sneak peak - hand painted butterfly nature drawing

ok - its been a while since ive done a sneak peak as i think it should be reserved for really special items - dont you? so heres one- a nature plate, like the ones we all covet really old lithographs of, only this is the OG (that original) thing - large, hand painted water color and truly truly elegant - ranging in tone from bright blue and yellow butterflies to deep creamy browns and rust ones - normally, i have to be honest, i am not so into the butterfly motif, but this is stunning- an amazing addition to any decor, the visible artists hand, the lovely old paper, the black indian ink boarder - stunning!



look for it thursday in my shop

lighting by serge mouille

remember the perfect little farmhouse in chapsal france? and do you remember the amazing light fixture that i fell in love with? check here for a second look -
well my dear friend was good enough to get me the name of the designer of that lamp - serge mouille. a lighting designer from france who began designing light fixtures around 1950 - he his mantra - he wanted something simple, sleek and elegant in the face of the ornate italian designs he saw being imported to france! bravo!! because these fixtures are just that - strong, and chic with out over powering but without fading into the background either - the only down side, ill start saving now - this is definitely a fantasy items for me!



im loving the slight curve of this pendant light! three of these over a kitchen island - ahhhhhh perfection. and below i included a photo of one of mouille's lamps in a home, albeit a perfect home, but as a scrolled through so many of the decor photos had this lamp paired with super modern designs - but i love letting it slip in among more relaxed and casual decor, just like the chapsal farmhouse - it looks so good!

p.s. thats also a hans wegner shell chair in the background - hummm wegner and mouille a match made in heaven?

outings: the rustic roost

you know that feeling when you cruise by the front of a store and you just know its going to be good? well - that feeling was right and this place is more than good - its wonderful, i could live in this splendid shop - the rustic roost, in petaluma california -

if i had a house, or even a bigger apartment - i would buy these gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous chandeliers!!! English Roman the lovely proprietor of the rustic roost told me that these came out of a hotel in new york circa the earlier part of last century - image the number of well dressed guests these hung above - to die for!!!

there is something for everyone in this shop - ms. ramon certainly has a well honed eye - everything flows so well together, her displays are inspiring and yet there is not just one idea going on in here - which is what will keep me coming back!

this oval wrapped lamp totally caught my eye too! its a tinted glass underneath all of that great textured wrapping - beach cottage, english colonial, farm house rustic, it would look great in so many places!


there is an outdoor section of the rustic roost which surrounds the little shop the way an english country garden does its cottage - and the garden would be the focus of this outdoor space - wonderful furniture, architectural elements and much more - the more being the stores other residents - chickens!! not only is this store worth the trip up to petaluma, about an hour and a half north of san francisco, but the whole town looks adorable - it reminds me of my new england roots with that splash of california abandon - its a fantasy town, a tiny little front porched huge gardened houses kinda town - im packing the car as we speak for another weekend up there -

simple sundays

utility and beauty all on one card: recipe cards

item from dingbatpress

i have been asked by a few people recently for a recipe - and ended up crudely scratching it a piece of notebook paper - i think i can do better! so i went and browsed through some etsy sellers and was pleasantly surprised to find so many cute cards! now all i have to do is choose!! all of these great cards were found on etsy.

item from jessicagm

recently a few of my friends have been getting married and as shower gifts people have been compiling a recipe from each of the invitees - i love this idea, its so personal and the bride and groom get a year of love via the kitchen from their friends!! but again i need something cute to send in the recipe on!

item from springolive

the cards below are great because you buy the pdf file and then you can make an unlimited amount - great if you always want to have some cute recipe cards around!!

item from upup

item from pinkbathtub

i love this little note card - it would be so cute as a thankyou note! an then you could include one of your favorite recipes on it too!

item from nattymichelle

make a wish: hans wegner wishbone chairs

so i first spotted this sleek piece of furniture in the sept.09 issue of food&wine magazine - just a tiny corner, a hint, a glimpse of the sophisticated wishbone chair. seems a few people around here already know about it since it was designed by the renowned danish furniture designer hans wegner - but if you are already enlightened try for a moment to return to that state of euphoria you felt when you first made this stunning discovery - aaahh see now you know how i am feeling - and i thought since it is such a stunning piece that you wouln't mind spending a little bit of your thursday morning with it - what a truly stunning piece this really is - it very well may be my first adult purchase, seriously im that head over heals for it!
its almost hard to believe that these chairs were designed around 60 years ago!! having grown up on the east coast they remind me of a much much much cooler hitchcock chair - do you see the similarity that i see??
what i like about the hitchcock chair is its clean lines, woven seat and dark frame - and its also what attracts me most to the wishbone chairs - they have that farmhouse feel only a super super chic farmhouse feel- simple, clean lined with an air of aristocracy but also a humbleness to them in that woven seat - again a modern take on a classic - and a way to bring freshness into the farmhouse - to lighten up that traditional rustic heaviness a bit and give it some elegance with out being fussy or overly complicated the above and below images capture this attraction nicely.

as seen on the citysage - for more images of these chairs look here

as found on kitka design toronto

here i love the way the white table and natural color of the chair give this a cottage feel - again the versitlity or chamelion like quality of these chairs to go from rustic farm house to formal town house with ease and above all sophistication is astounding - a new love to obsess over - ive already begun scouring craigslist in any city i have a friend and eby - let the games begin!