Happy 4th of July!

02 Friday Jul 2010

Posted by in Dessert, Entertaining, Food, Party Planning

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Happy 4th of July (weekend).  This holiday has always signaled the start of summer for me.  I used to work at Disneyland and the 4th of July brought visitors from all over the world, the weather was almost always hot in Anaheim (where Disneyland is located) on this date, and it truly felt like the start of summer.

Edible 4th of July decorations, I love it!

According to Wikipedia:  In the United States Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.

She's a grand ol' flag, she's a high flying flag...

Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, political speeches and ceremonies and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States.  ~via Wikipedia

You can make these using Martha Stewart's directions in Living-July issue.

Have a wonderful weekend, we're lucky to live in a country that's free!

Pictures via Veranda Magazine & Martha Stewart

Thank you Notes

30 Wednesday Jun 2010

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When I’m invited to someone’s house for lunch or dinner part of the fun for me is observing what clever and creative table setting, flower arrangement and menu my friends and family come up with.  Not long ago I attended a ladies luncheon and my friend’s table was so beautiful I took a picture of it.

Isn't this a pretty table setting? I love it.

While uploading the pictures to my computer I came up with an idea that I thought I’d share…

Michael's card stock is sold individually or in a tablet containing several colors.

When you’d like to create a special thank you note this is fun and easy.  Print the picture (sizing it to the card/envelop you are going to use).  For the notecard I purchased cardstock from Michael’s and made my own card (fold over style).  Paper Source has pre-cut blank  cards in a variety of colors (and matching envelopes all of which  go on sale from time to time (especially if its a paper color that they’ve discontinued).

If you have never been to a Paper Source store prepare to be amazed!  If  you don’t have one of their stores in your area you can shop online (click the link–not the logo— above).  The Paper Source folks make buying online super easy and they have a blog where you can get some great ideas—and NO,  I don’t get paid by them to rave about them!

I used 1 color of card stock for the card then used another color to frame the picture. Use a glue stick to adhere each layer to the card.

Now, once you have your picture glued to the card you’re going to use you then can either type or write your thank you note on the inside and then enclose it in a vellum envelop.

I was able to buy vellum envelopes at Paper Source on their clearance rack. I will use an address label for the address.

Either way, the picture personalizes the card and provides the hostess with a thoughtful reminder to a great event.  Have fun!

Visiting the Library

28 Monday Jun 2010

Posted by in Decorating

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“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” —Cicero

Image via Country Living---great place to read a book!

I enjoy reading, honest I do, but I must confess I prefer reading about home design and related topics (my passion).  Up until recently I wouldn’t have uttered those words out loud—does posting count as “out loud”?  I prefer reading design books over thought-provoking fiction and non-fiction most of the time and it was thanks to a designer friend of mine that I felt it was okay to mention that fact.

This is the left side of our family room bookcase; the books share space with the speakers.

Pardon the Nike commercial that is currently on the screen on our TV in our family room bookcase (my husband was watching the World Cup...as you can see my library shares space with other entertainment tools!

We happened to be at a ladies luncheon together and at the time I belonged to a book group.  The topic of what everyone was reading came up and as we went around the table, when we got to my talented designer friend she simply said, “I only read design books”.  Not with a defensive tone but just a matter of fact.  I felt free, I thought, “well, if my friend, who I know is intelligent and interesting to converse with can do this, so can I!”

This is a very inviting living room/family room library.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been reading a murder mystery series by Louise Penny that is wonderful, but I confess that there are some books that don’t hold my attention.  So, I borrow from the library any and all interior and garden design books I hear of.  If I LOVE them I put them on my Amazon wish list and hope that someone in my family will buy it for me for birthday, anniversary, Mother’s Day or Christmas.

A library can be as little as 7 books for some!

I’ve been introduced to a library website you could easily get lost in—I’ve attached the link but I am not sure of the name of the site.  Their HOME page reads, “Booklovers never go to bed alone.”  The site is open for folks to post pictures of libraries—public and private, on a daily basis {so the pictures change daily}.

Books can add color and design to any room.

Then my husband sent me a link to this website where you can record the titles of the books you read.  It’s great because, If you’re like most of us, you read books and then forget the title and/or author’s name.  This offers you your own private journal of books/authors and your review of the book.  If you keep it to just the record of your personal reading-list the Library Thing is free.

Books and pets are a natural!

What books do you read?

This home office looks very efficient.

I guess if space is tight you can stack your books and create an architecturally appealing library.

Amazing place to live/visit

25 Friday Jun 2010

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Little shops line the street alongside wonderful cafes and bakeries!

