SEAGLASS STYLE

Waterside Cottages strikes again!

It all began when I got a Friend Request from Jura Koncius, the Washington Post's lead writer on Home & Design and the DC area's go-to design guru.

Whether you want to find an obsure piece of hardware for your Civil War era house or a coffee table for your funky bachelor pad, Jura can help. Her Twitter feed is legendary.

Several days later, I received a 'heads up' e-mail from my publicist at Gibbs Smith saying that Jura wanted to get in touch with me about a story she was working on.

It was too early to break out the champagne, but I WAS pretty excited. Over the next few days, Jura and I exchanged emails and chatted on the phone about one of my favorite topics, Sea Glass.

Then, I kept my fingers crossed.

TODAY, Waterside Cottages is mentioned in THE Washington Post, the DC area's oldest and most distinguished newspaper.

With a circulation of over a half million, The Post, as locals call it, has covered The White House and its inhabitants, and goings on in Maryland and Virginia since 1877. Today, the newspaper is also alerting readers on how to enjoy Summer In Style.

While working with Jura on her Summer In Style feature, I created several palettes inspired by sea glass with colors that can be mixed and matched beautifully. Dive right in!


Have questions? Jura and I will be having a Live Washington Post online Q & A on Thursday July 8th from 11 AM to noon. Let's chat!

(Photo by Dan Mayers)

Benjamin Moore- Pale Tones:

Aqua: Barely Teal 2048-70

Green:Crème de Mint 2036-70

Blue: Bashful Blue 2065070

Benjamin Moore - Medium Tones:

Aqua: Jamaican Aqua 2048-60

Green: Marina Bay 20136-50

Blue: Caribbean Coast 2065-60

(Photo by Dan Mayers)

Sherwin Williams:

Aqua: Pool Blue sw 6944

Green: Kiwi sw 6737

Blue: Blu Click sw 6952

(Photo by Dan Mayers)

Martha Stewart:

Aqua: Sunken Pool

Green: Sea Glass

Blue: Statosphere

Behr:

Aqua: Aqua Breeze 500E

Green: Palm Breeze 420E

Blue: Morning Breeze 560A

HAPPY 6th of JULY

Have you ever wondered what are the telltale signs that a blogger has been out celebrating with a little too much enthusiasm?

Perhaps one of the signs is when their Fourth of July post doesn’t get posted until the 6th!

I originally planned to share a few of my favorite summer paintings by bloggers who paint. (By Erin Houghton of The Painted Garden)

And a book by Diane C. Arkins
Diane was one of my writers when I edited Country Collectibles magazine. Her latest book perfectly captures the essence of this patriotic holiday in prose, poetry, decorating, party ideas, games and menus. The Glorious Fourth of July may be ordered by calling 800-843-1724.

But then I got sidetracked.
(By Erin Houghton of The Painted Garden)

Fast forward to July 3rd when my July 4th celebrations kicked off a day early with a bbq with all the trimmings (including a Good Humor truck) and fireworks at a friend's Country Club.
On the 4th, I was lucky enough to view the “official” Washington DC fireworks from the ballroom of the Sheraton National where I celebrated the wedding of Kristen and Rob.
The reception ballroom had a spectacular view of the Pentagon and The national Mall.

Kristen and I first met when she started coming to Jazzercise class with her mom. She was in high school at the time.

Although her mom and I are closer in age, the three of us have had a blast together choosing a wedding cake, giggling during the wedding rehearsal, and sorting out dozens of details to guarantee their special would be truly special.

The ceremony was at historic Fort Myer, which traces its origin as a military post to the Civil War. It overlooks Arlington National Cemetery.
The Old Post Chapel where the ceremony took place is located on land confiscated from Robert E. Lee's estate.

Nearly every American President and many other persons of influence from around the world have attended services at Fort Myer's Old Post Chapel.
Fast forward to July 6th: By noon today, I had completely recovered from the festivities and was out of bed and dressed when a UPS truck rolled down my driveway.

I was so relieved when he said there were stacks of boxes for me from Gibbs Smith on the truck that I could have kissed the driver.
After I autographed each copy, the entire household helped by lovingly wrapping the books, placing them in padded envelopes and driving them to the post office.

Yes you can get writers cramp from signing too many copies in an afternoon! So, I still have more to send out tomorrow.

CONGRATULATIONS to Gale of She Shoots Sheep Shots.
You are the lucky winner of a free copy of Waterside Cottages.

*** BLOG DU JOUR ***

Belgium chose today's blog. It's The Katillac Shack. His photo wasn't posted yet the last time he checked, but Kelee promised him it would be there real soon.

ENDLESS SUMMER

Fantasize about summer, and beach or boating excursions, backyard barbecues or fireworks probably show up somewhere in your reveries.

(Nautical flags from Wallies)

As you might have guessed from my recent posts, my summer fantasies include cherry pies and watermelon Sno Cones. But, I also dream about coral reefs and sand sprinkled starfish.

(Coral Gables by Thibaut)

(Starfish from York's cabana collection)

Since cherry season is all too short and eventually the weather turns too cool for icy treats, decorating in summerhouse style is a great way to turn summer's carefree mood into an endless vacation vibe.

(Happy Whales by Blonder Home Accents)

Whether your daydream is to swim with whales, beachcomb for shells or wear flip flops 365 days a year, I've gathered some season-stretching patterns and prints that can make your home feel as if you live where it's always an endless summer.

