"How Interesting!"

Welcome! Around my house, I have quite a few objects that could be considered "conversation starters." Which is ironic because I am not one really needing anything to start a gab fest. In fact, I find that my favorite topic is asking questions about the other person's life and their goings on. Which just now reminds me of a funny little story that I have to share, and I will keep it short....

Many, many years ago, while living in Germany, my ex-husband worked with several colleagues and I encouraged him to invite them to go out with us, as I was always excited about meeting new people. And being only 22 and living in Europe, everything was exciting to me. One evening, a colleague and his wife were to meet us at our apartment and the four of us were to go out to dinner. I have never met this American couple before and after the usual polite greetings we headed out to the car. The woman (I can't even remember her name) seemed "shy" and so I just began asking the usual questions such as: How long have you lived in Germany? Where are you originally from? Have you had the chance to travel anywhere yet? And she responded crisply with one-word answers: "One. Ohio. No."


She didn't look mad, or ill, or uncomfortable. So, in my excitement, I decided that she was indeed "shy." So I set out to make her comfortable during our short drive to the restaurant. I gave her a little info about us and then back to my questions: How did you meet your husband? How long will you be living here in Germany? I am learning to make ceramics, do you create any crafts? She finally shot me a look that could kill and said very sarcastically: "Hey! I got an idea, why don't I just write a book about my life and then you can read all about it."


Okay, I may be a little dense at times, but she made it very clear to me that she was not happy about our little outing. Dinner was uncomfortable to say the least and at age 22, I didn't have the life experience to realize not to take it personally. At that age, I didn't have the compassion to think that she had an issue which had nothing to do with me. I was very offended. If there was ever time I could have used a "conversation starter" it would have been during that painful dinner. I can laugh at it now, because it really was funny when I think about it. I am sure I drove her nuts, and she most likely just had a huge argument with her husband just moments prior to arriving at our apartment. Oh, and just to finish the story...we skipped dessert and I have no idea what happened to them because we never went out again. Moral of this story: Never let anyone keep you from ordering dessert! :-)

Well, back to my real reason for this post. I wanted to give you a little sneak peek at a conversation starter that was extremely popular in the Victorian era. In the August issue of Romantic Homes, I produced an article on Victorian Parlor Domes. My friend, Richard Cottrell, owns about 50 of them! Most of my blog postings are about my women friends, women business owners, and supporting women. But let's not forget about the important men in our lives. I have met and befriended some wonderful business men over the years that were kind, considerate, and so very helpful and encouraging to me and I consider Richard one of them.


Richard owns a beautiful antique store, Antique Center of St. Louis, along with his business partner, Louise Harre.

And if you are ever in the St. Louis area, his store is a must! Beautiful chandeliers, silver, mirrors, furniture. His store is what I like to call "a real antique store" only because he leaves his stuff alone - his items are "pure" where as I paint anything that stands still long enough. Even if pure antiques aren't your thing, you must stop by and see Prissy - his old Basset Hound who can be found (and heard) snoring beneath Richard's desk.






Richard's store always has several domes and I really knew nothing about them. When he explained he has a collection, and after seeing them, I just had to photograph them! Historically, a proper Victorian parlor would always have a dome to which visitors could comment upon and be impressed. "How interesting!" a guest may politely say to the hostess and thus the conversation begins. To read more about these fabulous domes, their history, and to find out which one is Richard's favorite, you will have to go out and get the August issue of Romantic Homes!


I have not seen the August issue at this time of posting my blog, but I will share some of my favorite shots with you. I would like to add that Richard's collection of domes are housed in his historical home in a little town of Clarksville, along the Mississippi river. Yes, the town experienced the flood. Richard's historical home was on the front page of the paper and it showed an eight foot tall wall of sand bags surrounding his entire property. Richard's property is directly across the street from the river. I spoke with Richard today, in fact, and his home survived. The basement flooded and the yard is trashed, but his home, and his treasures, are fine. Richard is also fine, but tired. His town was saved but surrounding towns didn't fare as well. I don't live near the river and my area was never a concern. Our prayers go out to those who are struggling with putting their lives back together.