One of my dearest friends lives on Bainbridge Island in the beautiful state of Washington.  Early last year my friend read in the local paper that the City of Bainbridge Island was going to stop their practice of putting up flower baskets along the main street due to budget constraints.  My friend wrote to the editor and gave some very sound advice on how they could trim costs in other areas of the budget and retain the beauty and charm of the traditional hanging baskets.

Beautiful flower baskets line the main street in town on Bainbridge Island

As a result of her letter my friend now volunteers many hours towards coordinating the team of volunteers that water these baskets (which includes her and her husband).  The best part of this story is the flower basket program is alive and well and my friend has been commended (well deserved) for her willingness to speak up and to actually be willing to devote time and energy to this project she and others hold dear.

Pegasus Coffee is unbelievable!

This is a lovely village-like place that reminds me of the Cotswold’s in England.  The main street through town is lined with incredible flower baskets and it takes a team of volunteers to water them (when mother nature sleeps in!).

You get to ride a ferry to get to and from the island, how fun would that be?!

Hanging plates on the wall

23 Wednesday Jun 2010

Posted by in Antiques, Decorating

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I love old pottery, heck, I even love new pottery!  There is something so wonderful about transfer ware and the older the better.  I have several pieces of red transfer ware plates and have a few of them hung in my kitchen.

My antique plates over the kitchen bay window.

Some of the smaller plates I use in place of coasters on nightstands and occasional tables.  They are both decorative as well as functional.

I love the black and white plates nearly covering this wall to the left of the cupboard in this picture.

I have seen some fabulous plate hangings on some of my favorite blog sites.  I especially like the English ironstone (and would be happy with pottery that provides the look even if it wasn’t the real deal), but I’m struggling with whether I can use it anywhere in my house besides where I have it now.

Photo via Veranda - Plates on a ledge, very charming.

I realize this is a plate rack but I love the plates.

As you know I have a small cottage (that is the romantic name for it!) and I’ve got most of the walls filled.  There is one spot where a framed pictures hangs that I believe plates in its place would work.  I’m a little tired of the picture (do you ever get tired of something that is still pretty, you’re just tired of it?).  The challenge will be acquiring the plates.

My family room---a set of antique Royal Dalton plates above the French doors to the back yard.

I realize these plates aren't all ironstone, I couldn't find the image I'd seen of the all white/ironstone plates but you get the jest of what I'm after, right?

The picture between the lamps on the sideboard could be replaced with a collection of English ironstone or something like this...

Some of the bloggers I enjoy reading seem to live in areas rich in garages/tag sales and thrift stores.  I’ll have to search a little harder to find some English ironstone or a similar facsimile.

Photo via Traditional Home - Plates above the stove, love it!

Where do you find ironstone or old pottery?  If you ahve a few places up your sleeve that are in Southern California I’d love to hear about them.

Summer Herb Garden

21 Monday Jun 2010

Posted by in Gardening

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I’ve talked about the ease of growing your own herbs before .  If you like to cook and/or just like the look of herbs (there are some really pretty herbs available in the nursery and home improvement garden centers) then you should plant now for a summer full of fragrant and delicious parsley, basil, thyme, mint, chives and rosemary, to name a few.

Most herbs get along nicely with the flowers and shrubs growing in the garden.

My friend Carla gave me a wine crate the other day—her friend had gotten them from someone.  Anyway, she suggested I plant herbs in it and since she is an extraordinary gardener, I listened.

I planted this with chives, parsley, basil and strawberries, what a combo!

I put some strawberry plants in for good measure—they looked so cute in the nursery!  They may take over the box but maybe the bonus will be some yummy strawberries to eat!

Maybe I should plant some herbs in the 'secret garden'?

To plant the herbs in this wooden box I lined the bottom of the box with a single layer of cheesecloth (I don’t even think this is necessary but I didn’t want the soil to seep out of the bottom).  The I threw in some Kellogg’s Patio Blend soil—this is a nice loamy soil that works well for container gardening.  Easy, peasy.

You can grow herbs in the ground but if you don’t have a sunny location in the garden you can easily grow herbs in containers and spot them werever your yard gets full sun (at least 6 hours of sunlight a day).

Curly parsley---I usually plant both curly and flat leaf---I like the flavor of both.

If you live in a castle like this you can just have your staff plant herbs for you! 🙂

Chateau Villandry---pretty nice herb garden, it would supply herbs to all free countries, don't you think?

Ikea and furniture to scale

18 Friday Jun 2010

Posted by in Decorating

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Our library, formerly our dining room is in need of some major renovation.  I need to strip the wallpaper, paint the walls, paint the crown molding and replace the door casings.  The love seat in that room needs to be reupholstered and the frame of the ladder back chair needs to be refinished, but not before having some kind of tinting applied to the south facing panes of the bay window!  Phew!  You may have figured out why I haven’t started this project yet—daunting.

