in rural hamlets, in cities and everywhere in between. Don’t miss out!

 Made in Maryland TableScape

 A Day at the Beach TableScape

To  see more tablescape photos, please visit http://bit.ly/hA0U1s.

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