summer

Lilac season is ending and now come the foxgloves and lupines in my upstate ny backyard. Ever since a trip to Martha's Vineyard where hydrangeas run riot in front of perfectly weathered silvery-gray front porches, I have coveted them. This year we have started our own little humble hydrangea border. I hope they like their new home and grow as prodigiously as I remember. I can almost smell the salty ocean air.

These are some flour sack towels that I hand printed with carved blocks. I like to hang them on the wall as art and I even use them as curtains.

My favorite succulent has bolted trying to reach the sun this past winter.






I knew I shouldn't have taken the mint out of it's pot where it was perfectly happy thank you very much, but I did. Now it is in our small back garden with leaves at least 3" long. They are just begging to be made into mojitos but I have a feeling that may not be enough to stem the tide. I came across this idea which may help us a bit and maybe you too.

here

Happy summer people!

xo

happy summer

just a little bit of what i've been up to since i last checked in :)

it's strawberry season here! the daffodils have passed, we're spending time under the pergola in the moonlight and little twinkly lights, working, ripping up rugs and uncovering beautiful wood floors in our living room, more work and then there's ginger the wonder dog always making us smile.

oh, and now you can find me over on instagram @ messybedstudio if you want to follow along. and i've got some more art prints and photographs over at society6

tomorrow is the first day of summer. i hope you have a wonderful, sunshine filled one.

xo

summer parties

i've been thinking a lot about parties since we just celebrated my youngest graduating from high school (gulp) and my baby brother's birthday.

the morning after

here's some party ideas i'm loving from decorating and serving to invitations and a drink recipe.  enjoy!

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summer day dream

feeling a bit wistful as summer is coming to an end (i know, i'm whining about it again) and seeing my kids scatter.  middle son is off to college again and my daughter is moving in a couple of months.  

but doesn't this look like the perfect place to spend one of the last weeks of summer together?  it's called lady of the lake.  we actually spent a week at hiawatha, another rental from the same owners and it kind of spoiled me.  now i want every vacation place i stay to be decorated with beautiful vintage pieces and soft shabby chic-like colors and paper lanterns.  that's not too much to ask is it?

i think this bed on the screened porch might have to be mine

or maybe this one

or this daybed 

love the contrast of this gorgeous eastlake dresser and the rustic adirondack style bed

i think this just might entice them all back next summer. what do you think?

now i just have to save up my pennies.

summer thoughts and new work

i guess i have to face the fact that summer is ending.  my best friend's daughter is off to begin her first year of college.  middle son is going back next week and we have been trying to squeeze in all the things we said we'd do back when summer felt endless and expansive and new.  i tend to think we've got all the time in the world during summer.  this might also be known as denial. of winter.

anyone else feeling the same or are you all ready for autumn?

cucumbers for refrigerator pickles

cucumbers and feta and balsamic vinegar and olive oil

margaritas with pink salt - yum!

every wednesday there is a what i made link party at trees. hides. and i was lucky enough to be featured this time.  it made for a very happy wednesday for me!   shirley has a very cool blog with some tutorials, giveaways, freebies and some very adorable pictures of her kids along with pictures of her own work. thanks shirley!

here's some of the work i've been adding to the link party.

click here to link up!

summer

our first tomato from our little patio container garden!

this calls for caprese salad!

my daughter has been to italy and she lived off this salad while she was there. this is how we do it at home.  i always substitute when using a recipe if i don't have the exact ingredients, that's part of the fun of cooking and getting dinner on the table but in this recipe i wouldn't substitute regular mozzarella in vacuum packed plastic for fresh mozzarella packed in water.  they are like two different animals and so you will have two different dishes.  the fresh mozzarella is worth searching for - it is soft and absorbs the flavors that you add to it.  and one other thing - since there are so few ingredients they need to be really good.  so, you will need some homegrown or farmer's market tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil, (we use extra virgin) balsamic vinegar, salt (i use kosher salt because that's what i always use but i bet some crunchy sea salt would be yummy) and freshly ground black pepper. 

we slice the tomatoes, lay them out on a plate in a single layer then sprinkle with some salt.  next we slice the fresh mozzarella and lay it on top of the tomatoes and grind some black pepper on top.  then we find the most beautiful whole basil leaves and lay these on top of the cheese.  drizzle olive oil and some balsamic vinegar over all.  enjoy!

if you have a different caprese salad recipe please share!  do you can your tomatoes or make salsa?  i'd love to hear what you all will be doing with this summer's beautiful vegetables.

getting my toes wet

showing your art online is a much easier thing to do than showing it in person and recently i've been trying to overcome my, shall i say shyness, about showing my work in public.  it feels a bit like standing naked in the middle of a room at a party.  so when the opportunity came for me to hang my work in a public place (no not a big, scary gallery, thank goodness!) i had to take it.  since the beginning of may, i've had most of my canvases hanging in this neat place called body be well in red hook, ny.  it's a pilates and yoga workout studio offering private and group classes in a friendly and supportive environment.  at the studio they also have an all women's gym so those of us who might be a little uncomfortable working out in the company of the opposite sex, can sweat freely.  that's where i come in, and no, i don't mean the sweating part.  the gym is also a gallery where local artists can show their work.  so up my canvases went.  the very next day after they went up i was honored to be sent an email by someone from the gym saying that she enjoyed working out to the view and could she purchase the one called nest?  of course she could!  

and this is nest, now gone to it's new home

what a great way to get my toes wet with this first public showing.  thanks to cheryl, gallery curator and instructor and chelsea, owner of body be well for giving artists a chance to show their stuff!  in my opinion it's an awesome place that caters not only to the body but the soul as well.

and just a follow up on my previous pergola post (nice alliteration there, hunh?)  in allowing myself to dream big i found these.

find this tuscan castle rental here

find this amalfi coast rental here

now if i can just sell oh, about a zillion more canvases.....

enjoy!

summer dreams

since we moved to our new home we've been talking about building a pergola/enclosed space/privacy fence in our very public backyard.  we have great neighbors on all sides but when you're used to being secluded enough to be able to walk around outside in your pj's, it's hard not to feel a bit exposed.  so...rather than an ugly 8ft. high stockade fence we want something that allows some privacy along with some neighborliness. so i'm allowing myself to dream big before i come down to earth.  i thought i'd share with you some of my inspiration.

good fences make good neighbors keeps popping into my head.  and besides maybe the neighbors don't want to see us in our pj's.

via em for marvelous

via kris allen daily

via dublin durller-wilson

southern living

houzz

via angela llewellyn

there's even more over at my pinterest board cause i can't seem to stop myself.

can't wait for this

This winter has been very snowy even for upstate NY, so I'm already past spring and onto summer in my mind.