Flowers!

I used to buy fresh flowers for the house every week, and my favorite florist knew me by name. I'm not sure when or why I gave up the habit- having these on the table has really brightened my day.

Autumn Garden

Garden Party!

A year ago, my backyard was a bit of a wasteland. Weeds had taken over the lawn, and any plants without very deep roots had withered. And then I met my friend Christine, who helped me tranform it into a wonderland! She finished landscaping in February and I've been enjoying the fruits (literally) of her labor ever since. Every beet I pull, every raspberry I pick, every bouquet of flowers I give to a friend seems like a treasure. I grew up with a beautiful garden that included dozens of fruit trees planted by my green-thumbed father, but I never seemed to catch the gardening bug. And now suddenly, I am finding myself kneeling in the dirt, planting broccoli and herbs, sprouting sweet potato slips and bean plants in my windowsill, feeling the urge to pop into the nursery every time I walk by. And as I know from my childhood, nothing tastes better than produce you've grown yourself. The tomatoes, beets, carrots, lettuces, herbs, raspberries, persimmons, lemons, walnuts, wild strawberries and flowers I've grown this summer have been amazing, and I've snapped a lot of pictures of them, so I thought I'd share some here. Enjoy!

From the Garden

House Beautiful

I am thrilled to have my house featured on design*sponge today! A big thank you to Grace and Anne for making it happen, and welcome to everyone who is checking out my blog for the first time. Here are some more pictures that didn't make it into the post.

Ice Ice Baby

Here's what I bought at Alameda Point last weekend: a set of vintage nautical pennants, which I think I need to reframe.


And... an adorable ice bucket that matches my mugs, snack bowls, and Martini pitcher! This pattern, if you're wondering, is called "Country Club by Yona" and I always find it in the most unexpected places, but it appeals to me not only because of the red and white stripes, but the labels! There is something so great about drinking out of a mug that says "MUG" on it.

*Also, I just want to apologize for my fuzzy photos of late; my camera lense got scratched, and I have yet to fix it.

Lamps

Somehow I am always on the hunt for the perfect lamp, whether it's sconces for my living room, a chandelier for my dining room (also here), or a table lamp for the entryway... And all I ever come up with is lamps for bedrooms. In fact I have so many nightstand-type lamps that I have to store most of them in the garage. For the dining room, I've always fantasized about this option from Anthropologie, but I don't think it would work with the style of my home.


But finally, I think I may have found the right chandelier! It's not exactly the MCM teardrops I'd had in mind, but given my very low ceilings, I think it might actually be a better fit. I love my Danish furniture, but the 1940's architecture of my house and my collection of dishes are not especially modern. I feel like this lamp it somewhere in between: shiny and minimal, but also very vintage. It's on sale at Pottery Barn Teen- what do you think?

Farewell, Lamp

This lamp always been one of my favorites. I loved the turquoise color, the teak details, and the tall, slender shape. Then a couple years ago, I made the mistake of bringing it with me to New York for a trade show, and it cracked in my luggage. I managed to get it home without any further damage, and the crack was so fine that I was able to hide it when I put the lamp back in my living room. But last week, after having moved things around a bit to rewire my speakers, I bumped into the lamp and it fell and broke cleanly in half. So now I am on the lookout for a replacement, I suppose... I haven't found anything I like in the usual places, so I guess I'll have to wait until January's Alameda Point and hope that something there will catch my eye. In the meantime, farewell, lamp.

Squashed

Last night I threw a dinner party with a menu inspired by winter squash. For hor d'oeuvres, I served pizzas with butternut squash, gorgonzola and herbs, followed by my Roasted Squash Soup, Butternut Squash Risotto, a roasted pork tenderloin stuffed with kale and squash, and the amazing Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwiches from Canelle et Vanille.

Pennsylvania Finds

I realize I never actually showed you what I came home with from my trip to Adamstown! Terrible! Here's what I scored:


This fabulously patriotic lampshade (doesn't it look cute on the log lamp I got last year?).


This gorgeous milk glass cake stand, in the perfect shade of turquoise.


This lovely little pennant from a state fair, which I put in a simple frame, backed with vintage wallpaper.


A great set of suitcases.


Another tin globe for my collection (last one on the left).


And some more bakelite flatware...