Maritime Finds

David and I just returned from a week in the Maritimes (east coast of Canada, where my parents have always resided), where we attended the burial of my father.  He died in March, but there was a lot of snow at the time, so they bury the dead in the spring instead (caskets are stored in a cold vault in the meantime) once the snow is gone and the ground is thawed out.  

The burial service was lovely and hard at the same time, but begins to provide some closure. 

My mother selected a lovely burial plot high on a hill, adjacent to a white fence in a cemetery near her home.  It is a very idyllic and would have made Dad very happy as it sits high on a hill not far from a river in which he loved to fish.  Mom and I also went shopping for headstones and purchased a lovely, classic one which will be used for her and Dad.  Death is a very strange thing, and the exercise of burying a loved one and buying a headstone is both a sombre and strangely humourous affair.  We shall all end up in the same place after all, and I can only hope I am so lovingly discharged from the planet as Dad was. 

After we bought the headstone (which cost a small fortune, by the way), we wandered over to a great little antique shop in Fredericton, called Old Tyme Antiques & Collectibles (on Main Street, north side).  I loved puttering around in there and chatting with the sweet shopkeeper, a lovely and witty man from the french east coast of New Brunswick.

I spied lots of treasures, but finally decided on this old hand-painted photograph from the 1920's, which depicts a light house in Maine (we reckon, as the inscription reads "Portland Head Light" by a photographer called Burrowes).

We also found a more recent (1940's) hand-painted photograph of Castle Mountain, in the Canadian Rockies, which is about 1 hour from our home in Calgary.  So we had to bring that home to its rightful region of Canada!  

While we were "home", David and I did a couple of drives around the nearby countryside, as I like to play tour guide.  Here are a couple of pretty shots from the South Road, a pretty country road in my town.  All the crabapple trees were in bloom. 

Besides the little barn tour, we also did a cemetery tour of some of the older sites in town.  I was delighted to see great swaths of pretty violets (New Brunswick's provincial flower) in one of the old burial gronds:

We also went out picking fiddleheads along the river in front of my mother's house, here:

Fiddleheads grown best in riparian (river's edge) areas that are flood plains and a little marshy.  This patch had been already picked over (they are cut off the plant just as they emerge from the ground before becoming a full-size fern, the Ostrich Fern) but we found new shoots coming up each day:

Across the river is a beautiful rock wall:

Oh, and I didn't mention that whilst fiddleheading, I sprained my ankle badly (a second degree sprain, meaning I ripped the heck out of my ligaments) early in the week. After lots of ice, and an x-ray, I had to hobble around on crutches in an air brace for the rest of the week.  I am still in a Tensor bandage and have been icing as its still swollen and bruised.  P.S. I got a lot of sympathy with my crutches, so I highly recommend them if you are feeling blue and want some attention...

And last but not least, we also managed to get some lobster after a short drive to the coast.  The lobster in the foreground was mine - look at his big claw!  David had to crack it for me!  Sorry I didn't spend much time styling the photo - my butter was getting cold!

Also on the cemetery tour, I came across the grave of one of my great-grandfathers and snapped this shot:My home town is full of churches of all denominations but here is one of my favorites, the United Church in a nearby town on a stormy evening: 

After that totally mad week, which was full of ups and downs, I am ready for a break before heading back to work Monday.  In fact, I could use a week off after my week off.  But I don't think I will get one. Besides house work, I have to plant my annuals tomorrow... if my busted ankle holds up. 

And we have to find a spot for our new rose bush, shown here inside our potting shed:

It has the prettiest big pink roses with a gentle, sweet scent, but I know nothing about keeping roses.  Any tips (besides water and sunlight)?  It is hardy to Zone 3, so should survive our miserable winters.  

Hope you have enjoyed your visit.  Sorry I am not posting much...have been much too busy with work, my new book club, gardening, investments, and trying to do some career development. I do hope to take on a number of decorating projects this summer, so stay tuned...

This!

I finally found the headboard I want for my spare room!  I forgot that I had seen the perfect headboard in Paris! 

This gracious beauty was for sale at Blanc d'Ivoire's shop in Printemps. It was even the perfect height for my location.  And now I recall why I didn't buy it - they don't ship to Canada and it was about 800 Euros, which is a little over my budget for a simple headboard.  But oh, how I lingered over it.  I snapped this shot for you, dear readers (the saleslady was rather cross with me).

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Tonight I found this beauty at OKA design, another favorite shop over the pond.  They probably would ship to Canada but it's also rather dear (almost 1000 pounds!).

Oh, and just in case you're wondering, that Ethan Allen bed was CAN$2800 (about $2400 US).  Can you believe it?  I mean seriously, it's probably machine made in China.  I shall have to investigate further and find out - perhaps it is made slowly and surely by skilled craftsmen and would be worth the cost, but I doubt it.  

Which brings me back to the upholstered bed frame.

I still cannot find one ready-to-buy in the height I require.  I am now considering having one custom-made, like this beauty, also from OKA.  Several shops in town will make simple upholstered headboards, saving one tedious hours of DIY (no, it is not so easy - I know a designer who spent 6 hours making one, not to mention the time to get the rental saw from Home Depot, the wood, the fabric, etc. when you don't have a live-in carpenter/seamstress).  I would rather pay someone $700 (the going rate) and get a perfect custom job with a removable slip I can launder.

