Posted by Jodi

I was recently preparing my house for a friend’s baby shower when I noticed the non-curtained French doors in the den provided a great view for guests to my not-so-neat bedroom.

It’s the kind of thing you don’t think of until the door bell is about to ring.

My quick fix: I took a few of my son Sammy’s paintings from our massive collection and taped them neatly with white artist’s tape to the back of the doors.

It was meant to be a temporary solution, but my husband and I love it. (We know we are biased.) I might even laminate the art so I can hang the masterpieces neatly with some tiny eyelets on cup hooks.

Since there is a lot of Sammy art where that came from, we often have “art shows� at our house. (His teacher told me that he “uses up more paper than anyone in the class.�) I was proud, even though I’m not sure it was meant as a compliment.

Our shows are installed in hallways, on doors, and strung on clotheslines under the mantle. One “piece� that is on permanent display over our mantle is a series of his first people drawings collaged and hung in one of Ikea’s “NYTTJA� frames.

They come in lots of colors and sizes. The one above is the large (19 ¾� x 27 ½�) orange one and it’s only $7.99! (One downside with the frame is the plexiglass starts to bow and sag after a while. I plan to replace it with glass.)

Collaging a bunch of your child’s artwork is a great way to capture a series and create a larger piece of art.

Now that my younger son, Lionel, is starting to draw himself, we may have to move to a place with more walls!

There is something about heading over to the Farmer's Market on a early Sunday morning that lifts up my spirits. It starts off quietly, with my Trader Joe's tote bag in hand heading out the door. I feel the dew still settling and the birds waking. The crisp air touches my face as I get to my car for the five minute drive. I crack the windows and turn on the CD player to Paul Nutini's "Autumn Leaves". Perhaps a but corny, but then again, I am a sentimentalist. I pick up my friend Leanne, and we talk about our daughters and how they are fairing with this thing called "adolescence". Approaching the market, we find the closest spot we can. And then we are there: The bustle of people, (many we know and say an early morning "hello"), the beautiful colors everywhere, and the smells of lavender, basil and onions.

We each have our favorite vendors that we visit. For me it is the ladies who sell the avocados and strawberries. Leanne is looking for blueberries and squash...harder to find now that Fall is here. But the tomatoes....the beautiful heirloom tomatoes, neither of us can resist.

And the mushrooms are plentiful and perfect.

The pears in Fall are one of my passions. We will bake them in an apple pie, or put them in a salad with roasted walnuts and Gorgonzola. The vendor here gives away whole pears to sample. Smart vendor, I bought quite a few: Bartletts, and one I have not tried called the Seckel pear.

Then there were pumpkins...beautiful pumpkins of all sizes and colors. Two very large and perfect pumpkins came home with me to rest on the front porch. And a few of the little one for my table.

The scent of fresh bread wafts deliciously through the air. Coffee and croissants are breakfast for many here.

Gourds are coming in season, and a large Butternut Squash makes it into my bag.

Coming home and unloading all of my bags is always heartwarming. The girls and I decide what we will make for dinner.

Dinner later that night is Potato Leek Soup and a salad of fresh baby greens with avocado, oranges and roasted pine nuts. A day well spent.

For more information about the Sacramento Farmer's Market click here. It is the largest Farmer's Market in the region. As one of the vendors aptly put it, "it is the Grand Daddy of Farmer's Markets". Perhaps, most importantly, it is locally grown....and that is a good thing.

Recipe for Potato Leek Soup

from The Ultimate Soup Bible

by Anne Sheasby

Ingredients:

2 ounces, 1/4 cup butter

2 leeks, washed and thoroughly chopped

1 small onion peeled and finely chopped

12 ounces potatoes, peeled and chopped

3 3/4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1) Heat 10 oz. (2 tablespoons) butter in large pan over medium heat. Add the leeks and onion, and cook gently for about 7 minutes until softened

2) Add potatoes to the pan and cook for about 2-3 minutes, then add the stock and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes until potatoes are tender.

3) Season to taste and remove from heat. Chop and stir in the remaining butter.

4) (I add this step) Puree mixture in blender or food processor until smooth, then serve!

