outdoor decorating

Hey you all! I have been digging up and painting and doing all kinds of new things to the old house. I think a week at a lovely cottage and some chats with my amazing sis-in-law, Stacey, about her bountiful gardens has inspired me anew. I'm rethinking every part of my house. Yesterday I started working on my front gardens and tweaking them a bit. While surfing the net for inspiration I came across this great little DIY for making an urban garden planter from cement blocks (cheap!)....check it out here.

new do

So I gave the ol' blog a nice peppy new look...let me know what you think. Do you hate it, love it, or are you totally indifferent?

cottage ease

 I just spent a week among family and friends in Maine, where I was born and raised. My father rented a gorgeous cottage on Long Pond and we had a spectacular time of rest, relaxation, and redemption.

the first thing I saw the first morning

the ducks loved us...and our food.

a nice morning scrub

vacationland

Gotta pack. Gotta get ready. Off to Maine we go. When we get back I'll tell you all about it. Have a fabulous 4th everyone!!!

be free

I found this on a wonderful blog that I follow The Colorful Living Project....I can't stop watching it. The music is a surprisingly non-seductive song featuring Fiona Apple. Click the video below for 41 seconds of joy.


photo credit:
apartmenttherapy.com

rosa's things

My husband has two living grandmothers and they both have this wonderful and adorable habit of sending their hand-me-downs to the different members of the family that they believe could use them. I always have a pleasant time weeding through the boxes, like a pirate digging for booty. So much of the things that come from them are unabashedly feminine, dainty, proper, and sometimes, dare I say it, precious! They are items from a time past where women were defined by their femininity. It's nice to return to that era for a moment or two...and enjoy every little button, the piping, the ruffles, the tiny flowers...without apology.

After rifling through the things they send I keep the treasures that suit me best, post some good vintage finds on Etsy, and pass on the others to goodwill or other parts of the family. Recently a rather large shipment came to my home from Rosa's house, or Meme Ro, as we call her. Here are some of my most recent handed-down treasures from the latest shipment:

A great belt...elasticized so you can wear it here...

...or here.

A gorgeously designed set of little cards that teach you how to wear a scarf in many different ways.

When something is designed with so much care it makes you feel special just to hold it.

Little leather gloves with piping and buttons...

 

...still wrapped in their proper red box. 

Have you snagged any eye-catching castoffs lately?

where i've been

How can it have been sooo long! I really have missed the sound of typing quietly in this secluded space. It's been a full month and since the last post I have started doing a lot of new things! I have started buying and eating local/organic,

So much nicer  (and cheaper) than the supermarket!

  I have created and actually found time to use my very own art studio in my home,

I have begun baking profusely as a result of our new eating habits,

 

 

 

Yes, these are my hands, and my homemade granola bars

...my very own peanut butter cookies, too.

I have planted my gardens and watched them not die,

and I have repainted my kitchen a hot new color...though I'm not so finished with that yet.

Now for the finishing touches.

What new things have you been doing since spring sprung?


photo credits:
http://consumerist.com/2010/10
http://www.earthlypursuits.com/WarGarV/WarGard19ill.htm