garden retail therapy and a new mantra

There are only a handful of shopping venues that I would classify as "therapeutic" - meaning that I usually have a smile on my face the whole time I am browsing, my mind is completely clear of stress and clutter, I take my sweet time taking everything in and don't have that "Oh my God,  I am wasting so much time and money and need to get the hell out of here" feeling. 

The handful of my personal retail therapy venues include fabric stores, farmers markets, thrift and junk shops, flea markets, flower markets and garden centers. I recently treated myself to a little dose of the last, when I set out to splurge on some annuals to put in pots.

 photo bomb

This little shopping trip was an exercise in what I am calling "less planning, more doing" - something I aspire to make my new mantra (ignore for a moment that it sounds an awful lot like the Home Depot tagline). 

I am, by nature, prone to fits of obsessive planning, researching, debating and - ultimately - indecision, which all too often ultimately stalls if not completely extinguishes many of my creative aspirations.

 I recently heard that my favorite floral designer came down with a bad case of clematis. 

I think its going around.

 Holla holla, hellabore. 

{All shots above taken at Elbers, around the corner from my house. It's good to have a garden center that close to home, and I was really impressed with their selection this year. All shots below taken at Urban Roots - a cooperative community garden center with an excellent selection of plants and garden supplies, staffed by your knowledgable, friendly, garden crazy Buffalo neighbors. They also host several workshops and events (including plant swaps!) throughout the year, and happen to have one of the most adorable websites I have ever seen (check it out).}

 Japanese painted fern - I will be back for you.

 And you too, Jenny.

 And you, Jacob.

 It's been a while since a new car has made my heart go budumpadump like this his luscious minty Fiat parked outside Urban Roots.

Last year when I went to Urban Roots to pick out container garden plants I spent a stupid amount of time putting this and that together, trying to decide then and there what plants to put in which pot with which other plants, and trying to remember which pots I had at home, what the colors and sizes were etc. Madness, right? Only to get home and realize I had totally misjudged my container inventory, that the plants didn't quite look as good together when potted as I had thought they would, etc etc. 

This smells ridiculously beautiful. If only I could remember its name.

So this year I just took my time browsing and compiling anything that struck me as particularly beautiful or interesting. And while I tried to keep it diverse, I didn't worry about what would go with what or which pots they would go in. And - shockingly - it all came together quite easily and was a much more enjoyable experience. 

Apologies for skipping the weekly review last week. Another post or two is coming on other notables, including an afternoon spent on the Niagara River - where, with the exception of minor meltdown over a HUGE black spider on Evan's shirt (flashbacks to my horrid sci-fi spider bite episode from last summer) we had a lazy, breezy time catching up with one of our oldest Buffalo friends who now lives in L.A. (and he freaked out a little about the spider too, so that made me feel a little better).

Happy summer!

xoxox

summer shoes

                                                                                                  ss

I just got an email from Soludos announcing their new Shibori line, made with authentic shibori pattern fabric imported from Japan. If I had not gone so hog wild last summer, buying four pairs (above) after seeing a post about them on Katy Elliot's blog, I would be so tempted to order at least four more pairs from their new collections! But 8 + pairs of Espadrilles feels excessive, even to a shoe hoarder like myself. 

According to the email, Shibori is a Japanese term for dyeing cloth with a pattern by binding, stitching, folding, twisting, compressing it or capping. I absolutely love these:

I also love these new vibrant Aztec inspired prints:

And while I have not jumped on the Ikat bandwagon when it comes to household textiles, I would gladly sport the trend on my feet with any of these beauties:

We'll see how long my willpower lasts. Their espadrilles look cute with jeans, capris, shorts, skirts and dresses, and are very comfortable. I highly recommend treating yourself to a pair!

Happy Spring!

put a blanket on it

Oh, Pinterest. I am afraid you have led me even further astray from my resolution to blog more.

Have you been sucked in yet? It's wildly addicting, and once you get the hang of how to use it, incredibly easy. Too easy. With a few clicks you've created a beautiful inspiration board, and then a few minutes later, 27 strangers have liked or "repinned" your post! Woah - holy instant gratification!

It is, however, no substitute for blogging. But since I dont see this addiction/delightful time suck going away any time soon, I will try to use Pinterest as a tool for paying Dear Frances more of the attention she deserves.

