A Visually Inspiring Book

Hello everyone!

This past summer I purchased a book that I just had to share with you.  I remember after first receiving it how different it was from all others I had.  It was a nice thick hard bound book with sepia colored pages and the chapters were divided with a translucent style paper (like you see in formal invitations).  The lettering of the words printed on the pages was a mix of old fashioned typewriter style and hand-written versions.  

The book is about the lives of the owners of a store called "i gigi" located in England.  It's about how they met and the friendship they carry still today.  It showcases rooms from their homes and their store.

It also has some surprises in the book which I will show you at the end of this post.

Here are some beautiful photos from the book.

As I was flipping through the book, I noticed a couple of pages that had envelopes stuck to them.  It said there was a gift inside for me!

It turned out to be a little postcard with the image you see on the opposite page.

So I have two of these now!  

It's such a good book.  It's really more than just a home decor book.  I actually read the whole thing because it has a story of their friendship in it.  

So, if you get a chance, and you're out and about shopping for books, pick this one up and flip through it.  You'll see what I'm talking about.  It's a real visual treat!  

(I was not compensated in any way for this book or post.)

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Dian Mayasari ~

Weekend Detour / Planting Paperwhites

Hello everyone!

I hope everyone in the mid west is doing OK.  I know you are all getting some  bad storms right now.  It has been ugly and rainy here all weekend long too.

It has also been very warm!  So strange for this time of year after we've been having such cold temps.  

The worst part of my weekend was being sick!  I caught a terrible stomach bug on Thursday that hit me hard for about 24 hrs.  Luckily, I'm much better now.  

I lived on this stuff for a  little while.

I graduated to something better this morning.  Scrambled eggs and grits!  (I sneaked in a smidgen of butter. shh)

But the weekend was not a total loss (unless you're counting the Ga Bulldogs game - Argh!) I did manage to do something that I had planned on all along, before I got sick.

Yep!  Paper white bulbs.  I bought them so I could force them to grow inside.  I've seen several of you ladies doing it already, so I decided to give them a try myself.  I have some fake ones, but think the real ones are so much prettier.

I planted one batch in this large galvanized tub.

They will stay in the kitchen.  My 12 yr old said it looked like I was growing worms!  LOL.

Then I separated the other batch in half and planted them in a silver container and a small galvanized container.

The silver one will probably go in the foyer and the other one I'll find a spot. 

I hope these grow well.  I've never grown them before but have heard it is very easy.  You just put them in soil and add a little bit of water.  Then hope the sun will finally shine to give them the other ingredient they need (unlike today).  I'll keep you posted as to how they do.  

Hope you are having a good Sunday so far and not in harms way of the storms out West of us.  

Stay safe!

~ Dian Mayasari ~

Simple Things

Hello everyone!

I know many of you are gearing up for Christmas, but for me, I am still savoring the last few weeks of quiet time this Fall.  There will be plenty of time to get out the boxes of glitter and twinkling lights to decorate with for Christmas. 

So, for now, I'll just enjoy the simple things that fill my home.

Such as............ 

fresh smelling lavender

old books
 

 

matlesse and gingham
 

 

French pillows
 

Grey cabinets filled with my favorite white dishes

 

a rosemary topiary
 

blue and white plates

a Swiss cross pillow

 

old book bundles and white flowers

 

And a gentle reminder of the season.

 

Hope you are able to find time to enjoy the simple things around you today too.
 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Dian Mayasari ~

Comfort Food on a Cold Night

Hello everyone!

Tonight is a cold one!  I think everyone here and around us are feeling some frigid air right now.  So, what better time than now to make a chicken pot pie for dinner and a Caesar salad.

This is a very easy recipe (my fave) and is very delicious.  This is also a meal that I've taken to a neighbor coming back from the hospital in the past.  You could say it is my "go to" meal!

Here are the ingredients you will need:

(cream of potato soup, canned vegetables, cooked diced chicken, milk, thyme, pepper, deep dish pie crusts, and an egg)

Combine all of the ingredients except the egg.

