Up on the rooftop garden

HOWARD M. SNYDER Herald-leader social columnist

Last Tuesday, at the end of the work day at the Herald-Leader, I noticed someone had put an envelope in my office mailbox. I opened it ... glanced at it ... a book signing for Jon Carloftis and Sue Wylie at L.V. Harkness ... and, it's tonight! Good Lord.

I jumped into my pickup and drove over to the store on West Short Street. When I pulled into the parking lot, it became apparent this wasn't just a book signing. With all the Mercedes and BMWs, I was beginning to feel ashamed of my Toyota.

It was ”Twilight in the Gardens,“ an evening with fine-dinnerware designer Anna Weatherley and Carloftis, and the debut of the rooftop garden he designed for L.V. Harkness. Wylie was signing her new book, How to Throw a Great Derby Party.

I think the only person not in attendance was Martha Stewart.

I just had to meet Carloftis, a Kentuckian whom most people now know as a designer of gardens in New York, and Wylie, a woman I've been watching on television since I was a child. She now is on WVLK talk radio and has given me an ulcer or two over my restaurant reviews.

There she was, not far from the entrance. I felt like running to her with open arms. We met and exchanged pleasantries. We minded our p's and q's, but Wylie did say, ”I do want you on my show.“

On the way up to the roof to meet Carloftis, I ran into Bill Watts, director of the Lexington Public Library Foundation, and his friend Trish Truesdell of Lexington and Las Vegas. They had nothing but nice things to say about L.V. Harkness, the shop, and owner Meg Jewett-Leavitt.

”It's wonderful,“ Truesdell said. ”Meg Jewett and I have been friends for 30 years, and L.V. Harkness is a creation of her love of fine things.“

Watts added, ”It is the ­finest store in Central Kentucky and on par with any of the really good stores in New York — where I lived for many years.“

After chatting with them, I finally made it up to the roof, but it was difficult to meet Carloftis. With the crush of people, I could barely get near him. When I finally did speak to him, he said, ”I'm going to Derby and I'm staying with Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown.“

They own 21C, a downtown Louisville boutique hotel and contemporary art museum.

I wished I could have stayed longer, but I had someone waiting on me to do a restaurant review. As I dashed to my truck, I passed someone coming in who resembled former first lady Phyllis George. But it couldn't have been. She doesn't live here anymore.

Later, I was talking to some people who attended the party, and they said George came in late.

Shades of Twelve Oaks

Last Saturday couldn"t have been a more perfect evening for ”April in Paris.“ The historic Wallis House and Arboretum on Pleasant Street in Paris was the scene of the first gala benefit for St. Mary School.

When I walked through The Wallis House onto the back porch, I was awestruck. All I could think of was the Twelve Oaks barbecue in Gone With the Wind. It was stunning.

More than 200 guests mixed and mingled around white tables and chairs, some under white tents, and sipped wine and ­champagne and nibbled on hors d'oeurves as Miles Osland and his Little Big Band played jazz and other favorites.

This was just a prelude to a delightful supper catered by Migdalia's Restaurant of Paris: shaved beef tenderloin on crostini, shrimp cocktail, lamb chops, salmon and brie bundles, sushi, blue cheese and pine nut tartlets, and asparagus wrapped with prosciutto. Mini crème brûlée and chocolate mousse torte were offered for dessert.

The catalysts for this benefit were four women, all Parisians and mothers of students at St. Mary: Holly McMillin, Betsy Lankford, Pam McFarland and Barclay De Wet.

”We raised approximately $50,000 for the school,“ McMillin said by phone after the benefit.

Aside from the ticket receipts, the benefit included a silent and live auction. Many of the items auctioned were made by students at St. Mary. A couple of interesting items sold were two adorable miniature donkeys, named Joseph and Mary. ”They sold for $900,“ McMillin said.

The top moneymaker was a trip to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. ”It went for $6,700,“ she said. ”We will be doing it again next year, and the theme will be the Gardens of Paris.“

If you're interested in receiving an invitation for next year's benefit, contact St. Mary School at (859) 987-3815.