So, please, enjoy the photos below, read the August issue of Romantic Homes, keep the flood victims in your prayers, hug the special man in your life, and have a safe 4th of July. No matter what struggles we all may have, I wouldn't want to struggle in any other country than our own. How lucky are we to live in a country with so many freedoms? We even have the freedom not to like our own country, if we so choose. But I happen to like it. A lot. And for a lot of reasons. Now that's a conversation starter fit for Independence Day! :-)

From my house to your house,
Elizabeth
www.elizabethhouse.us
Richard's store, Antique Center of St. Louis, 4732 McPherson, St. Louis, MO, phone: 314-367-0588





Below are a couple of "artsy" photos that I took in an unfinished room of Richard's historical home. It was the light that came through the huge window that caught my attention. And of course, I loved the old, cracked walls. I loved this room, but I am afraid Richard will be horrified that I am showing it. Don't worry, Richard, you couldn't have a mess of a room if you tried. Even in a flood. Love you!

Knit Wit

I am finally learning how to knit - sort of.
Actually, the knitting lesson was a Christmas present from my fiance. A gift can tell a lot about the giver and the receiver. My fiance gave me the knitting lessons thinking it would help me to slow down and relax. My gift to him? Rock climbing lessons! I thought it would be cool for us to climb the side of mountains together via lessons at our local rock climbing wall downtown. However, rock climbing is on hold until I am out of pain.

If you have been reading my blog for a bit, you will remember that I was in a serious car accident in December, on my birthday no less. I was hit by a drunk driver and flipped my car. If you missed that post click here to read it, if you wish. I haven't been able to blog as often as I would like to (and I miss it). The past several months have been challenging in many ways and stresses. Chronic pain is one of them. The accident forced me to slow down, whether I liked it or not and whether I learned how to knit or not. So, I decided to learn how to knit.

As I struggle to properly hold the knitting needles, keep the yarn around my fingers, and try not to let my little loops fall off my needles, it occurs to me that knitting is very much like my life lately. There are two general schools of knitting: either English style, known as "throwing" the yarn which is held in the right hand or Continental style, known as "picking" the yarn which is held in the left hand. It doesn't surprise me that I fell into the "picking" style since it requires me to maneuver my yarn in my left hand, even though I am mostly right-handed. Sort of like learning how to knit backwards. And there has been quite of few times that I conducted my life backwards as well.

For example, I married before I went to college. I became a supervisor before I was really ever an employee. I became a stage actress way before I ever took a single acting lesson. I owned my owned boutique having never before worked in a store. And I bought my first home without using a realtor or lawyer. I remember I bought my first plane ticket for Europe before I ever applied for my passport and I moved to Germany before I learned to speak German. I was insistent on learning how to make crepes when I didn't even own a crepe pan. And I made my first (and only) quilt having never picked up a sewing needle. I even once agreed to have "my" apartment photographed for a magazine before I even had the keys in my possession, nor any furniture for it in the first place! Oh what a tangle web we weave. But what a fun web it was!

Well, some would call my life experiences as "leaping before looking." Or maybe just plain nuts. Then there is my favorite, "What is wrong with you???" I think, truth be told, it is a recipe made of excitement mixed with a dash of impatience stirred with adventure. But it can be a recipe for disaster at times as well as a recipe for a very rich life. Looking at my life so far, I would say I have very rich taste - and I ain't on no diet!

But on the other hand, life has a way throwing its own ingredients into the mix and that is when things can get messy - sort of like my ball of yarn right now.

When I find myself holding onto life "to keep it all together", that usually results in my feeling frazzled. And while knitting, I tend to hold and manipulate the yarn too tightly, which causes the yarn to fray and become fuzzy.

I like how this stray "hair" in my knitting demonstrates how deceptive life can become. The loops look fairly neat, orderly, and all in a row...but if you look closely, you see how frazzled the yarn became in my effort to keep all the loops just right.

These loops, which appear lined up in a perfect row, took much, much effort to get that way. The fuzzy yarn shows how much handling, holding, coaxing it took to get them lined up as they should (or at least how I think they should). While the end result is passable, the process was painful. At times, it required me to unravel the entire row and begin again. And at other times, my yarn was in such a mess, I couldn't even unravel it myself. I had to go to my teacher and have her undo my mess while I stood there and watched carefully how she slowly (once again) showed me the method, the technique, and the proper way to hold my needles so that I may accomplish my goal.

The best lesson she gave me though was a reminder: She reminded me that I was a beginner.

Like any good teacher, she encourages and she corrects. She expects mistakes but she also expects me to keep trying. She never chastises nor makes me feel guilty for having my yarn frazzled or knotted up. She is gentle with my yarn, as she patiently untangles my mess, knot by knot, and carefully rolls it all up into one neat ball of yarn again. Then she hands it back to me with a smile and simply says: "Now, try again."


I know of another teacher that is just as loving and patient with me. If only He could teach me to be as gentle with myself as my knitting teacher is with me. Currently, my life is not going as smoothly as I would wish it. But, no matter how knotted up it may get, it is nice to know that I can always try again. And again.

















