Too much of a good thing

NO MORE!

The big question

Have you ever had to call a halt to buying yet another object  that you love?  When does just enough become too much? I had to confront both questions this week while I was shopping for accessories with my sister. 

Telling it like it is

 " Oh, I love that. "  was answered with " "You don't need another one". I had to admit  then and there that I am obsessed with  birds;  circles and poppies are chasing on their heels (or feathers).   I am trying to control it, but I keep seeing so many that I love.  I'm even thinking about  a birds for next Christmas.  I already admitted that in a previous post before I realized how far I'd gone.

Birds,  poppy and circles- perfection in my book

Now my sister is a good one to talk!

Outdoor dining at Bonavista Social Club and listening to birds

A family thing

Vera has a bit of the same affliction and doesn't even recognize it; her focus is birds in art work. She can't pass one up without a comment. There was also a liberal smattering of birds when I featured her house at Christmas in this post.  Must be the result of growing up next to a forest.

This obsession is causing me other problems in addition to having just too many of the same thing and not enough surfaces to place them.

My granddaughter, age 2,  is suddenly sizing up her environment and putting things in the " I likka" or the  "I no likka" category.  Birds are in the "I no likka " camp!   What do I do about that?   If exposure is going to make her more comfortable with our fine feathered friends she's in the right house. Since most of my birds are highly stylized it took her awhile to notice they were birds, but she's on to me now.

Bird sightings 

I like to  think that I place the products of my  obsession artistically by  weaving  them into vignettes and moving them from room to room so they aren't in one space too long.

Sitting proudly in the knowledge he was the first 

Not so happy with the " I no likka birds" title

Look closely.  There are two birds. Oh my!

 At home in autumn finery 

His latest home on the dining room table

Bird sighting in the family room

Yes, they get around. But some are stationary. 

There's the  hummingbird key hook, 

and the filigree bird hanging in my wreath thanks to my friend who also likes birds.  Yes, it all adds up.

Black bird

 My latest acquisition and hopefully my last. Thanks Target. But will it be my last?

You can always dream

Source 

But...... this is the one I dream about and will probably never have (unless the lotto comes my way or my relatives decide on a group gift). I'd pitch that Target bird in a heartbeat.

Please tell me that you too have an object obsession~!  Time to own up. 

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In and out

Arrived have the weeks, when I almost forget, that interiors are my foremost passion. 

I am occupied with all the others: my family
(as always), the garden in spring, cooking, reading and writing. I feel like these busy birds in my backyard: RUSH to make it all happen, before the season ends....
I have planted roses and enjoy the lilacs, which are at the height of their splendor, as are the azaleas. 

The young oak tree has grown another foot or two and stretches way above the fence. 

Blackbird singing in the bush under my window at 5 AM

I wake up at 5 in the morning and watch the cardinals flit between the branches of the Japanese maple, the robins with their youngster hoping on the lawn, test flying....

And the neighbor's cat needs to be kept in check, I watch out for him all the time, last year he ate the nest full of chicks when I wasn't looking. : (

But still, I have been also silently watching the interior design books at my local store and online and, as always, I find some, which have drawn me in....

I have had again a late night affair with  Susanna Salk's 'Be Your Own Decorator', a book which I have had for a while and always go back to. It so encircles my own design philosophy and style. A wonderful mix of old and new, precious and mundane, flee market and heritage pieces. Fabrics and wallpapers. It's like finding a soul sister, again.
Could that be my house? Yes.... but a little enhanced, I have to admit : )))

Well, I've got the tulips....

And another enticing one, which I am waiting for, being on route... Nicky Haslam's 'Folly De Grandeur'! I feel like flying to England and spending the summer in this house.

What else have I been reading?
Gwyneth Paltrow's latest cook book, which has gotten already much use:

Her recipes are largely vegan or vegetarian based, often gluten and dairy free. There are a couple of great meat dishes and splendid deserts. But all are so appetizing and the book is also wonderfully written.   

I just met Alexandra Aldrich at a book reading in my neighborhood and have been devouring her unusual story of her childhood, filled with memories of the faded glory of the once grand Astor family. At least her family branch is the faded one....  It is very interesting. 

