Curiosities

Antique bird cages are so cool! They add that cool bohemian charm to whatever room they're in. I've decided I'd really like to have one, although i'm not sure what exactly I'd do with it. I could leave it empty or maybe put plants in it. Some are so ornate, others are more simple, but I love these two at the bottom, painted teal. 

Speaking of Mary Poppins

While I was looking around the web for some info on Mary Poppins, I ran into this great website that forges weathervanes. Here is great one featuring Miss Poppins herself. check it out for lots of unique weathervanes! Black Forge Art.

Mastering the Art of Julia

I know I'm about a year too late, but did you guys see that wonderful movie, Julie and Julia? I'm re-watching it. I forgot how wonderful this movie is. Its one of those you can pop in at any time and enjoy over and over again. Based on the book by Julie Powell, this movie really brought Julia Child back onto the front burner. She was such a wonderfully exciting woman. I find it so extraordinarily inspiring that she didn't even begin culinary school until she was 36. There is so much pressure for those of us in our 20s to know just what we want to do with our lives as soon as we graduate college, and just look at Julia. She found her calling a little later, and it happened perfectly for her. Mastering the Art of French Cooking is in the top 10 Best Selling cookbooks of all time. Julia brought this art to the women of the United States, and we could never thank her enough. If you haven't seen this great movie, watch it! It will inspire even those whose cooking level is only making toast or a box of Shells and Cheese, to poach an egg or even attempt Beef Bourguignon.

Comforts

Everyone has their own rituals for comfort. Things they go to when having a bad day, or if its just one of those lovely rainy/snowy days that we are fortunate to have once a while. You know the ones, you can hole up in your home, watch movies, eat, work on projects. Here are some things I go to when I'm in search of comfort. A perfect day of comfort for me would include Macaroni and Cheese, watching Anne of Green Gables, sipping a warm cup of tea during the day, maybe having a delicious glass of wine at night. I'd slip into my most comfortable clothes, hoodies, yoga pants, my Minnetonka Moccasins, I'd knit, enjoy some I Love Lucy episodes, listen to John Lennon's solo albums. 

Vintage, Used, and Fabulous

Antique malls, flea markets, and second hand shops have the greatest finds. If you have any sort of taste for vintage style, these places will become your best friends. Find a great antique mall and it'll be your go to place if you want to find some inexpensive accessories and knickknacks for your home, if you need a place to spend a rainy or snowy day, or if you just want to go wander around for some inspiration or alone time. Good Juju is an amazing market full of great finds from all eras. Unfortunately, it's only open the first weekend of the month, Friday 9am-9pm, Saturday 9am-5pm, and Sunday 12pm-4pm. It is such a fun place but, since its only open for a short time, there is often a crowd so get there early! Located in the West Bottoms at 1412 W. 12th street, get there this weekend for some great finds! Vintage Market is located in Zona Rosa and is open seven days a week. Its a little more girly but also has great prices and amazing finds. Jewelry, clothing, furniture, pictures, tons of great stuff and girly fun! Parkville Antique Mall is a hidden treasure, located in English Landing Center, right by the park, you can spend a whole day in this place. Really great deals and tons of booths, if you haven't been there check it out. I found some great stuff to furnish my new apartment! River Market Antique Mall is another place you could get lost in. Four floors of stuff to rummage around in, you will be thoroughly worn out after a trip here. Shopping second hand is great. The stuff you find is higher quality than anything made today, you won't end up with the same stuff that all your friends have because its totally unique, and its a form of recycling, instead of buying new stuff made from new materials, you are finding great stuff that already has a story and life behind it. 

See You Soon!

I am so excited for my vacation but I also have something to look forward to when I get back. My lovely boyfriend, Chris and I will be moving in together! We just went to look at an apartment today and we both really love it.  It has my mind on overdrive with all things domestic.  The apartment we looked at today has TWO patios! Container gardens, patio sets, sipping tea. Baking cookies and muffins, knitting and sewing blankets, pillows, and quilts. What a great thing to look forward to after vacation. I don't know if I will have time to post tomorrow, as I will be spending time with my lovely mother on Mother's Day, and some time with my wonderful boyfriend, who is taking me out for a nice dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, The Justus Drugstore . So if I don't get to post again before I leave, just know, I'll be back soon and I'll have lots of wonderful pictures from Italy and France to share with everyone!

Anna Maria

Anna Marie Horner's blog has been so inspiring to me. I am hoping to buy a house this summer and I am constantly dreaming about ways to make my house feel like a home. These pictures from her blog give me that feeling of what I will be aspiring to. I hope to turn a bedroom into a sewing room, full of shelves with folded fabrics, I love this great chair by the window with a knitting basket full of yarn. What a lovely way to spend a rainy day (or any day really.) I also love this idea of using an old ladder as a way to display quilts. I would love to have a quilt for every rung. Ms. Horner has a couple of books out with patterns for sewing. She just came out with a new book, check it out! 

That's Anne with an "E"

Lucy Maud Montgomery is the woman behind Anne of Green Gables . She published these books in 1908, and although they were meant for younger readers, these books top my list of favorites even today.  I also watch the mini series, created for PBS in 1985 probably once a month, sometimes more. This story never seizes to inspire me. I get something from it every time I read the book or watch the movie. In short it's about a red-headed orphaned girl who is bounced from home to home to take care of bratty little kids until one day, she winds up at Green Gables on Prince Edward Island in Canada (by Providence.) Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a bachelor and spinster brother and sister, send for a young boy to help them with chores around their farm, Anne (with an E) is sent instead. While Anne proves to be a trouble maker, talking too much, smashing her slate over  a boy's head at school, she also proves to be remarkably smart. She gets the best grades in her class, recites "The Lady of Shallot" over and over, and is on a quest to find a "bosom friend." You cannot help but fall in love with this story. Anne is the underdog who rises from her sad past and makes the entire town proud to know her. This story is about love, family, and community. The relationships Anne creates with Matthew, Marilla, Diana, and the rest of the town are touching. Anne may be a supreme trouble maker, and overly dramatic, renaming Barry's Pond to "The Lake of Shinning Waters" and the avenue to "White Way of Delight" but she is genuinely endearing and wonderfully real. You will love this interpretation of Montgomery's story. Pick up the DVD and book and get in touch with your wholesome side!

Domestic Bliss

I got this book and burned through it in just a couple of days.  Jane Brocket writes about the important yet sometimes forgotten arts of knitting, sewing, gardening, baking, and quilting which provides us all with comfort in our homes. The lush photographs and soft words exude warmth from the page. This book makes me want to push some chairs together, drape a quilt over them and sit underneath it knitting socks while watching Anne of Green Gables for the 137th time.  If you can't get enough of her in this book, she also has her own blog.