Winter Hours

What can a New England girl do to while away the evening hours this long winter?
 
Sit in this white living room...

or this comfy white bedroom chair...

knitting and reading...

while dreaming of these branches...

blossoming into this...

The branches shown above were taken from a rare azalea bush in our yard.  I captured their blossoms in photos last spring. 

Right now I'm reflecting on and looking forward to spring awakenings, while freshening up our space...

 Hope to see you at White Wednesday in the meantime. 

Valentine Romance

My husband is grateful that I limited the Valentine decor to the dining room, and that the pink isn't OTT (over the top).  Just touches here and there...until I saw these gorgeous pink hydrangea stems at the grocery store!  I got them over a week ago but, sorry to report, they have since passed on.  At least I captured their glory in these photos taken last week on a rare sunny day.



Here is an expanded view of the buffet it sits on.  The mahogany finish represents a compromise between my husband and I.  He's not a huge fan of painted furniture, and I don't care much for wood finishes other than mahogany.  But we both loved the lines of this contemporary piece, as well as the silver details, when we got it 5 years ago.

   

Since I like to re-decorate seasonally (ok - sometimes more often), there were 2 screws in the wall above the buffet from previous artwork.  I've relocated the gorgeous vintage white mirror to this spot (and love it here), but am left with these 2 eyesores.  For the time being, I decided to hang a Valentine themed banner.  Decor inspired by ... procrastination!

Hope you all enjoy your Valentine's Day with loved ones!

Linking to:

Valentine Vintage Inspiration Friday

Show and Tell Friday

Feathered Nest Friday

Pink Saturday

NEW! - My Shabby Streamside Studio's Valentine video link!



White, Lavender and Knighthood

Hello fellow white lovers!  Thought I'd share a few random photos of white around our home this week as I link to Kathleen's White Wednesday.  I recently bought some lavender buds from Ebay for filling sachets, and decided to also purchase a bunch of lavender stems.  They perk the house up while we're waiting for spring. 

The article in the recent Somerset Life by Alice Wingerden inspired me to make some cone sachets with  fabric scraps on hand.

A recent order from PetiteMichelleLouise provided the lovely ribbons on the sachet.

This peaceful spot in our living room is a cozy place to sit, with it's proximity to the fireplace and pillow cover made from an old winter sweater:

Here's a favorite end table, found at an antique mall 12 years ago and perfectly shabby chic ever since.  I only had to add glass knobs to enhance its' charm.  Housing my collection of catalogs and magazines (and various misplaced toys) makes it functional, too. 

Our son loves anything to do with Knights.  He pores over books instructing one how to become a Knight, and loves to practice 'Defending the Faith'!  I thought these tags (also from PetiteMichelleLouise) would be perfect for him.  He's already signed the back of one with his gallant name.  Another tag is hung from this white tureen, reminding us of that noble era:

More Valentine tags...the lovely Marie Antoinette tag on the left was made by Rosemary of Ozma of Odds, included in a purchase of one of her gorgeous paper ex-voto lockets. 

I made the other two simple tags for Valentine's day:

Let's toast to romance, heraldry and nobility!  (and lavender!)