Bonpoint

Have you heard of Bonpoint?  The Famous French Children's Store.  I hadn't, until my first trip to Paris.  I wandered upon this store and was lost in the beauty of it.  In fact, I had my husband video the store undercover from his coat.  I don't think they would have been keen on our filming, etc.  But I just could not get past all of the pretty and dreamy imagination.  I adored that there was a little rustic house (wasn't gold at the time as I read that was for Christmas time) in the middle of the store that you could walk in.  Why can't we have stores like this?  

Outdoor Easy

I love this... I thought the canopy over my outdoor couch would be a great idea but somehow thought maybe it would be a little "too" much.  I think the fact that this little day bed is out in the middle of the grass and under a tree is what makes all the difference.  Who knows maybe I'll just give it a try anyways?  All I know is that this makes me want to lay around, read a book and breathe in the summer air.

{image via Selina Lake}

An Enchanting Little Book

"If, for the first ten or twelve or fourteen years of life, the children of today could have personal flower gardens in which to play, to study, to read, to work, to dream, the world tomorrow would be greatly lightened of it's ugly and menacing burden of materialism and general faithlessness."

I've had this little book on my shelf for sometime (it is actually my sisters find) and yesterday we were having breakfast outside and talking of children and gardens and I ran in to find this little book.  I had forgotten what a gem it was.  

It is a sweet book of another time.  The kind I love most.  It is meant to teach children gardening but yet offers much information and delight to adults alike.  The book is full of helpful gardening details, gorgeous drawings and actual garden plans.  The names are as lovely as the drawings....The Lavender Walk, The Sliced Cake, The Fairy Ring and The Moonlight Pleasance to name a few.  Besides the lovely plans and drawings my other favorite of this book is the listing of old fashioned flower names.  Why don't we call our flowers Lady's-Delight, Lad's Love, Ragged Sailor and Never-Grow-Old anymore?  Oh the stories our gardens would tell.

The author Olive Percival seems to be a real lady of her time.  I enjoyed, just as much, reading about her life.  Flowers, children's books, letters, writing and  beautiful things were all things she either spent her time doing or collecting and loved most.  She was quite famous for her garden teas and moon-viewing parties (what where those like, I wonder?) at her home The Down-hyl Claim in Lose Angeles.  She lived a gentle, quiet and yet meaningful life.

{image via upress.edu}

Everyday Beautiful Life {Guest Post}

Please visit me today over at Bits of Beauty.  I'm doing a guest post for a really great series called Everyday Beautiful Life which is all about the things that make everyday beautiful.

If you haven't yet been acquainted with Jenn and  Bits of Beauty you will definitely want to be. 

Can't Go Wrong with Cupcakes

I always love a good cupcake, as you know.  The other week I made the Barefoot Contessa's Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing for a friends birthday.  They were pretty decedent.  If you love PB & Chocolate than you will love these.  

Here is the RECIPE

And for a variation, I just saw in House Beautiful, her latest cupcake recipe for German Chocolate Cupcakes.  They are the same cupcake as above with a German Chocolate Frosting.  This sounds even better to me as I love coconut.

Here is that RECIPE

Color Love

I picked up the July issue of House Beautiful for a little pick me up today.  And talk about a pick -me-up, this color should do the trick.  I'm loving the hot pink and the blue with the brown.  All designed by Jonathan Berger.   I have a very similar brown in my long hallway (which is not my favorite) but a little blue certainly could perk things up.

{image from House Beautiful via La Dolce Vita}

What I'm doing Wednesday

Here's what I'm doing now 

*sorry for poor quality...this is compliments of my iPhone

Here is what I just read (one of my favorites):

"Your beauty and LOVE chase after me EVERY day of my life! 

-Psalms 23:6

Here is what I'm doing next:

*Running to the farmers market.  My first visit this year - hooray for fresh summer produce.

*Picking the kids up from vacation Bible school.

*Taking a mini road trip with a friend and her kids to a near by town for the day

*Trying to stay cool in this very hot muggy weather.  Not my favorite kind of weather.  I don't agree well with it

I'm Also

*Missing my sister today

*Trying to find my book that I somehow misplaced

*Taking a quick walk on the treadmill (to hot outdoors)

*Making a bazillion lists in my head

What are you doing today?

