Cutlery Tray Three Ways

It isn't often that inspiration strikes so quickly but when I saw the expandable cutlery tray from Williams Sonoma, on sale at half-price, right away, I knew that I could repurpose it to do many other things.  I rushed home with it and, several gleeful moments later, had an organized jewelry drawer inside a dresser. The marvelous thing is that the tray is lined with cork so the jewelry doesn't slide around and is resting on a cushioned surface.  And the dividers slide out so that I create my own customized compartments.  To the left of the tray are shawls and vintage beaded evening bags.  I am embarassed to admit that I could devote many hours to arranging and rearranging these little shiny adornments.

Then I thought that the tray could work hung up on a wall as a modern interpretation of a printer's tray which is all the rage in the vintage world.  Picking up reminders of Nature and displaying it in my home connects me with the Earth.  Here I have fossils, crystal chunks, pinecones and little woodland creatures.

It would make a great display and conversation piece on a coffee table as well.  Perhaps it would only be of interest to other vintage lovers but, hopefully, I am not the only one who likes oohhing and aaahhing over vintage pretty things?  Here I've filled it with vintage wooden spools of thread, vintage lace, ribbons, vintage embroidered handkerchiefs and vintage mother of pearl buttons.

 As I've got a bit of a sewing and crafting theme going on here, I could display it in a sewing or craft room as well.

But besides repurposing something many different ways, I like the notion of taking a new thing and giving it a vintage spin.

Let me know of things that you've repurposed and we can inspire each other!

Linking up with The House in the Roses, A Delightsome Life, A Stroll Thru Life, A Beach Cottage, Common Ground, and French Country Cottage.

Cherries In The Snow

I want to be very, very lazy.  Thoughts of DIY'ing or anything requiring physical exertion have as much appeal to me at the moment as sitting in a sauna wearing a wool coat.  Although, come to think of it, that's how I feel right now.  The news has been talking about "record high" temperatures.  It's not the heat I mind so much, it's the heavy, pea soup like humidity.  So I need to think of cool things like snowflakes against an aqua sky and cherries in a field of snow or cherries on ice.

Even the word "aqua" has connotations of liquid coolness.

Cherries embedded in ice, a burst of sweetness in the midst of icy cool water, is just the thing.

Or a trail of cherries in the snow...

A snowball fight or two.

And I shall serve up vanilla ice cream garnished with cherries for dinner mounded up on snowy white plates because it is the only thing to eat at times like this.

Sigh...I feel better already.  Ice cream really is the cure for everything.  What is your favourite hot weather rescue? Let me know so we can cool down together!

I am linking up to The House in the Roses, A Delightsome Life, A Stroll Thru Life, A Beach Cottage, French Country Cottage.



White Sails At Sunset

The weather being fine this past weekend, I went down to the nearest quay and saw this:

And this:

Have you ever seen something in your daily travels that resonated deeply with you?  There was that ineffable je ne sais quoi that stirred the soul, that deep wellspring of heart gladness.  And you thought to yourself, "If only I could recreate that feeling in my home." 

The sun, the water, that feeling of freedom inherent in those sails made me feel as carefree and joyous as a bird on the wing.  And I thought as well of that spectacular piece of architecture, the Sydney Opera House.  So I raced home and puzzled (obsessed) over how to bring that look and that feeling into my home.  By a fortuitous turn of events, I came across a series of paintings titled "The Sea" by a talented local artist Brian C. Mayer. This one is titled "Sailing":

And this one is titled "Paradise":

Sigh...I swoon.  Now Art, with a capital "A", is so very personal but these paintings come very close to evoking for me that sense of being lifted far and away from the ordinary.  But surely, there must be other ways, simple yet effective ways, of being transported?  And so I did something for the very first time, I hung curtains!  Yes, simple white curtains to soften the modernity of horizontal blinds.

A vintage fan to recreate a billowing shore breeze.

Now, I have had a longstanding uneasy relationship with curtains.  I grew up with stiff net curtains and curtains that were formal and overbearing, the "look but don't touch variety."  But now I think I have reached detente with these simple white sheers.

They hang in the master bedroom, opposite the bed so I see them when I wake.

So now when I see that cascade of white, I have that same incomparable feeling, of sun on dappled waves, billowing white sails, lovers embracing on a ship's deck, that incandescent lightness of being.

Without tooting my horn too much, I was featured on The Thrifty Groove!  I'm so thrilled and pleased!  If you would like to read the featured post, "Green Is The Colour of My Love," go here or read it on The Thrifty Groove, here.

I am linking up to The House In the Roses, A Delightsome Life, A Beach Cottage, Faded Charm and French Country Cottage,

Playing Miss Chatelaine

I have only come lately to the delights of flower arranging.   Forgive the pun but yes, I am a late bloomer.  For many years, I thought that faffing around with flowers was an unneccessary indulgence.  And as adamant as I was that it was an accomplishment more suited to the Victorian age, I am now a most fervent convert.  There is something so supremely meditative about choosing what blooms will delight my senses the most and then the careful, or in my inexperienced case, the not so careful arranging in a suitable vessel. 

I do realize that carnations have a humble reputation as being cheap and ubiquitous but, at $3.50 for a large bunch at the local flower shop, I didn't mind.  And I  found something quite charming in their pink frilly unpretentiousness.

And humble or not, a perfect bloom can elevate something quite simple and mundane to the level of the sublime.  

Ordinarily, I am not the most serene of persons as I am easily flustered but the cool composure inherent in the silky petals makes me feel wonderfully serene and  ladylike as I indulge in arranging and rearranging bouquets of flowers. 

I admit now that, in this rough and tumble world, this particular accomplishment of the Chatelaine of the home to be a most worthy one indeed.

 Linking up to A Beach Cottage, Between Naps On The Porch, My Romantic Home and Serenity Now.

Green Is The Colour Of My Love a.k.a Fashion Meets Housewares #1

Do you have a favourite "something" that has tiptoed into your life unbeknownst to you?  For years, I thought my favourite colour was blue with lots of white and silver thrown in for good measure.  Then, one day, I realized that green had crept into the mix and that I was continually drawn to that colour when out and about searching for thrifty treasures.  It all started with these Salisbury, made in England, bone china pieces of 1 salad plate, 4 bread plates and 2 teacups picked up at a yard sale, all for $1.25:

I loved the apple green band with gold cherries dancing across it.  And my favourite flower of the moment is the green hydrangea.  However, I noticed that one of the teacups was a bit more used than the other.  I had visions of Miss Havisham in her tattered wedding gown drowning her sorrows in her solitary cup of tea.  Now that won't do at all!  So I dashed to my closet whereupon I discovered more green.

 All of which leads me to my first Fashion Meets Housewares post.  There is something so uplifting and alluring about the colour green.  But not just any green, I prefer a Granny Smith apple green with a blue undertone.  It reminds me of Spring, of eternal hope. 

So please let me know that your favourites in your home have spilled over into other areas of your life and that I am not the only one!

Linking up to Southern Hospitality, Coastal Charm, A Beach Cottage, Tales from Bloggeritaville, The Thrifty Groove.