Me? Not much. You?

1200 red roses

300 pink roses

200 yellow roses

250 white roses

200 brown roses

75 peach roses

100 lavender roses

orchids, hydrangeas, tulips, callas, scented geranium, hypericum berries, wax flower, heather, scabiosa, anemones, ranunculus, jasmine, pussy willow, quince, cherry, forsythia,

And sweet peas.

2 flower cleaners. 5 drivers. 5 designers. 

Adele 21. LMFAO. Mambo Italiano.

Iced skim lattes.  Laughing.  Cursing.  Constant application of lip salve.

Red t shirt, pencil jeans, gold bangles, silver from Tiffanys, eye liner, no smoking.

Happy Valentine's Day?

10 Things I Can't live Without: Ill Seen Ill Said

I don't remember when or how I began reading Ill Seen, Ill Said.  But I do remember I was immediately smitten by the world of Jane Flanagan.  

A Canadian resident with an Irish eye and ear for language and an artists way with color, Jane is  totally engaging whether she's suggesting the perfect outfit to  wear on a sunny Sunday or reviewing the latest book she has read.

Though we share a name we are very different.  Where I'm slapdash, she's thoughtful, when I'm a buy it at the flea market and make it fit she's a researcher who slowly creates the perfect abode.

Go ahead read her list, prepare to be delighted.

10 Things I Can't live Without: Jane from Ill Seen, Ill Said

A huge thanks to lovely Jane for inviting me to participate in this series! I'm (another) Jane, from Ill Seen, Ill Said. (link: http://www.seenandsaid.blogspot.com/)

There are many things I can't live without of a more abstract nature: A strong sense of home is vital to me. Friends who've got my back. Working and independence. Waking up on Sunday mornings to do whatever I want. My two passports. Creativity fueling all of that, whether I'm the audience or creator. And words, colour, laughter, love; where would we be without any of that?

But I've never been one to scorn the simpler pleasures. They fill in the nooks and crannies of our day-to-day. Not every day is fulfilling at work or features adventure and conquest. Not every day is suffused with creativity. But these things are small pleasures that fill in the in-between, that give me a sense of place and of self. They're the talismans I carry and seek comfort in.

Image credits:

First set: Perfect ballet flats (Lanvin) | Scented candle (Jo Malone) |  Blush (Laura Mercier) | iPhone (Society6) | Fresh flowers (Amy Merrick)

Second set: Yoga (Lululemon) | Pain au chocolat (Nadege) | Books (1st Dibs) | Blanket (Niki Jones) | Coffee (Bialetti)

The Laziest Blogger

I"ve been trying out for the Laziest Blogger Award.  To be in the running all you have to do is stop posting.

You still have to be involved in blog worthy activities: cooking, reading piles of books and magazines, scattering fresh flowers throughout your house and redecorating. Apparently steam cleaning is hot.

I don't know whether to blame my inertia on February itself, the lingering traces of my cold, or my new ability to relax.

3 and a 1/2 months of not smoking has allowed me to linger longer in bed on my days off.  For years, rain or shine, I was up around 6:00am, dripping the espresso inside and lighting up my first non filter cigarette of the day outside.

Without my body screaming for nicotine I sleep till 7:30 or 8:00, and upon awakening bring my coffee back to bed and allow myself an half hour or more of reading, relaxing and just lazing about.

And with the dog fully recuperated from her surgery I can enjoy a big lump of fragrant fur curled up and snoring on my feet.

You may have been wondering how the elf is doing.  We missed out on seeing him for 2 weeks due to my cold and then his parents'.  Finally last Friday we met and went out for sushi.

Two weeks are a long time in a newborns development.

He's grown a mustache! 

Alors.

xoxo jane

Back On The Yellow Brick Road

Don't linger here long for right below is a fabulous 10 Things List By Pigtown Design.  Read it and smile.

In a few days we can hold a tribunal and discuss the difficulties of Blogger. Grrrr.

xo  J.

Ten Things I Can't Live Without - Pigtown Design

I have met so many interesting people thru blogging.  Some live around the globe, some are 45 minutes away by car or train.

