pretty & practical

I am a collector of loves. 
  are you too?

As a granddaughter of a generation steeped in war and sacrifice, I am humbled by the gifts that my Grandmothers continually share with me. Both have passed and both are so very missed.  Their daily reminders aren't necessarily their journals or photos (though I value what has been shared with me greatly), it is actually through the things they lovingly used in life that keep me closest to them.

It is what they used in their daily lives that has come to live with me:

handpainted benches 

needlepointed pillows 

gorgeous original paintings

tiny stitched purses 

tattered kitchen cloths 

candy dishes

a butter churn (painted hot pink)

cream and sugars
the cutest salt & peppers

and their choice of colors that speak to my artist heart, too.  Yes!

As I look around me, they are everywhere-here with me.  To have them a daily part of my life is a living memory, the story my grandmothers have left behind, "Be careful with the money you have. Save and spend on the best things. Tend and mend the things you love.  Create a space of beauty.  Choose the things that are pretty & practical."  I can't say that these things were ever spoken, but the messages are clear in the sweet treasures I hold.

In the time I knew my grandmothers, I was unknowingly collecting, and now cherish not only the things around me but what they remind me of...

To share and care for what you have.
Have candy or coffee at the ready.
To touch - hold a hand, hug, kiss your grown children.
To listen. They were the best listeners I have ever met.
& To use, repurpose, and love the simple things.

Do you feel the same way?



I am sure this is why Jeanne Oliver's latest offering really spoke to my heart, she is a loving collector of these same beautiful treasures and she is taking the time to really delve into the heart of home.  I think I love that.

With her invitation, I want to share a course I am in love with already.  It is so beautiful!

Look at the intro to this lovely event:

Art of Home | Modern Simple Living

Each week will contain step by step videos with decorating, cooking, gardening, entertaining, housekeeping and more...so much more!

The following will be shared:  The Art of Farm to Table, The Art of Gathering, The Art of Domestic Moxie and The Art of Reclaimed Style.

This four week course is your favorite home and cooking magazines come to life!

Maybe it will even bring back sweet memories and we will all learn from each other.

Come join us...

The early registration price for this four week online course is $42.99.  This course will begin on September 15, 2015 and you will have LIFETIME ACCESS* to the videos. 

Week One
The Art of Farm to Table

This week is all about gardening, cooking and preserving food.

Week Two
The Art of Gathering

This week is all about opening your home and creating a space where people feel loved and special.

Week Three
The Art of Domestic Moxie

This week is all about creative and fun ways to keep your home.

Week Four
The Art of Reclaimed Style

This week is all about using what you have and finding new uses for found objects.

"I grew up with a large garden, morning cereal often had fresh berries from the backyard, clothes hung on the line, the sound of the sewing machine filled our home and my mom’s homemade grape juice is still one of my favorite things on earth.  I have always loved home and home is the place I want others to feel loved too.

Over the years I have also heard other women talk about things their moms or grandmothers did to make their homes special and practical.  Torn knees were patched, everything was made from scratch, fresh produce was preserved for winter and someone was stitching something sweet and lovely.  I think that many of us want to make sure we preserve some of our favorite memories and make them a part of own modern lives.  We want to create an artisan home!

When we can embrace our handmade home and see the beauty in the little things then our homemaking becomes art!   It is not perfect and the beauty is actually in embracing the imperfection.  It is following my Grandma Jeanne’s advice to only surround yourself with things you truly love and use.  It is pulling out your prettiest things and not saving them for company but lavishing your family daily.  It is not apologizing when your home is messy and inviting friends and neighbors in anyways.  It is about allowing your home and gifts to be used to do something sweet in you and those around you!  It is about sitting down with moms and grandmothers and grandfathers and hearing about their stories and finding your story in the midst of it.  It is about passing on the best of it to our children and grandchildren. 

I am so excited to open registration for Art of Home | Modern Simple Living. This course came about while talking and cooking with my mom and sister.  My sister and I both couldn’t stop smiling about the heart of the course which was including the older people in our lives and listening to the ways they were taught how to make art of home!"                                              Jeanne Oliver

sign up here:  Art of Home | Modern Simple Living

I know you are as head-over-heels about the content, too.  I am going to take some time this year for this beautiful course and I wanted to see if you want to join me?  I anticipate we will both encounter delicious and memorable moments of...home. 

My Grandmothers also treasured their travels -- pilgrimages,
and this is something special I will be sharing soon, too.

xo

jj