CHEZ FIFI

A WORLD OF BEAUTY.............

LIKE MANY, I HAVE BEEN IN LOVE WITH THE STUNNING BEAUTY OF THE WORK OF  BRITISH ARTIST AND DESIGNER 

CAROLYN QUARTERMAINE

HER DAZZLING CREATIONS ARE PRETTY AND FEMININE, ROMANTIC YET INFORMAL, A PERFECT UNION OF TEXTURES AND LIGHTNESS, OF COLOUR AND SOFTNESS. 

I UPLOADED ALL THESE PHOTOS FROM HER WEBSITE 

http://carolynquartermaine.com/index.html

WHERE YOU CAN SEE A LOT MORE. MEANWHILE TAKE A LOOK AT THESE AND DREAM ON....

DOESN'T THIS CHAIR LOOK LIKE A MILLION DOLLARS? THAT FABRIC IS JUST LUSCIOUS!

STEP INTO CAROLYN'S WORLD OF BEAUTY...........

     

CHECK THE ELEGANCE OF THE SCRIPT ON THESE AIRY FABRICS................

  

....AND THAT CHAIR IS SO INVITING.............................

   

HOW CAN YOU RESIST THESE ETHEREAL LACES? SUCH A LOVELY TAKE ON A CLASSIC ROMANTIC ICON...................

THE LACE DESIGNS EVEN COME IN COLORS LIKE THIS BLUE MOTIF............

.........AND SIMILAR TO GOLD FILIGREE.....................

THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAY THE FLUID DESIGN ON THE SUPPLE FABRIC BRINGS AN "UP-TO-DATE" ROMANCE TO THESE CHAIRS.............

THESE 2 SHADES ARE MADE FOR EACH OTHER...........................

THE LACE DESIGN SEEMS TO MIRROR THIS DELICATE SCROLL.............................

SIMPLY SOPHISTICATED..........

EVEN THE DESIGNER'S CONTEMPORARY STUDIO IS IMBUED WITH ROMANTIC HUES.....

......AND DETAILS...................

  

IT'S ALL ABOUT SHAPES AND DELICATE TOUCHES....................

I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT BESIDES CAROLYN'S WEBSITE SOME OF THESE BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS APPEARED IN MANY MAGAZINES SUCH AS: MARIE CLAIRE MAISON, ELLE INTERIOR SWEDEN, ELLE DECORATION UK, VOGUE LIVING. I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT KNOWING THE NAMES OF THE RESPECTIVE PHOTOGRAPHERS, BUT A VERY BIG THANK YOU TO THEM FOR GIVING US ALL THIS VISUAL BEAUTY.

 

        
     

 

ABOUT FRIENDS................

THIS LITTLE POEM (WHICH I DIDN'T WRITE, AND DON'T KNOW WHO THE AUTHOR IS) IS FOR ALL OF YOU MY FRIENDS WHO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE ME WITH YOUR CARING COMMENTS. I WISH I WAS CLEVER ENOUGH TO COME UP WITH THESE LOVELY WORDS MYSELF BUT I AM GLAD I CAN "BORROW" THEM BECAUSE THEY PERFECTLY EXPRESS HOW I FEEL ABOUT EACH OF YOU AND YOUR KINDNESS. I NEVER TELL YOU ENOUGH HOW MUCH IT MEANS TO ME. SO HERE YOU GO. THANK YOU.

TAKE THIS LITTLE THOUGHT FROM ME.

YOU ARE WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO BE.

ALL THE KINDLY DEEDS YOU DO,

MAKE ME WISH THAT I WERE YOU

YOU ARE THE FINET OF THE FINE,

GOOD, LOYAL FRIEND OF MINE.

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SPEAKING OF DEAR FRIENDS, MY ENGLISH "SISTER"  CHRISTINA STRUTT, THE CREATIVE GENIUS BEHIND CABBAGES & ROSES, THE FAMOUS BRITISH COMPANY, HAS A LOVELY NEW BOOK "Cabbages & Roses- AT HOME WITH COUNTRY" DUE OUT IN MARCH, JUST IN TIME FOR CABBAGES & ROSES 10TH ANNIVERSARY.

I WILL BE FEATURING PHOTOS OF AT HOME WITH COUNTRY IN THE SPRING ISSUE OF ROMANTIC COUNTRY BUT RIGHT NOW I CAN ONLY SHOW YOU THE BOOK COVER......

 

THIS EXQUISITE BOOK WAS SHOT IN THE USA AND ENGLAND AND ILLUSTRATES HOW CABBAGES & ROSES' SIMPLE FURNISHINGS, NATURAL LINENS, SOFT SHADES AND SASSY STRIPES ARE EQUALLY AT HOME IN ANY INTERIOR-- A CITY LOFT,A BEACH COTTAGE, A COUNTRY HOME, A MANOR HOUSE OR EVEN IN A TENT-- AND HOW CHRISTINA'S SENSE OF STYLE UNITES WITH HER LOVE OF HOME. 

