There's just something special about a really nice handbag!

My daughter and her first good bag...a Kate Spade.

I raised children for a long time and money was tight.  My handbags often had to carry diapers, snacks and bottles along with a lip gloss tube and mascara that was the extent of my makeup routine. Many times a half eaten banana got shoved into my handbag and the change I had thrown in there made for an interesting combination.  This was also a time when everyone said you had to have a handbag to match your outfit or shoes so if I forgot about the half eaten banana as I hurriedly changed bags to match a new outfit, well...a whole new level of science project outside of the refrigerator resulted!

My handbag selection was mostly whatever was on sale at Target.  I was proud of my large selection of inexpensive and colorful bags.  I had something to go with everything but storing them was a whole other issue.  Then I went to work at Saks Fifth Avenue.  I remember the first day the store opened and watching the Chanel bag specialist carrying a bag up the escalator like the rare and exquisite jewel that it was (as the most expensive bag in the store) to a high profile client.  I felt like I was in a movie as the poor shopgirl working in the lesser accessories department selling hosiery.

On occasion the Chanel bag specialist wasn't available so I was trained to show the exquisitely made bags, or the Fendi's and even the Pradas!  I recall selling a Chanel bag for $1800 to a young woman as a diaper bag.  She wasn't pregnant but she might be one day and she wanted to have a bag ready just in case.  Then one day I helped an older woman who was looking at Fendi bag during a special event sale.  She carefully examined the bags under consideration and held the bag, tried it out filled with the contents she would carry taking her time with her purchase.  She told me she learned long ago how good quality has value.  A great quality neutral handbag would go with much of her wardrobe, last for years and made her feel great just carrying it.  She was insistent that classic handbags never go out of style and saving for a new one every couple of years was worth it.

I used to make fun of the cult of designer handbags.  I didn't understand why anyone would want to carry a garish brown initialed Louis Vuitton bag for the status when it was so ugly.  If it lasted forever, big deal.  It was not beautiful or stylish.  (Now the luggage is a whole different story but then you have to fly private planes since the trunks equal the yearly salary of a baggage handler).  I did learn to appreciate the quality and beauty of a classic handbag.

I was in Seattle for a photography thing and wasn't treated very well by a young producer.  I was hurt and angry but friends and family were far away.  Since I had free time being dismissed as unimportant I went into Nordstrom.  I love their cafes so I thought I'd spoil myself with a lovely lunch.  As I passed the accessories I decided to have a look at their handbags.  I felt the buttery soft leather of a cute little  Marc Jacobs bag with a sweet gold clasp in a bird shape.  It was a small bag perfect for holding essentials while exploring the city and way beyond my budget.  I bought it anyway.    My handbag budget is not nearly Chanel worthy maybe enough to buy a Prada cosmetic bag but I'm thrilled with the quality of what the Marc Jacobs.  Two years later I bought another one at the Nordstrom Rack store.  A big brown slouchy thing I throw around and still looks great.

I've given or thrown away all my other inexpensive bags.  At $5 to $20 a bag it's really not been a cheap habit.  It's been two years so it's time for a bigger beautiful handbag, black or taupe maybe?  But I'll wait a bit longer.  I bought my daughter her first good bag, a taupe Kate Spade on sale at the Nordstrom Rack store.  Bananas and snacks are banned from her bag!

xo

Virginia

My first Marc Jacobs bag being abused as a camera bag.

Free Floral Calendar by the Month!

Flowers in the garden in January are hard to come by so I picked a pretty bouquet photograph to make a calendar for my bedroom.  I like this idea, I like seeing something cheerful when I wake up next to my alarm clock.  I often forget about fresh flowers since I don't go back to my bedroom til bed time.

