My Creative Blog:
interior

Dylan and I were going to walk over to our neighbors to take them some holiday cookies and Mom came up with an idea....
Oh the things we do to our pets huh?
Happy Holidays!

Have you ever given thought to the women behind the men during this holiday season? First we have the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus whose birthday it is we're celebrating. If not for Mary we wouldn't have this wonderful holiday to celebrate. Happy Birthday Jesus!

How about Santa's reindeer did you know that the reindeer are actually all females? That's right, those lovely animals seen pulling Santa's sleigh are female. Only the female reindeer have their antlers when Christmas arrives and have the energy required for pulling a sleigh. (Think sex when it comes to the males but we won't go there right now.)

She looks happy huh?
So lets all give thanks to the women in our lives this holiday season because chances are she too is also the woman behind a man!
Happy Holidays!

Nathan Turner
'that worn rug in orange and hot pink is genius with all that white....'

Trollheimen (home of Trolls) was the first mountainous area in Norway to be released from the grip of the last Ice Age, and archaeological finds from as long as 9,000 years ago indicate that this is where early Norwegians found their reindeer hunting-grounds.

Trollheimen lies south-west of Trondheim and east of Kristiansund

Over the last 2 million years glacial activity has shaped the landscape, resulting in a marked division between Trollheimen's mountains. Glacial arms and melt water torrents have created open U-shaped valleys in the east, and narrower V-shaped valleys in the west. Giant boulders broken loose by frost have crashed down into the chasms to form a harshly beautiful landscape. The western gneiss peaks are high and craggy; their eastern counterparts are composed of softer slate and limestone, more easily broken down to provide a rich, fertile soil. One of the remarkable relicts from this period is Litjhelvetet (Little Hell), beneath the peak of Trollhetta (Troll's hat), where a glacier has gouged a deep hollow. The little lake, now filled with clear water, is called Troll'yet (the Troll's Eye).

Sheep and cows find rich summer pasture on the hills but walkers may also spot less familiar beasts such as wolverine, lynx, arctic fox and otter.

Unfortunately trolls appear to be extinct.

Source: Google

With Hubby out of town all week, I decided to paint our kitchen walls. But let me just say (in case I've implied otherwise), that I absolutely dread painting. I think by far the hardest part for me is just getting started.
For example, I put on my calender "Paint Kitchen Tuesday." Wednesday came and about 5pm, I called my Mom and said, "ugh, I have to paint the kitchen today....at some point." It was 6pm before I started and almost midnight before I finished.

I painted the walls Simply White (eggshell finish), which is the color we used on the cabinets, shelves and trim (in semi-gloss). With a fresh clean slate, I then experimented with creating a not so kitcheny kitchen!
Jennifer over at The Newlywed Diaries inspired me with this post! As I began gathering up some not-so-kitcheny items, I started to gravitate towards all things white, silver and wood.

I added a clock, some candlesticks, an alabaster bud vase that I put toothpicks in (to add some wood) and my sweet little owl figurine.

I didn't spend very much time on arranging things — can you tell? I sort of began with the basics of all the whitewear dishes and drinking glasses we'd be using on a regular basis. To balance out those kitchen items, I added my Grandmother's old candelabra, her big silver tray and her old little lamb print....oh, and her old owl print that I reframed. xo
I tried to break away from my previous tendency to create too much symmetry. I still tried to balance things out, but in a more irregular way.

I like how the light reflects on the silver things.

I also really love my owl figurine.

And look, here we are....I think this will be Hubby's favorite not so kitcheny addition to our shelves. xoxo

kml design
Yum.
happy weekend...

Jill Brinson's kitchen design sponge?

I'm thinking spring. It's hard not to (despite the snow) when you see bouquets of tulips and daffodils in the grocery store. So I've gathered some photos I took of the flowers we enjoyed last year to tide me through the next couple of months of winter.

The first spring flowers that grace our land are the blossoming fruit trees — they are absolutely breathtaking.

These were the first peonies I clipped at the flower farm. They were so gorgeous and delicate and their pink blossoms enormous!

We have some very old lilac bushes that probably need some serious pruning. They are a bit tattered and worse for wear, but still produce the most fragrant smelling flowers. I take this as my cue to gather them up in bunches and spread them throughout the house.

This was the bouquet I was most proud of last summer as it was the very first clipping from our newly planted rose and peony bushes.

These are the first clippings from the Little Lamb Hydrangea bushes I planted.

These are also Little Lamb Hydrangea but were clipped towards the end of summer, after they turned from milky white to a blushing pink.

And these were the last of the rose clippings before the frost came and lulled everything to sleep.
I've missed my petaled friends and can't wait to see them again this spring.

