Category Archives: art

Madison, Alabama

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Madison Street Festival Saturday, the town of Madison, Alabama, officially welcomed fall with Madison Street Festival the annual Madison Street Festival. A gorgeous early-fall day brought out thousands of folks to shop arts-and-crafts booths, eat that tempting fried festival food (funnel cakes, anyone?), catch up with their neighbors and be entertained by folks like Older Daughter, who performed with her Huntsville belly-dance troupe. She is an awesome dancer (and that’s not just maternal pride Madison Street Festival speaking), and the group’s repertoire included a piece she had choreographed herself. Even 18-month-old Capt. Adorable seemed to recognize his mom onstage. At least, he sat still and watched in his stroller for about 15 minutes. Or maybe he was just fascinated with the balloons we tied to the handles. Balloon-decorated strollers were everywhere, as you can tell by the line parked outside the festival’s raptor show — balloons and pets were prohibited, although I guess young children were considered safe! Capt. Adorable almost came home with a pet, since he made friends with the oh-so-adorable puppies at the animal-shelter’s booth. I’ve got a feeling there may be a new addition at the Captain’s house soon. Read more about the festival at http://blog.al.com/breaking/2009/10/madison_street_festival_draws.html and http://www.madisonstreetfestival.org/

Jewelry Part 2

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 Younger Daughter is one of those people who has an eye for color and texture and she puts together the most gorgeous earring creations. Every time I wear her designs, people ask me where I’ve been shopping. She just made

Pair No. 8 -- icy lavender and green drops

Pair No. 8 -- icy lavender and green drops

some new ones and I told her I’d be honored to put them up in the blogosphere for worldwide admiration. So here you go. Each pair is $15 including postage — I’ll just wrap them up and mail them to you in a first-class envelope if that’s OK. E-mail me at cathylwood@gmail.com and I’ll send you payment info. All earrings are sterling-silver findings and most of the beads are glass. She can do special orders, too. And because I can’t figure out how to do all these pics in one post, be sure to check out Jewelry Part 1. Click on any pic to enlarge it.

Pair No. 5 -- my favorites -- love the green patterned glass bead at the bottom

Pair No. 5 -- my favorites -- love the green patterned glass bead at the bottom

Pair No. 6 -- beautiful shadings of lavendar and green

Pair No. 6 -- beautiful shadings of lavender and green

Pair No. 7 -- classic navy and white -- the blue color practically glows

Pair No. 7 -- classic navy and white -- the blue color practically glows

Jewelry Part 1

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I don’t mean to brag here or anything, but I pretty much have the most creative and talented daughters ever. Ever.

Pair No.4 -- classic brown and black for fall

Pair No.4 -- classic brown and black for fall

Older Daughter is a wonderful dancer and can construct the most incredible costume  you ever saw out of the most mundane fabric and a random pile of assorted beads. Younger Daughter is equally skilled at making earrings. She is one of those people who has an eye for color and texture and she puts together the most gorgeous creations. Every time I wear her designs, people ask me where I’ve been shopping. She just made some new ones and I told her I’d be honored to put them up in the blogosphere for worldwide admiration. So here you go. Each pair is $15 including postage — I’ll just wrap them up and mail them to you in a first-class envelope if that’s OK. E-mail me at cathylwood@gmail.com and I’ll send you payment info. All earrings are sterling-silver findings and most of the beads are glass. She can do special orders, too. And because I can’t figure out how to do all these pics in one post, be sure to check out Jewelry Part 2. Click on any pic to enlarge it.

Pair No. 1 -- classic black and white

Pair No. 1 -- classic black and white

Pair No. 2 -- Beautiful blues and greens

Pair No. 2 -- Beautiful blues and greens

Pair No. 3 -- a fun mix of color, shape and size

Pair No. 3 -- a fun mix of color, shape and size

Fall Decor

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Fall decorIt’s fall, y’all! Here in northwest Alabama, it was in the 40s overnight and Fall decorwe’re pulling out our jackets and scarves and planning for the much-anticipated annual Boot Day — the first official day it’s cool enough (temperature-wise, that is) to wear boots. I know, I know — it’s only temporary and we’ve got many more 85+-degree days to come. But it is encouraging. Another thing I adore about fall is the decor. I mean, who doesn’t love cornstalks and gourds and cheerful orange pumpkins? There’s something about fall that inspires creativity, like the door of Swirlz, a delightful party-invitation store in Tupelo, Mississippi. I love the combination of the sheer orange ribbon and bare branches with the perky and sunny flowers. And then, adorning the gracious doorway of a magnificent Southern home in Decatur, Alabama, I found these lovely arrangements of gourds, mums and greenery. This is the home of Betty Sims, a cookbook author and former restaurant owner who teaches sold-out cooking classes every fall. She is Southern hospitality personified — warm, generous, funny and sweet — and I think her decor reflects that. Check out the Scrumptious Culinary School schedule at http://scrumptiousinc.com.