I am living by calendars and lists this year so I can be more productive.  I have lots of goals and things to accomplish, how about you?  We all have our organizers, pocket calendars or apps to keep us up to date but a I thought a pretty reminder that time passes quickly and we need to keep track for those odd places we need to know the date was in order.  So I decided to give my blog readers a 5x7 calendar month for free to download and print on card stock.  Hang it on your fridge, tuck it into your list making notebook, tape it to your bathroom mirror.  You can place it on a small plate stand or easel to stand it up on your desk.  Every month there will be a new calendar with pretty flowers to enjoy and remind you to get out there before the month passes and smell some real ones!

To download this calendar page go here and use the code 2170 to download your calendar.

Now that I've had so much fun planning my year, wait til you see how I've been decorating my office and getting things done!  I'm kind of liking this planning for the future and accomplishing my goals!

Virginia

An Organized Life...

We all start out with lots of ideas, we clean out our desk and our closets usually to be sidetracked by photographs and letters, maybe an idea to write down or a forgotten bill.  We find things we bought still wearing their tags, still new.

Because I was very sick last year and a close friend recently died after a long and happy life, it made me realize how quickly time was going by and how some things just aren't that important.  As I was sitting in the doctor's office I read an article in Time magazine called "The Art of Living".  I realized I couldn't neglect my creative dreams any longer.  As I've gotten healthier I spend a bit of time every day cleaning and organizing, purging myself of the junk for a more stylish and productive life.

I got to the Pinterest idea of a chalkboard in an old frame.  I found a place for the funky twig tea cake stand to hold my chalk and flash drives as well as the cell phone I usually misplace.  I wrote out my goals and pinned them to my pretty gold framed cork board I dug out of the garage and I have a mason jar from my daughter's wedding to start throwing change in.

The computer is getting a clean out as well and it's feeling great to get to the things that are more important.  Big things are in store for this year and I am making the space for my priorities and dreams to become reality!

Did you notice how tiny my desk is?  I found that I am less likely to fill it with junk if it's small.

A Fresh Start

A blank slate...

www.samanthasmitharroyo.com

A freshly sharpened knife...

www.vintagerecipesmith.blogspot.com

An empty room...

or a few...

A new (old) camera...

www.vintagemodernphotography.com

A new idea...

www.etsy.com/shop/DesignSmithPaperArts

because life is short...

www.etsy.com/shop/DesignSmithPaperArts

Stay tuned!

Welcome to My Spring Garden!

I love spring and I wish I could be more prepared with planting seeds in fall for sweet peas and other favorites but my garden surprises me every year with beautiful blossoms from Bearded Iris to Acanthus.  It is a mediterranean style cottage garden, overflowing with drought tolerant plantings and accents.  Here is how it looked after the off and on again rains this past month after it got weeded (finally!).

I have a few projects this year but I better get to them before the heat of summer!  I hope I have time to plant a couple succulent topiaries and fill a couple pots.  I'd also like to hang a candle chandelier from the tree over the porch and a birdbath in one of the planting beds.  If I don't trim the olive shrubs they will overtake the garden soon!  I hope your garden is just as lovely!  

Flowers on Friday

I love getting flowers on fridays.  It makes my house look beautiful for weekend dinners, brunches and even in my bathroom for getting ready to go out!  They make me smile.  I know some people don't like cut flowers because they wilt and die.  (Pssst, they are already dead!)

I love them because they are a little bit of cheer and there are always more blooming in the garden or at the flower shop for next weekend!  Here is a pretty bouquet that would look nice framed next in a bedroom, don't you think?  Lilacs are in bloom and mine are finally mature enough to have blossoms of my own.

It's a new year!

And I am in a new stage of my life...NO KIDS AT HOME!  Last year was a whirlwind of weddings.  2 of my own girls got married (thought I could blog their weddings as it was happening...get real!) and I helped 2 friends with their weddings.  My widowed sister moved in then out to find some adventure in Sausalito then moved back again to create a lovely garrett apartment and rooftop studio for her painting.  Oh, and I had a beautiful grandson, a brother for Dominic so now I have 2 little boys to love and teach and take photographs of their adventures.  

