Almost A Visit To The Past

Mama had told me early that morning to walk to the store for some things.  I am nine and walking to the store barefooted.  The rocks hurt but I am trying to toughen up my feet.  The store is way out in the country as are we.  The store has those old wood floors as all the stores in the country did at that time.  I couldn't get much for me but it was a sure highlight to have anything sweet.

Mama babysat across the lane.  I was a little jealous because they had air conditioning.  Meanwhile we had a fan and it was hot.  When I say hot, I am talking about Mississippi hot.  Humid and hot is a lot different from just hot.  But I was young and didn't notice the heat so much as I would when I got older.  We lived down from my grandparents, they had air condtioning too.  My grandmother always had the best desserts on Sunday afternoon.  I didn't dare go peek and see what it was.  She never fussed at me but I knew I better not go messing around in her kitchen.  She had an air of authority.  We were taught about Jesus and Hell but I wasn't ready to visit either one yet.

You can feel that this photo was taken early in the morning.  It also has the look of history, of remembering all those mornings long before. I love the morning light, do you?  I know you have seen many photos of outdoors where they still carry the night's fog.

It's a sliver of time to play with in my house before the sun moves toward the west.  I try to have things set up prior to taking a few photos.  This morning though I managed to get some shots that I considered a good representation of morning.  Blurry but bright and full of possibilites.















Almost a visit to the past.




Jan

Spring Living Room 2016

Today there a few glimpses of Spring in the living room.  The morning sun brightens the room.  Have you noticed the light is different this time of year?  It seems yellow, or is that the pollen?!








The morning sun just beginning to lighten up the house...you know there are always flowers to be seen, whether inside or out.















Azaleas behind the sofa and on the coffee table.  I decorate in a way that I hope takes time to take in.  Not one for minimal decorating! I love a room that is interesting.  I have always been drawn to a look where there are many places to sit and lounge and socialize if wanted, a room full of rugs, pillows and art.  A room that is large enough to have company and not sit on top of each other but arranged that when desired can sit close to family.  A room where nothing is too precious for relaxing and putting up your feet.  A room that is pretty but not formal.  No formality here!









This day's mantel.  I am newly in love with changing it often.  Today it's roses.








This weekend the mantel wore wisteria and azaleas.








The brass pitcher was a wedding gift so many years ago sitting on a tray.








Silver and gold frames of family with azaleas to soften the look.







The mirror that was on the mantel is to your far right now....there on top of the red skirted table beside the bookshelf.  Considered busy by many, a look that spells comfort to me.







The mirror amazed me how well it reflects the light here.









The mirror was paired with a candelabra and I just brought out touches of Spring including azaleas, an African violet and a cabbage plate.  Framed cherubs always make me happy.







Just a few Japanese Magnolia blooms left on the tree next to our huge azalea bush in the back yard.








Right around the curve in the lane from us is this perfect picture of Spring.










A difficult room to photograph with it being long enough to have separate zip codes.








Layla is in here, do you see her?  She's wearing a red sweater.  Jacques left a view of his rear end.  They are in plain sight but difficult to see.  Who will spot them first?  I almost got the photo taken without them in here!









This table has a small Monet framed print and just enough room for a pretty plate and a small silver piece displaying azaleas.  It sits on the opposite side of the sofa and next to the fireplace.  The armoire originally housed our tv and now is used for storage.  Rumor has it a blogger needs lots of storage. Wink, wink!








The blue in the table runner spills into the blue rug.











I have thrown my back out so I am taking it easy.  I hope you have a great week!







Jan

Coloring Your Home Like Betsy Speert

Color!   Pattern!  It can be your best friend.  Without color our homes would be bland and depressing.  It’s always up to you how much goes into your home.  If you have a neutral palette in your home, you can bring in color numerous ways to give it life.

Today we will “color” with Betsy Speert.  Betsy is an author, designer, blogger and decorator.  She has decorated numerous homes including celebrities!  Her talent has been shown in many well known magazines.

This is her country cottage.  She has white walls and white slipcovered furniture.

