Book Review: Couture Prairie

I adore Rachel Ashwell books.  I would say that her style is what my heart desires.  I feel it just takes a little help to get there and this book sure handed me a dose of inspiration.  I was honestly inspired to go into the master bath and change out my tobacco shelf on the tub with the green shelf that I had painted, added an oval iron stone platter and put my vinegar cruets filled with bath gels and a vase full of zinnias.  I also moved a gold velvet chair into the room by the tub and wound up painting a peg board a light pink color and distressing it.  It looks fantastic, it's just not hung yet.  I get nervous and ask for help when I hang stuff on the walls.  I feel like I need to find a stud and can't ever seem to hit one right.  The book is fantastic.  I have visited her store online and her blog.  I won't exactly allow myself to afford her duvet covers and sassy items but it gives me inspiration for working with the things I can afford and find at yard sales and flea markets.  I adored this book and I give it a 10!

I have never wished I saved the curtain rod for my clawfoot tub more.

 

And here are the pics of my inspiration.

 

Checked Out: Style Me Vintage

Style Me Vintage

 

By: Naomi Thompson, Belinda Hay & Katie Reynolds

 

What a fun book!  I loved flipping through the pages and discovering make up and hair tips and learning about how to care for and style vintage clothing from different eras.  You will find step by step instructions for retro and vintage looks.  I sewanee, when I came across the eye brow section I stopped reading and started plucking and felt much better. 

 

Checked Out Rating: A Fun 8

 

 

 

Not So Local Spotlight: Bluegrass Underground

My Dad's birthday is in February.  My Dad is a lover and picker of bluegrass music.  My Dad is also a big fan of caves and underground rooms and passageways.  For my Dad's birthday this year, I though it would be fantastic to combine the two and take my Father to Bluegrass Underground! 

 

Bluegrass Underground is in McMinnville, Tennessee located inside the cave at Cumberland Caverns.  It is 333 feet below ground, a fine 56 degrees year round, and is in what they call a natural amphitheater named the Volcano Room with the most fabulous natural acoustic sound.  They have a stage inside the room along with seating, restrooms and a snack bar.  We got to see two bands.  The first one called Seryn, was a good band and we enjoyed their music although it was not traditional bluegrass style stuff but did give us a mix of music.  The main band there was The Boxcars which was pure, out right bluegrass... like we like!  Fantastic show!  The music lasted from one until four o'clock with a slight intermission with the change of bands.  They have music there once and sometimes twice a month.  I booked our tickets for an April show.  We actually had tickets for the whole shabang which included about an hour cave tour before the show that was pretty awesome in itself.  There are five very large rooms in the cave along with a waterfall, stalactites, stalagmites, natural formations and a few bats flying around.  I really liked that we did both the tour and the music but if you just went to see the music you could possibly have enough of a view of the cave.  There are soot and torch writings from the 1800's from people exploring that I thought was super cool.  We did have enough time to eat some lunch between the tour and the show from the snack bar. 

 

All in all I had a great time and my Dad really enjoyed his birthday present! 

Something much better than a doily or skates!  (little inside joke with my sisters! I gotta tease!)

 

 

The cave entrance.  A small hike from the gift shop where you pick up your tickets.

It was a very rainy Saturday!  Good thing it wasn't raining inside the cave!

 This is the Volcano Room where the show was.  We passed over it on the tour!

My Pa.

Stairway on the tour.

Formations.

We sat right under the 1500 pound chandelier!

Seryn

The Boxcars

 

It was hard for me to get good pictures inside the cave.  I hate using the flash on my camera and it is almost a must for any sort of clarity but is just too bright for my taste.  Oh Well. 

 

You can catch Bluegrass Underground on AM 650 at 5:00P.M. on Saturday nights or watch for it on NPT channel 8.