After all that I spent the last week in December sleeping.  I think I slept 2 days straight in that week of slumber!  Now I look around at the things that I let go in the last year.  Like the pile of junk that the garage threw up in the back when it got too full.  I need new curtains and to repaint the livingroom and stairwell!  Oh, my beautiful garden has completely become overgrown and an underground rodent has killed one of my apple trees!

  

I have so many projects ahead of me.  I also started a photograph a day for a year goal.  Mostly to keep me on track with all my projects including the portrait photography business with my daughter... vintagemodernphotography.com   I am hoping to use my garage as a studio.  I've already started on organizing all my craftiness and business supplies.  I dusted off my sewing machine and figured out how to thread it again!  

Most importantly I am going to make a concerted effort to improve my spirituality based on bible history & knowledge.  I am hoping  to include different bible translations in my regular bible reading.  I am going to keep a journal on what I learn and what I can apply for myself.  But that's a personal thing and I would never impose that on my blog visitors.

Of course I will keep cooking.  I will show off my girls decorating skills as they live as married women...maybe even show some photos of their beautiful weddings.  I also would like to feature interesting things online...like this site that is going to become an online Magazine (and oh, how I love magazines!).  Parisienne Farmgirl is creating a new French Country/Paris inspired magazine.  Ooh La La, I am a happy woman!  Go to her blog now and become a happy woman too!  Like her on Facebook!  (While you're at it, please "like" my photography business Vintage Modern Photography.)  

Til next time...Virginia Smith

Invitations and Ideas...oh yes, that guest list.

So we have a date, we've picked out a venue now it's time to figure out the details.  In the beginning the bride and groom told us we would have 150 guests...175...200...225...well we need a number and that budget isn't going up just because more people are coming.  Your friends can love you but they aren' t driving an hour and a half away from the balmy sea air to hel...(hello there, it's Hemet) just for cake and punch.
                               
I understand how hard it can be since the groom is no spring chicken and grew up in one spot as well as his ministry in Kansas, then the bride has lived in Mexico to help as a bible teacher for the english speaking expats as well as in Spanish in Ecuador, she also lived in New Orleans as a volunteer in mold remediation for Hurricane Katrina relief work.  They both love people and people love them back.  But that translates into more guests than we could possibly handle so we had to limit the guest list to those who have been intimately involved in their lives.  279.  really.  To those who will still be disappointed that we could not invite them, we are so sorry, as it is...we are hoping that there are 29 that are unable to attend.  Oh, but I also had to feed the photographer, the DJ...just trying to count on an even number for the catering.

She liked the graphic orange square invitation.

Since this is a short engagement, invitations have to go out ASAP!  My daughter saw an invitation she liked in the latest Martha Stewart Weddings magazine.  She has chosen her colors as raspberry and orange along with the gray the groom prefers.  We adapted the invitation to save on postage (which adds up when you send the more expensive square invitations).  The venue is modern, the invitation is modern...we have a theme going.  Now we need IDEAS!  A DRESS!  FOOD!  A PHOTOGRAPHER!  DATES SET for showers and parties!

My oldest daughter assigns herself as the budget watcher and detail checker.  Did I mention she is about to give birth to her second child?  Yes, a new grandbaby is due right smack in the middle of this engagement and wedding planning.  ARE WE CRAZY!

yes.

We are also giddy with excitement, lots of picture taking for sure.


Since the bride has moved away from home and lives some distance away now, we will gather ideas on our new favorite website PINTEREST!  We can all pin on her wedding board and check it even on our Iphones!  How much do we love Pinterest and you will too.  Go check it out NOW!...okay not right this minute but as soon as we are done.

now.

Next:  Photographers Pick Out a Photographer (and what will she wear that costs less than a months coffee habit)

The Date & The Guest List...oy vey!

Engagement Session Photo by Samantha Smith of VintageModernPhotography.com

We all knew the engagement was getting close and the bit o' drama from the bride's sisters on things moving along too quickly played into date availability.  Sydney's sister got married in July so that month was out, my 35th anniversary is in September and my hubby's annual sales meeting business trip is that month as well so forget September.  The fall was set aside for the youngest anticipated nuptials so the wedding pretty much had to be in August.  Well, it could have been in winter but we all knew they couldn't wait that long to be together every minute of the hour of the day.  Let's see how that goes after a few years.  

