Under a Blue Moon

 

Photo from Mia's Beads on Etsy

I bought these earrings.  Twice. 

I ordered them about a month ago.  They are gorgeous – the color is so unusual – The seller, MiaBeads, calls it "Silver Shade."  They are so sparkly and have just a hint of smokiness to them.  They go with absolutely everything. 

Well at least I think they do.  I wore them twice.  At the most.

We were getting ready to leave for my niece's wedding.  Rick was driving, I was shotgun and there were three people jammed into the backseat of my Honda.  We weren't really going all that far.  Just a half a mile down the road to the club house at Pajaro Dunes. 

I realized that the earrings that I painstakingly remade to go with my outfit were still up in the rented condo so I made Rick stop the car so I could run up and grab them.  When I got back into the car my sister Trish, one of the squished people in the backseat said that she had forgotten earrings altogether.

I took off the pretty pair I was wearing (above) in order to put on my wedding outfit earrings and handed them to her.  I told her she could wear them since they matched her outfit so perfectly.  Of course they matched.  They match everything.

Throughout the reception she kept mentioning how pretty they were and after a few glasses of champagne I GAVE them to her!  What was I thinking?   Don't drink and give away your stuff people – you'll regret it!

I tried pulling the old "I was drunk" line on her the next day but she wasn't having anything to do with it.  I gave them to her fair and square and they were hers now. 

I emailed Mia of Mia Beads and she said she had another pair she could sell me. 

So I bought them.  For the second time.  I noticed she has another pair on her Etsy site if anyone wants a pair.  Or you could just go to a party with me….

 

 

I ordered the Romantic Style book by Selina Lake and Sara Norman and it arrived today.

I will be elsewise occupied for the rest of the week while I paint all my furniture a creamy white. 

I want to eat in that dining room. 

What I like about this book is that it isn't too twee.  I think the Shabby Chic look has gone totally awry (except for the original, Rachel Ashwell).  Too much pink and florals and mint green and cheap lace.  None of the faded charm that made the Shabby Chic look so appealing.  The history that was in every detail. 

Not to say that this book is just recycling the original Shabby Chic look - it has a fresh spin on it, not a poor imitation.   It is, after all, called Romantic Style – not Shabby Redux.  I think the shabby and the romantic look are close cousins. 

Normally I wait and buy used copies of decorating books but I didn't want to wait around for this one.  It is worth it.

 

 

 

I think I'm turning into Jay Leno. 

My youngest loves to read the local police blotter in the newspaper for the absolute lunacy he finds there.  He posts the real gems on my father's refrigerator. 

Who steals a strawberry bush?  Who notices it has gone missing?

Or should I say…

Qui vole un buisson de fraise? Qui remarque l'a disparu?

The chickens are officially free roaming! We let them out on Saturday and I recorded their first foray out into the world.

They did all eventually come out and they stuck together the entire two hours they were out. 

I've been giving them a daily treat of scratch in the late afternoon.  They know the sound the bag makes and it was quite easy to get them all back in the coop just by crinkling the bag a little bit.  They came running.

And the Belle/Chicken meeting went fine (I wish I had captured that on video – it was pretty funny).  Belle and one of the girls just went nose to nose and then Belle flopped on the ground and rolled over and the chicken wandered off.  Not nearly as dramatic as we were expecting.