Philadelphia in The Spring

O.K. I live here and I love it. The river brings me so much peace even though I do drive eight miles to buy milk, work endlessly in the yard,and always have some chore to do. It is a very beautiful place. There are not many restaurants in Corbin City, one gas station, and that's about it. But we all make trade offs. I crave the quiet, the wild life and the friends along the river. Somehow it inspires me, makes me a better person. So I give up shopping in cute boutiques close to home, walking to a really fine restaurant, stopping for coffee after a movie. I understand and accept that. BUT sometimes I get the bug and want to live in the city!!!!!! Even for a short time. I had an appointment on Tuesday so my sister Dotty and I decided to have lunch in Washington Square. A spring day on Washington Square is magical. With the trees in bloom and so many people strolling I wanted to be a part of the hustle and bustle. There were people on blankets, cool stylish mothers with cute babies in strollers, people who looked like they were sophisticated and belonged in the city. . Even when I was young and worked in the city I choose the country life. I needed my garden, trees in my yard, and the birds singing when I woke up. I guess that's me, but It doesn't mean I can't live and love the passion some have for this different life. . I saw the passion Tuesday, on a bright spring day.


We tried to have lunch in a little restaurant Tallulah's, boo hiss, they only served dinner. But look at the photos..... Their garden was full of incredible, edible, plants. Lettuce, herbs , naturism and more. Even a country girl could get ideas for her garden. I am surely coming back some evening with B.C..

Don't you just want to pick this, or is that the country girl comming out?

This is Dotty's house when we move here.
This is mine!

Official Summer Opening

The Summer has officially started. the annual Bay Fest celebration was Saturday in a sleepy little town called Somers Point N.J.. A place where my children spent there summers growing up. It's kind of a fishing village that has matured lately. Christine and Michael remember summers on the bay beach, afternoons at the small public Library, and Friday nights at Ernie's listening to music and dancing to the sounds of big bands. Yes, it was a step back in time, something I will always be grateful to. Grateful, that I could expose my children to a time and place that was safe, and healthy, to bring a child up in. A place where my children could ride there bikes and fish off the docks till dusk. Only with the sound of me hollering " come home now It's time to go to bed. I can still remember Michael and his friend Tommy fishing from 6 am till 9 pm every day. Or Christine and her friend hiding secert notes in the attic floor. I know my children value the summers spent there as Christine's has a dog named Somers and Michael just got his first apartment in Somers Point. It's a great small town, part of what America has been built on. A town where you start to believe in the values of our country.
Crazy kids
Jason loves us as in laws


A great family day, I love my kids
I am really good at beer pong but I lost here
B.C. wanting to be at the Tiki Bar.


I am not sure who is in wolfs clothing?


They had a petting zoo with a turkey????
The Tiki Bar has officially opened, this is at the dock where B.C. keeps our boat in Somers Point All summer long when I can't find B.C. guess where he is?????? But it's somers point, so it can't be a problem.

Comfortable Decor Tips

William Sonoma has a pretty good enews letter that often features tips to the trade on decorating. This news letter features my favorite designer Bunny Williams, love her decorating, love her advice, love her style. Isn't it just like Bunny to say leave the newspapers around.

I see it all the time - customers using family photos to decorate a room. Remember they are not an accessorie to cover all spaces, they also are not art. While designating a wall to display family photos framed in a similar style can be a fun look, having a 2' x 3' portrait of you in your wedding gown over the sofa can be a bit tacky.
This is it for today as I need to continue following the Royal Wedding. What an upper!

I Bought Yellow shoes.

Emerson made flower pins
I really want one and so does Christine.


I was sooooo excited when I saw these yellow shoes, just had to have them. They made me happy. I was looking forward to sunny days to wear them with jean shorts and a white tee. Maybe I would pair a Emerson Made red flower with them, if I was feeling funky. Then my sister made fun of them &#***&^. Was I crazy? Were they too young? After all they are just plastic..... What did I see in them? I'll tell you what I saw, I saw summer, and lazy carefree days, tan legs and shorts. Jumping up in the morning and throwing on flip flops and a sun dress. Grilling steaks for dinner and eating at 9 pm so as not to waste any daylight. Lazy boat rides down the river ( with a cocktail in hand) sitting on our porch having cocktails with our friends. The smell of sun tan lotion, sandy towels, and the cool ocean flowing over my head. They were more than just yellow shoes to me !!!! And I think I will get my sister a pair. Besides Jacob Lusk wore yellow shoes on American Idol last night.

If I were to paint my walls a bold summer color It would be: Benjamin Moore #312 crowne hill yellow it's a yellow with orange undertones. If you need to play it a bit safer go for #297 golden honey, it still will warm you up but has just a bit of gray in it so is easier on the eyes. Remember- if you feel like screaming when you first see your room painted "OMG it's so bright, so dark so intense" be easy on yourself. When you put back the furniture and wall art some of the color is absorbed and it is less intense. Just what you wanted.
I would love to drive a yellow car
Think of how boring this room would be without a touch of yellow
Or this room
Or this room

And on
And on
And on........

They are back

These creatures are incredible. I put out my feeder and sure enough they have returned. I make up a mixture of 1 part sugar to 3 parts water and feed them spring through the late fall. I never tire of watching them dart around. Did you know they can fly up, down, forward, backward, sideways, upside down, and up to 60 miles an hour. They can be aggressive, I have watched then chase big birds away from their territory. They feed constantly, some summer days I use up to two quarts of sugar water. It's important to keep the mixture fresh, changing it every four or five days. I am jealous of their high energy level. I bet they have all their projects done.

It was so nice to wake up to the sounds of spring this morning, thinking that I would be carried down river with all the rain last night. I opened my eyes to bright sunshine and listened to the sounds of birds. Whatever horrible, self loathing, pitying thoughts I had about my life, work, family, ability to get things done, messy closets, unfinished projects, not started projects, were instantly gone. I now had visions of lazy summer days. I was tan and 10 pounds lighter ,serving cocktails and hors d'Oeuvres on my porch. Kayaks paddled by and Jack Johnson was playing softly in the background. My gardens were in full bloom, and I had created a beautiful circular herb garden with a bird feeder in the center. My work was all caught up and I could spend the next day painting along the river. " GET UP Michele " said B.C.. Oh, no, was I dreaming? But I peaked outside and it was sunny and they were back - the hummingbirds.

Ahh, Nature Decorates

We all know I'm a woodsy kind of girl, always dreaming of the perfect life.... Living in a cottage by a river ( O.K. that I am) , collecting fresh eggs every morning for the frittata I am making ( B.C. wont buy me chickens), picking fresh produce from my exploding garden ( I am getting some lettuce now) having the time to work and still do all this ( we need 48 hour days). But anyway I still was excited to see a trend of nature in home decorating. So maybe I can steal an hour to take a walk and fill my home with nest, shells, and twigs, so it's as pretty as some of the showrooms at the High Point N.C. furniture market.
Lots of nature in the art shown, this is a collection of antique prints re-colored for today's market.




I am always attracted to layered art, but the simple branches just sends me.



While not exactly natural, I find him kind of funky, yup I'd hang him in my house.


I would love to see this table mixed with linen in a more formal setting.


Tired of tile or wainscoting on the front of your bar ? Try logs!


I think they are making fun of antler mounts, but I love them...



I am painting this over B.C. bed.


Pine cones, branches, shells, rocks, it all works to bring nature in.


Don't forget the power of green, plants I mean.




Sweet little birds.


Bark on walls.
Bark on furniture.