The Dance
William Carlos Williams when the snow falls the flakes spin upon the long axis that concerns them mostly intimately two and two to make a dance
the mind dances with itself, taking you by the hand, your lover follows there are always two,
yourself and the other, the point of your shoe setting the pace, if you break away and run the dance is over
Breathlessly you will take another partner better or worse who will keep at your side, at your stops
whirls and glides until he too leaves off on his way down as if there were another direction
gayer, more carefree spinning face to face but always down with each other secure only in each other's arms
but only the dance is sure! make it your own. Who can tell what is to come of it?
in the woods of your own nature whatever twig interposes, and bare twigs have an actuality of their own
this flurry of the storm that holds us, plays with us and discards us dancing, dancing as may be credible.

domino via two tall blondes
I adore this mix....

I feel very honored to have been awarded the 'Super Comments Award' by Mona from Providence ltd Design. Mona has been with me since my first day of blogging leaving wonderful comments for me along the way ever since, for that I truly thank her.

The way this works is you answer a series of questions about yourself and then pass it along to seven others who have left wonderful comments so without farther ado'.
1) Why do you blog??
I keep wondering that myself since I work ten plus hours a day and time has always been an issue for me but I can't help myself. I only just discovered blogs last year. I mean I saw them listed but didn't know what they were so always skipped over them. Last summer I opened one and I was enchanted. I mean here were all these people opening their worlds to us, sharing their homes. That first day I spent the entire day reading and after a month I wanted to be a part of that circle, so I took the plunge and dived in for better or worse.

2) Name your three best memories:
First is my Dad who's gone now'.riding around on my Dad's foot when I was little. I remember plopping on that poor guys foot the moment he walked in the house and he never minded and always gave me a ride'remember doing that? He also taught me how to tie my shoes and ride a bike, it's the little things that make me smile now that he's gone.
Second was the day I moved from Phoenix, AZ to New York City, NY to be with my future husband. I loaded up a large truck and drove across country all by myself. If you've ever driven a 22-foot long truck you'll know how much work it is coupled with the fact I was changing my entire life and leaving everything I knew. It was the scariest thing I've ever done but also the best. It showed me that I was capable of doing anything and from that moment on if I wanted to try something I did!
Third was the day we brought Dylan dog home four years ago. I hadn't had a dog in thirty years, dating myself here, I've had Persian cats. My husband really wanted a golden so I said lets get one and I've never regretted it. Dylan's great company, almost to smart for his own good, great to cuddle up next to and loyal beyond belief. But I think the best part about him is his eyes, you look into those golden brown eyes and you see love shining back!

?3) Name four of the best fiction books you've ever read: I don't have four favorites, I read all the time and there are to many to name. Some favorites I like revisiting are: Beauty by Susan Wilson The ladies of Missalonghi by Colleen McCullough I love mysteries by Mary Higgins Clark and Nora Roberts I read a lot of textile, art and decorating books too but what I like reading is all over the place.

4) What are the five best movies ever made?
Again I don't have favorites because I watch everything under the sun but when I'm alone I like light hearted movies, nothing serious and never anything scary....hate scary movies.
5) Name five things you cannot live without:
My family and friends. My best friend Deb is the sister I never had so I feel very blessed.
My antique textiles, I feel like I've finally figured out what I'm supposed to be doing in my life. It gives me a great sense of peace!
My computer, I have my web site/business on here and it's easier to talk to my friends overseas.
My monthly facials, it's relaxing, keeps my face in place and one of the few things I actually do just for me.
Auctions! I love auctions, the thrill of the hunt, the adrenaline rush just before you bid and sometimes winning, it's very exciting!
6) If you could change your name what would it be?
Chase! I saw a movie once with Rene Russo in it and her characters name was Chase, it was a really cool name. I like my name, Debra, but I introduce myself as Debra and people always say "hi Debbie", I HATE BEING CALLED DEBBIE! Not that there's anything wrong with being called Debbie....:)

7) Tell us a unique and interesting fact about yourself.
I can build! I decide one day to build a garden room in our side field and the first thing I needed were raised field stone garden beds. So I went out and bought a book, read it and went to work. See up in the far left corner my pile of rubble'these poker flowers are in a perfectly round garden bed that's twelve feet wide, I built that. You'll see better pictures in the spring, promise, now I'll bore you with my ability to build!

8) What do you love best about yourself?
My ability to do whatever I set my mind too. I believe everyone can do anything just stop talking about it and go do it. I've accomplished everything I've set out to do in my life so far, yes, it really is that simple. Just do it!
9) If you had a freaky Friday experience, who would you change places with?
Honestly, nobody because I like who I've become as a person. I've worked dang hard to become who I am why would I want to give that up? I'd like to have past and present people to dinner to pick their minds but trade places with them'nah!
10) What is the best thing about being a woman?
The ability to multi-task if I didn't I wouldn't get half the things done that needed to be done.

