Book love

This book by Kate Schelter is the best. It's so much more than style, it's about who you are and expressing that by all that surrounds you, your choices, what feels right in your gut and brings you joy.

This photo encompasses some of those things for me~my favorite peonies, cut from the plant my late parents gave me. The burl wood table is my favorite piece of furniture, purchased from my beloved interior design professor and one of the most interesting people I know. 

To sum it up, it's "the uncommon beauty in common objects." (Charles and Ray Eames) I hope you enjoy it too!

36 Hours in Indy!

 After attending a family graduation, we headed to Indianapolis for 36 hours and this is what we did. :)

Broad Ripple Farmers Market

 We have a corgi, so we're always excited to meet other owners and their dogs. This is 9 week old Archie and his owner couldn't have been nicer!

 Vegetable strata from Taste.

Wicket World Croquet at the Benjamin Harrison Home. Any city that hosts a croquet tournament is top notch in my book.

Photo credit: Indianapolis Monthly

 Meridian Kessler home tour~my favorite neighborhood. There are eight homes, so we did four each day. We are always bowled over by the friendliness and kindness of everyone we meet in Indianapolis. Hoosier hospitality isn't a myth.

 Amazing dinner at Vida. We cleaned every plate!

It's located in historic Lockerbie Square.

Photo credit: Vida

The Cake Bake Shop is the loveliest bakery ever. Our visit wouldn't be complete without splitting a piece of Earl's Court Chocolate Cake.

 An evening walk along the Monon past the gardens and bee hives at Public Greens.

 Day two of the Meridian Kessler home tour.

 Brunch at the original Cafe Patachou--my fav! I've been a customer since 1990. :)

After brunch, we browsed at Locally Grown Gardens, (unfortunately they were out of morels) and Vintage 54 Collective.

Photo credit: Vintage 54 Collective

Photo credit: HPB

We also made a stop at Half Price Books, which was new to us and we loved it.

See you next time!

Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake

 Lemon and blueberries are a favorite combination of mine. This layer cake is the perfect blend of tart and sweet with lots of delicious blueberries.

 The recipe makes a three layer cake but I cut it in half and still ended up with two layers. Half the frosting was enough to make it a naked cake and I found that was plenty--and I love frosting.

It's full of lemon zest, fresh squeezed lemon juice, fresh blueberries, buttermilk, vanilla and topped with a cream cheese vanilla frosting. 

Delicious!

The recipe can be found here.

Favorite Furniture

Do you have a favorite piece of furniture?
There are several items I really love that I've collected over the years but this Chinoiserie piece made of burl wood brings me joy every day. 

When Meryl Streep's character in Out of Africa arrived with so many crates and simply said, "I like my things." It struck a chord with me and is a sentiment I hold as well. In the memoir, Strangers Tend To Tell Me Things by Amy Dickinson she quotes her mother as saying, "My things never let me down." Couldn't agree more. :)

Not only do I love the detail and perfect size of this piece, it is special because I bought it from my favorite interior design professor. He is a very successful, long time designer in the New York metropolitan area and it brings back memories from his fascinating classes, impeccable taste and kindness. It was such a treat to go to Greenbaum's original location and discover this treasure and work with him personally. I hope your surroundings and treasures bring you joy as well!