That Time Again

The packages have all been opened...

The snacks have all been eaten...

And Christmas 2014 is now just a happy memory.

2014 has been a good year for us, and I'm hoping 2015 will be even better...we have much to be grateful for and many things to look forward to in the coming year.

I hope you've had a lovely holiday so far, and that the New Year will bring you Health, Happiness, and Joy!

Remembrances

Remembrances of those who went before us, and laid down their lives for us.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!!

Joyeuses Pâques

Joyeuses Pâques!

It's Beginning

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at my house!  After a whirlwind few weeks with no end in sight, I managed to get everything decorated except my Christmas trees which will have to wait until this weekend.  And there is still tweaking to be done, such as adding live greens and throwing out the pumpkins which still grace my front porch, but the majority of my holiday decor is out and ready to ring in the season.

And in other news, the new special double spring issue of Romantic Country is, or soon will be, out in stores.  I was fortunate to write two of the home stories in this issue, and I can tell you first hand that not only were the homes beautiful, but the people who live in them are too!  My favorite part about being a writer for home magazines has to be the wonderful people I meet...they are the best!  If you are able to get your hands on this issue, I hope you enjoy reading the stories as much as I enjoyed writing them!

Have a wonderful week!

All Hallows Eve

Nocturnes graphic courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

A turkey buzzard obliged me with some shots back in September that I kept tucked away waiting for the perfect opportunity to use them...and what better day than today, a day when all things creepy, spooky, and frightful will be afoot when the sun goes down.

Happy Halloween!!!

OOH AHHH

I hope you each had a wonderful holiday weekend, or regular 'ole weekend if it wasn't a holiday in your part of the world.

In my neck of the woods it was Independence Day, so from the 4th through yesterday we were celebrating.  In my world, I don't think we really need a reason to cook hotdogs and hamburgers on the grill, hang out with family and friends, or watch fireworks, but apparently there are rules about such things, so these activities are mostly confined to one, or maybe two times a year...such a pity!

On the actual 4th it was a beautiful and hot day, which was a nice contrast to all of the rain we have been having.  And even though it was hot, there was a great breeze coming off of the river, enough to create white caps and make me cradle my camera like a newborn to prevent it from being attacked by salt spray.  In the photo above, the opposite shoreline is 5 miles away...thank you Canon for my big honkin lens!

I had taken my big lens out with me in hopes of catching the fireworks down river from us.  We can also see them over on the other shoreline in Virginia, but they are far away and rather small.  Not to worry though because some folks down at the mouth of our creek must mortgage their house each year to pay for their fireworks.  

Not that I'm complaining, as the beneficiary of their careless spending, I'm all for their reckless abandon each year on the 4th of July.

The trick to taking pics of fireworks is to use a tripod, and to use a remote shutter release.  I had the tripod, but my shutter release has gone to that great photo field in the sky...ie. it died just in time for my first attempt at shooting fireworks!

Instead of admitting defeat, I decided to use the "bulb" setting on my camera and told myself that whatever I got would be better than my pics last year...mostly because I didn't take pics last year, get it?!

The cool thing about the bulb setting is that it allows you to control the shutter by holding it open for as long as you care to press the button.  It's a pretty nifty setting, and this was the first time I had tried it. 

I had also read that if you held the button during multiple explosions you could capture more than one firework at a time, which I also thought was cool.  The pic above looks like a palm tree doesn't it?!

When we got home I realized that my technique needed a little work, and acknowledged that remotes were really necessary equipment for getting clean crisp shots of fireworks in high winds and low light.  But I have to admit that I am kind of psyched with the results I got, to me, they are almost cooler than regular shots of fireworks.

Sometimes it's the so called mistakes that make me love photography so much.  Even your screw ups can become things of beauty...and let's face it, a positive spin is so much better than banging my head against a wall and lamenting that fact that I will have to wait a whole year to try again!

I'm calling the image above the Big Bang Theory, because if you give your accidents cool names, well that makes them even more legit.  Runners up for the name are Studio 54, To Infinity and Beyond, and It's Electric (made you say boogie woogie woogie didn't I?).  

Ok, my work here is done!  I hope each of you had a wonderful weekend and that this week will be even more exciting!

Wanderings

It's raining...again...and there's no end in sight, but some things are quite happy with all of this liquid gold.  Above are two volunteer mushrooms which are growing alongside our tomato plant in a giant container.

