IMG_3086_7_8Enhancer
From updos to eyeliner, Royals know how to keep it glamorous in the cold weather.
Canopy & Stars
The east morning light is pouring into my dining room from the open door in this shot. It's mid-May, and me and my English sideboard are prepared for a new season. I'm still unprepared, though, for how quickly the seasons come and go. Last week I heard for the first time the saying that time is like a toilet paper roll. The closer to the end you get, the faster it runs out! As indelicate as that image is, I must say that at this stage I'm eye-balling just how many squares I have left! All this musing reminds me of lines from The Sheltering Sky. . . , "Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, five times more, perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps 20. And yet it all seems limitless." Paul Bowles How many more times will I change up my sideboard? My mother-in-law kept the same arrangement in her living room for fifty years. She left it just as her mother arranged it for her FOR FIFTY YEARS! But I am a compulsive arranger. My son says the living room is changed every time he steps into the house. But I have left my doggies just as they were. I thought I would do an all white theme, but found I couldn't live without my brown transfer-ware. So I removed the darker pieces for the duration. And a little goes a long way, I find. I'm becoming like Oscar Wilde who said,"I find it harder and harder everyday to live up to my blue china!" (read: brown transfer-ware). And I always have seashells, though I live about as far inland in the high desert as you can get. But white shells are the perfect compliment for white china and this ancient Wedgewood pattern of creamware which I found a few pieces of while digging around in the usual digging around places. It's unmarked, do you know it? About a year ago I found this gem of a butter pot for ten dollars. The little cow makes me cry every time I see it. Who says money can't buy you happiness? Just out of sight to the right is an orphaned lid. My little biscuit jar has a country scene on the front. It's just like peeking into another place and time. (Maybe Brambly Hedge!) Gathered collections become more than the sum of their parts. They are like an eccentric family with their missing members, flaws, and scars bundled up together and living in harmony. Beautiful. Who wants an old tureen with a missing lid anyway? I say, "Come on in Tureen and make yourself to home!" (We might all lose our lids eventually.) Standing by for duty. Many of you agree that the graphics on the backs of china can be as pleasing (or more) than anything else. I like these plates better on the back than the front. More light and lyrical patterns inside square ironstone bowls. All the action going on inside this cupboard is almost more than I can bear! Eighteenth century homespun towels with crochet edges, including the one underneath everything, all originated in the same family. I always have bird's nests here and there in-house too. These are evocative of spring, but will stay all summer. I use acorns and quail eggs inside as well as small shells and anything else from nature that I find interesting. The open drawer is for bibs and napkins referred to in an earlier post. http://getcottage.blogspot.com/2010/04/anti-anxiety-lifestyle.html My granddaughters wear this antique bib. It's similar to a blouse with no arms and covers everything front and back. I wish I had a dozen. They would be simple to reproduce but I no longer have any such ambition. Great idea for you creative gals lurking out there! I have a serious love sickness for hand worked towels. Well--all kinds of white vintage towels. It's time to close the drawer on this post, but I wanted to share what I heard in the shop a few days ago. A woman of a certain age remarked how when she turned fifty she looked around at all the very nice linens and things she was "saving", even things given her when she married, and wondered if she didn't start using them NOW when was she going to? She didn't have time left to even wear them out! So out they all came to be used every day. My old friend Rebecca asked me recently didn't I worry that the little ones would break things? The sideboard is too high for the really short people, and the cupboards lock. The bigger visitors have learned respect. How many places are there left to do that? (And yes, like everywhere on the planet, sometimes things get broken, but it's most often Mr. C. that does it [just sayin' ]). "The weary Mole soon had his head on his pillow, in great joy and contentment. But ere he closed his eyes he let them wander round his old room, mellow in the glow of the firelight that played or rested on familiar and friendly things which had long been unconsciously a part of him. . . It was good to think he had this to come back to, this place which was all his own, these things which were so glad to see him again and could always be counted upon for the same simple welcome." Kenneth Graham, from the chapter Dulce Domum, The Wind in the Willows. Ciao! Thanks for stopping by! And check out My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday. Jacqueline http://romantichome.blogspot.com/
We all have an idea of what our dream house should look like, and to each and every one of us, the image is very different. To some, it’s a charming little cottage at the end of a lane in some tiny little village; to others - it’s a stunning townhouse in Manhattan, but we bet none of us thought of these interesting houses that we’ve gathered in our list as their top pick! Not that they are ugly - far from it! - but that these are such unique houses, they defy all the laws of common taste. Piqued your interest?
