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FEBRUARY | PAGE 39 | 2014 In the library, one of a pair of five-foot-tall Art Deco blackamoor lamps from the Paris flea market. Assorted small paintings and antique maps arranged with family photos and books. At the center of this seasonal Day of the Dead altar are a skeleton painting by John Alexander, a 17th-century madonna, carved gold-leafed hand by Mexican artist Pedro Friedeberg and treasured Items from Mexico and beyond. my initial jewelry classes at The Instituto, near where my workshop is today. HOW IS YOUR NEW STORE A REFLECTION OF YOU AND YOUR TRAVELS? I'm obsessed with the gorgeous churches in Mexico, and that aesthetic is prevalent in my jewelry, my home and my life. I'm also rather crazy about religious art and anything gold-leafed — both of which can be found with great abundance in the places I like to visit. I rotate things in my home all the time so the store is a great way to enjoy pieces that I have no room for, such as the furniture presently in the shop: an English Chinoiserie secretary, an antique settee and chairs, the display table and sideboard. I have three storage units with things I've collected over the years. WHEN MORE IS MORE. I love visiting someone's very minimalist home, but in my house I want the things I collect around me. This influence definitely comes from my aunt and godmother, Patty Hubbard; we both might have so many things on a cocktail table that it's hard to put a drink down. When I was a young girl, she gave me a little box and that started a lifelong box collection of all shapes and sizes and vintages. Nothing ever really remains in the same place for long. I love to move things around and create little vignettes. AND TWO OF ANYTHING IS EVEN BETTER. If I see a pair of something — anything — they are likely to come home with me. Almost everything I own is in sets. FAVORITE ROOM IN THE HOUSE. Our library. I feel sorry for my husband, Wilson. He is a voracious reader and wanted a true library to read in. You could not read a book in there if you tried. It's lacquered black and dimly lit. It evolved into a spot to sip a cocktail, and we have a large gate-leg oval table that opens to seat eight so most of our dinner parties are there. Everyone loves to linger, so once you go in, you are not likely to come out until well past midnight! It houses antique Italian, Mexican and Spanish Santos, reliquaries and tabernacles. And on the only available wall space, Wilson's collection of antique maps provide something to attempt to look at in the candlelight. "MY DOG AND I SHARE THE SAME TASTE…" Two of my favorite pieces of furniture are a beautiful pair of settees from Babs Watkins. Sadly, one of the carved legs was also loved by my French bulldog pup, who chewed it almost completely off while we were in Paris last year. Thank heavens for an amazing furniture restorer I found. No one would ever know. ON WHAT MAKES A PARTY DIVINE. A relaxed hostess is the key to a lovely evening. I tend to get nervous and need to take it less seriously. After going to someone's home and dining in a more formal way, I'm nervous that our style is not elegant enough at this stage in our lives. I need to get over that! ENTERTAINING AT HOME: THE INFINITE COCKTAIL HOUR. Entertaining for us is super casual and usually consists of something grilled outside; lamb or venison from the ranch in the winter or salmon in the summer, along with my stuffed jalapenos. Wilson is the chef in the family. He comes from a long line of men who love to cook and do it very well, and I am so happy that our son seems to be keeping that family tradition going. The thing is, you probably won't eat until about 10, as the cocktail hour around here seems to go on and on. WEEKEND RESTORATIVE. We are blessed to have two wonderful family spots: a ranch that was an old sugar plantation in West Columbia and a river house on the Guadalupe purchased by my great grandfather, Papa Blakely, in 1935. I just wish we could get to them more often. It seems travel to other spots and the busy pace of my life doesn't leave as much time for this as I would like. NEXT STOP. In a perfect world I would love to have about four more Ethereal Rooms strategically opened in the cities I love: San Francisco, New York, Mexico City and Paris. TO LIVE BY. "Si, como no!" That pretty much says it all! Jewelry, clockwise from top: Fire opal, pearl and 18K gold Pamela crown ring, $9,800. Lizard cuff with labradorite, $725. 18K gold and diamond celestial ring, $10,600. Brooch/pendant with smoky topaz briolettes, 18K gold and 18th-century lava stone, $6,800.