Shopping

World Market candy World Market pillowsThere’s not a World Market in our little Alabama town, so everytime my husband and I are on the road and pass one, we have to stop and go in. The thing about World Markets is that there’s plenty for both of us to happily browse through. First, we both head to the food section in the back, where my husband gets tickled by the huge nostalgic candy inventory and I investigate the gourmet junk food — are we healthy or what? We linger in the beer aisle and I check out the coffees and teas while he surfs the fiery southwestern choices. After that, my husband eyes the furniture and I ooh and ahh over accessories such as pillows, curtains and candleholders. In truth, his attention starts to wander while I’m still dragging him over to check out this rug or that coffee maker but he’s a good sport and tries to stay focused long enough to veto the paisley-print sheets and the orange batik lampshade. My fantasy is to walk into World Market, tell the clerks, “I’ll take two of everything,” and then live in global bliss ever after. And I’m absolutely sure my dear husband feels the same way.

Travel

Embassy Suites, Murfreesboro, TennesseeEmbassy Suites, Murfreesboro, TennesseeThis is why people say they’d like to live in a hotel (any by “people,” I mean “me”) — soft lighting, lush furnishings, hushed voices and nary a speck of dust or piece of cat hair anywhere. Sigh. Dear Husband and I were at the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, this past week for a couple nights and I just wanted to take it home with me. The whole thing. I mean, who doesn’t love a bathroom with perfectly stacked thick white towels and a countertop free of spilled makeup and yesterday’s coffee cups? There’s something so simple and elegant and inviting about a bathroom you didn’t clean yourself.

Manatee Mailbox

Manatee mailbox

A manatee mailbox is not what you'd expect to find in a Huntsville, Alabama, neighborhood, but it sort of makes me smile -- and want to go to the beach.

Home Decor

Home decorI love finding home-decor ideas in unlikely Home decorspots. You never know when you’ll stumble across some inspiration. Like these exuberantly painted kitchen chairs at the Bottletree Bakery in Oxford, Mississippi. How much fun would it be to grab worn-out chairs and leftover paint and create some whimsical seating like this? In no stretch of the imagination am I a painter but I think that even non-visual folks such as me could do this. I also loved this glass and metal sofa table I saw at a clothing boutique in Oxford. The owners had knotted colorful scarves through one of the support rungs Home decor— so creative! Couldn’t you just see this in one of those huge closets big enough for furniture? You could sit in there and sip wine and read “Town and Country” and contemplate what you were going to wear where that evening. But I might be able to use the same idea by knotting scarves through the ends of the storage shelves in our perfectly-adequate closet, where I stand every day and try to figure out which T-shirt is the cleanest. (And which, by the way, I am slowly inch-by-inch taking over from my husband, who luckily hasn’t noticed that somehow my stuff mysteriously keeps showing up on his side.) This lovely white painted chair with a toile cushion was at the same boutique. It looks like another renovated flea-market find that would be so simple to duplicate. Do you remember a few years ago when toile was everywhere? Then it sort of faded away but now it’s back to where it should be: A s a statement-making classic. And I think the white paint brings out the details of this chair to make it look like something special. Of course, folks who know me and have been to our house know that all my talk about interior-decorating projects is fruitless because I am much too lazy to do anything different from our current coffee-cup-and-stacks-of-newspaper decor. But I have high hopes and ambitious dreams. It just needs a lot more planning and fine-tuning … and shopping.

A Week of Spring — Home Decor

Spring decorWelcome to the weekend wrapup for A Week Spring decorof Spring. Thanks for coming along with me as I’ve discovered a week of cute and must-have spring things. I think this final find is the best of the bunch! I fell in love with these twig- and dried-flower baskets the birds’ nest as soon as I spied them at Downtown Books in Corinth, Mississippi. The baskets are supposed to be planters, but I’ve already put the dried lavender in the one with the handle and I’m pondering what to do with the others. My favorite, though, is the birds’ nest. It just says “spring” to me — in a very soft, whispery, spring-like voice, of course. And the bonus? All of this was $30.  But I left plenty, so if you’re in Corinth go to Downtown Books and pick up some more spring bargains.

Want more spring? Visit these blogs:

http://www.leciawphinney.com/ — At A Day That is Dessert, photographer and mom Lecia Phinney posts wonderful photos that will make you think spring no matter what the weather outside is.

http://www.winosandfoodies.com/ — Winos and Foodies has yummy and creative recipes for spring classics.

http://www.omiru.com/ — The stylish folks at Omiru show you how to waltz fashionably and frugally into spring. They focus on what to pull out of your closet to combine with the new season’s trends for totally chic ensembles.