PS- For a WAY better list and a great summer idea for kids check out Meg's post today at WHATEVER!!!!!  I want to be her kid.

Eyes and Ears

Here is what I'm reading .  .  .

Being pregnant with #3 means just picking a fun preggers book.  I picked this one up in England last year, as you can't buy it stateside.  It is a pregnancy and first year baby book by Jools Oliver, Jamie Oliver's, wife.  It's pretty basic but kinda fun if you're a Naked Chef Fan.

Consider this a modern book cover for a classic.  I love this image by Richard Wilkinson.  And the book is Sense and Sensibility.  I'm adoring it.  But that should be no surprise.  Austen is a favorite of mine.

And What I'm Listening to . . . 

Angus and Julia Stone.  Perfect summer chilling music.  A brother and sister duo from Australia.  Loving the Windy City track.

Cheery Chairs

Thought I would share a couple of chairs with you that I had re-upholstered recently.  The first chair is a child's chair that I purchased from Euro Trash last year.  I love the way it turned out.  And the second is a garage sale purchase.  I'm quite pleased with it but the color of the fabric is a little off from what I was wishing for.  Still super cute and fun though.

A Window of Wonder

I happen to like this picture.  It is the window in my daughters bedroom.  Which, coincidentally, used to be my (and my sisters) bedroom.  I don't know if I've ever mentioned but the house I  live in is the home I grew up in.  As you can imagine, in some ways it is very charming and yet sometimes a bit strange.  But overall, I find it to be extremely comforting and just right, at least for this season of life.

When this particular room was my room, the windows had criss-cross wood frames on them (a thing of the times).  They have been gone now for almost as long as I can remember.  The other day the kids were having a shower and the bedroom got a little steamy.  El called out to me to look at the magic on the windows.  And there were my old windows right there looking back at me.  I thought it magic too.

Calm Drama

Just loved this simple, calm outdoor setting.  It's the outdoors and the beautiful greenery that makes it so dramatic! Hope your weekend is filled with calm and some good dramatics!

{image via Traditional Home} 

Little Big Girl

I just saw this picture over at Two Ellie who found it at August Love.  At first, it made me seriously giggle and then I stopped and had a good look and it made me think.  I used to not really care for photos styled in this fashion.  Dressing little kids up in an adult look.   But now I'm actually quite fond of these styles because I find the photos to be really telling.  What it tells depends upon the viewer, of course.  It might tell you something entirely different than it tells me.

I see myself in this picture.  A little girl looking quite sophisticated.  She's not really trying to play dress up.  She is dressing herself in what she thinks she ought to wear.  What's acceptable these days.  What she thinks is stylish...her own interpretation.  What she feels will give her her own personality and what portrays her current mood.  Take away the stylish shades, the ruffles, the layers of statement jewelry and the lady hat and what have you got?  A little girl in sandals at the beach.

Don't you ever just feel like that?  That underneath the highlights, the designer jeans, newest bag, shiniest lip gloss, and even the toddler on your hip that you are just a little girl?  And if you strip yourself from all of the things you have and all of the things you "do" you are still the same you.  The you, you once were at age 6.

I'm about to turn 32 and I still haven't quite figured myself out yet (although society says we should be confident, comfortable in our own skin and be our true selves in our 30's... I'm thinking this happens more at 35 and beyond, at least that's what I'm hoping for).  I'm still figuring things out.  I'm still wondering how I got from here to there and exactly where I'm going next.

It's good to look back at being 6.  Do you remember?  You thought you could do anything.  Be anything. Anything you wanted to be, of course (for me it was an actress and business person).  The world was full of possibilities.  And you were to discover them all... at least all of the ones you wanted to.  No obstacles that you didn't have a solution for and no fear of it not happening.

Here I am with my 3rd child on the way and I sometimes wonder how I myself am having children.  Life goes so fast.  But the great thing about being around children is that it reminds you of being of a child.  And all of the magic and  good things that come with it.  Only this time around you can process it, think about it and take away some gorgeous life lessons.

So here I am, a little big girl.  Dressed up in my own way and yet small and innocent underneath it all.  I don't think this is such a bad thing.  In fact, I think it is a pretty good thing.  Keep the big and obnoxious to your sunglasses and jewelry not your personality (maybe that should be our mantra).

