Pottery Class

One of the reasons I haven't been around to blog as much lately is I've been taking a pottery class.  I've never worked with clay before, much less thrown anything on a wheel, so it was quite an adventure.  Much harder than I expected it to be, but I also find it very therapeutic.   The class consisted of five studio sessions and one glazing session and I managed to come out with five finished pieces.  They're not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I was pretty excited to bring them home with me!  

The glazing class was so much fun!  I had no idea what I was doing or how any of the pieces would turn out so I tried a little bit of everything.   In the end I like the white glaze and the lighter colors with a matte finish better than the darker colors or the glossy finished.  So next time, I'm going to concentrate on using more of those.  The glazes are all food grade so we can use them for... I don't know.  Serving bowls for snacks? I'm in my second class now and my goal is to come away with a set of tumblers.  I'll be sure to show you how those turn out too!

Backyard Garden

While we were away, I missed two things in particular.  One was our cats.  Those furry creatures are such a big part of our everyday routine.  The other thing was my mornings in the backyard.  I usually wake, grab some breakfast and then head out the back door with Jack (the one eyed pirate cat) to see what's blooming, what's growing and what needs tending to.  I missed that routine and couldn't wait to get home and see how big everything had gotten in the two weeks we were gone.  I think Jack missed it too since he's been sitting at the backdoor meowing a lot the past couple of days.

I was pleasantly surprised that most everything had thrived.  I spied a couple of tiny peppers growing and a few green tomatoes on the vine.  They'll be used to make fresh salsa when they're ripe.  This is the first year I've tried growing Brussels sprouts and the plants doubled in size.  All of the herbs are ready to be used and we had fresh cilantro with our black beans last night.  It's already starting to bolt, but that's OK since it will give me some fresh coriander and I'll replant the rest of the seeds.  Jack, of course, enjoyed a bit of catnip from his plant this morning.

In case you're wondering what everything is, from top to bottom, left to right:  mint, huechera (or coral bells),  impatiens, brunneria, creeping jenny, fuschia, hydrandgea, chives, cilantro, basil, catnip, Brussels sprouts, roma tomatoes, blueberries, yellow Hungarian wax peppers, jalapenos and Jack. 

Spring in My Backyard

The other day I wanted to try out my new 50mm f/1.8 lens (it's actually Tom's old lens) that I got to go with my new digital SLR camera. I didn't have to wander far to find somewhere to practice... our own backyard!  Last year was the first time I'd planted anything in the previously barren space, so I was curious to see what, if anything, would reappear this spring.  I was happy to discover lots of new growth peeking through the soil and new buds flowering here and there.

I'm never sure if you want me to bore you with lots of gardening talk, (seriously, I could go on and on about it) but here is a look into our little piece of earth.  We have (starting at the top) creeping jenny, new blossoms on the blueberry bush, heuchera, mint & cilantro & basil in pots, green onions that somehow survived all winter, hostas, a cherry tree that will blanket the patio in pink blossoms and what's left of the two daffodil blooms we had this spring (last year there was only one - progress!). 

Secrets from a Stylist

Last week I caught a rerun of the show Secrets from a Stylist on HGTV, hosted by Emily Henderson (serious girl crush alert).  Since it's the season of holiday decorating I was excited to watch as she transformed a family's space into a holiday party wonderland.  While the color scheme for this family's home does not match my own, I still came away with tons of ideas for decorating. There were lots of DIY projects for making your own decorations and tips for picking up pieces at flea markets and putting them together in creative ways that make a space feel personal and unique.  I've already taken on the yarn-ball-as-tree-ornament project and plan on tackling the old-book-pages-turned-mini-trees next (you'll have to watch the show to see that one).  And can we talk about the vintage-globe-snowman-family?  So cute.  If you don't have a moment to watch the show, you can check out the Holiday Guide magazine that includes not only a lot of photographs from the episode, but also lots of other crafty ideas and gift guides that have led me to many new and fun places on the internet. 

As soon as I saw these scans from Elle Decor France on Moodboard, I saved them to my "home inspiration" file.  So good!  A few things I'm taking note of;  must get kilim pillows to throw on the couch, be on the lookout for more vintage etched mirrors to brighten up dark spaces, a random assortment of baskets collected on a shelf makes great storage and fresh cut flowers on the table are lovely any time of year.

Oswald's Mill

photos by Cynthia van Elk

If I started a new category on the blog called "can I please live here?" Oswald's Mill might be on the very top of that list. How can so much amazing stuff be in one place?! Every detail is just lovely. The funny thing is, the mill is only about an hour or so away from where we're living now. That's doable, right?!