Windows of opportunity

Music room window sill until yesterday

I have two window sills, facing east, the front of the house, deep enough to have a whole shop display exhibited and I change what's there regularly, to entertain us, keep something new displayed or enhance seasonal decorating. There are stars and evergreen branches at Christmas time, shells during the summer, leaves and twigs collected at walks in autumn and ghostly ghouls at Halloween! It's a wonderful place to have some plants, flowers and some glass, candles or books, showing our latest interests, finds or new collected things. 

Some displays are short lived, some stay for weeks at the time without much change.

Dining room window with Easter lilly

I switched the vase to the other room, to have the Easter lilly in there and found some Willow pussies for the other!

I love this book: The Book of Botanical Prints by Taschen

Two brass mushrooms from Anthropologie

One belongs to our dining room, the room where all the action takes place in our family.

Our dining room at 6pm

Every meal, writing, homework, all this and more happens at this dining table and many after dinner conversation.

Afternoon light streaming through the music room.

The other resides over the music room, where we, apart from making music, sit around the fireplace for conversation and reading. It is a cozy room, beloved also by the dog, who has had chosen the ottoman as 'his' central cozy spot early in his life with us!

Willow pussies slowly greening

Spring has given me yet another chance to bring out some Easter decorations, some of my glass collection and white vases, lucky finds at Marshall's, where I did not spend more then $10 each. I couldn't have passed such a chance now, could I? 

Early afternoon, the sun has moved on...

Willow Pussies in one, Easter Lilly in the other and the foundation for a new window display was created.

Glass bird, bunny and a moss ball sharing the space with the Easter lilly. 

There is an old ceramic bunny with carrot, which has been with us for as long as the kids have been around and sometimes he is joined by some paper mache ones, but they are still in their boxes...

Do you have a spot, where decorations and displays are changed regularly?

Please, do tell me!

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Hudson supermarket

There is a supermarket in Hudson, NY, the sort I would not mind buying the daily needed things...Well, alright, it's not your average market for milk, butter and bread.
There are other yummy things, such as vintage pieces, furniture, old, really old and modern.
I love to browse there, finding so many things I would carry home or to share with you!
I love glass, and the way light plays with it, so here are some adorable pieces:

Beautiful blue & green vessels.

Light streams through a slotted shelf,

Creating a shadow play

Hard to ignore!

Walpole School of Art sign

Numbers

And classic china!

And then I found a small diary, written in 1903 by a Milo Nellis, a tiny, tidily written account of sums paid and received! But so old and neat!

He might have been a farmer and he pays a certain Leila $3.55, this entry repeats every week. Maybe the girl to keep his home? Who was he?
He has had a wagon wheel repaired for $2.50...
There are entries on payments to different people, contacts to seed companies and dealers.
It says on the front page:


 Milo Nellis
 Railway postal blank (?)
 St.Johnsville, NY

And a small cut-out image of a Ginseng plant is glued to the page! Who would take the effort to do this, but a farmer? Or perhaps a plant lover? Exotic ginseng?
Or was he at the railway? Would be interesting to know!

Another link to the past! Now the small booklet sits on my desk, not too far from where it originally came from!
Reminding me how 'things' survive us! A memento mori of sorts!












All images byV.Zlotkowski

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Two windows

My two bay windows beckon me regularly to be newly decorated. I change flowers, plants and china, sometimes glass, because I love how the light plays with it. New treasures are viewed there for a while and we all enjoy the candles...

The first window is witness to birthday celebrations, holidays and as the year passes I can see the changes.

Easter 2008

Our small dining room sees all the action and every meal at home takes place here. This window now also holds some china and silver, which we use almost daily.
Sometime in spring 2009!


And last summer!


This was back in mid January! I had bought this weeping Pussy Willow, to bring in some fresh green. I love living plants and see them grow! Nothing but dark sticks...yet!

Then the small little pussies appeared. Gentle as a breeze!


And now, since last week the first leaves greet me every morning and come May I will find a sunny place and transfer it out into the garden.

The other window overlooks the front yard as well from our winter living room. We call it that because most of our winter days and evenings are spent there, playing piano, reading, watching the fire. There is no TV or radio but we read, drink tea together or play games. There is my husband's chess game, a treasured gift from a friend, who's father carried it on a Dutch war ship during WWII.

I love those apothecary jars, sometimes filled with things, but I love them empty too.

You might recognize them from my header picture...
A winter night 2009!


Halloween 2010!


A few days ago...

And this is now! The first Forsythia branches, ready to pop open any day now!

These are also windows into my world and I guess they tell a bit about my devotion! I hope you have many places around your home where your passions show!

A great week to you all!

xx
Victoria




All images by me. Copyright 2011 victoria zlotkowski

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Day and night

I love to create vignettes in my house. Small collections of things which just happen to delight me get routinely changed and moved from room to room. Right now I love my little white and glass collection on top of an old dresser, which has been given a second chance in my house after I had rescued it from the curb in the neighborhood. A new paint finish and lovely new knobs gave it new life. This was a while ago and I love this piece ever since. It's functional too, holding candles, candies and games.
The small white vases were another project a couple of month ago...





It brightens this corner during the day, disguising the view into the kitchen and since it's in full view from my desk I can see these small things and many hold memories. The beautifully etched wine glass was a lucky find at a yard sale, Versace's greek key pattern for Rosenthal Studio Line...The small bird vase came from Salem on our journey to Massachusetts two summers ago, the small salt and pepper pigs are from this year's trip to Berlin and the lovely crooked candle holder was the farewell gift my oldest and his girlfriend gave to us only a few days ago.
At night I have tea lights inside the vases casting a soft glow into the room, inviting to sit and dream a little.




Do you change your collections?



All pictures by V.Zlotkowski

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