Welcome to my blog ~ where aesthetics are a passion, details are a priority, and pleasure in simple things is celebrated!
I invite you to share my inspirations for a creative life and a lifetime of adventures.
Thanks so much for visiting, Jackie
This Thanksgiving week, as I pause to give thanks – I want to give a special thanks to you – for sharing pleasure in simple things with me.
Click here for a special gift from me to you...and…
Please enjoy all that is dear to you this Thanksgiving…
Peace & Love, Jackie
Today’s Friday field trip is a shopping trip! My woodland holiday theme has been so much fun, I thought I would share some of the great items I have come across in my travels. When I decided to put a few photos up for you to see, I never realized how much trouble I would have editing all the great things I have found!
A woodland feeling would not be complete without a cozy blanket or scarf…this one is from L.L. Bean and in a favorite color palette. And, I love the way this set of three tree candles from Crate and Barrel mixes with neutrals. The serving tray from Ballard Designs is perfect to serve ‘fruits, nuts & berries’ at your holiday gathering…make up some candied or spiced nuts to include on your cheese tray!
Doesn’t this bring back memories? Burning Christmas tree smelling incense from a log cabin incense burner is an old time favorite…and it helps bring the Christmas tree smell to every room in your home! This beauty can be purchased at Terrain.
In recent years, straws have been available in so many different varieties…this holiday season you can even find straws that look like birch trees! At Anthropologie, I found these lovely simulated birch bark paper straws…perfect for sipping an icy holiday beverage. No outdoor themed party would be complete without maple leaf shaped maple sugar candies…the Vermont County Store is a wonderful source to find varieties of maple candy. I had to throw in the classic plaid traveling companion! This plaid number is not just for woodland picnics…it can be used to plant small holiday trees or mosses on an entryway table or for planting some succulents or paperwhites indoors. You can purchase this classic at Orvis.
What to wear? Of course you need to coordinate what you wear with the theme! For the little one, how about this adorable handmade creation? SO CUTE! It is available on Etsy from Crochele. Not really my style though…I am planning on wearing this long forest green dress from Anthropologie. To give others to wear, I found some great handmade jewelry pieces for gifts…the bird nest necklace is available on Etsy from Alwaysabridesmade and the silver band squirrel ring is by Elizabeth Ryan and available on her website LookaJewelry.com.
These containers by Carla Peters are available at West Elm and are perfect for a single holiday bloom or…are beautiful all on their own!
Even though I plan on making my woodland themed ornaments (like my acorn ornaments :) for starters), I managed to find something available for the tree that got me excited….the perfect treetopper (at Terrain) for a woodland Christmas…isn’t he great?
I hope you enjoyed our little woodland holiday shopping trip today for Friday field trip. Here in Connecticut it has turned very cold and definitely brings with it thoughts of the holidays (of course Christmas songs playing in all the stores certainly helps this along lol!) Thanks so much for stopping by…
Have a wonderful weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie
Please note: The photos in today’s post were not taken by me. They are photos from the respective websites where the products are sold.
As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, I find myself reflecting on all the blessings in my life.
Especially when things get difficult, I try to pause and remember that I have so much to appreciate.
Today, I share with you some sentiments I find relevant as I reflect on giving thanks.
I have paired some favorite quotes with photos I have taken that help capture the beauty of fall in Connecticut.
Thanks for being one of my blessings…
I am thankful you have chosen to stop by today. :)
Enjoy. Feel free to share… and,
Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie
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I recently happened upon a really great project called “It Takes a Village” inspired by artist and illustrator Denise Benett Minnerly and I want to share it with you for today’s Friday field trip…
Ms. Minnerly created a collective project that consists of many hand crafted houses made out of clay. So cool.
Terrain displayed an installation of this project in their Westport store.
The idea is to have these houses furnish the floor of an art gallery. The houses are used as metaphors to illuminate each individual’s identity.
Participants were given a ball of clay and guidelines on creating a house.
Their imaginations were only limited by the size of their ball of clay and a few basic guidelines.
Isn’t it a great project? I can think of ways to adapt the idea to a Thanksgiving Day activity!
Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a fabulous weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie
To read more about “It Takes a Village”, visit www.deniseminnerly.com
If you read this blog, you know how much I love Terrain. I also enjoy taking you on a visit to this beautiful garden store from time to time since there are only two stores (CT and PA) and not everyone is as lucky as I am…I frequent them both!
Today, for Friday field trip, we are visiting the Westport, Connecticut store to see how they are preparing for fall…
I hope you will enjoy sharing a few photos…
I am sure we will make another trip sometime soon ;)
Especially since I decided on a woodland theme for my holiday decor this year…I will need some supplies. :)
This particular trip was special for me since I had a chance to talk to Joe…he is one of the creative visual team at the store – busy at work when I stopped by.
Every trip to the store is an adventure…I can’t wait to see what Joe is creating! Maybe I will stop by over the weekend to enjoy some s’mores by their fire and check out the latest inspiration!
Terrain also happens to be the store that helps satisfy my white pumpkin obsession…
Thank you so much for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!
Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie
Sharing at The Tablescaper.
I think of gardening as a spring sport since I spend the most time on my gardens during the spring.
This certainly isn’t the case for my friend Wendy. And, it was strongly apparent when I stopped over to visit her on a recent evening. .. Her yard looked so beautiful that I have to share it with you for this week’s Friday field trip!
It is not that her yard doesn’t always look beautiful…believe me, it does! But, I was amazed at all the seasonal touches she had already added to her gardens for the fall.
