It was LOVE at first sight… this Anthropologie chair made my heart race.

Unfortunately we’ve not one single spot for such a chair in Casa Anderson… it is FULL and DONE. Sad. But, I had already fallen in love… with that rustic, pieced together style, the top stitching and frayed edges reminiscent of  a man’s suit mid-construction, and the neutral fabrics of varied tones and textures.  I just couldn’t get this chair out of my mind and decided there must be something to be be made in that same style… something that I would have room for in my home.

So, with an idea in mind, I rifled through my scraps, spare fabrics and trims, and set aside burlaps of different shades,weights and textures along with some scraps of lace picked up at a flea market. All were washed and dried and cut into usable bits which I then pieced together to make one large cut of fabric. Then, the stitching began.  It was very simple… I used a giant needle, cotton string and brown embroidery thread to form large, crude and rough hand stitches.  In the end, I had a tablecloth.. rustic, frayed, patched together, top stitched and to me… just beautiful.  The pictures don’t do it justice…

Finished just yesterday, so…. Happy Valentines Day to me!   Now, will I be brave enough to serve dinner on it??

Well, yes I was!  Last night before Mr. MM left on a trip we enjoyed an early V-Day dinner, red wine and all.  The new tablecloth survived!  Here you can see part of our nutritious meal… my Paleo/Primal almond flour biscuits stuffed with a TINY bit of fresh mozzarella and proscuitto.  They were YUMMMMMMM…

 Hope your day is filled with LOVE!!

I’m not a big fan of carpeted stairs:  they get dirty and worn looking so very quickly. I prefer wood, or the cork I put in our house many years ago.  The cork covers our entire 2nd level, and the stairs.  I love the way the cork looks, and the way it absorbs sound is wonderful.  But wood and cork can be very slippery on stairs. Once we switched over from carpet, our dog, Scooter, would no longer attempt the stairs to lie in his favorite sunny spot on the landing… he’d slipped and fallen down too many times. Scooter is now long gone, but I am still bothered by how slippery the bare stairs are.

SO, I’m thinking about putting a runner on top of the cork… something patterned that won’t show dirt, wear and tear.  I considered a fun animal print… a perfect fit for our “Out of Africa” home.

I even thought about striped runner.  There are so many beautiful options:

Or a pattern of some kind.  I especially like geometrics:

Even a floral would be beautiful, but can you imagine what my Motorcycle Man would say about this?

or this?

So many fun choices… I love them all.  But my final decision:  I want very very different.  I want something noone else will have.  Kind of like this:

Or this:

I am now on a mission, looking for old dhurrie rugs.  Small, large, long, thin, even bits and pieces.  Once I have enough parts that all look good together I’ll have my carpet installer patch them together to form a one-of-a-kind runner for the stairs.

I know, I know… this is definitely weird… maybe a little too bohemian for some.  But to me… well, I am drooling already!  Sooo beautiful, and much safer too!

Ohh…  I couldn’t resist this little beauty for my own home… $20 at the Orange County Flea Market!

This vintage train case, covered in elk skin and trimmed in leather, now sits on the hearth of our kitchen fireplace.  I added the beaded Tanzanian cuff… borrowed from a collection in another room.  Such a fun piece, and useful too.  It now holds our matchbook collection.

Did you find something fun at the flea market last weekend?