cottage charm: decorating with hats

 

I have a thing for hats.

I just love the warmth and texture they add to a room and when I’m shopping second hand stores I’m always on the look-out for ones that are comfortably worn and slightly quirky…

 

 

Today, in honor of these dog days of summer I thought I’d share some of my favorite hat vignettes with you. Sorry I don’t have a lot of the original sources.

 

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Here’s a photo of some of my hats in the entry of our former home.

Since then I’ve continued adding to my collection and now that we’re living in an actual beach community they really complement our cottage vibe.

 

I recently hung a single hat on my office gallery wall where it resembles a bonnet over my vintage gal.

And here’s a shot from our all-white guest bedroom…Van Gogh surrounded by straw hats.

Did you know there are stories of Van Gogh painting late into the night with candles on his easel and in the brim of his hat?

Just a little straw hat trivia.

So after seeing these photos,

can you think of a good spot around your home to display a hat?

On a side note, my parents are visiting all this week and we’ve been busy hanging out and having fun together.  Life is good. Tomorrow we head to Disneyland—haven’t been there in years  (I want to see if the Tiki Room is still there)

Also-I’ve been doing a few home projects with my Dad (of course) and I’ll be back shortly to show you what I did with those 150 year old corbels!

 

Happy August Days,

xo

Leslie

 

 

 

 

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a damn good perspective on aging

 

 

I was listening to Jane Fonda’s views on aging and I had the most unexpected reaction.

I actually thought, “Wow, why didn’t I think of that?”

She was discussing the two metaphors for aging that she’s written about in her new book, Prime Time.  In it she draws on research, personal stories and her own life lessons to present a powerful case for living the best years of our lives after midlife.

And she challenged the typical metaphor that most of us use to describe the aging process.

She calls it the Arch. It goes like this.

We’re born, we’re fantastically young, we ride the age wave up-up-up until we peak.  And then it’s basically downhill from there. Until we die of course.  But that’s way after we peak so we’ve got lots of esoteric sinking to do before that happens.

That’s the Arch, a fairly glum, overly simplistic way to view our lives.

 

But according to Jane, there’s a far more accurate way to describe our journey through life by using the metaphor of a staircase.

Yes, it’s true our physical bodies are declining but in all the ways that matter ---our hearts, our soul, our wisdom, our spirits--we are continuing to ascend, to grow and to expand ourselves.

It is through this process of growing older that we have a chance to become the person we were meant to be.

…to move closer toward wholeness and peace.

 

 

I like to think of it this way:

Everything you’ve experienced in your life so far has prepared you for what’s next.

 

 

Now it’s up to you to ask yourself the important questions that matter today; the ones that will keep you ascending upwards toward your potential.

 

“Am I growing as a person?

“What do I still dream of becoming?”

And what’s stopping me?” 

 

Whether you’re in your thirties or your sixties as you read this post

I think our perspective on growing older is the big game changer.

 

 

 

To hear Jane in her own words click here:

 

Any thoughts?

xo

Leslie

 

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blue and white outdoor living

 

Now that we’re living walking distance to the beach it’s made me rethink our dark taupe house.  It’s a nice enough color but this ocean vibe makes me dream of a white house, maybe with vibrant blue shutters and a painted door.

Oh well, painting our exterior is not in the immediate future but we currently have our old white wicker and blue cushions sitting in our patio.

And today I’m sharing some inspirational ideas to add charm to our new outdoor space. From blue and white ginger jars to striped ottomans there’s something in each photo you might like.

 

 

 

 

 

I recently ordered some blue and white seat cushions from Target.

 

And these just arrived today. Right now they’re on sale and only available online in case you’re interested.

There’s something so cheerful and classic looking about blue and white…don’t you think?

 

 

xo

Leslie

 

 

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how I painted my red brick fireplace with white chalk paint

 

Do you remember the old bricks we found when we tore up our living room’s fireplace wall?

Well today I thought I’d give you an update on the transformation of this wall because it’s been awhile. You know how home projects go. We temporarily diverted our attention (and money) to the backyard and now we’re ready to finally finish this thing.

And I’m happy to say we’ve made some real progress lately and I’m really liking the direction it’s headed.

Sort of a ‘Modern Farmhouse’ vibe, which is where I seem to be headed with this house.

But first, in case you forgot, this is the circa 1965 living room wall we had when we moved in.

Don’t ask me about the design, it was the sixties remember? Lots of hallucinogens.

Anyway….we ripped it up and designed a wall that would house the TV behind small ‘barn doors’ over the fireplace, with bookshelves on each side. You can see more photos HERE.

But back to the present.

We recently found a mason who added the necessary brick to make it look like a complete fireplace.

 

Both sides filled in. With a small ‘hearth’ added.

Next, I scraped the old glue and dirt off the bricks, wiping it down with a damp rag and vacuuming the entire area before I painted.

I used Anne Sloan’s pure white chalk paint because I’ve had such good experience in my former home. 

You can read about that experience in---THIS POST which also happens to be one of my most pinned posts ever….

I always get soooo excited when I remove the lid on a new can of paint.

(It’s a nerd thing I know).

 

I find that using the foam roller is a must since the bricks are so porous and rough.

