Home Graces...Still Culling Inspiration

soothing...timeless...blue and white

Image Source: Pinterest

Culling Ideas and Inspiration...

The early~summer cleaning/de~cluttering/redecorating bugs have bitten me and the old saying..."once begun is half done"...is proving itself to be true! I've been working non stop. What keeps me going are looking forward to little breaks every few hours where I enjoy a glass of tea and allow myself to check emails and browse online to cull inspiration for my current and potential projects. The happy news is that I have been discovering some wonderful resources as well as treasure troves of ideas that not only charm but serve to keep me motivated (i.e. moving:)! The above images are from yet another or my delightful discoveries... a company called Bella Notte Linens. Enchanting...is the word that comes immediately to mind when browsing this lovely site...hope you enjoy it too!

I'm off now...to continue in my quest to create a bit of "Order from Chaos"...more soon my very kind friends!!!

Love and good thoughts from Tracey x0x.

Source

Small Wonders...

Eco friendly...often sustainable...
these small homes are a wonder to behold!

Tree house home: Ada and Darcy

Shipping container home.

Paul Elkin's cycle home.

Tiny Texas Houses made from recycled materials.

Nano Living Home

Twelve Cubed mini home.




Source: Images 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Mother Nature Network

Lemon ginger jam

Lemon ginger jam
Originally uploaded by Studer T.V.

Hello dear souls...I found these wonderful food photos on flickr...spent way too much time browsing through them...but had to share! The cheesecloth is charming...now I'm off to find a recipe!

Love and good thoughts.

Warmly,
Tracey

Frugal Luxuries tm : a Paper Curtain

use as a room divider or curtain...

use pieces to gently drape a lamp (cuts easily with scissors)...


soften a sofa (much nicer than the paper covered lounge a the doctor's office)...


or create some wearable paper art!

So much frugal luxury from a $30 paper curtain...

found it at MollaSpace !


All images MollaSpace.

Homespun Alchemy™ : Easy Ways to Up~Cycle Worn Vintage Silver

Top two images from Daisy Chestnut on Etsy

Bottom image: Frugal Luxuries 2008

Do you remember these spoons from a few years ago? (Idea by way of Frugal Luxuries by the Seasons, Bantam, 2000.) Vintage silverware was easily turned into ornaments and used to adorn the house for the holidays. (The plate had worn off almost entirely...thus the gold spray paint.) Imagine my happy surprise when this morning... while browsing through the ever inspiring Etsy...I happened upon a kindred soul...Daisy Chestnut...who put her own clever spin on this basic concept!! You can see a few of her ideas above but there are lots more images of her creative ways to up~cycle and re~purpose old silver wares here!



Please enjoy a lovely Monday my kind friends. more soon.



Love and good thoughts from...Tracey and family


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Order from Chaos tm : Vintage threads stored in glass jars

Vintage threads stored in glass jars
Originally uploaded by freudianslipsvintage

...found another kindred soul on flickr and thought you'd enjoy meeting her too!

sending love and good thoughts to all!

warmly,
Tracey and Family
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Earthly Delights: Turquoise bird cages...vine covered shacks and sheds...

The girls and I were enjoying some verdant visual inspiration from our local nursery and thought we'd share a bit of it with you! I have several more lovely images but Google is being so frustrating...it's giving me a very hard time as I try to upload images. It took me three tries to get these up! I will try later to finish uploading...more soon my kind friends!!!

Love and good thoughts from Tracey and Family

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Edible Delights: Tea Cup Cakes...

I found this charming idea and delicious recipe (it combines Chocolate and tahini to make a delicious gooey cake) at one of my favorite food sites...La Tartine Gourmande

Please let us know if you enjoy it as much as we do!



Love and good thoughts from...