THOUGH I CAN'T SHARE THE PHOTOS OF THE BOOK I CAN, HOWEVER, SHARE SOME FROM CABBAGES & ROSES WEBSITE. TO SEE MORE HOME AND FASHION DESIGNS JUST GO TO:

http://www.cabbagesandroses.com/

MEANWHILE ENJOY THIS LITTLE SLIDE SHOW!

CHRISTINA IS LOOKING AT OPENING A FEW STORES IN THE US NEXT YEAR. LET'S HOPE SHE DOES AS WE WILL THEN BE ABLE TO GET SOME OF HER BEAUTIFUL WARES WITHOUT HAVING TO ORDER FROM OVERSEAS HENCE SAVING THE TRAUMA OF THE EXCHANGE RATE!

I DID GET THIS BLOUSE LAST YEAR.........................

AND I LOVE THEIR WINTER FASHIONS TOO...........ESPECIALLY THIS OUTFIT...ALL I NEED IS FOR THE WEATHER (HERE) TO STOP BEING IN THE 80S!......................

  

CABBAGES & ROSES SHINES BY THE HONESTY OF ITS NATURAL FABRICS, HOMEY DETAILS, AND HEARTFELT DESIGNS. 

I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE STORES TO OPEN HERE. HOW ABOUT YOU?????? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IN THE MOOD..............

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO LEAVE COMMENTS ABOUT THE TV SEGMENTS. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH IT HELPS! I SO APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT. YOU ARE THE VOICE OF THE PUBLIC AND IT'S SO VERY COMFORTING TO ME. IT GIVES ME THE ENERGY TO CARRY ON AND ALSO LETS ME KNOW IF I AM ON THE RIGHT TRACK. SO, TO EACH AND EVERYONE A VERY HEARTFELT

THANK YOU!!!

XOXOXOXOXO

******************

THIS WEEKEND I FINALLY STARTED TO GET READY FOR THE HOLIDAYS. I DIDN'T WANT TO GO WITH THE USUAL CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS AND WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT I COULD DO THAT WOULD BE DIFFERENT YET STILL IN KEEPING WITH THE SEASON.

I WAS IN A "NATURAL" MOOD. I STARTED TO LOOK AROUND FOR THINGS I ALREADY HAVE, LIKE THESE GREEN PINE CONES I BOUGHT A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO AND KEPT PILED IN A THREE TIER ZINC CONTAINER. I ALSO HADE SOME BROWN BURLAP "RIBBON', AND LITTLE PODS I PICKED UP ON THE SIDEWALK IN VENICE, CA, LAST JULY WHILE WAITING FOR A TAXI FOR THE AIRPORT. DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO WITH THEM AT THE TIME BUT I JUST LIKED THEIR TEXTURE AND SHAPE.....GO FIGURE!

SO, HERE IS WHAT I DID:

*CUT THE BURLAP INTO VARIOUS LENGTHS. WRAPPED SOME OVER A STYROFOAM WREATH FORM. 

*HOT-GLUED SOME OF PINE CONES, PODS, AND MOSS ON THE BURLAP.

*GLUED SOME OF THE REMAINING PINE CONES TO LONG PIECES OF BURLAP AND GLUED THE OTHER END OF THE BURLAP "RIBBONS" TO THE BURLAP AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WREATH.

*HAMMERED A NAIL ON THE TOP PART OF AN OLD FRAME  AND HUNG THE WREATH FROM IT BY POKING THE NAIL TROUGH THE BURLAP. AND: VOILA!!

 

I AM STILL WORKING ON THE "NATURAL" THEME. ALSO INCLUDING BARK, CHICKEN WIRE AND STONE...............

 

LET'S NOT FORGET TWIGS....................................

 

THIS IS A TABLETOP TREE MADE FROM TWIGS AND PAPER MACHE. I AM STILL IN THE PROCESS OF HANGING CHANDELIER PRISMS DUSTED WITH GLITTER............

ALSO ADDING BANDS OF GLITTER TO PAPER MACHE ACORNS...............

 

MORE LATER.....................................

MEANWHILE, IT MIGHT BE SNOWING UP NORTH BUT HERE IN FLORIDA IT'S JUST BALMY.........AND THE ROSES ARE HUGE............................................

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I JUST DISCOVERED THAT URBAN OUTFITTERS IS SELLING THE CHICKEN WIRE FRAME I CREATED SEVERAL YEARS AGO AND SHOWED ON ONE OF THE TV SEGMENTS I JUST DID..................

