Autumn Leaves and Grandparents

I apologize for not posting sooner. I had some loose ends I needed to tie up and many magical thoughts that needed sorting.

Here is a picture of the card my grandmother Mimi sent me for Halloween.

She said that it reminded her of my favorite movie, Wizard of Oz. She is very special to me and I have so many fond memories of her from my childhood. I liked her chocolate chip cookies, and going for walks around her neighborhood pond, reading joke books, and having her special punch on Christmas Day......

Grandparents are so important to their grandchildren.

They are friends, teachers, mentors, and heroes.

They are loved.

Always and forever.

Texas Coast

Photographic proof of the beautiful coastline of Galveston, Texas. Joe and I paid a visit to Houston last week, stopped by and saw the Kemah Boardwalk, and felt real Texas sand under our toes.
Here is what we saw:

Books come in all Shapes and Sizes....

Thanks to my mum, a retired librarian, and her mum a retired volunteer librarian, I have developed a deep love and respect for books and the importance of reading. One summer when I was a young girl, my family started a competition with my brother and I to see how many books we could finish before the school year started. I finished that summer break with some 70 books read! I just read and read and read......
Now that I am older I belong to a bookclub and read a book a month with them and I also enjoy books that I spot at the bookstore that I have heard of or that catch my eye. I also enjoy childrens' books and have been collecting them with my mum for years. Recently I purchased a delightfully wonderful Beauty and Beast book at a used bookstore in my neighborhood. I just love the illustrations and wanted to share them with you. It is written by Max Eilenberg and illustrated by Angela Barrett.

Anthropologie

Have you ever walked into a store and thought it was created just for you? I never felt that way until I walked into an Anthropologie store in Colorado on my way to moving to Dallas, Texas. The shopping trip starts with an enchanting window display usually overflowing with magical tree branches and sparkling chandeliers. Inside they have candles burning a warm scent. Everywhere you look they have feminine skirts and ruffled blouses combined with pink champagne glasses and crystal doorknobs. I swear when I leave I am ready to go back home with my polka dotted butterfly plates and have a tea party in honor of this delightful establishment. These are some pages from their most recent Fall catalog. Simply delicious!
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/index.jsp

dream

One of my favorite words is dream. I first discovered the power of the single word when I was flipping thru a Pottery Barn catalog back in 2000 and I was living by myself and furnishing my apartment as economically as I could. In the catalog they had spelled out the word DREAM in wooden letters and hung them on a bedroom wall. I loved it and went out and duplicated the look for less with letters I purchased at Michael's craft store. I can't afford everything in a Pottery Barn store but I have always used them for interior design inspiration. Here are some examples of dream that I have in my home.

Field of Stars

One of the many things I adore about Texas is the fireflies we get in the summertime! We didn't have them in Oregon and although I am not a huge fan of insects in general I love the twinkling magic of the fireflies. The other night my husband and I were driving home from our favorite bookstore and we went down a back road towards our neighborhood and were amazed at the amount of fireflies we saw on either side of the car. It was a beautiful sight and my husband described it as "looks like a field of stars".

Pure enchantment.

This painting and other works can be found at

http://www.streetmorrisart.com/naturespiritartgallery.html

Inspiration Journals

I have loved magazines ever since I was in college. I used to tear out my favorite pictures and decorate my dorm room with them. A few years ago I started keeping all my design and fashion ideas in journals for easy reference. I now have 5 journals with different themes. I believe they will me help me to organize my whimsical thoughts and dreams for the future. Some of my favorite reading material is Country Living, Domino, Romantic Homes, Southern Lady, Vogue and Blueprint.

Mothers are like Fairy Dust

I once sent a card to my mum and explained to her that mothers are like fairy dust. It is because they sparkle, they are magical, and they always believe in your dreams. I am lucky to have 2 mothers. My mum, Gigi and Joe's mum, Judy. Fate intervened in April 2002 and Joe and I met and eventually married and by the magic of fairydust our 2 mothers have become the best of friends! It started with some phone calls and emails and now they talk almost daily! They live 5 hours apart and I always like to imagine that if they lived closer they would get to spend more time together shopping and drinking a Starbucks-but as it is their email friendship works out splendidly. I know I am lucky girl to have these ladies in my life always supporting Joe and I, rooting for us and encouraging us with their bits of motherly magic and fairy dust they scatter to the wind and send our way. Thank you. We love you both very much.

Father's Day for Daughters

My father (I refer to him as Daddy-o) sent me the most loving quote in response to the card I sent him for Father's Day. The quote comes from one of my favorite books, Anne of Green Gables and it goes like this:

Anne Shirley:If I'd been the boy you sent for, I could have spared you in so many ways.

Mathew Cuthbert:I never wanted a boy. I only wanted you from the first day. Don't ever change. I love my little girl. I'm so proud of my little girl.

Wow-It felt tremendously good to read that from him. That pretty much sums up how parents must really feel about their children. I can hardly wait to see how that feels someday....

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day Daddy-o!

Wish I could be there to celebrate with you-instead I posted a picture of me from Halloween dressed as Princess Leia.

You have always supported me, encouraged me in the pursuit of my dreams and most importantly believed in me even when I sometimes didn't. Thanks Dad.

Land of Make Believe Part 2

Here are some close-ups of the map!

Land of Make Believe

When I was a little girl and living in Oregon my family used to vacation on the coast. Our favorite beach was Lincoln City. It was there at a Christmas store that my mother and I spotted this magnificent poster called The Land of Make Believe. She brought it home and it graced the wall of our family room. We could look at it for hours and point out all our favorite characters. Years later when I moved to a kingdom far away called Texas I searched the Internet for my own copy of this map. It reminded me of my family and helped me feel like I had a piece of them with me. In college I took many art history classes and we studied hundreds of famous pieces and renowned artists. My favorite piece of artwork isn't hanging in a famous museum or written about by a fancy art historian. It is this simple and whimsical map. It was done in the 1930s by the artist Jaro Hess. To learn more click here http://www.jarohesslomb.com/

Miniature Horses in Paris

Bonjour y'all and welcome to my blog! I became interested in the world of blogging when one of my Texas neighbors told me she had one. I checked some out online and discovered the magical world of blogs. I instantly loved the ones about interior design, fashion, crafts and all things girly! To me a blog is a creative and fanciful outlet for individuals to express themselves and inspire at the same time. I knew I wanted to be a part of this whimsical and candy colored world so here I am! Not sure where to begin-so I decided on miniature horses. Not just any ponies but the ones I saw in Paris! My husband took me to London and Paris for my 30something birthday-what a guy! While we were walking to the http://www.marmottan.com/to feast our eyes on Monet's gorgeous waterlily paintings we came across a park with donkeys and mini horses! It was quite the unexpected treat for me since I have long wanted miniature horses of my own. This particular afternoon is a perfect example of finding a fairy tale moment in an ordinary day...