The lazy days of summer are the times Curt takes to reading or rereading books that he loves. One of his favorites is the ‘Freddy the Pig‘ series written by Walter L. Brooks. Brooks was a full time staff writer for the New Yorker and in his leisure time he wrote a bunch of stories based on a poetry-loving pig named Freddy  along with his other animal friends on the Bean Farm. Their many adventures include vacationing in Florida, starting their own newspaper and solving numerous mysteries. If your kids or you haven’t read these delightful stories yet, check for them at your local library or at B&N.

(Picture by: Martha B.)

Tough and tender may seem like a contradiction, but not in this case. Here it aptly describes the decor of the pictured dining room- tough metal chairs next to a rustic wooden table combines perfectly with the tender romantic floral wallpaper and soft peach draperies.

(Picture from: Living Etc. ?)

This fall one of the hottest accessories for men will be the tie clip. You can buy new or you can check ebay for a fun vintage one. Below are several from my dad’s collection.

The tie clips my dad bought were from the early 1950’s when he was in college through 1970. After that most men including Dad stopped wearing them. This one has his initials W.I.W. on it.

Dad and other young college boys showed school spirit by buying tie clips that had the school crest.

He probably used this clip with a glass ball for special occasions.

More of a tie pin than a clip this one goes through the tie and has a fastener behind it. Best suited for knit ties which are also making a come back!

(All pictures from: Martha B.)

At the beginning of the summer, my husband took our son Curtis to Canada to see Niagara Falls for the first time. Note to U.S. travelers- you’ll now need passports to do this!

You can always imagine what the falls are like but nothing beats…

…the real thing! (This is the main Horseshoe Falls from the Canadian side.)

The first recorded discovery of the Falls was made by Father Louis Hennepin in 1678 when he made sketches of the falls. Can you imagine the thunderous boom he heard before he actually saw them!
I wonder what he thought?!

Here’s what it was like on the Maid O’ The Mist! The waves are generated by 200,000 tons of water a minute!

A view of the American Falls from the safety of the boat.

Passengers wore blue plastic rain gear and even so got very wet!

Curtis’ summary - “Absolutely amazing!! I give this trip…

…a thumbs up!”
(Photo taken just above the Horseshoe Falls dropping point!)

( Top picture from: Real Simple- paper artwork by Matthew Sporzyski. All others from: Curtis and SCB )

“…They were very happy, even after they discovered that they couldn’t live on love alone. John did not find Meg’s beauty diminished, though she beamed at him from behind the family coffee pot; nor did Meg miss any of the romance from the daily parting, even when her husband followed up his kiss with the tender inquiry, “Shall I send home veal or mutton for dinner, darling?” The little house ceased to be a glorified bower, but it became a home, and the young couple soon felt that it was a change for the better. At first they played keep-house, and frolicked over it like children; then John took steadily to business, feeling the cares of the head of a family upon his shoulders; and Meg laid by her cambric wrappers, put on a big apron and fell to work with more energy than discretion…”

Words from “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott. Long apron, vest and scrunch skirt at Volga Linen.

camper- any of various motor vehicles or trailers equipped for camping out.

Have a fun weekend, everybody!

(Picture from: Vanity Fair)

When we were planning our wedding I waited until the very last minute to get my shoes. (Try looking for white shoes in January!) My advice is to get them early and buy the best you can afford. Consider these pretty ones from the Rainbow Club 2008 collection.

One of the reasons I love older homes is often their quirky floor plans. Because change happens slowly for these homes, they have all kinds of funny rooms and best of all- niches! Niches are recesses or hollows in a wall that can be for things as small as a vase or…

…large enough for a great piece of furniture.

(Picture from: American Homestyle and Gardening)

Earlier this summer my mother gave me a set of vintage gardening encyclopedias. One volume was of special interest to me- Japanese Flower Arrangement: Classical and Modern by Norman Sparnon. I’ve always loved big lush bouquets of flowers but I find these arrangements to be beautiful in their simplicity.

Two branches of celastrus and the modern container make for a fascinating arrangement.

Dried sunflower heads and celastrus are combined in this unusual piece of pottery.

Bursting seed pods of sandalwood trees are a contrast to the linear design of a ‘pipe’ vase.

With my interest in the iconic American landscape (barns, silos, gas stations, diners, etc.) I find these photographs of utililty poles fascinating, too. They were done by Frank Breuer who is currently documenting them from different parts of the country. I couldn’t help but see how his work closely resembled Bernd and Hilla Becher (they photographed intriguing shots of water towers and grain elevators) only to find out that Breuer worked with them! Take a look-

Note how Frank centered the utility pole in the picture. Talk about wired!

His collage of poles from different places around the country.

Now you can compare Frank’s work with his mentors- the Bechers. Here are their images of a water tower and…

… grain elevators.

(Pictures of Frank Breuer’s work from: Dwell Magazine.)