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May I Share a Little Secret?

February 8, 2011 at 1:12 pm by Claudia

May I? In the midst of a gray winter with only pockets of sunshine, I received a lovely envelope in yesterday’s mail. I’ve been keeping this under wraps and now I can share a little of it with you. The envelope contained my complimentary copy of the new spring Studios magazine.

My little studio is one of the featured studios.

Oh. my. goodness.

Yes, Ty Pennington and I are both in the Featured Studios section. In fact, my studio is only a few pages beyond Ty’s really cool new studio. Pretty neat!

Seriously, I am over-the-moon about this wonderful honor. And I have to thank my friend Susan Borgen of The T-Cozy for facilitating it. Susan writes wonderful articles for Studios and she told Cate Coulacos Prato, the Editor of this beautiful magazine, about my space. Before I knew it, I was taking photos, husband was coerced into taking photos of me and I was writing a piece about the creation of my space.

You’ll think it a tad silly but yesterday when the comp copy arrived, Don and I sat down together to open it. And we oohed and aahed and celebrated.

Have you seen this wonderful magazine? It’s published quarterly and is chock-full of fabulous studio spaces with many helpful articles and valuable tips. Studios is bright, colorful and beautifully designed. It’s from Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine and published by Interweave Press. I’ve been a fan for a long time which makes this all the more sweet.

Now, the magazine doesn’t hit the newstands until February 22. If you’d rather avoid the stores, it’s available for pre-order here. So, I’m only going to show you a little tease:

In alphabetical order, there I am, third from the top. And that’s my white basket of fabric in the bottom photo.

I’ll show you more as February 22 draws nearer.

A warm and grateful thank you to Cate and the wonderful staff of Studios and to Susan Borgen. I am thrilled with the layout and the design and the look of the article. I couldn’t be prouder.

Romance and the Porch

February 6, 2011 at 8:12 pm by Claudia

Jill’s topic this week for the Porch Party is Romance. Our porch is highly romantic, of course. Well, not at the moment…it’s covered in snow and bags of salt. But in the spring and summer? That’s a different story.

Rocking gently on the glider, the scent of roses in the air, doggies watching the world go by, gazing at my gardens – all of it is highly romantic to me. Even more so when my husband plays his guitar while I wander around pruning and pinching back my plants. Or when we sit together on the glider and watch the sun set. Or when, in the twilight, we hear the whinnying sounds of the little screech owls that live in our willow tree. Or when there is a breeze and the weeping willow’s branches sway ever so gently. When I’m on the porch I feel my shoulders drop, my heart rate slows and I delight in the beauty surrounding me.

Here is my other favorite romantic porch:

Do you see that little porch? I used to live there when I first moved to San Diego. That was in 1993. In 1994, I met this guy at a Fourth of July party on the beach. He was an actor working at the same theater where I was working as a vocal coach. We flirted a little whenever we would run into each other. One night, at an opening night party, he asked if he could drive me home. I said yes. Then a little snag – I went to go get my purse only to realize my wallet had been stolen. After looking everywhere with no success, this man drove me home. I wasn’t feeling romantic, rather I was beside myself; worried about my charge cards, my ID, my extra house key that was in my wallet. I remember telling him as he walked me to the door that I was not usually that distracted and tense. He, of course, assured me that he understood all the worries that were racing through my brain. I was standing on the top step. He was standing two steps below me. But he’s very tall, so we were face to face. I said good night. Suddenly he kissed me. A lovely, unexpected first kiss. He made sure I got safely inside and said good night.

Four years later, we were married.

So you can see why that particular porch is still highly romantic for me. And why I went back there last summer to take this picture.

Perle Cotton in Manhattan

February 5, 2011 at 11:03 am by Claudia

Hello, on a sleepy (for me) Saturday morning.

I’ve been working in Manhattan the last 2 days. I usually take the bus because it drops me off right in the Midtown theater district. Not to mention the fact that it is quieter, more comfortable and closer to my house. When I arrive, I have to walk a mere 2 blocks and I’m at the rehearsal studios. However, since my trip into the city is, at minimum, an hour and a half each way, I usually go right to rehearsal and afterward go right back to the station and hop on the bus.

Yesterday, I took the time for a brisk 20 block walk around Midtown. I love walking in Manhattan – in any city. When I lived in both Philadelphia and Boston, I didn’t have a car and I walked everywhere. For hours. I have long legs and I walk quickly. It was such fun to do that again. I think that’s the thing I miss the most about living smack dab in the middle of a major city. It’s hard to walk around here – we live on a busy country road with no sidewalks and people drive much too fast.

A shorter journey (merely a block from the station) took me to Daytona Trimmings. Rebecca of Drop Cloth wrote about this shop a while back and I couldn’t wait to explore it. Embroidery floss is readily available everywhere, I know, but separating the strands drives me nuts. I much prefer to embroider with #8 Perle Cotton. The thicker non-divisible single strand is much easier to use. For some reason, the big craft stores only carry it in white, ecru, and blue – sometimes red. Daytona Trimmings? Oh my gosh. Drawer after drawer of gorgeous colors. I bought 9 different colors.

Isn’t it pretty? Here’s my plan: I will make a list of the colors I have so far. Every time I visit the city, I’ll stop in and buy a few new colors. It is only a block from the station. It’s sort of my duty, don’t you think?

By the way, it’s snowing again.

When will it all stop?

May I Share a Little Secret?

Romance and the Porch

Perle Cotton in Manhattan

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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