I went over the calendar ahead of time so about 10 seconds after she said "YES!", I asked if August was okay and they both said fine.  So with a 2 month engagement and a limited budget we were on our way!  That sounds like no time (and definitely no money) but if you read one of my previous posts, you know that I can do it in 4 days with enough help!  The hard part is WHERE?  A major consideration on where is to have an idea of HOW MANY!

We live in an area that gets hot in summer, and when I say hot...I mean HOT! 

So air conditioning became important, especially when the grooms guests were coming from a temperate beach community.  We had to have the wedding in Hemet because of all the elderly family and friends that would be coming...weird fact about Hemet as well - no one goes out of town much and they freak out if they have to.  There are not too many places in Hemet for a reception with air conditioning unless you count the varied mobile home park clubhouses.  There is no way that was going to happen according to all the girls that grew up in our household.  So that left the library and the new museum.  The library is nice but has no personality.  The museum is better although their venue could have been better positioned and had no kitchen available.  It is shiny new and very modern with great views in the piazza but who wants the piazza in August.  

Sydney did.  It's her dream venue.

Rats!  The museum events coordinator gave us a great deal so we all agreed that if we have a late wedding, all would be fine.  Except that the elderly we wanted to come would be ready for bed by the time the reception starts.  Oy vey...

Photography & Graphic Design by Virginia Smith of VintageModernPhotography.com

Next - Planning Part 1:  Invitations and Ideas

It's a Wedding!

Photos taken by Patricia Marana of Patricia Estelle Photography

...and who doesn't love a wedding?  My 27 year old daughter has had a whirlwind romance since January that culminated in an engagement a few weeks ago.  Who would have thought that a couple of bible teachers could have such a passionate romance (albeit chaste)?  

Well their engagement is rather short and I figured that blogging this wedding planning business would help me keep the details straight.  I figure that the friends who will help and the vendors who are some distance from our little agricultural valley (or the methamphetamine capital of the world depending on if you are an optimist or a pessimist!)  would appreciate getting to know the developing plans and how we are going to do this on a tight budget.  Believe me, this budget is so tight you could bounce an elephant off of it.

We knew it was coming so after everyone voicing their two bit opinions (mostly sisterly concern on such a quick courtship!) and then helping with the proposal, we were on our way to merging 2 wonderful, dedicated young people and their families.  How did he propose?  Since they have dedicated many years to full time bible education work as well as disaster relief from here in California to Kansas, New Orleans, Mexico and Ecuador, another of my daughters suggested he ask her in a way, in a prayer.  We were all attending a bible assembly in Mira Loma CA so afterwards we went to dinner at our favorite chinese restaurant in their private room to "celebrate a baptism" or so we said.  We actually did celebrate a baptism, seriously do we think we would lie after just attending a rousing bible assembly?  My husband asked the future son-in-law to pray over the meal (private dining room = no weirdness for other diners) and he ended his prayer with "As a side note, I hope when I ask her to marry me she will say yes" and then he properly ended the prayer, set down the ring box and knelt beside her.  It was awesome!    

My daughter who is normally very loud and boisterous whispered yes and we all asked "WHAT DID YOU ANSWER!?!  Then she boldly told us she said YES!  Only a few of the 30 of us there knew it was coming.  I put them on the spot for a date then and there, so here we go!  

Next:  Planning Part 1 - The Date and the Guest List  

A Shabby Chic Inspired Wedding...IN 4 DAYS!

My children and their friends are at that marriageable age and that means lots of wedding talk, wedding planning and weddings to go to.  I often use my design/party planning experience with my good friends to help with details, food...whatever is needed.  I have often been called on for supplies at the last minute but never for helping to put together a wedding for 80 in JUST 4 DAYS!