Checked Out: Vintage Style Cath Kidston

"Checked Out" book for this week is.... drum roll...ddddddddddddddd

 

 

Vintage Style

 

Cath Kidston

 

ca: 1999

 

 

I love Cath Kidston and her designs.  She is like the Martha of the UK and I consider myself lucky that it costs so much to order directly from her... the shipping part anyway.  Which there are products that you can get online at pretty good rates.  I purchased a sticker book from her line that I have used and used and used over the part couple of years.

 

This book is just a good as all the other books by Cath Kidston.  The vintage style and decorating in this book make me drool a little.  OK a lot.  She uses the most fantastic fabrics, most of which are in her line.  I love the cabbage roses and cowboys the best.  Great tips and reading.  I will always recommend her books.

 

Checked Out Rating: 10 as always

 

 

 

 



Checked Out: Simple Times

My "Chcked Out" book of the week is:

 

 

Simple Times

Crafts for Poor People

 

By: Amy Sedaris

 

Ca: 2010

 

I have two words for this book... cleverly hysterical.  I loved it!  It has the best crafts.  I have actually rented this book twice from the library.  The first time I kept calling Mary Evelyn to tell her funny stuff that I had read.  And the pictures are fantastic.  This book will get your creative juices flowing as well as have you rolling in the floor laughing.  My most favorite part was the stretching before and after crafting.  Good grief I haven't laughed like that in a while!  But seriously, the crafts are well thought out and most are really easy to do by yourself with kids out of what you have... if you don't mind them playing with tampons and matches that is. 

 

Checked Out Rating: 10 for sure!

 

 



Checked Out

The book in review this week is:

 

Cube Chic

 

By: Kelley L. Moore

 

I do not work in a cubical currently but have in my working lifetime and oh how I wish I had had some of the hilarious ideas from this book to take my cubical from drab to Cube Sweet Cube.  This book makes me long for work decorating contests.  Not really.  I am fine where I am and get to decorate all the time.  I love that the author includes links and stores where items were purchased and used in each highly decorated cubical.  From Garden Cube to Casino Cube this book will have you rolling! 

 

Checked Out Rating: 10

 



Checked Out

OK I am so hip hop crazy over this book it is ridiculous!  This book kept my attention the whole time and I never knew what was going to happen seriously! The book was written and laid out so differently.  It is actually letters and emails and the daughter writing some but it links together so nicely to where you can figure out who the people are and how the story all fits together. 

   I cannot and will not be a book spoiler so I won't let you in on details of this book.  You are just going to have to rent it for yourself to find out.  I even read it in the truck... when it was moving and Shaun was driving on the way to get our taxes done and didn't care if I got car sick nauseous from not watching where we were going.  My book this week is... besides well worth the three month wait at the library for me to get it...

 

Where'd You Go, Bernadette

 

By: Maria Semple

 

Checked Out Rating: 11

 

Brilliant and fun, funny and crazy.  I loved it! 

Kudos to the author of immeasurable amounts.

 

 

Checked Out

I know you probably like it better when I do reviews on the picture books that I rent from the library, but I do read as well.  I like to read before I go to sleep because it makes me... well sleepier and helps me to sort of decompress before I dream so I'm not lying there pondering over the day's events. 

 

This author is a well known one and I feel a tad honored to read his works because they are good.  And I mean good.  I have also read two other books from him since I finished this one and he just tells a story so well and within one paragraph you can picture exactly where you are even to whom is there and what the place smells like.  I love it.  Sucks me right in.  My book this week is:  

 

 

A Moveable Feast

 

By: Ernest Hemingway

 

Year Published: 1964

 

 

I really liked this book, although it pretty much just took you from place to place and I wasn't sure if there was some fiction to it or if it all was his real life.  I did adore it and wound up writing excerpts several times in my journal.  One of them being: 

 

"When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest.  The only thing that could spoil a day was people and if you could keep from making engagements, each day had no limits.  People were always the limiters of happiness except for the very few that were as good as spring itself."