 

 JUST GOES TO SHOW IT WAS A GOOD IDEA! THEY ARE MARKETING THEIRS AS A PIECE FOR HANGING JEWELRY.................THEY ARE QUITE NICE. 

THE BLACK ONE IS $38. THE YELLOW IS $18

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LOVE THESE RUGS FROM RUTH AT

http://www.thebeautifullife.com

I AM GOING TO GET THEM FOR THE GUEST HOUSE. LOVE THAT RUSTIC FEELING.

OK, THAT'S IT FOR RIGHT NOW, WILL ADD MORE STUFF SOON....................

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!
  

A NEW ADVENTURE........

AS YOU KNOW I AM VENTURING INTO FOREIGN TERRITORY (AT LEAST  "FOREIGN" TO ME AS FAR AS THE PROCESS GOES...) I AM TALKING ABOUT THE WORLD OF TELEVISION. I HAVE A LOT TO LEARN BUT WHAT I ALREADY KNOW IS THAT I AM COMFORTABLE IN FRONT OF A CAMERA AND, AS LONG AS I CAN BE MYSELF AND NOT PRETEND TO BE ANYTHING BUT WHO I AM, I WILL DO FINE.

I JUST CAME BACK FROM NASHVILLE WHERE I DID 2 SHORT SEGMENTS FOR BETTER NASHVILLE-WSMV-TV CHANNEL 4 (ABC). I DON'T YET HAVE THE DVD OF THE VIDEOS BUT THE PRODUCER WAS KIND ENOUGH TO EMAIL ME THE LINKS TO THEIR WEBSITE WHERE THEY ALSO POSTED THE SEGMENTS AND A LINK TO MY BLOG. HOW VERY NICE! THANK YOU KACY!

I HAD THE PLEASURE TO WORK WITH ANCHOR HOLLY THOMPSON WHO WAS NOT ONLY VERY HELPFUL BUT LOVELY AS WELL.

 

SINCE I KNEW WE ONLY HAD ABOUT 4 MINUTES FOR EACH SEGMENT I MADE SOME OF THE THINGS AHEAD OF TIME AND TOOK EVERYTHING IN A BIG SUITCASE. I EVEN MADE SMALL VERSIONS OF THE PLANK FLOOR (LIKE IN MY GUEST HOUSE), A RUG STENCILED ON WOOD (LIKE IN MY LIVING ROOM--EXCEPT I DID IT WITH BRIGHTER COLORS SO THEY WOULD SHOW ON THE SCREEN)

 

A LITTLE CHALKBOARD.................

 

 AND I TOOK THE NO-SEW CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS AND THE CHICKEN WIRE FRAME (WHICH I REPAINTED ...) 

 

AND A CURTAIN MADE WTIH RED BURLAP AND WHITE TRIM......

 

NOT KNOWING WHAT TYPE OF TABLE I WOULD HAVE FOR SETTING UP MY STUFF I ALSO MADE 2 RUNNERS FROM VERY LIGHT FLEECE AND FINISHED EACH WITH A FRINGE BY CUTTING LONG PIECES SECURED WITH A KNOT (NO SEWING AT ALL....) THESE ARE SOOOO EASY TO MAKE AND PERFECT FOR A HOLIDAY TABLE..........I GOT THE IDEA FROM A TABLE MY FRIEND SUNDAY HENDRICKSON HAD CREATED FOR A PHOTO SHOOT........

I WAS GOING TO SHOW HOW TO MAKE THESE (CARDBOARD) ACORNS PAINTED WITH METALLIC PAINT AND DUSTED WITH GLITTER BUT WE RAN OUT OF TIME.........

 

  I GOT TO NASHVILLE LATE MONDAY EVENING AND FOUND OUT I FORGOT MY MASCARA AT HOME (!!!!!!) CAN YOU IMAGINE GOING ON TV WITHOUT MASCARA??? NO TIME TO GET SOME SO I JUST HAD TO SLEEP WITH MY EYE MAKE UP ON. REALLY! I JUST COULDN'T BELIEVE I HAD FORGOTTEN TO PACK IT! DUH!!!!

WELL, I GOT AWAY WITH MY OVERNIGHT MAKE UP (NOBODY NOTICED OR IF THEY DID THEY NEVER SAID A WORD....) AND SHOT THE SEGMENTS EARLY TUESDAY MORNING AND TOOK A FLIGHT BACK AT NOON. UNFORTUNATELY I CHANGED PLANES IN ATLANTA AND WAS STUCK THERE FOR 4 HOURS...ANYWAY, I MADE IT HOME LATE TUESDAY EVENING

SO, JUST DOUBLE CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW AND YOU WILL SEE WHAT HAPPENED. YOU CAN ALSO GO TO WWW.BETTERNASHVILLE.COM TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT NASHVILLE. 

http://www.wsmv.com/video/21898924/index.htmlhttp://www.wsmv.com/video/21923337/

I WOULD LOVE IT IF YOU COULD TAKE A MINUTE TO LET ME KNOW IF YOU ENJOYED THESE 2 SEGMENTS. I NEED ALL THE FEEDBACK I CAN GET. THANKS!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A LITTLE WHILE BACK I FEATURED SOME OF "VINTAGE SOUL" LOVELY CREATIONS.

