Flowers for the Soul

This quote by Hans Christian Anderson, says it all:

"Just living is not enough...

one must have sunshine,

freedom,

and a little flower"

That's how I feel about interior design as well.

I adore floral prints, especially in soft shades of blue and white.

And I believe a home looks magical and romantic when adorned in flowers.

I have designed over 160 so far, and each new design becomes my new favorite!

I started out designing just for myself, to decorate my little Cape Cod cottage in colors and patterns I wanted, but couldnt find on the open market.

Now its become an obsession!

Here are a few photos I took recently of some of my fabrics I have had printed on the linen-cotton canvas, quilting cotton or heavy cotton canvas, available at Spoonflower.

I plan on sewing them up into soft furnishings for the home this fall/winter, and offering them up for sale through my ETSY shop, Lilyoake.

So, stay tuned!

Blissful Mornings

    I am up at the crack of dawn, or sometimes before....4 AM-ish on most week days.

I  have three students to get out the door for early morning classes. I make breakfast,  pack lunches and help locate missing items like keys and hats, all in a rushed flurry before they are all suddenly sucked out the front door as if in a whirlwind, by 6AM.  I wave to them out the top of the dutch door one last time, shut it, and take a deep breath.

   At that exact moment, it becomes calm and peaceful, with just me, my watchful cats and a quiet house.

That's when my day begins for myself.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to take more time for myself.  Create a more relaxing space for myself to dwell in.   Eat in a prettier space, read more and do more art.

One of my new habits I have been developing in January is to not sit at my computer and wolf down breakfast, but instead, sit at the table and eat slowly, in a relaxed attitude.

Its quite dark out this time of year so I light the candles (which we light every night at dinner, so they are always conveniently on the table), and begin my day with the most important meal of the day - breakfast.

I happened to have plenty of flowers on the table today - left over from my Winter Tea Party I hosted on the 20th, and they add to the ambiance.  Its nice to sit in front of flowers to dine, when outside the typical Seattle winter day is dark, gloomy and wet!

My only "guest" at the table this morning was my tomcat Sushi.  He eased up onto the edge of the table and watched me patiently.  Shortly after taking these photos, I went to the kitchen to get something and came back to find he had inched closer and was about to set his tail on fire as he laid it down over a tealight!  Indeed, the smell of burnt hair rose up in the air as I chased him away.  LOL  Those who live with cats will understand - you cannot keep them off ANYTHING!! 

 Sushi waits, ever so patient...

 Musee Blue Toile chair pads, vintage 1940's Irish linen tablecloth and Royal Copenhagen's Blue Flower's Curved china.

 I light the fireplace sconces up too - with minimal modern electric lights in the dining room, candles light our way through most of the year and makes for a more relaxed, special meal each time.

A Petite Retreat

Built in 19th century Denmark, and now part of an open-air museum in Aarhus, Denmark, this teahouse is one of my most favorite examples of Gustavian design. I have been in love with this little treasure for years so I thought I'd share it with you.

It's a dream of mine to have something just like this in my own back yard some day! From the melon-tinted walls which glow in the sunshine, to the muslin-swagged windows, painted table and chairs with brown striped cushions, the whole room speaks of elegance and sophistication!

I love the classic Royal Copenhagen "Blue Fluted" porcelain tea set on the table. I'm a big fan of RC china. I collect the "Blue Flowers Curved" pattern. Imagine yourself sitting here on a sunny day with a group of friends having afternoon tea with a lemon-glazed cake, or alone with a great book, listening to the rain on the pagoda-styled roof!

Teapots

My collection is growing. I added a couple this winter. I originally had only the Royal Copenhagen Blue Flowers teapot but then found a cute one on eBay for $3.99 from Nepal - not sure if it's food safe so I will use it for decoration only. Then the white one from TJ Maxx for $7.99, and the Blue Onion one also from TJ Maxx for $12.99. The older blue flow teapot came as a gift from my 80 year Norwegian neighbor who said her mother once owned it. These will all be put to use in February when I have my tea party. For now I love how they look on the sideboard. Eventually they will all live in the hutch, when it's finished being painted and gold leafed.

Tea and Strawberry Cake

As I gazed out the window a few Sundays back, watching the cold rain pelt my spring flowers (this IS Seattle!) I thought "What could be better on a day like today then tea and cake?" A cozy fire in the fireplace, sleepy kitties scattered about the room and warm tea with strawberry cake.

I found a delicious cake recipe on Paula Deen's show on the Food Network. Here it is in case you'd like to make it:

CAKE:
1 (18.25 oz) box white cake mix
1 (3 oz) box strawberry-flavored instant jello
1 (15 oz) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
4 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease 2 (9") round cake pans. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and gelatin. Add pureed starwberries, eggs, oil and water. beat until smooth. Pour into prepared cake pans and bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on racks.
STRAWBERRY CREAM FROSTING:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup pureed sweetened strawberries (about - maybe slightly more)
1/2 tsp strawberry extract
5 cups confectioner's sugar
Combine all ingredients until smooth and frost the cake when it's cooled. Use some frosting in between layers to hold top and bottom sections together.
Decorate with fresh sliced strawberries or edible flowers, if desired.
The few changes I made were to bake 5 minutes more and to use raspberry extract as I could not find strawberry extract. It all worked out fine!

TEA: I love Trader Joe's English Breakfast and Irish Breakfast teas. On this day I used English because the flavor is milder. They are both rich and tasty though. I mixed in a tbsp of rich amber-hued honey per tea bag, directly into the tea pot. I also provided fresh sliced lemon to put in each cup. I love this combination so much, I have given up coffee and now carry a thermos of this tea mixture with me to work every day.

I collect Royal Copenhagen's Blue Flowers Curved porcelain so naturally, that's what you get your tea in when you come to my house! The pattern is very romantic and fresh and has a lovely embossed swirl pattern along with a scalloped edge to plates.

Cheese: I love me my savories and being a native of Wisconsin, cheese is my first choice.
I offered up 2 choices of English cheddars; one flavored with wine and the other with Irish whiskey. They countered the sweet tea and cake perfectly. I served the cheese on a lovely old chintz plate I found at an antique shop in Snohomish, WA.

With a couple of warm blankets and comfy down filled pillows on the sofa, we were comfy, well fed and quite satisfied for the rest of the day!