Autumn Colour Week, Wednesday :: Orange

I toodled around town this morning on the lookout for orange. I found some orange stripey gourds at the market and even an orange front door. But it turns out I found more orange at home than in my neighborhood!

Why are tiny gourds so cute?

Orange mornings include Carla Bruni & coffee

A vintage cookbook and a soap box from England

A tower of letters held up by an orange A

Check out this amazing orange sunset in Australia!

Autumn Colour Week, Tuesday :: Green

I had every intention of posting earlier today but Half Moon Bay is a little difficult to leave on time, what with the blustery winds, the crisp ocean air and adorable shops. Not to mention a retro library where I found myself sitting for an hour reading about bread after hearing about Green Bean talk about her bread.

But today is not about HMB or Posh Moon, an adorable French-themed boutique. Today is about Autumn Colour Week and green, lots of green.

There are so many wonderful shades of green in our world: green in the home, green in the garden, green in the kitchen. Check out the Poppytalk Pool for evermore green and each day this week, I'll save an image just for my fans.

Poppytalk Autumn Colour Week, Monday :: Yellow

I was very happy to wake up this morning and discover Poppytalk is hosting an Autumn Color Week.  It was divine to be out with my camera on our first blustery day in a long while. It finally felt like fall and it brought me into a calm, contented state of mind.

This swing was really talking to me while I was visiting. It said, "Do you know what time school gets out around here? Because I really miss the kids."

You can check out the Autumn Color Week pool all week long. I know that's what I'll be doing.

Friday Poems: An Autumn Evening

Guess what? I have planned a little surprise for you all today. I am featuring my first guest blogger and when I thought of asking her, I knew it would be for an edition of Friday Poems. Please welcome Cindy to Sweet Eventide! I'm sure you've seen her lovely comments on many posts here since we first met in Blogging Your Way earlier this year.

When I was scouring the stacks to find a poem for this week's Friday Poems, I came across the name of Lucy Maud Montgomery, who we all know is the author of the beloved Anne of Green Gables series. My copies at home are so well worn from years of rifling through its pages and delving into Anne's adventures, that I had forgotten LMM also wrote poetry.

This is a favorite of mine because it illuminates two magical transitions that occur in the course of the year and each day. One, the onset of Autumn, when nature readies to put herself to bed to be sent off to the land 'o dreams. And the other, as Jess will attest, when the promises of day are about to become the magic of night and everything feels spellbound in the dusk.

photo credit: Gorgeoux

An Autumn Evening
by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Dark hills against a hollow crocus sky
Scarfed with its crimson pennons, and below
The dome of sunset long, hushed valleys lie
Cradling the twilight, where the lone winds blow
And wake among the harps of leafless trees
Fantastic runes and mournful melodies.

The chilly purple air is threaded through
With silver from the rising moon afar,
And from a gulf of clear, unfathomed blue
In the southwest glimmers a great gold star
Above the darkening druid glens of fir
Where beckoning boughs and elfin voices stir.

And so I wander through the shadows still,
And look and listen with a rapt delight,
Pausing again and yet again at will
To drink the elusive beauty of the night,
Until my soul is filled, as some deep cup,
That with divine enchantment is brimmed up.

Thanks for letting me guest post this Friday, Jess and her blog readers! It was great fun pouring through so many beautiful words and then finding one that sent my imagination spinning, just like Anne Shirley's would.

Thank you so much Cindy for giving us a Friday Poem to celebrate the new season! Click here to see the photo Cindy chose for her poem. We were unable to use it as it is All Rights Reserved, but it fits the poem so perfectly that I'd love you all to have a look. Please leave me a comment and tell me what you love most about Autumn.

Artist Profile: Ninainvorm

Nina is a 26-year-old Dutch student with a blog and Etsy shop downright bursting with eye candy.

I stumbled upon Nina's work via decor8's feature on Wood & Wool Stool. That was charming enough but really I fell for Nina's ceramics straight away. How could I not share her wonderful creations with you considering her color schemes?

Nina also makes original collages, I have no idea what the message is in this one but that makes it all the more fun to look at. It's titled Primary Colors and Nina writes, "Primary colors never bore." She's right, they do not bore when they are in her talented hands!

Like the proverbial cherry on a sundae, Nina also has a beautiful photostream on Flickr. Go ahead, get lost in Marrakech.

photo credits all belong to Nina!

Peacock Blue from A Creative Mint

Leslie from A Creative Mint is about the nicest person you could ever "meet" in blogland. We met in Blogging Your Way earlier this year and she is now a guest writer at decor8. Leslie is doing a regular feature called Color Me Pretty and every week she comes up with these amazing photo shoots and color combinations. This week she really floored me with her peacock blues.

photo credit: Leslie Shewring

Peacock blue is exactly the inspiration color for my entire living room. Last week I picked up a cute white desk on Craigslist and I immediately began styling it with some blue objects that I've been saving for this purpose. The desk sits right along this big white wall that I have begun filling with a gallery of white frames that feature lots of peacock blue, turquoise, red.

