Home Comforts

Wishing you a peaceful and productive weekend.

I know we'll be spending it outdoors!

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The Bouquet

Catherine Middleton was just lovely, wouldn't you agree? Her dress, which immediately reminded us of Grace Kelly's bridal gown, was a modern classic.  

I must admit I was a bit surprised by the bridal bouquet; catching the first glimpse, I thought, with its small size, it must be for an attendant. The bouquet, designed by Shane Connolly, was a fragrant collection of flowers wired into a shield shape. Primarily lily of the valley, hyacinths (seen in the lower center), myrtle foliage, sweet William and ivy were also included.

The attendants' flowers reflected Catherine's bouquet and consisted of ivy and lily of the valley hair flowers and bouquets of lily of the valley, ivy and sweet William.

The choice of seasonal flowers was influenced by their traditional significance to both families. With the lily of the valley, they were sure to smell heavenly!

 Well, what did you think?

P.S. I thought the cake was exquisite. Believe me, I've seen many cakes that were far from!

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In the Moment

Having been honored by three women whom I greatly admire, it is time that I acknowledge their generosity.

My first thank you goes to Gina, of Art and Alfalfa, for giving me a Stylish Blogger Award. Gina lives in the middle of the beautiful countryside of Utah and has built a home with her husband that is truly her palace. She is multi-talented and has not only pursued her dreams of painting, but is also a cook extraordinaire. I hope to spend time with her, taking a class or two and absorbing her talents.

My second thank you goes to a new blogger from Scotland. Cait Whitson, of Carte Blanche, awarded me the Liebster Blog Award. Cait is an extremely talented (and somewhat modest) decorative painter whose work will blow you away. She especially excels at marbling and woodgraining. Check out her talents here and here. Occasionally she graces the U.S. with her classes and also teaches at her studio in Scotland.

My third thank you goes to the uber chic Marsha over at Splenderosa for awarding me a Beautiful Blog Award.  Marsha is our resident style maven. If I ever have the chance to meet Marsha in person, I will need to first get a complete style makeover! She would just slowly shake her head in sadness if she saw how I am usually dressed- with either garden soil or paint on my clothes. I smile every time I visit Splenderosa. Where does she find those fabulous clothes? And have you seen her jewelry? I have and it is addicting! Here is what Marsha has chosen for tomorrow's royal wedding attire. 

With that said, I will go prepare for my beautiful daughter's visit that begins today. Since we were not issued a real invitation to the royal wedding, we decided to watch the festivities together instead and I must get ready! 

I count myself among the lucky ones to have friends all over the world like you. The sky is the limit!

Tulipmania

For a midweek treat, we managed to catch a few tulip shots in between the rainstorms.

The Greigii tulips are a wonderful tulip for naturalizing. They return faithfully.

Wood as Wallpaper

Who would have thought? Piet Hein Eek did. Known for his scrapwood furniture, Piet decided to produce a line of realistic wallpapers that showcase his scrap wood. Printed in high resolution on heavy duty, non-woven wallpaper with a colorfast paper top layer, you would swear it's wood. And it is washable with a soft cloth.

A fun way to finish the man cave, the closet or storage room, the boys' room or the summer house.

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Cracked Up

I've long admired the look of cracked porcelain on the wall. This happens to be wallpaper, but can also be custom created by a decorative artisan with the color you prefer. 

Venetian plaster is applied to the canvas and glazed to bring out the craquelure. The canvas is then hung in the same manner as wallpaper. Applying the canvas as wallpaper will also hide flaws in the wall.

Would you use this in your home?

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In Celebration

of Easter and family and nature's beauty. Enjoy your day!

Happy Easter!

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Spring Show

A cheerful sight for eyes that have been viewing the greige winter landscape for the past many months!

The colorful tulip displays belong to British garden designer Tom Stuart-Smith, and I intend to adopt a few of his ideas! I usually prefer a mass of one color- color blocks (as above) in the garden, but here below the combination of tulip varieties is lively and light-hearted.

Even though we are in the suburb, we still have hungry deer who forage on my just-about-to-bloom flowers- grrrr! These cloches look like a great idea for those special times that you want protection. ;]

When I read this article in House and Garden, I decided that this will be my fall project: instead of having rather bland containers sitting around all winter, I will plant them with tulip bulbs and wait for the spring show to begin.

As soon as the tulips do bloom, I'll show you how to properly insure that you have blooms for the following year. (Assuming that the critters don't feast first!)

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Blue + Yellow =

= Spring Green

I think spring is coming....slowly.....

Scripted Again

Finally, a hotel created for my daughter, a writer and lover of words. The next time she visits Paris, she just has to stay at the Le Pavillon des Lettres in the Place des Vosges (8th arr.). Their brochure explains: "Totally out of time, the Pavillon des Lettres combines Arts & Literature with a beautiful chic fine design and decoration. 26 rooms for 26 letters of the alphabet, the Pavillon des Lettres will honor 26 international authors of whom text will be painted above the bed." 

Does that sound fun or what!

Composed by interior designer, Didier Benderli, the hotel decor boasts of plush fabrics and fabulous lighting.

For further information, visit their website here.

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Going Dutch

 
Leave it to a Dutchman! While still a graduate student at the Design Academy Eindhoven, Joep Verhoeven did us all a favor and put form over function. Why NOT inject a little beauty into something as common and necessary as a chain link fence? I swore I would never have one, but we do (came with the house) and love its purpose (dogs). While most of it is covered with vines and shrubs, there are a few areas where I would love to place this Lace Fence instead!

The organic and curvilinear patterns available include Blossom, Drops and Leaves.

Top: Blossom  Bottom: Leaf

The lace fence is produced by the Dutch design house, Demakersvan, and is available in the U.S. through DroogUSA.

Currently in the Netherlands, there is a competition quite unlike any other I've ever seen. Just check out these sand sculptures at the Zandsculpturenfestijn (Sand Sculpture Festival) running from the 15th of April to the 29th of October. The Festival information is here.

The winner of the competition with the Marine motto, created by Arianne van Rosmalen and Susanne Ruseler.

Aren't these amazing?

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