Wonderful images by Maira Kalman.

Last friday of the month;

another installment from the famous and oh so creative

Maira Kalman.

Read on for a sampling and then make the jump

Lots of great information on Ben Franklin

We will be checking our odometer

as we drive miles and miles on our college road trip.

One stop will be in Thomas Jefferson country

Ben Franklin wrote lists and lists;

imagine what he could do with excel spread sheets

Miss Is and d.h. have put together the lists and our itinerary.

I am simply a passenger

and occasional driver.

Libby, our dog, will be along for the ride.

A real family affair...

I still keep my 28 days list

with tasks and goals;

it is a little stale these days.

Must get back to it.

Two weeks of traveling, exploring, visiting, doing

will load me up with excitement and energy.

Everything is invented.

Miss Is wants to create new things.

Go invent something.

Good Advice

and eat a peach.

I will be out of touch for awhile.

Here is a funny piece on what not to do on a college tour

Have you heard of Sis Boom?

If not, read all about it here

interview on True Up

Love this wonderful picture of Jennifer.

Jennifer lives just up the road from me

and is loaded with infectious enthusiasm for life

and is one of the warmest people I know.

I have been lucky enough to show my work

at her semi-annual Sis Boom shows.

I love all the sis boom fabrics

as you have probably noticed

I branched out and came up with a few new

items created with Sis Boom fabrics for the

last two shows

crayon roll-ups

knitting needle bags

one of my all-time favorite creations:

a not-so-traditional holiday card board

so much fun

and

we have even collaborated on a few projects

here is a head board

These fabrics and colors are delicious.

view from my carrel at the library

exam on thursday

my daughter keeps asking if i have been procrastinating?

posting will be light

working all day

and studying at night

we have the most amazing library in town

two interior courtyards

sun streams into the building

there is a tree in the middle of the other courtyard

the library expansion was built around it

and the library is full of people

a wonderful resource

a perfect summer table

photo by my friend Pam

at her house in RI

happy summer sunday

i am loving Julie and Julia

read My Life In France last summer

can't wait for the movie in a couple of weeks

jump here to get a sneak peak of the sets

and read an interview with the set designer

all courtesy of mrs. blandings.

need more entertainment

click on the movie trailer here

and if you want to go back to the blog that started it all

jump here:

julie/julia project

just realized that this link doesn't go back to the beginning

which was september 2002

pigtown design did an excellent post yesterday

with lots of pics

click here to read it

bundles of fabrics arriving weekly

already made some samples and sold them

the colors in these two are much more vibrant

more to come

my neighbor at the wianno trunk show

check out jill's website here

her bio is very funny

beautiful pots

cool lamps

love the perforated look

the holey collection is made by her husband, lawrence mcrae

wonderful colors

i especially liked the two bowls pictured above

top middle and top right

my description:

white suns on cool sky and strings of pearls

colorful group

competition for jonathan adler and christopher spitzmiller

jill also licenses her work

here are some of her designs on melamine

trays my sister bought

for the boat

Polly put them to use right away

sisters together - marnie, polly and betsy

we had a wonderful dinner after the first day of the show

and rick came for dessert

we had pavlova

twice in one week!

hmmmmm good.

thanks polly for the berth, the fuel, the company

everything was perfect

A few pictures from the trunk show

mrr design

lots of frames and boards to show and sell

lots of color

lots of interest and positive feedback

the view from my spot

and to the side

and up the other aisle

there were two more rooms

an assortment of goodies

from sparkly jewels, to fancy pots, goddess dresses to needlepoint flasks

and pretty scenery with plenty of sun and beautiful breezes

I am back after a terrific trunk show at the Wianno Club

Marnie at the table - smiling and selling - it was a wonderful show.

My sisters and niece were around which made the whole trip especially fun.

Polly helped me one day and gave me food and berth.

Betsy came to visit with Bernie and Winnie.

Miss Steph pictured below with some of her friends.

Photos by Kristen Pearce who wrote about the trunk show on her blog:

Summer In Newport

thanks for the pop Kristen - check out kristen's blog here

more to follow...

My friend Mary Tucciarone had another one of her great sales

last week.

Don't you just LOVE the banner.

A Sis Boom creation.

Check out Mary's studio reflected in the mirror.

Windows on three sides - a terrific space.

Mary is a great stylist, artist, treasure seeker extraordinaire

Jennifer Paganelli, of Sis Boom fame raves about Mary's work here:

Twice a year Mary holds a tag sale.

Vistors have great time sifting through

Mary's estate and tag sale stash.

check out the fall sale - click here

This year was no exception: I found lots of treasures.

These would be great hanging on a tree

or in a screened porch

I wanted to buy them, but I resisted.

lots of goodies

my pictures aren't very good

Here is what I did find:

I added this large tin in the style of Wedgewood to my collection.

(just right for cookie overflow)

I wanted to buy one like this last autumn but resisted.

I had to buy it this time.

My little collection started with the tea canister

with greek goddesses.

This little tin makes me happy - not sure why, but it does.

Perhaps because it is so different and

I can think about my love of art and symbolism when I look at the goddesses.

This find was followed by the small tin with the three graces -

thanks to Jennifer Paganelli

It will serve as another sewing tin.

A finally the last bargain of the day

a charming square tablecloth.

You will see this at my next boutique.

And on top of it all - it was a beautiful day.

I walked two miles back and forth

dancing in appreciation of the fine summer's day.