I Love Console Tables, Marie of France, King of Poland, Jayne Wrightsman and Italy

Chatsworth: The Attic Sale October 2010, Italian carved giltwood
console table, made in Rome, mid 18th century, Sotheby’s Auction

"Why, you might ask, do I give a damn about a frou-frou gilded, curly-leg, marble-top table, the sole purpose of which, is to be displayed against the walls of grand rooms..." (Fun historical background to a console table sold by Christies's Auction. It had been owned by Stanislaw, King of Poland, father of Queen Marie, who was Louis XV's wife.) 

Interviewed Mark Morales of Shutter Source Houston about Custom Made Shutters

Custom made bedroom shutters manufactured and 

installed by Mark Morales - Shutter Source Houston

"...Caesar would have looked through shutters to scrutinize torch lights below, while augurs read a sheep's liver for indications of trouble..." (BoudinandBourbon.com - Virginia Billeaud Anderson interviews Mark Morales about his custom made shutters. Article includes fun history of shutters used by ancient Persians, Greeks and Romans.)

Aesthetic Truth: Notes on Empress Eugénie - Previewed Franz Winterhalter Portrait Exhibition - Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Franz X. Winterhalter, Empress Eugénie,
(Wedding Portrait,) (Copy) oil on canvas

"...Eugénie produced the required male heir, with the Pope as god-father, then nagged her cheating husband into expanding the Empire..." (Inspired by Franz Winterhalter's portrait of Empress Eugénie, Virginia Billeaud Anderson discusses Eugénie's aesthetically elevated taste in fashion, jewels and decor, as well as her ambition.)