Ten things I learned while living in Spain, in no particular order (Part I):

(Part II to follow)

     1)    Shop at local businesses and markets, as much as possible. In the beginning, we went to the supermarket a lot.  It was ok, but life really improved when I started going to the local market.  When I was trying to speak Spanish, this was also the greatest source of empowerment.  I could fail spectacularly to communicate in every other way, then go to the market.  As long as I could ask for a quarter-kilo of peanuts, I knew I could say something right.  Shopkeepers were also great sources of information about local events and customs. (Sometimes they were even mildly flirtatious... a compliment AND peanuts).

     2)    Home is whom you are with, not where you are. This was by far the hardest for me.  (I hinted at this here.)  I had days where I felt so far from home, only to realize that home was right there with me.   Jack and a certain little white dog were home.  As long as we were happy together, we were home in a way that no other place would be.  [I have so much respect for my friends who traveled alone and made a home solely through their new relationships, but for me home was a case of realizing what I had all along.]

    3)    Don’t be timid.  At first, I got pushed past and ignored a lot.  I got huffy and more assertive, eventually.  The results were amazing.  Outside the United States, and our culture of customer service, meaningful doe-eyes don’t get you very far.  I had to communicate my wants and needs out loud.  I always tried to be polite, but there was no need to be apologetic about it.  The same went for speaking the language.  I learned to hold my head up and try to get my point across, sometimes more than once.  I found people didn’t hate me for it.  They gave me respect and honest answers instead.

    4)    Set aside time to be a tourist, wherever you are. Living in Spain, I had this incredible opportunity to reach a level of comfort with the place. The flip side of this was that I stopped exploring.  Then I decided I could always explore, without feeling self-conscious.  Tourists should never be getting more enjoyment out of where I was than me.  Actually going to the tower/museum/street performance around the corner changed my whole perspective on the place I lived.

     5)    Attitude colors every experience, think accordingly.  When you live somewhere new, it’s easy to blame everything on the region/city/county.  You will have good and bad days wherever you are, but always striving to be positive makes the biggest difference. From experience, self-pity and bitterness will only leave you shivering IN a broken futon and bemoaning your life choices.  If things aren’t meeting your expectations, change your expectations, put on rosy lenses and kick yourself in the butt. Hard.   

Re-create the Look: Serena and Lily Nursery

 

While this nursery might be a styled image for the Dylan line of Serena and Lily crib bedding, I think it's something special in its own right. The natural textures and floating elements give the space interest and a global edge.  The shapes and color palette, meanwhile, feel serene and slightly arctic.  This space is perfect for a winter nursery.  The bedding itself is playful, elegant and not at all saccharine.  Like the name Dylan, this space could belong to an adventurous girl or boy.  In fact, the polar bear motif reminds me of this wonderful trilogy.  Here are the pieces to re-create the look:


First, and foremost: the Serena and Lily bedding.  There is a dreamy, folk-like quality to the pattern and muted palette.  Elephants, owls and crescent moons mirror each other in a scrolling design.  (See warnings about bumpers, of course).  The set (including bumper, skirt and fitted sheet) is $395, which is steep, but this is a pattern with style that would last through generations, and it is also the anchor for this particular nursery.

At left is Rufus, the polar bear rocker.  He (surely a he with a name like Rufus) is designed by David Netto for Macleran ($295 here).

 

 The three airy, wind-sock-esque shapes in the original proved too elusive. However, The Frazier & Wing mobile, at left is a more-than-worthy substitute.  I love how this mobile looks both substantial and and delicate.  $75 here.

At right is a basket available from Jeanne Beatrice (see their French market style baskets, and "doll basket" as well) for $29 .  I think it would be perfect for toy storage.  It could even be suspended from the ceiling as in the inspiration image.

Finally, we have the chevron pattern rug.  This would be a great DIY project like the one detailed here, using a natural fiber rug.  I would also dilute the paint to get the subtle, washed out look of the original.

A Sunday Kind of Love 3

This is what I fell in love with this week:

1. Low-key holiday greenery via JL Designs (pictured above).  They made little Christmas trees out of succulents! I know!
2. This amazing rural British location and the magic captured there.
3.  I've really enjoyed reading the blog Sunday Evening , and Caroline's gift guides have been my absolute favorite.  Among them, the guide for young children was really special.

I Made You a Holiday Mix!

 

Inspired by Angela Hardison's easy-on-the-ears mix and The Flashdance's first dance selections (some of which are old/new favorites that appear here), and general festive spirit, I put this together:

~ Listen Here ~ 

A Good Walk

The sun is out and seems to have rewound the calendar about a month.  I'm so grateful for this "indian autumn" (such a time must exist, right?) because I took fall for granted.  Now I get to go back and revel in warm sunshine, the smell of leaves on the ground and things like ferns and moss on logs.  Those things were hidden under snow only a week ago.  Lyle is gradually becoming a country dog as well, but I can tell it is hard for him to let go of his city ways.  He looks around, a little morose, likely feeling the absence of pigeons and careless little children with food.

How fantastic is this wedding?

Very fantastic.  I would dress this way to be married.  Wholly lovely, found via .

Holiday Decorating: Blue Christmas

With snow, frost and ice winter transforms the natural world into something spectacular.  Snowflakes, icicles and frost make the familiar shine and sparkle. Drawing decorating inspiration from the outdoors in winter is so different from the other seasons because of this.  Suddenly, there are metallics and whites, intricate geometries and the soft cushioning of snow.  The palette is bright: silver and white against the blue sky.  Decorations highligh the delicate beauty of natural shapes and patterns.

(Image Sources: #1, #3 , #5 , #8 , #9  Martha Stewart (click on the numbers for individual links, the majority of these are crafts, so they can be replicated!), #2 Lili Diallo ,  #4 Sweet Paul , #6 Toast , #7 Country Living )