10.30.2009

Friday Featured Art: Porch Swing

I really love Joe's new pieces (of course). Porch Swing makes me nostalgic for Missouri and our white farm house and old porch swing. There's something so relaxing about sitting on the porch in the evening - especially when there are fireflies floating about.

10.27.2009

Thursday Tunes: Tenebrae

Last Friday it was our privilege to attend a concert at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. It is such a beautiful space. In this picture of the dome, all of the colored space that you see is a mosaic - no paint. The concert was by the choral group Tenebrae from London. They sing a cappella and by candlelight. It was incredible. One of my favorites was the encore number, called The Dying Soldier. Go here to sample it.


The Met: Live in HD

On Saturday, we attended The Met: Live in HD at a movie theater not far from here. What a fascinating concept! The Met Opera broadcasts live performances to movie theaters across the country. During the intermissions, you get to see the scenery changes and hear interviews with the characters. We saw Aida, and it was very good.

10.26.2009

Brown County State Park

I mentioned that we went to Nashville, Indiana, a week ago. The town was very fun, but the point of our trip was to stay at Brown County State Park. We like to stay at the cabins near Abe Martin Lodge. It was a beautiful time of year to be there. Fall colors are an amazing gift from Heavenly Father.

10.22.2009

Thursday Text: Sense and Sensibility

Last night, I finished reading Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. It was delightful. (I picked up a copy when we were in Winchester.) Here's a quote from Mr. Edward Ferrars:

I wish as well as every body else to be perfectly happy; but like every body else it must be in my own way.

10.21.2009

Nature's Emporium Soap Company

Last weekend, we went to Nashville, Indiana. I need to write more about it - it was beautiful and very fun. For today, one of the things I wanted to note is the Nature's Emporium Soap Company. One of the gift shops in Nashville carried their soap. It is lovely. I got a bar of the Pink Moon soap - it's lilac. Tony got a Thunder Moon bar because he said it smelled like the West. Sure enough, it has juniperberry, cedar, and lavender. Yum!


10.20.2009

Mercury Glass Lamp

I got the latest Pottery Barn catalog in the mail the other day, and I really love this lamp. I love the flowers and vines etching. I love the patina. It is beautiful (but rather expensive). I bought a small pendant light earlier this summer that has a similar look to it. I'll have to post a picture of it...

10.19.2009

Ethan Allen

We finally ordered a sofa for our living room! My old couch has done a great job for 10 years, but it is time for it to be retired. We scoured the area and ended up at Ethan Allen. We had a really great experience there and decided on the Hepburn sofa in the 71" (love seat) size. With the big sale going on right now, we were able to get this beautiful damask fabric. We're hoping that it will arrive before Christmas!


10.16.2009

Friday Featured Art: David Tress

I picked up a copy of Cardiff Life magazine when we were in Cardiff. There was an article about an exhibit at the Albany Gallery. I really loved all of the artists that were featured, but I had a hard time locating them online. The gallery is running a new exhibit featuring the work of David Tress. He works in mixed media and depicts local settings in an abstract way. This is a cathedral in Pembrokeshire. I like it.

10.15.2009

Thursday Tunes: The Typewriter

The other night, we were listening to the "Pops" station on XM radio. We heard this fun song, called The Typewriter. Here's a version from Germany:


10.14.2009

Pre de Provence

I love Pre de Provence soap - do you? I picked up one of these cute, little squares in peony when we were in Galena on Saturday. We use these for hand soap in our bathroom, and the place in Galena had scents that I had never seen before. One of my favorites when we lived in Missouri was brazil nut, but it was so dark brown that it left streaks in the sink!

10.13.2009

Masterpiece Mystery

Lately I've been watching Masterpiece Mystery on Monday nights. Where we live, they've been showing episodes of Inspector Lewis. It's kind of a British Law & Order-type show. Very interesting.

10.12.2009

Galena Beads

On Saturday, we headed over to Galena, Illinois. It is a lovely old mining town with fun shops and restaurants along the historic Main Street. One of my favorite things about Galena is Galena Beads. They have a great selection of Vintaj natural brass. I stocked up so I can make more pieces like this necklace, found in my Etsy shop.


10.09.2009

Friday Featured Art: Minerva Teichert

When I watched NieNie on Oprah the other day, I noticed Minerva Teichert's painting of Esther in one of her rooms. This is one of Minerva's paintings that I really like. She painted mostly in the 30s and had a very distinct style. I'm not partial to all of her work, but I do love some of it. What do you think?


(Sara - I can't remember if you like her work or don't like her work...)

10.08.2009

Thursday Text: John Keats

I went to see the movie Bright Star on Friday. It reminded me of how much of Keats' poetry I really love. I need to dig out my British literature anthology for a refresher. Here's a bit from Endymion:

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.

(And, yes, I absolutely loved the movie. Of course I loved the poetry and the fact that it was in England, and I loved Fanny Brawne's fashion. The whole thing was beautiful and heartbreaking.)

10.07.2009

Mind the Gap

I really thought that I would be done with posts about the UK, but then I watched the General Relief Society Meeting. Barbara Thompson gave a talk called Mind the Gap. She referred to the famous phrase regarding the Tube in London and said:

Many of us have gaps in our own lives. Sometimes it is the difference between what we know and what we actually do or the gap between our goals and what we actually accomplish. These gaps can be reminders of ways in which we can improve...

The talk is very good and a great reminder of what we can do in our lives to "mind the gap."

10.06.2009

HP Brown Sauce

One last post about British food... HP brown sauce. This stuff is so good. It's made of malt vinegar and molasses and some other things. One of the things that McDonald's serves for breakfast over there is a bacon roll (below). It's Canadian-style bacon (ham) on a hoagie bun with brown sauce. Yum! Traditional British breakfast consists of eggs and toast plus bacon (ham) and/or sausage, baked beans (out-of-a-can kind), and sometimes fried mushrooms. Very interesting and good and full of protein!


10.05.2009

Deodorant UK Style

A little-known and fascinating thing that I learned in the UK is that almost all of their deodorant is spray or roll-on. I'm not sure why - I may have to look into this more. But it was very noticeable when we were at the grocery store. I just looked at the US Dove site - we get two sprays and one roll-on, and then we have the clinical strength option. Do we just sweat more?


10.02.2009

Friday Featured Etsy Seller: Wren Handmade

Laura Normandin is one of the craft editors at Martha Stewart. I love her stuff. Lucky for us, she has an Etsy shop: Wren Handmade. Her crochet projects are so creative. And don't you love these bobby pins?


10.01.2009

Thursday Text: William Morris

As I'm working on settling into a new home, I have had the following words by William Morris on my mind:

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.

So wise.