A Week of Spring — Entertaining

EntertainingHere in Alabama the tulips and dogwoods are in full Spring dinner partybloom with the irises close behind, so it must be spring! No matter the weather — mornings are still chilly around here — we’ve all got lighter and fresher on the mind. So this week I’m taking a closer look at spring things that have caught my eye. First in A Week of Spring is this beautifully set table my friend Cheryl surprised our four-Spring decorwoman book club with this past week. Although it really was no surprise — Cheryl’s one of those gracious hostesses who makes you feel so welcome and special, like she’s waited all day just for you to come over. (I’m the one who answers the door with, “Oh, hi. Was tonight our party? Well, uh, come on in but watch out for cat hair.”) Cheryl also is one of those smart shoppers who knows where to find bargains and stocks up when the price is right so all she has to do is pull things together. The butterfly-print tablecloth and napkins, the china-flower napkin rings and the pretty floral plates needed only a few spring blossoms for Cheryl’s menu of fresh green salad and a light pasta salad. And since we read “Three Cups of Tea” by Greg Mortens0n (we liked it both for the history and culture and also for the inspiring story of the difference one person can make in the world), we had plenty of tea. And wine. Come back tomorrow for day No. 2 in A Week of Spring.

Spring Decorating and Coffee Cups

Decorating for springWhen my two now 20-something-year-old daughters were little, I went all out for holiday decorating — a trait I got from my own mom, I think. At this time of year I’d have bunnies and chicks and eggs and flowers everywhere. Now that the girls have their own spaces (one with her own family in their apartment and the other in her dorm room at college), I’m taking a break. I’m sure once I get the dozens of grandchildren I’m hoping for, I’ll once again turn our house into Holiday Headquarters — again, just like my own mom. But until then, my nods to the changing of the seasons are few: A new wreath on the front door, different candles in the living room and changing the coffee mugs and espresso cups I keep out on a tray in the kitchen, always ready for a hot steaming cup of goodness. This past weekend I finally put away all the winter mugs and cups and replaced them with Decorating for springEspresso cupsthe spring ones. I love the pink and green Portuguese-pottery espresso cups. They come in three designs: Rabbits, frogs and cabbages. I’ve found them the past couple years in discount retailers such as TJ Maxx and Tuesday Morning but haven’t seen many so far this season. Plus, there are pitchers, bowls, dessert plates and serving platters —  I finally had to stop buying  because really, how many lavender bunny-themed cake stands do you actually need? I also adore this blue and green teapot and espresso cups with flower-petal saucers I found at a gift shop and the two pottery espresso cups from Starbucks I bought just a few weeks ago. And now I think I’m all set decorating-wise until July.

Spring

Spring trendsHere’s what I figured out yesterday while I was wandering around Spring decoratingdowntown and running boring errands: You can have a “spring break” anywhere. I was coming from the dry cleaners, juggling some winter clothes I’d picked up with a cappuccino and muffin from the coffee shop, when I saw this joyously fresh silk arrangement. It was brightening the corner of a florist’s and gift shop and I immediately wanted to exchange my jacket and sweaters for a beach bag and my coffee and muffin for shrimp and beer from Joe Patti’s — our favorite seafood market in Pensacola, Fla. Isn’t it amazing what a little bit of spring can do?

Spring Trends

What to wear to a weddingAfter being assailed by an e-mail from Anthropologie about harem pants being the new It trend this spring (gag), I was so glad to see some good news in my inbox today. Such as the wedding boutique at www.net-a-porter.com. Net-a-porter.com is an online retailer specializing in true designer and runway looks for less — still way beyond my budget but still fun to browse through. The editors’ picks at the new wedding boutique will have you scanning your mail for invitations. I love the pretty and feminine dresses paired with statement-making accessories, all organized Decoratingaccording to wedding type: beach, evening, day, etc. If you’re like me, you pick your favorites, then head straight to TJ Maxx!

And then there was the e-newsletter from www.myhomeideas.com, the home-decor online arm of Southern Living, Southern Accents, Coastal Living and other must-have magazines. Featured today are spring-decorating trends, how to create spring bouquets and 10 new uses for old things. Did you know that filigree would be big this season? I love the light and lacy look, although it’s not quite manly enough for my husband, I’m sure. But I’ve noticed delicate ironwork pieces showing up in home-decor shops lately, so maybe I can sneak something small into the house to get the same effect. This room looks so calm and peaceful that I just want to camp out there — wearing a gorgeous pink silk dress, of course.

Interior Decorating

Home decorHave you ever walked into somebody’s house and immediately felt both Kitchen remodelingimpressed and comfortably at home? That’s how I felt recently when one of my book clubs met at the home of a new member who bravely invited us over for only her third time with us. And was I glad. She’s a smart and funny free spirit who’s traveled the world, and her house so richly reflects that. On the outside it looks like any normal house in any Home decornormal subdivision, but inside she and her husband had remodeled and renovated and redecorated to make it their own. Home decorEvery corner and every detail told a story of their lives. I loved especially how they mixed textures and colors and  cultures, but because everything springs from what they’re passionate about, it all works. I especially loved the built-in bookcases designed for use, not show — a display of books that obviously are never read always annoys me; I mean, what’s the point? — and the functional and stylish kitchen that works whether there’s one person cooking or a crowd. I am stealing so many ideas from this house, even if the most exotic place I ever shop is the home-decor aisle of TJ Maxx.