Happy Weekend

We have company coming this weekend, in less than 24 hours to be exact, and while I should be cleaning, I'm taking pictures of fall décor...doh?!

I think that's the beauty of getting older, you don't care if everything is perfect, just whether or not you have good food, good wine, clean towels, and a calm disposition to offer your guests.  Or maybe it's just that as you age, you only invite people to your home who you know will like you for you...not how well they can see their reflection in your shiny mopped floors.

This will be the first time I've met this person in real life, though we've been friends for several years, thanks to blogging.  Her blog was one of the very first ones I ever visited, and one of the ones that inspired me to start my own.

So, unless she turns out to be an axe murderer, or I do, I should be back next week to tell you about how it all went. 

I hope you all have a very Happy Weekend!



The Rose

There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted.  ~Henri Matisse~

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living.  We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon-instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our windows today.  ~Dale Carnegie~

What a lovely thing a rose is!... Our highest assurance of Providence seems to me to rest in the flowers. All other things, our powers, our desires, our food are all really necessary for our existence in the first instance. But this rose is an extra. Its smell and color are an embellishment of life, not a condition of it. It is only goodness which gives extras, and so I say again that we have much to hope from the flowers.  ~Arthur Conan Doyle~

I hope your week is off to a good start! :)

My Newest Addictions

Thanks everyone for your well wishes following our accident in Williamsburg.  We are slowly feeling less sore, and working towards getting our car repaired.

I've been taking it easy this past week, trying to get my cortisol levels back in whack.  When you have an adrenal condition like I do, what would normally not affect someone else can really throw my body for a loop, so I'm taking baby steps until I'm back to normal again.

One of the most important things I can do is to eat right and get plenty of rest...oh and avoid the news at all cost...Mr. Tide is keeping me up on current events so that I don't sound like a total dimwit!

Over the last 6 years eating organically, eliminating all sorts of things from our diet like transfats, etc., and in the past 9 months going gluten free, has been key to my feeling better.  And when I'm under stress, or have experienced a stressful situation like our accident, it becomes even more important for me to keep up a strict healthful diet.

I really try to eat mostly fruits and veggies throughout the day supplementing those with protein, and I've become a little addicted to Whole Foods spreadable cheeses...like the Pepper Jack Cream Cheese pictured above.  I've actually been out of it for a few weeks and I have to say that withdrawal has not been easy!

The other thing I am totally in love with are these Glutino Gluten Free Bagel Chips...both the original and the Parmesan flavor...YUM!  When gluten free tastes this good, you kind of forget that it can be a royal pain to stick to a gluten free diet.

The only problem is that our local stores don't stock either of these, and I've yet to find a good spreadable goat or cream cheese that can match the stuff they sell as their store brand at Whole Foods.

This was my lunch a few weeks ago, and let me just say that it was delish!  Usually I would have less fruit and more veggies, but our local grocery stores are severely lacking in good organic produce, and because Mr. Tide was on a trip, I hadn't made the 2 hour trek to our closest Whole Foods for awhile.  In fact, we are long overdue for a visit, but that will likely have to wait until sometime next week.

So curse you Whole Foods and your delicious spreadable cheese...and curse you local grocers for not getting more organic fruits and veggies so that I wouldn't have to drive to the ends of the earth to find some!  Oh and curse you people who have a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's right down the street and take it for granted...envy, thy name is Kat!

On a totally different topic, but still pertaining to addictions...let's chat about roses shall we?!

When we moved into this house 5 years ago we had the ubiquitous knock-out rose bushes, one pink tea rose, and another yellow hybrid tea...I really have no clue if they are hybrids or teas, but it makes me sound more educated so I'll go with it.  In total, we had 9 rose bushes...4 of which were knock outs and 2 were some sort of spray type bushes...and yes there will be a test at the end so keep track.

Thanks to the world of blogging, I met Connie of Hartwood Roses.  Connie is what I like to refer to as a rose "dealer."  You know the type, they talk about roses with a passion in their voice, invite you to their property which looks like a rose garden from an old English estate...well because it is an old estate and she has lots of rose gardens, and they slyly lure you in!

Then they put their crafty, mesmerizing spell on you and BAM you suddenly think to yourself..."hey, I could do this, I could grow roses with names I'll never remember, and care about each individual plant as though it's an adopted child!"

And so here I am, just a year and half later, with 25 rose bushes...yup 25...and counting!  A few of them are knock outs, but most are old fashioned roses that I've purchased from Connie or been gifted by friends and family.  I also have some David Austin roses, like the white one above, but please don't ask me their names.  

