The Best of Reggie: Year One

As one does (or at least one should) at an important milestone in one's life—such as an anniversary—Reggie has spent some time reflecting on the past year of his blog and reviewing his output.

Just as Reggie believes it is appropriate to thank those who have made the journey interesting and rewarding for him in his first year, so he believes it is permissable for him to blow his horn a bit, and gather together in one place the twelve posts (one for every month) that have excited the most responses from you, Dear Reader, or that he has most enjoyed writing.  And he has done so.  They are, so to speak, my greatest hits (pun intended) of the last year.

Starting from the beginning and working my way up to the present, here goes:

My Slim Keith Story was one of my earliest posts, and was the first where I received more than a handful of comments.  In it I relate meeting the legendary society swan shortly after I first moved to New York, and how I then found myself, much to my surprise, sitting in her living room the very next day, having a cocktail and reflecting on what a lucky boy was I.

My First College Mixer, Or How Reggie Got Slapped is one of my favorite posts.  In it I recollect spending a weekend visiting my dear brother Frecky at Yale when I was fourteen, which included Reggie receiving a well-deserved slap to his face by a furious Mount Holyoke girl.

Reggie's Rules for Popular Party Guests was the first post that I wrote in which I outlined my basic rules for acceptable social comportment (a recurring theme here on Reggie Darling), in this case of guests at a party.  In it I explain what I believe a host should reasonably expect of his guests—at least those that he would care to entertain more than once . . .

How Reggie Got His Name relates how it was that my parents came to name me after a woman they employed as caregiver to their children, and how I came to treasure that honor.

Maids Should Wear Uniforms was a post that elicited a firestorm of comments, and more than any other post I have written.  In it I explain why it is that I have come over time to require our housekeepers to wear uniforms as a condition of their employment.  Some people took Reggie to task for this, in some cases quite vehemently, but the majority agreed with him.

The Pompey Chronicles, Part I, II, III, and IV is a series (I know, I'm stretching a bit here—this really is four separate posts) that many of my readers particularly enjoyed.  In it I relate finding, naming, and loving my most adored (and published) pet dog, a pug named Pompey (who is, incidentally sitting in my lap as I write this).

A Peale, a Plant, And a Pot relates how I came to be the unexpected owner of a cutting of a geranium (or is it a pelargonium?) that once belonged to Thomas Jefferson, and which is the subject of a painting by Rembrandt Peale in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

A Cary Grant Story is a great favorite of mine, and also of many of my readers.  In it I relate a story that was told by the mother of a dear friend of ours about her three chance encounters with Cary Grant in elevators in New York City, and the brief conversations that ensued.

Reggie, Lilly, Lilly Boy, is a post in which I ponder the sociological iconography of Lilly Pulitzer clothing, and discuss why it is that Reggie has somewhat mixed feelings about the brand.

The Blossoming of Romance Under the Fascist Sky was one of the more challenging and rewarding posts that I have written in the last year.  In it I discuss how my parents met on a bicycle trip in Europe only weeks before the outbreak of WWII, and what became of their marriage over time.  It moved many of my readers in a way that none of my other posts have.

Why I Will Never Eat at Per Se was much fun to write.  In it I relate a particularly Kafka-esque experience I had in unsuccessfully attempting to make a reservation at one of New York's most sought-after restaurants.

Drapes Is a Verb was also great fun to write, and continued a theme I first explored in "When Is a Vase a Vahz?"  In the post I discuss why it is that one should never refer to curtains as anything but, well, curtains—at least if one aspires to moving in the circles in which Reggie finds himself.

And there you have it: the greatest hits of my first year of blogging, give or take a few . . .

Dear Reader, my goal in writing this blog—as I outlined in my inaugural post one year ago—is to provide you with a diversion from your daily cares.  To the extent that I engage you, amuse you, teach you something, or develop a dialogue with you, I believe I have succeeded in my mission.  And for that I am most grateful to you for giving me the opportunity to do so.  Thank you.

And now, I really must get back to work!

