Steel and Wood and Fabric

I am in the midst of last minute deliveries to clients, shopping, cooking and general Christmas chaos. After shopping and before a dance performance I stopped into Wilko, in Tucson's Main Gate University District. I had forgotten how much I love the open, airy feeling that is counterbalanced with solid wood and steel pieces.  I absolutely adore the collection of oddly colored vintage stools and light fabric lighting. The Moravian star lights are perfect accents. Take a look...

By the way, the coffee was superb and very welcome on a cold rainy day in Tucson.

One of my dreams of the past 20 years has been to spend Christmas in Denmark. My husband is one half Danish and still has many relatives who live there.  We spent several weeks visiting during the summer and I fell in love with the people, the traditions and the sense of civility that pervades everything we did while there. Every year we receive photos of candle-lit Christmas trees and family dinners, and I renew my resolve to make it to Denmark, someday, for the holidays.

While visiting my in-laws a few years ago I picked up a book on Danish Christmas Traditions and made several crafts. This year I pulled the dog-eared book out again and made one of my favorite Danish crafts, woven Christmas heart baskets.

You can learn how to make the hearts here. I recommend this craft for older teens and adults, it is a little tricky.  However, the end result makes up for all the hard work! I added homemade tassels and pom-poms for extra color.

Restful and affordable!

I am not usually a fan of monochromatic color schemes, but something about the mix in the new Public Hotel Chicago  from Ian Schrager speaks to me. Maybe it's the affordable rooms rates (starting at $135) but more likely I'm drawn to the classical elements and comfortable symmetry mixed with clean modern lines, antique accents and perfect lighting. I am ready to go. Thanks to the folks over at Cool Hunting for sharing.

Now if I could only translate these images into a more tranquil mindset during this hectic holiday season...

 I love odd color combinations for holiday decorations. I suppose it comes from too many years spent as a visual manager at a major department store where Christmas started in August.Green and red.  That was Christmas for me, exhausted and embracing the holiday as  simply a day off to see a movie or go out for Chinese. Now, a major move, two kids and my own business later, I enjoy twisting the traditional a bit.  A little red blends well with the chartreuse of the desert, brown  and brilliant tangerine. I picked up a few rolls of wide satin ribbon and had some fun.

Classic, comfortable and unique Tucson

Last weeek I made a quick visit to the Arizona Inn with a friend for some old-school Arizona inspiration. The Inn opened in 1932, built by the intrepid Isabella Greenway and has maintained its simple, classic demeanor ever since. One of my favorite areas is the pool house. A crystal clear pool, small dining room and charming bar make it a wonderful place to have lunch, a drink or in warmer weather, a swim. 

Painted windows give privacy to the small dining room by the pool.

Lounge chairs in front of the pool breezeway.

The outdoor bar at the pool

The enticing pool area, even on a cloudy day!

The fireplace in the poolside dining room... so cozy on a winter day.

We walked across the beautifully kept grounds .....

Past the ping-pong palapa- 

into the main building and the  Audobon Bar where we found another beautiful mural and

dinner!

Meanwhile, back at the territorial

 Its always fun to go visit a job site on demolition day.  Everything is torn up, the dumpster arrives, old cabinets are lined up for recycling and the clients are excited and happy. Usually long lost items are found. In this case it was an earring that had been missing for years. Time capsules are revealed behind the walls--tacky old wall paper and grocery receipts from  the seventies along with tiny school pictures of toothless kids that are now in their twenties and thirties. I spent quite a while specifying locations for lighting, measuring soffits and demanding dimmers, darn it!

Everything is moving along beautifully!

cold, crisp red and white

Today it is the same temperature in Tucson as it is in Montreal. My daughter texted from her school a few minutes away from home that it was snowing  at 8 am. Fortunately my garden wasn't frozen. I pulled these lovely French radishes out this morning and had them for lunch. Yum. It started me thinking about red and white.....

A spectacular pineapple quilt from the 1880's, 1st dibs

A crimson orchid in my mother's greenhouse

One of my favorite Kravet Patterns: Natchez

A Oaxacan blouse

A delicious dessert set from Copeland, 1st dibs

Pagoda style lamps and their shades....




I think I need to find a way to add some more red and white to my life--maybe for Christmas.

Picture therapy

 Last weekend my computer crashed, my printer locked up irreparably and on Wednesday I had dental surgery. Needless to say, I have not posted until today. I have done some small work on my I pad, enough to order a fancy new computer which I will set up tonight. Meanwhile, my I pad therapy has also included gazing at some beautiful prints from Natural Curiosities: the Paule Marrot collection. I find these prints created from

original textile designs to be exactly what the doctor ordered: bright, colorful, creative and infinitely inspiring. 

Stay tuned for some more consistent posting, and a whole new look in the coming month!