Almost...de Gournay!

My spring cleaning always  seems to have a way of morphing into much bigger things other then just wiping things down with a little  baking soda and vinegar.  You can see what I mean by reading last year's list, "Not Too Late for Some Spring Cleaning".  And I still don't have all that stuff done yet!

I'm sure this year is no different than all the years past but my visions for extending my spring cleaning all started last week.  I started off on a beautiful spring day by reading GBGP's daily blog on de Gournay and Gracie wallpaper--wallpaper that I have only wanted for years now!  I wrote  "One Fine Day - de Gournay!" five years ago, and I'm still not there just yet! Anyway, while reading the  GBGP post it got my juices flowing again.

De-Gournay and Gracie wallpapers are expensive, and I could never afford to do a whole room, or even one wall for that matter!  As the saying goes, "the more things change the more they stay the same".  Case in point - my tiny closet!  The perfect place for wallpaper that I can't afford, plus I've always wanted it there to begin with--my little oasis, if you will!  With spring almost here, I have the huge task of taking out all my winter clothes anyway!  Now there's my opportunity to add wallpaper...Don't you think?

So here's a small backup plan that won't break the bank, and won't take long at all.  Scented drawer liners from Crabtree and Evelyn, which may have to suffice for my closet until that "One Fine Day", and  to give me a little  floral boost that I'm craving now!  Plus it's scented!

Crazy Week!

 

 

 

Monday - Beautiful weather here in the South.  Spent a little time browsing my new favorite store, Terrain, and found loads of stuff I want!  Later that day spotted this Barbour jacket--thought about ordering, though still on austerity. Plus, probably won't need it!

 

Tuesday -  Had lunch with my good friend Ann.  Discussed her upcoming trip to London and Paris.  Forgot to mention to her about this site for some cool travel essentials...love the maps!

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday - So much for spring - back to Arctic temperatures!  Glad I did not go crazy at the nursery Sunday.  Wished I would have ordered the jacket in green, of course!  Read this article (hairdresser needs more chic magazine)  while trying to decompress having hair done...felt better!

 

Thursday - This morning felt like the "Michelin Man" while out walking Ellie. Dash out of the house to retake picture for passport renewal. What to wear? Still cold!  Perhaps will order jacket tonight!  Later while at Trader Joe's, saw a woman wearing cute rain jacket. Then  Lemon - Ricotta Cupcakes, found in Food and Wine popped in my mind.  Must add them to my Lemon repertoire from last week.

 

 

 

 

 

 Friday - Not there yet...fingers crossed!

I Always Set The Table!

I know some of you probably think that I'm pretty bossy with Hubby's cooking but he's from New Orleans and actually enjoys it.  Even his dad does most of the cooking at his house, just something about those New Orleanian men.  Ask my mother-in-law how many meals she's fixed over the course of the years.   But for someone who has had a  "Martha Stewart Doesn't Live Here" plaque hanging  right outside her front door for the last ten years, she always sets the table!  I just purchased The Set Table last week and in the introduction, the author reminds us that we don't need fancy china and stemware to have a well-set table and I couldn't agree more! 

Natural Light...Gotta Have It!

The other day while working on a project, I complied a list of things that I love, and like to incorporate in my life.  One thing that made the list was natural light.  Every place that we have ever  lived I choose based on a  lot  of natural light!  Forget the closet space, which I always seem to do!  Now my current kitchen still needs some work in the lighting process,  but this kitchen above came to my mind!  If ever given a choice between a lot of natural light  like above and a  Viking stove - do you know what I would pick?  I don't cook that much to justify one anyway!

Notes from the garden!

 

 

 

Well, it's finally that time of the year!  The daffodils are popping up, even spotted a few cherry blossom,with the dogwoods next and the azalea around the corner. As you can imagine,  it was beautiful here in Atlanta this past weekend.  For me, I spent the weekend doing my early March chores...clean up and pruning.  I did hit the garden nursery to pick up some lawn bags and thought about picking up a few more Helleborus  to go with my solo.  But figured that it was best to wait to really take note of everything that I needed.   I really love gardening but I'm by no means an expert!  One particular person, I won't mention names, even calls me the "Death Master".  But that's OK because  I'm getting some good advice and will share here very soon...I'm so excited!

Lemons...on my mind!

Since January I've had nothing but lemon dessert recipes on my mind.  Perhaps it's that beautiful lemony color, I don't know.  But first there was the February issues of House & Home...here I found this delicious looking lemon tart that you see above. The food editor, Eric Vellend said that he puts "extra yolks in the curd to boost the color".  Something else that was a little different about this particular lemon tart that I have never seen, he used cornmeal as well.  He even added a guilt free version which I did indeed take note of.

Then last week, I found these Skinny Lemon Bars from my new favorite go-to food site, The Skinny Fork.  I just love that name--so cute!   Here's one more lemon dessert for you, this Saturday while browsing through the April issue of Country Living I came upon this Meyer-Lemon Tart with Gingersnap Crust...sold!  I'm a pretty easy sale when it comes to gingersnaps.  Over the holidays I had Hubby whipping up all kinds of  cheesecakes with a gingersnap crust.  But if you happen to be watching your weight like I should be doing, then you can always do a big bowl of lemons and call it a day!  Happy weekend!

What Inspires You?

 

I met my buddy Cruella the other day at an antiques store, just one of our usual meeting spots. Since I was running a little late, she had already scoured the store.  When I caught up with her she handed me an Imari plate that she knew I would love!  Hmmm...another plate that neither of us needs like a hole in the head. But for twenty-something dollars, neither one of us could resist it.  It's an old one too, so naturally I grabbed it!   

I guess my point here today, with the weather unpredictable here a lot lately, if I were asked what inspires me durning the cold winter season, my answer would be, hands down, all the many porcelains that I've picked up here and there with my buddy Cruella (see here).  Fresh flowers are sometime hard to get to when your snowed in!

Guess what?  I'm going to get my buddy Cruella  (see here) to share a few tips on porcelains.  More to come...later! 

 Your turn...what inspires you?