Here is to all the little big girls out there!

A Little Laduree Love

This morning,  I awoke to a text from my brother who told me he was having lunch at Laduree and was wondering what to order.  As I was cleaning up dog poop (lets keep it real) I sighed and dreamed of that far away magical and colorful place I once visited.  Although, my day will likely be made up of McDonald's rather than Laduree it was fun to think about that is for sure.  And look I've added a little color to my day which is always cheery.

{images via Flickr}

Flower Power

"Roses and Waxflowers," by Frances Pelzman Liscio

"Ostriches," by John Murphy

"Living Things," Rebecca Wetzel Wagstaff

I came across these fabulous art pieces at TraditionalHome.com this morning.  Aren't they gorgeous?  I'd be happy to own any one of these.  If you love the top one check out Punks and Roses (the name is just fabulous enough for me) for more of Frances Pelzman Liscio's beautiful work.

Hair and There

Hair.  I've never been so excited about getting my hair done as  I am today.  It's looking pretty bad and then feeling bad on top of that just makes for all around badness.  As always, I'm scouring around for pictures of hair color.  You know the perfect highlights/color.  You're on this lookout too aren't you?  Well this time I haven't looked very hard.  I would really like to chop my hair but I have been there and done that while preggers and I vowed never to do it again.  So a little brighter color will have to do the trick.  I'm really liking this color (although I have a feeling it might be a little too blond for me) and as you can see my search hasn't gone very far.  Any great photos you've seen lately?  

And for the There... My brother is headed off to Europe today for almost 3 weeks of wondering around and exploring.  I am a little jealous.  Just a little, but very excited for him.  He's arriving in Switzerland and then heading to France, maybe Italy, who knows where else and then ending his journey in Holland.  Happy and safe travels, J.J. 

(image 1 via zimbio.com  image 2 via Flickr)

A Weekend Project

A pretty image and wishing you a pretty Friday.  I saved this image from ABT quite awhile back (can't remember the original source, sorry).  But I was in love with the idea of painting the fireplace holder thingy (don't know the proper word) and hanging jewelry from it.  What a great weekend project.  I have an old one sitting in my basement and since I won't be painting anytime soon perhaps the hubby might?

Have a lovely weekend and thank you again everyone for all of the "congrats" and lovely comments! xx

Perfectly Polished

I wanted to share a new product that I am loving at the moment.  Awhile back, I mentioned how in love I was with The Moisture Bound Hydrating spray from Amore Pacific.  Well, the other week, I was in the city and I had to restock and well, you know how you are near the beauty counters and you are almost run over by eager sales ladies.  Well, I can't resist trying a new product that always promises to be magic.  And since I adore this product I thought why not try another.  And I am adoring this one now too.  

It's called the Treatment Enzyme Peel and it is a exfoliant or better described as a skin polisher.  I have to say this product was like mixing a potion of sorts.  A perfect amount of a soft powder substance is released from its container when you simply tip it and then you just mix it with water and apply to your face.  It is the most gentle and delicate exfoliant I have used and yet it seems to really get the dry and dead skin off and bring a soft feel and youthful glow.  Can you tell I like this product?  If you need a little pick me up this is a great one.  You can find it at Nieman Marcus and don't let that scare you.  I found the Amore Pacific line to be very reasonably priced even at Niemans.

Slings & Things . . . What I'm Thinking About

Hello Everyone!  So sorry it has been so long and with no explanation.  A couple of posts back I mentioned I was sick and the thing is I kept getting sick....sinusitis and one cold after another and on top of that another kind of sick....morning sickness.  It has been a rough couple of months and I just have been managing to get by with accomplishing absolute essentials, like feeding my family (which was challenging enough...ha).  I'm still not feeling my best or anything like my normal self but each day I wake up I know it has to better than the last. I'm hoping to pop in more frequently and at least do 2 posts a week (that is my goal).  

So in turn there probably will be a few more, than normal, personal posts or baby style posts.  It's on the brain what can I say.  And it has been almost 4 years since my last baby so there are so many great new pretty things out there that I am excited to search out and share.

