The Pillow

I meant to add this photo yesterday - if only because it has one of my favorite pillows on it!  I received it from the talented and wonderful Melaine at My Sweet Savannah.  I really do love it and need to get another one of them one of these days...

She does all sort of pillows and pillow covers~

closure

Although it may seem like a small thing, these knobs have caused me quite a lot of grief.  These knobs are the LAST. TWO. KNOBS. in our kitchen renovation, which ended nearly a year and a half ago.  Everything else was finished, wrapped up, completed.  But not these knobs.  This particular cabinet had blue painters tape on it, a make-shift handle, that was clearly meant to last until maybe last November or December.  Of 2007.  But miraculously that durable blue tape lasted until this past September - 2008.  And yet, no knobs were installed.  I used my fingernails in the grooves (broke only one that way...), I used butter knives, I used whatever I needed to get them open, and to avoid installing those knobs.  Sometime last autumn it occurred to me that I had been unconsciously avoiding installing those knobs.  Maybe it had something to do with closure.  Maybe I didn't want the first really big project I had ever planned to end.  Whatever it was, it was apparent that I simply wasn't ready to install those knobs and finish the job.

But today, after I took the photos of the kitchen, a kitchen that I really truly love, it felt right.  It felt like it was just the right time.  It was knob time.  And so, this evening, before my husband arrived home, I gathered the tools and did a bit of drilling.  

And now we have knobs~

Our home, part 1: the main living space

I love our home.  I know that there are days when my husband wouldn't believe that.  I know he thinks that I would rather be living in France in the countryside somewhere.  And honestly, I might wish for that, some days.  But if I can't have the french countryside, then this is exactly where I want to be.  I feel so lucky that we found an old house - not an easy thing to do in this area.  Our house was built in 1928, renovated in the craftsman style in the 80s, and renovated again by us, at least partially, in 2007.  I *love love love* my kitchen - it is white and clean and big and has marble countertops and lots of cabinets and all my favorite tools.  I could spend all day here, whether it is reading cook books, baking, preparing a meal, or sitting at the counter on my computer.  I love that I can see outside in the large window at one end of the kitchen.  I also love that our main living space in one big room - a room where we eat, do homework, watch tv, work on our crafts, and just be a family.  We don't have any formal spaces in our home, but that suits us just fine~

I thought I would post a few photos that I took today.  I wanted to wait for a sunny day, as the house is so bright when the sun is out, but clearly I could be waiting for a very long time indeed.  Thus, my cloudy day photos...

5/365

I would guess that you are wondering what this photo is of.  Is it that tree, slightly out of focus and off center?  Is there something in the sky you just can't quite see?  The shape of a particular cloud perhaps?

Ooohh  no...

When I look at this photo, the thing I see - the only thing I see, is BLUE. SKY.  Yes, there are clouds, but look between the clouds.  Do you see it?  That gorgeous shade of blue?  The blue that I have known has been up there all along, just out of sight.  I will admit that I have been longing for blue a bit more than usual this year, although I am not sure why.  I can't wait for spring, and for the time I will spend in the gardens, planting seeds, and planning different beds.  Even though it might be cool outside, the sun will be on my shoulders and it will just feel good.  I am really looking forward to spring this year~

So this photo, taken yesterday, has inspired me to begin planning my vegetable gardens.  The seed catalogs will soon arrive (the baby chick catalog came yesterday!) and I want to have my list of family favorites ready!

You should know that I also took a photo of a shadow on my floor when the sun peeked out for a few moments yesterday.  If you think that you were confused by the cloud photo, you should see the shadow shot...

xo

4/365

Yes, I know, "france again?" you ask...  

I am having a bit of a *thing*, you might say.  I will work my way through it, I always do.  But oh, that lifestyle, the quite, slower pace of the French countryside, the food!  

We spent two weeks driving around Normandy and Brittany a few years ago and that is when my love affair was solidified.  

There must be a comprimise.  Really there must...

Have a lovely Wednesday - I hope to make it to the French Bakery today~

xo

(and would you believe mrs. french is guest posting for little brown pen because she is *actually* really truly moving to paris!!!  so very jealous am i...)

3/365

France.  The french countryside.  Brittany.  I could live here, truly I could~

Today, while meandering through one of my many french websites that I frequent, I happened upon this lovely home.  For sale no less.  29 acres, two lakes, two buildings, old, full of character, loaded with charm, did I mention old?  

I think that we all need dreams.  I certainly do~  Don't get me wrong, I love my 1928 farm house!  I love our property, our old barn, the gardens, the chickens, the view.  And if I am not going to live in the french countryside, then this is exactly where I want to be.  

But to wake up each morning here, the sound of birds, church bells in the distance.  A cup of cafe on the terrace, riding my bike into town to buy a baguette which I would carry home in my bicycle basket along with the wildflowers I picked, of course wearing a darling skirt and cute shoes.  Oh yes, I dream, I dream a lot of this place~

So, for now, I will try and take what I can from the french - their food, their gardens, their way of life, and I will try and make our little piece of heaven here in the states just a little more french.  

And I will keep taking those french lessons...  Just in case!