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!