 

I liked the way he told a story about each person and the thought that they were probably people he really knew made it all the more fascinating to me. 

 

Checked Out Rating: 10

 

 

I love the cover of this book with no dust jacket.  I didn't take it off.. it didn't come with one.  It had such a vintage library book feel to it.  Although someone had marked all through the book with a pencil of which I completely despise, squaring off of paragraphs as if they were working on a book report who knows how long ago like some graffiti thug in the night.  Tacky. 

 

Checked Out

I have done it again.  I have been to the library, gotten home with my books only to realize that I have rented this one before.  Which could mean I am very forgetful, or it might mean that the book was just that good.  In this case, I am forgetful.  But the book is good and I probably would have gotten it again anyway even if I realized at the time I had seen it already. 

 

This week's book is called:

 

JUNK Beautiful

Outdoor Edition

 

By: Sue Whitney, with Kimberly Melamed

 

Published Date: 2009

 

I like these gals and have checked out more than one of their decorating junk books and they are all good.  They even offer items that you can make throughout the book and instructional "how-to's" in the back.  The outdoor edition, however, seems to have a lot of set-up shots.  Which isn't necessarily a bad quality because these gals know what they are doing.  But some of the ideas aren't real practical for every day use, not in my world anyway.  It seems the wind and weather might run away with things.  But if you are having an outdoor party or gathering a lot of these ideas are perfect.  They do have a greenhouse shot that I love and that I feel inspired my dream greenhouse the last time I checked the book out.  I did find myself taking pictures of pictures in this book to print out for my inspiration journal.  Plus these seem like fun gals with a good sense of humor which leads to good and humorous reading.

 

Checked Out Rating: 8

 

 

Checked Out

As you well know, if you are a regular reader of my blog or know me personally, I am a library book nerd.  I like to be able to put my hands on what I am reading.  I enjoy requesting certain books and the wait involved while some sweet library soul delivers the books to the Goodlettsville location and my trip there each week to return books and pick up new ones.  I always have a book bag stuffed to the gills with children's books for the DC and inspirational books for me along with one to read before bed.  I wish to share some of them with you on a weekly basis.  You may be a library person yourself, or maybe one who downloads books to your iPad or whatever you have.  Either way I come across some good ones that really tickle my fancy and just might tickle yours too! 

 

Today I am sharing a home decorating inspiration publication.  One that kept me glued to it for over an hour last night.  This week's book is called:

 

Shabby Chic Inspirations and Beautiful Spaces

 

By: Rachel Ashwell

 

Published Date: 2011

 

I love this book.  One thing I especially like is that the author has picked existing spaces to feature of people that she already knows, and has gone into their worlds.  Some very talented people might I add with beautiful, inspiring homes.  The pictures are gorgeous and she talks about each one with good detail.  They each show the owner's personality very well and offer wonderful ideas for decorating your own space.

 

Checked Out Rating: 10

 

 

Books like this are fun to look at and make me want to put up a cabbage rose shower curtain in the horse bathroom.  Sometimes I flip through a decorating book very fast and other times I get completely sucked in by the detail in pictures and ideas that they plant.  

Local Spotlight: Willow Tree Cottage

While visiting our new favorite thrift in Goodlettsville, my sister Mary Evelyn and I came across a new favorite shop called "Willow Tree Cottage, A Vintage Marketplace" in Goodlettsville.  This shop offers vintage items, housewares, cleverly done up cycled furniture and French soaps!  You can't beat all that!  We walked from room to room falling in love with the decorating and the smell of locally made coffee that they sell.  The gals there are super nice and very talented. 

 Sorry about the crookedness!

 I Love, Love, Love a good ladder!  This one reminds me of another one I am in love with.

Keep up the good work girls!  We will be back!

 

 

Willow Tree Cottage

A Vintage Marketplace

204 Rivergate Parkway (across from the library)

Goodlettsville, TN