Perfect Ponies for the Parlor

Are these not the cutest little accessories you'ever seen?  You can use these leather ponies as footstools, conversation pieces, whatever.  For the horse person who has everything!

Wonder if this one comes with the hay?



You can find these and a lot more at http://www.wellappointedhouse.com/. 

Enjoy the playoffs!

My Favorite Things About Winter

Now that the cold weather has arrived, it's time to cozy up to winter.  While I love summer, there is much to embrace about winter, the crispness in the air, the clear skies perfect for star gazing and the glistening snow that comes with the cold.



Here are some of my favorite winter things.

Snow Skiing
Skiing is one of the best sports.  The feeling you get coming off a day's skiing, well there's nothing quite like it.  It beats a good run!  We are headed out for our first ski trip in about two weeks and we have a big trip planned in late February.  It is low impact, the scenary is breathtaking and being outdoors all day in winter, well, there's just no substitute.

The Playoffs

While the Super Bowl is generally a letdown, the very best NFL football is generally in the playoffs which start this weekend!  Something else to look forward to in winter.  Go Steelers!

(AP photo)

March Madness

The end of winter bring March Madness.  Can you tell I grew up in ACC territory?  I cannot wait for it start this year.  Bring it on!



Making Great Soup

I love to make soup in winter.  Some of my favorites come out of my restaurant cookbooks (Inn at Little Washington and Tupelo Honey).  There is nothing better than a great soup, a light salad and a glass of wine for dinner in winter by candlelight.

A Cat in Your Lap

There is nothing cozier than sitting in a plush chair with a cat curled up in your lap on a cold winter day. Truman loves to do this!  He'll be sitting with me this weekend when I watch the playoffs.  He also loves March Madness.

Time to Needlepoint

In the spring and summer there is too much farm work to do, so I don't have time to stitch.  My backlog of projects has gotten HUGE and I am trying to finish up a rug I have been working on for almost three years. It will be done soon.  I want to stitch a nativity scene for the holidays and this one is on sale at needlepoint.com but I have promised myself not to get into any more projects until I finish some of my outstanding ones.  Maybe for 2013!



A New Beginning for the Horses

The horse show year starts December 1st, so with the new year comes new challenges for the horses.  I set goals to achieve each year (have found that if I don't do this then I don't make much progress). Sega will horse show in late January, her 2012 debut.  Have set goals for her for 2012.  Let's see how we do!

(David Bell photo)

Spring

And spring is just around the corner!  I planted a lot of tulips this fall. I hope they look like this!





Lindsey Coral Harper Jazzes It Up

Sometimes I come across the work of a decorator that hits the nail on the head.  Melissa Rufty's work does that for me. Ruthie Sommers is in the same league.  Well, I am adding Lindsey Coral Harper to my short list.  Her recent work in a somewhat plain (but large) house in Charlotte, NC (in the new House Beautiful), well, I could just move right in! I love her use of bold colors. You can see the article here:

http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/house-pictures/color-decorating-ideas-0212

There are no white walls in this house.  And she takes a house that does not appear to have great character (at least from what I can tell in the magazine) and just makes it stand out. 

They put her kitchen on the cover! 



I also like the living room.



Here is another peak at the bright kitchen. Gotta love to cook a meal in here!



She is from Georgia.  No wonder she loves color so much!  She is a true Southerner like the rest of us!



Quote for the Day

"A canter is the cure for all evils."

- Benjamin Disraeli

The Queen Still Rocks (I Mean Rides)

At 86, the Queen is looking pretty good, on a horse that is.

She decided to take a hack while at Sandringham over the holiday.  The horse looks well groomed as you would expect.  A dapper looking groom followed her on her midday trek.



I hope I look this good on a horse when I am 86, if I make it that long. You go girl!



War of the Wellies

photo/News Scotland/Rex Features

Are wellies back?  The Duchess of Cambridge (aka Kate) was spotted wearing a pair of £300 “Vierzonord” Le Chameau boots to watch her husband play in a football match before Christmas. Commentators have pointed out that she used to wear the cheaper Hunter boots and that this switch in loyalties is “typical of a more sophisticated angle to the Duchess’s style”. They also picked up on the fashion faux pas of Prince Harry watching his brother in the same make of boots as his sister-in-law.  So can we expect to see the “Kate effect” hit the wellie market?

Where did wellies come from anyway? 

In the early 19th century the dapper first Duke of Wellington, anxious to accessorise his novelty full-length trousers with a versatile boot capable of being worn into battle as well as into drawing rooms, commissioned a low-heeled calf boot of soft leather. It caught on, adopted by the gentry, the police and the Armed Forces. After the Second World War, during which they were standard army issue, the ill-fitting “Argyll” black wellington boot became de rigueur for labourers.

For those of us who live in the country, well, wellies have been a part of our wardrobe for years.  Guess the rest of humanity is finally catching on.  Here is Harry and Kate in the same boot (gasp!):



Here is a closer shot of the wellies in question.  Let's see if they start flying off the shelf.  In the UK, maybe.  In the US where most of Americans live in subdivisions, not so likely.



You Know It's Winter When......

Here in the country, winter brings all kinds of challenges that you don't have to worry about with city life.  We spent much of the day Monday getting ready for our first really cold burst.  We've been lucky in that we have not had to worry much about the weather until now in early January.

But here are a few clues, that you know it's winter.

The Cartharts come out of the closet and stay in the mud room until April.  These are just the warmest. Forget Gortex.

The blade is ready for the John Deere.

The heated buckets go out in the barn.

The beet pulp comes out.  My horses don't drink as much water as they should in cold weather. This insures that they get more water every day. 

The Carmex is used several times a day.

The hand warmers are bought in bulk.

The extension cords come out for the old Dodge diesel.  The older trucks have a block heater that needs to be plugged in so they will start in cold weather.  The newer truck starts right up. 



We make sure we have enough extra hay, just in case of snow. 



We keep buckets of extra water in the feed room.  If the power goes out, the well goes dry so we keep extra water in case of a power outage. Worse things have happened.


Smart wool socks get used every day.  These are just the very best.

The horses live in their Rambos.

We go to bed much earlier.  This winter weather makes life much more difficult. So much for farm living!  At least we don't live in Canada.   BRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's cold outside!