A gaggle of magical pots...

My daughter Danielle makes these wonderful pots that are paddled so they nest together. The smaller ones she used as wedding favors.  I mixed the tiny ones up with some pots she made me for Christmas to make this flock, herd, gaggle of pots that meanders across my dining room table. They look like I should fill them with magic potions, genie oil or fairy dust, but I decided to leave them empty since they are quite magical as they are.

Comfort food, best muffins ever, protein does not comfort me...

Lots of stress so not many blog posts. John was diagnosed with a very aggressive not-your-grandpa's prostate cancer. He is recovering from surgery and we are figuring out his next treatment, probably hormone therapy with a side order of unknown.

Though I don't enjoy cooking (unless it's glass or PMC), when I am stressed I find the rhythm of it soothing, so I have been cooking: mac and cheese (the recipe on ronzoni box rocks), soups, dumplings, potato casserole, John's mom's sugar cookies, and the list goes on. My friend noted that I needed more protein items. I responded: "Protein does not comfort me."

Above is the yummiest muffin recipe my friend Beth discovered and Susan baked and delivered to my door. (I have to give everyone credit or they won't bring me any more treats.)  It has 2 1/2 Cups of those anti-oxidant packed blueberries, half of which you mash before you put them in the batter. I zapped them in the food processor.

Zuzu chilaxin', hippo color pop...

Zuzu and I have been tuckered out. She was very happy to see me after my six weeks away. She licked me for a solid 15 minutes. Now she doesn't seem to realize I was ever gone.

John got me these oh-so color popping flowers for our anniversary. I love how they look with the Metropolitan Museum's hippo that Heather got for me a few years ago. In fact, I like how that hippo goes with just about anything. Maybe I should wear it around my neck....

Hope with feathers...

I found the perfect home for a beautiful glass vase Danielle bought me from our favorite Baltimore haunt, Trohv. She gave it to me at the rehearsal dinner and said, "hope is the thing with feathers."  When I was in elementary school, my class went on a field trip to a farm. In the gift shop they had a set of blown glass mallard ducks and my mother bought them for me. When we got home she pulled out an oval cosmetic mirror and we grouped the duck family swimming on the 'water' and I was entranced. I put a mirror under this collection of birds my grandmother made. Under each ceramic bird is her trademark, a birdhouse.

Ahoy!

We have a niche in our bathroom that you can only see when you are looking in the mirror so it is the perfect place to put a surprise.  I went to Marshall's and created my version of a Chihuly shipwreck. Now all these shells and globes are on my dining room table for my upcoming Birthday Open House.

I'm heading down to Sarasoata to visit my parents and assemble lots of new stuff. I can't wait to tinker with my new glass and my new brass.

Alouette, Monet, and the dalmatian may lose her spots...

I read somewhere that Scandinavians varnish their window sills in the spring. The comment was made in reference to spring cleaning and it made me feel woefully inadequate as my spring cleaning usually amounts to putting away the winter clothes. This year, however, I find myself ruthlessly de-cluttering and I dyeing and painting everything in my path. I just finished dyeing a bedspread turquoise after successfully changing a boring crocheted ivory tablecloth to chartreuse. My dark imposing china cabinet is now sunny yellow, a smaller armoire is light blue, inspired by images from Claude Monet's house. I painted a Victorian chair black and spray dyed the upholstery to match. Pardon my francais, but it is bad-derriere. (Only after the fact did it occur to me that Zuzu sheds her white hair. Spray dye anyone?)

James says I watch too much TV and he is right, but I was further inspired by the new 'Alouette' Target ads. Here's what I made whilst humming the tune! That's all for now. My favorite show is on.

Purchase Alouette in Red Necklace, $325

Third grade math, housekeeping, and the smell of lavender...

I was determined to clean yesterday. I usually have some kind of ritual to work up to the task. Years ago I would start with the hamster and bird cages, then give the all my kids haircuts. Now, my pattern is related to buying cleaning products. So I took a trip to the Dollar Tree and stocked up. When I got home I remembered that I had the supplies to make my own lavender lampe berge oil. I got all the supplies gathered on the kitchen counter and set to work. That took a while because I forgot where I put the 3 ingredients. They were they were in at least four places.  I had to convert e-how recipe from ounces to teaspoons. The recipe calls for one quarter of a bottle of a 1/4 ounce bottle of oil, and 1/8 of an ounce of distilled water to be placed in 4 bottles of 90 % (not the 70% grocery store variety) isopropyl alcohol. Here's the link, don't trust my math.

Once I figured it out I decided to write it on the bottle so that I would have it handy for next time. I have made this recipe two or three times already and am weary of googling conversion charts. I kept getting mixed up so my isopropyl bottle looks more like a chalk board in a third grade classroom than a recipe. I got my fragrance made, switched out the wicks that I keep soaking in a plastic container (once I found it), and lit my lampes to create the right ambience for cleaning and cleaned the kitchen.

Today, I'm excited to be making recycled bottle ornaments with a group of special needs high school students. Next week I work with Altamonte Christian and the following week with a homeschool group. In between I am going to teach a fifth grade class at Lake Orienta Elementary school around the corner from my house which, while not entirely clean, smells lovely.

Bonkers for Bentos...

As most of you know I have an obsessive personality and am easily excited, but for almost 2 years I have been researching adorable Japanese Bento boxes.  There is a great site Bentos.com that ships direct from Japan a wide range of bento products. Since I am on the rice diet (down 30 pounds thank you very much) I want to get a really cute lunchbox bento so I can create cute little lunches for myself the night before. I start Christmas shopping VERY early and want to get my four adult children and future SON-IN-LAW! boxes as gifts. I spent hours last night perusing the offerings and have narrowed it down to these two styles. Which do you like the best? I think I have to have BOTH!

My daughters and I have a tradition of Matroyshka dolls and these boxes hold more but...apparently these tiny ones are fun for snacks or taking hummus on picnics. Good grief, I don't even GO on picnics. If I get one of these I think I'll have to start. And how about these convertible chopsticks? Don't get me going....

New Boutique and Studio Space

My friend Susan and I finally got my new room finished. It is so beautiful.  I am thinking of using it for classes, assembly, and hiding. If anyone wants to have a jewelry party they can have it here. I'll have the champagne waiting!

Looking at the World Through Colored Glass II

I was so inspired by the colorful glasses at  Suzi's party I decided to make a party out of glass on my dining room table.  Now my dining room table mirrors the painting I did of a mantle in Monet's house that hangs above it.