End of the week musings.....

Forewarning......this might be the longest random musings post ever and I am kind of all over the map on this one. Sit down, relax and stop the clock for a few extra minutes! This is what happens when I am cooped up,for 5 days, having been sick and have only the computer as my entertainment:) Alas after ALL this reading there is a special "treat" for each and every one of you at the end!

Hello and happy Thursday!  Phew...what a week. Spending most of it sick was not exactly what I think of as a great way to pass a precious week of summer. One major perk was having no appetite for 5 days, unheard of for me (uncharted territory)  and getting lots of computer time to visit all my favorite blogs!  I am well rested and  90% better, hopefully filled my "sick dues" and won't get sick for awhile! Hope you have had a great week and I don't know about you...but I am floored that we are already in August. Wheres the pause button? I mean don't get me wrong, fall is my favorite season, I think of walking amidst crisp colorful leaves, big vats of yummy soups brewing, cool mornings with fresh morning frost on the ground, and of course chunky cashmere sweaters and scarves but seriously the summer is flying!!!!!!  So as usual I choose to talk about random things on this musings posts so lets get started shall we?I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing from my readers and am fortunate to get lots of mail from you, its the ultimate validation for me as a blogger to hear from you! I also love to get pictures from you showcasing various things you have bought from my shop and how you are displaying them. This is such a treat for me, you have no idea!! In fact if you haven't had a look at "Your Enchanted Homes" page on my online store, you must take a peek, I am like a proud mama but seriously my buyers have AMAZING taste!!!!!!! Click here to take a look! So please keep them coming, because you never know when I might announce a contest! Email me with your picture of your enchanted home to theenchantedhome@gmail.com.  Here's a sneak peek  at some of the beauties gracing the page of "Your Enchanted Homes".....

What can I say...I am just so proud! Want to see more....click here! 

So.......have been on a reading binge lately which is how I seem to do it. Either go through a dry spell and read nothing or read five books in a month. Finished reading The Red Book (thought it was fair) and read The Devils Den which was fascinating if you enjoy reading about wall street (I do). The next two books on my agenda are The Darlings and  An Unexpected guest, both recommended to me. Anything good on your nightstand that is worth sharing? I loved The Paris Wife, for anyone who is considering reading it.

Remember, how I was asking you your opinions last week about changing out the hardware for the island? Well, what I decided to do was to order a few pieces to try it out, its expensive and I want to absolutey love it before I commit to ordering nearly 30 pieces (lots of drawers and doors). So many of you wanted to know the source its Gado Gado, a small hardware company that makes beautiful unique things. Click here to visit.Thank you for your overwhelming "vote of approval"..i have a feeling its going to look really great, and if so I am going for it. Incidentally a friend is remodeling her kitchen and loves the oil rubbed bronze so I am going to pass these along to her if so. So all is not lost. Heres a pic as a reminder.

Are you a skin care junkie? If so let me pick your brain, if you dont' mind. I have been  pretty blessed with having good skin, I guess its genetics, thanks Mom and Dad:) That said, I baked in the sun when I was a kid living on the west coast and I still do not take care of my skin as I should, I would be embarrassed to share my skin care regimen or lack of with you but suffice to say its really simple. Simple as water and soap. However being in my 40's I am ready to start committing to taking better care and needless to say there is an entire universe of skin care products with which to choose. Its overwhelming! So....here it goes, what do you use that you absolutely LOVE? I mean something you just cannot live with out? Do tell! I have dryer skin, just in case you are wondering. I cannot wait to hear what you come up with you, you always have perfect advice. I did try a few products from Jurlique and must say the moisture replenishing cream is off the charts amazing, smells amazing and is super duper moist, its like a moisture bath for your skin and leaves it very dewy (which I love) so...that's a keeper. 

I like to buy a few pair of really special costume jewelry earrings every year. We do have a few events coming up in the fall so this is a great excuse for me to go ahead and indulge. What do you think about these contenders?  Have a fave or two? I love them all...a problem:)

Tory Burch

These are all from Alexis Bittar whose things I love.....

Lots of pretties, eh? You can see why I am having a hard time, and Alexis or Tory, if you are reading this and need a live person to "test out" your earrings to be sure they are wearable, I am ready willing and able;)

Speaking of fun and chic jewelry, are you familiar with the chic nautically inspired brand, Sailormade? Very cute. I have one of the triple bracelets and have since given a few as gifts. With names like Chillmark, Winch, and Camden you are bound to feel like a sailor with or without your own boat! Check them out....

