Happy Anniversary!!

To my husband! It's been five years and it just gets better and better. It's so amazing to be married to my best friend and companion. I am thankful for him daily. This picture is from our honeymoon. We went to Curacao, a Caribbean island just south of Aruba and stayed at The Hotel Kura Hulanda (below) and it was perfect...the weather, food, service, views...so laid back and beautiful.





My second favorite trip we've ever taken was to Sonoma, California. At the suggestion of my dear friend, we stayed at The El Dorado, right on the square. I highly recommend this trip as a perfect romantic get away. It was delightful...I loved everything about the trip and can't wait to go back!




Honestly, though the trips are wonderful and memorable (and I love planning them), it's the everyday things that make being married to him so special. He truly brings out the best in me and loves and supports me like no one else. I hope and pray I do the same for him. Cheers to my steady Eddy!

Children's Gift Ideas

Birthday parties for children are so much fun but sometimes the challenge can be finding the right gift that's age-appropriate, affordable and unique. Here are some ideas I've come across lately.

I love the Paint-a-Pot Garden, pictured above, from Our Garden. It says for ages 5 and up but Janie and I had fun doing it today. It comes with a set of paints and brushes, a terra cotta pot, Marigold seeds and soil. A fun activity and children can watch their special garden grow! You can find them locally at my favorite garden center, Gulley's.

I also love making a short sleeve white T-shirt special (don't they go through hundreds of these?) by adding a child's name or monogram. I buy them from Target and take them to The Butterfly Cottage downtown for a quick, simple monogram. I've also ordered shirts from this Etsy site that are adorable and excellent quality!



We LOVE the book Bee and Me by Elle J. McGuinnes and Heather Brown. I think that book with a jar of local honey would make a great gift (for mom and dad, too) and teach children the importance of supporting local bee keepers. You can always find fresh, local honey at the Farmers Markets.



This is a little bit of a splurge for a very curious child...The Birdsong Identiflyer (below) is the coolest little handheld device that teaches children how to identify bird calls. Janie and I discovered this at Wildbirds Unlimited in Aberdeen and she could have played with it for hours. Do you have any children's gift ideas? I'd love to hear them!!

Special Reader Discount!!

I am so excited to announce that this weekend, the personalized stationery store A Touch of Whimsy Designs is offering Happy House Blog readers a 15% discount on orders placed by midnight, October 17th. How cute are these Halloween treat bag stickers (and 18 for only $7 plus a discount!!).


Not only do they have really cute and unique designs, but their products are well made, well priced and the turn-around time is quick (5-7 business days + delivery). I've ordered notes, address stickers, memo pads in acrylic holders, and gift enclosures for Janie and I love them.



The seasonal/holiday section is my favorite...it really is one-stop shopping: cards, invitations, gift stickers, fill-in thank you notes and address labels.



A Touch of Whimsy also has precious gifts like monogrammed platters (above), personalized clip boards (below), lunch boxes and water bottles. I think personalization, in any form, makes a gift so much more thoughtful and well, personal!


Use code happyhouse15 at checkout to receive your 15% discount now through Sunday. And a big thanks to Gina, owner of A Touch of Whimsy. She's great to work with, very responsive AND a fellow North Carolinian. Happy Shopping!!

What are you going to be for Halloween?

I get really excited about Halloween...I don't know if it's the candy corn or the fall weather or the beginning of holiday season or what, but it's so much fun to be a kid again. I was thrilled to see Martha Stewart's Halloween collection for Grandin Road.

Lots of fun, spooky stuff that will definitely bring trick-or-treaters ringing. And I am definitely going to wear that costume to Halloween parties. Also, don't forget to purchase your FEED Trick-or-Treat Bag to benefit UNICEF. For every bag purchased, $3.50 will be donated to UNICEF which will supply a child in a developing country with a year's supply life-saving micronutrient powder (click here for more information.)

Painting Workshop

I am so excited to be attending a Painting workshop by two incredible North Carolina artists, Bee Sieburg and Molly Courcelle. My mother treated me to this two-day workshop in the beautiful setting of Lake Logan, outside of Asheville. Bee and Molly are a very talented mother/daughter duo and I am thrilled for this opportunity. Thank you to my sweet Mom, not only for a chance to learn from such incredible talent but to spend this very special time together.

*Above painting, Peace/Patience, oil on canvas by Molly Courcelle.

Asheville

Wow! What a city! We had a refreshing retreat to the mountains of North Carolina this past week. Asheville is truly the jewel of the south, in my opinion. It has so many activities, dining options and outdoor adventures to choose from, we could hardly fit everything in...there's something for everyone. And as the Chamber of Commerce t-shirts tout, the altitude definitely affects the attitude.

Here are some enticing reasons to visit this lovely mountain city:

Restaurants!!
My favorites are The Laughing Seed, The Corner Kitchen and 131 Main but there are hundreds more. The Laughing Seed on Wall Street is vegetarian and healthy and absolutely delicious. I could eat there daily! The Corner Kitchen, in Biltmore Village is a lively spot with a great brunch (The Obamas dined here while visiting) and FIG, right around the corner, is a splurge but divine! 131 Main is in Biltmore Park and is actually a chain but they have the best veggie burgers I've ever had. I've asked for their recipe but they're not budging. I did detect beets in them. YUM!! Also, newly opened Pack's Tavern, downtown, has a great atmosphere and the best salmon salad I've had in a while!



The Biltmore Estate:



No trip to Asheville is complete without a visit to the Biltmore House, America's largest privately owned home. At Antler Hill Village and Farm, you can visit the barnyard of animals and Janie got to hold a baby chick. The adjacent historic horse barn is where we held our wedding reception so it's a special place for me. The 8000 acres and estate itself are truly awe-inspiring and I was surprised that Janie was able to keep up but she was clearly entranced by the "castle" and its princess, Cornelia Vanderbilt.

Even though she's young, I wanted Janie to see one of my favorite things at Biltmore Estate, John Singer Sargent's portrait of Fredrick Law Olmsted. Founder of American Landscape Architecture, Olmsted designed the gardens and grounds of Biltmore in the French and English styles. A personal hero of mine, he was a champion of urban parks and preserving nature within cities. This portrait, large and powerful in person, depicts his obvious declining health.


"I have all my life been considering distant effects and sacrificing immediate success and applause to that of the future." Fredrick Law Olmsted

Sargent's portrait of Richard Morris Hunt hangs across from Olmsted's, both in the drawing room. Hunt, widely considered one of the fathers of American architecture, created the estate in the French Renaissance Style.



Outdoor Activities:
Oh, the list could go on and on...Trolley Rides, Splashville (Asheville's new outdoor water fountain for children to play and "splash" around in), hiking on the Blue Ridge Parkway, shopping, galleries and of course, MUSIC!

There are tons of great places to stay in Asheville but I'm very fortunate to have some very special people who live right there...my mom and dad. They were (as always) the perfect hosts for a very special and memorable visit to one of my favorite cities.

A great resource for the area is their Chamber of Commerce.

Hiatus

As summer comes to an end, I'm taking a little "blogger break." I can't wait for fall to begin and with it, some cool weather! I'll be back in two weeks with new project updates, design inspiration and fresh material. But before I go, here's Haskell Harris' house, of Garden & Gun. She posted it on her blog a while back but it continues to inspire me. Such timeless design! Bye for now.

Birthday Boy!!

Today is my precious husband's birthday. I could celebrate him for a month. He is everything and more than I deserve and I love him so!