Halloween Cats Escaping Ink Bottle

This is a very clever drawing. Black cats and kittens are in high demand with Halloween approaching. via

Dining Room Turned Library

My brother and I always did homework at the dining room table. We used it for board games too and my mother and I used our big table for cutting out the clothes we sewed. It was our "family room". This photo shows the evolution of a dining room that became a library. via

New House Tour on Cape Cod

The wooden box beside the side door is an outside shower enclosure and I love it. This is the wing of a new Cape Cod home and it is lovely. You can see many more photos here including the interior. I would prefer to live in the charming cottage style carriage house/garage. 

Vintage Kitchen Items to Love

Who remembers the endless kitchen towel? This is so much better than a roll of paper towels for wiping your hands. Is it coming back? Let's hope so. I love this table beside the stove instead of a kitchen counter with a marble or granite top. It matches the windowsill too. I love all the vintage things on it; cutting boards, wooden spoons, ball jars with zinc tops and an old porcelain bread box.

Above: To be filed under why didn’t we think of that: beechwood plate rack modeled after hymnal racks in churches. They can also be used for displaying books and other objects. They look amazing mounted in long rows. Both images and resources found here.

My New Haircut

I got a haircut today and I am very pleased. I have been letting my layers grow out. This is a blunt cut with the ends beveled so they turn under naturally. A friend recommended the stylist at Supercuts in Morristown and I will definitely go back. She gave me the precision cut I have longed for but nobody else could pull it off. You know I have to be pleased to pose for a selfie. xo

UPDATE: I just found this adorable post about a little girl and how she feels about her first haircut. Watch. I promise you will love it.

Tricia Foley Style

Tricia Foley's romantic Long Island, New York property, consisting of an 18th century farmhouse and several outbuildings, serves as her personal laboratory, and reflects a style influenced by the simple tenets of Shaker design.

photo by William Abranowicz

Photos in this blog post found here. The article has more photos too.

photo by Marili Forastieri

Foley is best known for her timeless classical style, characterized by clean lines, natural materials, and vintage furnishings, from flea market finds to fine antiques, and a serene palette of cream, ivory, and white.

Burberry Burns Unsold Merchandise

The Burberry store in Mayfair on April 26, 2018 in London, England. Photo: Jack Taylor (Getty Images)

I have been watching/listening almost exclusively to BBC World News America lately and today I learned something shocking about Burberry, a brand I have long admired. "The British luxury retailer Burberry has taken protecting their brand to new extremes, reportedly burning over $33 million in unsold merchandise rather than sell it at discount or donate it." Read more here.
I hate to shop and I am not a fashionista but if I were, this brand would be off my list forever as it takes planned obsolesce to new heights. I am completely stunned, how about you?

1917 Illustration from a Children's Book

Sweetest illustration by Janet Laura Scott 

Verse by John G. Bowman

The book, Happy All Through The Day, was published in 1917. I love the way the girls' room is decorated. I have always loved to study interior design in children's books.

There is a hole through almost every page in the book. It was presented to a boy named George for Christmas in 1924 by his mother. George must have gotten a compass too. He practiced drawing circles on the back cover and the sharp pointed thing made a hole like the one above. I was able to clone it out in the first photo using iPhoto on my Mac.