Image courtesy of Slim Aarons' Once Upon a Time, with apologies to Mr. Philip van Rensselaer

Reggie Darling: A First-Anniversary Thank You

Today marks the first anniversary of this blog.  And so I use it as an opportunity to look back and thank those who have encouraged me along the way, many of whom have blogs that have become a daily "must read" for me, and whose comments on Reggie Darling are a meaningful contribution to the pleasure I derive from writing it.  I had no idea when starting out one year ago that I was launching myself into a medium that would provide me with access to such an interesting community of like-minded fellow travelers as I have found.  It is appropriate at this point for me to pause and give thanks where it is most deservedly due.

The following people were especially kind to me as I was first starting out in the blogosphere, and I will be forever grateful and thankful for their support:

• The Blushing Hostess, also known as Catherine Coughlin, who graciously asked me to guest post on her marvelous blog before I had begun Reggie Darling, but after I had become a regular commenter on others', including hers;
• Diane Dorrans Saeks of The Style Saloniste, who encouraged me to start a blog after we exchanged a series of amusing emails on various subjects, and who has championed me ever since;
• Mrs. Blandings, also known as Patricia Shackelford, who featured Reggie Darling on her own heavily visited blog just as I was starting out; and
• Emily Evans Eerdmans, who asked me to guest post on her eponymously named blog shortly after I had begun Reggie Darling, and whom I have since had the pleasure of coming to know.

Once Reggie Darling was up and running, and as I developed my blogging sea legs, I came across a handful of bloggers who I have enjoyed communicating with, and then meeting in person, often over a delightful and conversation-filled meal or two:

• Little Augury, one of the most prolific, creative, and interesting bloggers I know, and who graciously bestowed upon Reggie two blogging awards;
• Aesthete's Lament, the greatest of them all, who encouraged Reggie and whose contributions to the blogosphere are a lofty beacon for us all to follow;
• Privilege, a fellow traveler on the parkway of High WASP-dom, and with whom Reggie traded guest posts about attending our Ivy League colleges' 25th reunions;
• The Blue Remembered Hills, an English expatriot living in Atlanta whose fascinating series of posts on near-forgotten men decorators is worthy of a book, which Reggie hopes Blue will have published one day;
• Maxminimus, an hilariously funny Southern gentleman and sartorial dandy, whose ramblings regularly bring tears to Reggie's eyes, usually of laughter but also, at times, of recognition; and 
• Lindaraxa's Garden, the recipe-rich blog of Julieta Cadenas, a former New Yorker now living in Georgia, who doesn't miss a trick.

In addition to these bloggers there are a number of others I look forward to reading whenever they post, whose comments I am particularly pleased to see whenever they appear in my inbox, and whom I hope meet one day:

• The Down East Dilettante, a Maine-based antiques dealer whose well-researched essays on New England architecture and the people who built it are always richly informative and often wildly amusing;
• Rose C'est La Vie, a talented English artist whose musings on domesticity, family, and service to her country are a pleasure to read, and at times verge on poetry;
• The Corinthian Column, an aesthete who divides his time between Thailand and Scotland, and whose escapades in the world of auctions are much fun to follow;
• Edith Hope, a dedicated English plantswoman with a dry sense of humor who divides her time between her native land and Hungary; and 
• Architect Design, a residential architect based in Washington, D.C., who was the first person to leave a comment on Reggie Darling one year ago, for which Reggie will always be grateful. 

There are a number of regular commenters on Reggie Darling who do not have blogs (yet), but whose bylines alone are sufficient to excite Reggie's interest, for he knows that what they have to say is going to be worth noting.  He would like to thank each of the following:

• Magnus, a true connoisseur of design and social history, and now a friend;
• Magnaverde, whose stories from the trenches are hilarious and right on point;
• Toby Worthington, who has a remarkable eye for detail and the knowledge to back it up;
• The Ancient, who lets Reggie have it when he gets too big for his britches; and
• My darling siblings Camilla, Frecky, and Hermione Darling, who help me fill in the gaps and details in my stories about our family when I have less than a complete memory of them.

And then, of course, I must thank my partner on Reggie Darling and in life, Boy Fenwick, who takes most of the photographs that appear on this blog, is the inspiration for many of the posts on it, edits my scribbles to make them grammatical, and who puts up with my spending most of my waking hours hunched over my laptop, blogging away, when I should be doing other, more productive things.

Reggie is, indeed, a fortunate fellow.

Graphic courtesy of Rifle Paper Co.