And my laissez-faire attitude towards the tomatoes seems to be paying off, see that blush of color on the tomato with the drip hanging off of it?!  Yup, they are finally "breaking" and hopefully turning red, just in time for a big 4th of July picnic, yay!

Even with the rain, I'm beginning to settle in to a summer groove of sorts.  I love summer's simplicity.  Fewer layers of clothing, lighter fare, and longer days...even overcast ones, make me happy.  And I find that the quiet, uncluttered nature of summertime is also reflected in my decor this time of year.

Unlike during the winter holiday season, I have a bare minimum of accessories out.  And with the purchase of a few new rugs, including the one pictured above which is a combo of sisal and cream canvas, I am trying to incorporate a more casual beach vibe throughout the house year round.

  

Of course, I still put out some things here and there for the summer holidays, but a less is more mentality has taken root in me over the past few years, and I'm content with just a few items.

I doubt I will ever be able to not accessorize for the various holidays.  My mother loved changing her accessories out each season, and this apple did not fall far from the tree it seems, as I do it too, just to a lesser extent.

So, though things like mason jars and other antique glassware can be found year round in my home, they are often my vessel of choice when it comes to getting gussided up for the various holidays.

And other antiques, like beautiful mangle cloth, feel right at home with seaside finds, while providing a little red, for a red, white, and blue color scheme.

I'll be doing some wandering over the next few days as I prepare for 4th of July events which trickle into the weekend, so my little blog and email will be taking a back seat as I gear up for Stars, Stripes, Sousa, and if we're lucky, even a little Sunscreen!

And as always, thank you for your comments and emails, they are truly appreciated!

To Jo, HERE is the link to the flooring and tile company, but I plan to keep our tile choice a secret until the backsplash is all said and done.  After waiting so long to do it, I don't want to jinx anything!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lest We Forget

Wishing you a Happy Memorial Day.

Ringing in a New Year

In order to make it to midnight and the celebrated dropping of the ball in Times Square tonight, I plan to fortify myself with this...a bit of Paris I brought back with me.

It won't be the same as taking tea in one of Laduree's beautiful tea rooms...I splurged and went several times while I was there, each time to a different location.

There is something magical about tea rooms, the tea always tastes better there, and they are ideal locations for people watching, so I never mind drinking a few cups alone.

At the Bonaparte location, I spent a lovely hour sipping from my pastel china, nibbling macarons, and eavesdropping on french conversations that I could only catch every 3rd word of...but it was still wonderful.

And even though I'd picked up a sizeable amount of tea to bring home already, when Mr. Tide and I popped into the Rue Royale shop on a very rainy evening to warm up and grab a bit of dessert (before dinner), I added to my reserves just before they locked up for the evening.  For a true tea lover, you can never have too much tea!

Mr. Tide does not drink tea, so my tea obsession is a bit of mystery to him...though he gladly gulps down chocolat chaud with something decadent and chocolatey whenever we go to a tea room, so he never minds too much!

We have long since given up the desire to attend fancy parties, dress in all of our New Year's finery on New Year's Eve, and we now opt for something much more low key.  So I will be one of the boring ones this evening.  Armed with yummy tea, warm pjs, and a few friends from around the world via our computers.  Mr. Tide and I will share a kiss, and we will wish all of our online friends a very Happy New Year...some on London time, some on Oslo time, some on East Coast time, and places all the way out to British Columbia.  So the night will be filled with many New Year's wishes throughout the evening.

Our kids may or may not be here tonight, we will share dinner early, but we will phone them if they aren't here the second that the ball drops to shout Happy New Year!  And then tomorrow we will begin our adventure into 2013.

How do you ring in the new year...I would love to hear your plans!  

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Changeable Charlie

Thank you everyone for your wonderful support and encouragement of my new shop!!!  I truly appreciate all of the great comments, emails and messages on Facebook that I've received!  A special thanks to Grace of Sense and Simplicity who has been an invaluable eagle eye at helping me tweak the site...thank you so much!

I did receive a few questions too, like is all of the artwork ready to hang?...and the answer is YES!  Each piece is gallery wrapped onto a 1 1/2 inch kiln dried stretcher bar, some images have mirrored sides (where the image continues to wrap around the edge), while others have a solid edge in a complimentary color.  Then each piece is paper backed to prevent dust from gathering on the back of the picture, and a wire hanger is attached so that it is ready to hang on your wall just as soon as your package arrives and you take it out of the box!

