These Are a Few of My Favorite Things. . .

Writer's Workshop with Mama Kat.

Prompt of Choice:  3.) List your five most recent favorite things.

This is a good prompt for this week.  I have been in school a month and have been plowing through school work like a good little school girl to the detriment of all my other obsessions--I mean hobbies.  But this week I have been finding too many excuses to avoid my homework, (I have allowed myself this because last week was a killer and this week is pretty light--that being said I still have homework I MUST get to at some point) which has given me time to find other things to get really excited about. . . 

1.)  Turquoise Fire King dishes.  

These are always one of my favorite things.  I have just had a resurgence lately due to my kitchen remodel.  I have written about my decorating around these dishes before.  But I have decided I need more of them and have been watching for good deals on ebay.  Seriously, these watery blue dishes are gorgeous.  I think it is kind of funny that they were cheap in the fifties--my dad claims they were their everyday dishes--and now they are often ridiculously high priced. . . which is why I don't have a ton of them--I keep watching for deals.  

2.) White Sundresses.

 I LOVE white things.  Read all about my obsession with White HERE. . . and with white sundresses HERE.  We have had a lot of sun this week and I have been thinking of where I am going to buy the girls their white Easter dresses this year.  They get white dresses every year because really, what is cuter than a little blondie in a clean, crisp white dress?  They look all innocent. . . Who cares if they get dirty five minutes after putting them on--I just get pictures really fast and then they are forever clean in my memory.  

3.) My New Chocolate Mold.  

Actually it is a brownie pan I bought at Williams Sonoma last week.  But I had an itch to make chocolate bars to go with my new recipe for homemade graham crackers and homemade marshmallows for. . . Homemade S'mores!  On the downside, I have consumed far too many chocolates this week--dark chocolate. . .milk chocolate. . .dark chocolate filled with raspberry filling. . . milk chocolate filled with peanut butter. . .  NOT good when combined with hours of sitting in front of a computer!  Hopefully it will be a passing fancy.

4.) Hypertufa Pots.  

I discovered these last year and have been dying to make one of my own.  Since we have been working in the yard this week I started thinking about it again.  It needs to cure for a couple weeks after you make them, so I want to do one--or five--soon. . . two rectangular ones for the front walk. . . a round one filled with succulents for my back patio--and maybe my family room!  I can't wait. (When I make them I will post the instructions on my home and garden blog for anyone interested in trying it out.)

5.) These three people.  I couldn't live without them!  

Rob has been so helpful since I have gone back to school.  He cooks, he cleans, he drives me to school.  I think I will keep him. . . despite his sudden attraction for college girls (well, 'girl' anyway)--or maybe because of it!  

Hannah has really been growing up and being very helpful recently.  The first thing she did this morning was bring me a mountain dew--without me asking for it!  Oh, and she clean and helps her sister out from time to time.  

And Signe. . .that girl.  She is so darn cute and HILarious!  Her infectious giggle keeps me smiling. . .and her comments like:

 "My valentines party is not "tomorrow".  I know my days of the week--'Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and then we start again!' (sung to the tune of 'Alouette')--See!  There is no 'tomorrow'!"  After stating this she couldn't quite keep a straight face.  That girl is one smart cookie!

Since the list said "5" I will refrain from listing my favorite coat, my new floors, or my new painting;)!

What's on your top five list of favorites?

Inspiration?

Have you ever:

A. Watched on of those home decorating shows where the designer gets her/his inspiration from an object, like say an artichoke?  I always thought this was kind of silly, despite the often pleasing results.  

B.  Known someone who decorated an entire room around a collection?  I,  on principle, am not a collector.  I think getting too much of something distracts from its specialness. . . plus you have to dust it. (of course, if you ask my husband he'll tell you I collect magazines, but that is entirely different.)

C.  Been the kind of person, or known a person, who collects dishes--having a set for every occasion?  I can't see storing all those dishes and always claim white is best. . . it goes with everything.

In one fell swoop I have done all three. . . for these:

Several months ago I saw some of these dishes on ebay.  They are depression era glass dishes and they are the prettiest watery blue.  I fell in love them.  I had to have them.  I started collecting them.  And hey, they go very nicely with all my white dishes. 

They are now right up there on my list of favorite things. 

I am even having my new kitchen designed with a glass doored hutch to display them. 

And now, I am decorating my family room and kitchen around them. . . I carried one into a rug store to find a rug that would coordinate.  

Am I crazy?  

And if you know where I can find more, please let me know.

 

White Mountain. . .

You might recall a little post I wrote about my love of all things white. Today I got to reap the rewards (Or punishments) of this love.




Do you think it is normal to do 2-3 white batches of laundry on Monday. . .and then 3 more on Friday? I do!