I hope you all are well!  Thank you for checking in on me.  I am hoping for the best as I'm 13 weeks now.  I tend to get these really horrible headaches that basically just don't go away.  So starring at the computer can be a little hard for me.  Anyhow, I say that to see if any of you have encountered that and have any suggestions?

Well, with all that said....So glad to pop in and say hello to all of you!  And I'm looking forward to slowly getting back into the swing of things!

xx Trina

P.S.  This is one item on my wish list.  A fabulous sling from Serena and Lily.  

Hello Cupcake

These are some fairy cakes (maybe I should just call this fairy week?).  A.K.A cupcakes that I made for a pirate and fairy party last summer.  The boys dressed up as pirates and the girls as fairies of course.  We had a treasure hunt, sword fights and lots of fun.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to have another pirate and fairy party this year!

Fairy Lights

I love the idea of decorating with fairy lights.  They just add a bit of cheer and fun to a space.  I am hoping to add some to a mirror like the first image and some I've also found some similar outdoor ones at Target.  Hope you have a bright Monday!

image 1 Pink Wallpaper

image 2 ?

image 3 Haus Maus

Favorites

Don't you just love to know what peoples favs are?  I know I do.  It's no secret that I do love Nigella.  I know some serious foodies might not find her to be so very "chefy" but that is what I love about her.  I love that she is woman who loves to cook and enjoys the food she cooks (I have no problem with her licking her fingers and then continuing to cook, I mean if we are all honest we do that, right?).  And of course I find her home (or set, more likely) amazing, her accent lovely, her vocabulary and use of words poetic and her food yummy scrummy, indeed.

Ok, well enough already, I have other posts doting on my love for all things Nigella.  Anyhow, she has a pretty great, recently renovated, website and on there a Nigella Loves list.  I always love to see what others are raving about.  I mean, I think that is how I ended up with this little blog.  Wanting to share things that I find a long the way and discover what all of you have found.

Also, I thought I'd leave you with a few more shots of her lovely place.  Do excuse the quality as I have sneakily snapped these off of youtube.com

Light

Writer's block, maybe?  I'm not sure.  These past couple of weeks have been really difficult, if I am honest with myself and all of you.  I have certainly not felt my best and still am fighting a bit of this ugly sick that keeps trying to linger around.  Somewhere, in the midst of this I have lost some inspiration.  Tis sad, but true.  I am searching for inspiration and coming up short.  I even thought, today perhaps, I shall find a beautiful picture of somewhere I'd like to be and for some reason nothing looks enticing.  That's pretty sad.  Inspiration will return, it always does.  And better days are to come, I know this for sure.

So today, I've chosen a lovely chandelier.  A nice rainbowy (yes, rainbowy is a word, at least in my dictionary) one because I need a little bit of rainbow today (rainbows are a sign of promise, you see).  Many of you know, I love beautiful chandeliers but today I've chosen this not only for a bit of pretty but because to me this represents light.  And I'm needing a little bit of that.  Even when these beauties are dimmed or even turned off they still illuminate light and they still shine and sparkle.  And I do believe that in all of us there is light and there is a shimmer even when things seem utterly dull and dark.  Sometimes, it just takes the remembering and the knowing.  The believing that if I just turn the switch the light will come on.  I'm turning the switch on today and I'm looking for that little shimmer of light, the glow that I know is there.   And I hope that if any of you are feeling a bit in the dark, like me, that you will look for the light too.  A very bright and rainbowy one, indeed.

{image via Flickr}

Gwyneth's Stuff

Ok, so a lot of you know that I do love Gwyneth.  (I would like to be friends with her and her husband and Bono. Other than them ,I'm not to fussed with famous people.  But I suppose that is neither here nor there.  And speaking of Bono, I love reading his Twitter updates... I'm not on twitter but somehow ended up there and he has some pretty good things to say, and for some reason I can't get back on that page, oh well)  In my weekly GOOP reading I saw that Gwyneth is selling/auctioning some goods from her personal wardrobe to benefit the Robin Hood Foundation.  Who wouldn't like to look through a celebrity closet?  I have to say it was fun just having a look.  And ok, although I would really like to try to rock these shoes I decided I better take it down a notch (otherwise be banned from my house for spending that amount on shoes)  and bid on some sunglasses.  I'm not good at this bidding stuff.  I just want to keep going when someone out bids me and that could get me in trouble.  Anyhow, thought you might enjoy having a look as I did.

