Thursday, December 31, 2009

Samara O’Shea's Note to Self: On keeping a Journal and other dangerous pursuits

I don't know if you noticed below that I found about 20 books that I had purchased this past year unread in my bedside table just yesterday. I was looking for something to read (I have to be in a certain mood to read a particular book) anyway I came across the above mentioned book Samara O’Shea's "Note to Self: On keeping a Journal and other dangerous pursuits" which I bought a long time ago from Anthropologie {they have the best books in there}. So in my effort to be good and read every book that I found I started with this one. It is really great with all kinds of personal excerpts from various famous journals and from her own, it is well written and fun. I really enjoyed it and was encouraged to pull out my journal and begin again.



Samara also wrote "For the Love of Letters: A 21st-Century Guide to the Art of Letter Writing" which I am waiting anxiously for. I miss the hand written letters and thank yous that we all should be sending. I miss stationary and stamps all of those fun things. In the new year I think we should all follow her lead and pick up a pen or pencil, whichever you prefer and start to write again. What a gift a hand written note is!



My Sparrow - stylish responsibility

Gifted Inspiration and a big thank you!

Okay so I don't want to end the year with any unfinished business on my plate...

I NEED to say Thank you to the ladies who participated in my series on Gifted Inspiration! We need a good dose of inspiration everyday to keep us fresh and happy!! So a big thank you to Stefanie at Brooklyn Limestone, Jessica at The Wife of an Artist, Lisa at The Lisa Porter Collection and Deb at Dumbwit Tellher for taking the time to share with me and with you! And thank you for all of the wonderful inspiration- I am looking forward to the New Year with all of you!



On another note, the ladies over at Chic Coles were nice enough to give me The Fabulous Sugar Doll blogger award.

Many Thanks!



So now for the hard part... 10 things about me...

  1. I am in love with Paris
  2. I love things that are handmade and I love to make things for people.
  3. My Babies make me smile even when they are driving me crazy!
  4. I dream of writing a book someday.
  5. I have a stack of approximately 20 books that I bought this past year and did not get around to reading. (My husband asked me if I knew what the Library was)
  6. I love design- deeply, passionately and will forever!
  7. I think live plants are essential to any interior.
  8. I love to chat with my Mom on the phone everyday- sometimes more than once a day.
  9. I love Pottery Barn Organic sheets- they are the softest and just yummy to sleep on.
  10. I have big plans for an edible garden in the coming year.
So now I need to send this onto some other bloggers...

Annechovie
Adventures in Renovating a Brooklyn Limestone
Backroads and Barstools
Dress Design Decor

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year's Eve

Wishing you a Happy New Year from My Sparrow!


Tuesday, December 29, 2009

The Time Traveler's Wife


My Husband gave me this book for Christmas.. I just finished it last night- loved it!! Have you read it? Have you read her other book? What do you think??- oh and I am waiting to see the movie now...

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Going a little more green this new year...




I am getting excited about the New Year.. I really want it to be better than the last! So I am making plans. I am going to get my garden together this year- I want to grow the fruits, veggies and herbs that my family wants to eat (and try not to share them with the bunnies). I want to make some kind of progress on our house- we have lived here just over a year and a half and have been in a holding pattern since just after moving in. I want to work on making sure that when something needs replacing we are doing it green- buying or making the most earth friendly items and choices for ourselves. Reading- I always try to top my book quantity from the previous year- although I am never quite positive how many books I read. This is my list so far. They are not really new years resolutions but are more goals to make my days more interesting and effective! How about you any ideas??

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Help Sophie Uliano name her new book!

So- Christmas is over {took down my tree today!} and now it is time to look forward to a new year and some great new opportunities to make some green changes again. My first Green inspiration came from Sophie Uliano and the book Gorgeously Green! Sophie is at it again with a new book coming out this summer Do it Gorgeously.. Here is your chance to weigh in on what the name should be. Choose here.. and while you are at it check out her website here- it is always full of great inspiration.

My Sparrow - stylish responsibility

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Christmas wishes!!





Have you made your Christmas Wish... Last night I saw a shooting star and then and there I made my Christmas wish!! I hope you have a wonderful Holiday no matter where you are or what you do. Take a minute for yourself and remember Christmas is suppose to be a time of magic where we gather together with friends and family to celebrate. {Remember this when your family is driving you insane or you open that gift that scares you- they love you too}...

Merry Christmas!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Apartment Therapy The Homies 2009 awards!


How fun is this- just saw this over at Brooklyn Limestone. You can nominate and vote for your favorite home design and green blogs... check it out here and let those that you love know how you feel about their blog!

Have fun!

My Sparrow - stylish responsibility

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Vacation with Sophie Conran..











Sophie Conran is one of my favorites... Her dishes amaze me, I have yet to buy one of her books and would love to visit her property at Temple Guiting.

Temple Guiting offers customized weekend get aways including cooking, spa, skeet shooting, paint balling- you name it. It is in a beautiful setting that I cannot wait to see someday. Why don't we have more of this here?

See a peek into Sophie's flat on our other blog here.

Happy Saturday!

Friday, December 18, 2009

A little Christmas stuff...







Sorry for the little delay. It has really been a crazy holiday season here.. with all of the wonderful new friends and customers I have been busy filling orders and making jewels and trying to blog. I am really frustrated though- today I managed to fracture my foot! It was not even doing something glamorous- like skiing or something good like that- I rolled my foot while coming down the stairs and stepping on one of my daughter's tennis shoes... who never taught that child to put her things away... seriously! Well with much still to do before the holiday- needless to say my husband may be wrapping most of the gifts. I wish you well and hope everyone stays on two feet. Who knows maybe it will make me sit back and enjoy this year instead of running my self ragged..

Here is a little peek at my holiday decorations..

