Diminutive Dining

The dining room at Brambly is more of a dining alcove.Unfortunately, we rarely use it for meals these days. Most often I use it as an impromptu office.Sorry about the picture quality, I had a terrible time with the lighting.

The corner window overlooks the creek.

This is where I sit to work on the computer. I love the birds on my laptop.

The heron picture is a tribute to the heron we spot early in the morning.

I made the curtains double wide and lined them with fleece for extra volume.

A look at the buttons, fringe, and tassel on the back of the slipcovers.





  *Linking to:"Table Top Tuesday" at A Stroll Thru Life
"Inspiration Friday" At the Picket Fence
"Feathered Nest Friday" at French Country Cottage                                                                             

Portrait Of A Lady

One of my favorite hobbies is drawing portraits.I don't consider myself an artist and I'm painfully aware of my artistic shortcomings. It wasn't until my early twenties that I even considered drawing, and my attempts yielded stick figures.One day I picked up a pencil and decided to sketch a photograph of my daughter-I was surprised to see that it wasn't too terrible. From then on it became an infrequent hobby. Now, my favorite subjects are historic figures. I'm currently studying to become a history teacher, and drawing the figures that fascinate me helps me better understand them. Below is a portrait of Madame Etienne Vigee painted by Madame Vigee Lebrun in 1785. Madame Vigee Lebrun is one of my favorite artists and I love using her paintings as inspiration.



Portrait of Madame Etienne Vigee, 1785




My drawing of Madame Etienne Vigee




As you can see, my drawing is only a loose interpretation of the original.




An antique frame I found at a thrift store. I had a piece of glass cut to size.




 

Now I need to decide what to do with it. I may hang it on a wall, or put it in a closet with my other drawings.

*Linking to:"Time Travel Thursday" at Brambleberry Cottage
"Wow Us Wednesday" at Savvy Southern Style

Annual Urn Planting

We're beginning to prepare the garden for a wedding taking place at Brambly in early June.Yesterday, my husband planted flowers in our twin urns.Last year he used ivy geraniums, but this year he planted four Vista Bubblegum Supertunia Petunias and one Cherry Red Calibrachoa in each urn. They should begin to look amazing in a few weeks.





Kaleidoscopic Bathroom

You may believe you're seeing photos of a bathroom we're planning on renovating, but we actually intended for the small downstairs bathroom to look like this. In fact, we tore out the white beadboard and the white tile to create something strange, dark, and infused with pattern and color. The bathroom is right down the hall from Ernest's Room so it seemed we needed something more in keeping with a sitting room/library.I apologize for the picture quality, the room is cumbersome and has little natural light.



I fell in love with the Thibaut wallpaper and decided to paint the woodwork Tavern Green.




We turned our laurel wreath appliques upside down.



The inspiration for the floor came from a catalog of Victorian floor tile patterns.



The tile border surrounds the room.





I made the shower curtain ceiling height to obscure the shower as much as possible. Except for a 10 month period when we hosted an exchange student, this shower is unused.




I'm always on the lookout for interesting pictures to add to the space.



The train rack is very convenient and the antique luggage holds toiletries.

 *Linking to:"Feathered Nest Friday" at French Country Cottage
"Inspiration Friday"At The Picket Fence
"Wow Us Wednesday" at Savvy Southern Style

                                                                             

Bookcase Obsession

 Books have always had an important role in my life. Raised in the middle of nowhere, with only three grainy television channels and without radio reception, a love of reading was fostered in me and my siblings at an early age. As an adult my devotion to books grew and so did my desire to properly house them; hence, my obsession with built-in bookcases.

                           A group of  leather, antique George Eliot novels.

 I collect antique books, George Eliot's are among my favorites

 I love when I find a book with an inscription-this one was lovingly written in 1888.

 My diminutive Corsican stands upon his memoirs for increased stature.

                   

Linking to:"Furniture Feature Friday" at Miss Mustard Seed

"Feathered Nest Friday" at French Country Cottage

"Inspiration Friday" At The Picket Fence

"Time Travel Thursday" at Brambleberry Cottage

"Wow Us Wednesday" at Savvy Southern Style

"Table Top Tuesday" at A Stroll Thru Life