Friday Featured Etsy Seller: Sidereal

This shop may have also come to me through Pinterest...  Sidereal is a fabulous Etsy shop featuring lovely little botanical embroidery.  I think it must be doubly awesome because Lynn lives in Skagit Valley (a really great place to visit if you've never been there).  These poppies are so pretty.

Thursday Text: Literary Map of the British Isles

I think I saw this on Pinterest...  (It's not a quote or a book.)  It's a literary map of the British Isles - what a brilliant idea!

Beehive Stained Glass

We went on kind of a spur-of-the-moment trip to Nauvoo this weekend.  We drove down after church and then stayed into Monday (Memorial Day).  It was nice but rainy...  At one of the shops, my husband found this pretty replica beehive stained glass.  I'm still deciding where to hang it, but I'm really excited to have it!

Bath House

I really can't resist things with lovely scents...  Bath House is a British company based in the heart of Cumbria that creates unique fragrances and beauty products.  I got a travel size version of their White Cedar and Pear perfume from Merz the last time that we were there

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Tanamachi Studio

I believe I saw this on Pinterest.  I really love the sentiment.  Beautiful chalkboard art by Tanamachi Studio.

Friday Featured Etsy Seller: Mrs. Eliot Books

Mrs. Eliot Books is a cute Etsy shop based in London.  Especially fun is Francesca Iannaccone's washi tape design, seen here on a practical tray.

Thursday Tunes: Winter Wind

I heard some Chopin on our local classical station the other day that I had not heard before.  Etude No. 11 in A minor, Op. 25 'Winter Wind,' played here by Evgeny Kissin.

Mollie Makes

I picked up a copy of Mollie Makes the other day.  It's a lovely British magazine, and the issue I bought came complete with a little kit for making a felt bird keyring!  There are lots of fun projects, including these cute dog puppets.  Check out their web site here.

Spring Bouquet

We bought our house last summer, and it's been fun to see what flowers are coming up in our yard.  Here's a lovely bouquet that I made from our inherited bulbs.

Yardley London

Our anniversary was last weekend, and we spent the day in Chicago.  We picked up a few things at Merz, including some Yardley body wash.  Yardley is a classic staple of British beauty goods.  I got some lovely Lily of the Valley, and Tony got the masculine Citrus and Wood.  That was kind of fun because the lily of the valley flowers in our yard have started blooming!

Friay Featured Art: William S. Rice

William S. Rice was another artistic discovery that resulted from our trip to San Francisco.  He was a woodblock print artist who worked in the Arts and Crafts style.  Here's a beautiful print that he made of Yosemite.  I love mountains at night.

Thursday Text: Matched

Another recommendation from my sister for the science-fiction/fantasy category was Matched by Ally Condie.  She forgot to tell me that it was part of a trilogy, so it was a real cliffhanger at the end!  It's kind of in the vein of The Giver or The Hunger Games but without the violence (and with more romance...).  I just finished the second installment (Crossed) and am about the request the third (Reached) from my library.

Sechura Towels

I saw these towels at Anthropologie and thought they were fantastic.  We just have white towels, but this could be a fun way to add some color to your powder room.

Shaun the Sheep

Do you watch Shaun the Sheep?  It is delightful.  It's a stop-motion animated series that spun off from Wallace and Gromit.  The sheep don't speak, but they are hilarious nonetheless.  I really liked the "Off the Baa" episode.

Super Duper

While we were in California, we ate at a place called Super Duper Burgers in Mill Valley.  It was pretty awesome.  This is a picture of our meal: veggie burgers with hummus, cucumber, and the works; garlic fries with super sauce, homemade mayo, and chipotle for dipping; and lemonade made with brown sugar.

Friday Featured Art: Henry Evans

I have a few more things to note from our trip to San Francisco...  At the San Francisco Botanical Garden, we saw some lovely flower prints by Henry Evans.  I liked the California poppies (top).  The bottom picture is ranunculus and cornflowers.  (I'm pretty sure that my husband has a Henry Evans somewhere in his ancestry.)

Thursday Text: Fablehaven

My sister and my nephew have been recommending books to me.  One that I read for this month's science-fiction/fantasy themed book club was Fablehaven by Brandon Mull.  It was highly recommended by my 11-year-old nephew who waited for hours to meet the author at a book signing.  It's a fun story about two siblings who go to stay with their grandparents only to find out that they are the keepers of a magical preserve.  What my sister and nephew neglected to tell me was that it's the beginning of a 5-book series!  I'll be busy this summer...

Victorian Trading Co.

My mom gets the Victorian Trading Co. catalog, and I like browsing through it when I'm visiting.  It has lovely and unique things like this ultra-feminine Sienna Lace Blouse and these pretty Honey Bee Earrings.  So pretty.

Voluspa French Cade Lavender

When we were in San Francisco I bought a Voluspa cut glass jar candle from Anthropologie.  (Not unique to San Francisco but something I've had my eye on...)  I got the smaller version in French Cade Lavender.  It smells heavenly.

Dawes Design

I saw an ad for Dawes Design in a book in my metal jewelry class this morning, and I had to look it up.  Dawes Design is the collection of Jennifer Dawes of Sonoma County, California.  In addition to these lovelies, she offers simple, stackable rings.  Her pieces are beautiful and timeless. 

Friday Featured Art: The Bowles Porcelain Gallery

One of the areas of the Legion of Honor Museum that I really liked was The Bowles Porcelain Gallery.  Pieces from the 18th century Chelsea porcelain from England (bottom) reminded me of a Chelsea reproduction that I bought for my mom at the Palace of Holyroodhouse shop in Edinburgh (top).  Lovely.

Thursday Text: Pippa's Song

A snippet of this poem came to me the other day, and when I looked it up I realized how appropriate it was for this time of year.  The name doesn't give much of a clue to the content, though.  It's Pippa's Song by Robert Browning.

The year's at the spring,
And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hill-side's dew-pearl'd;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in His heaven--
All's right with the world!

Squirrel Nutcracker

We have so many squirrels in our yard these days (probably because I feed them)!  So I loved this nutcracker when I saw it at Anthropologie.