Tracey and Family



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Molten chocolate cake with tahini and millet

(Makes three cakes baked in tea cups)

You need:

• 2 extra large eggs
• 75 g dark chocolate (70 % cocoa contents)
• 2 heaped tablespoons tahini (i.e. sesame seed/nut butter) (40 g)
• 1/4 cup light Muscovado sugar (30 g)
• 1 tablespoon millet flour
• 3 small pieces of milk chocolate
• Pinch of sea salt

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450F and butter 3 tea cups (of course, you can use other ramekins and dishes you prefer); set aside.
• Place the chocolate and nut butter in a bowl and place it over a pot of simmering water. Cook until melted.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs with the sugar and a pinch of salt. Beat until pale and light in color, and the volume of the batter has doubled.
• Fold in gently the millet flour and then chocolate. Divide the batter between the cups (keep 1/3 of the batter). Add pieces of dark, milk or white chocolate and cover with the rest of the batter. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The less time you bake the cakes the more gooey the center will be.

Note from Tracey regarding alternative, simpler, recipe options: I know, I know, some of these ingredients are a little exotic and may be a bit hard to find. We make this as a gluten free treat and find the specialty ingredients at Whole Foods. However, if you aren't in the mood to hunt them down, yet LOVE the idea of Tea Cup Cakes (as am I :) you may easily substitute an ordinary cake mix instead...just keep in mind that you'll need about six to eight cups and the cake won't be near as moist. Another option is to use a brownie recipe or mix as this would make their texture and richness nearer to that of the original recipe.

Warmly,


Tracey x0x

Image Source

Homespun Alchemy™ alert

Enchanting Idea from Burgon & Ball: dressing~up grow bags.

Image: Burgon & Ball

I love the ease and the idea of grow bags (see the inset photo) but let's face it, they just are not pretty. Happily, I was browsing online and discovered this clever solution from the creative souls over at the UK company of Burgon & Ball and couldn't wait to share it with you! These woven potting~soil~bag~cover~ups are enchanting and fairly priced at 4.95 (British pounds). Sadly, the 18.95 (British pounds) overseas shipping charge inflates their cost incredibly. (I'm not quite sure if they even ship to the U.S.)

That being said, the concept itself could be quite easily adapted by artful do~it~yourself~ers like those of us practicing the frugal luxuries philosophy! I immediately thought of a weathered, bamboo roller shade that I'll use to create my own version of this useful and charming idea. You can be sure I'll be keeping your posted. What do you have on hand that might work?!!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend. More soon my kind friends.


Love and good thoughts from...


Tracey and Family.


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farm~stand season...a frugal luxury

Keep garden herbs in the refrigerator to add a pretty surprise and extend their freshness.


Frugal luxury

...fresh farm~stand fare

"Keep herbs fresh for two weeks, or longer, by placing them (in bunches) in a water filled glass or jar and refrigerate them (add water as needed). I keep mine in miniature clear~glass milk bottles that I discovered in a Wisconsin junk store years ago. These are lovely looking and the perfect size for this task. To use the herbs simply snip what you need....from the bunch and return to your refrigerator."

EXCERPT ABOVE FROM: Frugal Luxuries by the Seasons; written by Tracey McBride; published by Bantam Books, NY, 2000.

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Hello kind souls...we've been busy helping my dad (raiding all his local farm~stands) and preparing for Rosie's upcoming graduation from high school this month! I've been thinking good thoughts towards you all and have some fun posts in the making! More soon.

Good thoughts and love to all.

Warmly,


Tracey and Family


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frugal chariots...book winner...summer reading lists

"How frugal the chariot the bears the human soul."


~~emily dickenson


c'est la vie home

Please send your good thoughts and congratulations to the lovely Brenda from the inspiring "Coffee Tea Books and Me" blog!!!

Her name was chosen as this month's book winner.

If you've only just started visiting, we offer a book give~away each month (please see sidebar for details). To enter, you need only leave a comment!

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Oh! Last night as I was writing my list for today's potential accomplishments (keyword "potential") I also began jotting a rough summer reading list! I'm including a few re~reads as well, I think Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" is about enough to count as three or four. I'll also be raiding Brenda's list and read some new (to me) fiction...and also watch some of those British mysteries she mentions (thanks Brenda)!!! If you have any favorite reads or movies to recommend for my list they are more than warmly welcome!

I'm off now to start dinner for the beloveds.


More soon my kind friends.



Love and good thoughts from Tracey and Family.


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