Souvenirs

When I travel, I don't buy souvenirs like t-shirts or plastic key chains readily available in most tourist traps.  I try to find something a little different.

This switch plate, for example, was from our honeymoon in Puerto Rico ...

Its a little imperfect and doesn't hang straight but its in our kitchen and every so often, I'll look at it and remember walking on the blue cobblestone streets of Old San Juan and finding this in a little shop the same day we had a fantastic meal in a restaurant with an open air courtyard.  What a beautiful place. 

The botanical prints on my living room wall ...

Souvenir note cards from my trip to Monticello a few years ago when pre-kids we traveled in a roundabout way to West Virginia to whitewater raft a treacherous river.

My most recent acquisition is this little teapot set.

We stopped at a little store on our trip to Vermont and while the typical tourist kitsch was in abundance, there were several of these little tea pots there.  I have always wanted one of these so I decided to buy one.  There was a beautiful one that I loved which had delicate flowers on it, but I ended up choosing this one instead.  Why?

Even though we were in Vermont, the state bird of Virginia (where we live) is the Cardinal.  The more I looked at it, the more it grew on me.  I thought of Virginia and how I've had such a life here.  Virginia has given me a great career, the love of my life, a house I've grown to appreciate (even if it isn't my dream home) and both of my girls were born here.  When people ask where I'm from, my first reaction is to answer New York which is where I grew up and will always be where my roots are but Virginia has a special place in my heart no matter where I end up.  Such deep thoughts for someone on vacation ... but I thought of all this as I perused the tea pots in front of me and of how often I see those Cardinals in my yard. 

Sold.

Interestingly enough when I got it home and unpacked it I realized that, like the switch plate, it's slightly imperfect and the teapot does not nest perfectly on the cup.  Just like so many others out there, I try to find value in items that people would consider flawed.  It adds character, right?  It seems the little teapot was destined to be mine.

Tea in the Garden

I wasn't sure I'd have the time to do this but my little ones are sick and napping today so I had a few minutes to have some tea in my garden.  No hot tea here since its so beautiful and so warm.  This tea is iced.  Who says a beautiful teacup has to be for hot tea?

It only took a few minutes and it was so nice to be in the dappled shade.  This teacup is my favorite and was a thrifty aquisition as were the vase, pitcher and even the tray before its reincarnation.  The larger roses that are more apricot are Abraham Darby and the smaller pink roses are Geoff Hamilton.  Both are David Austin English Roses from my garden.

I really did sit here and look around at my garden thinking and planning on what to do next.  I can't help myself. 

Just to show you where some of the roses came from, my Abraham Darby is in the background and a peony in the foreground ...

Oh, and speaking of tea, I'm going to see my mother in Delaware this weekend for Mother's Day and we're going to a Victorian tea for the third time together.  The past 2 times I've forgotten my camera and I am determined to remember this time so I hope to have some pictures of that to share.

Cielo at The House in the Roses is having a Tea Party!

I've also linked to Tablescape Thursday on Between Naps on the Porch.

Lavender Fields

The other day, I was going through my bookmarks and when I clicked on one link, I fell in love! Blue, green and white are my favorite colors and the furniture at Lavender Fields is all the perfect shades.



I asked Mr. T how he would feel about me painting our armoir and side tables these shades. Neither of us love the pine armoir so he agreed to that, but I still have to work on him with the end tables! ;-)


And this dining set ....


I have a similar white dining set ...


... but I love the blue chairs. This area of my kitchen is so blah. Maybe the painted chairs would give it some life. Its been at least a week since I spray painted something. My chairs may be the next victims. And, an empire chandelier! Exactly what I dream of finding. Maybe someday ...

I bookmarked the site a while ago because the store is in the area near where I grew up and I figured maybe I'd stop by there if I was ever in the area again. Now, its a MUST for a visit!

A couple of finds ...

Today on my way home from work, I made a stop at Michaels. They already have all their fall stuff out so all the spring/summer things were on sale. While I was there though, I came across a roll of burlap. Who knew the stuff came in rolls? Well, I had made a second larger shell wreath to accompany the first I'd made and thought it looked plain so this is what became of the burlap once I got it home.

Back to the sale though ... I had looked at a bunch of pitchers they had a few times over the past few months but always passed them up. I found this one for $6. Once I was at the check-out, I noticed a scuff mark on it so I told the woman that I didn't want it. She offered a further discount! I took another look at the scuff mark and thought I could remove it so I got it for $4. Sure enough, the mark came off. I got some flowers (poorly arranged because they were falling apart after I got them!) to fill it with on my trip to pick up dinner.

Tomorrow, I'll share a few little things I picked up in Delaware last weekend.

Starfish ...

I picked up a couple of these starfish in a little "tourist trap" type place in DE over the weekend that has has all sorts of beachy things.