P.S. Some of you have asked where I got my fabric for my bedroom drapes.   And the the answer is fabric.com.  I've ordered up most of their supply but I think is a re-stocked item of theirs.

P.P.S .  I'm still feeling crap, so apologies if my posts are lagging a bit and my responses as well.  Thanks for ALL of your lovely comments!!!  They always make my day!

Honey, Sweeties and Cakes

My husband rescued a dog in the middle of a busy road.  We named her Honey 

& grew attached.  My good friend took her for a trial run this week (I think she will 

keep her) :)   I got sick with Sinusitis which was horrid (sorry no picture of that- be thankful).

My Easter Sweeties!

For Easter I made a pineapple casserole, Banoffee Pie &  Meg's

fabulous frosting for Easter.  It was as yummy as it looks.

Happy Easter

This is true beauty, true love and true grace.  And that is what Easter is all about for me.  

The artist is David Garibaldi, incase you are interested.  I would love to own this piece.

Bedroom Update {Opinions Needed}

Things are moving along.  Here is the floor before it was painted....

And here is a sneak peak of after.  Once the floor settles there will be more

gaps in the planks, which I like.

I ordered a whole yard of the fabric to get a better idea and I think I REALLY like it.

And here is my dilemma (there is always a dilemma).  Hubby says I can either have the trim (doors, etc) painted (bright white) or the room (would want to do white but would probably only be able to go as light as the trim).  But not both (eheheh).  I am leaning towards the trim since it sits right next to the white floor and it is a dingy cream color.  As you can see in the top photo my wall color looks darker at night (of course) but I'm also thinking the room color may look a little darker once the trim is lightened up.  What do you think?  I've already told the painter to do the trim (suppose to start tomorrow) because I think trim is a bigger ordeal and as I said it buts right up to the floor (and someone has to paint the shoe anyways).  

Happy Bunny Week

Happy Easter!  It is spring break here and so I'm taking a little break to be with my kids.  I might pop in for a post or two but, just in case I hope you all have a lovely Easter full of joy and all things new!

Image via we heart it

If I Were an Artist

If I were an artist... this would look a lot better than it does.  Last week my sister (the artist) stayed with us and we all did some painting.  I have been wanting to paint some meaningful words.  And well it didn't quite turn out the way I had envisioned but I'm quite happy that I just tried and attempted to use a paintbrush.  Perhaps, I'll paint over and try something else.  Or maybe I'll just leave it for awhile and think about it.  Who knows.

I do know... that I love the close up the word Love above.  This weekend remember to : 

Love Yourself... you are a special and unique individual with a purpose.  If you don't love yourself, how you can love others?

Love Your Life...Even if life is complicated and hard...it is still life and everyday is a new day, a fresh start & a gift.

Love Others...Everyone is hurting in one way or another and your smile or kind words just might be the thing to make a huge difference in someones life.  And what you do for others....well, it will be done for you!

Try This and That

Tea and chocolate.  I like them together the most, but am just as happy to have them on their own.  I think there isn't a day that goes by that I don't have a cup of tea and a piece of chocolate.  Really, it is like my own little bit of comfort and delight a daily dose of medicine.   I take all kinds of tea... green, black, vanilla, with milk (the proper English way, of course) or without.  And as for my dear chocolate, I have one requirement, that it is good chocolate.  I do prefer dark chocolate as a little goes a long way and there is just so much more to it.

I'm always on the lookout for new teas and chocolates and so I thought you too, might like to try these pretties.  These are two of my new favs:

B.T. McElrath's Salty Dog Chocolate Bar (chocolate and salt, could there be any better combination?).

Teavana : a mix of Jasmine Dragon Pearls and Rooibos Tropica.  I have the coolest little contraption and it brews the perfect loose tea.  This tea has such a nice sweet taste that I can drink it totally plain.  But if you must add something a little honey does the trick.

Rest

I'd love to just stay in bed all day today.  I'm really tired and don't want to do anything but lay around today...especially in this room.  And aren't those drapes great inspiration for my room?