Opera Night: Creating At Home Traditions
During the holiday season or anytime, you may enjoy creating some traditions for enjoyable evenings at home. For us, having dinner together is always enjoyable. What would it be alter the setting and have dinner in front of the fireplace while listening to an opera?
A Closer Look at Shoes
Here in the Texas Hill Country the shoes most often on my feet are Keen lightweight ankle boots for hiking. Their extreme comfort and ruggedness stand up to the 40 step trek to the second tier of our land and beyond, over ledges and loose rocks and ripples. Still, there are moments when it’s time to don something with another type of flair. In this post we’ll take a closer look at shoes; so much more than covers for the feet.
The Joy of Toile
Though we may associate toile with French decoration, this storied fabric was quite popular in colonial American interiors and has experienced a resurgence in both interior design and fashion.
Creating A Garden Within a Garden – Part II
My last post introduced the idea of a walled garden or in Latin, hortus conclusus. Creating a walled garden or any garden in the limestone beds of the Texas Hill Country requires a steadfast effort, an iron will, and a love and respect for nature.
Considering A Garden Within a Garden – Part I
It is written that the word paradise comes from the Persian word pairideaza which means surrounded by walls. To be in a walled garden, possibly within a larger, wilder garden, is to be in a paradise of sorts. A walled garden or hortus conclusus is a place of contemplation, separate from the world outside the walls.
What I Am Wearing
The minimalist fashion movement calls for consumers to focus on clothes fitting their personal style, paring down to the essentials, and creating a capsule wardrobe.
Further Thoughts on Walls: Hangings Connected by a Theme
A recent visitor to our home said to me, “I really like your walls…” At the time we were looking at a wall of antique bird prints in our bedroom. Thinking about this in relation to my recent post ‘The Gallery Wall: Memoir in Frames’ gave me the idea to write about rooms where the hangings are connected by a theme.
Vintage Shopping According to Plan
Antichi Sapori means ‘antique flavors’ or ‘antique tastes’ What a fitting way to begin this reflection on shopping for vintage and antique pieces.
The Gallery Wall: Memoir in Frames
An engaging and informative article in Veranda magazine titled ‘Are Gallery Walls Still in Style? Here’s What Designers Say’ (Rebecca R. Norris, August 10, 2023) inspires me to a fuller consideration of such. One of the designers quoted in the article notes, “A well-considered gallery wall can read like a book and…narrate a story.” There are innumerable ways to style a wall or walls in our rooms and so, this will be one of several posts on the topic. This post will consider the ways a gallery wall can be a visual memoir representative of a life story.
Pressing Flora
Sometimes, when you share something of interest to you with family and friends, they express a desire to try it out themselves. This has certainly been the case with my passion for pressing flora. This past spring when the wildflowers were in bloom on our land we extended an invitation to join us for collecting […]