You know what I miss more than just about anything? My beloved monthly arrival of Southern Accents...anyone with me on that? Man, they were the greatest! To me, there is no magazine that holds a candle to them out there, though several are stepping it up. One of my readers knowing that I had really loved one particular show house that Southern Accents featured, sent me an entire binder on pages she had photocopied. SO SWEET!! Unfortunately by the time we got the box (after moving it was found amidst several other boxes) and one of my kids had opened it and I never found out her name to properly acknowledge the kindness. So if you are reading this, email me please so I can properly thank you. I love that you did that for me...and its right on my desk for whenever I am having Southern Accents withdrawals! (often). Thankfully I never threw away a copy, learned that from my mom......thanks Mom!

I am so proud of my friend Debby of Inspired Design for launching Project Strength whose mission it is to raise awareness for domestic violence. One victim is one too many and kudos to Debby for having the courage to be a voice that needs to be heard. I hope you might consider visiting her and showing your support, chances are we have all known someone (whether or not we know it) that has been a victim, sad as it is to say. Please visit her blog and show your support, in addition she is running a wonderful giveaway for a gorgeous necklace, click here to visit. And thank you Debby!

Last home tidbit.....you know that feeling of sheer elation when you find just the right fabric for a room you are working on? Well......I am thrilled to have found the perfect fabric for my guest room. I didn't have to even think twice, it is perfect. Goes beautifully with the carpeting, the painted nightstands and I can totally envision it. So have already ordered it, now looking for the perfect check and we are going to be on our way!!!!! Woo hoo! I may have to move to this room:)

As August starts winding down, I am going to start revving up in my online shop. I was trying to take it easy a bit over the summer in terms of adding new product. I am going to be making some changes, adding some exciting new products while phasing out of the candles, only a few left. (shipping is very high). In addition the response to my "loot delivery" last week was overwhelming and I almost immediately sold everything, however one of my good customers who intended to buy several items ended up having an emergency and cannot buy them so they are up for grabs and many of you had emailed me about these items and were told they were sold. I am not listing them online since I only have one of each, so if you are interested please contact me at theenchantedhome@gmail.com. Here is what is left.......

One more thing worth sharing because I am a sucker for anything monogrammed. Found out about these amazing custom and very affordable notebooks called Mays Books over at Sadie and Stella, ordered one for myself and a number for gifts. You get to pick the background, a custom  monogram and style and you get your very own notebook! How cute are they and what desk wouldn't thank you for gracing one of these beauties with it? Click here to visit the website of Mays Books.

These are sooo chic, love them!

Featured in In Style! They know a good thing when they see it!

Finally saving the best for last....a little "prize" for each of you! Safavieh has graciously decided to offer all of The Enchanted Home's readers a special limited time 20% discount off of any item they sell! This is beyond generous and a great way to take advantage of their already incredibly low prices on the most magnificent furniture, accessories, lighting and rugs! The code is "Enchanted" when checking out. THANK YOU SAFAVIEH! Click here to visit their site (warning it will keep you busy for hours)!!

OK OK,  think I have rambled more than enough and taken enough of your time!  Can't say I didn't warn you that this was all over the map and very lengthy. I am sure you have places to go and people to see...and I have a boatload of things to do myself having been out of commission for 5 days. Doubt I will be back over the weekend, so let me wish you now a happy and relaxing weekend...cannot believe its the first weekend of August......yowza!  See you on Monday:)

Artist spotlight: Mary Casey and a winner!!

Hi there....excited to announce the very lucky winner of the beautiful Safavieh rug. I used random.org and want to send out a hearty congratulations to.......

Prize ID	Winner ID	Public Info	Private Info	Random Sorting ID	Weight
1: 6X9 rug	2934060	LIZ B FROM MIAMI		0018D57F-D179-4ED3-82B4-8DD22F7D1903	1

Please get in touch with me at theenchantedhome@gmail.com, so that you can provide your shipping information and this gorgeous rug can be on its way to you!

A few weeks ago I posed about the most exquisite and generous oil painting I received of Teddy. This was given to me as a gift by the uber talented artist Mary Casey who is incidentally a reader of my blog and was so moved by the story of Teddy's attack back in April. So true......you just never know who is reading your blog! I was touched more than words can convey at this incredibly kind gesture. She was so touched by Teddy's horrid ordeal that she felt inspired to paint him. I cannot tell you how thrilled I was when I laid eyes on this work of art!

