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!



Dining Room Sneak Peek

 

Thanks everyone for your comments on my last post.  I am struggling to keep up with work demands, so I'm way behind on replying to emails and comments, I apologize for that.

Normally I like to wait and show you a room once it is all finished, but I just couldn't wait this time.  I'm in love with a piece of furniture I just got, and I think I might need a 12 step program for it!  Sorry for the quick and dirty pictures, but I wanted to show it off right away.  See that bolt in the photo above?  It had me at hello, and it was one of the reasons I bought this piece, sight unseen from my friend Caroline.

I met Caroline, and her husband Jon-Paul, when I did a photo shoot for Romantic Country Magazine at one of their amazing barn sales in 2010.  Through their business, Eskter Antiques, they import wonderful things from around the world and then sell them at their gorgeous property outside of Leesburg, Virginia during the barn sales they host several times a year.

Caroline is a native of the Netherlands, and her taste is beyond compare.  The home she and her husband share with their two beautiful daughters has been photographed for magazines, and has appeared in Fifi's wonderful book Romantic Prairie Style, and will also be in Fifi's new cookbook!

So I know that when Caroline posts photos of an upcoming sale, I will always find something to fall in love with.  Usually I just drool at her photos because I don't have room for some of her pieces, or I'm just not in the market for something new, but in December I lucked out!  Not only was I in the market for a new dining room cabinet to hold all of my china and crystal, but there, staring out from her website, was the cabinet that had been living inside my head, the one I'd been waiting for.  I knew right then and there that it was time to sell my grandparent's dark furniture and get what my heart was longing for.

So I sent Caroline an email, and then we had a few phone conversations, and I decided to just buy the cabinet without driving the 2 1/2 hours to see it.  It had cremone bolts for heaven's sake, how could it not be beautiful, I thought!  And it was nearly twice as wide and way taller than my old china cabinet, so that meant that the special stemware and dishes that had been living in boxes for 4 years would now finally have a home.  If I ever move or add on, I will make sure that every inch of space is devoted to storage, because this house is lacking in it, well at least for a plate addict like me!
 

My only hold back about the cabinet was that it looked a little too white in the photos, and in my head my ideal cabinet looked like an old piece of driftwood.  Then last Saturday, when Jon-Paul delivered the cabinet, my jaw just about hit the floor.  When I walked outside to see it in the back of his truck, it was not white, but a beautiful driftwood color, woohoo, luck be a lady tonight!  I was thrilled that it wasn't white, even though I would have been perfectly happy with something more white.  

Because Caroline imports much of what she sells, she often only gets one or two of any particular item and she may or may not be able to get more.  When I first contacted her about this cabinet there were 3 other people clamoring to own it, but one by one they couldn't take it.  So my first bit of luck was in being the one who got to buy it, and then when it was the color I wanted, had the right dimensions, and was in my price range, well I was over the moon happy!

The other good news is that I've sold my grandparent's table and chairs, which you see pictured, to a lovely young couple who contacted me through Craigslist.  Yay for no one killing us when they came to look at it!  They will be picking it up on Saturday, and I feel certain it will have a happy home.  When the guy came to look at it last night we ended up chatting for almost 2 hours, gotta love it when you like the people who buy your stuff!

So there will be some more rearranging around this place over the weekend.  I'll be in full on fluff mode until everything is the way I've been envisioning it in my head since we moved in here over 4 years ago.  I just love it when a plan comes together, and apparently patience really is a virtue!

I'll will be posting much better pictures of the finished room, when it is actually finished, and showing you another special item I got from Caroline and Jon-Paul.  And in case you are in love with this cabinet too, I happen to know that Caroline will be getting at least one more, most likely sometime in January, so if you are interested, you can contact her by clicking HERE.  You can tell her you want the special Kat Kabinet...I'm kidding people! ;-)

And I will be linking to Furniture Feature Friday with Miss Mustard Seed, because for the first time in a really long time, I have a new piece of furniture....YAY!

Shells for Christmas

No words today...well these are words, but you know what I mean.  It's my birthday, I'm 29...again!!!...and my dear husband bought me a new toy to use on my camera, so I'm off to try it out!  I hope you enjoy these shots of my Hepplewhite chest all decked out for Christmas!

 

Oh, a few more words...thank you for all of your wonderful comments about my kitchen windowsill, and my other coastal themed decor from my last few posts!  Have a wonderful day!

Terry John Woods...and a Sale

This week is off to a busy start.  It's funny how that happens after a holiday weekend when you've kicked back and done nothing, and then all of a sudden you check your email to find that everything is happening all at once!  It's a good kind of busy though, one filled with excitement and anticipation for projects to come and fun assignments!

