While I’ll be back in San Francisco later this week, for the Picasso show and “Billy Elliott”, we’re spending the weekend in the city. Most Saturday mornings here begin at the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market. Between the MotoRoto (motorized rotisserie truck) the fresh peaches, lavender and flower stalls, the aroma is wonderful. The Hayes Street Grill puts out some wonderful meals, from a small make-shift kitchen. Grilled salmon and bacon on sour dough toast, anyone? I also discovered French peas that you can eat raw as a healthy snack! These little boys at a food stall with their dad were…
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If you’re looking for an excellent way to obscure an ugly view, or keep out the light in a media room, this may be just the answer. Mirrors are wonderful, throughout your home and especially used in these window panes. A less expensive option could be wallpaper or contact paper in a beautiful print that coordinates with the rest of the room! Happy Saturday!
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Ever buy a “deal” on-line, that turned out to be a “bust”? If you’ve resisted the lure of on-line auctions and “tag” sales, you should commend yourself! As someone who tells others to avoid making purchases that are non-returnable, I’m guilty of some less than wonderful purchases, particularly on EBay. I got all excited about McCoy ceramics and found a few on EBay that looked promising. This piece wasn’t expensive, but who wants something with a crack in it? Then there was the fluted Shawnee vase, that looked cream colored on line, and the “drizzled” texture wasn’t as clearly depicted…
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I wish I could tell you who designed this room, but one thing’s for sure, I can’t take credit! But I will tell you why in so many ways, it a perfect room, from the ground up. 1. First of all, I’m a sucker for beautiful, hand made rugs on hard wood floors! And these are gorgeous, bringing a colorful foundation to the room. 2. White sofas and chairs. The only thing better would have been slip-covered chairs and sofas, to reduce the “worry factor”. White is clean, fresh and so easy to decorate around. 3. Beautiful pillows, in warm…
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I had so much fun making gift cards this week, I decided to make some festive gift tags. Tied to a ribbon, wrapped around some tea towels, for a hostess gift, or used on a gift bags (custom decorated of course), you could probably get away without including a card. But do you dare? And then, on the other side of course… Not bad, for a novice! I’m sure you creative types could come up with all sorts of cleverness! The possibilities are endless…buttons, seed beads, rick rack…oh my! Typically, I’ve used these manila tags to create novel business cards,…
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On days like this, when it will feel like about 175 degrees outside, I do my best to stay indoors. While my daughter’s at boot camp and my son will soon be deployed on a ship, I’d like to be able to send them note cards that make them feel loved, without “breaking the bank”. I found a way to send hand made / customized cards for less than 50 cents each! For a few years now, I’ve admired the hand made cards from friends. They’re so beautiful, I hate to part with them! I received a “thank you” card…
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Can you imagine how much beige carpet archeologists will find in land fills, a thousand years from now? Seriously, one key reason for solid color, neutral, patternless carpeting in homes everywhere, is that just about anything placed on top of it will coordinate. Building a room’s decor, starts at the floor and builds from there. Starting with a patterned carpet requires a little more planning, but the results, to me, are much more interesting. It’s just another reason why I choose solid colors for sofa upholstery, because you can sit a neutral colored sofa on top of just about anything.…
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As you may know, I’m involved in a long-term “love affair” with lamps! I hesitate to mention this on line, knowing disclosures like this may come back to haunt me one day, but… I visited one of my favorite vintage shops last week, on Palm Avenue, in Carmichael. There, I found a stunning lamp! It came with a bare lamp shade frame, which I understand is the new best thing, in shabby chic circles! I figured I would try covering the lamp shade. After a quick reality check, I realized that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. So I found…
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