BOOK GIVEAWAY

I love March!

It means the end of winter and the beginning of flower season in Virginia.

The month is barely 6 days old and the first Tête a Tête daffodils and tiny iris reticulata have already opened in my garden.

In 1992, when I planted a handful of Tête a Tête bulbs, they were a novelty-- and very expensive. Now, these early-blooming mini daffodils are one of the most popular daffodils in America. You can buy pots of ready-to-bloom Tête a Tête are for sale at my local grocery store. This March, I estimate that nearly 200 of these cheery little dafs will appear in my yard.

This year, there is another reason I love March... Lidy at French Garden House has posted an interview with me on her beautiful blog.In the interview, I've shared my Five Favorite Tips For Decorating Coastal Style, shared advice to folks who want to become writers and explained how I got interested in Waterside Cottages.

Dan Mayers contributed a dozen of his marvelous Waterside photos to the blog post, too.
Lidy is also holding a Book Giveaway. You can enter to win a copy of my book Waterside Cottages, but you'd better hurry. A winner will be chosen on March 8th (my son's birthday!)
There are several ways to enter and additional ones for improving your chances of winning.

Just click on the photo at the right to enter.

Water, Water, Everywhere

The problem with taking an extended blog break is that sometimes, it's hard to jump back in.

It's been way too long but today, I'm jumping.

My wildly creative Australian friend Natasha Burns has issued a plea for help. There are devastating floods in her country and she is having a fundraising giveaway on her blog to help those in need.

Donate $5 and she'll enter you in her giveaway.

You'll have a chance to win one of her gorgeous paintings, you'll feel good about helping families who have lost everything and it's tax deductible.

How can you resist?

Here's the link, http://www.facebook.com/l/9d73762RtEjzgzkYLu1z5j-xxCQ;natashaburns.blogspot.com/2011/01/queensland-flood-relief-giveaway-with.html

COAST TO COAST

Yes, I know it's been awhile, but before I explain why I haven't been blogging lately. I'd like to share some exciting book sightings.

ROCKLAND, MAINE
Just before Labor Day, my friend Judith was vacationing in Maine and went into a cute shop called SEAGULL COTTAGES.

She was so thrilled to see Waterside Cottages on display that Jim Stewart, the shopkeeper, came over to see what was going on. She asked Jim if she could snap a few photos. He asked if I'd be willing to do a book signing in Spring. Maine, here I come!

Judith already has an autographed copy of my book but she reportedly left with several shopping bags overflowing with gifts from the sea.

Visitors and Mainers can stop by the Rockland shop for coastal home decor or visit its sister location in Warren, Maine. There are also outposts in Pompano Beach and Sarasota, Florida. And no matter where you live, you can visit online at www.maineseagullcottage.com.

MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIFORNIA
Clear across the country, last Sunday, I spied Waterside Cottages in the window of A Summer Place (1401 Highland Avenue, Manhattan Beach, CA).

I was on my way from the Inn at Playa del Rey to an Arts Festival in Hermosa Beach. I looked out the car window and shouted, "Stop the car!" There in the window was Waterside Cottages.
When I introduced myself, coastal maven Sue Keporos was as excited as I was.

I snapped a few photos of this special shop. Enjoy the tour!

Make a free digital slideshow

Now, for the explanation of my vanishing act. I'm sorry for the long silence but it has been a demanding summer. I spent much of it nursing Samantha, my wounded chick back to health (see July 2nd post), and helping my mom while she recuperated from a broken knee.

For all of you who sent Samantha get well wishes, she says THANKS. She's now back in the coop with her friends but misses being hand fed and hanging out with me on the porch.

And for all of you who wrote, called, emailed and dropped by to cheer Mom and me on,
THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH!

Tomorrow morning, I'm off to do a book signing at My Island Cottage in Chincoteague, Virginia.

Barbara

P.S. I plan to jump back in where I left off. I'll be sharing some wonderful sea glass finds plus my musings and photos from England and Scotland in the very near future.

