Bathing Rituals

There is something about a hot bath, fragrant with salts and oils; beeswax candles casting a golden glow, a glass of wine (or cup of tea) in hand...Bliss! When all else fails, I usually head for the bath. I also head for the bath when nothing is wrong, simply because I'm completely addicted to the ritual of bathing. It must be an inherited trait. I was introduced to this pampering pleasure by my own mother, and both my daughters confess to being not-so-secret sybarites. Once hooked, it's a hard habit to break. Can get expensive and time consuming too! Once the water is running, and steam is filling the room, might as well give oneself a mini-facial or try new mask...The possibilities for self- indulgence are endless! My bathroom is my own personal spa. I keep it well stocked with organic goodies and indulge daily. I've never been a shower girl - the Hammam is more like it in my book! Load me up with gorgeous, fluffy (organic) cotton towels, body brushes, sea sponges, body polish, creamy soap, lotions and potions and I'm in Heaven! Guess where I'm going when I sign off here?

Painting by moi. Entitled The Deep End.

January In My Garden

The view above is from my back fence, across an open field, of Taos Mountain. Taos is a skier's paradise this winter! We have had so much snow. The other shot is from my front door. The fruit trees are hibernating, but wait until you see their late summer bounty! I am attempting to create a wild garden in the front of my home. Several aspen trees and native plants have been planted. In the years to come, they will spread and return the land to its pristine origin. I have kept garden furnishings to a minimum; a lone bench against the coyote fence, an old oil urn from Mexico beside the gravel terrace. Two wrought iron, folding chairs from the twenties. The table between them is an iron crate, topped with a limestone tile! This house is far too humble to surround with anything grand, so I have kept it simple and concentrated on the plantings. In summer, hummingbirds and butterflies compete with the flowers for attention. The garden gives back so much more than I put in. I had the gravel put in last year, to create some structure in front of the house before the land undulates into meadow and ditch. (I'm on one of the main Asequia's)My kitchen opens onto a deck, shaded by two huge Ponderosa Pines. In the warm weather, it's my living and dining room. A lantern hangs from one of the trees. The skull is buffalo, given to me many years ago by a friend from Taos Pueblo. The chair is old Taos. The vista, from Heaven.

Creative Pursuits

I began painting as a very small child. In my mid-twenties, after my first child was born, I found myself writing more - perhaps because it is a simpler way to channel creative energy - but whenever I feel blocked or disconnected from the muse, I return to the easel. Painting always takes me back to the child who found her joy in colour and form. Two years ago, I had a show during the Taos Spring Arts Festival. It was the first time I had exhibited my art in many years. I'm now painting for another one in the not too distant future. Because of the limited space I have relegated to art, I keep the work small. As soon as I have a few ready, I'll put them here for a preview. Meanwhile you can see one in my kitchen and one I have hanging in the little hallway between my bedrooms. Scroll down to the posts Serve it Forth and Red and click to enlarge.

Serve It Forth

Today, a girlfriend is coming for lunch. We're having a green salad, cold chicken, some good cheeses and crusty, sourdough bread. A bottle of wine is chilling in the fridge. We'll eat in the kitchen in front of the fire and have a couple of hours of girl talk.I think it very wonderful to make the extra effort, even when it's only an old friend joining one for lunch or dinner. Nothing says one cares, more than the sweet little touches we bring to the table for an hour or two of sharing. It does not require much, nor do our friends expect 5 star service in our homes. Home entertaining should be relaxed and unfussy. Just prepare the repast with love, and in the words of the late, great M.F.K Fisher, "serve it forth!"

House of Spirit

The image above is a pic of a nicho of the Virgin of Guadalupe in town. It seemed to be the perfect illustration for this post. In these days of global uncertainty, our homes are more important than ever before. The explosion of decorating sites, blogs and zines in the past few years are a reflection of the need for comfort and sanctuary in our private spaces. A home that nourishes and supports its occupants both creatively and spiritually, is far more important than one that looks magazine ready.In Feng Shui practice, anything one posseses that does not uplift the spirit is not only considered useless clutter, but harmful to our personal chi or lifeforce. Often the things most precious to us are not costly, nor valuable. A shell carried home from a magical destination. Flowers picked on a walk in summer and pressed or dried. These things bring real energy into our homes. Our homes should reflect our inner selves. They should provide comfort and clarity in a world that over exposes us to information overload, daily. The question we all need to ask ourselves, is how much is enough? How much stuff do we really require to be satisfied with our lives? And most importantly, do we know who we truly are and do we trust our own taste and vision? The hunger for more aquisitions might best be satiated by feeding the inner life more, than embarking on yet another shopping spree, for the next best thing, that everyone and their mother will soon have too!

Around Town

Click on these to see the great details in Rachel's salon. The framed
paper-cut is life size, and leans on the floor behind the desk. The little
Moor lamp is one of a pair Rachel found gathering dust, locally.