To start, some images I have pinned that serve as follow up to my last post about casual sofa covers.These images prove that sofas covered in blankets, throws, sheets etc. can be attractive while being incredibly functional - comforting assurance to the owner of light colored upholstered furniture and two snuggle loving dogs.

This one is from one of my most favorite Design Sponge 

Sneak Peaks - Scartlett of Saffron & Genevieve, 

an antiques and interior goods shop in Santa Cruz, CA.

From a house tour of Kessa & Len's home in Toronto, via  

The Marion House Book.

 Originally pinned from here, but could not find this image for source.

If you were to say to me, "Amanda, if you only had one website 

to refer people to to get a sense of your 'style' - a place where you 

would giddily adopt every single thing featured into your home 

- what would it be?" 

I would say, visit the Cabbages & Roses Homeware Style Guide. 

I go back to Christina Strutt's At Home with Country 

over and over again to get inspired. The obsession began with  

another Sneak Peak/Interview at  Design Sponge.

Originally pinned from here, but could not find this image for source.

Two photos above from Apartment Therapy House Tour  

"Stefanie and Mike's Heavenly Hollywoodland Home"  

- homeowners who clearly let their pets all over the furniture 

without sacrificing style or cleanliness (their furniture is white!). 

I love these shots - our two dogs love sleeping on the top 

of the back cushion of our chair and chaise, just like this.

From Apartment Therapy's  

House Tour of textile designer Amy Butler. 

This is where clicking on the Pinterest pin takes you. 

If you know the source, please tell me!

Ok, so those last two aren't covered in blankets, but they still show how a loose, non-custom fit (i.e. affordable) slipcover can look great, wrinkles and all, with a little help from some comfy pillows. While our current living room set isn't a forever set, I would still like to keep it in good shape and as clean as possible. We bought the three pieces (oversized chair, chaise and sofa) off Craigslist for the same price that we sold our old sofa and loveseat so someone else for, so it was essentially a free upgrade! The chaise was the real catalyst for the transaction, and I would like to "trade in" the sofa soon on Craigslist for something else. 

What can I say? I get queasy at the price tag of new sofas, and love the thrill of the hunt.

casual sofa covers?

As the proud parent of two spoiled Boston Terriers who have never been taught to stay off the furniture, which happens to be light colored upholstery, I am always on the lookout for attractive, but casual throws, blankets and quilts to toss over the sofa and three chaises that we - and the dogs - love so much (wherever we like to sit and get cozy, so do they). While browsing on Etsy recently, I came across this shop that has several gorgeous handmade textiles from India, which - considering the detail on some of them - seem pretty reasonably priced.

A few appliqued bedspreads that I have my eye on (I would have to check on whether these are machine washable, to serve the intended purpose):

The shop also has several beautiful throw sized Kantha quilts, which are made out of gorgeous recycled cotton saris using an embroidery technique called "kantha"to form intricate designs. I love that many of these are reversible, and have sort of random patches here and there. These are more for decorative use than what I am searching for - Pottery Barn and West Elm, who sell vintage kantha quilts of similar size for twice as much money, advises against washing these.

Here are a just a few that caught my eye:

Quilt 1 ~ Side 1

Quilt 1 ~ Side 2

 Quilt 2 ~ Side 1

Quilt 2 ~ Side 2

Quilt 3

Quilt 4 

Quilt 4 ~ Side 1

Quilt 4 ~ Side 2

 Quilt 5

Quilt 5 ~ Side 1

 Quilt 5 ~ Side 2 

I am such a sucker for intricate, soft textiles. I just love the stitching on these, not to mention the patterns. One of these may be too tempting to resist. It would be mine, all mine - dogs forbidden to set a paw upon it. 

Just like the cherished crazy quilt that my mom made for me out of scraps of fabric with very sentimental memories - the dress my Grandmother wore to my wedding, a pair of pants I bought in Paris when I was 15, a dress my best friend bought for me at a thrift shop in Germany in high school, a pair of purple embossed corduroy bellbottoms that were too hideous for my rebellious teenage self to resist. 

I'll have to share photos soon. (Of the quilt, that is - not of me sporting the purple bellbottoms circa 1995).