I HATE COMPUTERS

Imagine you log in to a Live Chat and for some mysterious reason,'acess is denied'. Pretty frustrating, right?

Now imagine the same thing happens when you are the Live Chat's guest and you are one of the two folks who are supposed to be ready to help moderate the chat and answer questions. My ship was sailing and I wasn't on it. XX#&~!@#$%^&*()_+!!

There I was sitting with my Mac, my laptop, my friend's laptop, paint color fans and a few favorite sources of inspiration and for 20 minutes I couldn't get online.
I could read all of the questions coming in ...but I couldn't answer. My office was not a pretty place to be from 11 AM to 11:20! Words that normally don't cross my lips came spewing out.
Then, thanks to the savvy tech crew at The Post, a lifesaver was found, and it worked!
I could publish my answers instead of just thinking about them. It was fun after all.
A great big thank you to everyone who participated in the Washington Post's Live Chat -- and to those who posted, re-posted, re-twitted and spread the word.

There were so many questions and comments that Washington Post editor Liz Seymour couldn't post even half of them in our allotted time!

Please accept my apologies if you were left out. If the Washington Post doesn't mind, I'll try to answer some of the coastal related in future posts.

If you missed the chat and want to read it online the perma-link is:
http://live.washingtonpost.com/home-front-07-08-10.html

For now, I'm going to brew up a pitcher of iced tea and try to stay cool. It's another scorcher here today. I photographed the gull and ship murals at the fabulous train museum in York, England. If anyone knows who painted them please let me know. I'd like to credit their creator.

*** BLOG DU JOUR ***

I'd be remiss if I didn't share this great European ruffled table linens giveaway from Lidy at French Garden House. I know it dilutes MY chance of winning but I owe it to all of you who have been so nice about sharing my recent news. Go ahead and enter, I won't mind a bit.

LET'S CHAT

Tomorrow, I'm going to be the special guest on The Washington Post's Home Front Live Chat (Thursday July 8 at 11 AM.)

Please join editor Liz Seymour and me from 11 to 12 for solutions to your coastal--and other--decorating dilemmas.

http://live.washingtonpost.com/home-front-07-08-10.html

The text of the live discussion will flow into the bottom of each discussion page during its live hour.

You can either click "Refresh" on your browser window or hit "F5" on your keyboard to see new responses.

Make sure you scroll down to see the latest answers.

Please stop by and say Hi.

DELIGHTFUL DOORS

It's almost 6 AM and I woke up over an hour ago to check on all of my chickens.

Today is my birthday but I'm not in a celebrating mood.
Yesterday a critter attacked my chicken coop. I lost one precious 5 week-old chick and another is seriously wounded. One of the senior girl's is also recuperating from a leg problem. My home resembles a veterinary infirmary.

I'm afraid my second sea glass post will have to wait. I haven't received any of the photo's that I wanted to feature. But I hope you'll enjoy a photo gallery of intriguing doors that I snapped on my recent trip to England and Scotland.Now converted to into a chic two-story private home, these iron-embellished doors once opened onto a carriage house that served a gorgeous Georgian city house in the town of Bath.

Stone lions guard the door of Castle Venlaw's North Lodge gatehouse in Peebleshire, Scotland. (more about this venerable castle hotel and its amazing restaurant next week)

Cottage doors are my obsession. In Avebury no two doors are alike. Most are handcrafted.