  

You heard that right...4 days.  For whatever reason, my friends son and his sweet fiance found the tedious planning and waiting not worth the time and shortened their engagement from a little over 2 months to just a few days.  This meant that the groom had to get their little foreclosure purchase of a honeymoon cottage inhabitable in 4 days, we had to clean up my friends house and garden in 4 days and the details of a ceremony and reception had to be finalized in 4 days as well as figure out how to include the grooms sister who happened to be in Australia for a long planned visit with friends.  Two very accommodating and giving mothers called in the troops and everyone rallied to help them give their kids a wonderful, memorable wedding day, the biggest gift they could give them EVER!  (Okay, maybe a kidney would be bigger.)

To say this was a crazy busy week would be an understatement, to say the task was daunting would be simplifying things, to say it was impossible was WRONG!  We actually DID IT!  Not only was it done but it ended up to be a pretty little wedding, the groom's sister was accomodated by her lifelong good friend (my daughter Samantha) via an Iphone and Skype in the hands of her beloved boyfriend with a good view from his seat.

 

These photographs were done for our own personal memories of a week that culminated on a pretty day in January that can only be had in California's "fake spring" in winter.  There was a professional photographer there so we could just play around with our new Lensbaby, take photographs of the pretty decor we helped set up and arrange and enjoy the party.

By the time they got their kiss, the sun was setting...awww!

Samantha did take their engagement photographs which you can see on her website (samantha-smith.com) but the stop motion video must be seen because it is just so cute

 
See the whole video at http://vimeo.com/16990773

Now the question is, who will be next?  You can bet that whoever it may be will not beat the 4 day wedding planning record!

Taking a pretty break and finding a little happy...

I was in the midst of moving my recently widowed 

sister out of her beautiful home due to foreclosure after

she had been robbed, feeling rather blue.    My sister was taking it all in stride but I found myself worn trying to be supportive and strong.  I thought I would drive around a little town between the mountains where she lives and the desert valley where I live...a cute little town, full of sweet shops, nice restaurants and beautiful homes.  As I was driving home I spotted brightly colored balloons at a pretty house where the yard was filled with pretty things calling me, beckoning me, with a sign inviting me in...as if to say "Take a pretty break and find a little happy here!".  So I did.

I lost myself in the cute little booths filled with pretty things from local antiques dealers and crafters including Christy Repasy!  (...she paints old fashioned flowers in an old fashioned, victorian style often done by china painters on boards and canvases...and my mother just loves her work.)  I took my time and wandered amongst the treasures...linens, vintage clothing, jewelry, furniture, accessories, art...so many pretty and creative things.  There were even pretty and creative people...one vendor was dressed in clothing from antique linens that she makes and sells.  The booths were set up so pretty, one vendor had covered her Easy-up in a hodgepodge of printed fabric.  It was just adorable.  Some of the booths and curtains framing the displays.  I forgot my troubles and enjoyed the atmosphere, taking pictures for my mother who can no longer get out like she used to.

           

At one time my mother, sister and I were in the antiques business together.  We started out buying too much at an auction and had a yard sale.  When we realized what a tidy profit we could turn, we did  that every few months, then we started selling at antiques malls.  It grew into a shop, selling at flea markets and paid shows until it took over my life, my home, my garage and then my husband and children said "PLEASE, NO MORE!".  By then my mother and sister had lost interest and I was a raving, McScrooge profiteer losing sight of the romance and beauty that started our collecting.  Now, that is all I enjoy in little visits like these.  I make sure to pick up a small trinket or two...things I will use or can give as gifts with no regard to it's monetary value, just the little bit of happy my money has purchased.

I also spent a little time looking around the property, the house was so pretty as was the garden.  The front porch had cement lions keeping watch, it reminded me of my grandmothers porch of a smaller scale in her house in East Los Angeles.  It's a porch children can spend many hours playing pretend games of all sorts.  I enjoyed the rose garden and the iron gates in the front along the sidewalk...such a pretty and restful spot!

