Introducing Oscar Wiley III

 His name was "Cotton" in the shelter, which is apropos, since he looks like a big scruffy cotton ball.
They said he was a stray, roaming the streets in a nearby city, which broke my heart.
After much pleading on my part, Mr. A agreed we could adopt him.

~ Introducing Oscar Wiley, III ~

Our 8 month old Maltese mix rescue dog!

Everyone loves him, and he loves everyone!

Even Mr. A loves him, which I knew he would.

He's very good with little girls...

...and big girls with big dogs.

He plays well with his new friends...

...and doesn't mind a bath.

We even took him shopping for mattresses, and he picked the perfect organic cotton mattress!

We wore him out!

I wonder if he realizes how lucky he is to have found a loving home.

But we're the lucky ones!

He is the perfect dog!

My New Best Friend

This is what happens when you stop in the brand new, state-of-the-art pet adoption center on a whim.

Which is what I did on Valentine's Day.

I came home with a new best friend!

I'm in love!

More to follow...

My Top Three Valentine's Day Love Songs

"You and me babe, how 'bout it...."

Happy Valentine's Day!

As a hopeless romantic, I'm a sucker for love songs!

Here are my top three love songs that I never tire of listening to.
Beginning with "Romeo and Juliet." Mark Knopfler sings about the famous star crossed lovers that would have Shakespeare keeping the beat!  Listen to the piano and guitar solo at the beginning and the end.

"Love comes out of nowhere babe, just like a hurricane... and it feels like rain."

 John Hiatt's "Feels Like Rain," about love in New Orleans is more than romantic, it's just plain sexy! 

So many have covered this song, but John is the real deal.

"Under the moon and the stars above, it was a perfect love."

This song about a lifelong love always gets to me.  My kids think it's the cheesiest song ever, but I never tire of it.  The guitar, Marc Cohn's voice and the surprise voice that joins his in harmony....
See if you recognize who it is.

Source: youtube.com via Delores on Pinterest

These three songs are special to me because of the emotions they evoke when I listen to them.
They are my love songs.  They are our love songs.
Tell me, what are yours?

St. Valentine's Day Poem and Tablescape

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)

i am never without it

(anywhere i go you go, my dear;

and whatever is done by only me

is your doing, my darling)

 i fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet)

 i want no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)

 and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

 here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;

 which grows higher than soul can hope 

or mind can hide)

 and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart.

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

~e.e.  cummings

This poem was what I was thinking of when I set this Valentine's table for two in the living room.

It is my favorite love poem, a sonnet almost.

 I think it should be a song, it's so beautiful, don't you?

I'm joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday

I'm linking up to Laura at Decor to Adore for her Valentine's Day Party

I'm joining Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

50 Shades Of Green

Source: thethingsyoucarry.tumblr.com via Toni on Pinterest

When Pantone named Emerald Green the color of the year, I did a little happy dance because green is and always has been my favorite color.

Source: schoengeistig.tumblr.com via Delores on Pinterest

"Green is the prime color of the world,

and that from which its loveliness arises."

~Pedro Calderon de la Barca

Source: jamieramos.tumblr.com via Delores on Pinterest

Growing up in Oregon, it seemed that the whole world was green!

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via Delores on Pinterest

I've always wanted to bring that color inside, because psychologically it has a calming effect on me, just like it does when I'm in a forest.

Which is exactly how I feel when I'm in my kitchen, ever since I painted it green.
Calm.

Green is the new neutral.
It simply agrees with every other color.
I love how it pairs with red...

...and how it agrees with brown,

And how it goes with leopard.

Leopard is a color, right?

It even looks great with orange!

Source: habituallychic.blogspot.com via Delores on Pinterest

There are so many beautiful shades of green.  I don't think I've ever met a green it didn't like!
Green is:
 "Lively, sophisticated and prosperous."
"Harmonious, rejuvenating and balanced."
"Energizing, healing and regenerative."

Emerald, the color of the year for 2013.

Thank you Pantone!
You made me a very happy green girl!

Does green make you happy too?

Happy Hour!

Vintage barware is a hot collectible at the moment, and I'm all over it!

I've slowly been collecting martini shakers, flasks, carafes, etc., found at various junk and thrift stores.

My criteria is that I don't pay much for any of it!

In fact, nothing cost more than $20 on this tray, including the tray itself!

I especially like the "vodka" bottle, even though it came without a lid.  What do you expect for five dollars!  I will fill it with water for now, like I did the little gin bottle on the left.

You see, the thing is that we're not really cocktail people.

I just love how it all looks, gathered together, waiting for happy hour!

The look I'm going for is masculine with a touch of tartan!

And the buffet in the living room is the perfect place to set up the bar.

It sits at the ready for happy hour!

I'll have mine "shaken, not stirred please!"

I'm joining Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
I'm also joining Kim at Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday.

A Majolica Inspired Tablescape

Six majolica plates, all different, were the inspiration for this tablescape that my BFF Maureen and I created last weekend.

We spent our birthday weekend in the wine country antiquing and hunting and gathering. 

 We found the motherlode of majolica at The Vintage Bank Antiques in Petaluma.  

I bought one plate and she bought five.

Together, we set the table using a Provencal inspired tablecloth as the foundation.

The idea was to create a table that is a riot of color, pattern and texture!

The ruby red glasses are a punch of color, pulling everything together and unifying the patterns and colors in the majolica.

 I bought six at a consignment shop, and Maureen found six more at another store, Food For Thought Antiques in Sebastapol.

We both love them for their elegant simplicity.

The centerpiece is simply white decorative cabbage, mimicking majolica patterns.

We set five plants in an old green crusty window box and tucked in burlap to hide the pots.

A few rustic candlesticks and rosemary topiaries on the ends of the table complete the look.

It was fun to pull our creativity together, both arranging and rearranging, as well as photographing the table.

With the battery dead in my Canon, we had to use our iPhones to do the photoshoot!

Maureen will probably hang her five majolica plates on her kitchen wall.  It is the beginning of a new collection for her.  I have a nice collection at home already, so I kept my one under glass in Asti.

Sources:

Tablecloth and napkins:  Pottery Barn

Decorative Cabbage:  Garrett Ace Hardware, Healdsburg

Majolica Plates: The Vintage Bank Antiques,  Petaluma

Red Stemware:  Food For Thought Antiques, Sebastapol

All other plates, candles, silverware, etc., from my own collection in Asti

I'm joining Kim at Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday.

I'm joining Sherry at No Minimalist Here for her Open House Party.

I'm also linking up to Tablescapes Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.