Does It Get Any Better Than This?

the belt

the bracelet

stripes

Image from This-Is-Glamorous Tumblr.

Stripes

piping in a different stripe

Image from tinekhome.

Red Pants

just need the scarf for this look

have the pants and heels, but would I wear them together?

Wishbone Chairs

Image from French by Design.

Reflections from the Saints

"The devil will try to upset you by accusing you of being unworthy of the blessings that you have received. Simply remain cheerful and do your best to ignore the devil's nagging. If need be even laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Satan, the epitome of sin itself, accuses you of unworthiness! When the devil reminds you of your past, remind him of his future!"

– St. Teresa of Avila

Where Were You Ten Years Ago?

Below is part of the meditation from Presentation Ministry from Friday, May 27th.

"To know God is possible only by His grace. However, you can do several practical things to help you receive that grace.

If you pray with others who also know Jesus because they are His friends, you will be able to learn from these other members of the body of Christ and come to know Him even better.

If you go to Confession at least monthly, you will remove the sin which hinders communication with the Lord.

If you read the Bible daily and especially if you hear it read at daily Mass, you will get to know the Lord well.

If you simplify your life, you will remove a surprising number of distractions from your relationship with the Lord. As a guideline, try to cut back your possessions so that you have less stuff than you had ten years ago.

A great Friend is waiting. Get to know Him better and He will be your delight."

So this has gotten me thinking do I have less than 10 years ago? First, where was I ten years ago which would be 2001. At that point we were working is an office at Executive Park. My father and Art's Mother were still alive. (Our parents died within two and a half months of each other in the beginning of 2002.) My parents were living in Louisiana. Art had not had by-pass surgery and I had not had heart problems. We had a cat and now we have two dogs. We were still doing 18th century living history. We were not Catholic.

We had begun to start simplifying our lives. Stuff was not satisfying us.

We became Catholic in 2004. Our lives revolve around the Lord now. We still have stuff, but not as much now. It doesn't mean as much and it can be a distraction. I wonder sometimes if doing this blog is a distraction. Life is a journey and I will continue to rid myself along the way of things that are not important and of value.

Brown Paper

I could be organized with these

or would I just have more stuff?

Top image from This-Is-Glamorous Tumblr, second image from French by Design.

The Thread from This Week's Post

This image is of Mona Nerenberg in her store Bloom which was showcased on Wednesday. Mona is the roommate of Lisa Bynon who was featured on Tuesday and is the landscape designer of the weekend home of Victoria Hagan. Mona sells Society Limonta linens in her shop. Mona sells "antiques and contemporary home and garden accessories that share a common thread. ''I gravitate toward products made by artisans,'' Nerenberg says. ''I don't like things that look manufactured.'' Her palette? Cream, natural, white and gray, with touches of pale blue."


Copy and photo from The New York Times where you can find tips of entertaining from Mona.

Medicine Bags Revisited

We went and saw these medicine bags from New Guinea last weekend. They are unusual as best, but quite amazing. The two on the far left were our favorites. The small one looked as if the bones had blacken from being over a fire, maybe they were in the fire.

A Soft Rain on the Oak Leaf Hydrangea

Society Limonta

Images from the Society Limonta catalog.

Bloom in Sag Harbor

Images from Remodelista.

Garden Dining Room of Lisa Bynon

I don't like fussy. I like everything to look very clean, very simple. White china in a plain design that doesn't compete with the food. Handblown glassware. Classic, almost utilitarian silver. I don't hide the oak table with a cloth. The napkins are white or natural coarse linen that I leave unpressed because I like how the weave catches the light. The palette is like any of my gardens — white, green, gray. Bright colors, I find jarring. I'll allow some pinks, yellows, or blues, but they must be pale. That goes for flowers I use on the table as well — en masse and all one color.

I wanted to make it beautiful, deer or not. In fact, even though I attached wire to the cedar diamonds, fawns did sometimes jump through. So I ended up putting standard mesh deer fencing around the perimeter of the property. Which lets me leave these gates partway open to tempt people in. You can't really see this from the house, and it's almost a five-minute walk across a stone terrace, the lawn, and a circular fern garden. I love the sense of surprise. Guests can't believe they're sitting down to dinner or breakfast in a vegetable garden.


Copy and photos from House Beautiful.

The Weekend Home of Victoria Hagan

Victoria Hagan has long been a favorite designer of mine so I was delighted when researching the landscape designer, Lisa Bynon, I came across her work for Victoria.

space between paintings and objects on the wall

the scale of the wall hangings

white

black

metal

small items above the window wonderfully spaced

time to take the bed hangings off our bed for the summer

landscape design by Lisa Bynon

Designed by Victoria Hagan

Photographed by Don Freeman

Published by Country Living

Images from Flickr. Go and read all the copy that goes with the story.

Reflections from the Saints

"Reading the holy Scriptures confers two benefits. It trains the mind to understand them; it turns man's attention from the follies of the world and leads him to the love of God."

– St. Isidore

Rust, My Favorite Color

Objects can be purchased at Slanton Design.

Magnolia Parts

USS Cairo

The City class Ironclads were American Civil War-era ironclad warships, designed by Samuel M. Pook and built by James B. Eads in 1861-1862 for the United States Navy. The City class Ironclads supported the Union Army in campaigns in the western theater of operations, operating on bodies of water in the Mississippi River system. Seven wooden hulled, armored gunboats were built in Carondelet, Missouri and Mound City, Illinois including the USS Cairo (1861) The USS Cairo was sunk by a naval mine on the Yazoo River in 1862 after participating in engagements that, incidentally, furthered the success of an unheralded Ulysses S. Grant (Eads used this connection ten years later when Grant was in the White House to overcome political obstacles to a bridge he was building). Over the years the gunboat was forgotten and a shroud of silt and sand slowly covered her resting site. Interest in finding the vessel began in 1956 and when armored port covers were found three years later more interest grew in saving the wreck. The USS Cairo was raised in 1964 (sawn into three parts), and went through various restoration efforts until1977 when the vessel was finally located at the Vicksburg National Military Park, fully restored, and protected by a roof.

Images and copy from John Taylor Ships.

Happy Anniversary, Baby!

love is wonderful !

New Guinea Medicine Bags

Images from A. Tyner Antiques on 1st dibs.