My morning started at LOKA, a newish cafe' on the Ledoux Plaza. Great minimal and modern space that is also a gallery - exactly where I want my dose of minimal modernism! Excellent pastries and espresso. Had a meeting with a client, chatted with a few friends and headed off to my next appointment at Shank. Besides being the place for an edgy haircut, it is also owned (and decorated) by the fabulous Rachel Bell. Trained at Aveda and Bumble & Bumble in NY, Rachel is an artist with her shears and her salon is just divine! That's it in the pics above. After that, I ran around town to pick up a few things. My first stop was the John Dunn Boardwalk for cards at Paper Day, buttons at Common Thread and a quick peek in G. Robinson Old Prints and Maps. Then on to Bent Street for handcrafted soaps and heavenly, organic bath goodies at Desert Blends, and finally, grabbed a pound of the best (organic) espresso beans in town, at the World Cup Cafe' and had another americano before coming home.

Bohemian Soul

In this day and age of fashionista bohemians, it's a good thing there are a few authentic ones left!Patti is the real deal. Her home is an expression of who she is and where she has been. A life lived to the fullness of its potential without too much influence from the mainstream. A beautiful and stylish woman, she rejects most rules and chooses only that which nurtures her personal vision. Today I'll show you the other side of her living area. A sitting room that gets plenty sun and magical light, which I tried to capture. Here, you can really see how she brings together disparate elements. Playfully throwing an original Eames chair into the mix with a Victorian settee and a comfy chair from 1930 something! The oddities she has found here and there over the years add to the Cabinet of Curiosities vibe. These rooms are not contrived or 'decorated'. They are as real as the woman who lives in them. We'll come back and see Patti again from time to time. She's a fabulous gardener and her temporary garden is absolutely great, with rooms and secret spots that she created in a nanosecond after moving into this casita. She is also my favourite person to go treasure hunting with - we're a good team, and I'll be sharing some of our sources here.

East Meets West

A mix of elements - hard and soft -
rough and smooth.

Patti's bedroom opens onto a large living area, divided by an archway. The room is gracious in proportion which allowed her to use it for different activities. The area closest to her bedroom, has been turned into a cosy TV room and office. A small table and chair, used for bill paying, has been tucked into a corner with a stack of vintage suitcases and shocking pink suede boxes, holding important papers and files. This area is graced by a raised, kiva fireplace and is a very welcoming space in winter -layered with art and textiles from the American West, Africa and the East. Patti's rooms are very organic in feeling. Nothing is too thought out. Her collections of bones and shells tie the spaces together, and amidst all the luxury and comfort of the silks and velvet, they are set amongst, remind us that life itself, is temporal.

True West

Two years ago, Patti sold the home she had built and lived in for twenty years. A sustainable builder and permaculture gardener, she is renting a craftsman period, adobe casita in town, while she finds the perfect spot to build on. When she moved here, she was overwhelmed by the sale of her house (it happened fast!) and not sure how she would transition from a large, light space to a small adobe cottage. Being a life long collector who has an eye for the eclectic and unusual, she was also in a quandary as to how she was going to fit her belongings into 1000sq ft less than they had been housed in before. She asked me to help and because she was renting, major changes were out of the question. Normally w/Patti's palette, I would shun white walls, but other than a faux treatment on the fireplace surround, and repainting the horrible purple kitchen cabinets, my suggestion was to add Bollywood brights to her more sober, autumnal mix of reds, green and gold, and to disregard the less is more in a small space dictum, and pile it on! We started with the bedroom - a teeny space that blessedly has south and east facing windows. A length of chintz she'd had forever (which we attached to a long board) became the starting point for Guadalupe's Boudoir. In the two years since, Patti has added to the rooms in her own unique fashion. They are a reflection of her deep, complex personality. Rich and layered. Today, I've posted pics of the bedroom. Over the next few days, you'll see more of Patti's amazing collections and her fearless mix of cultures, texture, pattern and colour! A true original , Patti is a classic example of someone rejecting external ideas and living by her own light!

Have A Heart

Pia Jane Bijkerk has such a fabulous project in the works on her gorgeous blog. I love hearts! These are from the inspiration board above my desk. For you, Pia. And once again, a big Thank You! To DesireTo Inspire and all who have dropped by, and sent encouraging words. It's much appreciated. I "heart" all of you!

Winter

This morning the sun is shining and truly if it did not do so as often as it does, here in New Mexico, winter would do me in! I'm a summer baby, born at the Solstice which here, puts my birthday smack in the dead of winter! Confusing to say the least. By mid- January I'm a bit stir crazy.Impatient to get back into the garden; sorry for all my plants struggling to survive inside as they look longingly out the windows, remembering their summer sojourn. I keep promising myself that next year, I'll follow the sun, but now that I have the babies around, I don't want to miss a moment! If I could only take them with...