And while I tackled my White Mountain, Signe conquered another mountain. . .




But apparently I like my lovely pile of whiteness because I went out and bought more pristine white bath towels. They were on sale. And hey, no sorting!



How did you spend your Friday?

Autumn Morning. . .

There is something about waking up in the autumn months when the morning mist hangs in the air, surrounding my house and making ghostly figures out of the towering firs. Once I get my fourth grader out the door the house feels silent and peaceful. My baby, nearly five or not--she's still my baby, is fast asleep in her bed and Charly is laying in his favorite spot. . .on the back of the chair in the living room watching the world go by. He is prepared to defend us from all those dangerous walkers out there.

It is the perfect time to pull on a sweater and some cozy socks and sit down and drink a cup of hot chocolate. That is one of my favorite things about the colder months. Stephens Hot Chocolate.

Today I sip from my cup of Irish Cream flavored chocolate and let the silence wrap it's arms around me and fill me with peace and energy for the day. It may be a short half hour before the little one wakes and the sun burns off the mist, but it's my half hour and I love it.

Add this to my list of favorite things--the quiet and the hot chocolate. The possibilities are overwhelming. I have at least eight flavors, including wassail and spiced cider. I sometimes give them away at Christmas time with a bag of my homemade marshmallows. Mmmm.

White Dresses. . .Revisited

You might recall my post about all things white. The white sundress made my list of lovely white things that I can't get enough of. While I have been here in Idaho visiting family it just so happened that not only did I bring my girls' white dresses, but Rob's sister brought her girls' white dresses. I couldn't resist.

The only thing prettier than a little girl in a white sundress is a whole passel of little girls in white sundresses.

So I followed them around (and occasionally told them where to stand) and took loads of pictures of them in all their purity and innocence. . .

. . .because when they look like this, you don't remember their arguing, or their love of dirt, or their occasional sassiness. . .

It's a sight that just makes you sigh and deceives you for a short while into believing that they are perfect little angels who are always clean and well behaved. . .

The sun glinting off the golden locks of this six pack helps to foster the illusion. . .

Never mind the myriad of possible ways white dresses and small children are incompatible. . .

Or that streams beds are not always flowing with pure, clean, sparkly water. . .

Forget about all that . . . look at the loveliness, the innocence. . .and when all that fails??

Remember the bleach!

All the Lovely Shades of White

I find myself having a growing love affair with the color white. It has been a reluctant fondness. I have never been shy about color. Indeed, I love red, and wear it often. I even have a red mixer and a red arm chair. But all the lovely shades of white are enveloping my life like a clean fresh breeze, blowing in off the ocean on a sunny day. White feels so clean and simple, fresh and uncluttered. The more white I have the more I love it.

It started with my dishes. A couple years ago I decided all white restaurant ware dishes were the way to go. They go with everything and they look nice stacked in the cupboard.

Then I decided to use all white sheets. Again, they match everything, you can bleach them, and they look fresh and clean.

After that it was a logical leap to go with white towels. All white linens, really. Evey time I change a color scheme it seems silly to have to buy new towels. Plus, a guest bath with big fluffy, white towels feels so spa inspired. I do like to impress my guests.

I even began to only get my toes done with a french manicure. The white looks so clean and, again, goes with everything.

When I think about it there are lots more examples of whites I love. Take my daughters' dresses for instance. I LOVE a cute white sundress. My four year old has four of them. . .

And the largest section in my color-coordinated closet is the white section (and yet I am even now waiting for two different white shirts to go on sale at Banana Republic so I can buy them). . .

And when I buy or cut fresh flowers for my house, nine times out of ten they are . . .you guessed it--WHITE!

My dog is even white--I guess if I must have a dog he should not clash with the decor!

So, when I moved into a house with a paint color palette that looked like this--(Plus a few colors!)

It was not a huge leap for me to gasp in horror and start painting every wall in sight. It was not my intent to paint all my walls white--the paint sample, against the white trim sample, seemed very UNwhite. See. . .

And living in the Northwest where the sun is a stranger for the better part (by better I decidedly don't mean BETTER, but rather biggest) of the year, it seemed smart to go light on the paint in a house that faced north and seemed dark--particularly with the dark colors I started with. So, I painted the entry white (the green had to go) and then continued down the hall, and around the family room, and into the guest room. It looked so pretty. . .

I had to keep going. And now, 90 % of my house is white--well, actually it's called whispering wind, and against the white trim it just looks fresh and clean and lovely--and not at all stark or unpainted or boring.

So now that I am working on my kitchen remodel, can you guess what color my kitchen is going? Yeah, it's going to be. . .lovely.

What color can you not get enough of?