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You are here: Home / Archives for gifts

Cleaning, Reorganizing & Gifts for the Dollhouse

March 17, 2014 at 8:36 am by Claudia

alstro

Alstromeria = best bang for your buck. They last a good two weeks or more; I’ve had them last as long as three weeks. That’s why I buy them. (And they are very pretty.)

In my continuing quest not to go insane this winter, I’m trying to motivate myself to do things around here. You’ve all heard more than enough about the crazy weather I’ve been coping with. Add in Don being gone and an extended period without coaching work, which is not helping things at all, and you get a Claudia who is a wee bit depressed and stir crazy. Not to mention a wee bit worried about my income and my seemingly waning career.

Anyway, those two cooking pots I bought at IKEA needed to be stored somewhere, which sparked a rather massive clean-out and reorganization of my lower kitchen cupboards, as well as the two cupboards in the kitchen island.  You’ve been there, right? Tupperware containers without lids, lids without containers, pot lids that don’t fit any pot; it’s really mind boggling how those things pile up and magically reproduce in the dark corners of kitchen cabinets. I wiped down surfaces, vacuumed out crumbs, reorganized and dumped.

Much better.

I also cleaned out and wiped down the inside of the dishwasher, which we don’t use because it has never worked right, and now it is the new home for some pots and pans. I told Don yesterday that I’d like a dishwasher that works. I don’t think that’s asking too much, do you?

A week or so ago, I also cleaned out a junk drawer or two in the kitchen.

Don won’t know what hit him when he gets back home.

Now I’d like to tackle the guest bedroom/office/studio but a lot of the stuff in there is Don’s. Hmmm.

I have another rapper-like nickname for a medical condition to add to yesterday’s list: AFib. Because, apparently, atrial fibrillation isn’t hip enough for pharmaceutical commercials.

A dear reader, Sharon, sent me two sweet additions for my dollhouse and I’ve been meaning to share them with you.

sewingmachine

A lovely sewing machine, not unlike my Featherweight, Mabel. Isn’t it perfect?

And a furry addition:

doggiebeggingface

doggiebegging

This doggie knows where the treats are, just like someone else I know.

Thank you so much, Sharon!

Okay, beloved readers: suggestions for this doggie’s name are now being taken. The owner of the dollhouse needs your help!

Happy Monday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: dollhouse, Don, flowers, gifts, kitchen 70 Comments

Little Pleasures

February 27, 2014 at 8:10 am by Claudia

redimpatiens

I don’t mind telling you, it’s awfully nice to see impatiens blooming in the bedroom. This pot is right in front of the window and seeing that pop of color makes me smile.

As does this:

lightinstudio

For the first time in what seems like ages there is no snow covering the skylight, thanks to last week’s warmer temperatures.

Small things, but I’ll take my little pleasures where I can get them nowadays.

Lovely little pleasures arrived in the mail the other day:

magazines

Nora, a dear friend of this blog, sent some reading material my way. Three issues of Mini-ologie and an issue of the newish (to us) magazine, Flow. Mini-ologie is a fairly new quarterly magazine that has been put together by three talented miniaturists. It’s lovely and chock full of wonderful photos and ideas for all of us who love dollhouses and miniatures. And Flow – wow! It’s subtitled, “A Magazine for Paper Lovers” and it’s from Holland. Oh. My. Goodness. I can’t even begin to tell you all that is in its pages. It’s a gorgeous treasure trove of articles, interviews, paper treats and creative stimulation.

I cannot tell you the last time I’ve seen a magazine that is this full of amazing content. It’s much more like a book than a magazine, so it’s pricier, but entirely worth it.

Thank you, Nora! I’m so enjoying this visual stimulation; a very nice contrast to the snow covered world outside my windows.

Let’s see. What else is going on? I have a book review coming up tomorrow for a book that I truly loved – a different genre for me that took me on an amazing  journey. I can’t wait to share it with you. I started Dan Brown’s latest, Inferno. I paid a lot of bills. I recycled at our town’s recycling center (which used to be called The Dump.) I bought more of Scoutie’s prescription dog food. I talked to Don, but briefly. His rehearsal days are long and by the end of the day he’s pretty tired. Just a few more days in the rehearsal room and then Technical/Dress Rehearsals begin. He’s lonely. I’m lonely. We miss each other.

