summer again?

What a surprise: The temperatures are up and it feels like summer again. Decorating for Halloween just doesn't fit with this weather going on. Time to do some planning and planting in the garden.

I want to share with you some of my favorite gardens:

Sissinghurst Castle - Vita Sackville-West

Not far from where I live is Villa Filoli. You probably know it as the Carrington's house from the TV show "Dynasty". It has beautiful garden rooms.

The garden that inspired Monet's beautiful pictures in Giverny.

Have a great weekend!

mariasimoneidejhs

fall thoughts

It has been cooling down here in the San Francisco Bay Area during the last couple of days. Although we still have warm afternoons, the mornings and nights are pretty chilly now.

That made me think about my favorite things to do or have in fall:

10 fall favorites:

1. drink tea instead of coffee

by shadphotos

2. wear warm woolen sweaters and socks

by Knitting Iris

3. light candles

by Flamant

4. cuddle up on the couch with a woolen throw

by living at home

5. down beds

6. wear pretty winter accessories like scarfs, hats and gloves

by Boden

7. rainy days (some rain - not constant rain like in Germany)

8. Carve, cook, eat and decorate the house with pumpkins

9. baking

10. prep the garden for winter

by Smith&Hawken

Have a beautiful fall!!!

mariasimoneidejhs

california dreamin'

Today I spent the afternoon strolling along the cliff walk in Santa Cruz, California. As always I imagined how nice it would be to have a small beach cottage there.

My favorite one is this one:

It's one of few sitting directly on the cliff. It seems to be the guest cottage of the bigger house you can see behind it.

And this is the view:

And when I grow up I could very well picture myself living in this house.

On my walk I came across a yard sale and I scored a pretty bentwood rocking chair for $10. It needs some TLC and maybe a fresh coat of paint but doesn't it have beautiful lines?

It almost looks like an original Thonet chair.

photo: Briggs House Antiques

mariasimoneidejhs

flower power

kitchen stuff, originally uploaded by ATLITW.

Oh, I love these kitchen utensils. So pretty!!!

Reminds me of one of my favorite European brands rice.

Have a great weekend. Here in Northern California it's sunny and nice.

mariasimoneidejhs

domino - THE BOOK OF DECORATING

When I was just about to move over to the couch and start watching "Grey's Anatomy" I first went outside to check on my plants. Then I found the Amazon parcel on my doorstep - containing the first "domino" book. 

domino is one of my favorite interior design magazines. The book is already so pretty from the outside that I will surely have it out on my coffee table in the future.

I will now cuddle up on my couch with a glass of red wine and start the lecture.

mariasimoneidejhs

enlightened

Here is a great and thrifty chandelier that I saw recently at the ANTHROPOLOGIE store on Santana Row in San Jose. It is made from old jam jars. I am already collecting jars - just need to eat more jam.

mariasimoneidejhs

the first...

Welcome,

this is my first post on my brand new blog. I am so nervous. I have been thinking about starting a blog for a while now. My main concern was/ is my English. I am not a native speaker (my first language is German). At first I wanted to write the blog in German, but after all I decided to write in English so that more people can actually understand what I am saying here.

Enough of that.

Yesterday it was the first Sunday of the month - which means I went to the Alameda flea market . 

I bought some nice antlers for my dining room. I love the fact that they are almost white. Apparently they have been sitting outside for along time. The scull even "sports" a few yellow-greenish patches of moss on the forehead which gives it this weathered look. I added a little gingham ribbon to make it less serious and scary.

Some displays I particularly liked:

Loved the table decorations - unfortunately very pricy booth.

I have to check out this booth every time. The girl who runs this business is a fellow German and I love her taste and selection.

That's it for today.

mariasimoneidejhs