Inspiration In Print

I absolutely LOVE books. I always have. I find inspiration in Poetry..Edna St. Vincent Millay, Robert Frost, and Christina Rosetti are favorites of mine. I love children's books...Tasha Tudor's A Time To Keep and the whole series of Raggedy Anne books are on my book shelves. There are Novels, of course....Steinbeck, Buck, Austin, Dickens, and Michner....but it's mostly non-fiction on my bedside table.
Sure there are books out there on decorating and crafts and I routinely go through the library's electronic card catalog looking for the latest and the greatest...in my..erhemmm...mature years I have stopped wishing for the shabby chic look (all that white!!! That will never fly with my houseful of kids and animals.....I would lose my mind in a week, if I ever dared try that!) I'm not a "beachy" kind of person. Not a "Northwoods" or a true Victoriana. I like french country, but, it's usually a more British kind of look that I end up with. Old things, not perfect, not matched and slightly worn. It used to drive me crazy to find holes and cracks, but I have taken to the Wabi Sabi theory and I try to let it all slide of my back...o.k., well mostly I try....sometimes I succeed. I like rich colors and cozy rooms. I like comfortable furniture and wood floors. I like my "stuff", but I don't like rooms so full that you can't turn around without knocking something over. I like old better then new. And free stuff best of all. There's a book by Jemima Mills called From A House To A Home. I love that book. The homes featured in it are real, honest to Pete homes with kids and dogs and dirt tracked in...and warmth and love oozing out of every room. Not perfectly decorated, perhaps, but perfect, none the less.

I like Garden books and books on small farms. D.K. (a British publishing house) puts out some wonderful books on the these and many other subjects.

Ina Garten's cookbooks warm my soul and fill my house with the most delicous smells and tastes. I wish I had all the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks! We haven't found a recipe we didn't like in any of them!!

So, so many magazines fill the need I have for continuous nourshment of my dreams. People make fun of Martha Stewart, but her magazine(s) are always full of great ideas. Romantic Homes and Creative Homes give me ideas for decorating my home. Hobby Farm, Country Living (both U.S. and most especially the British) give me dreams of being on a farm again someday.



Not what you were expecting for inspiration?? My inspiration....anyone's inspiration is, or should be, what makes their hearts happy. What makes them feel "at home" in their own life.
At least, that's the way I feel about it.