Taking tea together

In the last couple of weeks I am finding my days are following a pattern. My daughter is home from university for the Easter break and together we have been working away at our computers - she is studying for her last exams as she graduates in June and I am putting the final touches on a new book. It is hard to concentrate and stay focused when there are any number of excuses to pack up and go outside - but we promised each other that we would be disciplined and motivated. For me, I find it so much easier working, especially at the computer, in the winter time - there seems to be less distraction. For her, she finds it easier to study at university where she can hide herself in the library and bury herself in books. 

It has been easy to follow our own routines as Mr FF is frequent flying and my other two darlings are off and away doing their own thing, so we have no-one to suit but ourselves. Which brings me to our little tea ritual. Every afternoon we break and drink tea together - we are trying a different leaf tea most days. 

After water, tea is the most popular drink (surprisingly not coffee) and there are four different types which make up the caffeinated teas - black tea, oolong tea, green tea and white tea. The herbals, also known as infusions or tisanes are made from a combination of fruit and herbs.

The French markets are a great place to find teas, especially the infusions. I stick to the non-caffeinated varieties in the afternoon as I am well wired after my morning's intake. Yesterday we drank a delicious blend of lemon verbena with a hint of apple and a touch of cinnamon - normally I prefer straight verbena but the addition of the apple and cinnamon gave it a slightly deeper and more intense flavour. We particularly like the fruit teas - the addition of a little sweetness to our afternoon is a real pick me up. 

We have grown accustomed to our afternoon tea breaks and I relish the quiet moments with her just chatting about nothing much at all or everything that matters. This is such a luxury as time with older children is hard to snatch. She says tea drinking is all win-win; delicious, non fattening and a perfect excuse to spend time together. I think she is spot on.

After you have boiled the kettle and are sipping on your aromatic brew please take a minute to visit Pigtown Design today and learn about April Food Day. It is just as important to work together as it is to take tea together. xv

image 'women taking tea' - google

A Place for Everything ....

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Hands up who has enough storage - no matter how big the house or how much careful planning goes into storage design you always seem to quickly outgrow what you thought would be waaaay to much storage space. I love some of these quirky storage ideas, particularly the dog bed and wellies cupboard - I wish I'd seen this when we were designing our laundry.

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Image 1 - Country Homes & Interiors Magazine Images 2 & 5 - Ryland Peters Image 3 - Eric Piasecki Image 4 - Unknown

Love .... Adirondack Chairs

Image 1 - Brabourne Farm Image 2 - House of Pictures Image 3 - Alexander van Berge Image 4 - Evan Skler Image 5 - Erik Johnson

April Food Day: Bloggers Fighting Hunger

Our current economic climate has created difficulties for many American families. People who never had to worry about food before are having to think about where their next meal will come from. People who have never needed any type of assistance in the past are showing up at food banks, only to be turned away because their shelves are bare. Meg Fielding of Pigtown*Design and Chris Cox of Easy & Elegant Life have joined forces to create April Food Day in an effort to make a difference in over 200 communities in America.

Dear readers, I am asking you to please contribute $1.00 today or tomorrow, April 1st. If you can, anything more than that would be greatly appreciated, of course. One dollar will provide ten pounds of food, or seven meals to feed families in need. $25.00 provides seventy-five meals.

Did you know that "one out of six children lives in a food insecure household, which means they do not always know where they will find their next meal. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), more than 12 million children in the United States live in this condition – unable to consistently access nutritious and adequate amounts of food necessary for a healthy life.[i] The states with the highest rates of child food insecurity are Texas and New Mexico, where more than 24 percent of all children are at risk of hunger. The other states with child hunger rates above 20 percent are: California, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee and Utah. Washington, D.C. also has a child food insecurity rate above 20 percent"?

There are many negative implications for children who face food insecurity. Their physical, mental, and emotional health is impacted negatively.They are put in jeopardy of developmental risk and they often fall behind at school. You can read more about the ways in which hunger affects people throughout the United States on the Feeding America website.

The blogging world has proven to be a kinder and more generous place than I could have ever dreamed. April Food Day officially begins today and ends tomorrow, April 1st, so please open up your hearts and give what you can to this worthy cause, even if it is only $1.00. Every little bit helps, and for every dollar you give, ten pounds of food, or seven meals will be given to hungry families. Click here to make a contribution. Just imagine how many people we could feed if every person who reads this donates $1.00! Thank you!

Al Raha Beach in Abu Dhabi

"The Abu Dhabi World Trade Center at Al Raha Beach, resolves the contradictions of its site: providing shade yet also admitting light; cooled by a natural flow of air yet buffered against the strong desert wind; asymmetrical and sculptural yet environmentally and functionally coherent".

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Orange Zest

I haven't always been a huge fan of the colour orange but lately it seems to be everywhere and I think I'm starting to like it! Not sure if I would use it in my house but it's lovely to look and imagine.