Unlike the gardens of true rose enthusiasts, my roses are not neatly tagged, beautifully trimmed, or probably even in the right soil or getting the perfect amount of sunlight.  But they do bring me joy and happiness, and I do care for them in my own way.  Heck, I'm even thinking about buying a wide brimmed straw hat so that I at least give the appearance of knowing what I'm doing!

Connie has taken a break from selling roses in order to tend to the many beautiful plants in her own gardens.  What she may or may not realize is that she did way more than sell roses to unsuspecting people like me...she actually created little rose loving addicts in the process.  And as I wander my yard cutting fragrant blossoms to place here and there throughout my house, I know it was never about the "knowing" part of growing roses she was trying to instill in others...it was always about the "loving" part and finding my inner rose addict...for that I will always be thankful to her!

What are you addicted to lately...do tell!

And for those of you in Isaac's path...STAY SAFE!

A Peony For Your Thoughts

Although the scent of roses is filling the air at my house right now because we planted 4 new David Austin roses this spring, it's the Peonies that have center stage in my front flower bed at the moment.

The first Peonies to bloom this year were some that I had transplanted from my childhood home before we sold it last year.  I really didn't expect them to bloom as we moved them in December and Peonies are sometimes fickle about blooming the first year you transplant them.  But I was pleasantly surprised to find they had blooms on them, even if there were only a few.

We have a large number of Peonies that were planted by the previous owners, and although they don't smell as heavenly as the older variety I transplanted, I still anticipate their lovely blooms each spring.

The first batch to bloom are always the creamy white ones, and they have such large blooms that you can see them from far down our private lane.  These pretty flowers welcome me home for such a brief period each year, but I love to see them gently swaying in the breeze as I pull into my driveway each time.

And I'm not the only one who is excited to see them each year it seems!  

I hope you each had a wonderful weekend, and that your week is off to a great start!

Cherry Pink

I hope you each...

Have a...

Simply beautiful weekend...

No matter what you have planned!

And in honor of my trumpet playing husband, a little music to get you started.  I bet many of you have heard this song, but never knew what the title was..*Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White*...how apropos!

I Heart You

I hope someone you love, be it person or pet, gives you a big 'ole smooch today...and if they can talk I hope that they tell you how much they love you!!!

And I hope you tell someone you love them back!!!

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone, and to all of my special sweethearts, you know who you are and I love you all bunches!!!

Winter Whites

Thanks everyone for your emails and comments about my money chasing adventure at the bank!  When I called Mr. Tide after it happened I had already regained my sense of humor, so it will be one of those things I can use as good cocktail party convo! ;-)

My daughter (who is now threatening to buy me a money clip) and son took great delight in saying that they kind of wished they had been there to witness it all.  I informed them that it was likely up on You Tube somewhere, so that everyone could share in my foibles!

Today has been one of those gray days, where everything outside looks kind of bleak and colorless.

I really don't mind it, though I do prefer the colors of spring and summer, but sometimes it's nice to give your eyes a rest and to be able to have something not too jarring to look at.

I think that is why we are drawn to white, because it gives us a sense of respite.  Now I've said it before and I'll say it again, I could not live in an all white house, where the walls, the furniture, the accessories were all white, or even just tone on tone, but I do love a well done all white home.  There is just something so soothing about an all white abode when it has enough interest and texture to not look sterile but serene instead!

I have touches of white in every room of my house and I find that this time of year in particular I am drawn to them.  Maybe it's my way of giving my senses a rest before the colors of spring and summer start popping out.

I can't imagine that white, or black, or any neutral will ever truly go out of style.  They play so nicely with other colors, and are often content to be the supporting cast so that other more vibrant colors can be the stars of the show.

The funny thing about white is that it is often hard to photograph, so some magazines shy away from all white homes in favor of more colorful fare.  I think that we are starting to see a change in that way of thinking thanks to blogging actually.

So many wonderful white decor loving bloggers have stepped to the forefront and shown that an all white home can be beautifully photographed, and I believe that that is why we are seeing some magazine and book publishers coming around to the beauty of white!  Information that some designers have known for years.

 Photo by Ellen van Deelen

And for one last bit of white, this time pure cuteness!  My daughter shared this with me and even if you aren't a fan of rats, you can't help but think this is pretty adorable!  The photographer, Ellen van Deelen, who is from Holland, has trained a few rats, (which are supposed to be very clean and smart little rodents), and she takes the most amazing and heart warming photos of them.  She even has a book of her images appropriately titled The Rat Pack! Here is a link to her Red Bubble account where you can see more of her work.  I'm thinking about ordering a calendar with some of her oh so cute images!

Tell me how you decorate with white, or if you prefer color in your world.  Happy Weekend!

