So Much Fun to Be Home... A List of Wonderful Things

So Much Fun To Be Home...
A List of Wonderful Things

Some years back, on a relatively ordinary afternoon, I received a phone call from a friend wondering if The Songwriter and I would like front row seats to a Rolling Stones concert that very night.  Calling down the hallway to him, The Songwriter yelled “Yes!” before I even completed the query.  Knowing they were famous for not taking the stage until around midnight, I asked The Songwriter if he’d mind if I brought a book to read during the opening acts.  I won’t tell you his reply; I’ll only say I went book-less to the show.  And even with the lateness of the hour, coupled with no satisfactory reading material, I had an absolute whale of a time.

I have sat on both the second and fourth rows of Bruce Springsteen concerts, events that always provide ample amounts of the sort of fun a person reasonably expects to be absent in adulthood.  Though my aversion to being flipped upside down forbade my participation in a ride on the Rock and Roll Roller Coaster at Disneyworld, I did manage to endure falling 150 feet once, and only once, on the elevator contraption in the aptly named Tower of Terror. 

 I say all this to make it clear that I know how to have fun like normal people.  However, as I drove home one afternoon last week in delighted anticipation of the night I had planned, it occurred to me, not for the first time, that there are many definitions of fun.  For as much as I enjoyed all the above mentioned experiences, had someone offered me enviable tickets this particular night I would have flatly turned them down, as I found my plans for the evening much too good to relinquish. 

My house was sparkling clean and full of flowers.  A big bouquet of orange roses filled the Woodland vase in the sitting room, while pink and salmon lace-edged tulips overflowed the cut glass bowl by the bedroom rocking chair.  There were Casablanca lilies in the blue Art Nouveau vase by the fireplace, their fragrance mingling deliciously with the faint traces of woodsmoke from last night’s fire.  I was in the middle of The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt’s latest Dickensian treat, as well as coming into the final stitches of a lace work shawl I'd been knitting and couldn’t wait to block and wear.  The weather outside, though only so recently glacial, was now in a full flirtation with Spring, enough so that I could open the windows and let cleansing breezes drift through the rooms, at least till the sun set.  No invitation could I possibly accept tonight.  Home was the only place I wanted to be, and I spent several long, blissful days enjoying its pleasures and having fun.

This happy hibernation gave me time

 to put together a list of my latest finds for you sweet readers as well.

  Hope you enjoy them all.

*****

 1. More Antique Pillows

In conversation with a client last week, I implored her

 to add some antique touches to her sparkling new rooms. 

 An inherited side table, an old painting. 

 A weathered plant stand in the corner, its patina slightly faded. 

 A stack of old books.

  Antiques give new rooms weight and wisdom.  They are items with experience; they have lived a little.  And just as these are the type of people one wants round one’s dinner party table, these are also sort of items that make a room interesting and inviting.

One of my favourite ways to add some warmth to a room is with antique textiles. 

 An old velvet sash used as a curtain tieback. 

 A faded French quilt at the end of the bed. 

 Or one of these fabulous pillows. 

It’s been rather amazing how quickly these disappear from my etsy shoppe every time I happened to find some more.  The ones I have now are perfect examples of what every room needs.  A bit Bloomsbury, made from antique carpets with utterly scrumptious colours, they add a cozy touch to a room.  I don’t have many in the shop, but each one is a treasure.

And as you can see above..... I kept one for my own bed. 

Find them HERE.
Monday morning update:  Only four left!

****

2. Yarn Bowl

 When The Songwriter and I go out to dinner we have, on several occasions, returned home to a scene as irritating as it is hilarious.  We get a hint something is amiss when we open the front door and spy the tell-tale trail of yarn.  Edward is greeting us as usual, tail spinning and head bobbing.  But Apple is hanging back a little, not exactly meeting our gaze, as though thinking deeply on something infinitely more important that our arrival.  I follow the trail of yarn to find a scene worthy of a dark comedy: yarn wrapping round chair legs, over sofa arms, and in several incidences, down hallways. Once, obviously in a fit of uncontrolled, exuberant mischief, she wound herself round a rocking chair, as tightly as a criminal in a straight-jacket, and had to wait there until we returned, no doubt enduring the disapproving gaze of the slightly older, and infinitely wiser, Edward.  Though she has also chewed up knitting needles and decimated patterns, it seems to be balls of freshly wound wool that attract her attention most completely.  

Therefore, how thrilled was I to open this present at Christmas!  As dear William Morris famously said, “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful”, and this yarn bowl meets that criteria handsomely.  Handmade, gorgeous in colour and form, it has little holes to put the yarn through so the ball doesn’t bounce out of the bowl as well as, hallelujah, a lid!

Though Apple seems a bit bored when we return in the evenings these days,
 I am absolutely in love with this yarn bowl!

Find it HERE. 

****

   3.  Sherlock

Three episodes?

Only three episodes??

Why, oh why, can’t this be on every single night?

****

4.  Bloomsbury at Burberry

With designs taken straight off the walls of Charleston Farmhouse, 

Burberry has entered the Bloomsbury world with an oh so tempting flourish.

Oh, my soul.

These bags.

I want every single one.

Find the entire collection HERE.

****

5.  Porter

Net-A-Porter has just launched a lovely new magazine.

Have you seen it?

The photos of Uma Thurman are so charming.

Find the magazine HERE.

****

6.  A Chaise Lounge for Edward!

With this hint of Spring in the air, I naturally think about being outside a bit more.

Like me, Edward likes the shade much more than the sun,

so I think he’d adore this!

Find it HERE.

****

7.  Fanciful Chairs

And while we’re thinking of the outdoors...

How much fun are these?

Imagine a huge manicured garden, 

all formal green hedges and grass, no flowers.

Then imagine these chairs, in every colour, dotted hither and yon, 

as though put in place by a wizard on the ides of March.

Love them.

Find them HERE.

****

8.  Shop Dogs

Lucky me to belong to a book club in Nashville.  I try to attend each quarterly meeting,
 not just because I enjoy our all-classics reading list and delightful conversations, 
but because a trip to Nashville means I can spend an hour or so in Parnassus Books.

They have a sublime selections of books, it’s true.  

And the staff are always helpful and ready to tempt you

 with books you’ve never even heard of before. 

 But it’s the shop dogs that really make any visit irresistible.

Parnassus Books has a wonderful website now, 

with blogs from owner/author, Ann Patchett, staff recommendations
 and best of all, Shop Dog Diaries.  

You must visit and meet Sparky, shown above, as well as Gracie and Bear. 

And you’ll be hard pressed to find a more sincere and responsible shop dog than Opie, 
who has the distinction of penning the latest diary entry.

You will adore them.

Find the Parnassus Shop Dog Diaries HERE.

****

9.  Chicken in Milk

I found this recipe of Jamie Oliver’s last week and tried it for Sunday lunch.

With lemons, garlic, fresh sage and cinnamon, 

it is guaranteed to make your house smell so, so amazing.

And it is so, so delicious.

Find the recipe HERE.

****

 10.  The Grand Budapest Hotel

Simply cannot wait to see this movie.

See the trailer HERE.

See you soon with a new Winter Reading post!
xo

Painting above by Ellen Dora Nicholson

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