Mary is incredibly talented and I got several inquires about her work including a few who want to represent her, no surprise there. So Mary was kind enough to share with me a few more of her pieces and grant me this lovely interview. Mary does not have a website however for anyone who is interested in contacting Mary to commission her for their own pet portrait (or any other kind) her contact information is at the bottom of this post.I am so happy to feature her here today as her gift is one worth sharing with everyone I know. In addition Mary has just now started up her own blog, so please do stop on over and welcome her to blogland! Click here to visit her blog.  Enough of me....lets hear from Mary and what inspires her as an artist.......

1.    How long have you been painting and what inspired you to begin? Did you know that you had a gift early on?  I have been drawing and painting all my life, as long as I can remember, and went into graphic design, continued to paint.  I worked corporately for @15 year, as a designer and illustrator for Nike, then as I wanted to focus more on family, I retired for a few years, and now I am teaching art at a small private grade/middle school, part time.  This job allows me to paint and focus on what I love.  And helps me to be better- if you want to get better at something, teach it.

2.   What is your favorite style/subject to paint?  My favorite things to paint are portraits, and of course, dogs, or pets.  People as well, but I do really love to  paint dogs.

3.   Who are some of your favorite artists and types of paintings?    I have a varied list of painters I love, but heavily influenced now by the masters, Rembrandt, and the old masters of dog painting too, such as George Stubbs, famous for his horses, plus animals in general.  Maud Earl, dogs and horses.  A particular favorite is Eugene-Joseph Verboeckhoven.

Stubbs

Verboeckhoven- Old master favorite, in fact I have started a reproduction painting of his, to study.  Famous for painting lots of animals.

One of my current contemporary favorite painters is Sherrie Wolf, who paints in the 18^th century “old masters” style, but takes paintings and rearranges items, repaints them, and sometimes borrows from other paintings.

Very beautiful and very fresh, contemporary.

4. If you could meet one artist dead or alive, who would it be and why?  I would love to meet Picasso, I think his passion and the way he saw the world is fascinating. I love a couple of his quotes:  “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”― Pablo Picasso.  Being a teacher, it’s so true, if only we could only keep the innocence and enthusiasm for what we see!  And another favorite: “If I paint a wild horse, you might not see the horse... but surely you will see the wildness!” 

― Pablo Picasso  While I don’t emulate his style, I love the fact that he aspires to capture the truest essence of something.

5. What is something you would like to paint that you have never tried before? I would love to paint wallpaper, Chinoiserie. I was obsessed with De Gournay for a while, and have been talking to a friend who may want to start a project...

6. Do you have your own studio and is this a full time job or a hobby? I have a small studio in a sunny corner room of our house, that works well.  I sometimes use the school, or office there too.  But mostly my home studio.

7. How long does an average painting take you?  This very much depends on size and complexity, how many subjects in the painting, etc.  I often do a sketch first, which takes about a few days to a week, and pending changes from the customer, I go onto the painting.  About a month is probably average.  I usually have 3-4 going at one time.  It’s crucial to walk away from a painting at times during the process, and give it a rest for a couple days.

8. Any good advice for novices looking to start collecting art, things to look for or bear in mind? I think looking at paintings/art regarding either a subject or style that one is passionate about is important.  Collecting doesn’t have to be expensive, I remember reading that the designer Michael Smith, LA and NY designer to the stars, white house, etc. often looks for local unknown artists to put in houses.  Visiting “first thursdays”, (as they are known here), gallery receptions and show openings.  Look at a lot of art.  Getting acquainted with the art scene in your area, or online, following artists that you love, that compliment your style of home. I have seen some gorgeous antique paintings become available through some of the online auctions.  Takes some patience to follow them and constantly check to see what’s available, but worth it if you find a treasure……

And now here are some of Mary's beautiful pieces.....certainly hold their own next to any artist. Her attention to detail and sense of realism is astounding!

Recognize this cute little fella? This is one of my most treasured possessions!

Isn't she AMAZING? Oh to have that kind of God given talent......I would be painting all day in my little artists studio overlooking the sea with only a lighthouse in the distance only breaking for my meals, ensconced in my studio all day and night creating works of art craved by the world to see. Sorry, I am a dreamer and my mind drifts at times......Back to earth Tina!!!!......... I am so in awe of her gift, there is simply no other way to describe it! If you are interested in contacting Mary and commissioning her  for your very masterpiece, her email address is- 

caseym@stpiusx-pdx.org

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Mary, cannot thank you enough for being my guest today and giving us a peek into your beautiful art filled world and to all of you for stopping in. Wishing everyone a fabulous day!