Chatelaine Style

Hey look, I'm a designer! I just joined Olioboard and designed a bedroom. I'm calling it Chatelaine Style.

I know the scale is way off and the wallpaper print behind the bed is way too big but I think it came out ok. It's very gray with pink/rose accents. I even picked out the pillows on the bed! ( You can click the photo to enlarge)

Of course, there has to be at least one kitty in the bedroom. Even her bed is gray and pink! Can you tell I like gray and pink? Just look at my blog header!

I am really looking forward to exploring Olioboard and I hope you do too!

Gloucester with the Girls

Today I went for a day trip to Gloucester with two of my friends from high school, Kim and Joan. I see my friend Kim all the time because she lives a couple of streets away from me. Joan I see maybe once or twice a year.

Yesterday was Kim's birthday. We don't exchange presents but we usually get together for breakfast or coffee. Today we did both!

We started at Sugar Magnolia's for breakfast. This place is one of Kim's favorites.




I opted for the cinnamon raisin french toast with homemade maple syrup. Kim had hash and Joan had eggs and pineapple fritters. We all shared in a fruit bowl with granola. I am glad I got the short stack of french toast anything more would have been too filling.



Our timing was perfect because shortly after we arrived it started to get very busy.



An interesting mix of artwork was displayed on the wall. I really liked the decor and feel of the place.




Wow, that man to the left looks intense. She sure has his full attention!



A mural adorned one of the walls.



I just had to take a photo of this poster that was in the ladies room. Audrey with a cat, how perfect!



One more look back at Sugar Magnolia's before we turned down the street. I really love this place. It is exactly the type of breakfast spot I like to frequent.




We headed next door to Gabriel's Antiques and this teapot caught my eye. I didn't need another teapot so I passed on it.



We liked this outfit outside of the Dress Code. They had very cool clothes and we spent quite a bit of time there. Kim tried this coat on but it was too big and of course one of a kind.






Before heading home, we decided to stop for coffee/tea at the Pleasant Street Tea Company.



This spot had quite the selection of teas and coffees. There were lunch items as well but we were still stuffed from breakfast. I just had a dark chocolate mocha.



Well, maybe I could have a little nibble.



I had orders not to take any photos of Kim and Joan for the blog. I didn't realize that they made it into the right hand corner of this shot. Ha, Ha! I don't think they will mind.



For this shot, I was aiming for the steam coming off the tea against the dark wall. But I did actually get some of Kim in this shot. She said it was ok. We loved just sitting and chatting in this quiet corner of the tea company. There were couches and chairs you could just sink into and sit in all day. And we did spend a long time there.



As I sit blogging about my lovely day with the girls, my boys are at my feet enjoying a little brotherly love. Sweet!

Cape Ann daytrip plans

A friend called today to ask if I would like to go to Gloucester for breakfast on Saturday. Of course, I said sure! I love the Gloucester/Rockport area and I also love going out for breakfast.

By the way, Gloucester and Rockport are located on Cape Ann.



Another friend will join us on the excursion. I hope to see this handsome guy too. I haven't seen him in a year.



I took all the photos in this post one year ago. They were my first shots with my new Canon Rebel.



Let's pray for nice weather. Nice weather entails some sun and temps above 32 degrees Fahrenheit so I am not asking for much.

I'll post of our adventures soon.

Impromptu Dessert Night

For Christmas, I bought a friend a new cookbook and an oven mitt from Anthropologie. As I thumbed through the cookbook the day I bought it, I thought I might like one for myself but I decided against buying one. At that time, my dollars needed to be spent on Christmas gifts for others.

Well, the other day I was at Barnes and Noble and I looked for the cookbook and found it. I had a members card so I saved a bit on it.

Mmm, "cinnamon, spice, & warm apple pie- comforting baked fruit desserts for chilly days", the very title makes me salivate. I couldn't wait to get started on my first dessert. I went to Whole Foods on my way home from Barnes & Noble. I sat in my car in the Whole Foods parking lot and looked through the recipes. I decided to start with the first recipe, apple and blackberry crumble. I just love blackberries!



Although I consider myself better at baking than cooking, I am certainly no expert. In fact my repertoire is pretty much limited to apple crisp, lemon squares, and brownies.