I used the big roller first to apply to a larger surface. But I needed the foam to get deeper into the cracks. And I used the brushes to fill in the grout and holes.

And that’s really it.

It’s very simple. Don’t be afraid to paint your bricks.

Here’s my point of no return. I always feel that certain nervous ‘moment’ before I start painting bricks… but my answer is to plow right ahead.

And I’ve never been disappointed.

 

Now here’s where you might learn from my mistakes.

Since I always planned on painting my bricks, I wasn’t picky about the type of brick the mason used, other than size. But as you can see from the photo above, the old bricks are heavily textured and the new ones are not….a distinction that I can see after the first coat.

Hmm..probably should have found reclaimed bricks somewhere.

Still, I’m curious to see how noticeable it is after my final coat. But for now here’s a few photos.

 

 

I know some people think bricks are boing or dated, but I love how fresh and clean white bricks can look.

And look …more progress!

This weekend we made our decision on the shelving for this wall too.

This is Ben, the owner of U.S. Reclaimed Wood in Laguna Nigel, CA.

We were toying with the idea of using painted Beadboard in the back of our bookshelves, with basic white shelves. But then we found Ben’s store in Laguna Nigel that sells tons of gorgeous reclaimed wood and look what we came home with!

 

I love love love these verrrrrrry old wood pieces. We hand picked them and I think these will make very cool shelves on our white wall.

What do you think?

 

I also found these crusty white corbels for $35.00 each. These should add some much needed charm to the tiny entrance to our dining room.

Meanwhile I’ve got to finish painting the ‘barn doors’ my Dad made for me along with two cabinets for the wall. And hopefully this weekend our wood guy will show up to work on it.

I’ll keep you posted.

xo

Leslie

 

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right now

 

The thing about blogging is that when you get sick and take a break you don’t know how to come back.

It feels like so much has happened in July. Big things like our anniversary. And my birthday. But where do I begin?

So instead I’ll begin with right now.

 

Today I was listening to a story about Jarvis Jay Masters, a practicing Tibetan Buddhist who lives on death row at San Quentin Prison.

This is the story. One winter day he was in the prison yard when a seagull landed nearby.  Almost immediately a big, young, prisoner grabbed a rock to throw at the seagull but Jarvis raised his arm to stop him, creating tension on the prison yard. Other prisoners gathered around the two but all Jarvis said was, “That bird got my wings.”

That bird got my wings.

And the rock thrower stopped. Everyone relaxed. And for days afterwards other inmates came up and asked him to explain what he meant.

They wanted to hear more about that spirit of freedom. The idea that we all have these wings of awareness and love that can bring us to a certain kind of freedom. 

The freedom symbolized by those wings.

Listening to Tara Brach’s discussion of this story was thought-provoking. 
Even though Jarvis lives in prison, she points out that we all have our own external and internal prisons to deal with; we all are guilty of trying to squeeze ourselves into smaller versions of who we can be (internal prison).

We hitch our identities on to “labels” and brands and material possessions that limit who we are. How we see ourselves. Instead we become…

The stressed one.

The one who can’t do it right.

The one who wants to control.

The one who has too many demands.

The victim.

This is the opposite of freedom. When we’re caught up in comparing ourselves to other people and always worrying about what’s around the corner and trying to control what’s around us.

The Buddhists tell us these behaviors are all a form of suffering.

When we are suffering like this we are living out a smaller version of who we can be.

But at any moment we can stop. Put the rock down. We can wake up from our limited view of ourselves and challenge our own narrative…question what we believe about ourselves.

We can choose to be awakened.

One breath at a time.

 

 

 

 

 

today I wish you wings.

xo

Leslie

 

 

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3 stylish ideas for your alfresco table

 

With our backyard going through major renovations lately, I’ve really missed the fun of setting a pretty outdoor table.

The minute I saw these concrete taper holders I knew this was my next DIY  project. I think they look so chic mixed in with layers of fresh eucalyptus, don’t you think?

Combined with a gray and black themed table too. It’s pure garden elegance.

Anthropologie sold a version that’s no longer available but I found plenty of DIY cement pillars to choose from. Here’s one tutorial that offers lots of possibilities. As soon as I get done with some of our bigger projects,  I want to make these.

Another idea on my to-do list is this one. Last weekend I stopped by the Urban Gardener in Newport Beach and when I saw their lighting display I instantly filed this idea away.

I can’t wait to get my new lights up so I can do this.

Adding little strips of fabric to your outdoor light strands is so simple and you can get creative with your color and patterns.

I’d like to use muslin and cotton strips in shades of white and cream. Especially with a few lace remnants added. Wouldn’t that be so pretty at night?

The other detail I noticed in their garden were these green apples (real ones) sitting in topiaries. It reminded me of how wonderful it looks when you mix real fruit into your centerpieces.

I’ve seen small inexpensive crates like this sold at craft stores like Michael’s. And these crates could be stained or distressed before putting your topiary inside.

 

Adding a French metal number similar to THESE ones sold on Etsy would dress it up too.

 

Have you been enjoying your outdoor space this summer?

I hope so.

Right now I’m  trying to recover from an awful cough and cold that took me by surprise. Got my meds yesterday though so I hope to be back posting soon.

 

xo

Leslie

 

 

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