Now it's time to pass this gracious award on to some of the people who have brightened my days:
Stacey at: Style Addicted Mom Joan at: for the love of a house Sharon at: My French Country Home Jermaine at: French Kissed Deborah at: Boxwood Terrace Vanna at: lvroftiques better known as Delusions of Grandeur Debra at: 5th and State
THANK YOU!

I can't believe I actually won something but I did and it's fabulous! I want to thank Debra over at 5th and State and her nephew who chose my name, for the wonderful dessert cookbook by Chef Alain Roby. I can't wait to try out one of the recipes this weekend!

katy elliott

katy elliott
It might be because I'm currently obsessed with glass containers.
Or it might be that I want to bring a little more greenery inside this winter.
either way...
I want to put together a few terrariums...

I am loving silver leaf frames right now...

I received my new copy of Atlanta Homes & Life Styles magazine in the mail this week and about flipped when I saw the cover. Pictured on the cover was this amazing dining room but what I was most after were the circa 1780 urns in iron armatures on the pedestals. They're from Bobby McAlpine's shop called AD Antiquity in Birmingham that I was told is now closed. The designer of this room is the very talented Susan Ferrier.

image via House Beautiful
I'm in love with these urns! Armature simply means a framework, in this case the iron, serving as a supporting core for the material used to make, in this case the URNS! There are actually a pair of these used in that dining room....FABULOUS!

image via A. Tyner Antiques
I came upon these 19th century painted Swedish grotto chairs offered by A. Tyner Antiques when I was looking at Swedish benches. Aren't the scallop shell backs amazing? I thought the chairs were very reasonably priced too at $820 per chair.

One of the chairs was shown in Atlanta Home magazine this month as well in a bedroom designed by Liz Williams. The chair looks even better in a room just look at that detail!

I love anything with scallops as evidenced by this architectural piece above that suits in my studio.

Or how about this chair in my studio....

It has a small lovely sort of scallop shell on top too.
There are scallops on the underside of those urns, scallops on the chairs and scallops on several things in my studio. I'm quite taken with anything that has a smooth sculpted flow. So what sort of architectural detail rocks your boat?

Design Red Studio
Ah ha! That's it. The look I'm going for in my new master bath. Would you believe I found a gray french style piece almost exactly like this one for my vanity....? I'm also saving up a stash of nudes by a local artist for my bath and bedroom.
I'm not sure about wallpaper, though. I think I'll paint instead.
And I'll put a mirror over the vanity. It took me a couple of looks before I realized....there's no mirror over this vanity....
have a wonderful weekend...

I f there's a bakery in town, I'll find it. Bakeries — the smell of them, the feel of them....are just some of the coziest places on earth. I especially love the ones that use organic whole grains and other ingredients. But I'll admit, any case full of muffins, breads, cookies and pies melts my heart.
I made these Banana Walnut muffins to quench a bakery craving. It was about midnight and we had just put the babies down to sleep. For some reason, I started to think muffins (then sleep). Two very ripe bananas spurred me on and before you knew it, the house smelled like goodness.

This recipe comes from one of my new favorite baking books, " Gluten-Free Baking Classics " by Annalise Roberts. But this batch came from a gift tin that my friend Karen gave us at Christmas, so all I had to do was add the bananas, milk, eggs and oil. Made me think I should have these 'just add...' tins on hand at all times.
Recipe:
2 cups Brown Rice Flour Mix 2/3 cup granulated sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 packed cup very ripe banana 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 2 large eggs 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup canola oil
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt and cinnamon in large mixing bowl. Add bananas and walnuts; stir to coat evenly. 3. Combine milk and oil in small bowl; remove 1 tablespoon of combined liquid and discard it. Beat in eggs. Add liquids to banana mixture and stir until just blended. 4. Fill muffin pans (makes a dozen). Bake 18-25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from pan and serve immediately or cool on rack.
Here's the recipe for Huckleberry Muffins from the same book.

It's official, we have just enough snow and ice to build one of these'an igloo! We now have over three feet of ice-covered snow down since yesterday and it's still snowing. We were lucky and received a half inch of ice on top of our snow last night. So if we can't beat it might as well see if we could do something with this mess. Igloo hotel anyone?

First stop is the igloo lobby!

After checking in how about a cocktail at the igloo bar?

You could sit on this igloo bar stool to rest your weary bones.

This is the honeymoon suite, doesn't all that snow and ice make you want to rip your clothes off? I don't care how much champagne I've had I'm so not going there!

This is called the big room in the igloo. Look at that you can make your own furniture in a nice neutral color.
Believe it or not but a lot of engineering skills go into creating an igloo although that igloo, there on the right looks a little scary, the blocks look to be coming down.

Or how about a dip in the igloo jacuzzi? I think the heat of the water is melting the ceiling.
Actually igloo villages and hotels do exist in Switzerland and Germany for those who are willing to give it a try but book quickly because come April they're closed for obvious reasons.