So, at this time in my life, I am trusting my life teacher to help show me my way. I will try again. And I am going to take the time I need to gently and patiently roll my life up again neatly. Not perfectly. Not quickly. But you can bet it will be very rich.

May the knots in your life untangle easily and know that you can always try again.

And again.

From my house to your house,

Elizabeth

Common Cents Creates Comfort

"...but the concept of the new Cape Cod and Nantucket II is to show how people can live comfortably in the $600,00s."

This is a direct quote from the April 27th issue of the St. Louis Post Dispatch Sunday newspaper in the new home section. This comment came from a local developer. Is it me or do any of you also find yourself re-reading the quote two, maybe three times to make sure you read it correctly and then roll your eyes and are screaming in your head "you have got to be kidding!!"

I can't believe that we Americans "need to be shown" that we somehow can manage, without too much discomfort, find a way to find to live in a $600,000 home comfortably. I know that the majority of us lack the imagination and know-how in finding some impossible way, to make our inhabitable shack of a $600,000 home livable...but thank goodness for the beloved HGTV shows to set us all straight and to inspire us to get off our lazy butts and do something to get our half a million or so home livable and presentable for company....

Okay, I will stop with the sarcasm...I just couldn't believe that someone feels the need to show us how to live comfortably in a half a million-plus home. I only hope it was a misquote. Anywho, while there are many people who can well-afford such a home and in certain parts of our wonderful country, $600,000 really is the average price for an average home. I have lovely clients that live in homes three times that cost and the owners all feel very fortunate and blessed and have made them very comfortable and they didn't need me to show them how. They just needed some custom drapes or bedding. But for the rest of us, a $600,000 home would be very comfortable and we would most likely not need some developer to show us how to live in it.

I would like to prove my point with a little eye candy from a feature I designed and photographed for Romantic Homes June issue (now on stands). While this home is not $600K, nor the size of a McMansion, it has all the comfort, warmth, and love that any mansion would envy. The owner, Debbie McReynolds, and her daughter, Caitlain, have turned their tiny home into a haven. I will give you a sneak preview of photos that were not used in the magazine. To see the entire 10-page feature, you must buy the issue, or better yet, subscribe to Romantic Homes magazine!

(Nothing wrong with a little PR :-)

Enjoy the photos - the concept is simply that even the smallest home can pack in the personality. I also took a formal dining room, and with a few simple changes, I made a rustic, whimsical "Young at Heart" party to kick off the summer. A corn drying wrack over a glittery mirrored buffet, and antique hose nozzels on vintage china. And Little Debi snacks for dessert - summer is finally here!

If you would like to see many more photos, please pick up the June issue of Romantic Homes Magazine.

Texture, texture, texture! Linen table cloth, French collars, wooden floors, mirrored furniture, Oriental rug, vintage china and upholstered chairs all make this tiny room a room to remember!

What's up with all the friggin antique hose nozzels? You can read all about it in the June issue of Romantic Homes magazine....sorry - I can't tell you everything, now can I? :-)

Yes, I designed this bedding for Debbie. She gave me the most endearing compliment. She told me that when she goes to bed at night, and covers herself, she feels like "Elizabeth is giving me a hug goodnight." I teared up when she told me that because I had no idea that the bedding meant so much to her. How fortunate I am to have such lovely people in my life?

Thank you for allowing me to share with you.

I hope you enjoyed the photos of Debbie's home. I had so much fun with the photo shoot and dressing up her table. I especially got a kick out of my friend, and Debbie's neighbor, Renee. Renee came over during the photo shoot and couldn't believe all that went into a shoot and how long it took (three days). When the magazine feature came out, Renee was the first to call me and tell me about it and she couldn't believe that while the photos in the magazine were beautiful (thank you Renee), but how they also didn't even begin to show how much work went into capturing it all. That is the magic of a photo shoot...it all looks so effortless which makes us (yes, even me) look at the rooms in magazines and think, I want to live there! But in reality, I think most of us just love the thought simply living in just a clean and orderly home...never mind the style....I just want someone to clean my home for me....that is my goal anyway.

A clean...orderly...comfortable home are things we all strive for. But until I am "shown how I can live comfortably in a $600, 000," I will have to make do with my common cents in creating comfort in my little abode.

From my abode to your abode,

Elizabeth :-)

Note: For those of you who are waiting for my notes from the Country Living Magazine seminar, please go to my other blog, Shop Talk for the notes. Thank you!