A tour of Stace Burt and Kenny Pomare's family home/ bush retreat in the leafy Melbourne suburb, designed by architect Alistair Knox.
Designer Lauren Weiss turned a 1990s cabin into a modern, pattern-filled fairytale retreat for her young family.
I have a sort of junking saga this week. Last weekend we got away from our usual haunts when we went a little farther afield for a meal. On our way back we came across a tiny place with stuff out front. Just when I spotted a little white bench I was a bit interested in I started to feel somewhat unwell. I couldn't find a price on the bench, and began to seriously not care. So we went on our way. But you know how it is.... I couldn't stop thinking about it, and was sure that little bench was going to get snapped up before I could get back to it. Monday morning I drove back. Closed. Ditto Tuesday. Then 4th of July. By the time I found the place open Thursday afternoon the little bench was no longer out front. I checked inside to be sure I wasn't just missing it, and there it was tucked back by the counter. It had a hammer and nails placed on it. "Is the bench for sale?" I sort of begged the woman running the place. "No, sorry. I use it around here all the time. It's very sturdy and just right for standing on." I just stood there staring at it. Not saying anything. But not giving up either. "I've had lots of people want to buy it. I don't know why," she said. "I think it's because it's old, and has that white paint," I said pitifully, but calmly, though sort of screaming inside, "gimme! gimme! gimme!" "Well, you could make me an offer," she finally said, mercifully. "Uh, what would be enough to make you wanna part with it?," I asked, still trying to stay cool, but knowing I was going to pay whatever it was. She answered about five dollars more than what I thought would be a stinkin' fabulous price, and I gave it a few beats for self respect and human decency before lunging upon it nonchalantly. Yes, yes, it's somewhat irrationally mine now. So I'm in the pink! I also went on a futile search for more hard to find vintage print cotton sheets. But more euphoria awaits me out there some other time. For now, I'll enjoy the vintage sheets I already have, mixed in with a bit of Simply Shabby Chic. My new bench just begged for it. . . . I hope you're getting enough of that summer country cottage feeling! We had a big downpour last evening. And everything is fresh and green and eerily humid for our part of the planet. And it's the weekend again! Hope it's fabulous! Jacqueline Join me at A Stroll Thru Life~Tabletop Tuesday
Bunny Mellon Mrs. Paul Sotheby's auction catalogue Cape Cod home Jacqueline Jackie Kennedy Osterville Massachusets Oyster Harbors Koch
This Nordic-inspired farmhouse was beautifully renovated by Ripple Design Studio along with Lisa Staton Design in Woodinville, Washington.
Browse beautiful interior pictures. Look inside our most amazing log cabins and homes. Since 1979, we've been preparing to create your personal dream home.
Art.com | We Are Art We exist so you can have the art you love. Art.com gives you easy access to incredible art images and top-notch craftsmanship. High-Quality Framed Art Prints Our high-end framed wall art is printed on premium paper using non-toxic, archival inks that protect against UV light to resist fading. Experience unmatched quality and style as you choose from a wide range of designs to enhance your room décor. Professionally Crafted Framed Wall Art Attention to detail is at the heart of our process, as we exclusively use 100% solid wood frames that include 4-ply white core matboard and durable, frame-grade clear acrylic for clarity, long-lasting protection of the artwork and unrivaled quality. With a thoughtfully selected frame and mat combination, this piece is designed to complement your art and create a visually appealing display. Easy-to-Hang & Ready-to-Display Artwork Each framed art piece comes with hanging hardware affixed to the back of the frame, allowing for easy and convenient installation. Ready to display right out of the box. Handcrafted in the USA. The Print This giclée print delivers a vivid image with maximum color accuracy and exceptional resolution. The standard for museums and galleries around the world, giclée is a printing process where millions of ink droplets are “sprayed” onto high-quality paper. With the great degree of detail and smooth transitions of color gradients, giclée prints appear much more realistic than other reproduction prints. The high-quality paper (235 gsm) is acid free with a smooth surface. Paper Type: Giclee Print Finished Size: 9" x 12" Arrives by Sat, May 25 Product ID: 55451492228A
Making a cute decoration to fit the Easter festivities is something all of your acquaintances and friends are doing right now? You too want to join the spirit but can’t find an appropriate piece of decor to fashion? Worry no more, because we have the simplest and most adorable of decorations a DIY project can […]
By adding a Melwood Garden Room to her property, Jenny has been able to turn her hobby into a profession and her lifelong dream into reality.
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I buy many books the minute they are published but I don’t always get around to reading them right away. I also feel like our tech obsessed world has given me social media induced ADD. It’s hard not t