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Image 1 - here Image 2 - My Home Ideas Images 3,4 & 6 - Hallie Burton, Image 5 - Anson Smart Image 7 - British Homes & Gardens

Love .... Boats

Image 1 - Quentin Bacon Image 2 - here Image 3 -The Abbey Hotel Image 4 - John Dummer Image 5 - Country Homes & Interiors

Style Profile: Angie Hranowsky

The Living Room at Godfrey Park Place

The work of Charleston-based designer, Angie Hranowsky has made its rounds on the blogs, but I couldn't resist sharing the love. In a time when things are pretty grim (i.e. the current state of our economy, etc), it is refreshing to see vibrant, youthful interiors that are infused with color and personality. Hranowksy's interiors feel current and hip, yet a lot of the furniture and accessories that she selects are actually vintage or antique, and are sure to stand the test of time.

"Combining a refined mix of vintage and new, bold color and clean lines, Angie's interiors take on an unexpected and modern approach to comfort." Angie, an established graphic designer, decided to take the plunge into interior design in the summer of 2004 and studied at Parsons in New York. Her background in art history is evident in her work, as one can tell that she is a very thoughtful designer. She seems to examine how objects relate to one another and creates beautiful stories within the spaces she designs. Her work has been featured in publications such as House Beautiful, Domino, Metropolitan Home, and Home.

Godfrey Park Place: This home was featured in House Beautiful, and happens to be my favorite of Angie's projects.

I love the vintage bamboo coffee table and the Dorothy Draper chest selected for the living room.

A Parsons console in coral and a stylish little bench play host to a pair of vintage lamps.

I love the deep eggplant color used in the dining room, along with the fabulous table, vintage Pagoda style chandelier, and La Fiorentina fabric on the chairs.

I want this little console! How fabulous are the bamboo detail and mirrored inset?

This has to be the coolest vintage bathroom I have ever seen! The patterned, yellow wallpaper goes perfectly with the original black and white tile work. The bamboo-style mirror is in perfect keeping with the rest of the house.

I love this office! The walls are the perfect shade of chocolate. The simple little desk is lovely and the shelving and accessories are fantastic! Notice the great, little jars.

The master bedroom does not disappoint! Angie chose pink and the loveliest shade of blue as accent colors for this room. I love the draperies and upholstered bench!

A huge Venetian-style mirror faces the bed

The room also features a very pretty dresser with an antique silver leaf finish.

Oakdale Place: This is Angie's personal home and was featured in Metropolitan Home and Charleston Magazine.

Again, Angie chooses a rich, chocolate shade for the walls and uses colorful accents throughout the space. This reminds me so much of Erin of Elements of Style!

Angie's living room is filled with vibrant colors, like a fuchsia sofa and vintage chair in purple. I love the lucite tables she used here. They look both chic and fun in this space.

In the dining room, Angie used the same draperies as the one she has in the living room. The Parsons dining table is paired with antique chairs and a Sputnik chandelier.

Downtown Charleston: This home is high on style, though it is slightly more formal.

I adore the rich colors used in this room: gold, deep plum, magenta.

This coffee table is bananas!

I love that Angie played on the height of the ceilings in this grand residence. David Hicks' La Fiorentina draperies are fabulous! The table lamp and vintage glass chandelier used in this room are fantastic, as well.

One side of a very chic nursery (the crib is on the other side). There is no "theme", but a defined color palette was selected.

Tremont Boulevard: This chic abode was featured in Home Magazine.

I love the pale aqua and orange used in the living room. They make for a very chic combination! I also really like the lines of the sofa and the prints above it add a lot to the room and the color palette.

This dining room is just lovely! I adore the vintage chairs, pink vintage lamps, mirror, capiz chandelier, and seagrass wallcovering.

I love Angie's rendition of the plate wall. This is slightly off topic, but don't you just love the smell of seagrass?

Congratulations, Anne!

Congratulations to Anne of The City Sage! Not only does she write a wonderful blog, but she is the winner of the first Mr & Mrs Smith Travel Trivia Contest on La Dolce Vita. She will be receiving a $100 gift card good towards a stay at any of the fabulous hotels featured on the Mr & Mrs Smith website.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the first trivia contest! It was a big success! In case you were wondering if you knew the answer to the clues, the hotel featured in the first contest is the beautiful Hacienda de San Antonio in Colima, Mexico.

From the Mr & Mrs Smith website: "This coral pink Hacienda de San Antonio in Mexico’s small highland state of Colima raises the boutique-hotel bar to lofty new heights. Built more than 120 years ago and decorated with style and passion by the Goldsmith family, its elegant arched buildings sit serenely in a jaw-dropping landscape of coffee plants, avenues of bamboo and the awe-inspiring backdrop of the Colima volcano. "

Stay tuned for the next contest which will begin next Monday!