Posting over at The Polohouse

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The Polohouse

Good morning, y'all!  Today I have the extreme honor of guest posting over at The Polohouse.  If you've read my blog at all, you should know what a huge fan I am of Alison at The Polohouse blog.  I feel like she's a mentor as well as a friend and fellow-lover of all things tartan.  Please come over and visit me at THE POLOHOUSE. 

Alison's Kitchen

Tartans and Daisies and Dogs, Oh My!

Today I'm joining Alison over at The Polohouse for her Favorites on the First linky party.  This month's party features beautiful, lovely flowers.  What a great party!

While the above photo might be a bit cheesy and is certainly staged, I really do take Bitsy on my bike for rides, sans tartan blanket and yellow daisies.  She's pretty sure that she doesn't like it, but so far she hasn't tried to bail out.  

I have a window box outside my kitchen window.  I just planted it with calla lilies, begonias, creeping jenny and potato vine, among others:

It looks pretty good now, but we'll see how it looks in August after another scorching Texas summer.  Fingers crossed!

And finally, I ran by the grocery store and bought this bouquet of hydrangeas and roses.  I love the way it looks in my blue and white tureen:

It's sitting on my old oak chest of drawers in our library/living room.

  I don't use very much orange in my decorating, but it's hard to beat that pop of color against the blue.

I was recently at an absolutely GORGEOUS home store in Kansas City.  I'm planning to do a post on Nell Hill's store soon, but I'll leave you with this "teaser" photo:

Matches my hydrangea arrangement, don't ya think?

Thanks, Alison, for hosting another fun party!

I Heart Lamps

Today I'm joining Alison over at The Polohouse for her Favorites on the First linky party.  This month we are talking lamps.  This is an exciting subject for me because I have strong feelings for lamps…I love them. 

The lamp above is in my husband's office.  I found the old telephone at the annual Round Top Antiques Fair and had a base made.  My poor, long-suffering husband was sweet enough to go along with it.  He's a banker-type so this was kind of a stretch for him.  He came up with the following idea for a photo, and I had to humor him:

Cute, huh? 

I love Staffordshire and have had a few pieces turned into lamps:

This Imari lamp is in the dining room and guards the bar:

Blue and white lamps make up a large part of my lamp inventory:

I bought this tea caddy (not old) and had it made into a lamp:

When I saw this black and white checked silk lamp shade coupled with the red urn, I just couldn't resist it:  

I saw these two glass lamps yesterday at the local antique mall and was quite taken with them:

I'm just not sure how they would fit in with my ultra-traditional decor.  

And finally, since most of the photos above include a dog in some form or another, I'll end on this note.  (It's another lamp from the antique mall):

I think that I might have to go back and buy it.  What's that saying?  "You can never be too rich, too thin, or have too many lamps."

Happy Easter!

This is the church that my husband grew up in.  I love the color of the walls in the sanctuary…they're kind of a salmon color.  "Williamsburg Pink" is how I've heard it described.  

The stained glass windows are beautiful.  I was taking pictures with my iPhone, so the colors aren't as vibrant.

Each arch has a scripture, chosen by my husband's father, who was the minister at the time the church was being built.  The scripture above says, "By grace are ye saved through faith; it is the gift of God."

I hope that all of you had a joyous Easter or wonderful Passover.  Or maybe you just spent a quiet weekend at home, knowing that a beautiful spring is right around the corner.

Pinterest

Texas River School: Breakfast, Beer & Music in Austin!

The Texas River School

Yes, I thought the title of this post would get your attention!  

My sweet daughter Katharine is the Program Director of the Texas River School in Austin, Texas.  

Catering mainly to inner-city children, the T.R.S. "…has a long history and solid reputation in working to 'Keep our kids and rivers healthy.' The River School was formed with the intention of combining outdoor education, canoeing skills, and swimming with healthy nutritional reinforcement. So many of our students do not have access to any of the above and after working with over 5,000 area youths, we know that our program has had a positive impact."

Here's a short video about the T.R.S.:

The T.R.S. is participating in Amplify Austin, an event to raise money for the Central Texas nonprofit community.  This event takes place at various venues in Austin on Tuesday, March 5.   

So if you're interested in having free breakfast tacos, beer and music, please visit the T.R.S. website HERE.

By the way,  the Texas River School offers Moonlight Bat Floats from April through October as a fundraiser.  The Congress Street bridge on Town Lake in downtown Austin houses a gigantic bat colony.  What better way to view the bats as they leave at dusk for their dinner party than to be under the bridge in your own personal (rented) kayak or canoe?  I'm making reservations to go, because you know how much I love bats!

Pull Up a Chair

Today I'm linking up to The Polohouse's Favorites on the First linky party HERE.  This month's party features our favorite chairs.

First of all, the above recliner is NOT my favorite chair.  Not by a long shot.  I don't have anything against recliners….I know they're ultra comfortable and cushy.  But they just don't fit in with my traditional decor, and I don't need a piece of furniture that looks like a boat.

The reason I included the above picture is because it's my husband's DREAM CHAIR.  It's a La-Z-Boy Luxury Lift Power Recliner 6-Motor Massage & Heat.  "With the power to sit, stand or recline at the touch of a button and soothing heat, the La-Z-Boy gives you all the right moves, including a 
6-motor massage option for the ultimate in comfort and relaxation."  What more could one possibly want in a chair?  

My poor, long-suffering husband actually had a water buffalo chair similar to the one above when we got married.  It was the first thing to go.

I started collecting vintage bamboo furniture quite a few years ago.  While the little bamboo corner chair below isn't exactly comfortable, it's just so darn cute.  And after all, isn't that what's most important?       

I bought the child's chair below at an estate sale.  I think it's charming.

By the way, I did a post on the above needlepoint pillows HERE.

We bought these two chairs to go in our living room/library.  Because my husband is 6'5" tall, the furniture in our house has to be big.  The chairs are very comfortable but not really my favorite.

If I could choose a chair that I know I would love, it would be slip-covered with a nice table and lamp beside it situated near a fireplace:

Ralph Lauren

Below is the photo of Ralph at his New York country estate that's been floating around the internet for years.  In my opinion, that leather chair is absolutely perfect. 

It's just so Ralph……

Brass is Back

It has been brought to my attention that brass house decor is making a comeback.  I've read several blogs lately devoted to this very subject.

To tell you the truth, I never knew that brass had gone out-of-style.  That shows you how much I keep up with trends.  But then, I'm not really the trendy type.  I think that's one reason that I'm so drawn to traditional interiors…with a twist, of course:

I use this old brass weight as a bookend.  The brass easel holds my sweet daughter's picture:

I began collecting these miniature brass candlesticks years ago:

I've shown this brass fender before.  It works very well for corralling large books:

A miniature brass fender as well as a little planter:

I took this photo during the holidays.  (My little snow globe is a la 
THE POLOHOUSE.)  I love this large brass planter:

Thanks for stopping by Tartan Terrace.  Hope y'all have a fun Valentine's Day!