Welcome Summer!

It was so hard to come home yesterday. It is such a different life in the country. There was an owl out at night (never heard one - VERY Loud!). In the morning it was so quiet, and the grass there just smells so sweet. After getting the starfish, mom took me to a little beach town, Lewes, and I fell in love with it. All the little shops, the beautiful old homes and of course, the beach nearby. Here's a picture of one of the streets with shops around Christmas.

When I got home, I told Mr. T that I would love to go back to work (we can telecommute) just so that I could live there. My girls would see their grandparents more often and I think they could live such a happy life there. We could go on a date for a change too. Mr. T hates working at home and he has trouble parting with the home we've put so much work into (no such problem here - new place to work on!) so my dream was dashed. Maybe if I take him there, he will fall in love too?

Thinking of Babies ...

Being a mom of 2 little ones, I can't avoid baby things. Over the weekend, one of Mr. T's friends called to tell him that they're expecting their third. For a minute, I thought back to my own newborn babies and how sweet and little their angelic faces were. Then, I remember the post-partum hormones, the 60 lb. weight gains (and work to lose all that weight) and then we have a night like last night when my precious Happy girl woke up screaming with a terrible diaper rash (she's fine now) and I think, no, we're done (and tired!), but how incredibly exciting for them!

So yesterday, I got a Serena and Lily catalog in the mail. They have incredible nursery bedding and other baby items. They even sell their beautiful paint colors (low voc).

Isn't this a sweet little girl nursery?


How about this for a very pampered little girl.


Beautiful, but many can also be used for adult bedrooms too. I really like this one ... Those blue and green colors are my favorite colors. They always remind me of my wedding (used blue/green) and tropical honeymoon.


I love the white quilt on this bed ...


This grey is pretty too ...


Its fun to dream, but back to reality.

Today our peach/pink 60s tub in our bathroom will be reglazed white! To recap, new marble floor installed, peach toilet replaced, and peach wall-mount sink replaced with white pedestal sink. All that is left after today is paint. There is white wainscotting that will stay white but the walls above are tan now and I want to paint them grey (kinda like my blog wallpaper actually) to bring out the grey in the marble and I'd like to get some lavender towels. I wonder if I can be done by this weekend. Nevertheless, we're almost done!

Wax Seals

While packing up my giveaway (over tomorrow!), I pulled out my wax seals. I love my wax seals. I have one that was given to me as a gift that I've used for years and another that I got a few years later. Both are initials.



Seals have been traced back to 930 AD. It served as a stamp of indisputiable authenticity , just as a signature is accepted in the world today. Seal were used by kings and governments long ago. New laws and proclamations required the authorative stamp of a seal.
(Letters sealed with sealing wax in a painting by Cornelis Norbertus Gysbrechts (1665) - Wikipedia)


Long ago, bethrothals were prearranged - therefore true words of love were secretly written and the envelope's contents secured by a seal, so that the recipient could be assured that their passion would be unknown to others. A broken seal implied broken trust and no person of integrity would tamper with a wax emblem.


Recipes vary, but there is a major shift after European trade with the Indies opened. In the Middle Ages sealing wax was typically made of beeswax and "Venice turpentine", a greenish-yellow resinous extract of the European Larch tree. The earliest such wax was uncoloured, somewhat later the wax was coloured red with vermilion. From the 16th century it instead was compounded from a mixture of various proportions of shellac, turpentine, resin, chalk or plaster, and colouring matter (often still vermilion, or else red lead), but not necessarily beeswax. The proportion of chalk varied; coarser grades are used to seal wine bottles and preserves, finer grades for documents. In some situations, such as large seals on public documents, beeswax was actually used. On occasion, sealing wax has historically been perfumed by ambergris, musk and other scents.

By 1866 many colors were available: gold (using mica), blue (using smalt or verditer), black (using lamp black), white (using lead white), yellow (using trupeth mineral), green (using verdigris) and so on. Some users such as the British Crown assigned different colours to different types of documents. Today a range of synthetic colours is available.

Sealing wax is available in the form of sticks, sometimes with a wick, or as granules. The stick is melted at one end (but not ignited or blackened), or the granules heated in a spoon, normally using a flame, and then placed where required, usually on the flap of an envelope. While the wax is still soft, the seal (being preferably at the same temperature as the wax, for the best impression) should be quickly pressed into it and released.



Modern day has brought sealing wax to a new level of use and application. Since the advent of a postal system, the use of sealing wax has become more for ceremony than security. Modern times have required new styles of wax to be created, allowing for mailing of the seal without damage or removal. These new waxes are flexible for mailing and are referred to as glue gun sealing wax, faux sealing wax, and flexible sealing wax.


