Last Saturday, My friend Anna Last who is incidentally the Editor of Everyday Food, hosted a very fantastic Christmas dinner. Being a Food Stylist and Editor, you would hardly be surprised if I said the food was amazing! The big hit of the night, especially amongst the fellow Australians present was the pavlova, our national desert.
Anna and I also worked together on Real Simple where she tailored her many skills to prop style on our Styling Team so not only was the food delish but so was the view. I always marvel at Anna's apartment, A fellow collector of charming objet d'arte, Anna like myself is a regular flea market junkie and her style reflects a love of an era past. She often says one of her main influences was her grandmother and it's with this nostalgic eye she pulls together a variety of objects and artwork that some would imagine would feel at odds together, but with Anna's eye fuse together like still life painting themselves. Her and I share a love of all things botanical, you can witness this in her collection of oil paintings of flowers and metal organic sculpture that adorn the walls. Turquoise seems to be Anna's signature color and is laced through the apartment like a delicate thread, but makes a bold impactual statement in the hallway as you walk though the door. To brand Anna's style, it is delightfully random and eclectic. I loved the part of the evening where she took down her collection of blue and white ceramic off their plate hooks on the wall and served up the sides in them at the table which itself was decorated with an mismatched array of plates and paper peacocks.
Another highlight for me is her collection of nautical paintings and model boats, they remind me of growing up near the water and when I look at them I can hear the tightening of rope and the creaks and groans of clinking boats, a far cry from urban New York where we both now reside.
Most of these pictures are vignettes of her collections, maybe one day we will see more pulled back photographs of her rooms, Until then enjoy a small glimpse of another Stylist's and Editor's home, Thanks for dinner Anna!
You can catch all her news on everydayfoodblog.marthastewart.com/author/alast or her personal work combined on annalaststylist.tumblr.com