It's been hot, hot, hot here the past few days, so I'm staying inside and pretending my AC is really a cool bay breeze.  Last week was much more pleasant, and I even spent some time out in my hammock catching up on reading.  You see, I got a wonderful surprise in the mail last week...Terry John Woods' new book...Summer House!  Amazon said it wouldn't ship until June the 1st, so I was thrilled when the mailman dropped it off last Friday!

I couldn't wait to sit down and properly devour it since you might recall how much I loved Terry's last book which I wrote about in this post.   I had loved his first book so much that I was almost a little nervous that this one might not live up to my expectations.  The moment I opened it and began reading the words so lovingly written by Dale West and began gazing at the amazing photos taken by Kindra Clineff, all of my fears were put to rest.


 

The book, which is peppered with wonderful vintage family photos from summers gone by, takes you back to a time when the scent of honeysuckle filled your soul as you rode down deserted roads with "no hands" and skinned knees.

The words and pictures intertwine to create an image of the perfect carefree summer, and a decorating style that lets summer live year round in our hearts and in our homes.

The more I read, the more I thought...I wonder if Terry and I were separated at birth...maybe we are long lost twins?!  Ok, ok, I know we were born on different days, in different places, to different people, and in different years...but the similarities are quite striking!

I mean he loves old watering cans and so do I!

And see that vintage Wayrite kitchen scale in the photo above...yup I have one of those too!

A love for old white wicker and petunias...yes, we share that same love.

Now this may just convince you that we truly are long lost twins, see those shell covered pillow shams in the photos...well guess who else has those same shams?!  Ok, are you freaking out a little about this...should I call someone from Ancestry.com to clear this up?!

And while Terry and Dale are sippin' on some San Pellegrino, there is always some chillin' in my fridge!

Blue and white platters with starfish anyone?  Why yes, I think I will!

Even if you aren't Terry's long lost sister/twin like I clearly am *wink, wink*...I think you will still love this amazing book.  Once again, I'm left speechless at how this book, Summer House, will have you plotting ways to sell everything you own and move to your very own summer house in Maine!  If you haven't ordered your copy already...then RUN, don't walk over to Amazon and get yours today!

Thank you Terry, Dale and Kindra for another wonderful book that will be a fixture in my decorating "must have" library!  And I would also like to give Kindra Clineff a special shout out and thank you for spending time talking to me on the phone recently about creating my website!  Your advice and help were much appreciated!

Now, on to some important info if you are within driving distance of southern Maryland and are looking for something to do this weekend.  My friends Susan and Julie are working on another wonderful sale to be held at Susan's waterside cottage, and you won't want to miss it!  Below is a flyer with all of the info...it's sure to be another winner, just like her last sale!

A Recipe for Good Design

If decorating were like baking a cake, there would be a recipe to follow, something simple that would result in something delicious!

Just like with the cake analogy, there are a million different flavors of cake, some which are favorites, and others which cater to a more exotic palette.  So in a way there are tried and true recipes for decorating, and there really is no right or wrong, the ingredients can vary and the outcome will sometimes flop, but you can start over, amend the recipe, and try again.

If I were writing a decorating cookbook of sorts, I would be sure that each recipe included 3 key ingredients, Color, Light, and Texture.  For me, these are like sugar, flour, and butter...essential to creating that prize winning cake, or to creating good design.

I am not a master chef at decorating, but I do know what I like.  Like the photo above of my trusty bucket bench.  This bench has traveled with me from house to house and in its lifetime it's been several colors, including a deep green.  Today, it's painted Benjamin Moore's Simply White, but next month it may find a new color, who knows.  It holds a small collection of crocks, and if you look closely, you'll see something dark sticking up from the crock in the back right.  I use these crocks to hold our dog's leashes, they keep things close at hand but out of sight...well sort of since you can see them in the photo!  

The clock was an inherited gift from Mr. Tide's grandparents, we still need to take it to a repair shop to get it back into working order.  I love the deep dark brown of the wood, the wavy glass which reflects the light pouring in from the backyard, and beautiful intricate carving...color, light, and texture!

For me, color comes in many forms.  White on white, or tone on tone interiors are all the rage right now as evidenced by the numerous books and magazine articles featuring interiors with monochromatic color schemes.  When done well, with lots of varying shades of white and plenty of texture, I swoon right along with the masses, but I know that for me, it would never work.

For me, having an all white house would be like eating angel food cake for dessert every night.  Not that I don't love a good angel food cake with its soft center and slightly crispy browned crust, but I need more color in my life than that.  On the other hand, I'm not a red velvet cake person either, with deep rich hues and plenty of saturated colors.  I think if I was any cake it would be a lemon chiffon, or maybe a spice cake with a big dollop of fresh whipped cream...something light but colorful, or something with a kick of flavor from a mix of ingredients.