Give a Little Bit

Do you ever have days where you think, wow that was an amazing day?  They are the kind of days that cancel out 3 or 4 bad days because they are just that good.  Yesterday I had one of those days.

I was supposed to be cleaning, getting ready for company,but instead I visited with a friend who had moved into her new house.  Her name is Anna, and besides being super smart, supportive, and beautiful, she also lives in the most amazing house.

We have been trying to hook up since the summer when they first moved in, and it took until now for me to get over there and see it.  I came away from our visit thinking...I should tear my house down and start over, that's how truly gorgeous her new home is.  But even better than the house was the time we spent chatting, going for a walk, and just getting caught up.  Anna is a giver, she is someone who listens to what you have to say, gives wonderful advice, and shares with you what's going on in her own life.  We talked about dreams we have for 2012 and how we plan to make them all come true.

I'm lucky to have wonderful women in my life.  Strong, smart, and beautiful women, both inside and out, who I get to call my friends, and for that I will be forever thankful.

While I was visiting with Anna I mentioned that I was having trouble deciding if I should keep my dining room furniture or not.  It belonged to my grandparents, though it's not super old, it's Duncan Phyfe and so not my style anymore.  I explained that I had found the perfect china cabinet, that I really wanted to make a change, but that I felt horribly guilty about letting it go.

Anna said that maybe I should sell the furniture and do something good with some of the money, something that would honor my grandparent's memory and still allow me to get my new cabinet.  When I got home yesterday afternoon after having lunch with my son (another procrastination technique to avoid cleaning), there was a lovely email from Anna telling me to sell the furniture and she sent me a link.

The link, which I've posted at the bottom of this post, is about how people have been going to K'mart and paying off people's layaway accounts except for a few pennies.  They leave a few cents on the account so that K'mart's system doesn't close it out completely.  Then the people are notified that their accounts have been paid off, many of whom thought they wouldn't be able to get those items since they were delinquent on their accounts.

Mr. Tide and I watched the video together, getting teary eyed at the plight of some of these people and feeling sad at the thought of these people working so hard to provide a little bit of joy for their children or grandchildren but just not having enough to make it all work.

We always donate at the holidays, and all year long, but we really hadn't done as much this year as we wanted to.  So we hopped in the car, drove to K'mart and stood in line for almost an hour.  We were waiting for everyone to clear out.  When we first got to the store there were  plenty of people in line, some making payments, others paying off their accounts, but you have to be careful.  You never know if someone will see your giving as generous, or if it will hurt their pride that someone is trying to do a good deed, so we waited and then approached the cashier after everyone had left. 

We explained why we were there and told her that we wanted to pay off someone's delinquent account.  That we hoped she could look up an account where there were toys for a young child, someone who still believed in Santa.  She immediately smiled and said, "oh you guys are some of those people, I wondered why you were just waiting here for so long without coming to the register."   The girl working the register took her time, amazing really since we saw first hand how busy they had been all day.  She went through the list of delinquent accounts until she found one with toys, Dora the Explorer, etc. and said, this one looks like it's for someone with small kids.

She gave us the balance, and we paid all but 47 cents so that the account would stay active.  We then asked if they would call the family to let them know that they could pick up their items and she assured us she would.  She said she knew they would be thrilled, that the man on that account had been in the store that day and he wasn't sure he could pay it off by the 20th but he would try his best.

We don't know the people whose account we paid for, and they will never know us.  But they will know that someone reached out a helping hand, maybe when they needed it the most, and hopefully if they are ever in a position they will do the same for someone else.  That's the beauty of giving, it makes everyone feel better.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/anonymous-donors-pay-off-kmart-222535611.html

Shake it Up

Be yourself, decorate with the things you love, find the joy...shake it up and live a little!

Simply Put

In keeping with my Coastal Cottage Christmas theme, I decided to decorate my living room sparingly and mostly with natural elements.  On top of the TV armoire, I added numbered mixing bowls (which were a birthday gift from my daughter last year), and filled them with fresh cedar.  Starfish resting between each bowl adds a touch of beachy'ness and conveys the coastal feel that I wanted to have all throughout the house this year.  The two musical Santas on the far left are from the 1960s and bring back memories of my childhood as my mom put them out every year.   I also love that their bright red outfits add a pop of Christmas color to the room.

I filled my glass wall vase with sprigs of cypress and tucked a single white poinsettia blossom in it to continue the green and white theme.  The white chenille throw belonged to my grandmother, and most likely dates from the 50s.  The nautical themed pillow was a steal that I got from Williams-Sonoma Home last year, I think I paid $19 for it and it included the down insert and free shipping...woohoo!


 

Simply put, I didn't spend a dime on this decor, and you have to love that this time of year when spending can get out of hand.  