"We are drawn to old-culture decor -- a Tuscan farmhouse kitchen -- but we want state-of-the-art appliances in that kitchen."

All (the) designers warned against just bringing some sort of extreme look into a room.

I chatted with the very sweet Ruth today…

(RSS users, you know the drill.)

Remember how we all raved- for months- about Andrew Zega and Bernd Dams' Chinoiseries? Well, hold on to your hats because they are back with a new book that I think might be one of their best yet!

An Architectural Alphabet (Connaissance et Mémoires) is the new limited-edition artist's book that features the duo's watercolors of the alphabet. Each letter is featured in an architectural or garden related scene. In fact, a few lucky letters are painted against backdrops of Chinoiserie follies. How great is that?

The new book, with a forward by none other than Charlotte Moss (I told you this was good!), is hand-bound in silk, numbered, and slip-cased. Forget the jewelry, baubles, trinkets, and bibelots- this is what I want for Christmas. I better start writing Santa right now.

Cynthia Conigliaro and Will Rogers of Archivia Books and Catherine Cormery of Connaissance et Mémoires are hosting a book party where Zega and Dams' new book as well as some of their recent watercolors will be featured. The event takes place at Archivia Books on Thursday, November 20 from 6 until 8pm. To RSVP, call 212-570-9565.

I watched your messages, one by one, come into my mailbox.  Each of them so generous, each of them so kind. 

I began to feel brave again.

And then someone clicked on my blog.  She left quietly.  But  I heard her click, and I clicked back. 

And this is what I found. 

Followed by this....

And I knew, with a kind of certainty, that she had been sent to bring messages from the universe to me....... and to you, too, my lovely ..... 

Images by Jen Renninger.

Have a wonderful weekend:)

So, you are still dwelling (ha!) on the fact that you missed the open house for the 2008 Dwell Home in Mountain View, yeah? Well, dwell no further. Kohler’s snazzy video team created a dozen or so videos featuring all the design elements of the space including discussion from the owners of the home as well as lead designer, Sally Kuchar. There are 13 videos in all (yes, I’ve watched every second of them!) so you can get a solid sense for what the place looked like in March.

While doing so keep an eye out for guest appearances from some of our DP products…a.k.a. 0.00125 seconds of fame for the Blu Dot Animal Sofa, the Fatboy room, a Zid Zid poof, Blu Dot D2 Utility Shelving, Amenity pillows, upper playground pillows, k studio pillows, a STAACH table and chairs, among others…

Here are a few of my favorite flicks:

“How all the cooks in the kitchen created a unified look”…

and…the “unique spaces” feature:

View all of the Kohler videos and check out our Flickr group of still images.

I've heard the mansion is haunted. I've heard there are spirits here and events that can not be explained. Perhaps this is the place where the spell originated. The place where, once one enters, one is enchanted forever. The place that has all of Sacramento, and places beyond, in it's power. For, in the months before All Hallow's Eve, people come. They come and cannot help but leave changed. And once they have come, they cannot but return, year after year. The place is called Evangeline's.

When one encounters the entrance to the mansion, one can choose to risk the ancient elevator with the iron door. I have seen some enter, and I cannot say I have seen them again.

But the tentative may choose to climb the stair to the inner chambers of the mansion.

At first, it may seem like a beautiful and magical place.

But......when one approaches another stair....things start to seem a little bit more....sinister.

One might feel a bit comforted by the fact that a woman is dressed like Minnie Mouse sits on a ledge half way up the stair. Until one asks, what exactly is she doing there?!

I have heard that the spirits walk these stairs. And that there are bumps...in the night.

Quickly, one is reminded that this place is not of the day...but of the night. The night the spirits come out to play, and witches dance by candlelight.

And candles shine brightly above the skulls of those that have passed before.

The Devil himself has been known to hold court.

And he is quite generous when it comes to offering up pitchforks to those unsuspecting.

The spirits are always on hand to watch the fun.

Many of the adventurous come to test their courage at the mansion. And to see the sights....the stained glass skylights and the polished wood antique bars and counters. They think they will be the ones who leave untouched with only a story to tell.

But many lose their heads.

Many are enchanted and lost in time.

But even in the past, the spirits are awake.