The Secret Garden Collection

Liberty Art Fabrics Interiors has introduced a new collection based on the much-loved book, The Secret Garden.  The collection of fabrics and wallpapers is so beautiful.  I have really fallen in love with floral prints (especially from Liberty), and I think that they should overrun everyone's home.

Barr-Co. Hand Cream

Time for a new tube!  Barr-Co. hand cream in the original scent is the greatest thing ever (if you live in a bitterly-cold climate, like I do).

Thomas Cole's "The Voyage of Life"

Last weekend we made one of our 24-hour trips to St. Louis.  While we were there, we visited the St. Louis Art Museum, which is really great.  It's housed in one of the permanent buildings from the 1904 World's Fair and is free to visit.  Right now they have a special exhibit featuring all four original paintings from Thomas Cole's "The Voyage of Life" series.  (A second set hangs in the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., and we saw them last spring.)  The paintings are visually typical of the Hudson River School, and I like the allegory of man traveling the river of life.  This is the first, titled Childhood.  The Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Instituted in Utica, New York, owns all four pieces.

Bodum Electric Kettle

One of the really handy things that we've found recently is this electric kettle by Bodum.  Hotel rooms in England typically have kettles like this, and we used them to make instant oatmeal (or porridge, as they call it).  They're also great for hot chocolate, or anything that calls for boiling water!

Latter-Day Home Art

Have you browsed Latter-Day Home lately?  They have some really lovely art.  I especially like the Utah/pioneer-themed prints, like this one of seagulls.  And this letterpress version of The Living Christ document is so beautiful.

Liberty Valentine's Gifts

Liberty has a lovely Valentine's Day Gift Guide on their web site.  If we had tons of money and nothing to spend it on, I would ask for this beautiful bumblebee ring.  I've also been thinking lately about sewing patches of Liberty fabric onto shirts - so imagine my surprise when I saw this sweater!  (At 320 pounds, I think I might be able to make one that's more affordable...)

Seashells

When we were in Florida in January we found tons of fascinating seashells.  We found so many that we had to mail a box home.  I decided to display them in a glass jar.  I made a little tag with the date and location to tie around the top.  What a fun memento.

Beyond France

Here's a great source for beautiful vintage European linens for your home.  I was looking at the UK Country Living web site, and it led me to Beyond France.  I especially love these indigo-dyed tea towels and grain sacks.

Bedroom Makeover

For Christmas I did a bedroom makeover.  I have a few last things to work on, but here's the new look.  One thing that you can't see is the new knobs I got from Hobby Lobby for the nightstands.  (We have one on each side with matching lamps.)  The lamps are from WalMart, the rug runner is from Target - as are new sheets and a blanket.  The quilt and shams are from Overstock.com.  The big square pillow is from IKEA.  I'm trying to decide if I should embroider it or stencil on it...  At the foot of the bed is my wool throw from Petworth, UK and some embroidered fabric that Tony brought back from India (I sewed it around the edges to make a runner).  I used these two items as the inspiration for the room.  I have yet to do curtains, but I'm happy with things so far.  It's quite cozy!  (Let me know if you want any more details...)

The Great British Baking Show

Have you been watching The Great British Baking Show?  It's a baking competition airing on PBS, and it's so great.  I thought that the episode about biscuits was so interesting.  This season was filmed on the grounds of Welford Park, a private home in Berkshire famed for its beautiful fields of snowdrops.  You can catch up here starting from Episode 3, if you watch in the next 5 days.  And I just found out that there's a companion cookbook!  (Find it on Amazon here.)

Ribbon Spool

One of the things that I got for Christmas was this multi-tiered spool of ribbon.  Each level rotates independently.  The wooden spools were made in India, and I found it at TJ Maxx!  I think it's clever and pretty.  (And I love the ribbon.)

Penguin Threads

We made it through the blizzard, and I promise to return to more regular posting!  I thought that I had posted about these book covers before, but I can't seem to find anything.  So it's kind of old news, but Penguin has a series of classic books featuring hand-stitched cover designs.  The first three were designed by Jillian Tamaki, and you can see her process here.  This is so fascinating to me.  I love that they're using a traditional craft in a modern way.