                           

As I left through the pretty gates with my tiered tea table, pretty wall sconces and the eyelet jacket to wear to a tea party, I took a deep breath...fortified to face whatever lay ahead with the grace and dignity of an old fashioned time, sometimes it's a little pretend but I'm never to old for a happy ending!

The Pasadena Showcase House Was Amazing!

  

When I lived in Los Angeles County, I tried to go to the Pasadena Showcase House every year where designers decorate a large mansion to raise money for schools, orchestras and choral groups in the area.  Now I love almost 2 hours away if the traffic is good so I had not been in a good long while.  After going to the Huntington Library, I got an itch to see more beautiful places and the Los Angeles Times online advertised the Pasadena Showcase Home 2010.  I had to see this house billed as a 3 story, 50 room french style residence that is an architectural masterpiece!  I used to go with my mother to these things but she doesn't get around like she used to so I forced my youngest daughter to get out of bed on the last day so I wouldn't miss it and I was excited to introduce another generation something special.

All photos courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebackyardgetaway

It was AMAZING!  From the original mural juxtaposed with the contemporary freeform pendant lights overhead to the neoclassical morning room featuring traditional features with a modern vibe and the original stairwell skylight highlighted with mirrors and a beautiful contemporary chandelier that looked like a fine piece of jewelry...well, there was so much to take in and we had just gotten there!

              

Every room had a little sparkle, a bit of glamour.  The design was just sooo pretty overall.  We drooled over the solarium AND the sunroom.  Even the linen room was filled with light and had a pretty chandelier to iron away by.  The details were too many to describe!

Then there were the bedrooms, each with their own sitting room and bathroom.  Of course the Mistress of the house had her own custom closet in addition to her dressing room.  My daughter flipped over these!  There was a chandelier in the entry to these that had an unbelievably sparkling chandelier that projected it's myriad of rainbows onto the sky painted ceiling.  We are trying to figure out where we can put that feature in the house.  Once again, the detail as well as the accessories really gave each room it's own personality.  The before photos on display showed drab rooms with flourescent lighting, ugh.  You could see the bits of mouldings and the windows but it was very plain and used as offices.

We snaked around the house, down, up, down.  Our favorite main rooms were the breakfast room that had a luxurious breakfast nook as well as a sitting area AND an unbelievable raised craft area that we both coveted.  The media room was very creatively done.  It had previously been the kitchen and alot of work had to be done.  There were 2 televisions, one hidden behind a framed mirror where the mirror sort of disappeared when the television turned on.  Of course the entertainment system had every bell and whistle.  The room was comfortable and creatively designed.  Another of our favorite spaces was the cafe under a tent.  It was so cute and gave us lot's of ideas for party decor.  Who would have thought that easy to wipe basic black faux leather vinyl would make such beautiful table toppers?  Of course rich fabrics underneath and all around are a must to pull this off well.  

There isn't space for everything so go to the link to see the livingroom, diningroom, offices and more sitting rooms.  We loved the gardens.  There was a small morning garden off the morning room that featured a traditional knot garden in a new way...with succulents and contemporary art!  There were gorgeous huge urns with succulent topiary that Samantha thought would be great for a wedding, hmmmm.  Whose wedding Samantha?  There was pretty planting beds with herbs and espaliered apple trees.  The gardeners on hand gave lots of tips (I had lots of questions).  The back garden was pretty to walk through and included pretty, very classic statues as well as tumbled glass in the planter beds.

Then we went into the little booths of vendors and bought wonderful scone mix, clotted cream and dipping oil for bread.  We had a wonderful lunch (the menu designed by Wolfgang Puck) and made our way home talking about ideas for the house.  Samantha is motivated to redo her room in a pretty new color scheme with a little glamour and sparkle.  Let's see what I can get into?

I have to thank the Backyard Getaway for posting these great photos on flickr.  There is a blog for them with great gardening tips at http://thebackyardgetaway.blogspot.com/  The designers did a great job on the Showcase house and their firms are listed by name with each room with the photographs posted on flickr.

Have you been inspired by a house tour?  Tell me about it.

Virginia