Ok, so now about me and my Changeable Charlie'ness.  Some of you may have noticed that I put a holiday header at the top of my blog yesterday.  It was the image above and it's of a new piece of artwork I have for sale in my new store.  I love the little bluebird surrounded by holly, and the traditional reds and greens, but I decided I wasn't happy with it as my header after all, so I made a change.

Mr. Tide was kind enough to bring in a few of the holiday tubs from the garage yesterday and I began looking through them this morning to see what my decorating theme would be this year.  Because I'm so changeable, I like to switch things up from year to year, using different colors, or whatever strikes my fancy.

This year, because I've been so busy of late, I was kind of floundering as to which way I should go, especially in my living room and dining room.  But when I opened one of the bins, I was pleasantly surprised at what I found.

When our son moved out and into the rental property he is sharing with his sister, I came across some old Christmas ornaments in the garage that had belonged to the previous owner...our 100+ year old neighbor George.  His son and daughter in law were getting rid of the items they no longer wanted or needed and so I poked around to see what I could buy before they took things to the donation place in town.

I ended up purchasing a wonderful old typewriter that George had used during his adventures in India and the other wonderful places he called home during his very full life.  The typewriter now sits in the big black cabinet in my dining room, along with a collection of vintage cameras.  Some day I will take a few photos of that cabinet to share with all of you.

But the other big score I found in the garage was a collection of old vintage Christmas ornaments.  They were a hodgepodge of old glass ornaments in shades of aqua, silver, gold, but mostly pink!  I fell in love with them instantly and could just imagine George and his wife lovingly decorating their tree with them for the many years they were together.

In true Changeable Charlie form, I had to play around with the angle of this one beautiful ornament that says Merry Christmas, so I took 2 different shots of it in the teacup.  Truth be told I took 3 shots, but these are the two I liked the best! ;-)

Because my roses haven't gotten the memo yet that it's nearly Christmas and they should be fast asleep, I went outside and gathered up a few to put in a vase.  Then I grabbed a couple ironstone platters, plunked the vase of roses on it and began scattering the beautiful pink and silver ornaments on top a lovely and festive centerpiece for my dining room table.  I also used an old bedspread that had belonged to my grandmother as the tablecloth.

The roses will fade long before the holidays hit of course, but for now I am loving the look.  And I can always get store bought roses if I want to keep this look going all the way through Christmas...can you ever have too many flowers in your house?!   And the answer is...heck no!

So there you have it, my long winded explanation as to why my header is now all pink and sparkly...because I am a consummate Changeable Charlie!

And it's kind of getting me in the mood for not only the holidays, but also my trip to Paris!  Yup, it's official, we are going to Paris next month and I can't wait.  I can't even fathom the idea of being in the City of Lights during one of the most festive times of the year.  Of course I'll be snapping pictures left and right while Mr. Tide is busy working (poor guy), and maybe when I get home I will be completely rethinking my idea of Christmas decor altogether...we'll see!

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Looking for a special piece of artwork?

Visit us at  Low Tide High Style

Over the River and Through the Woods

Wishing each of you beautiful weather

Time for one more pass with the vacuum and dust cloth

Lots of yummy food

 

Good company

 

 And a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Jack Frost Nipping

Yesterday when I woke up to take the dogs out just after the sun came up I was greeted by a canvas of white.  It wasn't snow of course, but it was a very heavy frost that blanketed everything in it's path.

It was quite lovely really, and got me in the mood to start thinking about the holidays.  And speaking of holidays, am I the only one who was completely caught off guard by the fact that a week from today is Thanksgiving?!

My sister and I take turns hosting Thanksgiving and Christmas each year and this year she has decided to take Thanksgiving again, even though technically it's my year to host it.  You won't hear me complaining one bit about having it at her house.  We all bring stuff, but the fact that it's at her house and I don't have to run around like a crazy woman making sure every nook and cranny is clean is a very welcome relief.

I spoke to her on the phone a few days ago and we were running over the menu and discussing who would be bringing what, when I said, "oh I'll just call you next week and we can chat about it."  She seemed a little quiet when I said that, and when I hung up the phone Mr. Tide promptly informed me that "next week" was Thanksgiving!  Oops!!!  I really had in my head that it was the following week.

I guess it just goes to show that when you are wrapped up in other things you can completely lose all sense of time...and clearly I did.  I'm back on track now, and I will have the corn pudding, candied sweet potatoes, and desserts all ready when the time comes...I hope!

