Eddie Ross, Larson Juhl & Tea

What should you do when you wake up and it's 11 degrees and you don't feel motivated to do much of anything?

Go for an afternoon tea with Eddie Ross!!! Earlier in the week I had noticed on Eddie's website that he would be in Atlanta at Scott Antique Market (read a little more about my regular visits to Scott's here). I'm so lucky to live just minutes from Scott's and I'd initially planned to see him there. The problem was that the session was being held on Sunday a.m. and it was $50. So a friend and I registered for the Saturday tea at Larson Juhl and I'm so glad that we did.

We arrived a bit early as they were setting up for the event. It gave my friend Kirk and I time to look around and to watch as folks arrived, and there were LOTS of bloggers attending. Kirk is a work colleague - an incredibly talented guy, well studied and with a keen eye for decor.

The event was truly a lovely affair with all sorts of finger sandwiches, sweets and assorted beverages. While guests arrived and mingled, the VP of Larson Juhl took small groups of guests on a tour of their Artaissance operations. The studio was incredible. LJ works with hundreds of artists to produce custom work on both canvas and paper, sized to a customer's needs. LJ is the leading distributor of custom framing supplies and is normally available at your local frame shop but I had no idea that they were a Berkshire Hathaway company (can you say "Warren Buffett").

After a short while all of the attendees gathered in a corporate "classroom" for a presentation by Eddie on framing, the use framed works and how they can be used to create added impact in a room. You can see in this photo just how exciting the event was, even to Eddie!

When we were ready to leave we received gifts!!!!! Each of us were given a canvas from the LJ Biltmore Collection AND a botanical bookplate as a gift from one of the vendors at Scotts! So much fun and new things to frame!!!
Oh what a fun outing on a cold and snowy day!

Curb Appeal: The Block

Do you watch the show? I have to admit for a while I stopped watching HGTV. There were so many shows that simply didn't appeal to me. Recently I watched an episode of Curb Appeal: The Block and was surprised when I realized the street getting the makeover was 5 minutes from my house. The crew did an amazing job on the episode I watched and I was impressed by the contractor on the show, Chip Wade.

Chip & team pictured with Oprah

After watching the show I decided to email Chip to ask about an architectural challenge we have. Our front steps are way too steep and I was curious what kind of response my inquiry would trigger, if any. Amazingly, early the next morning my phone rang and it was Chip. He set up an appointment to come by the next morning to take a look at the problem.

Front of the house with steep entrance

Chip arrived early with coffee in hand, first examining the exterior of the house and then sitting down to sketch. Very quickly we had a rendering with construction details, phases of work, and suggested materials. As he began to explain some of the things we could do to address the issue, he also made suggestions based on our budget.

Before the appointment had ended, he consulted on several other projects/challenges that we have been wanting to think through, making all sorts of suggestions. I confessed to him that weren't high-end clients so to help us be able to work within our budget, he even made suggestions for builder/contractors we might enjoy working with (and ones we could afford). All-in-all I was most impressed with Chip and his work and I was so glad that I sent the email. No doubt I am going to be the number one fan of Curb Appeal: The Block!

Diane Sawyer Said It Best, "Don't Cry Because It's Over, Smile Because It Happened."

Great advice but not always easy. On Tuesday we drove to South Carolina to meet up with my son and granddaughters for a final goodbye. My son will be stationed in Germany for the next four years. He's been stationed overseas before so I should be used to the goodbyes but somehow yesterday was harder than in the past.

We've had such great times together over the past few years with my son living just four hours away. All of our kids were home this year for Christmas and it was wonderful having everyone together. It seemed the holidays had just begun when it was time to say goodbye. I'll replay the memories for many years to come.A family moment over the holidays

Then came January 5th - a day before departure.

The girls bought and decorated goodbye cards for Dad and Stepmom

They enjoyed reading the cards and notes before going to bed

Early the next morning came the heavy-hearted walk to the terminal

All too soon were the final hugs goodbye

My granddaughters are still just a few hours away as they will be staying with their mom during the school year. That is a blessing.

The Happiness Project

Have you read the book? I ordered it Friday and decided to hold off on resolutions or goals until I had a chance to read a bit of the book. If you've read the book or participate in a "happiness group" I would love to hear from you. It seemed to me that working independently might be easier but it would be interesting to hear how the group thing works. Don't get me wrong. I'm not unhappy but the idea of thinning out some of the unnecessary to let in more happy moments seems most appealing.

My girlfriend, together with her teen-aged daughter, went on a very meaningful service trip to Kenya in 2009. When she returned she described a simple tribal life saying that many of those living in the community were almost giddy with happiness. They had very little, according to western standards and yet everyone seemed very happy. Her observation was "Life on the Mara was simple, stress free and it called us to slow down and to live closer to nature."

Photo of Lindsey and her Masai Friend

Doesn't that sound like something we all should try to do - live more simply, with less stress, slow down and connect with nature? It doesn't sound too hard.