Cajun Week

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DecorOn our way to Louisiana’s Cajun Country for a wedding this past Decorweekend, my friends and I spent a day in Mississippi doing some of things we do best: Eating and shopping. And stumbling on Wacky Ideas That Might Come In Handy Sometime Because You Never Know. Like these two examples that solve the problem of what do you do with all those 45s/albums/CDs that you will never ever listen to again? At the 101 Cafe in Brookhaven, Mississippi — a funky sandwich spot with a very cool 1960s-hippie vibe — one of the walls was decorated with a huge peace sign made out of old 45s. I love this idea — how great would it be for a rec or media room? And then at Upscale Resale — a fun consignment shop in Jackson, Mississippi — we found this gleaming and holographic mobile made out of CDs. Now, this is true recycling! Check back tomorrow for one more Cajun Week post — I saved the best for last!

Corinth, Mississippi

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Corinth, MississippiIf I wanted to live in Corinth, Mississippi — and the only Historic downtown Corinth, Mississippidrawback to that plan is there’s no Target or Publix there — I would grab one of these houses. My husband and I stumbled across them on a recent stroll around town and fell in love. There are three of these cottages in a row just a block from all the cool downtown shops and restaurants in Corinth. We couldn’t get in but we peered through the windows and liked what we saw: Compact and efficient spaces with a stylish flair. And so cute! Who could resist? And in a new-meets-old sort of juxtaposition, the cottages are right next door to this fascinating old brick apartment building that I just know is hiding all sorts of secrets and intriguing stories.

Christian Church in Corinth, MississippiBut that’s not the only old-and-new partnership going on Historic downtown Corinth, Mississippiin downtown Corinth. Take a look at the under-construction new Christian church, just a block and across the street away from its current building — a wonderful old pink-stucco Alhambra-looking place that seems very flapperish-Roaring Twenties to me. And just a few steps away from all of this architectural richness, you can buy a slugburger at an old-fashioned drugstore and a tamale at one of Corinth’s famous tamale stands, soak up some Civil War history and then browse through some of the most exquisite and fun antique/decorating shops in our little corner of the South. Now do you see why I love this town?

Home Decor

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Home decorMy friend Evelyn wowed us the other night when we Decoratingarrived at her house for our monthly book-club meeting and discovered she’d been busy redecorating. Our jaws dropped — I mean, literally, I stood there with my mouth open. Before, Evelyn’s living room was a cozy and comfortable gathering spot, but she said she wanted something completely different — and she got it. Now the room is rich with color and texture and looks about a million times bigger with the emphasis on those gorgeous windows that really you didn’t notice so much before. Evelyn used a professional decorator, with she and her husband, Steve, picking out the oh-so-soft sofa themselves. She said she learned to trust the decorator — many times the decorator would pick something out and she and Steve would think, “Uh, that’s just not going to work,” but once the room came together they understood the vision. I believe this is my new favorite room. Ever.

Mississippi

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Lifesavers

I'm sure this contravenes all sorts of trademark laws, but I love this bus! I pass it all the time on U.S. 72 in Burnsville, Mississippi, in a church parking-lot.

Shopping

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You know it’s your birthday when those wonderful “presents” from Anthropologie sewing kityour “friends” at your favorite stores start rolling Anthropologiein. Usually it’s something along the lines of “You’re our special customer and we love you and to help celebrate your birthday, we’re offering you a chance to get 10 percent off your first $200 you spend with us that day.” Uh, thank you? With friends like that … But when Anthropologie sent me something, I perked up. Not that the monetary offer was anything extra enticing, but the packaging was classic Anthro at its best: An adorable handmade-looking cotton “sewing kit” with button and colorful thread and a cute little pouch for needles and what-not. Whoever does Anthropologie’s marketing and customer relations does it perfectly — everything always reflects and enhances the Anthropologie brand and makes me want to overcome my natural frugalness and go ahead and blow my birthday money on a simple $180 cotton sweater. Genius!

Gardens

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GardensHerb vinegarMy friend Polly has one of the most beautiful home gardens I’ve ever seen. She’s a retired teacher, and most of the work she’s done in these photos has been in the past three years. Can we say “incredible energy?” She and her husband travel around the world, but I think I would just park myself in the backyard if mine looked like this. I especially love her Yard artzen approach to gardening: It’s organized, but not formal or structured — the plants, flowers, herbs and vegetables just sort of spill out in exuberant joy. And she’s got such whimsical touches Gardeningeverywhere: Birdhouses, sculptures, yard art, chairs, gates, fences, stepping stones, arches. It’s a treasure everywhere you look. Polly and her husband live within the city limits of Florence, Alabama, but with the deer grazing in the front yard and the creek dancing over on the side and the abundant shade trees cooling everything off, you feel as if you’re at a wonderfully isolated woman-made Eden — yet bustling civilization is just at the end of the driveway. To my mother’s eternal frustration, I remain ignorant of all Wheelbarrowsthings gardening. I mean, I can tell a rose from a daisy (that’s the yellow and white one, right?) but that’s about it. Yet even a non-garden person like me can recognize and appreciate a green paradise such as Polly’s garden. I’m just glad there are folks like her in the world who know what they’re doing with seeds and dirt so folks like me can enjoy.