Happy Holidays!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Meet the new ladies...



This is our Alissa necklace, with antiqued brass chain, aquamarine rough cut stone and a black and white bow...



This is our Claire necklace antiqued brass chain with a large Brazilian blue Agate stone bead



Miss Chloe - Antiqued brass chain, a handmade white flower and Brazilian blue Agate stone bead...

Fun fun fun!

My Sparrow - stylish responsibility

A whole bunch of Christmas business...

Sorry for the lack of posts... there has been a whole bunch of Christmas business going on here... I promise to get back with it in the next couple of days...



In the mean time happy wrapping and shopping and all of that fun stuff...

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Vintage French Documents and other goodies

Just added to our Etsy shop...









Check them out here!!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Villa By Saladino




So my love for design books is great. There are so many great reasons to buy them and they make wonderful gifts. As a gift to myself I ordered Villa (lovely). The book is huge, I mean really big! The pictures are amazing and the detail and information is fantastic. John Saladino is a gifted man. I suppose I fell in love with his work before I even knew who he was. The first pieces that I can remember are from an article in Veranda magazine with his purple slip covered chairs... I am searching for the pages and will post them as soon as I find them. But then I saw some of his work in one of my other favorite books, Monochrome home. So once I knew the man's name I could not help but search him out. He is inspirational! Villa takes you on the journey of his restoration and decoration on his home in Santa Barbara. Take some time to check this book out and add it to your wish list...







Images via Veranda

Thursday, December 10, 2009

2nd Issue Lonny Magizine












So the second issue of Lonny magazine has hit the net...What do you think? I love the timeless style of the pieces- so amazing. But how do you feel about an online mag? I love the greeness of it all, but sometimes I really like to hold the heavy pages in my hands... Just curious??

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Sterling Silver Vintage Heart charms

About a month ago I was lucky enough to stumble upon this Vintage Jewelry find. My mom had purchased a necklace with 15 vintage sterling silver heart charms. It is so amazing each one is different and most are engraved with a name or greeting. I have decided to split the hearts up and put each on a single chain with a stone or pearl. These will be listed individually in my Etsy shop... Here is a sneak peek...





Monday, December 7, 2009

Lisa at The Lisa Porter Collection - Gifted Inspiration

Being that Lisa at The Lisa Porter Collection was one of my first blog friends.. I am so excited to share some of her gifted inspiration with you. She is the sweetest and super supportive. Please enjoy!




Where do you find inspiration? I am inspired by the people around me. At my age, it's all about faith, wisdom, happiness & doing what is right for myself, my family & my friends. It's about feeding my soul. I take special care to surround myself with people that are good for Lisa. What I mean by this is that I accept & appreciate what makes us all different, but I am most comfortable around and inspired by those who are true to themselves & make a difference in everyday life..



What is your favorite or Dream Vacation Destination?
I have many favorite destinations like San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, & New York City. My dream destination would be to take a drive along the Amalfi coast with the MR. & check in to Hotel Santa Caterina
!






Why did you start your blog
?
I started blogging quite by accident. It was a dark, cold November night & I was missing old friends out west. I was trying to remember the name of a small boutique in California. So I googled Santa Barbara Interiors & I ran smack dab into Velvet & Linen! It was all over after that. Through Brooke's blog I came across many other wonderful blogs like Absolutely Beautiful Things, Patricia Gray, and Cote de Texas. They are responsible for leading me down the long & winding path to Blog Land! I got so hooked & soon realized that I had found a place where I could organize & share all the "stuff" that had been floating around in my head, in my files, and on my bedside table.





In Blog Land I could, in one afternoon, talk to a hundred women around the world who completely understood my obsession over boxwoods and crown molding! I had come home!





That was about a year ago and here I am, still finding new paths & new ideas & wonderful people, like Christina & My Sparrow!

An item that is on your wish list for your home or yourself.

A VW Bus for driving up & down & up & down the California coast to visit those friends that I miss.




And still waiting for that giant white porcelain farmhouse sink....


Saturday, December 5, 2009

Merci!!

I have been a little slow to say Thank you to Lisa at The Lisa Porter Collection.. Sorry so rude of me!! Lisa was sweet enough to think of me and for that I cannot say thank you enough! She has an amazing blog with the most thoughtful posts and was one of my first blog friends...




So I am suppose to tell you a few things about me that you don't know...

Here it goes.

  1. Without my wonderful husband I would be no where in this world. He makes me such a better person!
  2. I love glass ware and dishes more than any person should.
  3. I am a romantic at heart- shouldn't life read like a good novel?
  4. I love picnics-(must have all of the gear and a good bottle of wine).
  5. I dream of being able to live in Paris and New York someday.
  6. Born and raised in So. California. I have never lived anywhere else.
  7. I love Hydrangeas more than humanly possible.
  8. I have always dreamed of being a writer.
  9. I love to read a good book- I will read a book cover to cover in one sitting if I have the chance.
  10. I don't like to cook- I really just like to clean up.
Now to bestow this award on some others that I admire (and would like to know more about)

Lori at automatism

The girls at Wiley Valentine

Jess at The Wife of an Artist

Thank you again!! I truly appreciate all of the support!!


Trimming the Tree...

So finally it is done... The tree is officially trimmed.. now to just finish the wrapping and I can enjoy spending the holidays relaxing.. {does that really ever happen??} I am not sure that I know how to relax really!!








My Sparrow - stylish responsibility

Friday, December 4, 2009

My Sparrow Holiday Gift Guide...

Some great gift ideas for you and yours....




Emma pillow



Our handmade jewelry on Etsy



Wire clip photo frames



New French Decor book



Personalized Linen like burlap lumbar pillow




Handblown glasses




Sophie Conran dishes and accessories




Hand blown Carafe and cup