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A Source for Chic and Inexpensive Roller Shades

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Happy weekend, dear friends! After sharing a small before and after of our living room on Instagram, I received several questions regarding the roller shades I chose for our windows, so I thought I’d do a little post about them, in case you’re on the market for some lovely, yet inexpensive window treatments. The short of it is that they’re from Lowes, and I absolutely LOVE them. They were the product of my indecision, meant to be a temporary solution while I figured out the design plan for each room, but I ended up liking them so much that I’ve since bought one for every window in our home!

Lowes roller shades on a double hung window; inside mount
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Catching Up with Last Week’s Finds

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Happy Monday, dear friends! Last week was one of pure joy, ease and relaxation and, frankly, very little work for me (as you could probably tell by the absence of a second blog post). But my conscience being what it is, and having some stories to share with you that I think you might like, I thought we could do a Monday morning catching up from my favorite coffee shop, latte in hand.  Here are some of the topics, home tours and items that have been on my mind these past few days:

First bunch of tulips from my garden!
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Lisa Fine Performance Textiles

Textile designer Lisa Fine has launched a new collection of high-performance luxury fabrics just in time for Spring! Since its inception in 2007,  Lisa Fine Textiles has become a favorite source for designers and homeowners looking to incorporate the romance of far-flung travel and wanderlust into their projects. Through color, pattern and different weaving techniques, fabrics tell stories – the stories of faraway places, of people and their traditions, and of cultural and religious practices. And it is this storytelling aspect that sets Lisa Fine’s designs apart. Rooted in the textile history of India, Turkey, and the Middle East and inspired by Lisa’s extensive travels along the Silk Road (an intricate web of trade routes between Europe and Asia, that took its name from the lucrative silk trade with China), Lisa Fine Textiles brings the richness of color and the romance of delicate Indian floral patterns to contemporary design. Here is a peek at the new collection:

Lisa Fine Performance Textiles: Aswan
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This Week’s Finds

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Happy Sunday, friends! I hope you have something fun planned for today! It has been a great weekend over here with good weather, good food, playtime with friends, and the first serious gardening activities of the season. After a brief rain last night, our yard smells of freshly-cut grass and flowers, and it made my morning run a little less painful. School’s out for the week and we have some small day trips planned, but what I’m really looking forward to is just hanging out with my girl and diving into the pile of books on my nightstand. Here are this week’s finds, an assortment of charming cottages and historic houses, design news as well as some cool things for the home. Let me know if you see something you like!

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Spring Flowers for a Colorful Cottage Garden

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Today’s post is just as much for my benefit as I hope it is for yours. I’ve noticed a few things I’ve done wrong with my spring flowers and bulbs this year that I wish to correct in the fall, and I’m writing this as a reminder for myself. Despite some obvious setbacks, gardening in a colder New England climate (we’re zone 5b for cold hardiness, though it sometimes feels closer to zone 1) has its advantages. For one, you get 5+ months of rest from your toil, and plenty of time to learn, dream and plan all the wonderful things you’ll do with your garden come spring. Then reality kicks in and things perhaps don’t go as planned, but at least you tried. Gardening comes with a steep learning curve, but also many shortcuts and rewards.

Spring flowers in New England - Royal Star magnolia
Star magnolias in bloom
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