Check Out Instagram

Sometimes I take a photo here and there and never share it on this blog so today I am sharing some photos I posted on my Instagram account. 

I turned an old post office box into a tea caddy. The dividers are paint color samples.

I used to keep flour in this glass canister. I decided to put tea in it instead.

I was asked to do an open house for a million dollar condo in Beacon Hill. This is the view from the dining room.

And here is the dining room. This is one of three fireplaces in the home. Sigh!

My friend Don came over and he tried to get a good shot of Oscar who is very camera shy.

A display at Maison Décor in Reading. The background is a paper panel made up of vintage wallpapers. I want to buy a sheet just not sure where I could use it in my home.

I represented my company at a homebuyer fair in South Boston. We Bostonians call this part of town  Southie.

This was dessert at a work function. I can't believe I ate the whole thing! Who remembers that commercial?

I am signing up for a photography class at the Griffin Museum in Winchester. I love this door.

This building is so cool and sits on a pond near the center of town. I am looking forward to the class.

Percy and I shared a lazy Saturday morning with coffee and home décor books.

A lovely antique buffet sits on a checkerboard floor at Brackett's Oceanview Restaurant in Rockport. Every time I see this piece I want to take it home with me.

A friend invited me up to her rooftop deck and we had an impromptu appetizer party. It was a gorgeous afternoon.

So there you have it, lots going on as usual. Sometimes I just forget to share it all with you.

A Fall celebration- the Harvest Dinner

Saturday night I hosted my annual Harvest Dinner. We already had a pumpkin on the front steps and the leaves cooperated. They fell in all the right places. All I needed to do was add a dried hydrangea wreath to the front door.

I had just finished setting the table. As I admired my tablescape I decided to take a few photos. Percy, the champion photobomber decided to come for dinner.

A vintage tablecloth with lace edging was layered with a pumpkin colored lighted table runner. I love the pop of color and the ambiance the tiny lights create.

I bought pumpkins and some leaves from the Dollar Store. I use them in business too! The pumpkins were a takeaway gift for my guests.

One bouquet of Fall flowers from Trader Joe's became three small arrangements.Two floral arrangements in vintage bottles graced the table and a third in a mason jar was placed in the condo's common area.

I always use my green goblets for the Harvest Dinner. The table always needs a little green to break up the orange. Now you can see the tiny lights in the runner!

The menu was as follows:  turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce,  cream cheese mashed potatoes, butternut squash, apple pie, chocolate cake, pumpkin muffins, and maple leaf cookies.

One last photo. The party was over and time for a little rest before the cleanup. Time to put Harvest Dinner 2013 to bed.

A Touch of Autumn

When it's time to decorate for Fall I always take out my old magazines and look through them for inspiration.

It's fun to shop your own house for decorations. Or maybe even the backyard. I was planning to go with a neutral palate. Perhaps I have read one too many Jeanne D'Arc magazines lately.

I brought out the velvet pumpkins and the Fall wreath.  It looked boring. So I added a strand of battery operated twinkle lights I had tucked away for Christmas and voila just the right amount of bling it needed!

I picked up this little Fall wreath and decided to put it around a flameless candle. The brown transferware gravy boat finished the vignette.

 I looked to see what Fall touches I might add to this corner of my kitchen. I decided it did not need anything more. It has a lot going on already . It's good to know when to say when.

Percy for once was staying out of my way as I put a few decorations in place.

But then of course, he had to photobomb my shot. I knew he wanted his coffee. Yes, he is a caffeine addict. He gets high on the smell of coffee. He has tried numerous times to snag a sip of coffee. Luckily he has not and never will succeed. He's wired enough!

I had a great weekend. I decorated, spent time with the kitties, did a daytrip to Hamilton and another one to Concord. I'll post about all my adventures throughout the week so don't forget to check in often.

My Royal Baby

Percy says that Prince George's got nothin' on me!

Percy the poser

The sun was streaming in the living room windows Sunday morning and Percy was all cozy in his favorite chair. He looked so handsome I just had to do an impromptu photo shoot.

But then he got all shy on me. That's so rare, he's usually quite the poser. I guess he was just enjoying the warmth of that sheepskin rug.

Looks like the photo shoot has ended. What a brief session! Til next time, sweet dreams!

The Sleeper

                      “Time to start getting more sleep. This beautiful physique needs royal treatment.”
                                                       ― Elizabeth Rudnick, Tweet Heart

Christmas Mischief and Mishaps

Anything I would post about seems so frivilous after hearing the news from Connecticut yesterday.
I watched the coverage and was actually disgusted by the reporters asking for interviews from the children and their parents. I think they could have used a little more compassion.

I watched the interview with the teacher who locked her kids in the bathroom. What a brave, compassionate young woman. She is a true hero and if I had kids I would want her to be their teacher.