With design, I think it's fair to say that you can appreciate and even enjoy different flavors, but in order to find your own sense of style you need to figure out which tastes appeal to you and then learn to hone those flavors into something that satisfies your needs.

If Paula Deen or Martha Stewart told you to only like cupcakes would you believe them?!  The same can be true for magazines and books.  Just because something is in vogue at the moment and it's not to your liking doesn't mean you have to re-do your entire house to suit someone else's taste buds.

I think we all struggle with this, I know I do.  And believe me, when you work in a business that is focused on what's hot at the moment, it's easy to get caught up and swept away with the latest design trends, often feeling somewhat inadequate if your 2 layer yellow cake somehow doesn't measure up to the perfect chocolate truffle souffle being featured on the pages of your favorite magazine.

Instead of letting it overwhelm you when you feel like your home someone doesn't make the grade, stop and take a moment to look at all the ingredients found in the rooms and homes you see featured.  Maybe you love the pinch of salt, like the all white walls and white slipcovered furnishings they've used, but your blood pressure can't handle it, so take what you can use, maybe the white walls, but leave the rest.

Find your own secret ingredient, using things you already own, and mix up the recipe to create something new in your home without having to start from scratch with a whole new recipe, baking dishes, and oven!

Good design chefs come in all shapes and sizes, and they offer up all sorts of variations on those tried and true recipes.  My Color, Light, and Texture recipe isn't a one size fits all, it's just a recipe that has worked for me over the years.  Becoming a great decorator and creating a home you love isn't always about having the perfect, most expensive ingredients, it's really about taking the things you already have and whipping them in to something special that says something about you and the way you live!

And speaking of homes, my heart goes out to the people in Australia who are dealing with horrible flooding!  Our dear friend A-M is suffering firsthand the effects of this terrible natural disaster.  Please take a moment and stop by her blog (HERE) and send her, and all the others like her and her boys, a big virtual hug!  My thoughts are with all those who have lost so much!

The Faster I Go, The Behinder I Get and A Giveaway

I can scarcely believe it's been almost a week since my last post...time flies when you're feeling ill...actually it just kind of drags on when you realize how many things are piling up as you huddle in bed!  My title is a quote from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, and it perfectly describes my life at the moment!  You all were so sweet to leave me wonderful comments about my blog anniversary, and send me well wishes as I muddled through the virus I had, and when I was feeling better and finally sat down to try and return emails and answer comments, I realized how very far behind I am on absolutely everything right now!

So instead of becoming overwhelmed, I'm doing what I said I should do, I'm moving forward and tackling what I can and letting go of the rest.  Which reminds me of another great quote from wise Mr. Carroll... "Alice generally gave herself good advice (though she very seldom followed it)."  This time I'm following my own good advice which was Tip #5 from my recent post on blogging!  See, you can teach an old dog new tricks!

I truly did appreciate each and every comment and email and if I could clone myself I would reply personally to every single one of them, but a stack of work emails and deadlines has me busier than a one armed paper hanger right now.

If you could see the Christmas tree still standing in my family room (sans ornaments at least), the holiday decor stacked on my dining room table waiting to be put away, the dust Velociraptors (oh they've grown way past cute bunnies) that litter my floors, and the empty pantry that cries Mother Hubbard's Cupboard each time I open it, you'd understand!

I did however manage to make it out of my house yesterday and today.  Last night I took homemade chili over to my friend Ms. M, and we had dinner with her.  She is doing great and because she's housebound and reliant on the help she has hired, she was thrilled to have a little extra company and one of her favorite meals.  Then today I met a realtor at my parent's house.  We are so very close to getting it on the market, and we hope to finish up the final details before the end of the month!

On my way home tonight, I decided to pop into a few of my favorite stores since I feel like I've been out of the loop for so long now.  I know I should have headed to the grocery store, but it was 4:30 and that meant that everyone and their brother was shopping after work and in preparation of the ice storm we might be getting so I decided we could subsist on what's in the freezer for a few more days...English muffins aren't just for breakfast right?!

I first stopped at Cecil's Country Store, but they had wisely closed down early since it was starting to sleet.  So I drove to another favorite, Lola Belle Co. in Leonardtown and picked up a few things to use as a giveaway.  It's my way of saying thank you for understanding, being supportive, and well, for just being you!

By the time I reached the store the temperature had dropped significantly and the roads were starting to get slippery so I immediately gravitated toward anything that reminded me of spring or summer.  You can tell by my photos that I was craving a little pop of color in everything I purchased, probably because it's been so bleak and colorless outside.

After milling about in the store, I got a phone call from Mr. Tide telling me that I should really head home since he almost fell on our back patio.  So I gathered up my treasures and then jumped in my car to head home before the roads got really bad.

