Light and Blooms

There are just some things that you know are special when you first see them. Whether it be the color, design or craftsmanship you are just drawn to take a closer look. This next set of mugs was like that for me. They are all made in Poland and have a long history with some interesting stories. At the end of this blog I will post some links to some sites that talk about them. I spotted the blue one while shopping an outlet store and was immediately drawn to pick it up. The feel of the pottery and the details in the design combined with my love of anything blue confirmed my initial draw to this piece. While these pieces can be very pricey, this one was not because of the store it was in. Perhaps it was an overstock or a retired design or maybe it had a flaw that kept it from a different retail store. Regardless, I purchased it and have been using it as one of my favorites ever since. The one with the green and blue flower design is a favorite for spring and summer afternoo...

It is no secret in my family that I love mugs, I have a hard time resisting the purchase of a new mug and I am thrilled when I get a mug as a gift. It is also not a secret that I love the store Anthropologie. So the first three mugs I am sharing are all from that store, and all are a embellished in their own way with the letter P for Patti. The yellow one is my first monogram mug from Anthropologie. I loved it so much that each member of the family has one. Its a great shape, size and I love the shade of yellow. When we all are having coffee, you never pick up the wrong mug and accidently sip another's drink. The gold monogramed mug is from a special edition series one Christmas. It is a little fussy as you can't put it in the dishwasher, but what a lovely presentation it makes so it is worth the hand wash. We discovered a wonderful tea drink called a Peppermint Bark Fog at the Oxford Exchange in Tampa. I purchased the loose tea and have made several pots over t...

It has been way too long since I have written a blog, but that's the beauty of working on your own time table. You can jump out and jump back in when you are ready. I am ready. It is funny to me though not a surprise that as I have contemplated how to jump back in and on what subject I would write, that I had been pondering writing on the subject of one of my collections that tell stories, MUGS! Then I decided to continue where I left off on my Alphabet Organizing and what letter do you think was next in the lineup? "M" of coarse! So I begin my 2017 year, although mid year as it may be, but I will remember that I make the rules and its okay to jump in mid year! I will take some time on the letter M as I ponder and write about my Mug collection and the stories that go with them. I will be writing under the heading of "Mug Shots" for this section. I trust you will come along and enjoy my ponderings. As with any good collection, you need a good home to ho...

  There are a few areas of the house that don't necessarily have any other function other than practicality. That would be the Laundry Room. I have been fortunate that the last few houses we have lived in had a separate laundry room. This makes for a nicely defined space, but it can also cause problems if the space becomes a catchall for miscellaneous items that do not "fit" anywhere else. This causes a crowding in an area that is designed for a specific purpose- laundry! When moving into this new home recently, I decided to break any bad habits of overcrowding the area. Since I was starting with a blank slate, I chose carefully what would go into this space. Even though I stated that this area is for practicality, I still went for an aesthetically pleasing look. As you will see in the photos, I corral many items in baskets and see through jars. I also incorporated the height I have in 10 foot ceilings so I can take advantage of storage space available. ...

  One of the areas I am evaluating in the Kitchen are my pots and pans. Specifically the frying pans. I am happy with how they are being stored. The cabinets accommodate them well. See photo below. What I am in the process of doing is replacing those that are not performing well. Whether it be heat distribution, non stick properties or size and frequency of use, all are under my scrutinizing eye! I have now replaced the largest pan with a cast iron 12" size. The weight of the cast iron distributes the heat evenly. The clean up is easy and it is non stick. I am finding I am cooking everything from eggs to chili to fish in this one pan. The next area to be evaluated were my utensils. Like many of you, I have way too many large cooking utensils at my finger tips and yet routinely reached for the same favorites time and time again. When your utensils have to be dusted periodically, its time to evaluate their usefulness! I do like to have my common cooking tools h...

So I left off my Alphabet Organizing Challenge way back in November. What happened? Where have I been? What have I been doing? This is the short version... Soon after my last post the homeowners of the house we were renting told us they were putting the house on the market to sell. Thus began the race to find a new place to move, pack up and go. Right after the new year, the house was photographed, listed and ready to show. We found a new place to live, just minutes from where we lived. Arrangements were made for the move. We packed, we purged, we sold, we donated, we planned and we kept going. It was a monster job in the midst of a very busy personal time in our lives. But we persevered and kept a good attitude and accomplished the task. Over a period of 10 days we shuttled our stuff from one house to the other. On March 31st we laid our heads down in our new home. Can you guess what I have been doing ever since? Unpacking and placing our possessions in our new ...

The letter J took me to an old (vintage) jewelry box that was my moms. It also led me to some (vintage) juice glasses that I have picked up at thrift stores. Don't you just love the word VINTAGE better than OLD?? I do! The jewelry box was purchased for my mom by my dad from Pier 1 many years ago when Per 1 was mostly just wicker and hemp and macramé. I know it was an indulgent purchase even then. I remember this jewelry box sitting on her bureau and holding all the special jewelry that my mom had. I loved to look through it and hear the stories of where some of the older pieces came   from. The mink clip on earrings, the silver and onyx bangle bracelet, the silver hammered scrimshaw bracelet that was very Asian and was never worn, but always treasured. When my mom passed away in 1988, the jewelry box was one item of my moms that I requested to have. For many years I used it. It sat on my dresser top and was a delight to my eyes and a fond memory maker...