 I AM PLEASED TO REPORT THAT DEB HAS STARTED A BLOG www.vintagesoul1020.typepad.com

I AM SURE SHE IS GOING TO BE A SMASHING SUCCESS!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO GET READY FOR CHRISTMAS YET BUT MY FRIENDS SUSIE AND MARK HAVE THEIR BEAUTIFUL SHOP--THE CAT'S MEOW (http://www.catsmeowinc.com)--ALL DECKED OUT IN A WHITE AND SILVER THEME......

IF, LIKE ME, YOU ARE NOT READY FOR THE HOLIDAYS,LOOKING AT THEIR GORGEOUS SHOP SHOULD INSPIRE YOU. I KNOW IT MADE ME REALIZED I BETTER GET BUSY COMING UP WITH SOME CHRISTMAS IDEAS.........REAL QUICK!

SEE YOU SOON!



          

THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME

A WHILE BACK, WHILE WORKING ON TURNING MY DERELICT GARAGE INTO A GUEST HOUSE,  I CAME ACROSS THIS LITTLE POEM THAT, THOUGH FAR FROM BEING A LITERARY WORK OF ART, EXPRESSES EVERYTHING I BELIEVE ABOUT MAKING A HOUSE A HOME........

IT WAS PUBLISHED IN A 1917 NEWSPAPER. THE AUTHOR, ANN JOHNSON, EVEN WON $1 PRIZE FOR IT! 

THE BEAUTY OF THIS HEARTFELT LITTLE POEM IS THAT ALMOST 90 YEARS LATER ITS MEANING REMAINS UNCHANGED: NO MATTER HOW HUMBLE, THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME. ESPECIALLY FOR US, KINDRED SPIRITS, WHO LOVE TO MAKE A HOUSE A HOME. ENJOY!

 IT ISN'T MUCH THIS PLACE OF OURS,

SOME FOLKS WOULD NO DOUBT SAY;

AN' SOME MIGHT EVEN WHISPER,

"MY, HOW CAN THEY LIVE THAT WAY?"

IT'S ONLY TWO LITTLE ROOMS;

AND IT HAS NO BATH, IT'S TRUE.

BUT WE HAVE A BIG OL' WASH TUB

AND WE MANAGE TO MAKE THAT DO.

"TWAS SUCH FUN A FIXIN' IT UP,

WHY WE PAPERED THE WHOLE INSIDE:

AN WHEN WE GAZE ON THE SHINY PAINT

IT FILLS OUR HEART WITH PRIDE.

SOME FOLKS CAN LIVE IN MANSIONS

AN' HIRE EVERYTHING DONE;

BUT SOMETIMES I GIT THINKIN',

THEY ARE MISSING' A LOT OF FUN!

THEY NEVER KNOW THE JOY

 OF DOIN' THINGS THEMSELVES;

LIKE MAKIN' CURTAINS AND HOOKING

RUGS

AN' PAPERIN' KITCHEN SHELVES.

OR BUYIN' AT BARGAIN SALES,

AND, GEE, THAT'S HEAPS O' FUN;

AN' FIGURIN' OUT HOW MUCH IT COST

WHEN ALL THE WORK IS DONE.

SOMETIMES I THINK IF WE WAS RICH,

WITH A MANSION AND SERVANTS GALORE,

AN' ALL THE WALLS WAS PAINTED GOLD,

I COULDN'T LOVE IT MORE!

AND SO, WHEN I CREATED MY HUMBLE (AND HUMBLE IT IS) LITTLE (450 SQ FT) GUEST HOUSE  I DID IT WITH THAT LITTLE POEM IN MIND..............I AM SO GLAD I DID.

IT WAS ALL DONE WITH RECYCLING, REPURPOSING, AND REINVENTING WHAT I ALREADY HAD AND/OR GETTING SECONDHAND ITEMS FROM YARD SALES AND SALVAGE PLACES (LIKE HABITAT FOR HUMANITY.)

IT MAKES ME HOPELESSLY HAPPY! AS THE POEM SAYS: I COULDN'T LOVE IT MORE.

 

 

 

 

 

HOME IS REALLY WHERE THE HEART IS...............

 

  

        
  

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE CREATIVE PROCESS. THE PLEASURE AND SATISFACTION OF FASHIONING OUR OWN REFUGE FROM HARSH REALITY. DON'T YOU AGREE? I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW. THANKS.