Good Company
There are some things that I consider good company…a sleeping cat (anytime), a Christmas tree (the whole month of December), and flowers from a garden or yard (from spring till frost).
We had the good fortune to have these flowers at The Fig from High Ground Farm.
![232323232fp635_4_nu=3245_;;;_386_WSNRCG=363;4;3569329nu0mrj[1]](https://wherefigsfly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/232323232fp635_4_nu3245__386_wsnrcg36343569329nu0mrj1.jpg "232323232fp635_4_nu=3245_;;;_386_WSNRCG=363;4;3569329nu0mrj[1]")
Perennials, annuals, and herbs.
Hands down, I think this is the most compatible, stunning mix ever…. quite the trinity, eh?
May you enjoy some good company,
june
Sit a Spell II
Some pieces get the lion’s share of style…this bench is one of those pieces. Enough style for its highbrow past, definitely a-plenty for the ole’ barn, and I’m pretty sure statement-maker is in its future in a slightly understated sort-of-way. The fabric for the seat cushion is Gin Rummy Quince. Again, statement-maker in understated way.
Our little lion (aka Ollie) at The Fig watched as the bench had a photo op…
and wondered if this bench got any of his style. It didn’t, by the way.
Ollie is comfortable with who he is…that is definitely stylin’
Ee-e-e-um-um-a-weh
Ee-e-e-um-um-a-weh
Wimoweh, wimoweh, wimoweh, wimoweh
Think I’ll go download some Tokens or Nylons ‘cause the lion sleeps tonight,
june
Sit a Spell
Just a few options where you could sit a spell.
The Anthropologie store at The Streets at Southpoint
![232323232fp73447_nu=3245_;;;_386_WSNRCG=363;4;34_8329nu0mrj[1]](https://wherefigsfly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/232323232fp73447_nu3245__386_wsnrcg363434_8329nu0mrj1.jpg "232323232fp73447_nu=3245_;;;_386_WSNRCG=363;4;34_8329nu0mrj[1]")
On this Jenny Lind-ish sofa with some great textiles from The Flying Fig.
Or on the old metal swing at the tree by The Fig
As school years are revving up, may you find a sweet spot to sit a spell,
june
This for That
A walk around an upholstery fabric store is high on my list of indulgences. The colors, the patterns, the textures, the hefts…it is a sensory feast, these textiles at their finest.
But doing something with textiles is high on my list of incompetencies. A needle and thread sends me running for my husband who knows just a tad from his Navy days.
So when I admitted to a neighbor that my one complete curtain panel was ‘sewn’ with glue, the following exchange occurred. I gave her
![232323232fp635_3_nu=3245_;;;_386_WSNRCG=363;4;3_43329nu0mrj[1]](https://wherefigsfly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/232323232fp635_3_nu3245__386_wsnrcg36343_43329nu0mrj11.jpg "232323232fp635_3_nu=3245_;;;_386_WSNRCG=363;4;3_43329nu0mrj[1]")
this… (a hutch in Annie Sloan graphite and country grey)
…for that (fabric transformed into curtains and pillows)
This quid pro quo has me
over the moon,
june
Set the Table
When we brought this table to the Fig, the top was in pieces. Stripping and sturdying and staining ensued. The party continued with Annie Sloan’s Antibes Green paint.
When the table did not sell, a plot emerged. The table came home to my screen porch.
In the summer, our screen porch is where the evening meal happens. And for a decade, our family of five has sat around a table for four. And oh my, are we enjoying this piece…plenty of space for all of us and summer’s bounty.
The daughter’s chore has been to set the table during the day.
And I love what this act does. I guess there is a bit of a false sense of preparedness as I am often not sure what’s for dinner. But the table is ready…a small but important measure of preparedness. And the sense of anticipation…again, a good oh my.
Antibes Green comes to Annie Sloan’s palette from two sources – palaces such as Fontainebleau and villages in Provence.
![01ProvenceVillageFacade[1]](https://wherefigsfly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/01provencevillagefacade11.jpg "01ProvenceVillageFacade[1]")
And let’s just party a little bit more with Antibes Green.
![images[9]](https://wherefigsfly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/images9.jpg "images[9]")
Antibes Green with dark wax on this small cupboard.
