hey!
you may have noticed that i took down my etsy mini from the sidebar. 

I created a basic etsy shop back in late winter and listed a handful of items.  I love etsy.  I just do not have the time right now to list stuff the way one needs to to be  found among the tons and tons of talented people on there! If I am going to sell on etsy, I wanna do it right, and I wanna do it well. (by my own standards , I mean) And now is just not the time for that.  So I unlisted the items I had in the shop.I still plan to do it someday, just not right now. I'd rather wear the jewelry myself (or give it to friends) and keep the paintings for my own house!

There, I said it!   I feel  much better now!

I am going to put some more love into this here website. I will  be working on a new banner (never did get used to this one i have up now) , adding links, and some new 'whenever i feel like it' features.
Some people do a weekly review, or  what-have-you, but I am just not the weekly type.  So it will be 'whenever i feel like it' inspiring interiors, 'whenever i feel like it' gardening tips, 'whenever i feel like it'  evolution of a painting.

I also plan to add categories and archives so it will be simpler to find your way  if you felt like rummaging around.

I am still getting used to this blogging business. I am feeling a bit more comfortable with each post. I do really like it, and I think I will love it once I let my hair down a bit more - so to speak. In truth,my hair is not nearly long enough to be let down, but that is a different topic entirely.

 Look at this gorgeous enamel bucket full of flowers! And you know how I love enamel!

I gathered all the blooms and foliage in the bucket, having every intention of making a bunch of little bouquets in little vases, but they just looked so perfect in that old beat up enamel bucket. I had to just bring the whole thing inside.  Our kitchen sink is in a corner so there is a space behind it where the walls meet- that's where I like to put bouquets because I see them all the time. Unfortunately, that is also where Thor likes to go to beat the sh*t out of my flowers.

At our old house, we had a couple of huge rhubarb plants and I would give my friend Cindy (of strawberry salad fame)  bunches of rhubarb that she would bake  into strawberry-rhubarb pie.  She'd call me up, "There's pie!"
We joke that she shines a pie-shaped silhouette into the night sky, a l a the bat signal, letting me know that there is pie waiting at her house.  

I still get the pie treatment but I haven't been the rhubarb supplier for a couple of years. I am working on it though! I planted a  baby rhubarb this spring - hopefully it will will produce a good crop next year.  Then we'll be back on track with the supply of rhubarb (and demand for pie.)

I love that Cindy knows that I will eat a minimum of 2 slices of pie during my visit.  I love that Cindy gives me Earl Grey tea with milk and sugar. 

 I love Cindy's style. One of Cindy's many talents is that  she has a great eye for decorating interiors.  Here is the tile mural behind her stovetop . She painted that scene in oils on blank tiles! See how amazing she is!?

 mmmm, and the pie! As Cindy says, "ker-YUM!"

and here is one of her cool collections- vintage ceramic heads! 

 Next time I go over there  I will take more pics of her home and collections  to inspire me and you!

Cindy isn't just a great cook and talented decorator, she is also an awesome friend who cracks me up and likes to parle francais mauvais avec moi.

Now I am off to call Cindy and see if there is pie in my future.  

Would you look at that? Those strawberries are from my garden! After I took this shot, I sat on the counter ( legs swinging) and talked  on the phone with my Best Friend  and ate half of them.  Yum.

That enamel colander came from a thrift store- it has little strawberries printed on the inside surface. I have a thing for enamel colanders. Enamel in general, I suppose!  How many more times can I say enamel in this paragraph? Enamel, enamel , enamel! Now it doesn't even look like a real word to me.

The linen hand towel has bees all over it and says " Busy As A Bee". Yard sale, of course! You may know already that I have a thing for bees.  The name Melissa  means  'honeybee'.  It's from A Greek story about a nymph named Melissa who taught man about  honey.  I feel like I already wrote about that- but I went back and looked and I couldn't find it. Forgive me if I am repeating myself already.

