Dear Ellen

I have been in Spokane and have not been able to get on a computer. Even my mom was like, "Umm, check your blog." So, before I go to the grocery store, let me say, I LOVE your posts and I will comment on them at more length while Sam is napping. In the meantime, do you have a good meatball recipe? I found one on allrecipes.com but there is no way I am buying 3 kinds of meat:

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground veal
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cups stale Italian bread, crumbled
• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• 1 cup olive oil

Um... Tea Cozies!

Dear Hannah,

I love the specificity of this blog: http://wildforteacosies.blogspot.com/

Confession: I too love tea cozies. I own two and have aspirations of knitting more.

Like this one:


love,
Ellen

Color Inspiration: a reply

Dear Hannah,

Is it the kitchen? I LOVE the kitchen. I want blue floors NOW! And it's my primary color palate! The blue floor, yellow walls and red accents (plus the yellow pot just like mine!). But it could be the shelves. How I love stacks of books and kitchen utensils! I want everything blue or red or orange or hot pink, but especially orangey-coral and turquoise.

I must paint. Something. Anything! You're making me jealous with your projects and pictures. My goodness you hit the nail on the head with your last post! Lately, I've been obsessively going to Home Depot and picking up paint chips. It feels like shopping, but I walk out the doors without paying a penny! I've accrued quite a collection. How does one pick a neutral? You know I've got the caramel couch to contend with and all the shades of brown furniture, not to mention my obsession with bright colors. White is not an option. I want a neutral so that I can be the pop of color in a room. Consider the following...

Though I can't remember where, I heard once that you should decorate your house in the colors you wear. That way, you always look fabulous in your own home. However, I'm not sure I really want to do that considering my wardrobe is all bright. My favorite colors to wear are hot pink and orange (mostly tangerines and corals) and sometimes lime green. Black and gray make me look pallid, but I love navy blue as a neutral. I don't care for khaki, but do like creams. My wedding dress was the most beautiful shade of ivory. But I digress...

I've always loved shopping with my mother (not just because she buys me things and yes, this is related to my quest for the perfect neutral). I love her opinion, the way she decisively knows her likes and dislikes. I love her sense of style, eye for quality, and adventurous fashion sense. I love that she loves shoes and tells me I have cute feet. I love her perspective on the history of fashion and the patterns she sees. I also love that she says I have a 1955 body trying to wear 2010 clothes. It's a challenge. I also love that she doesn't beeline for the sales rack and tells me my sister got my grandmother's legs, but I got her bosom. It's so cute when she says bosom! Today, after trying on dozens of things, I picked three, yes three, orange garments. Here are the latest additions to my wardrobe (THANK YOU, MOM!):
Oratory dress Tiny Windows dress Arid Season Button Up


You see what I mean about bright colors? I need a neutral to pop against!

Also today, I ate a red cookie at Provence. It made me miss you!

before and after...


I thought our table was awfully pretty:



It reminded me of our "lunch" at graduation...



So, to sum it up:
1) I love your color inspirations
2) I love orange
3) I love shopping with my mom
4) I love cookies from Provence
5) I love you

Please help me in my neutral quest.

xoxo,
Ellen

Please Find a Way

Dear Hannah,

Get the Kleenex out. This is a beautiful video my cousin, Mary Catherine, worked on with the United Way. I think we forget how little actions made by many people add up to a big difference.



http://www.liveunited.org/

love,
Ellen

More Color Inspiration for You

Bright on Neutral (re: Project #1: Easy)

Dear Ellen,
I don't know if I would get rid of the bookcase (yet). I know you are in purge mode, but I also know it may be a while before you get a new bookcase. So, in the meantime, maybe you can really edit it for color, and decide what it is you most need to store in that space. The first image below is from the now deceased Blueprint Magazine (why do the best ones always die young?). Maybe that space is for kitchen overflow for you! It wouldn't be too far fetched, as these shelves are basically in the homeowner's living room. I think her whole apartment was like 400 square feet! Isn't the image of the bed yummy? All of your favorite brights, with a crisp white background. You can't go wrong. The image with the sofa reminds me of your living room--except for you caramel colored sofa! So, you're right in thinking neutral. Your blue paint might not have to go, after all! I like it. There is one image for you that I think will be your fave. Let's see if I can find it... (I know, not properly rotated...sorry!)





All images but the top one are from Real Simple.

Cruel and Unusual

Dear Hannah,

My dad has a big heart. So big that he uses Havahart traps to ensnare the critters that plague his life. Example A: Chippy


Thought you'd get a giggle out of this...

love,
Ellen