The Fabric of Our Lives!

Sometimes you just can't believe what genes can do - My sister and I live 800 miles apart and have never had the pleasure of helping each other decorate their homes. So imagine my surprise when I visited her last week, and found that she and I had purchased the same fabric.. There are thousands and thousands of fabrics - so what are the chances that we would choose the same one?! While my sister had a roman shade and a wonderful bed covered in it, I had an ottoman and drapes made out of the same fabric. This incredible velvet is rich burnt rust, burgundy, and caramel. It is my all time most favorite fabric - I'll take those drapes with me when I die. I wonder if I can make a coat out of it? Or how about a tablecloth for the harvest time of year?

Leopard Cows!

Our favorite way to add drama to a space is to use a animal print. We especially love stenciled cow rugs as a floor covering . We have even used these rugs as a table cloth. Many versions of zebra, giraffe, leopard, and cow prints are available in almost any color. We even have a hot pink and black zebra print - great for a teenage girls room. When you need a larger rug, layer a couple of rugs together. Cow rugs work great as upholstery. Old gilded sofas and chairs look very chic upholstered in these rugs.

Bee Hive Buzz

My girlfriend Lynda, from Atlanta, and I are helping our friend, Mariterese, from Austin, plan a wedding for her son, Patrick, in Boston. To make things more complicated , I live in Chicago. So thank goodness for the Internet and cell phones. He is getting married at the Bee Hive in Boston in a couple of weeks.

We have embraced the Bee Hive theme for the decor in this unconventional wedding setting. Here's a little tease of our decor. We found these wonderful tags on ETSY from Bluebird Lane and added the names for the gift bags. Check out her stuff on ETSY - Wonderful graphics. We discovered these two old bee skeps - Check out the cute little one on the wooden base. The other one is huge - 27 inches high. We'll use these on the seating assignment table. The honey comb frames still smell like honey - not sure how we will use them yet!

Guests in the hotel will get embellished jars of honey, beautiful soaps and lip balms from Tokyomilk, and some of Mariterese's famous cookies. We will put them all together in burlap tote bags and tie with a gift tag. Better stay tuned for more to come on this fun wedding.

Inspiration in French Home Decor Magazines

Craving the romantic feeling of French interiors, I often buy French Interior design magazines, even though I can hardly understand a word in them. I just love the pictures, and have often been able to go online and find some of the sources listed in their pages. In a recent issue of Campagne De'coration, I found these lovely pictures of inspirational rooms. The beautiful table

setting - which I'm sure is for an ordinary meal - make me want to try to duplicate it.. The stone wall, iron windows and crisp white linens contrast so much with each other - I really -really- really --- want to sit at that table. And I love the simple green leaves in the vase with the lady figurines.

The French really understand the concept of living beautifully everyday! I scanned these pictures into my computer, so the quality is not nearly as beautiful as the Magazine. But you get the feeling that I'm talking about!

Jewelry for my Stove

I love my stove so much that I decided to give it some "jewelry".

Rather than keeping ugly bottles on the stove, I put oils and spices in old antique vessels. I keep my olive oil in a pewter and glass decanter. A beautiful old silver one, that my girls from the store gave me for Christmas, houses tangerine olive oil. Alder Smoked Sea Salt is kept handy in an old sherbet dessert glass, along with a nut shaped spoon with a twig handle. Sea Salt is in a cut glass sugar jar, and I keep my Sweet and Low hidden in the beautiful old silver container, probably once used for real sugar. My friend Marlene, just gave me a new one to add to my collection. Fine old silver threads are intricately woven around a glass bottle. I'll have to find some tasty new olive oil to fill it!

Daily life with these little charming vessels, takes the chore out of cooking everyday meals.

Memorial Day Parties

It's finally hot weather in Chicago - time for grilling! To celebrate Memorial Day this weekend,

We pulled together a festive table - very bright and cheerful. We used Bali umbrellas, crystal bangles as napkin rings. and many types of votives. Can't you just imagine margaritas and chips and salsa at this party table?

New Windows for our Store

We have decided to change our store windows today. Lighten them up for Summer! We just received these fabulous gilded vintage chairs in muslin. Candy, our stylist, layered lot's of baby's breath, printed burlap pillows, and two new silver and glass sconces. Above a glass cabinet,she displays more of our favorites - brown transferware, a burlap toy horse, leather books, and old tarnished silver. I love this look - romantic, clean, and elegant for today's lifestyles.