My grandmother had a three-tiered ornamental fruit plate on the bar beside her dining table. The lifelike (but very much plastic) fruits it contained always fascinated me as a child. I would hold the fake grapes in my hand and squeeze them, almost expecting them to burst and the juices to drip onto my arms. ... (more)
Matching floor and table lamps
Posted on August 2, 2008 · 2 Comments
When we moved in, the only lights in the living room were seven halogen bulbs in brass fixtures on the ceiling. We rarely turned them on because the power consumption gave us nightmares. We entertained a lot of ideas about how to do the living room lighting using more practical CFLs but the brass fixtures ... (more)
A birthday gift for a 16-year-old girl
Posted on July 30, 2008 · 31 Comments
Sam is turning 16 on August 20 but we gave her the birthday gift of her choice last Sunday. His name is Twix (after the breakfast cereal chocolate bar, according to Sam) and he’s a pomspitz — a crossbreed of a pomeranian and a Japanese spitz. And, yes, we keep him as far away as ... (more)
From a family room to an office/study
Posted on July 27, 2008 · 1 Comment
What used to be the family/TV room is now an office/study. Above, how the original family/TV room looked. There was a built in TV cabinet/stand (left side of the photo) and the walls were in pale blue and white. I had the cabinet removed and the colors changed. Pale blue might look good for a ... (more)
How does your garden grow?
Posted on July 26, 2008 · 17 Comments
The house came with a beautifully landscaped garden. There are plants on the entryway and on both sides of the front door, in the lanai and in the main garden. We’re keeping most of the plants that came with the house but we’ll have to move some to accommodate the herbs that we pulled out ... (more)
Aromatherapy at home
Posted on July 24, 2008 · 1 Comment
We used to have two bags of potpourri hanging in our bedroom. That was after our former house helper accidentally broke the ceramic oil burner that we had been using for years. We like oil burners. When we acquired the habit of burning a mixture of aromatic oil and water with tea candles we weren’t ... (more)
Living room furniture
Posted on July 21, 2008 · 10 Comments
Several weeks ago I posted photos of catalog pages from which our living room and dining room furniture would be patterned. Well, the furniture was finally delivered last night. Above, the catalog page that inspired the design. Below, the furniture in our living room. What aren’t visible are the side tables. I would have preferred ... (more)
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