I hope you are all off to a great week, and that you've found your groove this holiday season!

Simple Minded

Thank you everyone for your wonderful support, and I'm so glad to hear that I'm not the only one with too much holiday decor...for every season!

After donating some of my fall items, I have found that the pieces I decided to keep mean even more to me and look even better now that they can stand alone.

I've decided that my new approach to holiday decorating will be more simple minded, kind of like me!  I have always incorporated natural elements into all of my holiday decor, but I feel like now I will put even more emphasis on bringing the outdoors in, and trying to embrace the less is more philosophy that I am so drawn to these days.

I find that everywhere I turn I am seeking simple, clean lined items that are easy on the eye and super functional, like these cute little white cafe au lait style bowls I picked up yesterday.

I had passed by these many times at Target, and I really loved them but talked myself out of them each time.  Then, while surfing blogdom the other day I saw these on someone else's blog and thought, you know I really should just buy them.  I can't remember which blog it was...sorry...that would be my simple mindedness that I mentioned earlier.  Whoever it was, they had found these on sale and picked some up...I was not so lucky, at my Target they weren't reduced.

While I was at Target, searching for my perfect little bowls, I ran into a friend I hadn't seen in quite awhile.  Her daughter and our son Bugs had gone all through school together, and as parents of older kids know, once your children leave middle school and beyond, you hardly ever see the parents anymore, so it was nice to catch up.

She looked great, which she always did, and she had her arms full of stuff for her house, which was always beautifully put together.  When I told her what my mission for the day was, she mentioned that if I could wait until Sunday, the bowls would likely be on sale here too.  Not a snowball's chance in you know where of that happening.  Along with my simple mindedness, I'm also horribly impatient.  And the thought of slogging my way back over there, which is about 1/2 hour away to save maybe $4 just wasn't enough incentive for me to wait...sorry Mr. Tide! ;-)

After walking through my living/dining room for the past few days with it looking a lot like a bad, bad photo studio a la lighting equipment and props scattered all around, I finally had had enough and set to clearing out some of the chaos.

Things are looking better in there, but I still have a few tubs of stuff to put back in the garage, but that will wait until tonight or tomorrow.  My mission today, besides a meeting I had earlier today, is to go buy some new walking shoes.  Ever since we returned from Europe, where we estimate that we walked between 6 and 8 miles a day...sometimes more, I have tried to continue that by walking at least 2 1/2 miles every day.  It's not nearly as much fun to walk down our little lane instead of the streets of France and Germany, but where we live is beautiful and quiet, so I can't complain.


 

Before I gave all of my props and equipment the 'ole heave ho out of the living/dining room, I did take a few more still life shots, just for the heck of it.

I wanted to create a few that had a feminine edge to them, so I used some of my great grandmother and grandmother's antique pearls, and of course some pink roses from our rose bush.

These will be the last roses of the season, which always makes me a little sad, but I know they will be back next spring looking and smelling as wonderful as ever!  The winds of change showed up last night, quite literally as it was a blustery evening, and today there is a chill in the air and gray skies which look a little too much like snow for my liking!  

I got a lovely email from Lili today and she said that up her way in Maine they are expecting a record snowfall this weekend!  And Joan did a post today showing the 2 inches of snow they received last night!  EEK, can you imagine?!  The thought of snow in October is way more frightening than Halloween...at least for me it is!

I hope each of you has a wonderful weekend!

French Flowers

Is there anything more wonderful than stumbling out of your hotel room to wander the Saturday markets on the streets of Strasbourg?!

Well I suppose it would be better if you could do it every Saturday, instead of once every 5 years or so.

These pictures are pretty much straight out of the camera except for lightening a few of them, but none of them have had their hue and saturation levels altered.

The closest I normally get to something like this is when I visit Whole Foods every few weeks and wander around their beautiful flower department.

Which isn't really quite the same as having vendors meticulously displaying their wares on a sunny Saturday morning in northern France.

Creating beautiful vignettes that make you want to buy one of everything, or if you don't have a place to put one of everything, snapping a bunch of photos so that you can drink it all in even after you return home.

There are fresh cut stems you can arrange yourself, or dainty little bouquets to take home and enjoy...or maybe give to a friend.

I would like to be the friend who receives a gift of french flowers.

Perhaps a fall bouquet with russet leaves and some flower I don't know the name of.

Or a little zinc container filled with a single rose, hydrangea, and berries.

It doesn't really matter which ones you select since they are all so lovely and elegantly displayed.

Even pansies look a little more special at the flower market.  

Do you have a flower market like this in your town?  If so, please make up the guest bed for me and leave a light on...I might never leave!