Teena Flanner

Mermaids and hydrangeas

Mermaids and hydrangeas. Okay, I no longer live near the coast unless you count 17 miles from Lake Michigan but I  love all things coastal.

Not the sexy sirens but the magical mermaids are in my mind this month. I kept my Norfolk house so perhaps I can still be coastal!

  she is a bit seductive I   will admit!

Many of my shells come from estate sales so perhaps the damage is already done. does anyone know how to tell which seashells are being harvested and in a sad way?

Teena

Rain, mermaids and hydrangeas

I just returned from a birthday party, the 70th, for a dear friend and former neighbor. Rain drenched, I rushed into the party and exclaimed "what a cozy day for a party!" everyone stared. It really was a cozy party day. The hostess had planned and hoped for another gorgeous sunny picnic but it just wasn't in the cards. People mingle differently indoors and it was absolutely charming.

As I reminded the birthday girl's daughter (and the hostess) she had made a deal with the devil when her outdoor wedding day dawned totally perfect. It was out in the country with horseback rides, field flowers and the day was incredibly luscious!Yes, she mumbled, she had promised to never again complain about the weather. We feasted on tomato caprese, salmon, brats(this is Milwaukee!) lovely home made cakes, shrimp and seasonal fruits of all sorts.

Now about the mermaids. While I am dutifully and joyfully creating pilgrims, turkeys, pumpkin heads and other fall delights, I am having fun designing the beginnings of a mermaid collection, more later! Kind of an east coast thing, along with hydrangeas and weathered cottages.

random dog picture, Will on the left, Norman with ears up!

Victoria , the beautiful magazine is back!

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Victoria the lovely magazine is back! The first "new" issue will be near the end of the year. People have inquired which issue featured my papier mache . Here are 2 pages from December 2001. It was a fabulous experience. The editors and photographer were wonderful. They arrived from NYC in the morning and after the work and after lunch , we wandered around an old section of Norfolk and found an old bookstore. One of our group collected vintage etiquette books...oh ,how we have changed!.. and we found one she did not have.

My daughter Susannah helped us do the styling and it was a memorable day.