(Border by Blonder Home Accents)

Want to create the illusion of a beach cabana in your living room? Check out York's Cabana Collection for suitable wall patterns and borders.

Prefer shells? Here are a few 'shore' bets:

(Thibaut's Monterey pattern can be coordinated with matching fabric.)


(You can choose from a dozen different shell motifs by Blonder.)

(What size, shape or species of bi-valve do you favor? Claire Murray has the perfect rug)

If you prefer nautical gear, lighthouses, boats, or a beach bag of coastal motifs, Blonder has them all --in wall patterns and border prints.(Blonder Home Accents)

(Blonder Home Accents)

If you want something bright as the summer sun, two of my favorites are this Hawaiian shirt wall pattern and parrot/surfboard border from York Wallcoverings and...

a sprightly beach umbrella pattern from Thibaut.

*** BLOG DU JOUR ***

Yes, the Blog Du Jour is back. And, if you love the beach, you're going to love this one. David McRee spent the last 10 years exploring, photographing, and reviewing as many beaches in Florida as he can. Go to Best Florida Beaches and dive right in!

HAPPY 4th of JULY

Celebrating the 4th of July can be as simple as poking a few tiny American flags into a platter of watermelons, or gathering a bouquet of red, white, and blue flowers.You can wear your favorite flag sweater or shirt...

Or, celebrate in a BIG way, by painting a flag on your garage.Looking for a cool way to celebrate? Whip up a batch of Watermelon Sno Cones.

Watermelon Sno Cones

Seedless watermelon
Vanilla yogurt
Sweetened coconut
Sprinkle or jimmies
Ice cream cones or paper sno cone cups

Using an ice cream scoop, make balls of watermelon and place them in the freezer on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet for no more than 1 hour. Remove from freezer and roll in vanilla yogurt and then sweetened coconut, and top with sprinkles or jimmies. Place in an ice cream cone or sno cone cup and enjoy.

No matter how you choose to celebrate. Have a great holiday weekend!
Barbara

CATCHING UP

Go ahead, spend your Labor Day weekend lounging at the beach. I’ve decided to spend the long weekend catching up.

FIRST, I’m going to let you know about my latest endeavors.

** I’m now a Featured Community Member at www.loghome.com/barbarajacksier. You can read the article I wrote for Log Home Design's November issue about Steve and Lee Dettor’s log cabin mountain home. Don’t miss the slide show. It will slowly change photos--or to hurry it along, click on the hard to see arrows in the middle of each photo on the right edge.

** Also, I was interviewed by Janet Coon of Shabbyfufu for Make Mine Pink for a feature called Year Round Coastal Style. You can read Janet’s inspiring story at www.makeminepink.com/articles/?which=17


NEXT, I’m going to wrap up the FRENCH CONNECTION about my vacation in France.

AFTER THAT, I’ll share the rest of WHITE LIGHTENING photos.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, I’ll show you some gorgeous ways to store and display books.

WHEW!!

Thanks to Libeco, makers of fine Belgian linens for table and bedding, for the above photo.

Fifi posed an interesting question after hearing that I slept in Susie Holt’s guest room (see August 30th post). “Does sleeping in a cover bedroom make you a cover girl?”

*** BLOG DU JOUR ***

Since it's a holiday weekend, relax and enjoy the exquisite photos on Shabby-Chic Cat's Garden Close-Ups.

SUMMER WEEKENDS

One of the most important skills needed to be a writer, tele-commuter or freelancer (three terms that sum up my career) is the ability to make a schedule and stick to it.

Since getting started on Cozy Waterside Cottages, my personal routine is to work on the house chapters during the week and think about, brainstorm, write and edit the introductory material on ‘What Is Waterside Style’ and ‘Ways To Get It’ on the weekends.

Of course, weekends aren’t ALL work. Having time off to have a life is why I decided to be a freelancer in the first place. So this weekend, in between time spent writing about the importance of decorating with handmade coastal crafts, I got out my hot glue gun.

Precipitated by the need to disguise a crack in a hurricane glass that blew off my outdoor table, I ended up making a set of 4 hurricanes embellished with shells and sea glass. The original idea ran in one of my magazines several years ago.

It didn’t take more than an hour or so to from start to finish and since I was still in “personal time” mode, I decided that more shellcraft was in order. This time I made a wreath. I plan to give it as a hostess gift when I visit my friend's beach house in August.

One of the elements that make a cottage cozy is the illusion that the décor is a bit impromptu. Even if done by an interior designer, it’s the urchins plopped in an antique bowl, accents crafted from beachcombing finds or popsicle stick frame made by a child and proudly displayed that put the “cozy into the cottage.”

Speaking of shells, Suzanne Brown’s new book called Summer: A User’s Guide has suggestions for How To Use All Those Shells, as well as instructions on how to tie a beach towel pillow and make flowery flip flops.

When I first got a copy of the book, I thought it was sort of silly; then a few minutes before guests arrived for a backyard bbq, I put it out on a table as a sort of decorative statement. (I thought the cover was pretty.)

Everyone flipped through it and in the following week, I found myself dipping into it again and again. While many of the ideas make you think “Gee, I haven’t done that in years.” It is a gentle reminder not to overlook the simple pleasures associated with summer.