Now Leslie has inspired me with this photo to add a little yellow to the mix as well. I have had my eye on this darling phone but was on the fence about adding the splash of yellow to my desktop.

photo credit: Retro Reality

If I were you, I might be wanting to see a picture of the new desk but I really want to get more of the art framed and hung before I take the photos for sharing. Pazienza as my grandma would say!

Polaroid SX-70

My darling husband surprised me with a Polaroid SX-70 for my birthday.

This is a mighty machine that I've been drooling over for much of the past year. Most people know that Polaroid has ceased production and you can  read my friend Jay's thoughts about it. So not only does this camera need to be modified to fit a different kind of Polaroid film, even that is hard to find and pricey! (We're talking $25 for a 10-pack of 600 film).

Despite all of this, I have fallen in love. I am slowly getting a little better at my exposures. To see some of the ones so far, check out my new set over at Flickr. For more amazing SX-70 goodness, check out the SX-70 Flickr group. Maybe someday I'll get the courage to submit one of my own.

If you're interested, here is a little more reading about this wonderful art form. You can keep up with The Impossible Project here.

Friday Poems: The Arrow and The Song

Growing up, I attended eight different schools. Needless to say, I do not have any friends "since kindergarten." But now, at the ripe old age of 39, I am proud to say I have had a few select friends for more than half of my life. As an only child, with an estranged mother and deceased father, I treasure these old friends because they are now my only links to my past and my history on this earth. I love traditions and rituals as an adult for all of these reasons and more.

Today's poem is dedicated to old friends and everyone can feel free to hum this song all day too.

photo credit: Leo Reynolds

The Arrow and The Song
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.

Longfellow wrote: "October 16, 1845. Before church, wrote The Arrow and The Song, which came into my mind as I stood with my back to the fire, and glanced on to the paper with arrow's speed. Literally an improvisation."

Well blow me down with that kind of talent! People say they like my writing, but come on! I am like an infant in comparison.

Aflutter

A birthday story.

I am handed a box to unwrap on Saturday evening. It is from my son. My husband, son and MIL are all watching me intently, waiting. It is obvious it is clothing of some kind by the shape of the box. I open it, half-expecting something from Anthro since recently my son told me I should be an Anthropologie tester when I grow up.

It is an Ann Taylor box I see though.
And inside that box?

The most perfect little black dress that ever lived.

The story according to Jeff -- weeks ago our son told him he wanted to get Mama a pretty dress for her birthday. So they hit the mall and went to Ann Taylor first. This little black dress was spied right away but Jeff encouraged him to see a few more stores to be sure. He obligingly looked but returned to Ann Taylor. Apparently he received stellar customer service and a full tour of all the dresses, but confidently he chose the original one he spied.

I cannot tell you what this dress means to me, but I'm guessing you can imagine. I will keep this dress as long as I live and feel like Audrey Hepburn every time I am lucky enough to wear it out somewhere fancy.

A Happy Mailbox

Last night after I put the Noodle to bed, I realized I hadn't checked the mailbox yet. I haven't really gotten in the habit at the house because most of our mail still goes to the P.O. Box I set up temporarily for us last year. But goodness, am I glad I went for that little stroll in the dark!

Not one, not two, but three packages!

All for me!

Part of a birthday* treat from Amy & Sean: 

a totally rad kitchen timer from Anthropologie!

my new Moo cards

A couple of weeks ago I decided to make some business cards with a few of my favorite photos. I am really happy with how they turned out. I have wanted to profile a few of my favorite shops here on the blog, but feel a little more confident asking permission to take photos if I have a little something to explain myself. 

The third package is from a fabric swap I am participating in. So much fun! This is my first time doing a blog swap. I will reveal those contents when I put them to use for a project. I am waiting for consistently crisp air to settle in for some handcrafting like sewing and knitting again.

Last night, I also spent a good portion of my evening playing with a new feature on Flickr, the Galleries. This is where you can curate a collection of other people's photos according to any notion you might have. My first thought was to show off other people's views of my favorite color combination and what a fun way to spend a couple of hours! Take a look at my Cherry Blue gallery and let me know what you think. :)

* my birthday was Sunday and I plan to share more about that this week.

Dreamy Colors

On Friday night, the sky was flush with colors at eventide. I don't remember where my boys were, but I know where my camera was...firmly ensconced in my little hands, grabbing as much light as it possibly could.

Even my difficult dog looks beautiful at dusk.

I wasn't ready to stop so the candle came in to assist that last sliver of light.

And my orchid whispered to me, "Thank you." In French. :)

Friday Poems: The Courage That My Mother Had

In honor of our beautiful Oma, I searched high and low for a poem to share today. I started with the obvious grief and funeral poems but they did not ring true for me about Oma. She was a fierce, feisty, fun and complicated lady. She was highly artistic, resourceful and opinionated.

As I read poem after poem, I was guided by two things: gratitude for knowing her and respect for her strength throughout her entire life.