A few more days of Jack Frost nipping at my nose, toes, and anything else he can freeze should get me straight and remind me that November is halfway done and Christmas is just around the corner.

Thanks for your sweet comments on my last post, and I hope if you are celebrating Thanksgiving next week that you are much more organized than I am! :)

Change

It was great hearing from so many of you that I'm not the only one who is tearing apart my house and going through change.  In fact painting and closet cleaning are not the only changes that have been going on around here.

When I went to purchase the domain name "Bay Studios" a few days ago, I realized it was already spoken for, so that meant that Mary Beth and I needed to come up with a new name.  After sending a few ideas her way, we both agreed on Ebb Tide Studios.

I like it, and since both she and I live on the water, it seemed fitting to have a water related name.  So from here on out we will be known as Ebb Tide Studios.  For now we won't have our own website, but we're hoping that will change sometime in the next year.  We would love to offer up different goods with our artwork on them, like guest towels, dishes, and fabric, but that's a ways down the road.

We are super excited though, and we've been plugging away on some artwork for autumn.  Both of these images will be for sale as wrapped canvases very soon so we would love to have your feedback on them.  

We wanted to capture the essence of Fall, and with this second one we were really going for a vintage feel.  I wanted to create something that had an old oilcloth feel, so I even added the golden checkerboard background reminiscent of tablecloths from the 40s and 50s.

Along with the new artwork, we've made some good progress on the house stuff.  The guest room closet is now neat as a pin...well as neat as it will every be, and the black cabinet in the living room has a brand new look that I'll share with you very soon.

We have bags of stuff to drop off at the donation shop tomorrow, and one of my dear friends is taking a black and cream toile bedding set off of my hands, so we are moving in the right direction.

And I would like to give a special shout out to my friend Papa Jim.  You may recall that he had surgery awhile ago and has had a very long road back to recovery.  Today is his birthday, and I know both he and his family are happy to have him home and to be celebrating his special day together.  

Change can be a very good thing sometimes!  I hope you are each having a lovely weekend and that whatever changes you have on the horizon are for the better!

If you would be interested in either of the images above as a wrapped 12 x 12 wrapped canvas (other sizes are also available), you can email me at kgwhouse@gmail.com for pricing and more info!

Quiet Easter

Easter at our house this year will be very low key.

I'll be catching up on email, doing some work stuff, and generally taking it easy...well if taking it easy means spreading 120 bags of mulch which are scheduled for delivery tomorrow morning!

So on Sunday, if I'm able to move, we'll head to church and then enjoy a special Easter dinner.  I'm still not sure what I'm fixing since cooking a whole ham, our traditional dinner of choice, would be way too much for just the 3 of us.

Our daughter is fixing dinner at her place and invited us to come, but having to drive that far, and asking someone to take care of the dogs on Easter Sunday wasn't really a very good option, so we'll be doing our own thing.

I've spoken to a few friends, and even my extended family, and it seems we are all having a low key holiday this year.  It's funny how some years you have 20 people and other years it's more quiet and calm.  

Whether you are having a big dinner with all the trimmings, or just a quiet day, I hope you each have a very Happy Easter!

Patience is a Virtue

There is really nothing I love to do more than to manipulate images.  If you had told me a year ago I would say this I would have laughed, looked at you kind of funny, and then backed away slowly! ;-)

But it's true, I now enjoy pushing the bounds of my limited abilities and learning something new every day.  It's a form of relaxation and meditation for me, and the added bonus of maybe being able to sell some of these is like icing on the cake!

The biggest challenge I face when I start messing with my images is knowing when to stop, when to put the mouse down and leave well enough alone.  

I once heard a photographer who does lots of post processing (and whose name I have momentarily forgotten) say that he finds that some of his best work comes from images he has walked away from and then revisited later.  That by not feeling like you have to finish something in one sitting you can often find the true vision of the image.  I love that idea, and I now try and subscribe to it, even though I'm fairly impatient and like to get something done all at once.

The image above is a great example.  First I started with just the flowers in the vase, adding textures, messing with the hue and saturation, and then I left it alone for a bit.  Then I remembered a beautiful old french post card that I had that I thought would fit beautifully on the right side of the image which had a good deal of dead space.  And then finally, because I felt it needed a little something else and couldn't figure out how anyone would use this image, I decided to add the "Happy Easter" wishes at the top in pink.  Now I can see it as an Easter card.

Sometimes patience really is a virtue I guess!