Room To Dream

Every woman needs a room to dream in. A quiet sanctuary to restore the soul. My home is very Yang in Feng Shui terms, so I created a Yin space for retreat and renewal. My bedroom is where I go when the world becomes too much. To read, to write and to reflect. Meditation is good too. I guess it's quite apparent by now that I'm on the edgy and rustic side of romantic. A bohemian at heart, I love the way the patterns in old tribal weavings sing to me; I'm a sucker for anything cracked, faded, worn and torn - these things tell a story about the hands that have touched them and the homes they have offered comfort and beauty to. I'm not a fan of couches but single chairs have poetry. I like light, leggy, see - through stuff that doesn't bog me down with too much visual weight. I hate any thing to look decorated, or "done" - my home is a home, not a museum or spacecraft! Anything that can be recycled, repurposed or reupholstered, is something that I consider keeping before buying new. Things with soul are what I prefer to surround myself with. And I love white! Being a sentimental sort, I've integrated things that were my mother's and grandmother's - things I would not necessarily have chosen for myself, but have come to love and treasure for the memory and continuity they bring to my life. My daughter's and grand-daughter's will one day reflect on them in much the same way I do now. And dream.

Finding Space Within Space

Fifteen years in NYC as an apartment dweller taught me so much about interior space - mostly how to make more out of less. This house is not big - a little over 1000 sq ft, but I have managed to create zones for work and play. And rest too! The biggest challenge in a home like mine where the kitchen/dining/living is combined, is to create a flow that connects the various functions and seamlessly brings them into a whole. After moving here in late 1990, I changed careers. In NY I freelanced as a music journalist/publicist and makeup artist/stylist. Taos in the early 90's had no place for those skills so I studied Feng Shui and began practising in 93, but mostly my move here was for my kids who were pre-teens at the time. Well, Taos is a lot different now - movies are being made, books written and the art scene flourishes like never before. Today I thought I'd show you where I cook (a passion) and write and paint! I've set my "studio" up in a corner of my living space,a small French easel with drawers holds the paint and media you don't see. My "office" is tucked into a corner of my entry, in front of a wall of mirrors I've collected over the years. Some good, some not but I love the light they throw around the room and the way they expand space. My desk (an old white table) is covered with an antique suzani (I collect tribal rugs and textiles) which hides all files and supplies, organized neatly underneath, and in the stacked trunk/baskets below the mirrors. The chair is vintage, found years ago for 4 bucks in a thrift shop. The lamp is Noguchi. The series 7 chairs sit around a table I had made years ago from an ancient fence bound for firewood. Some of the silver scattered about was inherited, the 19th Century water - gilded Italian mirror on top of page, just an amazing find! Provenance means nothing. Obviously for me it's all about the mix!

Red

Today it looks like snow again and I must be brief here as I have a date with my youngest grand -daughter, Tatyana, who is a little hellion since beginning to walk last week! Oh the joy of children! I have three, all grown and my daughter, Angelica, has blessed me with two of her own. Someday, I'll introduce you to them, but right now I have to get things together here and out of reach of the aformentioned T. The living room is the warmest spot on a day like today, so that is where we will spend much of our time. When my oldest grand- daughter, Natalya, comes for her weekly over-night on Saturdays, she generally hangs out in the guest room which is also a den/playroom. She's a different kinda kid. This one, Tatyana, requires a lot more attention. It's commonly known that children love the colour red, well so do I! Can't live without it! Chinese Feng Shui Masters call red the colour of joy, fame and luck and frankly, on a cloudy, overcast day like today, there's nothing like a shot of scarlet to remind one that the sun will shine again tomorrow!

Morning Musings

I live in a passive solar home built by a woman architect in the early 80's. In a winter colder than most of us in these mountains remember, I have not yet turned on my propane heat. During the day the house is warmed by the sun and the thermal mass (poured concrete floors) releases the stored warmth late into the evening. By 8.30pm, I usually light a fire in the wood stove to maintain the temperature through the night. It stays at a steady 65/70%. In my decorating choices, I have tried to stay true to the vernacular of the house -sort of Rustic Camp, but I should clarify; I am not so much a decorator as a collector and editor of the furnishings, objects and art that I have accumulated over the years. My style, though consistant, has changed subtly with time. But many things have remained with me for many years. I am a great believer in buying only that which you truly love, regardless of current trends, if you love it, it will work. Great rooms and great style for that matter, evolve over time. My interior, veers toward Modern Cottage, without the frills, and with a Colonial flavour, informed by my upbringing and travels. I've always loved the happy - go- lucky sensibilty of Cottage style, for its informality and comfort. Trends in decorating come and go - last week's rave is passe today - but the comfort and simplicity of this style, is classic. This house inspired me to create a Pavillion vibe, connecting the outdoors to the interior and throwing in a few Baroque elements to further the fantasy. In this age of excess where luxury has lost its meaning (what does it mean to you? ) a creative environment that supports its occupants simply, yet comfortably is the best we can hope for in order to get off the crazy wheel of consumption.

Good Evening

New to this blogging thing, please bear with me as I find my feet. I've been so inspired by so many of you out there that I started feeling quite selfish keeping all my good ideas to myself! This blog will serve as my little day book and occasional night book too perhaps, with my random musings on the way we live in these uncertain times, offering solutions wherever and whenever I can. We'll start with my little home and I'll take you with me to visit others who have chosen to break from the hamster wheel and breathe more deeply, longer and slower as they chart a course to authenticity. I'll do my best to show up daily and look forward to all comments, critiques and whatnot.