exhale....

Love this


I want to spend an afternoon puttering around here

Visiting with Visitors!

We had my delightful sister in law Amanda come visit this past week. It was a lovely visit and we got to visit a few places we may have put off. Seattle as a tourist is always fun but the highlight for me was our visit to Hurricane Ridge. I wrote about this already but it was breathtaking and well worth the drive. Another highlight was the Point Defiance Zoo. I myself am not a fan of zoos, but my children are and who am I to get in the way of that. This particular zoo is on the smaller side which makes it ideal for an afternoon out with kids. Very easy to see it all and not feel rushed. Apart from the trips, it was nice just to let my children get to know their aunt again. I like having guests!!

Hurricane Ridge

We spent a beautiful afternoon on Tuesday driving up to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park. What a glorious place to be. Breathtaking, just breathtaking. If you are ever in these parts, I highly recommend it. If you are craving beauty, this will fulfill that need! The children loved seeing snow in July and gamely tackled some of the hikes. A great day indeed.

Thornback and Peel

Love these pretty and peculiar prints - especially the cards.




Available here

LadyBird Books

I have such fond and vivid memories of these books being a part of my everyday while I was growing up. I absolutely loved all of them and think I had almost every title thanks to some pretty wonderful relatives. The Understanding Maps book was a particular favorite and I have loved maps and cartography ever since. Books are good - more books, more better! Now a wide range of the vintage illustrations and art works are being sold as prints or canvases. I need at least these 3 favorites! Oh and the Captain Cook book if they have that!!





Images from and products available here

fall coat

Love this from Boden



Available here

letter fetish

love love love letters! In all forms, they make me happy. I love these from Urban Outfitters - I think I need the recycled tin ones in a bad way. Why do I need them? I do not know, I just do!





Available here and here

Enfin LaVoila

I love every single item in this Etsy Store. Just send me one of everything and I will be happy. Some standouts -






all available here

Martha Stewart Living

I found the August 2008 copy waiting in my mailbox yesterday, and the cover just blew me away! The photography is always top notch and all the covers are beautiful but this one just jumped out at me. I love the picnic table set so simply and the lake side setting just makes me want to stay awhile. Fortunately, the location for this photo is Lake Chelan, Washington which is not too far away from me. Do you think anybody would object if I just turn up with picnic basket in hand?

Laduree

Sometimes I get very homesick for things I had forgotten existed! A memory will pop into my head out of nowhere and suddenly I am thrown into a malaise over something that 2 minutes prior I had no recollection of! Today's example - Laduree of Paris! I woke up this morning craving a pastry with my coffee. Usually that means dreams of Bar Triestina in Gaeta, Italy but for some reason Laduree came into my mind. Strange silly mind!





Images from here

Pottery Barn Teen (again)

I am not sure I know any teenagers that I consider cool enough to carry off the wonderful rooms in this catalog but I do like to think they exist! Perhaps my children will reach those wonderful years and be worthy - or not. I particularly loved the little artist accessories in the current catalog and feel my daughter may need to have a few of them. She is only 5 but oh so cool!

A few things for my budding artiste






images via Pottery Barn Teen

Nigella's Chicken

There are a few meals that I have in my arsenal that are no brainers. Meals that I know can be thrown together and will always hit the spot. One of these is Nigella Lawsons Buttermilk Roast Chicken from her Nigella Express cookbook. I have made this many times and it is always devoured by husband and children alike. I love it because I throw it together the night before and it gets to sit in its yummy juices and become just fricking fabulous! Add a salad and it is ready to go! Well worth a try!

The recipe can be found here

PS Her rocky road bars are also a fave with my son!!

Can I live here please?

If only for a few days? It seems so serene and peaceful to me. An adult hideout! Better still, have it sent to my backyard and then i can enjoy it whenever I feel necessary!

Image via Skona Hem

Lemony cleaning goodness

I purchased this product last week at Target and I am in love! Utter lemon joy! The entire house smelt like a lemon grove and it took me back to those wonderful summers in Italy. Highly recommend it and at just $3-99 it is a pretty good deal!

JR Watkins All Purpose Lemon Cleaner

Sorry it has been so long!

For a while there, it has seemed improbable that a thought would bounce from my head onto the keyboard! I had not been feeling the inspiration thing at all. I have just been wallowing in the beauty of other blogs. Now I feel somewhat human again and ready to let it rip! So lets try this blog thing again.