Sunday, July 13, 2014

My Beautiful Loveseats and Lamps

I am still tweeking the living room accessories, working around my two new loveseats and lamps from an estate sale this weekend. The custom pieces are in perfect condition and the fabric is wool mohair. The chunky tapered front legs are reeded.

I bought the loveseats within the first 15 minutes of the sale and left a bid on the lamps. I won the pair of Ralph Lauren lamps on the second day and bought the two throw pillows when I picked them up. I loved the tall lamps but wasn't sure about the pleated blue silk shades but they are growing on me. Both rugs in this room have lots of blue so it really looks nice.

I have really never had any fine upholstered furniture and I'm over the moon with my good luck. I have been searching for replacements for the longest time and poof, here they are. I had to get two local guys to pick up and deliver. They did a great job and were very careful. I hope I end up being worthy of these fine furnishings with my dog and a cat. Webster is in shock and the cat hasn't seen them yet. 

I bought the wonder dog a Ralph Lauren dog bed at the sale and he loves it. He is like a displaced dog with no personal sofa at the moment, or ever again for that matter. I still haven't decided where to put the bed. He likes to have his back against a piece of furniture instead of being a floating island like this. We will work it out. I made him sleep in my room last night and that worked well. Wish me luck. 
Enjoy watching Endeavour on PBS tonight. I watched the pilot episode of George Gently this afternoon and now I understand the background of Episodes 2 and 3 that I've already seen. I absolutely love the series. I watched GG online with the link in my previous post and it was free and great. Be sure to watch it there. Enjoy your Sunday evening. xo

Proceed Gently


Here's an article about this new series that should be coming to your PBS station soon. Inspector George Gently, read here. So far, only 3 episodes have aired in the US. I'm not even sure I watched the first one. You can catch up on Hulu free. I hope you can find it in your area. xo

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Heirloom Tomato Tart

Doesn't this look delicious. I've looked everywhere trying to find the recipe with no luck. Recipe for this tomato cheesecake here -- thanks to gkmelton for finding it. Love the photo anyway. I am exhausted from moving furniture and burning up the road. I bought two beautiful loveseats at a house sale, a pair of lamps and a few other things. My living room looks amazing. Photos later. I will be watching inspector George Gently tonight on PBS. Hope you have something that good to watch too. xo

Friday, July 11, 2014

Abandoned Cabin

Abandoned cabin. Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia, Canada. via It's so sad when the last person in a family dies without anyone to leave their possessions. This looks like a delightful place, doesn't it? Once loved too.

An Ad for My Welch Air Flight Circulator Fan

Now I love mine even more.
Beautifully styled Welch Air-Flight Circulators solve the problem by making offices amazingly comfortable too. Watch office efficiency go up! • Welch Air-Flight Circulators draw in the cool air from the coolest part of the room — just above thefloor level — and circulate it to ... W. W. WELCH COMPANY Department O Cincinnati 2.

Webster approved. The weather is nice and cool this morning after an early evening storm yesterday. I've been moving my vintage round floor fan around from room to room to circulate the fresh air that's coming in the house through the screens. I finally got my attic windows washed inside and out yesterday and put in the last three screens. They were all taken out last September when my house was painted and I left them in the loft over the garage for the winter. I love open windows much better than air conditioning. Webster likes A/C better so he's very happy about having "his" fan again. Happy Friday.

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

200 Year Old Stylishly Restored Rectory in England

The 200-year-old house, built from Cotswold limestone, sits in a valley in Gloucestershire on a site that has been occupied since the 15th century. The garden has been re-planted by the current owners, who tackle a new project each year, adding two ponds and developing a rose garden, orchard and vegetable garden. The formal garden in front of the house looks out over a wooded valley, part of its seven-acre estate; the small summerhouse behind it was originally built for a footman. View the interior photos here. I wish I could see the footman's cottage too.
photo Simon Brown via The Telegraph

First Autumn Leaf of 2014

I'm always surprised when I see an autumn leaf in the middle of the summer. It is my understanding that real farmers start getting ready for fall right after July 4th so I suppose this leaf is right on time.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Repurposed Doors

Great George Street ~ Liverpool
It must be very confusing trying to get in this building. Which door is the real entrance? What a clever use for salvaged doors. via

A Real Picture Window

The perfect window for the perfect view. via

Mystery Fruit/Vegetable

I saw these in a big bin at an indoor Farm Market recently and wondered what they were. Any ideas?

Monday, July 7, 2014

A Dog and His Fan

Webster always goes to the attic in the early morning hours so he can look out the eyebrow windows. I found this vintage ottoman fan under my antique rope bed that I had completely forgotten about. Its lowest speed is hurricane force and Webster loves it. I usually find him at the top of the stairs in this position. Now he's a cool dog. I'm headed to the bedroom to watch some TV. See you tomorrow. xo

Charming Bathroom

The floor to ceiling window really makes this room! via

A sense of place.

Do you have a sense of place or are you still searching? via Don't give up your current place until you are sure you won't be sorry.

Saturday, July 5, 2014

I can't stop watching this.

See what I mean? Silly parakeet! xo via

Moving Furniture Again

Every time I move a piece of furniture to a new location, I end up spending at least one whole day moving accessories around. This hunt board was downstairs in my mother's sitting room. I moved it into a recessed area in my kitchen and I love it there. My slant front desk used to be in this location and if you remember, I moved that to the living room after having the lid repaired. The same restorers took this piece with them when they delivered the desk. They evened out the color from some water damage and gave it a good French polish. They did such a good job and I'm thrilled. I now have all of my miniatures on ivory displayed together for the first time. I think I need a few more, don't you? The weather is cool and breezy, a rare treat for July. No A/C and all the windows are open so I'm a happy camper and so is Webster. Have a great weekend. xo

Friday, July 4, 2014

Happy July 4th 2014

I took this photo in my kitchen with my iPhone last year to celebrate Independence Day. Here it is again because I still love it and think it's so appropriate. I have eaten three large bags of sweet red cherries in the past couple of weeks and each and every one was delicious. I like them cold and right off the stem rather than cooked, even in a pie. They are my favorite fruit and the season is short so I eat as many as I can! The beaded flag pin is a rummage sale find. We had horrific rain, thunder and lightening last night thanks to Albert but it didn't last very long and I didn't lose power. It's much cooler this morning and still pretty gloomy but it should clear up nicely for evening fireworks. Enjoy the long holiday weekend and I'll do the same. xo

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Weedless Garden

This really appeals to me since I have more weeds than I can possibly pull up. Have a great July 4th weekend. via xo

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

The Audience

This is so cute. I think someone in the kitchen must be preparing their respective meals. Loading the dishwasher couldn't be this fascinating. found on The Meta Picture

I see faces.

I walk by this old cut branch on my black walnut tree every day and yesterday I noticed this face for the first time.

I cooked a baked potato for my lunch a couple of days but didn't have the heart to pick this one that seemed to be winking at me.
Both of these faces have the same crooked smile. Isn't that amazing? I opened my bedroom windows last night and enjoyed a great night's sleep. It wasn't too hot, as I thought it might be. So far, the summer nights have been comfortable enough to turn off the air conditioning. I have a handy man coming this morning to help me with some inside repairs downstairs. Wish me luck! xo

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Sweet Dreams

It's never too early to start thinking about jumping in bed. I have a PBS evening to look forward to with no commercials. Yay! Victoria just asked if anyone was watching the Miss Fisher Mysteries. I've been recording the series but I have yet to watch the first episode. I usually start Tuesday nights with Father Brown. Sleep tight when you tuck in. xo via