While we are on the topic of  Strawberries in Yummyland, let me tell you about this awesome salad my friend Cindy made for me about a month ago. I have been telling everyone.  Have a look-see:

Mesclun greens, tomato, strawberries and avocado! You won't believe how yummy. Tossed with an orange champagne vinaigrette.  Tangy and original.

Cindy rules. I'll tell you more about Cindy next time.  She is a great cook ,  a dear friend. 

Go make a salad!! 

 Ok, I truly do hope that you  are enjoying  my little show and tell. 

Look at this cute little handbroom! I have a few more of  these. I really need to gather them all and display them together.

 Another cage thing! Two in one day, isn't that weird? I love this one. It rests on a footed stand. That grass is looking a bit unruly! That is like the one patch of healthy looking lawn that we have. 

 Some books and a cigar box.

 Hmmm. Ok that is almost all of it. I told you it was a rockin' day!

Ok, due to some technical difficulty, I need to break up these posts- hopefully by the time you see them they will all make sense and not have huge gaps - let me know if it looks weird (big spaces of blank screen), would ya?

Now, how about these lovely little potholders!

 
Decorative cage:

 
Hammered brass chain:

ok, more in the next post!
Oh, God. I hope I am not totally boring you.

ok. here I go, here I go , here I go again!
girls, what's my weakness?

FABRIC!  

 So I got some awesome fabric at one sale yesterday. Look at that cute vintage print with the houses! And next to it is some vintage denim!

I love the white viney parts on this one:

and a sweet little stack of gingham:

Hey!

Wow, I have been absent for some time now.  Busy little bee. 

The title of my post is a phrase from A Midsummer Night's Dream, which I saw last night at The Cotuit Center for the Arts.  That phrase just stuck with me - isn't it neat?  I have been going to so many events lately!  I 'll have to remember to post about them.

Thanks to everyone who has wished me well on my Promising News! It got even more promising after that entry- so I will be working on that and reporting back when I have Definite Good News. Then we can all celebrate with creme brulee and key lime pie.  How's that sound?

 I had an awesome day of yard sale-ing yesterday with my honey. I was so psyched that I documented most of it to share with you!

 Look at those darling little appliques!! 50 cents each!  and that old school chalkboard? Just a buck! I suggested to my honey that we put the chalkboard up in the kitchen so we can write love notes and grocery lists on it.  He said we  can also put a list of chores for the pets to do- Zeus: dishes, Thor: laundry, Mercury: vacuum.  We're not sure what we'll have Riley do.

Have I introduced all of the pets?  I don't think I have. Well, here is Zeus at least. He is The King of the Dogs. Here he is helping me in my quest to document my scores yesterday. 

I was trying to figure out how I wanted to photograph this... uh... this gear? I'm calling it a gear. I have no idea what it is but I love it. So I am walking around with my  gear in one hand, camera in the other, just walking around the yard  and here comes Zeus and I just grab this shot.  Love that red and pink ( red and pink!!) sweet william with the lady's mantle. And Zeus, stopping to smell the flowers.

A couple of days ago, I decided that I want to get sandalwood mala beads . I have been using  a  mantra/chant lately and thought it would be good for me to get into a real practice of it.  I love how sandlawood- I mean the actual wood itself- smells so good when it  is warmed in the hands. Yum! 

So I am at this estate sale yesterday and I spy this wooden bead necklace- I immediately bring it to my nose to smell it, and yes!!! Sandlawood!  It's not a mala, but pretty close! The mantra I have been using is for abundance and prosperity- and here is something I want just appearing for me! I love that!  ..... (there i go being excessive with my exclamation marks, please indulge me.)....... In the car afterward, I kept rubbing the beads to bring out the scent. I  lift them to my true love's nose and tell him to smell. He doesn't smell them! He  must have a broken sniffer, because they totally smell! I keep rubbing them. Literally at least three more times I make him sniff the beads, "Sorry, honey, I just don't smell anything!"

Hmmph.  Zeus, above- he  smells them. Good boy!

More scores from yesterday to come- just want to make sure I don't lose this post. That really pisses me off.  Save and close!