Tasha Tudor Day ~ Part II

Tasha Tudor was a traditionalist and yet, Tasha Tudor was a revolutionary. ~

 ~~~~~

"What?", you say..."Tasha, a revolutionary?". 

Yes. You see, while she chose to live as though she were in the 1820's, she also 'chose' to live as she desired. Which, for her time, was revolutionary.  

I think, too often, when we try to emulate Tasha with our homes and our lives, that we become automatic carbon copies of her and feel as though something is missing. I can tell you what that is. It is your own signature style and your own twist to 'living as you choose.' Which, by the way, I am certain Tasha would highly approve of.

In that respect, I would like to share some beautiful clothing that I love. I believe these are very Tasha-ensian and would pass her approval. Feminine and billowing, beautiful yet artistic. I would love to collect more of them. 

Let us remember Tasha for her contribution to the world of beautiful things, but let us, also, not cease in bringing our own beautiful things to the table.

Please do join me in celebrating the joy of beauty...the joy of being feminine.

Take Joy ~ Take Peace ~ 

And, please enjoy wearing skirts if you are so blessed as to be a woman!

Take Joy - Take Peace - Happy Tasha Tudor Day!

Today, August 28, 2011, is Tasha Tudor Day! In honor of the birthday of the beloved illustrator and author, Tasha Tudor. Please take a moment today, to join us in remembering Tasha's beautiful and authentic ways of living. We will be posting pictures and snippets of the ways we incorporate her beautiful ideas into our daily life, and will be having a special Tea today, as well. Check back for pictures, recipes, ideas and thoughts. And as Tasha would have said, "Take Joy!!!".

Beauty and Comfort - The Feminine Home

A while back I was so happy to stumble across a beautiful and charming publication called The Feminine Home Magazine. This magazine was FILLED with romantic pages the likes of the (old) Victoria magazines that we all remember and chock full of roses roses roses. Imagine my surprise when the creator of the magazine, artist Jo-Anne Coletti, invited me to write for the magazine as well!

The Feminine Home magazine has no advertisements. It is a superb high quality glossy 'book-a-zine' that you will definitely want to add to your decorating collection and to use as a resource for your home. It is also perfect for sitting down to read and dream with a cup of tea.

Romantic Artist Jo-Anne Coletti, who creates the magazine writes:

The Feminine Home Magazine

Where The Heart Is.

Vintage Rose Collection Exclusive!

THE FEMININE HOME-Where The Heart Is- Embraces the heart and soul of a woman. It is a singular place where loveliness resides and the language of romance and poetry lives; a home that coaxes an extraordinary life that is enduring, purposeful and distinctly feminine. Rooms are presented in noble sophistication that is rich in tradition, yet casually fashioned. It is pretty, not fussy, spiritual and earthy. Flowers are painted with sweetness. Decorative flourishes, ornamental borders, penned verses and tender poems all mingle to orchestrate a pensive bucolic beauty. Cottons and velvets, crystal chandeliers and whitewashed walls, scrubbed wooden floors, simple furnishings and objects from the garden; these are the elements that make a romantic home.

This is a gorgeous, full color 128 page magazine with thick, high quality paper, with superb printing (Best I have seen)!  Filled with beautiful romantic homes, painted roses, poems, and inspiring devotionals to nurture a woman's soul. 

This is no throw-away ladies- It is more like a book you won't want to put down. No advertisements or ads!  A keeper that you will go back to again and again for inspiration. Order your copy now while supplies last!

 by Jo-Anne Coletti

Thank you for allowing me to introduce you to the grace and beauty that my friend, Jo-Anne, has created. I am happy to share it with you!

The Feminine Home magazine is a treasure of photo journalism on the faded charms and lovely gracious living of romantic decorating.

If you would like to learn more about ordering copies for yourself or for your shoppe, please click here:

http://www.vintagerosecollection.com/Feminine%20Home%20Magazine2.html

The first edition of The Feminine Home is also available, at the link above. And, you can pre-order a beautifully packed Christmas issue as well!

Saving Seeds of Basil, Ratatouille and Summer's End

A honey customer stopped on our porch today to chat for a while. She asked me if I knew that when Basil seeds out at the end of the summer that you can 'gather' the seeds by drying the basil and separating the tiny black seeds. She then plants them, both scattering them in the fall and saving some for spring, and has her own profuse patch of basil every single year! I don't know why, with all the seed saving we do, that I had never considered basil.  So, I wanted to pass this basil seed advice on.

Right now there is a small kettle of garden ratatouille on the stove. I make it with whatever is in season. This pot contains zucchini, brandywine tomatoes, fresh garlic and onion, olive oil, and a small eggplant.

We will serve it in pottery bowls with a hot pepper on the side to season it with and some chewy homemade chapati bread, which is really very simple and much much healthier and more delicious than the 'flour tortillas and pita breads' that we are relegated to purchasing in the store.

The goat girls are being dried up for breeding season, which I hope to begin one month earlier this autumn.  A small amount of milk has been procured this evening, and it is chilling in the cooler. I think it will compliment the simple summer meal, as the rays of sun reaching through the west windows of the house remind me that autumn is not far off.

End of summer, you always break my heart, leaving much before I am ready for you to go. You leave us with sand shovels in our hands staring up at you with a dazed surprised look on our faces. "Already??",  we whine and stomp! "Noooo."

And you leave us with tiny pink bathing suits haphazardly dangling from clothing lines. You depart, and we are reminded of your exodus with  the detritus of popsicle boxes in the freezer and flip flops and sand encrusted crocs scattered across the porch. You startle us too, for we were certain that you would go on forever and ever, and that we could run, jump, dive, splash, giggle, somersault, sleep, stretch and relax forever.

Would you stay if we threw a tantrum? Would you stay if we promised to wear our sunscreen and didn't complain about the mosquitoes? Why do you have to go?

And, why do you take a little bit of that rare magical land of childhood with you every summer when you leave?  I will never understand you, Summer. Never. I love you, but I will never understand you.