When to Start Your Garden Seeds in Your Planting Zone

I found the most amazing link for all of my gardening followers who start their plants from seeds. WHEN TO START SEEDS CALCULATOR

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HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING

I didn't hear any crowing when I woke up early this morning but a rooster must have welcomed the first day of spring somewhere. I photographed this image from my 19th century Royal Book of Crests.

I started doing a little bit of spring cleaning yesterday doing the inside windows in my kitchen and two in the living room. It's still too chilly to start on the outsides. Enjoy this promise of finer days to come. xo

Mario Buatta ~ THE PRINCE OF CHINTZ

I lived in Far Hills for almost 3 years when I first moved to New Jersey in 1973. Sister Parish and Mario Buatta were designers' names I heard over and over when shopping for home furnishings and antiques. I enjoyed this video preview of his own collections offered by Sotheby's 2020 Auction in NYC after his death. via

Buatta’s Manhattan apartment, AD, 1997. 

Photo: Scott Frances

Read his obituary and loving tribute from Architectural Digest here.

Painted Curved Stairs

Don't you love these painted stairs? The hall wardrobe, in the same green paint, is lovely against the white beadboard walls and unstained, natural wood floors. Image from Tumblr.

Chintz Fabric on Furniture

Would you rather have timeless Chintz on your furniture or floral wallpaper? via  The room pictured is Yves Saint Laurent's final home.

Gorgeous Wetlands with Water Fowl

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Someone got up early to snap this gorgeous photo and I love it. 

HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY!

One of my favorite posts.

Colorful Flowers Blooming Gif

I love this animated gif 

found here.

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John Derian: Easter Decoupage

I have always loved all of John Derian's decoupage.

His line for Easter is fabulous!

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Purple Martin Bottle Gourd Bird House

Purple Martin 

From Illustrations of 

The Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio, 1886

Illustrated by Howard Jones

I have a bunch of these bottle gourds I grew one year and they were so much fun. I need to make bird houses from them his year.

Hand holding Christina Rossetti's poem "Echo" by FATIMA RONQUILLO

FATIMA RONQUILLO

8×6 inches, oil on panel

private collection 

Hand wearing a lover's eye ring

Holding a Poem

ECHO ~ by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

Red-Bellied Woodpecker at My Feeder

Red-bellied Woodpecker at my feeder.

He's my favorite visitor and he comes often.

Winter is back but most of the snow has melted,

except for my Snow Mountain out front.

Have a great weekend! 🥰

Bold Wallpaper in Powder Room

I found this photo on the MLS and I think it is a great example of a trend to use bold wallpaper in small spaces like a powder room.

Rachel Grant's Paintings

In 2021 I want to find a small hoard of books that feel like Rachel Grant’s paintings. Try putting that into a book search. I hope she found them!

Beautiful Woodcut with Three Birds

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Lisbet Schulz, German Printmaker, Circa 1940s.

Hand-painted woodblock print.

Click photo to enlarge.

It's so beautiful!

Blue and White Rabbit Mug

Your coffee, tea, or hot chocolate would probably taste better in this mug, right? via

Hearts on A Cat's Ears

HERE'S YOUR SMILE FOR THE DAY

Don't you love this cat's markings?

Another Kitchen to Love

It's lovely, isn't it? It must be wonderful in the summer when both doors are opened wide for outdoor dining on the patio. photo source

Passenger Pidgeon (Extinct Bird) with Red Oak Leaves and Acorns

Pigeon of Passage (Palumbus Migratorius) from The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands (1754) by Mark Catesby (1683-1749). Original from The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University. I have read so many accounts of this bird that was so plentiful at one time that they blackened the sky when migrations flew over. They were game birds and over hunting led to their extinction.

Image source: Digitally enhanced by rawpixel. 

Martha, the last Passenger Pigeon, passed away on September 1, 1914, in the Cincinnati Zoo. She was believed to be the last living individual of her species after two male companions had died in the same zoo in 1910. Her remains are on exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution. Read more by searching Google for "Martha, the last Passenger Pigeon".

Broccoli Cornbread

I need to go grocery shopping so badly but keep putting it off until there is nothing to eat so I made broccoli cornbread for lunch today, the easy way. I steamed some frozen broccoli florets, chopped them after they defrosted, and added them to the batter of Martha White self-rising Corn Meal Mix. It was delicious as you can see from my photo. I sometimes do this with a can of drained whole kernel corn and that's good too. You can also use creamed corn. I've never tried green peas but I'm sure those would be delicious too.

I got my first Moderna Vaccine yesterday and haven't had any side effects at all. Even the shot was painless at the CVS pharmacy. Gail, northern California has already checked in on me as you will see on the comments of my last post. Dose #2 is in 3 weeks on April 1st. I am so relieved to be half way there. xo

UPDATE: A lot of you tell me you learn things from me so here goes. I met a lady yesterday who said her GPS took her to the wrong CVS. She said she had driven to the correct one several days prior and thought her GPS was just taking her a different way. I told her she should have driven the way she knew and her GPS would have corrected itself and she said she never knew that. I often tell WAZE how I want to go. I put in a driving request if I already know most of the route except the part at the end. I start driving the way that is familiar to me paying no attention to the voice instructions except at the end. Every time I contradict WAZE it corrects itself and lets me do what I want. This also teaches my phone a new route. I will do anything to avoid major highways and am teaching my GPS all the back roads. I hope this tip helps someone.

Elegant Entrance Vestibule

It's Small But Mighty! 

Gorgeous too. 

I love everything and the sliding doors are genius. 

Even the ceiling is wallpapered. Love it.

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