 Betsy used a cabbage rose fabric on her pillows and two of the slipcovered chairs. This fabric brings in a lot of pattern and color into the room.  The blue linen drapes blend with her beloved cabbage rose fabric.   There are plates above her windows that tie in to her colors.

 I love how the painted wood around her bookshelves is the same blue as her drapes. Notice the tole trays she has above the bookshelf.   The coral color gives the whole room oomph and warms it up a bit.  It also brings out her wood floors. 

There is something she did in here that is very smart and that is her faux window on the right.  It’s not a window but a wall with the linen drapes and blinds.  She had it trimmed out to appear as a window.  But instead of a window there is a mirror.  Very smart lady!  That balances the room because of the window on the left. You can read about it  here.

Betsy used Benjamin Moore White to give her the right white on her walls.  Plates around the large mirror over the fireplace.  A tole tray above it all.

Betsy has been collecting cow art for several years and has an extension collection of 21 cow paintings!  The white walls are a great backdrop for her cow collection.  You can read more about it here.

Her cabbage rose fabric.  Her favorite colors are red, pink and green so it’s no wonder she loves this!

Looking into Betsy’s dining room from her living room.  You can see how well the two rooms blend together.  Her extensive cow paintings are seen in there as well.  I love the fact that she uses faux flowers in her home!  They add so much to a room.

This is what dictated her color scheme on this floor!  The blue in the chandelier matches the leaves in her cabbage rose fabric.  The upper part of the walls in the dining room are wallpapered in a blue that matches the blue of the linen drapes used in the living room and dining room.

It’s all in the details here.  She has beautifully woven the blue through the two rooms and gave her loved cabbage rose fabric a starring role.  It’s visually a feast and a dessert!


Jan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bringing In More Blue

Hey ! I hope you are doing good.   It’s July and steamy!  This is the time of year I really get to craving blue.  Blue looks cool to the eye, makes you think about oceans, pools and water.  We are surrounded by trees here around the house, virtually everywhere you look outside are trees.  We even  have woods beside us.

So with the heat and all the green, I needed more blue around me.  See the little blue pillow went in the center of the sofa.  There is also a blue pitcher on the trunk.

I didn’t paint the living room blue but I have before.  Many times I tried to find the right color of blue!   I finally realized that wasn’t what I needed to do.  The white quilts on the sofas really helps cool things down.  The arms show on each side of the sofas but that’s okay with me, I gotta have a little red!

I flipped the runner over to it’s floral side with the blue gray background.  More blue!

 

And that all ties in with the rugs.  Going outside…..

 

 

We finished painting the porches.  I love the blue toile this time of year.  I have to warn you that you probably will be seeing a lot of blue until fall arrives.

 

 

Sweet tea and hydrangeas with zinnias.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Water Or Not?

Hello!  I think we will stay in for a bit today.  I tried to take a few photos outside but my glasses kept steaming up and so did the lens on my camera.  It feels very humid to me.  I won’t talk about my hair today. However I did get it cut and now I have to blonde it up a bit more since the gray ~ no ~ I mean brown hair is peeping through, in case you wanted to know. Ha!  I cut some hydrangeas today and brought them in.

The coke glass looks pretty with them too.  It’s short but the green of the glass with the green in the flowers are very pretty.  My daughter took all the mason jars and I like to try different looks.

 

Now that hydrangeas are starting to turn I have to decide how I will dry them.   From what I have read you are supposed to wait until fall to cut your hydrangea blooms or wait until they are turning fallish colors.  Fallish colors on this bush is the green and pink.  Also you are supposed to put some water in the container and let it evaporate for them to retain their colors better.  Or you can put them in a container with no water for them to dry.   How do you do yours?

 

 

 

 

 

Shells from many trips to the beach.

 

 

 

I decided to let them dry on my mantel.  Last year I had them scattered about and they can take up a lot of room.  They are already pretty and why hide them when they are drying?  These were my mother’s glasses.

 

 

 

Flour canister part of a set my mother bought my grandmother many many years ago.  I use it a lot.  It shows how smart I am, Flour and I put flowers in it, see!!

Turning green and pink.

 

 

 

 

Jan

 

 

 

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