Soup--what else can I say?

Dinner looked so good last night I had to take its' picture! This is Rachel Ray's recipe for "Italian Sub Stoup." She calls it a stoup because she says it's a cross between a soup and a stew. It has a giant crouton in it and plenty of arugula added at the last minute, my favorite touch. A very satisfying dinner on a winter night with a fire going. Isn't that a sweet scenario? We are blessed.

Ciao,
Anne

More Pillows Go Out!

Last week another box of pillows went out to my favorite art gallery, Sanctuary of Davidson. I need to get to work on more, but the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is making it impossible to needle felt. Even as I sit here and type, my hands have gone numb. I will get this fixed ASAP!

These pillows were, as usual, a lot of fun to make. Two of them took a very long time. Sigh, I love them. We spend so much time together and I fuss over every little detail. The other two are simpler, faster, less expensive for the buyer, but still unique and fun. I love them, too. They are all soft and cushy and bring a smile--that's their job and they make it their business to get the job done!

A tad of progress on the fireplace. Mike has painted the new sheetrock with primer, we've decided on how the legs, lintel and trim are going to look and now we're waiting for the wonderful carpenter, Paul, to show up and finalize everything and get to work. When Paul and I get together, we tend to go over every detail once again and make changes. We'll paint the sheetrock with the wall color before he comes to install everything. That way there will just be some touch-ups to do after the crown molding goes back up. There are a lot of details on this little job!

Ciao,

Anne

The fireplace is coming along

Here's the picture of the fireplace wall now that the sheetrock has been installed. We wanted to protect the brick, so painting over it was out. Sheetrock only took a few tiny screws, and most of them are where the crown molding will sit anyway. I'm lovin' how it looks already.

The installer did an excellent job. Everything is very smooth and we won't need trim in a couple of places that we might have had to use it. That's the beauty of hiring (and finding) people who are really good at what they do. Next I will prime it and paint it. The crown molding will go back up at the top and the carpenter will work his magic on the area below the mantel. I'll keep you posted!

Ciao,

Anne

SNOW!!

I was going to shut this baby down, but have decided to try again. It's hard to blog, whine, whine. I'm a talker, not a writer.

So we had snow in NC over the weekend. Grandboy thinks it's wonderful. He's wrong, but it's his opinion and there's no changing that. Today the sun is shining and the temps are rising, so all will be well soon. In the meantime, we'll go out and play in it one more time.



I'm working on a couple of projects in the house this winter. First I'll show you the fireplace project. It's a big, brick, kind of dark thing, yet lovely in it's own way. We love our fireplace and have roaring blazes in it as often as possible. Very cozy. But I like light and clean lines, so have come up with a solution. Will leave you with the "before" picture today and will update as we progress. The photo makes the brick wall look a bit brighter than it actually is--maybe I had the flash on. Really, it's kind of dark!

Ciao,
Anne

A big day for the pillows!

Today 5 of my sweet pillows were shipped off to Davidson, NC. Sanctuary of Davidson, a new art gallery in the historic district, contacted me recently after seeing the pillows on my Etsy shop. Sanctuary's enthusiastic owner, Kristen Feighery, loved them and asked if I would like to sell them in her shop! This is very exciting and I feel so blessed. Today's picture is of the kids, I mean the pillows, right before they all jumped into the box and headed off to UPS. I do miss them already. Each one is truly a labor of love.

But now I can make more!

Ciao,

Anne

Pesky but so pretty

Look at what was in our backyard this evening after dinner. Oh, we are so bothered by deer in our area! They eat so many of our plants and flowers. But sometimes they show up en masse, with a special guest among them, and I'm reminded about their beauty. Albino deer are startling to see-they are just SO white. They practically glow. My darling dog whines at the door to go out and give chase. The last time he did that resulted in an expensive trip to the vet as he gashed his foot on something as he ran. So now I have to tell him to chill out and leave them be.

Ciao,

Anne

I've been featured!

The very nice Danielle of Koi Kouture (http://koikouture.blogspot.com/2009/09/fishy-finds.html ) has featured me in her blog! Take a look. Her Etsy shop is lovely, so look around there, too. She likes my Koi pillow as she likes all things Koi. Thank you Danielle!

Ciao,
Anne

The key to accessorizing is....

Oh har dee har har, what a punny title. And the picture that inspired it is straight from the Pottery Barn website. I went there in search of a quick photo cause that's where everyone goes. While I do not want your space to look like a PB catalog (so sterile), I do understand that we get some good jumping off ideas with that huge, mass produced retail company. But this time you're trying to get it right, right? So step away from the mall--for now--and head out to thrift shops, antique shops, junk stores, flea markets or your own attic. And be thinking about places you love to visit; whether vacation spots, the tiny town you grew up in, your grandmother's kitchen, wherever, wherever, wherever. Pick apart your fond memories and find some elements that you can bring into your newly freshened space. Here are some rules to guide you:

1) TAKE YOUR TIME. It's better to temporarily live with a rather sparse space than to have it packed with crappy crapola that you bought off the clearance table in some shall be nameless store. Find things here and there that really remind you of people and places that you love.