Another find is this one, 'The Camomile Lawn' by the British authoress Mary Wesley. I am fascinated by her writing. She began in earnest to publish when she was over 70! Yes, you read that right. She died at 90 in 2002 and had more then 9 novels out in the years between.

And the latest RH catalog arrived at my doorstep, weighting a ton, but having a few treasures of it's own, worth a post by itself. But since I am so very busy, I will send you here, and show you a few images to wet your appetite.

There are different sections, for which I am grateful, like Small Spaces (which still seem rather large...) and Objects of Curiosity. Which I love! Check it out...

So long, I am off to shop for our cooking session this afternoon: My daughter  and her friend will make Gnocchi
from scratch.... Hmm. I'll give them a hand...or two!


xoxo





Images by V.Zlotkowski and the RH website (last four).

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A mixed bag

Budleia in Beaumont

Still returning to the realities at hand, my mind consists right now of a mixed bag of things.... Many, half digested impressions, inspirations and the somewhat overwhelming feeling to loose things in the crowd of it all. So, as always, I take pictures, to remind me, to smile, to inspire myself and I thought perhaps you might like them too!
There is so much going on right now, that looking back only two weeks ago seems a luxury!

I found these treasures above still in France, in a small but deliciously stylish shop in Montpazier!
Retro design is a big part of French decorating and thinking of it, I could not resist these little treasures curbside yesterday!

They have the typical musty smell about them, I do not mind it, but they will get a good scrubbing and then perhaps a little mending too. Not to much, I love the patina.

I still look at the clouds, and the creatures about, the things, which go unnoticed so easily....

How glorious is this? These are sights, which bring me back from any worries and pull me in, make me happy and grounded!

Yesterday, waking up early, I went downstairs to prepare breakfast and looking outside my window I could not believe my eyes.

I had to run to find the camera, hoping he would not take off before I could capture him....I was a little shaky though!

Hunting for good things I also looked through the bookstore nearby, hoping to find something inspiring. Of course I did! Here are my finds.

I hope you'll find something to inspire you as well! 
Happy weekend, I know, a little early, but time flies!


xoxo




All pictures by V.Zlotkowski

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Little post in between

Returning from one trip and preparing for another, time to post is spare and yet I long to talk to you.
Some of my dearest bloggers are back from their own travels and adventures,  I apologize for not commenting often enough, but believe me, I read! My thoughts wander to Scotland and England, Hungary, France and Germany, Poland, Australia, around the corner and around the world! They travel around America and I adore your thoughts!
You all inspire me! Thank you all. I can't say it often enough, blogging and reading all your posts lifts me off the ground... 
After coming back from New Orleans - oh, has it been two weeks already ? - we had the younger kids back from their respective camps, loads of laundry piling high, medical check ups before school, a new client - hurrah, and plenty of social engagements, mostly all last minute, before going away again.

Woodpecker, hammering away....

As busy as I...

The beauty over the neighbor's fence...

Our regular visitor... hope the cat never gets him...

Still I found time to marvel at the raindrops and the birds flying around the house....I am a hopeless nature watcher and I can drop everything to follow that woodpecker with my camera....We fed hummingbirds with honey the other day....
We are going away in August, to spend time at a wonderful place in France, the Dordogne area, near Bergerac.... yes, the place of Cyrano De Bergerac fame.

Cyrano!

And the wonderful landscape near the Dordogne river, which has been made known around the world by the prehistoric wall art at Les Eyzies, Lascaux and Font-de-Gaume.

But most of all to reunite with our family, the older boys and their beloved ones, my in-laws - the sweetest people around and my sister and her family.... All to have and to hold for awhile in our arms, to make again memories together and fill up the emotional tanks....


I can't wait, I can't wait!


A house is awaiting us, a wonderful old house, in a tiny town, which we will discover. And more then that, the people, the food, the wine, the landscapes around and the sure treasures to be found!
More about that soon to come!
I promise to post, I can't help it sharing with you all!




Au revoir, mon amies!




Photography by V.Zlotkowski, images via websites

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