BOXWOOD TERRACE: November 2009

Silver and Gold

Homes & Gardens Magazine. Photographed by Catherine Gratwicke

Thanksgiving has passed and we're very nearly in December, so I'm getting in the Christmas mood. Off to get a Christmas tree at the end of the week!

Here are some images which remind me of the holiday season. There's no Christmas tree in sight in the top image, but the silver and gold accents remind me of winter and the holidays.

Detail of Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Creche, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

RoyalCopenhagen.com

Homes & Gardens Magazine. Photographed by Michelle Garrett

RoyalCopenhagen.com

Giving Thanks

Just a quick post today to say Happy Thanksgiving to all. I'm done with my pre-Thanksgiving dinner preparations, ready to put my feet up for the night and count my blessings!

The British Do It Best

British Homes & Gardens, Rosanna Peel, photographed by Kim Sayer

Thank Goodness It's Friday! (or Saturday at this point) It has been a long and hectic week at work and I wouldn't mind soaking in this tub for a little while.

Happy Weekend!

So, after much debate (and after much time spent admiring artist Sarah Lamb's still life paintings) I finally decided to buy a reproduction portrait. The original portrait of this young girl was painted by French artist Jean-Bapiste Simeon Chardin in 1740. I figure this is a good way (well, actually the only way) to experience 18th Century art on a daily basis. I decided on this portrait for a specific reason. When I'm not blogging about interior design or working, I'm likely to be playing tennis and although the girl is holding a badminton birdy (I think that's the correct term!) and a badminton racquet, that was enough for me to associate it with tennis.

I decided to hang the picture above what has become my work space, but for this picture I cleaned it up and removed the laptop, papers and magazines that are usually spread over the top. The shutter doors on the cabinet hide the printer and stereo system. It all actually works out fairly well, considering this is the dining room and I don't have a home office.

Fall Bounty: More Sarah Lamb Paintings

Fall Bounty II

I can't remember exactly how I stumbled upon the paintings of Sarah Lamb, which I've posted about here before other than it involved searching the internet (as usual!) for "still life paintings" which yielded Sarah Lamb's extraordinary work. The artist is renowned for her still life paintings which to me, are reminiscent of those by the old European Masters. I am drawn not only to the fine life-like details of the paintings, but also to the simplicity of the subject matter--flowers, fruit, vegetables, shell fish and other delicacies or everyday objects like pots and bottles beautifully composed against a shaded background.

Three Squash

This group of her paintings represents fall to me with its shorter days, colder temperatures and fewer outdoor activities, but more time for cooking, baking and sharing time indoors with family and friends. Enjoy!