She has one of those yards that is like a park…so many different areas to admire. I couldn’t possibly show you everything in one post, but I will share some of my favorite spots that may just inspire you to put out some seasonal touches in your own garden. (Check my facebook page this weekend for some additional photos of this wonderful space.)
I hope you enjoyed our garden visit for Friday field trip…thanks Wendy! We will have to make another trip in the spring…there is so much to see!
Thank you for stopping by.
Have a wonderful weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie
Sharing with Craftberry Bush.
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Doesn’t putting any photo into a frame make it look better? In the same way, I think putting a painting on canvas immediately ‘legitimizes’ it. For this reason, I decided to create a quick ‘work of art’ on canvas for my daughter’s new apartment.
While helping her move in, I noticed that there was an empty spot on the bathroom wall – a long, tall shape. The bathroom was done in white and beige and had a hint of blue, so I thought a painting using beige and blue could tie everything together nicely.
What would fit the unusual space? A triptych! This is a painting divided into three sections. I would choose three canvases that would fill the space appropriately…I decided an anchor would be my subject matter since the painting was going in a bathroom space and my daughter has a love for anchors.
I put three canvases together and drew a very rough sketch of an anchor with pencil. I didn’t want to get too serious with it…just a very quick painting using the basic shapes and whatever acrylic craft paint I had left from previous projects…mixing beiges and blues.
Any basic pattern will work. Just be sure the picture hits all three canvases. If you don’t feel comfortable working with a pencil sketch, you can easily find something online to copy and trace. You can even use your computer or a copier to adjust the size of the picture. If that still seems intimidating to you, you can decoupage a picture onto the canvases – requiring no drawing or painting at all!
The painting took about 10 minutes since I just did a ‘messy’ impressionistic view of an anchor and added very little detail.
I was able to create a painting that used the appropriate color scheme and a favorite motif to add to my daughter’s newly decorated bathroom…fun! I’m hoping my daughter will send me a photo of this new creation when she hangs it on the wall. If so, I will share it with you on my Facebook page.
I hope this has inspired you to create your own triptych! Send me an email if you need some help or ideas.
Thanks so much for stopping by and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie
Sharing on Shabby Nest.
What’s better than socializing with friends? Socializing with friends while shopping! In this case, at the Brimfield Antique and Collectibles Shows in Brimfield, Massachusetts…this week’s Friday field trip.
My day with friends was really more about talking and sharing, but there was plenty of inspiration thrown in! And, with over 75 acres to persue, we also got in some serious exercise.
Brimfield is the largest outdoor antique show in New England with over 5,000 dealers and runs three times a year (May, July and September) for a six day period. Especially for those that may not live in New England, I thought you might enjoy joining me by sharing some of my favorites this year at Brimfield. The beauty of Brimfield is that everyone has their own favorite items…here are some of mine…
I really loved this large, distressed white frame…I had so many imagined uses for it!
My grandmother had one of these telephone benches, but it sure didn’t look like this!
In LOVE with these pendants created from old ledger pages…
I always thought I would like to create a sea glass fireplace surround…this one is so beautiful and inspires me to think about other possibilities…
One of the vendors thought this was a cute arrangement of the letters offered for sale…how about this for a Wednesday in the office?
I hope you enjoyed today’s peek at Brimfield for this week’s Friday field trip. I will post some additional photos on my facebook page over the weekend.
Have a really wonderful weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie
Sharing with The Tablescaper.
Although the sun did not make much of an appearance this Labor Day Weekend, it was a bright one…I spent time with some special friends in a secluded retreat amid the trees in upstate New York and, for a short patch of time, adopted the pace of nature.
We had no schedules to follow or any particular plans – the beauty of our friendship is that we didn’t need to.
Appreciating our surroundings and embracing our friendship…
as well as enjoying some new friends…made for a memorable time together.
Being in the woods makes an appreciation of nature hard to ignore.
I collected some forest treasures this weekend and look forward to using the woodland/forest inspiration as the basis for my holiday preparations this year. And, in the spirit of this weekend, I will embrace the feelings of friendship and of adopting the pace of nature in all my holiday planning…
I am excited about starting some of the projects I have imagined!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing my weekend inspiration…Did you find anything to spark your inspiration this Labor Day weekend?
Remember to take
pleasure in simple things, Jackie
Sharing with Craftberry Bush.
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credit: Vitis Vinifera
May is National Bicycle Month. Because bicycles hold a very special place in the hearts of my family, I wanted to recognize them in a special way.
So, to pay homage to the bicycle, I would like to share a few of my favorite bicycle images from Pinterest.
credit: temp files
You are welcome to also share my favorite bicycle quotes…I will post them throughout the month on my facebook page. If you want to check out some more great bicycle images, check my pinterest board a love for bicycles.
credit: Images by Claire
credit: Anders Schennemann Photography
credit: unknown
I hope you enjoyed these beautiful cycling images in celebration of National Bicycle Month…
If you need more to satisfy your cycling self, maybe you would like to
listen to the best bicycle song ever
or, share some of my favorite bicycle items from around the web:
pick one of these cool bike bells or handle bar airplanes to add to your ride
get a book with a magnificent collection of cycling images
read the story of a very talented cyclist I know and like, or
a great book to learn about the Tour de France past doping culture first hand
hold your book collection with these cool bookends
watch a great film
find a special spot for this beautiful pillow with a vintage bicycle image
enjoy a post-ride beverage from these beautiful bicycle printed glasses
write a special note on extraordinary personalized stationery sporting a red bicycle….
Happy cycling! Cyclisme heureux! :)
Thanks for stopping by, Jackie
If you have any great cycling images, please feel welcome to share on my facebook page.
I am sharing at Coastal Charm and A Pinch of Joy.
