Simply Splendid

I think I can be a tad obsessive. When I am really loving something it is on my mind all the time. I am loving every second of reading "Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes. I bought it for a friend as a gift. She was recuperating from surgery. I was reading it at the same time. I hope the ever so constant dings of my texts didn't disturb her rest...as the more I read the more I wanted to talk about it!! xo

 On just a slightly less, oh my gosh note...I very much love this pillow I came across at Pottery Barn. It's just so pretty and charming and an unexpected accent. I cannot wait to order it! You can peek at the details here.

I have the perfect cream reading chair...just love this pillow!

Fresh Project

The weather is starting to become just a bit more mild and I'm looking for both a new knitting project and a new book. I came across The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon at Barnes and Noble the other afternoon. It looks really good...it's officially next on my list!

I love this yarn I was peeking at on Etsy. From the Colorado based shop, Yospun. It's a great thick/thin yarn...about 80 yards in total. A perfect blend of merino and mohair. I love the wonderful variations throughout! Happy Knitting! xo

Golden Day

I feel like I have a ton of running around to do today but I'm reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and really just want to carve out an hour or two of this wintery day to completely immerse in this amazing book. I've been a huge Donna Tartt fan since reading The Secret History over ten years ago. Her novels are so exquisite and infrequent....you just want to  wrap up in them knowing it may be another decade until her next wonderful work is published.

love this beautiful winter image....

Impossibly Cold

Well, there's a  -20 degree wind chill. Again. Buying more firewood is on the top of my to do list (also, again). So...it's a good evening for reading and I was looking at New York Times Reviews. The Impossible Lives Of Greta Wells.  This novel simply looks  amazing. It's my next up book to get to. Keep Warm! xoxo

Love this! Don't know a photo source but it's beautiful.....

An Amazing Book

I'm completely addicted to The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro. This historical fiction novel takes place between London and Paris in the 1920's and mid 1950's. In part, it chronicles perfumist Madame Zed and the mystery behind her. I am such a perfume person...I cannot go a day without wearing it. (My current favorite is Tocca's Margaux.) This novel is so engaging right from page one. Hugely recommend if you are looking for a good read for book club!

Margaux by Tocca...warm, spicy..ideal for cold days...

"My Sin" by the perfume house Lanvin. Famously created by Madame Zed.

Weekend Luxuries

I haven't posted to my blog in quite a bit and I thought this long weekend would be the ideal opportunity to get back to writing. The New Year for me has happily been filled with lots of reading, snowy (sub-zero) days and knitting! I love this time of year as all the lists of the best books come out. 2013 had so many wonderful new novels. Topping my list to read next is The Goldfinch. I am such a huge Donna Tartt fan since first reading The Secret History. The Goldfinch is on every best book list around....I just can't wait. 

I'm currently reading The Perfume Collector for book club. Great, great novel. I've never read anything by Kathleen Tessaro before....her writing pulls you in from the very first page. Ideal book club selection!

I've been in search of new yarns and love this hand-spun merino, alpaca & silk blend I found on Etsy. I never tire of hand-spuns....the colors are so unique, luxurious and rich. This red is perfect for winter....created by Rambling Rose Yarns ....great shop to take a peek at! Happy Knitting! xo

Knitting Afternoons

There are so many great books newly published that I haven't been knitting very much. I just finished Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfield and now I am reading The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison. The Silent Wife is a great read with a similar format to Gone Girl. The story is told through "him" and "her" with each character telling their perspective. This is the author's first book and sadly she passed away right before it was released. It is a great, smartly written novel....reviews have been terrific.

It's cooler this week here! I'm not a humidity girl and all that near 90 degrees keeps me inside. But the hot spell has broken and I am starting to peek around for new yarn for fingerless gloves. I'm addicted to Yarnarchy on Etsy. Etsy just launched a new look and I love it! Streamlined, great photo lay out...it's really fresh and inviting! I found this fantastic worsted wool yarn in the Yarnarchy shop. It's a bit thick thin....the color is Spring Chicken. Love the warm variation throughout....sort'of butterscotchy and sweet. Happy Knitting! xo

Hitting the Lake

All I want for a week is to sit by the lake, knit a bit and read! Lake Placid is my very favorite vacation spot. I love walking everywhere, no need to even look at the car....and just relaxing. Mirror Lake Inn is amazing...cozy and right on the water....everything is just a stepping stone away. Lake Placid has hosted both the 1932 & 1980 Olympics...both the inn and the town have so much history.

Front walk up to Mirror Lake Inn.

The dock at the Inn. You can fish, swim, boat...the kids can even order peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and chips. Completely laid back.

