I love clocks!  I love the beauty of their hand painted faces.  I LOVE their tick-tocks. I love the fact that they need to be wound once a week.  I love the history behind each clock----

 This is the first clock we purchased after we moved into our current home.  It is an English grandfather clock and it was built in 1870.  Since our home was built in 1873 it felt like it belonged here.  It sits beside our front door.

We purchased this German clockmaker years ago from a furniture store.  He has so much personality!

This is not one of more expensive clocks but I love it just the same.

This is one of our more recent additions.  I wish you could hear its chime!  I would have moved it to a more attractive location for this photo but for those of you who know old clocks know that once they are happy and keeping good time it is best to leave them alone.

Even this little clock by my bed I love!

Look at the time!  Best get going...

Last week I enjoyed a special shopping day with a good friend.  I call it a "Kathysue day".  A day that is good for the mind, body and spirit!  The weather could not have been more beautiful.  The warmth of the sun as we talked and visited felt glorious.  The sharing and laughter were such good medicine for both the body and the spirit.  It was a perfect day! 

This was Kathysue's first visit to San Anselmo so we began our visit at the Laurel House at the Marin Art and Garden Center.  It is a lovely location and the selection on consignment at this shop is always changing.  The quality of their pieces is consistently lovely.  It seems I never come away empty handed!

So many pretty things!

Oh the china!

Oh the crystal!

I loved this little ink well.  It was bronze and marble from France!

When I told Kathysue I was taking her to a toy store I know she couldn't have imagined a store as much fun as Susan's Store Room!  It is located on San Anselmo Ave. in San Anselmo California.  It is filled with all sorts of unusual toys for young and old alike.  I promise you - you have never seen anything like it!  Kathysue found a beautiful 3-D book for her granddaughter and I purchased my valentines there, but if I were feeling rich I could have bought so much more!

Isn't he gorgeous!

This was my big purchase of the day!  It is made by Noritake, is blue and gold and has a hand painted pastoral scene on it .  It was $42.00 and I thought it it would go well with my china.  I purchased this at the Laurel House.

This is my china pattern.  I thought my new purchase would go well with it. It is made by Noritake also and the pattern is  Foxboro.  

A few valentines I purchased at Susan's Store Room.  I hope to use them as some sort of centerpiece for a Valentine get together I am planning....  Perhaps they will show up on a table scape Tuesday!

My Favorite - A kissing gate valentine!

What a wonderful day!  Thank you Kathysue for making it so enjoyable! 

For all of you clever, artistic people, this is the magazine for you!  It is filled with beautiful creative spaces and lots of inspiration!  My daughter and I took a class by one of the people featured in this magazine who owns a store called 'Castles in the Air.'  We've been building our own castles ever since...

Just wanted to share this recipe with all of you - New Year's Resolutions, Schnew Year's Resolutions...

Kahlua/Baileys Brownies

1 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup cocoa

3 eggs

1 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 tbsp. Kahlua or Baileys

Melt butter, combine with sugars and cocoa.  Beat in eggs one at a time.  Add flour with baking powder, then vanilla and Kahlua/Baileys.

Bake at 350 F in greased and floured pan for 25-30 minutes (leave with a soft center - yum!)

Icing

1/2 cup butter

1 cup powdered sugar

2/3 cup cocoa

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tbsp. milk

2 tbsp. Kahlua/Baileys

2 tbsp. hot coffee

I would add a picture, but they're all gone...

This is it!  Just a peek into my home sweet home.

This is the alcove in my living room.  The chairs and table we found in the gold country while out on a Sunday drive.  The chairs and table are Eastlake design made about 1870's.  For our house, built in 1873, they were perfect!

This buffet came with our table and chairs.  I love this extra bit of storage space!  A girl has to have a place for her pretty linens.

This game table and chairs are in the alcove at the end of my dining room.  They are well used.

This is our dining room.  We lived without furniture in here for ages!  The ceilings are almost 10' tall so many dining room sets are dwarfed by the room.  We found this one at a garage sale.  Many wonderful celebrations have taken place around this table!

Just another picture of my library room.

This is the newest addition to our family.  We adopted her in August. Her name is Abby and she is an English Cream Retriever.  She is the sweetest!   

I am very slow at this so I have only added three more pictures today!  Here are three of my favorite things.  

All of my "favorites" that I have posted were gifts from my husband.  This lamp we found on a trip to Carmel.  I am a huge fan of Ester Hunt - an artist from the 30's in San Francisco.  This chalk bust is not one of her pieces but it looks very much like her work.  I love the shade too!

Oops!  I didn't do a very good job with this picture, but another one of my favorite things is this bust.  She looks particularly pretty with  red roses beside her.  I'll have to do something about that!

This little fellow was a gift from my husband this year.  We had seen him while away on vacation and I just loved him.  He is French and bronze and I really don't know anything else, but I think he is charming.  My husband contacted the dealer after we left and had it shipped to his office so he could surprise me.  What a nice surprise!

Welcome!  This is the side entry to my home.  It is a library room filled with lots of interesting architectural features.  It began as a formal entry room.  It was plain and square and had one small closet in the corner. There were no built-ins.  I had some woodwork done in my family room and was so pleased with it I began saving pictures of every single feature I would want in a room.  After dreaming for quite some time ---this is what we came up with.  It is now a cozy little reading area filled with storage space.  Living in an older home, I never have enough of that!

            The side front porch 

                                                           My husband's pride and joy!

Yes, I have two lovely hens.  They actually belong to my daughter.  This is Avery and she lays beautiful brown eggs.

A sincere thank you to Kathy Sue for encouraging me to set up this blog.  Her friendship, humor and good heart always inspire me.  After enjoying so many other blogs, mainly those that share decorating inspiration, I have finally decided to do a bit of sharing myself...

My home was built in 1873.  It has been a tremendous source of enjoyment as well as work over the years.  We have lived here for over 20 years and I imagine we will be its caretaker for sometime to come.   The pictures I have posted  are of my back garden and were taken in the Fall. The Heritage Oak  is estimated to be over 250 years old.  It is the focal point of the yard and one of the many reasons why we fell in love with this house in the first place.  Many of the oak leaves are down now.  (It is a tremendous amount of work at this time of year.)  We have a Koi pond that my son and husband dug many years ago.  It has remained one of my husbands favorite feature of the garden.  

As with most gardens, it is a work in progress.  Always growing, changing and evolving with the years and the seasons.  Over the last few years I have added many of the boxwoods.  I love them.  I love the more formal look they give the garden.  I also love that they remind me of Williamsburg Virginia - a favorite place of mine.  

Happy New Year to all!  I look forward to posting more pictures soon.  

Some pictures of my garden...

Welcome to the shade of the oak!

A view of our house in the shade of the oak.