A Shepherds Purse

The Shepherd's Purse is a very common plant 

and many would say it is little more than a weed.

It is often found by the roadside or in unattended city lots

But after the flower has withered 

the seeds begin to grow and take the shape of

a small green heart

....a little shepherd's purse

It easily self sows and makes its home in un-likely and often odd locations 

with little regard for dust or disarray...

It seems to thrive along

the side of the road or in a crack in the pavement

This is not a pretty "gardeners" plant 

but...I love the Shepheard's purse

It finds it's way into our garden's 

wherever the wind 

and birds take the heart seeds

&

 it shows up each Spring without a care

to flower and bloom 

it grows from weed

to wild flower

 As I begin this new year full of changes 

 My promise to myself is to accept my life's crazy path

with grace and a cheerful heart

to follow the breeze and sow seeds where they land

to enjoy the 

smaller moments 

I so often take for granted

wishing you all 

a healthy

happy 

New Year

A Patchwork of Inspiration

It's often interesting what can inspire us....
is it an image on Pinterest?

 a fabulous evening silhouette and big green lawn

 a simple humble work table

 beautiful natural elements

 clean and modern spaces with interesting antiques

 whimsy and white

a place to have tea

  a chic and warm restaurant

a simple morning in the garden
filled with sunshine


It's probably all of those things
or
a patchwork of a bit of each

 My inspiration usually comes from the colors and textures
of things that I enjoy looking at

and most often a house and it's architecture
will tell you what needs to be placed inside

But since I'm not sure where or what style exactly our next house will be
I have chosen this little Plein Air Painting as my inspiration
 for a few new furnishings

It has wonderful coral and turquoise hues

as well as yellow, rich greens, terra-cotta and salmon

 The colors of this old Roseville Wisteria vase are similar 

And something about the terra cotta, greens and blues in this glaze 

are so beautiful together

I think this vase dates from 1920-1940

 so those may have been the colors that people really liked 

during California's golden era

 This old basket has wonderful old paint in oyster white with just the right amount of wood peeking through....
beautiful simple color

 Old storage firkins are a beautiful example of how color can become

 more rich and interesting with time

So I purchased a few things to get me started....keeping in mind the colors of the little painting

first up
a clean and calm Ushak rug

Millie...of course is quite pleased with this purchase

I found a few old indigo batik pillows
with blue-green

and cream 

For some of the larger pieces I like the neutral texture of linen in stripes and solids

and maybe some ticking thrown in

These are a fun colors to use as large pillows....
I really like the bright melon and turquoise velvet
colors found again the the painting

And a really unique fabric I purchased is this
Antique Japanese Boro panel

Japanese boro's are folk textiles, 

 pieced together as the fabric became worn 

because cotton was highly prized for it's warmth

The fabrics are all hand loomed, died with indigo

 and stitched together by hand 

randomly... but with great care

this beautiful boro dates to 1800-1850 

the color and texture is really quite amazing 

and I have never used anything like this before

 I love the fact that all of the patches are sewn by hand 

and the textures are both rough and soft

So I need to get started right away 

to furnish a new living room

 and I will be using

 my patchwork of inspiration

see you soon