I'm bringing with me three books...."The Yonahlossee  Riding

 Camp For Girls", "Sisterland" and "The Shining Girls". All newly published...reviews for all three have been great. I'm half way through "Yonahlossee" now....love it. "The Shining Girls" looks a bit spooky....terrific NPR review.

A Room Without Books....

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” - Marcus Tullius Cicero.

I am constantly in the middle of a book. I can't not be. I also always need to have my next book lined up. I'm currently reading Kate Morton's "The House at Riverton." I am super excited to next read "Sisterland" by Curtis Sittenfield. I just purchased this large "Read." sign to hang in the corner by my favorite cozy reading chair. Slightly distressed...it reminds me of a vintage library sign. I bought it from a great artist on Etsy who has a shop called Off On My Tangent. It goes nicely placed over an over-sized mahogany trimmed chalkboard that I grabbed years ago from Pottery Barn.

I love this wooden sign....you can custom select your color choices. I requested the burnt orange period to coordinate with the throw pillows on my reading chair.

Summer Retreats

I love a perfect spot outside to read. It may be my favorite thing about summer. Whether at home or traveling, I always hunt out a quiet area. We go to Lake Placid every July and it's breezy and tucked in the mountains and ideal for a blanket & a good book. Home of both the 1932 and the 1980 Olympics, this tiny town is the coziest place to visit. You can bike or walk anywhere with no need to even glance at your car.

Love these cheery plaid blankets from Pendleton! So classic...

Every summer I have a good list set up of warm weather reading. I love having it planned out. I'm still reading "The House at Riverton"  and next I'm on to "Rules of Civility." Nothing though outshines "Pride and Prejudice" which I could re-read a million times....

I love this....and use it every day! "Mr. Darcy Proposal Mug" from Brookish on Etsy.

A Well Grounded Life

I just finished reading The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin and I loved it. It came highly recommended by a friend so I went into it excited with high expectations...I love the era and I'm a huge reader of historical fiction overall. It surpassed what I had hoped. It's a well written novel of a woman, her hero husband, her family and a country that was in awe of them and isolated them at the same time. 

It begins in 1974 as Charles Lindbergh is facing death and his family is flying him to the quiet of Hawaii as he instructed. It chronicles back immediately to Anne Morrow and her time at Smith Collage when her prominent father was Ambassador to Mexico. A time prior to Lindbergh...a figure then only known to her on the screen & headlines as the boy who recently flew across the Atlantic. As the novel moves forward she becomes The Aviator's Wife and the well educated Smith girl with great writing potential lives in his shadow. Her life soars and crashes through loneliness, fame, family, kidnapping, The Great Depression and war.  

Things are never exactly how they appear and as a country hailed an aviator who reached the heavens at home his wife was required to keep a home built around the concept of a cockpit...always control cost and never keep what you don't deem absolutely necessary. Pennies were counted and household goods, like soap, were required, by Lindbergh, to be inventoried by Anne so that clutter could be eliminated.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh shows her strength and determination to survive even as her ideas of everything around her are reshaped and restructured. It's an amazing novel of personal growth. It's one of the best historical fiction books that I've ever read. Happy Weekend! xo

A Quiet Corner

We have an amazing consignment store in the village called Tesori. Beautiful home furnishings that are eclectic and charming. Today I stopped in and found a perfect reading chair and bench for my daughters bedroom. My little one needs more quiet time to read in the evenings. A place to disconnect from the hectic schedule of the day and simply enjoy the world of a good book. I set up a cozy corner for her and it could not be more ideal. The pink striped skirted chair is so pretty and the distressed bench is a perfect compliment to it... mixing textures and colors for a beautiful, comfortable balance.

A true treasure....my favorite store, Tesori.

The coziest of corners to enjoy a book.

Weekend at Home

This past weekend has had me caught up in knitting & books. I've been alternating between the two. I just finished a great seamless cowl from Knit 1 LA...the New Years Cowl. It took exactly one skein of Cascade Magnum yarn. I knit it just a tad larger than the pattern called for. I wanted it extra slouchy so I cast on 44 stitches onto circular needles. I believe the instructions call for 40. Love this site & this pattern is my favorite!

I had been completely addicted to reading the new memoir "Wave" by Sonali Deraniyagala. It tells of the tragic day after Christmas when she was vacationing in Sri Lanka with her husband, two sons and her parents and the tsunami struck. Her honest, deeply profound telling of this story is breathtaking. Her transformation throughout the grief process leaves the you spellbound as she slowly emerges from her nearly catatonic state and starts revisiting the life she lost. 

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