Fresh Flowers for Tough Times

For those of us residing in the State of Penury, here is an excellent idea by Sarah of Blossom and Branch, via Design*Sponge. It's a definite upgrade from our parsley-in-a-creamer. This is Sarah's second post in a twice-a-month series, Flowers A-Z. Take a look, you might be surprised by the ingredients.

That is from Julie's site today. I loved this idea so much that I scooped it up & placed over here. A relief from the gray & watery rumination chez nous.

I've looked on-line but not in the shops for prices per bunch/stem. I sniffed by them in the market in years past. My bad. It's very much bricolage in the French usage sense. Scent memories of cycling & walking past fields of decaying brassica on the outskirts of Strasbourg might have something to do with my aversion. I don't think that classy Design*Sponge would have anything on their site if that were the case. We shall see.

Wire Hangers, Reconsidered

...a yellow paper rose twisted on a wire hanger in the closet...-Howl

So much angst about wire hangers. Oy. This is Tim Walker's wire hanger. Here's a Design*Sponge idea for people who have far more energy & time than me...but it's good idea. (Personally, I take my hangers back to the cleaners.)

I'm way behind in everything. And I'm still wondering what people think about those who to take it all the way to the end. (previous post) Back later...

PS: I never saw Mommie, Dearest. I think I was out of the country when it hit (sorry) the screens, by the time I returned I thought--ugh. Perhaps it's something campy I ought to rent in a particularly maso-kitty moment?

Week's End - Italian Flowers

These flowers will prevent a cascade of photographs of blue dresses, Cary Grant, Mad Men characters, & other faiblesses. (Yes, I am working on Italian Stuff, anyway.) The Design*Sponge post prompted me to look up from the laptop. There on the desk is the same terracotta planter thingy & I have a glass bottle inside. So if I can totter up to the farmer's market (near Chompie the Shark, see below) tomorrow, I will do my poor-writer version.

Design*Sponge has inspired me to do several smart things this last year. (No small achievement, believe me.) A few recent ones: finally, fer cryin' out loud buy the missing manual for a sewing machine; rescue a (fake) wrought iron plant stand in a laundry room; refrain from tossing out an entire bed because surely something can be done with the headboard. I bought the terracotta all on my own because I love plant pots. Now, I'll get a ton of spam with those words in it; sorry suckers, I have tight spam control alerts on.

Have a great weekend, wherever you are (& where are you, anyway?)

[flowers via Design*Sponge, many more--including Italian travel pix]

Snowflakes

The well-reviewed Washington Ballet's Nutcracker has only $85 tickets left. So, a still of Dance of the Snowflakes is as close as I'll get this year (after I made fun of TN forever, serves me right). The photograph is via The Washington Ballet. The snowflake doily photograph is from a DIY design*sponge post. Very clever, old-fashioned, & inexpensive. How easy? With a cat standing on my head? Reportage forthcoming.

An Audrey Easter card

A little Easter weekend treat. The front & back of a homemade Easter postcard by Audrey Hepburn. That, of course, is her famous Famous in the Easter basket. The text from the wonderful book a friend gave me a few years ago, The Audrey Hepburn Treasures: pictures & mementos from a life of style & purpose (Atria Books) says that it was probably sent to her mother. I have lots of personal photos of cats in baskets but none of Julie, so I won't do that to her. xoxo

Amusement: make an album cover

Thanks to Jamie at Small Expectations for her post (& to A Bird in the Hand blog where Jamie happened upon the instructions to make your own album cover). Mine isn't as cool as Jamie's but I've never used the text function in Picasa, so that was fun. I wanted to spend more time on the fonts but kept it to 10 minutes tops. Following the rules: 1) the first random Wikipedia article was about the HMS Achille; the last random quote on Quotations page was by Leon Tec, MD: "A sailor without a destination cannot hope for a favorable wind." So there's the album title: Hope for a favorable wind. The third photo (in middle column at bottom) in the last seven days of flickr page that loaded was by NenePhoto & titled Boccadasse, Genova, Liguria. See? I can't get away from Italy! ciao-ciao