Here and there

These hang on the side of a kitchen cabinet near the sink. My mother, Virginia Sooter, painted several of these in the early 1960s, after taking just one painting class. She was musical and artistic and they remind me of her every day.

I like a lot of different kinds of furniture, but always seem to choose more traditional pieces, especially chairs and couches with rolled arms and backs.

This is the corner I see in my office when I sit at the computer. The shades are closed here because the sun was streaming in, and you can see one of the words I've put up on the walls in here. People have said the office seems very beachy/cottagey.

I like whimsical things too. These sit on the fireplace mantel in our bedroom - a velvet pumpkin pin cushion from Sara, and two rats I bought in a little gift shop. What? You don't decorate with rats? Maybe that will be the title to my next blog: Decorating With Rats. I think New Yorkers would love it.

This is one of the sheer curtain panels hanging in the living room in front of our window seat. I like how easy they are to slide.

Coming down the stairs, there's an old window that looks from the foyer into the den.

My friend Su knows I love blues and whites for my kitchen and she gave me this little pitcher for a Christmas ornament. I decided not to pack it away but to hang it from a kitchen cabinet to enjoy year round.

Under the stairs that lead to the third floor is this little door. Grandchildren are always intrigued with it.

Some fresh flowers simply arranged in milk glass -- a recent gift from Sara to brighten up my office.

C.S. Lewis's Aslan graces the top drawers in our kitchen

This is one of the upholstered chairs in our living room

"Just how many cardinals do you have in your house, Grandma?" This one is in the living room over the door that leads to the kitchen.

Part of our master bathroom. I love pedestal sinks. The mirror is old and belonged to Michael's parents. The metal glass makes the water taste good. 🙂

A blue thistle arrangement done by Sara, in a small pitcher on our kitchen table. The pretty serving tray was a gift from my friend Su.

Oiled bronze fixtures were chosen for our downstairs bathroom.

This is the pretty stained glass window on the landing between the second and third floor.

What was I going to do with all the saucers that came with the blue and white cups in my collection? Why not hang them on the wall around the doorway that leads to the living room?

This is the tiny little stained glass window in our entry way.

We have a slightly more masculine wallpaper and light in our dressing room, just off the master bedroom which has been accused of toile overload. 🙂

I call this our Alice in Wonderland doorknob - it's on a small hallway linen closet

Our kitchen island with a butcher block top -- I painted it dark blue and whitewashed and sanded it to age it a little, then added some Delft knobs I found on ebay.

A very rusty little gate hangs in the entry way

In the fall the chimney will be quaintly covered with thick climbing ivy, turning orange and red. Each spring it begins its three-story climb, and reaches the top of the chimney in less than five months. I think this is a little scary so I pull it down to the ground every fall. I like the iron detailing outside the third floor window but would never put a chair out there.

The carved detail around our living room fireplace

In our downstairs bathroom there is no wall space, so we decided to put art on the floor by installing a leafy, slightly textured vinyl.

This is the little table that sits between our two bedroom chairs. Sara's floral creations often show up as little surprises here and there.