Dog Days and Summer

Summer.  My favorite season.  Beach.  Sand.  Sun.  Shorts.  Grilling.  Long days.  Crickets at night. Heat.  Thunderstorms.  Fireflies.  Gardening. Watering the lawn.  Swimming.  Bike riding.

Dog days.

Our 85 lb. Labradoodle Kipper loves floating around in a pool.  He actually paws the water to try to get floats to him.  Seriously.

Yes, dog days of summer.  They're good for napping, too.

Wishing you a long and happy summer, from me and Kip.

Carol

Guaranteed to Make You Smile

source unknown

Happy weekend, everybody.  And Happy Mother's Day to all the moms who read my blog.  I hope you have as much joy this weekend (and every day) from the love of your kids as this little guy in the flowers.

Talk to you soon,
Carol

It's The Little Things

Life is best in the little things, like hardy laughs and pretty flowers, at lunch today with two friends I've had since I was five.   We were celebrating our birthdays.  (Mine was yesterday.  I'm trying to count my blessings rather than my years.  Like I said, the little things.)

One friend brought flowers for me and our other lifetime pal  (a little thing that meant a lot).  When I got home, I took out a tea pot my man had brought back from Moscow for me when our girls where little.   I used to take a civilized break every afternoon and brew myself tea back then.  Another little thing.

In the middle of the laughter at lunch today, I thought, how blessed I am in my life.  I have so many little things that add up to a lot.  I'm sure you do, too.

Any special little thing in your day today?

Mark Twain's Good Words

Don't you wish you could meet Mark Twain, or Emerson, or Thoreau, or any number of brilliant writers from the way back when, whose words are so pertinent on any given day?

We are halfway through the first month of the new year.  Listen to Twain...

Twenty years from now 

you will be more disappointed 

by the things that you didn't do

than by the ones you did do.  

So, throw off the bowlines.

Sail away from the safe harbor.  

Catch the trade winds in your sails. 

 Explore.  

Dream.  

Discover.

-Mark Twain-

 

Hmm, I say to that.  I'm challenging myself this year to go further from shore.  Are you?

Talk to you soon,

Carol

PS Thank you, For the Love of A House, I read this Twain quote in your sidebar!

Celebrity Magnet or What?

Yes, I'm talking about me.  It really is a laugh.  And it's actually related to my work as a designer.  Well, sort of.  Okay, so here's the story of my two encounters of late, and because I believe things happen in three's, I'm just wondering who I'll meet next...

Have you ever had a moment when the filter in your brain froze and you said something that you couldn't believe came out of your mouth?  This is what happened to me back in September.  My friend Steve (from An Urban Cottage) and I were antiquing in Maine,  where we were visiting some of his favorite haunts -- he was shopping, I was seeking out new sources for clients.

As we're coming out of one of the shops, walking out the door right in front of us, about as close as you get to someone in front of you in line at the market,  is...I didn't know!  I instantly knew this guy was famous, and Steve and I exchanged a quick "is that who I think it is?" glance, and then.  Out.of.my.mouth.flies "You're someone famous, aren't you?"  Can you believe I actually said that to someone?  Loser.  But then this guy turned around with a big grin...

And I so charmingly said "How do I know who you are?"  Pa.Lease.  Thank heavens Steve came to the rescue and said, "You're Steve Santagati, right, the relationship guy?"

And that started  a 20 minute conversation with Famous Steve, me, and my friend Steve.  Of course, I still couldn't place him (hello?), so as we all walk out into the parking lot having a laugh, I said "Relationship guy?  No, I know you from  tv or something."  (Or could it be his Armani modeling images?)  And then to add to my eloquence, I added, "I've seen you on Extra, with, ummm...what's his name, oh, Mario..."  "Yeah, Mario Lopez," says Famous Steve.  "That's it!" I said.  And then the three of us had a great chat like we had known each other forever.  Very fun.  I won't bore you with the rest, but Steve summed it up pretty well in his post here.  When all was said and done, and we were on our way to the next shop, all we could talk about was how we didn't get a picture for the blog!!

So, on to celebrity sighting Number 2.  At High Point two weeks ago, I was standing in the Althorp showroom of Theodore Alexander, talking with my colleague Robin, when a tall guy in a navy blazer comes over to us and puts his hand out to me to introduce himself.  I turned to face him as he says in his lovely British accent, "Hello, I'm Charles Spencer."  O.M.G.  Princess Diana's brother!  Are you kidding me?

 

For those of you who don't know, Theodore Alexander is a manufacturer of beautiful traditional furniture, and a few years back, Charles Spencer helped develop a line of reproduction pieces based on the antiques from Althorp, the Spencer family home.  So there he was in High Point, mingling with the common  folk(he was so gracious and real).  I now know the true definition of "my jaw dropped."  Anyway, it was a thrill to talk to him, as I am a total Anglophile.  But, it gets better...

The next day, when we were heading back home through the Charlotte airport looking for a place to have lunch,  there at a sushi bar with open seats next to him, was, you guessed it, Earl Charles Spencer!  So, I asked him if the seats were taken and would he mind if we took them.  Okay.  The guy couldn't have been nicer.

We chatted, my colleagues and me, and at the end, when his bill came, I asked for a picture with him.  I wasn't going to let this go without proof like the last one!

I was talking with a friend today who is going to assist me with an install next week, and she said she'd make the trip with me (it's three hours away) if I guaranteed a celebrity meeting.  Hmm.   I do believe in the power of positive thinking...  I'll keep you posted.

Who's the most famous person you've met?

Talk to you soon,
Carol

For help defining your house and home, click here.  