Mix them well and pour into a pie shell.

Put the other pie crust on top and crimp the edges together with a fork.  

Then brush the top of the crust with an egg.

Bake it in the oven for 40 min at 375 degrees.

It will come out golden brown and yummy inside!

Serve with a side salad.

Here is the official recipe:

*****************************************************

Chicken Pot Pie

1 can cream of potato soup (std size)

1 can Veg-all (drained)

2 c. cooked diced chicken

1/2 c. milk

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. pepper

2  9" deep dish pie crusts, thawed

1 egg (slightly beaten)

Combine first 6 ingredients.  Spoon into pie crust.  Cover with top crust and crimp edges with fork.  Slit top crust and brush with egg.

Bake 375 degrees  40 min.

****************************************************

Oh........and since it is a cold night and we have a fire going.  A little slice of German chocolate cake will do just fine as well.  

Come on over and I'll share it with you!

Thanks for stopping by.

~ Dian Mayasari ~

Linking to:  Wow-us-Wednesday

New Lamp and Room Changes

Hello everyone!

Did you have a good weekend?  I managed to take some things to a consignment shop after cleaning my basement.  Gosh, it felt good to get rid of some things I was no longer using! That will really help me when I'm ready to decorate for the holidays.  I can finally get to all my boxes now.  LOL!

I wanted to share with you a new floor lamp in my family room.

Isn't it pretty????  I fell in love with it the moment I saw it.  It's from Better Homes & Gardens.  Yes, that means it came from Walmart!  I love the rustic look of it with the natural color of the shade.  I thought it worked well in my room with the grey and white and the stone in my fireplace.

Of course, with a new lamp, comes other changes to the room.  You know all about that don't you?  

I changed up my mantle to make it a little simpler.  I really missed my horse statue there, so I brought it back.

I flanked it with some potted faux paper whites.

I also switched around my pillows by adding some charcoal grey pillows to the chairs and sofa.

Now, where did the other stuff go?

The checked pillow is now in my sitting room.

And the wheat is now in my foyer.

My birdhouse is now in my sitting room too.  So, I didn't really remove any of my newest accessories.  They just landed in a different spot..........at least till the Christmas decorations come out!

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Dian Mayasari ~

Grey Roses and White Pumpkins

Hello everyone!

By now, you all know how much I love grey and white.  My whole house, with the exception of a few rooms upstairs, is wearing it.  So, when I came across this rose decorative object, I just had to grab it!

I love the texture and the subtle roses it has.

I believe it's made out of concrete, because it's heavy!

I sit in this chair every day, so I get to enjoy it a lot now!

Remember in my last post about wanting some little white pumpkins?  Well, I still haven't found them and may not since the season is winding down.  So, I decided to paint a small orange one that I had in my Fall bin in the basement.

Yep!  This will do the trick!  Simple and free too.

After it dried, I placed it on my mantel.

Isn't it cute?

So this will do, until I find the real thing!

Thanks for stopping by.

~ Dian Mayasari ~

Simple Fall Touches

Hello everyone!

Now that Halloween is over, I added just a few simple touches of Fall around the house.  I'm not a big Fall decorator, so these are just enough for now.

I added a wreath that I made last year to my front door.

This was such a simple wreath to make using Fall foliage, faux wheat and grasses, pheasant feathers and Spanish moss, and a small white pumpkin in the center.  All of this was easily attached to a plain grapevine wreath and hung by brown satin ribbon.

  

Let's go inside now.

I added a bouquet of dried wheat on the mantel.

I like the natural color it lends against all the grey and white.

My old book bundles compliment the wheat as well.  I would like to find some of those small white "boo" pumpkins (I think they're called) to add around the house too.  I need to look for some.

I can't believe that in less than a month, the Christmas season will already be upon us!  This year is really flying by.  

Hope you are having a nice Fall day today.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Dian Mayasari ~

Linking to:  Wow-Us-Wednesdays