Warm whimsy.

It's one of those odd weather days again, where I found myself searching for my heavy winter coat this morning, mittens and all. This happened last year about this time, and I lost all my cannas (well, their growth became stunted, only to grow to 3ft high), two hydrangeas and every window box I had so delicately planted. Luckily I've put off my big plantings for 2 weeks from now... or else you would have heard me complaining about all the sheets I had to dirty tonight to cover everything. Supposedly, it's going to frost!

I dried those hydrangeas from last season's blooms. The color continues to fade, but I swear, they keep getting prettier with age. When I was chatting up my dear friend Dgirl the other night, she said, "You should post more pics of your house for inspiration on your blog", I thought, well, let's start then with one of my most favorite gifted items... my lightening bugs, yes, gifted by Dgirl herself.

I don't have much light in that area of the kitchen, and never could find a lamp that didn't show it's cords... so wouldn't you know, these little bugs would do the trick. They are the perfect amount of glow at night, and they even flicker! It's incredibly magical (even though it drives Ellie crazy - she wants to get at them and thinks they are real) and full of whimsy. Dgirl is really good at that - she's taught me a great deal of how to add a bit of fun back into decorating, not to take it so seriously. And I can't help but smile every time I catch the warm glow of that jar.