This is one side of the library.

So where there’s too many big items needed, what do I do but decide to buy something small that I found at Ikea.  I currently have a butler’s tray coffee table in front of the love seat—its a very nice table but a little large for this sofa. 

I'm not sure you can see how large the butler tray table is in this photo but I'm certain you can see that the fabric on the sofa has faded.

Cote de Texas featured some key pieces of Ikea furniture and I spotted this little gray wicker trunk, which I believe will look great and be more to scale for the love seat.

Isn't this the cutest little wicker chest?

*I did it!  I bought this little gem and I love it.  What do you think?  Doesn’t it look better than the butler’s tray table, scale wise?

It makes the room look a little larger---sadly, this photo only emphasizes that the sofa is faded and needs to be reupholstered!

This suits the size of the love seat so much better.

A close-up of the Ikea wicker chest.

Wood floors

16 Wednesday Jun 2010

Posted by in Renovating

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I love the look of wood floors.  We have 3/4″ red oak hardwood floors on a plywood base in most of our house.  The 3 bedrooms have carpet and the 2 bathrooms have tile floors.

Photo via Veranda - Wood floors in the kitchen (above) and Graystone mansion (below).

We have had our floors refinished twice in the 25 years they have been down and they are in need of being refinished again.  This would be a huge undertaking since we would have to move all of the small pieces of furniture and most probably would have to board the dogs/cat and stay in a hotel for at least a couple of nights ourselves.  It would also take some $$$, which we don’t seem to have right now.

Photo via Veranda - Hardwood floors seem a natural in a library.

So, my husband volunteered to stain some of the areas that are really bad (since he is currently looking for a job).  I confess, I was skeptical…I was concerned that the floors would look splotchy and possibly look worse than before we attempted to spot refinish them but I was wrong and he has given the floors a once-over and they look so much better than before.  This will tide us over for a bit.

This is a part of our family room wood floors that my husband added stain to, it looks so much better than it did.

What kind of floors do you have?

The Ultimate Home Accessory

14 Monday Jun 2010

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I know for a fact that there are plenty of really nice people that don’t care for dogs.  Or they have allergies or they don’t like the clean up involved or they believe their home is too small to have a dog.  I truly understand and my philosophy is ‘live and let live’.

My husband and I happen to have 2 dogs and 1 cat and we love them.  We live in a “cottage” of 1,725 square feet.  We raised 2 wonderful sons in this home and have enjoyed the company of the following pets during our 28 years in our home:  6 cats (sadly the first 2 were taken by coyote, 1 ran away when we got a new puppy, 1 was hit by a car and 1, a shelter cat died of old age—we learned not to allow our cats outdoors after dark due to the coyote problem), 5 dogs, 1 desert tortoise, 1 rabbit, 1 canary, 2 mice, 1 hamster, 1 lizard and a partridge in a pear tree (not really on the whole partridge deal).

Maggie has resorted to high places to relax since Madison likes to chase her, she'll have none of it!

"Hey Madison, we look pretty good in this house!", said Winnie

In my humble opinion I feel pets enrich our lives and add entertainment value to our home.  I admit there are times when I curse the dust bunnies that develop as a result of shedding and I go through lots of Swiffer cloths.  But at the end of the day I am so happy to have those enthusiastic little friends greet me when I arrive home and are happy to rest near me while I read or watch television.

Picking up their toys isn't our dogs strong suit.

Do you have pets?  What is your favorite thing about about sharing your home with a pet?

In a former life…

11 Friday Jun 2010

Posted by in Entertaining

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I may have been a Texan.  My husband and I visited son #1 and his lovely wife in their home town, Austin.

Austin, the Capital of Texas

My husband, L.,  and our two (now adult) children and I were born and raised in Southern California.  Hot tub jokes aside, our little community is a “little slice of paradise” to us.

Ahhh, the beauty of the river

Early in our marriage my husband took a promotion in his job and we packed our toddler and moved to Arlington, Texas (a suburb of Dallas/Forth Worth, otherwise known as the “Metroplex”).  During the 2 years we were there we grew to love the people (it’s true what they say about southern hospitality).

University of Texas, Hook 'em Horns!

We still find it a fun coincidence that son #1 met, fell in love with and married an Austinite (is that a term?) while living in Los Angeles, and now they call Austin home.  For good reason, what a great city!

Note:  Word has it that the UT football team may become a Pac 10 football time in a couple of years.

Happy Friday!