Meg, of Pigtown Design, is almost a neighbor.  She is a design aficionado who reports on what's hot and what's not in Baltimore, New York, England and on line. The world is truly her oyster and she probably has the necessary plates to serve it on. And I am so familiar with the cadence of her writing: what she finds funny and what she finds desirable I feel I could pick her out in a line up.  Though I hope I never have to :-)
I have to to say, I agree with her "list of" and wonder why some of these aren't a must with me too... enjoy!

1) My dog, Connor. When I first realized I was back in the States to stay, the first thing I did was go to the city’s animal shelter and adopt a dog. Connor was about five then, and was a wild child. But he’s mellowed into a real sweetie pie. I probably should have put my family and friends first, but since I see more of Connor than any other living being, he’s tops on the list.

2) Champagne. One of the bad habits I picked up in the UK was drinking champagne. I rarely drink hard liquor, so I always order a glass (or three) of champagne while I am out. There is usually a bottle of decent champagne in the fridge, too.

3) Down. I’ve had a feather mattress for ages, and to me, winter or summer, there’s nothing better than sleeping on one. I also have down pillows, and an eiderdown duvet. I just use the duvet and the duvet cover, even in the winter when I keep the house cool cold at night, and I am cozy and snug.  Here’s Connor napping on one of my old eiderdowns.

4) China. I “inherited” a ton of Royal Copenhagen’s Blue Fluted Half Lace china a few years ago, and when I moved last year, I decided that I should use it as my everyday china. It makes everything I eat, from poptarts to pork loin feel like it is a little more special.

5) Cashmere. I can’t stand the feel of wool sweaters, so started buying one cashmere sweater here and one there… Then in my thrift shop travels, I really started finding them, and buying them for a few dollars each. Unfortunately, the moths ate their way through some of them this summer, so I’ve made patchwork scarves from the sweaters.

6) Copper pots & pans. Before I moved to the UK, I had a massive collection of copper pots, pans and moulds, but I sold most of them. I did keep one great set of French pots and pans that my parents had given me for a significant birthday. There are about a dozen pieces in the set, and they’re just great to cook with. And I don’t even mind polishing them!

7) A Volvo. I’ve driven a Volvo almost since I could drive and have loved every one of them. I even drove a Volvo wagon in the UK, since it was almost the only car I could find that was an automatic. I love that my wagon fits almost everything I can think to put in the back – including a six-foot long church pew! But the best thing is the heated seats, especially on a cold morning!

8) Books. I grew up in houses that had libraries with loads of books. My father used to review books, and there were always stacks of them around. I read all of the time, and am lucky to have a free bookstore close to my house. I have loads of books on myriad topics around the house for reference, but I am not averse to reading some trashy chick-lit books!

9) French Ivory Cutlery. I started collecting pieces of this cutlery years ago, and I’d occasionally find a knife, and once in a blue moon, a fork. When I moved to the UK, it was everywhere and dirt cheap! But I always wondered why there weren’t any spoons. A British friend said they never made them, and then had a set of eight made for me. They are one of my favourite things and I love them for so many reasons.

10) Friends and family. I am lucky to have both friends that I’ve known since childhood and friends I’ve just met. And even luckier to have a family which is close by!

 Meg thank you so much for such a well curated list.  I just love this last picture of you and all your boys. look forward to hanging out together in the near future.

xo Jane

Back In Black

Oops, I guess the one thing I forgot to put on my can't live without list was good health.

That little cold got a hold of me and whupped me good.  I even took time off from work and I usually reserve time outs for the 7 year itch or the every 5 year flu.

I'd like to write a paean  to the neti pot here but if you don't know what they are never mind, TMI, and if you  already use one you know what I'm talking about.

As I was lying about on my fainting couch, sipping hot water, honey and lemon, napping, reading, cursing in Olde English the fates were gathering to make my life just that little nicer.

I won a giveaway from Annie at Lovely Things and and before I could respond to her comment I was opening a smartly wrapped parcel that contained an assortment of black and white objects: beads, #2 Ticonderoga pencils,black and white straws, a beautiful wool black and white scarf and a note from Annie with her signature swipe of blackboard paint at the top and my initial written in chalk.