Success

"The only place where success comes before work 

is in the dictionary."

Vince Lombardi

British Homes & Gardens

The art of decorating may come easily to some, but it is always work, make no mistake.  Then, oh, the glorious results when the work pays off in beautiful surroundings...

Talk to you soon,
Carol

Newport, RI in Pictures

Does it get to you, too, the slow breeze of the summer, the heat on your back?  Does your world stop spinning, just for a while?  Do you feel your heart beat back to a normal pace, all because of the quiet of the mornings or the warmth of the evenings? 

Summer is my favorite time of year, perhaps because of the beauty of it, perhaps because it seems so fleeting in New England.

Once again, we spent a week in Newport, RI, one of my favorite places at any time of the year.  Come with me for a stroll this summer's day.  The doors beckon, the harbor calls you, the shops invite you.

This street we are on is lined with homes whose history is worn on their shutters, where the view past the neighbor opposite looks like this...

Victorians painted like gingerbread houses sit among the stately and story-weary Colonials, all along the old brick sidewalks and the narrow streets.

There is serenity in this neighborhood this summer morning.  It is quiet.  It is early.  I hear the seagulls flying high over the water.

American flags are in window boxes, on sea walls, over doorways.  Patriotism whispers on these streets.

Every home says something.

 The gates and the gardens...they enchant.

 Even the neighborhood church, just as it stood in 1875, lures you with gardens...

 It seems every driveway, no matter how small, is dressed with a garden on its side...

 Now that the sun is high, it's time to go into town.  Ice coffee is on my mind, and I'll show you my favorite spot...

Through this row of shops, and up on the corner, I stop for my drink and walk on (I shouldn't show you this, it gets crowded enough!)...

Tired yet?  Just a bit left to see...  I'll share my favorite places where you might find me, when you walk these streets...

This quaint British shop where I always look for something for my man (we are both a bit anglophile...)

Speaking of the Brits, you will see a few represented in the neighborhoods, here and there (this house is far off from this shop, but they do look alike)...

 

And then we walk past Busker's, my favorite pub for fish and chips (remember I am a foodie, and I tell you these are the best in Newport...)

And then there is the best place for a lobster roll, just down the block...

And now  I show you our treasured little joint for $1 raw bar in the late afternoons.  Fancy it is not, but cold beer and oysters win us over, and the view of the harbour out those little windows is worth everything.

Summer is spectacular no matter where you are.  But if you find yourself in Newport, walk through the neighborhoods.  They have an affect you can feel.  And stop into one of these places and say hello to me.  Chances are, I'll be there.

I hope you are enjoying your summer, too!

Talk to you soon (with design in mind!),

Carol

 

Tobacco Sheds in Black and White

Yes, you are still on my design blog.  No, I have not taken up smoking or the cause of the tobacco farmer, but I am taken with the tired, rustic beauty of abandoned tobacco sheds in North Carolina. (All photos by me.)

I was in North Carolina with my family visiting our friends over the 4th, and as we went here and there I kept being drawn to these sheds.  There was something so beautiful and so tired about them, languishing in the hot summer sun, defying defeat.  So, I made my girlfriend take me out early one morning to capture some images.  And yes, if you saw from your window earlier this week a woman taking pictures, that was me in your field,  in my pajamas and bed-head,  with coffee waiting in the car.

Here are more...

And here, in honor of the 4th of July and  love for country , I end with this...

Talk to you soon,
Carol


Let's work together for the home you've always wanted.  Email me at SofasandSage@gmail.com.

Deer Baby and My Garden

Hello gorgeous Sunday!  Just had to share this picture from my sister-in-law.  She was in her garden this week when the plants rustled and a brown head popped up, scarring the ba-jeepers out of her.  After her heart beat returned to normal and she realized what it was, she ran in the house to get her camera.  Amazingly, this sweet morning gift was still there...

Does that make you say "awww..." or what?

While I didn't find such a treasure in my own garden this Sunday morning, I thought I'd share a few shots from the front of my house...

He may not be a baby deer, but he is my baby, my gardening partner, and the official deer chaser....

What's the biggest surprise you've ever had in the garden?

Have a great day everybody!

Talk to you soon,
Carol

Happy Mother's Day and the Magic of Duct Tape

First, Happy Mother's Day to all of you women out there who have shared the joys and tears of raising a child.  There truly isn't anything to compare it to, is there?  Even when I have been exhausted or have beaten my head against the wall for the hundredth time over moral lessons or picking up clothes off the floor, I would do it all again in the blink of an eye, wouldn't you?

Now for the duct tape...I'm sure you've seen the new patterned duct tape in stores or on the web, used to make everything from handbags to wallets.  But my girlfriend's daughter, wanting to get rid of her "babyish" Disney princess waste basket in her new zebra-inspired bedroom, came up with this...

I'm thinking she's a decorator in the making!  She's all about style, this kid :)  She made her mother, my friend Ginny, pretty proud (especially as she always says her daughter must really be mine with the creativity thing hee-hee!)

Hope your Sunday was a lovely one.

Talk to you soon,
Carol

Stone Hot Love

Okay, well, stone cold love didn't sound right.  It didn't send the true message.  If I must confess, I've had a thing, a passion, for stone homes, stone floors, stone fireplaces, most things stone for just about forever. 

My dream is a limestone (looking) floor, various size tiles, variegated color, rough and elegant all at once.  Someday.  Soon.  I hope.  In my front hallway and kitchen.  In the meantime, I will continue to drool over all things stone...

Traditional Home

Traditional Home

Traditional Home

Southern Living

Is there a material, natural or man-made, that makes your heart sing?

Talk to you soon,
Carol