But I am still on the fence.  I have living room furniture in need of TLC (an upholstery job, a slipcover job), and we need a new furnace.  And I want a new digital camera.  Ah...the joys of slow decor indeed.  

Happy hunting to you too.

How Much is that Flower in the Window?

Spring takes forever here in the Canadian desert, in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains.  We are in a Zone 3b after all.  But I guess it could be worse...it could be the Yukon.  I thought I would show you my darling and tenacious double-flowering plum, the magnificent shrub which sits outside our living room window.

The sweet and sad part is...the only branch that has begun to flower is the one sitting up against the window (which is warm, I suppose). Poor little dear.  The rest of the plant has barely got its little buds (see branches in the background).

It is so lovely sitting inside the house, seeing this gorgeous pink confection of flowers pressed up against the window while the rest of Spring seems so far behind.  The grass is greening up and shoots are appearing in the garden, but this is the first true flower in our yard.  Neighbours have daffodils and tulips now too.

Soon I will have lilacs!  Oh, how I hate being so far behind in the garden...

On another note, I checked out all the beds at Ikea and they were a sorry lot indeed.  All flimsy and ugly.  I did find this Gustavian-style bed at Ethan Allen, but it exceeds my current budget.  Isn't it pretty?

I really like a high quality bed frame.  After owning an expensive bed frame (the Mission one in our master bedroom, which was hand-built by a craftsman in Ontario), it is hard to go to a cheap, flimsy frame.  Also, I much prefer a whole bed frame to a headboard, but may end up going the headboard route for affordability.  We shall see.  

I guess like the wonderful Slow Food movement, I should embrace Slow Decorating, as it seems to be the story of my life here in the Land of No Decorating Choices.

Have a great week and enjoy your flowers!

xo Terri

Spare Bedroom ~ Inspiration Found!

Thank heaven Spring is here to cheer me up with its bright, long days and budding green-ness.  I really needed a pick-me-up and the weather (and gardening season) is lifting my spirits.

In typical Spring fashion, decorating dreams begin to unfurl and the list of projects grows in my head.  The room that's been on my "to do" list is our downstairs spare bedroom.  I will post photos soon, but suffice it to say this is a favorite room, very small and cozy (10'x10'), with tall built-in bookcases, a big shaded window and a large closet.  It's very cool in summer for sleeping and we've actually grown accustomed to sleeping here more and more of the year!  There is something charming about a small, breezy room.

The room is very plain Jane right now and really needs some decor-love.

So in an effort to kick-start the process, I've compiled a few of my recent favorite inspiration photos here.  

If you've visited me before, you know I'm a fan of graceful, cool neutrals and soft grey blues.  I want this room to evoke one word:  SERENITY

  

I love the neutral walls above, but I'm considering painting the room blue (Farrow & Ball's Skylight) and using all white, cream and taupe accents.  If you recall, I bought a splendid Laura Ashley quilt (below) in Paris last Fall, as well as the little pillow at BHV in Paris.  I would like to use them both:

I also love the tranquil colours in the photo below.  The wall colour is Farrow & Ball's Pavilion Gray, which is a little too somber for me.  But I love the room's tranquility and many of the details, including the blue-gray roman shade with the striped trim:

In the furniture department, I'd love an upholstered headboard, but cannot find one that meets my specifications.  And I'd prefer to orient the bed under the window anyway, which leaves me restricted on headboard height (43").  After an exhausting search, I found this modest bed from Ikea (Vanvik), which has a low headboard and is very cost-conscious.  I plan to go see it tomorrow and pray it's suitable.

Ikea also has a Hemnes four-poster bed that caught my eye.  It does not appear to be available in white, so would require a paint job.  I don't know if the room's proportions would accomodate a four-poster, but it might enhance the nest-like quality, don't you think?  I love the idea of draping pretty fabric over the top, like this:  

Or even better...this pretty floral fabric:

The room has built-in bookshelves across one entire wall.  I would love to paint the interior a contrasting colour (perhaps white) and have been considering wallpapering the back wall of the bookcases.  But since it is built-in, it would be a sheer torture to cut and wallpaper all 24 cubbies.  If you've ever painted a bookcase, you'll know that painting the 24 shelves/cubbies will be bad enough!  But wouldn't this pretty damask paper look nice in the room?  

Perhaps I will just have to do a single panel to hang somewhere (not that I can afford F&B wallpaper, which requires a minimum two-roll purchase at the one available dealer in Calgary).

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Besides damask, I also really love this striped fabric from the beautiful and gracious Windsor Smith. She has a gorgeous, sophisticated fabric line, and I like the versatility of this stripe, perhaps for a roman blind:

Or maybe I could paint stripes on the back wall of my bookshelves?  Ah...I can see there is a lotta, lotta work to do!

Here is a Parisien inspiration room with peaceful colours, published by My Notting Hill:

I also love the photo below (the romance, the colours), but can't see myself under a gauzy coronet every night.  Perhaps in my dreams....

I will post photos of the room when I get ready to paint in a couple of weeks.  In the meantime, I am busy pondering the infinite variations on my theme.

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Photo credits: 1.David Oliver   2.UK Homes & Gardens   3.Our house   4.Eric Piasecki photographer

  5. Ikea   6&7 Living Etc.  8.Farrow & Ball website   9.Windsor Smith Home   10. My Notting Hill photo   11. Unknown UK magazine