All this good taste cheered me up no end.

And today I took myself out for a usual Monday afternoon of eating and shopping with my BFF's and Blaise gave me a necklace he had made for me of black pearls strung on black leather. He made the other crazy, Ann, a necklace of black rooster feather trimmed in black velvet.

Needless to say we both felt v. glamorous and ready for the next awards show.

So a big thank you to Annie and Blaise ( named after a Catholic saint, not a stripper).

Wednesday, hump day for most everyone excepting florists and hairdressers, shall be the next 10 Things I Can't Live Without List.

I know you'll all love reading these as much as I have.

Till then, wash your hands, you don't want this cold!

xo Jane

10 Things I Can't Live Without

Well I had a fabulous opener for the first day of the 10 things I Can't Live Without world series BUT I was shamed by my fellow bloggers into writing my own list first. Fair enough. 

  10 Things I Can't Live Without:

1.  GG of course and the Lab.  From our first dinner date at home when GG flung a dish towel over her shoulder and served the soup and then insisted on washing the dishes, I have been spoiled, encouraged in all my endeavors, pushed when I couldn't go one more step in the right direction, argued with, laughed with and occasionally at, praised, scolded and loved for just being me.  The real me, the goofy me, grumpy me, bitchy me, funny me. And the Lab?  I didn't know from unconditional love till I met her.

2.  The printed word: novels, magazines, blogs, newspapers, cookbooks,mysteries, bios.  I always have a section of the newspaper folded up in my purse in case I am caught somewhere without anything to read.  I didn't grow up in a TV household, we read.  It was nothing for me to stagger home from the library with a stack of 10 or 12 books, it still isn't.  I would hide a book anywhere.  I even tried to keep one behind my sheet music while I was "practicing" the piano or on the windowsill when doing the dishes.  I still have a book open when I grind the coffee beans.

3. Baths, long, hot, scented baths where I read of course.  But only books, it's too messy to take a magazine or the newspaper into the bath with you.  Trust me on this one. I go into the bath a tired, cranky overworked florist and come out flushed, smiling and ready to enjoy life again.  Hot H2O, it's a miracle.

4. Ice.  Except for a hot cup of tea on a cold winter evening I am addicted to tall glasses full of ice.  My lattes? Iced.  Lemonade, sparkling water both served on the rocks.  Abroad?  I'm just one crazy American in search of ice.  The one complete sentence I learned to speak in Germany?  Haben sie Eiswürfel ? Do you have any ice cubes? Usually met with a resounding no.  They wanted to lock me up in Italy for ruining their delicious coffees with ice .  I don't even think they'll let me into England. 

5. Gardens.  My garden, your garden, any beautiful public garden.  I love the hope of the spring garden, the hot hell that is the garden in July and August and the overgrown beauty that comes in the fall.  I'm at peace when weeding and watering and just wandering from plant to plant admiring a blossom here, a berry there.
My ego is at rest when I am digging in the dirt.

 6..  Friends and Family.  You have loved me when I didn't love myself.  You make me laugh, cry, think, learn when to speak up and when to keep a secret. I've known some of you since high school and some of you I just met these last few years on line.  But my life is richer and fuller because of you all.

7. Food.  Cooking for others has always been a big expression of love for me.  When I'm been in relationships that are ending I lose my appetite for both cooking and eating.
But when all is going well, baby look out and better join a gym, 5 pounds are coming your way.

8. My abs and my triceps. It's amazing what an hour in the gym or at zumba or yoga will give me.  A high never found from drugs or alcohol, I just smile for hours after.  My mind is at rest, I sleep like an angel, I have an abundance of energy the next day.  Exercise, what have you got to lose from it except a couple of pounds?

9. Garden tomatoes.  And the smell of a tomato plant.  That is summer to me.

10. My little house on the prairie.  Though I just glanced up and saw a few new cracks in the kitchen ceiling and it seems I work solely to support my home owning habit I love having my own nest to feather.  I have been called a homebody and I wear that title proudly.  Don't we all need a sanctuary at the end of the day?