The recipe called for porridge oats and I couldn't find them at Whole Foods so I used what I had on hand, the regular rolled Quaker Oats. Later, one of my friends told me I should have used steel cut oats. Ok, good to know for next time.



I was hoping my apple and blackberry crumble would turn out just as nice as the one pictured in the book.



Here is MY apple and blackberry crumble. The recipe called for a variety of mixed apples so I used braeburn, granny smith, and one lady pink gala apple.

I thought it turned out well so I invited a few people over for an impromptu dessert. We sat in the living room and enjoyed our dessert and the fireplace. It was a chilly night so a warm apple dessert and a cup of tea was just the ticket!



Vanilla ice cream is the perfect topping for this dessert although whipped cream would also be nice!

I've decided to make every recipe in the book and blog about it a la Julie and Julia! Maybe they'll make a movie about me too!

A celebration

We had a little party for my friend Mary this evening. Actually, Mary likes to celebrate her birthday by making dinner for her friends. So we enjoyed salad, roast beef, roasted potatoes, corn, and rolls courtesy of Mary. We brought dessert. I found this cute candelabra candle yesterday. We put it in Mary's creme brulee.

My sister showed us this video in honor of Mary's birthday. We found it hilarious and I hope you enjoy it too!

Snippets of my home

I think it's been a while since I showed you some snippets of the condo.

The first photo shows where I blog. Yup, that's it right there. No office or elaborate desk, just 3 yard sale nesting tables and a laptop on the top of the largest table. I blog mostly in the living room in front of the television. When it's cold I use that little purple faux fur throw to keep me warm (it's at the left of the photo). I am very good at multi tasking. I often blog with the TV on.



I moved the bookcase to this corner of the livingroom after I got my new fireplace. I love the faux chandelier from Pier One and the candles and candlesticks are also from Pier One.



This is the second tea rack in my home. This one is from Home Goods and it hangs just outside of the kitchen. The teas I use the most are displayed on this rack.



And here is my ultimate favorite tea, Harrod's No. 42 or Earl Grey. I have to rely on friends who visit London to supply my addiction. Harrod's Tea is nearly impossible to buy in the States!



This etagere is in my dining room. I got it at a store closing. I like the scallop trim on the shelves. The candle is from Anthropologie.




I bought these two watercolors off Etsy at a two for the price of one sale. I had them matted and framed at a local frame shop. They're from Annechovie. Her etsy shop is here


I love the mat on this. It is a gray suede. The watercolor is an inspiration for the dining room I would like to have some day. I have been toying with painting my dining room purple. The walls are sort of a sage green now and I do love them. But it sure would be fun to have a purple dining room with white furniture. Oh the drama!




Here's the other watercolor. Doesn't that look like a fun room?



I have a large wall space over my sofa. I need to figure out what wall accents I want to choose for this area. I am thinking of a nice big clock, but, for now I've hung this vintage frame, one of a set of three from Barn House Marketplace. The ornament is from a gift store in Beverly called Sweetwater.

I hope you enjoyed the house tour. In a future post, I'll show the full rooms.

Lazy Sunday morning

Good grief, it snowed again! This caught me off guard because I think it was forecast as a dusting. It was more than a dusting.



But it sure was pretty as it always is. I slept in a little later than usual.



The view was so nice from my kitchen window.



Molly wanted to sit in the new scratching post box and if you look at the side of it she took a few bites out of it too. And then she spit out the pieces on the floor, ew! Bad kitty!



Percy loves watching the snow fall and then it turned to rain. He enjoyed watching the raindrops slide down the window and he tried to catch them.



Oscar joined Percy in the snowfall watching.



And then he edged Percy off the table.



Don't let that angelic look fool you.



Percy is a little instigator.



And he can be quite destructive too. So far, he has ripped two of the three fabric shades in the living room, made scratch marks on the new fireplace, broke a teacup and two mercury glass candleholders, and pulled 6 nailheads out of my dining room chairs. He pulled the nails out with his teeth and then dropped them to the floor so he could play with them. I, of course, freaked out, thinking he could swallow a nail and do serious damage. He is a danger to himself and others. I had to take the chairs out of the dining room and put them in the basement office so he could not get at them.

Just a day in the life of three kitties!