The Courage That My Mother Had

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

The courage that my mother had
Went with her, and is with her still:
Rock from New England quarried;
Now granite in a granite hill.

The golden brooch my mother wore
She left behind for me to wear;
I have no thing I treasure more:
Yet, it is something I could spare.

Oh, if instead she'd left to me

The thing she took into the grave! —
That courage like a rock, which she
Has no more need of, and I have.


Dear Oma,

I know you absolutely hated it when I aimed my camera your way, but it was so worth it! Every single image that I have of you now was worth your anger in the moment. You were beautiful and I wish I had more years to absorb your wisdom and creativity in life.

Love,
Your Grandaughter-in-Law

A Revealing Glance

This morning, Jeff informs me that he is doing some IT work on my laptop. I get a panicked look on my face.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"Updates," he says.

"UPDATES?!!!" I practically screech. (I have a thing about updates, a dislike kind of thing).

"Yes updates. As the IT Dept. I not only take requests, but I MAKE DECISIONS."

Oh boy.

I have now been cleared to use my laptop, and I truly don't know what combination of keys or UPDATES gave me this screen, but I took a capture because I thought it was very revealing glance at my life.

It is a look at my top sites: my blog, Google, Facebook, Twitter, my Flickr, decor8 (along with a million other folks), bit.ly and three of my friends' blogs.

Anyway, then Jeff says, "I need you to spend some time today updating your phone too."

I whine, "I just updated it!"

With great skepticism, my loving spouse says, "Did you update it yesterday?"

No of course not, I updated it on Tuesday and that should last me months in my humble, non-IT opinion.

So, do you feel like sharing what your computer would say are YOUR top sites?

The Beckoning Of Lovely

Amy and her team launched the website today! This is such an immensely heartwarming, soul-inspiring project* as to make me breathless and speechless.





Point Five under "Some Important Things" is just one of many lovely lovelies.

Plus the following Pueblo verse shared at the very, very bottom:

Hold on to what is good, even if it is a handful of earth.
Hold on to what you believe, even if it is a tree which stands alone.
Hold on to what you must do, even if it is a long way from here.


I believe the universe brought me these simple lines this morning on purpose, for my husband's grandma died yesterday. My heart is sad and blue for that (and other reasons) but this message is powerful and healing.

I know I have two bucks, how about you?

*I first mentioned the project as the "amazing video" in this post.

Scene Around Home: Relaxing

This weekend we did a whole lot of fantastic nothing. 

There was time for swinging (always and as often as possible) and time for a few projects around the house. We enjoyed wonderful company and two family dinners. I baked with the Noodle and hung some art. The boys became a bit obsessed with a rented Wii game. 

The scales of unpacking have finally tipped from more to unpack/less settled to more settled/less to unpack. The shed is loaded, the deck is cleared and we enjoyed quiet family reading time on it in the afternoon sun. A trip to the nursery was made and a few lovelies were purchased at 40% off (a honeysuckle vine, red and white begonias and yellow lantana).

There was even time for silly self-portraits and a crazy haircut situation with a spontaneous visit to Supercuts plus more chopping upon arrival home. Yes I'm crazy, maybe I spent too much time upside down? 

If I had to choose my favorite moment of the long weekend, it would be racing home on Saturday evening from the movie store in time to snap this picture. Talk about sweet eventide! 

What was seen around your house this weekend?

Friday Poems: In Flight

I chose this poem not for a particular reason this week, but simply because I thought it was beautiful, lyrical and had lovely imagery.

photo credit: Rofanator

In Flight

by Jennifer K. Sweeney

The Himalayan legend says

there are beautiful white birds

that live completely in flight.

They are born in the air,

must learn to fly before falling

and die also in their flying.

Maybe you have been born

into such a life

with the bottom dropping out.

Maybe gravity is claiming you

and you feel

ghost-scripted.

For the one that lives inside the fall,

the sky beneath the sky of all.

Jennifer Sweeney's book How to Live on Bread and Music definitely sounds intriguing.

This long weekend I may find myself at the Alameda Antique Fair. If so, I will be sure to bring my camera so I can share the visual goodies with you all next week.

Bon week-end!

Treasures

Clare asked in the comments of my post the other day what I got at the Niles Antique Fair. So I had a little photoshoot at home this morning so I could share. This was after clearing the house of all the noisy boys in my life. :D

I am hoping to hold the Lego Crew back until Christmas, but it's hard. They are so cute and I specifically chose these five out of a large box of Lego dudes and dudettes. And I chose the two girls because they seemed fierce and rugged to me and I think they will be good role models. 

The mail sorter took my breath away and the price tag didn't so it came home with me without too much thought. It will go in our still-empty living room when I find the perfect white table to set it upon. I have been looking for this table for weeks now. It will come to me, I just know it.

I will put my last treasure on Sweet Eventide's Facebook Fan Page. Have I ever mentioned I made one here on the blog? I wouldn't be surprised if I forgot that detail. M goal with the Fan Page is to supplement the content here on the blog. I'm not into triple hitting everyone with the same information on the blog, FB and Twitter.