"Design is coming to grips with one's real lifestyle, one's real place in the world. Rooms should not be put together for show but to nourish one's well- being."

Albert Hadley

Image via House Beautiful

Here in the South New Year's Day means black-eyed peas.  Even if you don't particularly care for them, you eat a few anyway, just for good measure.  Kind of like knocking on wood.  You know it's a silly superstition, but what if Mama was really right?  I have a little pot on the stove right now.  As I stood and stirred them, watching them gently roll around in their hot soup, I thought about all the New Year's of my past eating black-eyed peas at the tables of the wonderful cooks in my life. 
Particularly I think of my mother-in-law, who always called on the morning of January 1st and said, "Come by when you can today.  I have a pot of black-eyed peas, a mess of greens, and some cornbread.  You need to eat a bite for good luck".  And we always stopped by. 
And you know what?  Some years were better than others, but we've always had pretty good luck.

Now she isn't able to cook the peas anymore, but I will take her some today and feel blessed and hopeful for the New Year.

In late November 1985 I became the proud new mother of my second child, a sweet baby boy.  Needless to say, Christmas shopping had already been done to the best of my hugely pregnant ability.  But the one thing I never managed to pick up that holiday season was the very important Hallmark Baby's First Christmas ornament for the family tree.  A couple of family friends sent gifts with little ornaments attached, but the main Hallmark ornament just never got purchased. Fast forward to 2010.  The aforementioned baby is now almost 25 years old and well on the road of his life.  But every year when I decorate my Christmas tree, complete with the Baby's First Christmas ornaments of his older sister, born in 1983, I feel just a little pang of regret that one little detail got overlooked that year.
Well, my internet surfing skills continue to improve little by little.  I now even can add Ebay to my repertoire of online shopping haunts.  And I can even proudly boast that I sometimes have some killer bidding skills when the item of my desire appears on my screen.
This afternoon I jumped on Ebay to look around and decided to search for that elusive baby ornament.  As if by divine intervention, there it was at the very top of the computer screen.  A vintage 1985 Hallmark Baby's First Christmas Carousel lighted ornament.  No box, but hey, no biggie to me.   NINE minutes left in the auction.  I think I hyperventilated a little.  I quickly logged in and the bidding war was on!  First bid, "you have been outbid, please try again".  Second bid,same bad news.  Next bid, "you are the highest bidder!".  Okay, now the gloves are off.  It has to be mine.  A young mother's regret has to be avenged.  One more click; the countdown begins.  One minute and counting down.  "You won this auction."  I felt victorious and silly all at the same time. 
But I'll tell you one thing, when I hang that little carousel on my tree this Christmas, I will revisit the joy I felt twenty five years ago rocking that baby boy in my arms.

Check us out in the November issue of At Home Tennessee magazine where we give tips for creating inviting holiday tablescapes.  Here is the link to the digital version of the magazine.  We are on page 59.

I've been absent for a little while around blogland, occasionally checking in on some of my favorite blogs, but in general just taking a little break to regroup.  Since finishing the large project we worked on for close to a year, I have turned my attention back to tweaking a few things around my own house.  We also have been invited by a regional magazine to share a holiday tablescape, and I am sharing a few of our own photos of that little project as well. 

A close-up of a place setting using red and white transferware from my collection, as well as vintage silver baby cups and tiny hand-blown glass ornaments.

This is a Lucite console I placed in the dining room because it takes up so little visual space.  Here I placed a few transferware berry dishes on a distressed gray pedestal, along with my 1950's vintage coffee urn and (yes another!) darling little dome.  A tiny vintage coffee creamer looks sweet in this vignette I think.  The large crystal drink decanter gets a lot of use during family get-togethers year round.

I had the headboard recovered in a pale tiger-stripe fabric I had languishing in storage and added a french stool and needlepoint pillow at the foot of the bed.  Silk curtains were also fabricated out of more fabric from my "going-to-use-this-someday"  inventory.  The walls have been this color for a few years and I would really like to change them, but I guess I'll hold off a little longer.

I paired this sweet little French ladie's desk with a modern leather and nailhead stool that I think has a sort of Morrocan flavor.  An original antique etching hangs above it.  I didn't want anything too big there that would take away from the desk.

I brought this gilt Louis chair down from its previous home upstairs to brighten the room up a bit and added a grain sack rug under the tea table.

Here is a tighter shot of the chair.  I have the matching sofa, also, which will have to continue living upstairs!

These little white linen slipcovers are great on the counter stools!  Just throw them in the washer and hang to dry!

I've been absent for a little while around blogland, occasionally checking in on some of my favorite blogs, but in general just taking a little break to regroup.  Since finishing the large project we worked on for close to a year, I have turned my attention back to tweaking a few things around my own house.  We also have been invited by a regional magazine to share a holiday tablescape, and I am sharing a few of our own photos of that little project as well. 

A close-up of a place setting using red and white transferware from my collection, as well as vintage silver baby cups and tiny hand-blown glass ornaments.

This is a Lucite console I placed in the dining room because it takes up so little visual space.  Here I placed a few transferware berry dishes on a distressed gray pedestal, along with my 1950's vintage coffee urn and (yes another!) darling little dome.  A tiny vintage coffee creamer looks sweet in this vignette I think.  The large crystal drink decanter gets a lot of use during family get-togethers year round.

I had the headboard recovered in a pale tiger-stripe fabric I had languishing in storage and added a french stool and needlepoint pillow at the foot of the bed.  Silk curtains were also fabricated out of more fabric from my "going-to-use-this-someday"  inventory.  The walls have been this color for a few years and I would really like to change them, but I guess I'll hold off a little longer.

I paired this sweet little French ladie's desk with a modern leather and nailhead stool that I think has a sort of Morrocan flavor.  An original antique etching hangs above it.  I didn't want anything too big there that would take away from the desk.

I brought this gilt Louis chair down from its previous home upstairs to brighten the room up a bit and added a grain sack rug under the tea table.

Here is a tighter shot of the chair.  I have the matching sofa, also, which will have to continue living upstairs!

These little white linen slipcovers are great on the counter stools!  Just throw them in the washer and hang to dry!