Many have adorable (and practical) porticos to protect family and friends from the rain.
Nine lite (pane) doors are very popular cottage choices. Some are long and thin.
Others are shorter and wider.
Fan-shaped transoms (called Fanlites in Britain) are de rigeur in upscale abodes.
Antique glass inserts like these bubble transoms come in a pastel rainbow of shades. Did you notice the fairie and mushroom knocker? Mushrooms are a recurring motif in Avebury. I'm not sure why. Does anyone know why?
This old double door has its original stone lintel.
Very few doors are left natural like the two above --most are red, yellow or blue.
Unpainted doors are often found in country settings. This rustic architectural relic is embellished with ancient metal studs and hardware.
In the historic town of Bath, elegance reigns supreme.
Entryways exhibit classic proportions and Roman-inspired details such as columns, pediments and over-the-top stonework.
In Great Britain neo-classic buildings are called Georgian architecture in honor of the kings-- Georges I, II, III and IV-- who ruled when this style came into vogue.
I also photographed this slightly less formal 'Dutch' door in Bath. I love old-fashioned double doors, especially this one which is topped with a stone shelf.
In the medieval town of Lacock, I discovered a random plank Dutch door side by side with a more modern door in a row on of historic townhouses.
One last thought: Doors in Britain can be very bright!

WATERSIDE WEDNESDAY: SEA GLASS

No matter where I travel -- this time it was around England and Scotland -- it always feels good to be home again. (village of Avebury)

My itinerary included London, Bath, York, Peebles and Edinburgh.

(Cricket in Bath)

I spent time with my British cousins, attended several classical and world music concerts, saw Shakespeare's Henry VIII at the Globe Theatre and stayed in a Scottish castle.

(The Globe )

I also enjoyed all sorts of fabulous food-- everything from traditional British cookery to trendy Scottish cuisine, Indian curries to Moroccan tagines.(Potted shrimp at Castle Venlaw)

I have lots more wonderful photos and royal decorating tips to share but you'll have to be patient, because today is Waterside Wednesday...

(ruins along the English coast)

And today's post is about sea glass.(©2010 Celia Pearson)

Sea glass is one of nature's semi-natural wonders. It begins its existence as a man-made bottle, plate, jar, marble or stopper before being tumbled by the tides and transformed into a treasure coveted by beachcombers the world over.

(©2010 Celia Pearson)

In 2004, photographer Celia Pearson collaborated with Richard LaMotte to produce the book, Pure Sea Glass. LaMotte, an avid sea glass collector and board member of the North American Sea Glass Association studied over 30,000 pieces of glass to create his definitive history and rarity scale. And Pearson's photos conjure the excitement surrounding water-washed glass.

The book (along with notecards, posters of a dozen illustrations from the book, including the cover photo, and an identification deck of cards) may be purchased from www.seaglasspublishing.com. Pearson's fine art sea glass prints can be ordered from www.celiapeason.com.

(©2010 Celia Pearson)

For those who love the thrill of the chase, collecting sea glass by walking at water's edge is the only way to go. But, those who want a shortcut can gather beach glass online. Tiny shards, chunks and bobbles are often available on eBay.

Etsy.com is the place to shop for seaglass jewelry and home goods embellished with glass. Do-it-yourselfers can frequently score pre-drilled pieces ready for crafting, too.

Jewelry artist Jean Forman of Lucky Sea Glass (www.luckyseaglass.com) says its harder than ever to find gem quality sea glass.

Although sea glass can be found along almost every shoreline, I recently learned about two locations that are particular paradises for glass lovers.

The first is Glass Beach in Fort Bragg, California. The story of how three protected coves came to be blanketed with sea glass is the stuff of legends involving brothels, earthquakes and town dumps. Lisa D Walker tells the intriguing tale in her book Glass Beach (available at www.Blurb.com/bookstore/detail/813540)



The second heavenly destination for glass afficionados is England's North Sea coast. Lisl of Out of the Blue Jewelry (www.naturalseaglass.com) sources gorgeous glass that can be traced back more than a century. It comes from a Victorian era glass factory that discarded its surplus and scraps into the North Sea. To learn more, try the link below.
http://naturalseaglass.com/index.php/whatisseaglass/about-our-sea-glass/england.html

I'll be featuring more about sea glass next WATERSIDE WEDNESDAY. Stay tuned.

*** MARK YOUR CALENDARS***

On Thursday July 8th I will be the featured guest on the Washington Post's Home Front live chat with Jura Koncius. Please join us with your waterside decorating questions and comments. One lucky chatter will win an autographed copy of my book Waterside Cottages.