It isn't exactly a resolution but exercise is on my list of things to do in 2010. When I turned 40 I started taking ballet and have continued classes off and on over the past twelve years. Last year I fell off the wagon but will be back in class next Saturday. The idea of wall-to-wall mirrors is a bit scary but facing one's fears is an exercise in itself, right?

Have you made any goals yet? I would love to hear them.

Welcome 2010! A Blank Page

It's been a long time since I posted but the start of a new year seemed like the perfect time to pickup and start posting again. I have missed blogging and connecting with so many folks and apologies for not keeping in touch. Life was moving too fast for me the last half of 2009. Lots happened and most of it very good.




I spent 7 weeks working on a Habitat build and it was a good feeling knowing that I was able to help a young family spend their first Christmas in their very own home. If you haven't ever worked on a home build you should try it. This was the fifth time I had worked on a house but the first time I worked on one from start to finish. Quite an experience.

After the build was finished I headed to Seattle to become a Godmother! I am so proud to be a Godmother for the first time. My Goddaughter, Shea is a beautiful, happy girl and since she was born, I have been able to visit with her twice already!

Our family celebrated our first Labor Day Weekend family reunion at our house. We normally head to Standing Stone Park in Tennessee but this year we decided to make it a major event closer to home. We rented a room at a hotel around the corner so that we had pool access all weekend. Thought you might enjoy a picture of our granddaughter at the pool wearing her goggles. I call this picture "Pink."

Our neighborhood has a small park and do you remember the great burlap bags that I found during the summer on the way to work? Well, they became the perfect sacks for our sack races! Yes, we had an old-fashioned field day in the park! I planned a number of games and it was such a hit with everyone. The family decided they wanted to do it again next year. The event required a lot of planning and prep work so I will carefully consider whether or not to do it again but it was a ton of fun.

My husband lost his job in 2009 but not working gave him time to go visit family in Beirut. He left just after Thanksgiving so in the weeks before Christmas I was "home alone," but I loved every minute of it. Saw lots of movies too. Have you seen An Education, Precious, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Blindside - oh,the list goes on! So many great movies to see right now. And I watched Elf and The Family Stone multiple times. The quietness and stillness gave me time to take in lots of small things I love about the holidays - all was calm and all was bright. It gave me the opportunity to hold a girl party and it was a blast. As a result of the fun we had, we have already planned a girlfriend chili party to kick off the new year.

Christmas was wonderful and one of my happiest moments was having my grandgirls with me for Christmas mass. It was the children's mass and the girls got here just in time to join the pageant as angels. It was beautiful and I hope it is something they remember forever. I know I will. My family all arrived in time for Christmas eve. My husband had promised "I'll be home for Christmas" so we picked him up at the airport at 9:00 on Christmas eve. What a great celebration we had.

My son Sami is moving to Germany. This fall we spent lots of time with he and the grandgirls. Family time took precedent over everything as we helped him get his house ready for sale and we spent plenty of weekend time just doing things together. Our family is about to shift gears in a major way. We know it will be a great opportunity for us to travel but the move will also make it harder for family get-togethers. Our oldest will be in Germany and our youngest daughter currently lives in Portland. The distances are vast. New geographic challenges lie ahead but also all sorts of new travel opportunities do too.

To me the new year is like a blank piece of paper. We have before us the opportunity to do things differently, to add a new chapter to our lives, and I'm excited about it.

The Wedding

My son got married this weekend and everything was nearly perfect. The rehearsal dinner was supposed to have been in the patio dining area of Hamptons Restaurant in Sumter, SC, but it poured rain an hour before our reservation so they moved us indoors. No matter, it was a perfect evening of families meeting and sharing good conversation with plenty of good food. The wedding was an outdoor event and the weather could not have been more cooperative nor could the bride and groom be any happier.

The service had just ended.

Me and my new daughter-in-law, Danny.

The reception tent.

Too Many Trips to the Mall

We are just a week away from the wedding. Thank goodness I am only working on one wedding event as I couldn't have managed much more. I finished the menu cards and place cards and after doing some price comparisons we ended up ordering the bride and groom strawberries from Costco instead of trying to make them. We polished up some trays and gathered champagne glasses for the reception so I think we are ready. In fact this afternoon I stacked my clothes for the weekend so I'm nearly packed as well.

On Saturday we had to make one last trip to the mall to find something for my husband to wear to the rehearsal dinner and while walking through the mall I noticed the most intriguing thing. Have any of you had your brows done using the threading technique? My camera was in my purse and I wanted to pull it out to take pictures but frankly, taking pictures of someone getting their brows done just seemed too personal. I just didn't have it in me to ask if I could photograph the process but how amazing. (the photo posted is from eHow). A friend of the woman being threaded had just gotten her brows done and they were perfect. I watched for quite some time but I still can't figure out how to do the threading. Can you?