Anyway, I did write a post about my Christmas decoration progress today. If you want to escape the sadness for a few minutes read on:

I am finally getting down to decorating the condo for Christmas.  Last weekend, I decorated the mantle in the dining room but I am still tweaking it.  Tonight, I worked on the fireplace in the living room. It really doesn't take me long to decorate the condo since it's a small space.

This week I had a little mishap and it set me back on my decorating. On Tuesday, I fell in the parking lot where I work and I broke my nose. I tumbled feet flying behind me and I crashed onto the concrete face first. Well, first my knee then my hands then my nose and my forehead. What a bloody mess! I had my first ambulance ride and I spent about 3 hours in the emergency room.

I am one lucky girl. I did not have a concussion although I hit my head and I didn't break my kneecap although I hit my knee before breaking my nose. Just a broken nose, sore knee and facial cuts.
I think I have a guardian angel. It could have been so much worse!

Back to the fun stuff. I have a prelit garland that I use on the fireplace in the living room. This year I dressed it up with some gold leaves, gold pinecones and strands of gold beads. I wanted it to really shimmer.

I took about 10 seconds after I'd finished the fireplace for Percy to investigate. I think he can read, he went right to the stocking with his name on it. I should have known shimmery things would attract a curious cat.

How long do you think the garland will last on the fireplace? I am guessing not even 24 hours.

Right now he is back to resting on the cable box so hopefully he's done sniffing around. I'll let you know how it goes.

Percy is a TV star!

Percy was featured on the Boston television show Chronicle a week ago today. The TV station posted on their website that they were doing a show about Cats and they wanted viewer photos. I entered a photo of Percy and it was one of over five hundred entries.

I wasn't sure if I would be home the night the show aired so I DVR'd it. At the end of the show, I saw my photo. They picked my shot of Percy!

Percy doesn't seem to be too excited about his TV star status. I really hope he'll be discovered soon. It could be the start of a wonderful modeling career.

Here's the link to the website:

Percy the cool cat - Stoneham,MA, TheBostonChannel's u local Photo - u local, Your Boston Photos & Videos

Percy, has it really been a year?

I can't believe it's been a year since Percy wandered into our lives. I say our lives because it was a team effort to get him to where he is today.

He was just a little tyke when I first met him at my friend's rental cottage by Nubble Light in Maine.  I remember it was exactly one year ago today.  My friends had already met him and he captured their hearts.  They were looking out for him, leaving food and water for him.  My friend Mary accidently dropped a meatball out on the deck of the cottage and Percy gobbled it up and he was nicknamed Meatball for the duration of his stay by Nubble Light.

A hurricane named Earl was predicted to bring high winds and torrential rains to the coast of Maine and none of us were going to let this little kitten stay outside in that kind of weather. So he was transported to Massachusetts to stay with me for a while.

After only two weeks, he was mixing it up with Oscar.  Oscar liked having a new playmate and so did  I.  I grew very attached and so I ended up giving hima permanent home with me and Oscar and Molly.

It certainly didn't take him long to make himself at home. His mousey was his constant friend.  He would bathe it in his water bowl and try to get me to play fetch with it.

Percy may be cute but he frustrated me plenty in those first few months.  He became a one man wrecking crew. He ruined 2 of my dining room chairs, broke countless dishes and a few teacups, tore holes in my shades.



There's Mousey with Oscar and Percy.  While Oscar sleeps, Percy plots his next attack.  He wants to play just about 24/7.

At Christmas, Percy got his very own stocking with his name embroidered on it. He really enjoyed his first Christmas.

Percy loved to watch the snow fall and we had a lot of it last Winter!

Now Summer is almost over and Percy is just about full grown or at least I hope he is!

I hope that Percy eventually gets along as well with his sister Molly as he does with his brother Oscar.

Only time will tell!

Kitty Photo Shoot

Yankee Magazine is having a Cutest Cat in New England photo contest. Now I obviously have 3 cute cats so I decided to do a photo shoot for each one of them. This post is about Percy, my youngest cat.

Percy likes to pose. He sure isn't like his momma who hates to have her photo taken!

And he likes to admire himself in reflective surfaces. Mirror, mirror on the wall....

He wonders about the kitty in the window. Handsome kitty, huh Percy?

He must have learned this trick in modeling school.  A 3/4 turn is always slimming.

 Another great pose Percy! But don't fall off the table. He's thinking he's just about done with this. He would really rather play with his mouse or wrestle with his big brother, Oscar.

Yes, looking so animated and handsome can be tiring.  I think this photo shoot is just about over.

Ok, that pose is not so pretty but it does show his personality.

Finally, the money shot. Is he not the cutest cat in New England?  He made the cut or rather the photo got approved for the contest. You can vote for Percy by viewing and sending his e-card here http://www.yankeemagazine.com/ecard/index.php?action=Ecard&useoriginal=0&objectnumber=22440

Thanks for your support!