Barn Sale

Barn sales are very common in Maryland and the Virginia area. I went this weekend to one that made my jaw drop- LOVED IT ALL! Let's go on a small antiquing tour shall we?

                                                 I think 'I ordered the large chandelier?' Hello- those are fantastic!

                                                                  Great plate wall!

                                                          Lots of Euro screens here.

Hope you enjoyed these images as much as I did. Our family is going to New York for Thanksgiving to be with family. I'm so excited for the Holidays and this weekend. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones too. Please come back next week for some great Christmas projects that I want to show you.

Free Art

Art is near and dear to me.  At the University I went to I studied Art History. I surrounded myself with art by working at a museum and then a gallery for a few years and backpacked Europe with a dear friend who loved art and culture just as much as I do. I am a visual learner so art has always resonated with me. There are a couple of sites I absolutely LOVE if I want to print some beautiful vintage-y art. Since I'm still working on my gallery wall I thought I would round up some ideas for myself and share them with you. There are two sites I think have extensive works from their collections and are available to the public for printing for FREE.

1.VINTAGE PRINTABLE
Okay, you guys this site has such a collection it will take awhile to go through, but it's amazing! Here are some I might print:

                                           My love for botanical prints will never fade.

                                   Egg prints. A group of these prints would look great together.

 Bird prints

                                                                  Coral images

Shells. I love the ocean and collecting shells is something I do every summer, so these would be pretty to frame too.

2.NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY DIGITAL GALLERY
The New York Public library offers over 800,000 images you can print, or buy (they print it on heavy paper with good quality)
                                     Architecture drawings would look great in a gallery wall too.

                                     Citrus prints are beautiful and also look great in a kitchen.

                                          Don't these patterns look they could all work today?

Architecture plans have always interested me. A grouping or a pair of plans could look really wonderful on the wall.

                                                                    Antique Jewelry

Vintage Christmas postcard. I like the idea of stringing a group of vintage postcards together and hanging them up, maybe around a wreath or making a garland with them.

Have you ever printed any images from these sources? I think there is a beautiful quality when there is a mix of art in our homes whether it is modern, original, photography, or printable art they all add a bit of who we are. What would you print?

A Folding Screen

Recently, I found a folding screen at a thrift store (I think it is a Pottery Barn Kids). I've always liked the way a folding screen adds dimension to a room. When I was a girl my mom and Aunt reupholstered a screen that I think they found at the dump, but they turned into something very pretty with light blue flowered fabric. My sisters and I loved it! I'm thinking of putting the one I got into our daughter Lauren's room. I'm trying to decide what fabric to reupholster this screen in and it will need to be reattached. 

We painted her room a blue a little while ago, but these images are certainly progress pictures.

A screen adds a layering effect and it can be a great tool to create warmth, zone spaces and hiding clutter. If you live in an apartment, a screen is a great way to divide your space between open sections.

                                           via

Hanging pictures on a screen is brilliant!

                                        via
I love the idea of putting two doors together to create a screen.

                                                            via

                                                        via

                                                     via

A little history lesson: Screens originated from the Chinese and spread throughout Asia and Europe around the time of Marco Pollo. Many Asian screens started out as a way to paint landscapes. The fashion designer Coco Chanel, was an avid collector of Asian screens (she had about 32 of them). However, most screens were born out of necessity, for privacy and as a shield from winter draft winds blowing in people's homes.

Have you ever used screens in your home? Which one of these images is your favorite? I'll show you soon what I've done with our screen. 

Tasty Ginger Cookies

For the past few years I've helped host a Cookie Exchange party every December with good friends. This party always gets me in the Christmas spirit and it's fun to sample everyone's cookies. Have you ever been to a cookie exchange party? They are great because you bake a big batch of your favorite cookies and then you swap them and get a ton of variety. It's great to hand out all these goodies to neighbors, teachers, and co-workers.
My friends and I will be hosting another cookie exchange this December so you'll need to come back to see how it went. These ginger cookies are some of my favorites! They would be perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I got the recipe from one of my favorite bakeries, The Black Dog. My family loves to go there every summer and get the most yummy breakfasts, and goodies.

GINGER COOKIES RECIPE
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh ginger
11/2 cups canola oil
3 cups granulated sugar, plus 1 cup for rolling dropped cookie dough
3/4 cup molasses
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
5 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
7 cups pastry flour

1. Preheat oven to 350* F
2. Mix the fresh ginger with one half cup of the oil in a food processor until well-minced.
3. In a large mixing bowl blend 3 cups of the sugar, molasses and eggs.
4. Strain the minced ginger/oil mixture, reserving the liquid, plus the remaining cup of oil to the egg mixture and blend until smooth.
5. In a separate bowl mix together the salt, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves, and flour.
6. Add the dry mix to the wet mix and blend well.
7. Either line your cookie sheets with parchment paper, or grease with butter.
8. Scoop the cookie dough by teaspoonfuls and roll in the reserved cup of granulated sugar.
9. Place on prepared cookie sheets and bake for eight to twelve minutes, just until the tops crack and the cookies are flat.
10. Cool completely on wire racks. Enjoy!
MAKES ABOUT EIGHT DOZEN COOKIES

What are some of your favorite cookie recipes? If you would like to send some recipes to me, then we could have an on-line cookie exchange party! I would love to share your recipes, but they have to be your favorite. Please send me a picture and the recipe to: tracylaverty@gmail.com by December 3rd. Won't it be great to get some tried and true favorite recipes? Now go get baking!

Christmas Inspiration at Lucketts

 I love to go to the Old Lucketts Store when they have their holiday open house so that I can feast my eyes on Christmas decorating. I went last week with my friend Andrea. Seriously, I love to get ideas here. Brace yourself- you're going to see a lot of burlap, glitter, ribbon, sheet music and good old country frivolity. Sit back (queue the music, drink some cocoa) and take a minute to get inspired for your Holidays.

 Amazing, right? Are your eyes full? I hope you liked this tour of Christmas bliss and it got your ideas rolling.