So here is my spring/summer wishes giveaway.  A little mercury glass birdie in pale green to remind you that springtime and birds chirping are just around the corner.  A Village Candle called Summer Breeze, because I could use one right about now!  A bright floral hand towel that ironically is made by Dena Fishbein, whose house I wrote about in Romantic Country Magazine, and I didn't even notice that until I got home...such a small world!  Some lavender bath salts from PRE de Provence, because lavender is soothing no matter what the season.  And last but not least, a bracelet made from shells to remind you that beach weather will be upon those of us in the northern hemisphere before we know it!

This little group of goodies is my way of sending a little springtime and sunshine your way along with a great big hug of thanks!

In order to enter, and because I know you all are just as crazy busy as I am, all you need to do is leave me a comment telling me whatever you like.  Yup, you can say "hi" or maybe tell me what the weather is like in your neck of the woods today, it's up to you!

The Giveaway is open to everyone, and will end on Tuesday, January 18th, at Midnight PST.

Christmas Memories

I hope all of you are safe and warm tonight, snuggled up and waiting for Santa to arrive.

Eagerly anticipating what's inside each carefully wrapped package underneath the tree!  For me, Christmas is all about the traditions and the memories we create which will last a lifetime.  So each year we do certain things, the way we always have.  It's these little rituals that make it feel like Christmas.

On Christmas Eve my children have a special package to open.  They know what's inside, it's been the same thing for years.  It's a pair of PJs for them to wear while visions of sugar plums dance in their heads.  They are grown now, but they still love this tradition.

Also each year I buy my children an ornament to commemorate something important or special that has happened to them throughout the year.  For our son Bugs it was receiving his EMT certification last summer, so I found a special EMT ornament.

And our daughter, Angelfish, moved this year to her new apartment, so she received a key ornament.

I love the little card that came with this ornament, especially since we don't have a chimney for Santa to come down at this house, and neither does she at her new place!

When my mother passed away 6 years ago, I decided to purchase an ornament that reminded me of her.  And then when my father also died, I continued that tradition, and began purchasing an ornament in memory of him as well.  Some years I get a separate ornament for each of them, but this year I bought an ornament with the Kings Arms Tavern crest on it.  They loved Williamsburg and visited it each year, often dining at the Kings Arms Tavern so I thought it was a perfect reminder of both of them.

Sadly, I also lost my dear friend Dan this year, so I added an ornament to the tree in honor of him.  He loved Superman, and I know he is smiling down when he sees it hanging on my tree.  I also sent one to his wife and mother in hopes that they too will find comfort in adding an ornament in his memory to their trees each year.  For me it is a way of keeping those I have lost close to me during the holidays.

Of course I have beautiful new ornaments on my tree, but it's the ones that bring back fond memories from when my children were young that make me smile the most each year when I unwrap them and place them on the tree.  Like this Santa made from a crab shell by one of my chldren in elementary school!

Or this one made by my son when he was in kindergarten.  It seems like just yesterday that he brought this home all wrapped up as only a 5 year old can, and beaming with pride at his magnificent creation!  Ahh I miss those days sometimes!

There are ornaments that once graced the branches of my grandparent's tree.

And a beautiful tree skirt cross stitched by my mother in law not long after we were married always adorns the bottom of the tree. 

Of course with each year there are always new memories to be made.  This will be Misty Belle's first Christmas and she will find out that Santa doesn't just remember to bring toys and goodies to the adults...special pets will find something under the tree on Christmas morning too!

Unlike any other time of year, Christmastime is when we are flooded with emotions...both happy and sad.

And every one of the things I chose to put out each year, and then lovingly pack away until next year, have special meaning for me.

It may be the memory of who gave them to me.

Or the special place I visited where I picked up a certain something.

Each piece of decor has a story to tell.

A memory to awaken.

Of childhood...

Or Friendship...

Or family.

Some things spell it right out.

Others are more subtle.

But each thing, no matter how big or how small has meaning.

If not to everyone, at least to me.

They are the tiny threads that connect us to our past.

That remind us of who we are and where we come from.

And these things will create memories for our own children.

I hope that each of you will find those quiet moments during the hustle and bustle of ribbon flying, paper tearing, and the sounds of laughter and excitement on Christmas day, to stop and take it all in.  To drink up the joy that surrounds you and tuck it away into your heart and mind for safe keeping.

So that this time next year, or 60 years from now, you'll be able to think back, and although you may not remember what shirt you got, or how many pairs of socks, you'll remember the feeling.  The feeling of love, contentment, and happiness that Christmas is supposed to bring.

I wish each of you Happy Memories and a Very Merry Christmas!!!