Geninne D Zlatkis

These watercolors are gorgeous by Geninne D. Zlatkis. I found her on Etsy but she has her own website www.geninne.com. I am so enthralled by this work. Each piece is small around 6x6 or 6x8 but each piece is also around $30. A steal.

Aren't these stunning? Love the elephant.

A few weekend things..

My house is on the market again. Been meaning to post the pictures in case anyone wants to buy it...cause you never know. It's a really lovely house. I'll be sad to leave but it's time to go. 

So I'm a wee bit behind but I want to throw out a few mini blogs I've been meaning to post.

First, have you seen the cover of Serena and Lily's catalog for the spring/summer? Here's a sneak peak of it in case you don't get it. Love the cover photo...it's stunning and makes me want to buy all of their linens.

 Love the pink rug and yellow duvet combo.

Also, I recently found a great nail polish remover called Peacekeeper that's virtually non toxic. It really works without the horrible toxic fumes. Finally! Find the whole line of eco products at www.iamapeacekeeper.com

Saving the best for last...as my husband and I work on cleaning up our diet for the spring/summer season with the help of a local Naturopath...we've been trying more healthy cleanse-type recipes. 

Here's a Healthy Rice Crispy Treat recipe I've been making from her cleanse coobook to help with sugar cravings. Mind you, it has a sweetener in it, but it's low glycemic and high in protein.

 

You need: 

3/4 cups of brown rice crispy cereal (gluten free, no sugar kind)

3/4 cup of brown rice syrup

1 cup of almond butter (no sugar kind). 

Directions:

Butter a 9x12 dish.  Heat up syrup and almond butter in a pan on low/medium heat, after it melts together, fold it into the rice crispys in a separate bowl and stir gently. After thoroughly mixed, spread the whole mixture into the pan you just buttered. Let cool for 30 minutes and they are done! So good.  And you can add anything you want - nuts, dried fruit etc. So easy, so fast!

PoFu Garden Confetti

I was on my way to posting about a pretty clothing line I saw on Etsy, only to get sidetracked with these sweet little balls of color called Spring Garden Confetti made by PoFu. It took me a minute to figure out what these were. Here's the write-up;

Made of clay, compost and wildflower seeds, these little balls of joy can be shared wherever you wander! See a spot that could use some brightening? Throw a little love and Voila - Flowers! Because of their composition these little guys don't need to be watered or tended in any way, and can be thrown any season without frost.

This is my kind've gardening. Easy and pretty. And how perfect for a "late" mom's day gift or house warming gift or hostess gift. But I have to disclose,  she is sold out right now but supposedly making more. I am going to email her to find out and beg if needed. I'll let you all know.

But really, what a clever idea!

Honey Pie

Back to Monday! The weather is gradually turning here. We're rounding the corner.  Here's to a happy week!

So, I came across these soaps this week called Honey Pie Hive and Herbal's. 

What's interesting about this is that the soap can also act as shampoo.  They're made of only earth-found ingrediants - natural oils (coconut, olive, palm, etc) as well as beeswax, lye, herbs, and oils. The reviews I read suggest the soaps are unusual but work very well. You just rub the bar onto wet hair and voila, you have your shampoo. I kept thinking - what a great products for kids right? My kids rub the soap bars on their head anyway, so we might as well use a shampoo bar! Visit them to see more - Honey Pie!

By the way, the new issue of Lonny is out. Bright red chairs! 

Under the Williamsburg bridge..

...there is a great little store called Brook Farm General Store. When you happen to be under the Williamsburg bridge, located in Brooklyn, NY, stop in! It's a fun place to shop.

But I'm guessing most of you won't be in this location anytime soon, so here's a glimpse of what they sell. And the good news is you can visit their website and buy just about everything online. Brook Farm General Store

In my never ending quest for organization and simplicity in my home, the styling and quality of their product selection is very inspiring to me. Take a look!

Tourne Wool Blanket

Glass Tumblers made from recycled Franciscan wine bottles

Fog Linen Table Cloths

Woven hamper/basket

Whiskey Rocks. Substitute for ice cubes but for hot and cold beverages - love these!!

Savon Rose DeMarseille/Soap

Simple Home, book by Mark and Sally Bailey

Homeade bees wax candles

Cutting Board

Large market backpack - great idea!

Now that I am back...

So sorry for the long blog vacation!  I took a quick trip to the Cape during school break, everything got caught up, and I left without sending out my last planned post. What was I thinking?!

But it has been a nice week away. And I have lots of ideas bubbling over since I've been gone for so long. I hope you're all still here, checking in!

To start with, I thought I'd share with you a few of my Cape favorites.

Cape Weekends is located in Orleans on the way to Nauset Beach. I only recently discovered this shop, last year. It's huge. I love their collection of items. The owner has great taste and seems to find the trendiest stuff in every category - kids, clothing, home goods, art, jewelry. She carries some Brooklyn designers too which I always seem to favor. Lucky Fish for one. Love Lucky Fish. Here is a very tiny sampling. She has a website with a small online shop too capeweekend.com, but visiting is way better.

Orla Kiely ofcourse

Feisty Elle "Dhalia" felt earrings

Cate and Levi lamb

Zaishu Flower table

Cape Cod artist Wendelin Glatzel

Another favorite is Salon 16 West also in Orleans. Mainly because they carry a great line of skincare products called Welstar, that are all natural, totally organic and essential oil based.  They are a made in very small batches using only pure, raw materials. Visit their website to see the whole product line www.welstar.net. I love how pure these products are and she even carries a sun protection line that's essential oil based.

A few others to mention.

- The semi-new French bakery and restaurant in South Wellfleet called PB Boulangerie. I must admit, I've never been overwhelmed with the restaurants on the Cape, all very predictable, but this place is truly French and very sophisticated.

- Ofcourse the Candy Manor in Chatham..

- The Chatham Bars Inn is a luxury inn but also a great place for cocktails, dinner or a bar style lunch when in the area.

- East Wind Silver in Chatham for inexpensive but good quality silver jewelry.

- I love the bookstore, Where The Sidewalk Ends, in Chatham. Not only is this a great title for a bookstore, but this place is very cozy and friendly and they offer up a great selection of interesting books, local and otherwise.

- And then there is my favorite Art Gallery in Provincetown. I'll blog about this tomorrow...it deserves it's own blog post....

I'm off to start watching the Oscars...good night!

Calendars Part 2

Back! Warm day. There is still lots of snow and dirt and mush on the ground, but I KNOW that yes the seasons do change, and yes the snow will melt, and no I won't look pasty white for the rest of my life. 

In case you need convincing, here's a visual reminder that May, June and July are in fact coming.

Yearly Calendar Part II. My fav is on top. Love love the color.

Michelle Armas

Meadow Lark Creative

Jolie Jolie Designs

Paper and Cup Chalkboard Calendar

Hand Illustrated by The Wild Unknown

Birthday fun

My Sophie is 3 today! I can barely believe it. Three years flew. So we started off the day as we did with Henry  - balloons, glitter, a little surprise, some singing and off to school. Presents, cake and Cinderella will come later in the day but Sophie gets to wear her princess costume all day today wherever we go, which is huge!

So speaking of birthdays, I saw a great idea last week by Sara Westbrook for a homemade Valentines Day or Birthday gift. These necklaces are made out of giant gumballs! 

All you need: thin ribbon, a large needle and the candy. Don't they look like real beads? Gumballs really don't go bad so these can be worn for a long time if they can be resisted! What a great idea!

Photos by Sara Westbrook