Happy is he who finds some party and some peace in his home, amen. Whether a prince or a peasant, you can set the table.
bye from the bumpkin,
june
Peripheral Vision
A confession is coming…it ain’t been happenin’ at The Fig. We have spent time there. Really, we have.
If you have stopped by The Fig, you have driven away, shakin’ your head and mumblin’ something about a summer circus. And that is ok. Really, it is.
Summer has required some adjustments…as in, face it, Cirque du Soleil is not in the cards. Stop jugglin’ so much for a spell. Just toss a couple of clubs at a time. While we’ve made some progress on some furniture pieces, we have been good with the fact that The Fig has not had center focus. We’re banking on the philosophy that if you put first things first, the rest will come.
On an auntie note…both Frankie and I have relished being aunts this summer.
![576122_768700711116_222995559_n[1]](https://wherefigsfly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/576122_768700711116_222995559_n1.jpg "576122_768700711116_222995559_n[1]")
My niece, whom I adore and admire, was married in July…this couple is fo’ real.
Frankie’s nephews have joined her family for the summer.
May you juggle a tall, cool glass in one hand and a note to your aunt in the other,
june
Good Gracious
Good gracious…while growing up, I heard this minced oath a lot. It was a delightful way to hear my sweet mama curse.
I’ve not heard this expression in awhile…but Frankie and I have had the opportunity to meet good gracious.
John Michael and his wife, Mildred. Gracious personified.
John, the son of a North Carolina sharecropper, and Mildred, a baby retrieved from a trash can in Texas, met and married in California a few decades ago, moved back to North Carolina and have built a beautiful life. Honestly, I don’t think I have ever met anyone more gifted and gracious. John is a metal sculptor. And John and Mildred have amazing gardens (they have been featured on HGTV). And while the metal art and gardens will blow you away, the real beauty is in who they are…to the core. Gracious. Gracious. Gracious.
![232323232fp635;2_nu=3245_;;;_386_WSNRCG=363;4;3_55329nu0mrj[1]](https://wherefigsfly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/232323232fp6352_nu3245__386_wsnrcg36343_55329nu0mrj1.jpg "232323232fp635;2_nu=3245_;;;_386_WSNRCG=363;4;3_55329nu0mrj[1]")
We were fortunate to have some of John Michael’s copper garden art at The Fig in June.
And here is a little peek into John Michael’s studio and gardens in Gibsonville, NC. Each piece is one-of-a-kind…and get this, each leaf on the tree above is unique.
Oh, I wish I could share more, but my camera battery died after snapping just a few photos. As my mama would say, Good Gracious!!!
Gracious is good,
june
Keep It Simple, Sometimes
Steel hairpin legs…reclaimed poplar wood…a size that is oh, so versatile…
This table sings my song.
It is stellar in its simplicity.
Keep it simple, sometimes often,
june
Flying Lessons: Somewhere Under the Rainbow
As my family prepares to leave the beach after two weeks of beautiful-day-after-beautiful-day, I came across these words penned last summer. In hindsight, I realize this was a turning point in a tumultuous time. Not a 180o kind of turn, but just-a-few-degrees kind of turn. And a year out from these words, I know that a seemingly small shift in perspective makes a big, big difference down the road.
We harriedly packed, bid adieu to the cat and dog and lizard, and made our way to the beach.
We hurriedly unpacked, ate supper while rain lashed the windows, then followed our eager children to the beach.
We looked up and were stopped in our tracks…by a rainbow. Not just any rainbow, mind you, but the rainbow. Mouth-dropping, eye-popping magic. Every color distinct against a dark dusk sky. Mr. ROY G. BIV dressed to the nines. This may be the rainbow of your lifetime, we told the kids. Remember this.
Somewhere over the rainbow, troubles melt…so the song croons. But my life really is somewhere under the rainbow. Some heavy cares. Tedium. Dusk promising dark. But when you stand awestruck beneath a full spectrum of color, well, you…are…awestruck. And that messes with your perspective. In a good way.
He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed. – Albert E=mc2 Einstein
Possibilitarian
I consider this piece much more than utilitarian. It is possibilitarian…and pretty, to boot.
exterior: Annie Sloan’s French Linen – interior: Behr’s Creamy White
Bookcase for those travel books? Hutch for the everyday dishes? Cupboard for jam and jelly and oats? And can’t you imagine some humble stemware hanging over the cheese plate and corkscrew? Fraught with potential.
Keep touching the surface of possibilities,
june
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