Food & Color of Japan

Salmon background & the complementary colors of white & mustard yellow.

On my recent trip to Japan to visit my dear friend Yorie, I experience many cultural difference, including their food. Japanese food is very diverse, colorful and full of wonderful flavors. Along with the cuisine their presentation was very important, almost everywhere we went. I have never felt the need to photograph my dish before I ate, but these were works of art.

My ramen noodles were so full of flavor, we went to a small ramen noodle restaurant in Tokyo. Sitting at a small counter, Japanese sitcom playing on the television, we ate our meal quietly because it was so good!

The rich wood tone contrast the warm bright yellows & greens.

At the Toufuya Ukai, in Shiba, we enjoyed a wonderful meal with our friend Carl. A five course meal, the ginkgo berry was so pretty I didn't want to eat it. Truth be told, I didn't know you could eat it!

Soft Persian opal blue surrounds the delicate textured white & rich brown.

Our meal at the Taikyourou hotel, in Izumo, located on the western Japan Sea Coast, we enyoyed a six course meal. This beautiful dish of cold noodles and what looks like an eggs was delicious. It was not an egg but full of lite flavors and soft noodles.

Texture & shape are harmonized with the salmon & green tones, white plays elegantly in contrast.

Once again our Taikyourou hotel meal presentation was stunning. We oood and awed! before we ate, savoring all the delightful textures and flavors of our meal.

Fiddle Head

We found these beautiful fiddle head fern sculptors in Seattle. They scatter the ground and shoot up into the air like living creatures of steel. Our Isabel thought they were very cool and found running around them, time and time again, was the most fun she could have. We thought it was very cold and just wanted to go find some hot coffee! guess who won....

My little fashion diva knows her colors! the rich shade of violet and cool grey are just two of the fall/winter 2008-09 colors for fashion and interiors.

Reflective of the modern age and the future, deep grey and violet are cool colors that represent strength and technology.

It is a little hard to find these colors in the antique world, a few ideas are to look for mulberry on white English ironstone, it even sounds yummy!

Vintage steel and galvanized remnants found in barns or junk stores are a stunning accent on the wall of a hallway, above a headboard or over a console.

Victorian floral painting often have beautiful tones of violet and vintage violet flower embroidered textiles can make an amazing accent pillow.

We are open!

actually, we opened over a month ago but I haven't had a moment to write since.
All is good at the 1204 location, a work in progress, we have accomplished a lot since April and there is so much more to do.
My goal is to have fun and not stress out about what hasn't been finished like, signs, website redesign and the list goes on.....
I have the most amazing help, my husband, Charlotte and Lynne. Without these amazing and creative people, I wouldn't be sitting here typing, I would be running around like a chicken freaking out about everything that I need to do!
But summer is here, how beautiful it is outside, the sun is so bright and warm. I try to work in the garden a little a day just to keep it from taking over. Our fruit is doing well accept the plums and the flowers have been rich with color.
My goal for design this summer is to bring nature inside by means of color and organic material. How amazing it is to have not just flowers and beautiful plants rich with life but to also bring in that which has once been alive and now supplies us with texture and shape. I have a variety of shells I have found on the beach, passed down from an estate sale or from my store and I place them in a crystal bowl or a white ceramic dish with my other found objects like agates, moss and old pieces of wood. This gives me inspiration and the shapes and colors are amazing to examine.
In the store I will be painting an accent wall a warm and sensual green, I haven't picked it out yet but I have some things in mind. This will bring the green that is outside on the trees and in the planters and bring it inside and add a feeling of life to the room.
Project, projects.

New Adventure

After taking some time off, I have decided to re-open my antique store.
How exciting is that? well, it is very exciting.
We will be at our old location 1204 NW Glisan St. in the Pearl.
I am a little nervous but more thrilled than anything.
We hope to be open in May, fingers crossed but we think we can manage it.

Memories of Sellwood

I was in my favorite neighborhood last weekend, Sellwood Antique Row, visiting some of my favorite stores. I have such fond memories of Sellwood, my mother and I had our antique store there for 9 years. My son wasn't 2 years old when we opened the doors on an early August day in 1997.

We had some of the best customers, I miss them all, but luckily, I do get to see many of them because the antique community is a small one here in Portland.

One of my fondest memories of Sellwood, is when the neighborhood would have its annual Summer Sidewalk Sale. The last one we participated in before we closed, was in August of 2005. We invited Ankeny Vineyard to give wine tasting. My energetic 85 year old grandmother was there, dusting the store from one end to the other. My 9 year old was helping out and my mom was keeping up with the food and customers. It was such a memorable day. Our customers would come in to see grandma, taste some wine and comment on the 4 generations that were running the store. It was a special time.

Sellwood will always have a special place in my heart.

One of my favorite places to purchase merchandise for my clients is, Please Be Seated, Laurie Austin has a wonderful mix of contemporary art and accessories as well as traditional dinnerware to die for.

I love going to Sweat Pea, I find some of the cutest cloths for my little girl there.

Europa Antique has some wonderful European antique furniture and gifts.

The newest store on the street is Madison Park, it is owned my 3 great antique dealers and is most charming! You must check it out.

Last but not least, Farmhouse Antiques, you will find some great items from very experience collectors and dealers.

Books and a rainy day

"I will get the hang of this" I keep telling myself. Here I am, writing the first few words in my blog and I don't know what to say!?

Hmmm, spring is here and my creative mind has been hard at work planning Easter, Isabella's second birthday and Cristiano's 12th birthday. I have been busy at work decorating a clients family living room and finding the perfect furniture is not as easy as I would hope. I have also been busy covering ugly books with fun handmade paper and decorative prints. I was so tired of the ugly covers, I decided something had to be done, so on one of our rainy days! I pulled out the paper, took the less than attractive books off the book shelves and I busied myself with covering them.

It is so easy to do, I went to Paper Zone but Oblation also has wonderful wrapping paper to choose from.

Sometimes, I traced the dust jacket directly on the new paper and other times I placed the book cover on the wrapping paper and then I would trace it, leaving an inch or two in order to fold the paper inside the book.

What a difference! Now I won't stare at them and keep thinking how ugly the books are and that I should throw them in a box and put them in the basement. They even look good with our antique books.

I found this wonderful Sun Glass jar at the Expo Antique show one summer. I placed several pieces of colorful rock, moss and wood in the jar that we found on a recent hike. I decided it would be great as a bookend, it is heavy enough, decorative and holds memories for us.