My dear Jim Parsons is hosting Saturday Night Live this weekend. He’ll be a great host. I will have to watch it On Demand as I know I can’t stay awake that late! You know, it’s only been 13 years since Jim was my student. His class was the last class I brought into the acting program and they all graduated right before Don and I moved out East. We even traveled to London together, Jim and I, on a class trip to study Shakespeare at the Globe. It is simply extraordinary what has happened in his life and career in that relatively short time. And it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. I’m proud to call him my friend.

I’ll be staying in as much as possible today. It is very, very, very cold out there. More snow may come next week.

There are no words.

Happy Thursday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

Filed Under: Don, friends, gifts, Jim Parsons, reading, winter 51 Comments

A Gift

January 7, 2014 at 8:14 am by Claudia

mailtrucksunset

A gorgeous, spectacular sunset on what was a rainy, rather miserable day. Gosh, I love sunsets. I might have more pictures of sunsets than of anything else. Except Scout, of course.

That mail truck?

It was delivering a lovely package for me. My longtime friend Tracie, of My Petite Maison, had a sort of ‘flash’ giveaway on her Facebook page a while back and I won. Tracie has an online boutique that specializes in French Nordic Goods and she has impeccable taste and a beautiful home. Even more importantly, she has been a dear friend over the years I’ve been blogging. We share a deep love of all animals. Many times during Riley’s last year of life, Tracie was there for me. She nursed her beloved Zeke through his last months in much the same way I nursed Riley. She’s a dear, compassionate, loving person who just happens to live in a beautiful town in California. (Need I say I’m a bit jealous on this bitterly cold January morning?)

I hardly ever win a giveaway, so I was surprised and delighted when Tracie informed me that I was the winner.

scoutie&package

Excuse the blurry photo, but I just had to show Tracie that Scout was mightily intrigued by this package. I bet she could smell Bechet, Tracie’s beautiful dog.

tracie'swrapping

Here’s a better picture of Tracie’s beautiful wrapping. Sigh. It’s almost too lovely to open.

vintagebynina

Here’s what was inside. Vintage by Nina, a big, beautiful coffee table sized book full of amazing photos. Nina Hartmann is an internationally known stylist and lover of all things vintage, who runs the shop vintagebynina.com and also has a showroom in Sweden. This is her third book and it includes not only her work, but the work of eight other collectors and friends.

It’s Gorgeous with a capital G. I can’t wait to sit down with a cup of hot chocolate and indulge in the beauty of the photographs. And it’s autographed by Nina.

Tracie, being Tracie, also included some organic tea and some heavenly lavender.

Thank you, Tracie dear, for this generous gift. And thank you for your friendship.

My neighbors who are stranded in Aruba? They can’t get a flight out until Saturday. So yesterday, there was a flurry of messages back and forth on Facebook, a search for her house key (successful) and instructions on feeding the cats and fish, plus a little litter box cleaning. They had expected to be back by Saturday and it was now Monday, so those cats were happy to see us. They were waiting at the door and guided us right to their empty food dish!  So we’ll be doing a little cat and fish sitting this week.

Tomorrow is the start of our Christmas Critter Felt Along. Dawn and I will be posting our first two ornaments, along with the patterns. I just made mine on Sunday and it was a lot of fun. We’d love having you join in.

And finally, the day has arrived! Don’s show, American Experience/The Poisoner’s Handbook, airs tonight at 8:00 on PBS (7 pm Central.) It’s a documentary with a mix of interviews and historical information and a reenactment, which is where you’ll see Don as Dr. Charles Norris. It’s the kind of thing that PBS does incredibly well and we are very excited to see the final product. We’re eating dinner early so that Scout can get through her hyper ‘Daddy is cooking!’ nightly craziness in time for us all to settle down in front of the television.

I hope you can see it!

Happy Tuesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: Don, Fellow bloggers, gifts, giveaway 65 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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