2) Always have a bit of sparkle in the room. "A bit" is the key here. Something shiny needs to be in every room. Whether it's a silver candlestick or a mother of pearl framed mirror (or a mirror of any kind--they're shiny) or a brass lamp. Look around in your cupboards, I'll bet you have a silver tray that you drag out for Christmas. Use it now to hold a small stack of tiny old books.

3) Texture. I think I talked about this already somewhere. Have some texure in the room. Examples are a nubby throw, a seagrass rug, a rattan trunk, wicker balls in a bowl, an old crusty piece of architectural salvage.

4) Pillows for the chairs. Here's an easy place to have fun. Don't get too tasteful with your pillows. That is so boring. Buy one of mine. Shameless, I know.

5) Go easy. Not too much stuff. You will lose that clean, fresh feeling if you go overboard. The eye needs a place to rest.

6) Good grief, that's enough rules. Who died and left me queen? I'm just a bossy, bossy girl.

7) One more. Have fun and enjoy your room. Don't be all serious and careful about decorating. If your rooms still don't make you smile, please call an interior designer to help you. That's why we're here!

Ciao,

Anne

Time to get to work!

I snapped this photo the other day while Grandboy and I were eating lunch on the back deck. The budleia bushes have been loaded with butterflies all summer long. Pretty, pretty, pretty. Oh but wait, I have another picture that is even better:

That Grandboy is quite a guy. He's gorgeous and fun and smart as a whip. Sigh. I just love him.

So I've been a real slug with the blog. The hardest part for me is the pictures. There's plenty to talk about, but a blog without pictures is a bore to me, so I need to quit complaining, take some pix and blog. That's the plan. I also have to admit that I follow a number of blogs and they're all so good, packed with info and fun to read, that I'm feeling very intimidated. But let's just step away from Mr. Jealousy and give this thing some effort.

Have put the Koi pillow up for sale on the Etsy site. Also lowered the prices dramatically and am about to start promoting it for real (although I say that every day). Let's have a goal; must send out some promos to friends and family by Monday. I'm good with deadlines, so maybe that will work.

Then I made another pillow. Fellow Etsy members have suggested that I have some lower priced items for sale (much lower, like $30). So, at the suggestion of the beloved sister in law, Mary Grace, I've made a very simple pillow. No piecing of various wools, no zipper, slightly smaller in size. But still soft, felted wool, nice velvet back and a nice design that would be useful to the babies of the world. It's not pink or blue, it's not mass produced or have a TV character on it. It's a sweet pillow with clean lines and can decorate the room or either a boy or a girl. Great gift if you ask me. Will put it on Etsy tonight.

Ok, gotta talk about accessories next time for sure! Will do that by Friday--another deadline!

Ciao,

Anne

Time for furniture!

The room has been emptied, cleaned and painted (please tell me you painted--be brave, try a new color on the walls. It will feel SO good.). Now slowly add furnishings to the room. Look at the room in the picture (by Van Chaplin) and read these tips;

1) Don't line everything up against the wall. Pull that sofa out a bit, then a bit more. Maybe a sofa table will end up going behind it. I love a sofa table because I can put a lamp on it. That makes reading easier. Bring chairs right up near the coffee table so guests can talk easily and they can reach their tea and crumpets. You can always walk behind furniture in the room, you don't have to walk in front of it all the time.

2) Try a new placement plan. We do NOT need to put the furniture back where it was. Just because there's a big wall, that does not mean the sofa has to go there. Two chairs could go there, or a big cabinet, armoire, chunky thing of any kind. Shake it up! Switch it around! Change is good!

3) Try something at an angle. While I don't like everything angled, sometimes that's a nice change. Give it a try.

4) Have a comfortable path, a way for people to walk into and out of the space.

5) Go easy on the eyes--not too much to look at. Think clean lines, smooth flow. Also, it's not a good idea to have everything at the same height, so seat back heights could vary a bit and that would feel nice.

6) Here's a HUGE concept that I learned in design school (also called college); for a truly comfortable and at least semi casual feeling; vary your textures. Don't go all smooth, which gives a very formal feeling and flat if you ask me. Don't go all nubby and textural, this is not a primitive bazaar. Mix it up. Have some smooth, some soft, some nubby. People skip this one all the time and then wonder why their rooms don't feel right.

Once you have the furnishings the way you might like them to be, give it a few days to tweak until it really feels good.

Accessories are next.

Ciao,

Anne