There are traditional sealing wax candles still produced in France and Scotland, using similar formulas as those in the days of hand-carried correspondence. (Source - Wikipedia)

I learned the hard way that you can only mail wax seals specifically made for that purpose. The seals crack and leaves pretty sharp pieces behind. I reserve its use for cards on special occasions - such as the giveaway!

(Oh, and as you might have noticed, I changed my background. I was ready for a change!)

~*~*~ Sweet 100 Giveaway !! ~*~*~

Sweet 100 happens to be my favorite tomato plant. No tomatoes today though. This is my 100th post! I didn't start blogging that long ago and 100 posts seemed like it would be a long way off and yet here it is! I've enjoyed having the daily journal and I've loved finding everyone out there with similar interests in beautiful things. I'm honored to have followers and comments. I read every comment and appreciate them!

On to the good stuff ... I come across so many things when I'm out and about. On my last trip to DE I found this dish with roses and couldn't pass it up because its so pretty. I thought it would be perfect for a guest room to hold jewelry, or a guest bath for soaps. Unfortunately, space is limited for me. My loss is your gain because this pretty dish will be for some lucky soul out there.



Now as you might be able to see, the dish isn't perfect. There seems to be some sort of rust stain or something to the right of the roses. I tried everything I could to remove it with no luck. It wouldn't bother me. Imperfection gives things character, right? But, I figured I'd point it out.



And here's a bonus little bud vase that I'll send with the dish.


The colors of each aren't a perfect match, but they have the same little roses so I felt like they belonged together.

Now, how do you enter? Easy. Just leave a comment! If you want a second entry, post the giveaway on your blog and post a second comment. The contest will be open until 12PM (EST) on Friday, May 1st.

Good Luck!

Books and Flowers (part deux)

My lilies are blooming!


So recently, I read a book (Pillars of the Earth - VERY good) and like always, I've lost all the bookmarks I have so I used a piece of paper. Over the hundreds of pages, I folded the paper over and over.


I thought, this is sad. I really should have a proper bookmark. I never got around to buying one. I remembered I had some unused ribbon from my wedding 5 years ago and with yet another broken (now repaired) brooch, I made myself a bookmark.


Now I need just need another book. I understand that there is a Pillars sequel. What I really need is to find the time!

Delicious Table Settings!

I was looking around for nice place settings for Easter. However, I forgot that we will not be having Easter dinner at home. We are celebrating on Saturday at my parents house. Then, I thought that maybe for the Wild One's birthday coming up. Nah, much too formal for a 3-year-old. I still had fun looking. Maybe some other time.

Love the white with little the touches of blue. I thought I could do the reverse (blue tablecloth) and use my white lace-edged dishes.


... like this! From Martha Stewart.

Love these from Country Living ...
Great idea for egg cups!





From Flickr -
Love the blue and white here ...

This one looks like paper plates. Perfect for a kid party (or party where you don't want to wash dishes!).


This one is bright! Makes me want to go on vacation ...

Springy!



I love this one. How could I not? Milk glass! I have that vase and I've been stalking those candlesticks online. I like that none of it matches, but it all works.


I like the tussie mussie of flowers. Seems a nice touch and a little parting gift for guests.


One favorite I found but didn't post(kinda small picture and copyrighted) had a silver charger (my mom and I have sets of red and silver chargers we share) with clear dishes. I've seen inexpensive clear dish sets at Kmart and always thought they were so versatile. I think that would look amazing with a blue tablecloth and some vintage silver I found a few weeks ago.

Anyway, I could look at these all day, but I will end here.

Fabulous Friday - London and Paris in Sepia

Its Fabulous Friday at Simply Seleta!

I took these pictures in Paris and London a few years ago when Mr. T and I went for our first anniversary. I'm not the greatest photographer, but I picked these out of hundreds I took and converted them to sepia on Shutterfly. Not bad considering I took them with a cheap point-and-click. I had completely forgotten about them. I have two spaces in my living room where I need to hang something, but I couldn't figure out what to put there. I think I just figured it out. Now I just need to pick ...

(Sorry if some are a little cut off. You can click on them for a better view.)

I think I took this one from the top of the Arc de Triumph. I love how you can see the neighborhood below. The city is so beautiful. Just the local streets are such a treat to walk on.


From the base of the Eiffel Tower. My batteries actually died once inside (!) but it ended up being fine because I think there are better views elsewhere.



These were all taken at Notre Dame. Most people take pictures of the whole building, but look at how beautiful it is up close.




London ...


This one was from the top of the London Eye.

The Tower of London ... This was my favorite place in London.




I'm VERY afraid of heights. The flight alone was a test for me. I couldn't sleep because I'd fall asleep and immediately dream of the plane crashing and jar awake. The jet lag hit me hard. Then there were the elevators at the Eiffel tower and the London Eye. Needless to say, I was very glad to have my feet back on firm ground once home but I'm so glad I got these pictures.