Hillwood

Randy, my housemate who designs interiors, recommended a visit to Hillwood, an estate not far from the National Zoo in Washington D.C's Forest Hills neighborhood.

Marjorie Merriweather Post, the cereal heiress, bought Hillwood with the intention of turning it into a museum after her death.  Once the wealthiest woman in America, she was more familiar to me as the mother of Dina Merrill, who died in May at the age of 93.   This portrait of the two of them hangs inside.

The emerald brooch was displayed in the Adironack House, elsewhere on the property, in a temporary exhibit called "Spectacular," an understated description of Ms. Post's custom-made and historical jewelry collection.

Her estate also includes a colorfully painted dacha,

a greenhouse stocked with exotic orchids,

and a disappointing pet cemetery.  Only Scampi, a poodle, belonged to Ms. Post.  The other dogs buried there were hangers on.