I am most drawn to the English country houses, but this caught my eye in the September issue of  Vogue magazine. (A magazine that I do not buy on a regular basis…but I love some of the home and life style photos)  The photos are of Peter Copping’s French country get away outside Paris.  Copping Read More...

As I start to see my new chicken coop, the “Hen Hilton”,  take form, I have wondered if it might be going a little too far in the name poultry comfort.  Then I picked up my copy of Lucinda Lambton’s Beastly Buildings and realized that my chicken house is quite modest in comparison to her Read More...

I have been working furiously to revamp the small house on our farm that we had rented for years, with the goal of renting it out to weekenders visiting the area.  My inspiration was Iris’s (Kate Winslet) cottage in the Nancy Meyers (Somethings Gotta Give, It’s Complicated) written and directed film The Holiday.   Most Read More...

Women and their birds.  A friend sent me a copy of a blog by artist, Susan Branch, about a woman from Martha’s Vineyard and her beloved chickens.  Her name was Nancy Luce (1814-1890) and legend has it she lived a rather lonely existence caring for her parents until their death and then falling ill herself.  Her Read More...

A new shelter magazine is making its debut in September….check out their website and the preview issue at www.folkmag.tumblr.com . My impressions of the online preview issue is that it looks like former Country Home editor, Mary Emmerling, meets Garden & Gun magazine.  Let’s hope it’s a success!  The eclectic country decorating crowd could use Read More...

I hit the 127 Yard Sales early on Tuesday looking for great stuff for The Rural Society Antique & Garden Show Fall Sale.  I happened upon two British guys in Harrodsburg, Kentucky and found the Union Jack belt and the World War II Pith helmet.  The hotel silver and battery jar were unearthed in Frankfort, Read More...

I knew I had a reason for collecting all those tarnished silver sugars without lids!

I was looking at a few old issues of  Gardens Illustrated and I was fascinated by these photos of British gardeners from the last century. Serious gardeners not only clipped the hedge,  they also looked flawless doing it.  The ninety degree plus days have made me envious of an era that obviously didn’t involve too Read More...