Spring, my favorite time of the year, technically began on Wednesday, March 20, 2013 and ends on Tuesday, June 19, 2013 (I still have 29 days!). The weather in New Orleans is delightful – a little climatological respite before our hot, humid, Summer. When my perennials start to bloom I am always inspired and invigorated. It’s the time of year when I optimistically believe I will finish all the creative projects I have in mind: the garden, re-paint all the garden furniture (with Chalk Paint®, of course), refine my culinary skills with our seasonal bounty, hang the outdoor curtains on the veranda, do yoga in the garden and finish writing that book I haven’t yet started. So many ideas, so much i…
Welcome back! In last week’s post, I shared some bright, cheerful, energizing spice colors of Morocco. This week I’ve selected new photos that I found to be soft, quiet, reflective, peaceful, tranquil. Perhaps that’s the state of mind I brought home from two weeks of traveling in and around Marrakech. I want to show you how Chalk Paint® decorative paint colors can be discovered in nature. And in home decor. In northern Africa. On a spectacular traditional door. Do you see the Florence Chalk Paint® color just radiating with depth and texture? Here are two young brothers making the long, steep and winding trek up into the Atlas Mountains. Quietly they rode, all nestled tightly together. Holding …
In a previous post I hinted about a special trip. I’m back. From Marrakech, Morocco. Land of Berber tribes, exotic belly dancers, and jaw-dropping, award-winning interior design. My favorite palette of spicy and energizing color abounds in this gentle ancient land. For this post, while my brain attempts to leap back across the big pond, back to the real world, I’d like to share a few of my favorite memory snippets… …on our first day in Marrakech, a get-over-our-jet-lag visit to a traditional pharmacy yielded a plethora of lotions, potions, herbal remedies and beauty solutions. The visual feast for the eyes and soul was heavenly. And it woke us up after many flights from hither and yon. L…
Yes, I am confessing right now. You may know me, dear reader, or not. But yes, I am a bag lady. Leather bags, fabric bags, artsy bags, tote bags, computer bags, I love them all! How many do I possess? You’re kidding, right? Like I would divulge THAT. But, nevertheless, I will share with you what I have been up to (at my desk, at work, mind you). I have combined my passion for all things bag-like with my advanced-beginner sewing skills. Years ago, when I was fresh out of college, and a young illustrator, my boss asked me to sew – bags, of all things – when I got caught up. They were mostly simple, and made to hold our printed materials for teachers. I never knew… …that deja vu would…
I’m baaaaccckkk! You may remember on January 24, before the Giant Hacking of the Unfolded Blog, I posted about painting old hardcover books with Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan. Well. You would think I created SOMETHING NEW. Oh. I sort of did. Maybe not… there’s no new idea in the blogosphere. I’m just humoring myself. Anyway, readers loved the idea. They wanted more! Fortunately, after I finished the first set of books using Old English-looking stencils, I couldn’t stop myself. I wanted shelves full, just like I’m seeing all over the blogs and Pinterest. My obsession was not quelled after seeing these two spectacular photos on the Bright.Bazaar.com blog delivere…
I can’t remember when it happened. My love of reading. I was little. Maybe Dr. Seuss did it? Or Dick and Jane? Stopping at the library on the way home from school, I checked out so many books that I staggered all the way home. My parents came in my room at night and demanded that I stop reading and go to sleep. I did. For five minutes. Then I made a tent out of my covers and read by Dad’s treasured flashlight. Wonder if he ever figured out why his batteries wore out so fast, or, why I was so sleepy at breakfast? Nothing has changed. Just recently, I rescued a whole collection of the most beautifully aged encyclopedias from the 1870s. My dear friend, who will remain nameless (her initials are BS and …
Debbie Hayes and Barb Skivington, our Marketing Director and Director of Training and Customer Support, respectively, traveled to New Orleans in December (you know they just had to be here for our Christmas Party) and while in town conducted a training class for the owners of Discoveries , Scott and Cat McKearn, New Orleans’ newest Stockists. Deb shared these pics of a few of the mix of items selected by Cat and Scott during their travels to India, Indonesia, China and Morocco. Subsequently, I visited Scott in his New Orleans shop (Cat was not there that day, no doubt readying for the arrival of their second child – won’t be long now). I was curious as to what fuels their passion, which, by th…
Mom and Dad have been in Heaven for so many years. Dad, 22. Mom, 12. Picture my father, son of French Canadian immigrants, left-brained textile engineer and hearty jokester. And my mother, the lovely daughter of a Texas Ranger, a true proper belle who taught me all things crafty on dreary snowy days. They fell in love during WW2 when Dad was stationed in Texas, and settled down in Massachusetts near our very French-Canadian-Catholic grandparents. We lived a very cozy, sweet, traditional, middle-class life. Dad at work, Mom keeping the home fires burning. They were so different, yet so alike. They taught me, the eldest child and grandchild, that I could do anything in life. It would be up to me to make it…
When the Mistick Krewe of Comus first took to the streets on Fat Tuesday in 1857, members appeared in the glow of flambeaux, hand-held torches that lit up the New Orleans night. Flambeaux, from flambeau, means flame in old French, were a necessity at any of the nighttime Carnival parades in the days before electricity. Though originally a functional necessity, flambeaux carriers are as much a part of the revelry and entertainment as are all the other trademarks of Mardi Gras: floats, riders, costumes, throws, doubloons, beads, marching bands and the jubilant crowds with outstretched arms thrilled to be singled out by masked riders as they respond to their cries, “Throw me something Mister”! From …
I’ll be honest. I love texture. I love fabric. I will buy a gorgeous scarf in a heartbeat. But. We have very few window treatments in our home. Why? It’s a custom ranch, built in the boxy, small-room, 8-foot ceiling 1970s. And, well, we have four rescue kitties. They are well-behaved, loving creatures that would love to swing from some lovely long curtains. So somehow, all of the above is not conducive to fabulous drapes of luscious fabric, even though Steve has raised the ceiling eighteen inches. I’ve been pondering what to do with the large accent window in our living area. It floods the room with brilliant sunshine each morning and this is where our kitties get their daily kicks while their…
