birdwatching window and bathroom

this is the "birdwatching" window, one of my favorite places to sit in the house to see who will come to have a meal or take a bath. luckily, it's usually not the human neighbors, just the birds and squirrels. a hawk and owl have also visited.

aaahhhh, and on to possibly my favorite room, the master bathroom. it's huge, has a gigantic picture window that lets in tons of light, a garden tub with jets, a separate double walk-in shower and a double vanity. nice! what more could you ask for?? oh, lots of wall space so i can set up my little nature-based vignettes.

elephant sea sponge and vase with fiddlehead ferns

ceramic pirhana with seaweed skeletons and coral. old-fashioned fly-catcher in the foreground

my snow leopard towels from west elm to jazz up the most important seat in the house.

my favorite place to relax and recover from a hard day.

for more information at Keller Williams Realty click here

FOR SALE

this is my super awesome Ikea kitchen in my super cool house that happens to be for sale right now. seeing as how market is a tad bit slow i thought some extra energy couldn't hurt--and i love to see people's home's. it's a little inside scoop into someone's personality and design aesthetic. i majored in interior design at the university of texas at austin--where i will be moving back when the house sells--but since i did not follow that career path i try to apply my education to my own surroundings.

this door opens out onto the car port on the side of the house. behind the camera the kitchen opens up onto the great room that has high vaulted ceilings and an amazing picture window that i use for bird watching. most of my bird photos from other posts have been taken from this window.

curtain panels, wall shelves and pantry cabinetry all from Ikea. yes, the entire kitchen came in a zillion flat boxes that had to be put together. luckily, the instructions really are pretty clear and once you get the hang of it it goes along relatively painlessly. i will admit it took me a good five hours to put that island together. it's a solid piece of furniture though, i love it.

my tea collection, a bit low at the moment, is housed on those cool shelves.

this hallway around the corner from the pantry cabinets leads to the front doors and the rest of the rooms in the house. more tomorrow--the master bathroom is just as great as the kitchen! maybe better...

fresh food

we have a great farmer's market here in covinton, louisiana. you can find amazing heirloom veggies, the most delicious fresh eggs, all kinds of sprouts from young mung bean to radish-the lentil are my favorite. tamale casserole is one of my favorite things to get, it's so delicious!! a wonderful man with his own orchard makes jams and jellies(i can't think of the name of the berry trees he has, they are a local fruit that make a beautiful, sparkling pink jelly). here are some things i found last saturday:

an heirloom variety of musk melon

below that is a zucchini next to the musk melon, zucchini might be one of my favorite veggies, i guess technically it's a fruit. mmmm.... whatever, it's delicious.

small red potatoes. i love them sauteed in butter with fresh herbs

morning light

early bird

how do you feel in the morning?

like this?

or LIKE THIS??
just wondering...

orchid dreams

here are a couple orchid close-ups i captured at the Red Onion, i find them dreamy and surreal. speaking of dreams, the next one in the line-up is that my house will sell so i can move back to austin and rejoin the wonderful austin garden bloggers! i have a wonderful little house out in the country, it's peaceful and beautiful and surrounded by wildlife-birds, snakes, singing frogs, coyotes, raccoons, armadillos, etc... i also installed a wonderful ikea kitchen which i hate to give up but i'll just have to get another one wherever i end up. so universe, it's time to listen and send me on my way. my mom is also sending me her st. joseph statue as a good luck charm to help sell the house. i will have to say, it's kind of scary putting your earnest wishes out there for the whole world to read.

announcing dreams

my life has undergone some big changes lately and as a result of those I am making some big plans. one of the plans is to sell all the art i currently have in stock. i just marked down all my artwork on etsy that was over $50 by half off. it's a great sale and i really hope to move some pieces which will add to the next part of my plan. i am putting these ideas/whishes/plans out there for many reasons, putting things in writing somehow makes them more real. more on the big plans to come....

ducks in city park, new orleans

well, this one is pretty self-explanatory.... i had a great day shooting birds at the park the other day. there were all kinds of unusual and interesting ducks so i thought i should do a post just for them. sleepy

bad hair day

shy

aloof

snacks???

pileated woodpecker!!!

as i was drinking my tea on the front porch this morning i heard very loud pecking sounds coming from the large oak tree in my front yard. along with the noises were big chunks of bark and leaves falling to the ground. i knew it had to be this woodpecker!! i love these birds, they are so big(about the size of a large crow) and majestic looking, i couldn't resist some photos. these are definitely not my best shots ever, most are blurry but you can get the general idea.

Bayou Coquille

bayou coquille is part of the jean lafitte park in barataria, louisiana. it is one of my favorite places to go in the spring to see tons of the great wildlife here. there is a boardwalk that runs through the swamp and then along the bayou - i have never been disappointed on a visit here. i have seen all the below plus owls, rabbits, different varieties of snakes, egrets, great blue herons, woodpeckers, warblers, turtles, fish and i'm sure more animals i am forgetting to mention. it's also a great place to see the irises in full bloom if you can catch them--it's kind of a short window of opportunity. there is always something great to see though!!

Red Onion cont...

bamboo is one of my favorite things that grows out of the earth. there is a great little stand of it at the red onion that i could probably photograph all day long. here are a couple fun shots of it. enjoy!

The Red Onion:Baton Rouge, Louisiana

I recently visited one of my favorite stores of all time. the red onion in baton rouge-if you live anywhere remotely near here and like plants/flowers/pots/interiors/art you must visit. Brenda, the owner, is really friendly and personable and has great company at work!

there is a great little shop on the grounds of a greenhouse and several growing areas

there area unique pots, glass votive holders, the one pictured below is fashioned after a log with holes in it for the candles

artwork, cement mushrooms, glass cloches and books