Sunday, August 29, 2010

Have I mentioned how much I love my wallpaper ?

In the 3 homes I have owned I had never ventured into the mysterious world of wallpaper until now. I am not a wallpaper gal, no need to see toile or cabbage roses all over the walls, but at my new home "The Burrow" I decided I was really working with so many neutral colors that in one special place I needed a pop. The powder room. I had vintage sconces from EBAY as well as a glass vessel sink that I was using in an old dry sink I had plumbed for the vanity. Since these photos were taken I have also added an antique mirror that the mercury has come loose from the glass giving the mirror a crackled effect.( I love that something used for vanity is itself beautifully flawed). Anyway back to the paper. I looked probably at hundreds of patterns and couldn't really find something that worked, and to invest in a good wallpaper I wasn't going to settle since it was to be the only patterned wall in the house. I decided to narrow my search. I had some beautiful pheasant feathers I kept in a Mason jar that I loved the look of so for fun I Googled  "feather wallpaper". Let me tell you there are some ugly feather wallpapers. Then I stumbled upon Cavern Home. A unique purveyor of hand silk screened wallpaper. They had perhaps a dozen unique patterns. And there it was PLUME (gold) the showpiece I was looking for. Magnificent screened pheasant feathers almost 3 feet tall on a matte gold background. GORGEOUS ! A wonderful design specialist named Mary Cairns hung the paper and the rest is history. It is still a real investment and it is definitely my taste. You'll either love it or hate it, but every time I step into that room I fall in love with the walls all over again. If you like the look go to Cavernhome.com for more ideas !

Friday, August 27, 2010

Centreville's "Oreo Cows"

On any given day driving through the bucolic village of Centreville, DE you may get a glimpse of something forever ingrained as a piece of home in a Centrevillian's minds. The "Oreo Cows".
 The official name of these wonderous creatures is Belted Galloway Cows. Take a drive down Centre Meeting Road, Twaddell Mill Road or even Route 52 on a good day and you can see these massive beauties lazing in the grass or just enjoying their lives in Centreville.  The Belted Galloway Cow is a beef cow originally raised in the 1600's in Scotland. At birth the bulls weigh about 70 lbs. with the heifers weighing in at about 10 lbs. less. Fully grown the ladies weigh about 1100-1300 lbs. with the fellas weighing in at a massive 1800-2000 lbs. Makes me feel svelte just thinking about them. This is a perfect Muse for me today as I have been thinking about my children (who are away at school) and driving this morning past the "Oreo's" reminded me of how, driving home the back roads in the car, we would always have our eyes peeled to the right to see if the cows were out in the field. We always delighted to see them and annoyed anyone behind us by slowing a bit to get a better look. This year there was a great crop of little ones. The heat has often brought them up right behind our park in Centreville to enjoy the shade in the afternoons. So if you too are looking for a little Muse, drive by and see if you can't become acquainted with our pals the "Oreo's"

enjoy the ride

Well, talk about the information superhighway. Wanting to do something productive with my free time I am creating a blog (I know, right). Muse. Full of things I find interesting. I hope to fill it with the things I love, my family, home, recipes, entertaining, Centreville, images of things I love, and possibly the occasional rogue ER story. Musings ! Feel free to join me for the ride ! Friends of friends welcome !!