I received a request to post on my collection of transfer ware. I have three different patterns, a collection that started when I inherited my Grandmother's red transfer ware.

They were her everyday dishes that I grew up with. She lost many of the original plates in the California earth quakes. However, it was a pattern that continued to be made, so she was able to order replacements.

This is the mark on the back.

I display the red after Thanksgiving as they're part of my Christmas decorations. They stay up until spring, when it's time to display my teal blue transfer ware.

I bought these at an antique store in Washington state. They were on clearance and I almost passed them up thinking that although they were so beautiful, what would I everdo with them? That is the day I thought of putting up my different collections by season — and that is how I rationalized buying them!

This is the mark on the back.

This was taken last spring....which was the first spring I displayed them on the shelves.

The brown transfer ware goes up in fall. I came upon my brown transfer ware at Marshall's department store, and thought they would be perfect dishes to use for Thanksgiving.

This is the mark on the back of the plate.

If we didn't have the open shelves in the kitchen, I don't think I would have started collecting the other two patterns. But the open shelves are like a blank canvas, and can create a completely new look for the kitchen depending on what I put on them.
Soon I will be taking down the red transfer ware and putting up the teal blue bird transfer ware. This time, I'm going to try something different and attempt to create less of a kitchen feel and more of a 'room' feel.
Jennifer at The Newlywed Diaries posted on this look here and I really love it! So we'll see how I do — suggestions always welcome!

I'm freezing! We woke up to our thermometer outside flat lining it was ZERO degrees! So visions on warmth wafted through my head. Just look at that image, tropical breeze, sun, surf and sand!

Last week we had a snowstorm that dumped nearly two feet of snow on us. See those sticks sticking up out of the snow that would be our Forsythia shrubs. Buried right up to the tops and look at that sky, could it get any grayer? (Actually I wish I could copy that gray color for my dining room walls.)

We had to snow blow paths just so Dylan dog could get out and unfortunately tomorrow isn't going to be any better for us. They're predicting another foot of snow and to make it even more fun Mother Nature is tossing in a little sleet. HELP! I hope you're enjoying some warmth! ?

W hen I was a Music/Art major in college, I visited a home with the most amazing collection of original art work. The home inspired me because the people who lived there were not wealthy by any means. In fact, you could probably call them 'starving artists.'
Nevertheless, they had an amazing collection that included paintings by well-known regional artists as well as unsigned paintings found at tag sales.
It was a collection that they had been working on for many years and it was a collection they acquired passionately. And it showed. Their house breathed a wonderful sense of vitality because of it.
My collection of paintings has been greatly inspired by them. Here are a few of my favorites.

18 x 14
I bought this Eric Jacobsen painting, unframed, at a fundraiser for our local art gallery. Months later, I happened to find an antique frame that fit it perfectly (see this post ). The painting in the first photo was also purchased at the same fundraiser, and is by the same artist. I found an antique frame ($15) that happened to fit it as well.

15 x 18
This still life was purchased at Matthews Gallery in Portland. I had taken the owner a few paintings for him to appraise, and ended up trading them for this piece.

18 x 23
This piece is a reproduction of the The Torn Hat by Thomas Sully. It's signed by a well-known Seattle artist. I purchased it for $60. I found an old wood frame for $20 and had it cut down to fit the piece for another $20.

28 x 15
This is one of my favorite pieces. I love the companionship of the horses. It was a rare find in that the original frame was in pristine condition. I paid $120. Margaret and Graham have taken a liking to this one too!

9 x 13

13 x 9
A few years ago, an artist friend of mine allowed me to raid her seconds bin in her art studio. This pair of landscapes paired nicely with these antique Victorian frames ($45 each).

26 x 19
This piece is one of the largest pieces I've acquired. The frame drew me in as it's a beautiful chunky gold frame with clean lines and a wide profile. I knew the frame alone was worth the cost of the painting — $225.

17 x 22
I did a post on her here. I found this portrait unframed for $44. When I got home, I was thrilled that she happened to fit into this antique floral frame I had picked up several months prior ($20). My friend Steve described the frame poignantly as a beautiful 'dress' for her.

13 x 11
This is done by a local artist, Cathleen Rehfeld. Cathleen's work lovingly captures the essence of the landscape in our region. I bought it unframed and paired it with an antique frame I had cut down to size by a frame restorationist for $100.

16 x 13
This lone oak is by the same artist. I had this frame cut down as well.
As you can see, I'm especially drawn to landscapes and portraits. And I love finding beautiful antique paintings, but I also collect new art that offers that classic Hudson Valley School aesthetic.
I look forward to continuing to grow our collection. The vibrancy of the art is one of the reasons I'm so drawn to having white walls in our home. I love the way the neutral wall contrasts with the brilliance of the gold frames and the lovely imagery of the paintings.