{My 11th Blog Award}

Exactly one week ago I did receive another award from Laura's blog Casita By The Lake, in Canada. She is a very talented blogger friend of mine, whom I admire for her crafts. She too enjoys nature and gardening as much as I do. Thank you so much Laura for passing this on to me!

Well, do I need to tell some more about me? Guess by visiting my blog regularly you by now have figured out who I am and what I love. Still the ROSES and ANGELS score high. And of course people are always of interest. Sharing fond memories, finding virtual soul mates that cherish the same values and high morals as I do, is such a reward! In an economy that is in a downward spiraling mode it is important to find our abilities for creating with our own hands. For stretching the dollar and making use of fine old antiques in a new way. I have been admiring several ladies that manage painting and restoring old pieces of furniture into lovely new family heirlooms. Knitting, crocheting and certainly sewing is on the rise again. That is exactly the way I was raised and taught; luckily. Nowadays the young girls are not being taught all this, unless a parent or grandparent will do so. But this economic downturn is playing a role in reexamining those values and focusing on nesting, making and re-purposing things, to save money.

This is also the aim of my own business: 'Mariette's Back to Basics' as this is what it is all about. Not for showing posts with luxurious dream homes that only a few percent of the population can afford. It is about showing something from ourselves, from our hearts and our own hands. Be it in baking things or creating clothes, gifts, restoring old pieces of furniture and building a nest that reflects oneself. Not copying something from a magazine or posting like some self proclaimed interior designer.

In this respect I always have admired Guy Kawasaki, the former chief evangelist of Apple. He certainly does have some Japanese back ground but he was born in Honolulu.

Guy Kawasaki uses 5 Secrets of Success for trying to stand out from the Personal Branding herd:

• Make Meaning, Not Money.
• Make a Mantra. In three words or less, what are you all about? Kawasaki believes that mission statements are useless. He says, make a mantra instead. FedEx stands for “peace of mind.” What do you stand for, in the simplest terms? Guess my Mantra is: Good Taste and Simplicity.
• Polorize People. He suggests being great for some people rather than trying to please everyone. Do not be afraid to make people react strongly for or against you. As my former business partner used to remind me, you’re not doing something right unless you’re pissing someone off. That doesn’t mean be a jerk. That means just don’t try to appeal to all people, or you’ll end up a mile wide and an inch deep, mediocre to everyone. -- I certainly can attest to that one! Some people who signed out because I do Polorize People!
• Find a Few Soul Mates.
• Don’t Let the Bozos Grind You Down. Not everyone is going to like you. Not everyone will always agree with you. That’s a fact of life. So don’t let criticism or doubters bring you down. As you live out your mantra, it’s your responsibility to be strong in the face of “no,” and “you can’t do that.” Guy says, ignore people who say you won’t succeed. Use negative words as motivation. Prove people wrong. (See a picture of full text at the end of post...)

Now I would like to pass this award on to the following bloggers:

1. A Lovely Journey She suffered a spinal injury in 2009 and needs some visits from all of us!

2. Zaa The Grand Lady from Japan

3. Mari A Pocket Full of Roses She lost her furbaby Pebbles on May 6 and in June her furbaby Bella... Scroll down for following her and leaving her a message to pick her up.

4. Carolyn from ...just one more stitch She has a fabulous GIVEAWAY till midnight October 1st!

5. Denise from All Over Roses

6. Anna from Annashusidingtuna from Sweden

7. Lorraine from Little House in the Hudson Valley

8. Gloria from The Little Red House with the White Porch

Content Creation Tips from Guy Kawasaki 

{Our Dining Room}

After having shown you our kitchen it is now time to show you our dining room. It is adjacent to the kitchen and also to the hall way with a window that looks out onto the street. All of our solid French oak furniture, lights from Italy and other belongings, we did bring over from The Netherlands. So all you see in our dining room is from the old world, except for one tall book case that was custom build in Vermont by Woodruff Custom Furniture. The walls are painted with Benjamin Moore Latex Eggshell Enamel C286 Bone White 03. Let's start the tour...

The door to the hallway and here is the solid oak Woodruff book case, custom build, from Vermont. Window with window sills. That's a unique European feature that we've build into our entire home. In the kitchen and veranda we do have wide Corian windowsills, custom made. Lots of books we have in every room of the house...

French Limoges plates and Dachshund and cat miniatures.

The windows do have solid oak indoor shutters.

Through the windows you can see the Victorian Vintage Woodworks ginger bread in our front porch.

Our floor is Bruce Liberty Plains 5" natural white oak planks.

More books on the shelves...

The photograph from the famous oak, called 't Struukske, from my hometown in Limburg, is done by my brother Martin. That photo was also part of a calendar that was published for which my other brother Piet wrote the text.

Mom & Dad had their first meeting at the bench below the huge oak tree, as they both were in servitude nearby.

The antique oak crucifix belonged to Pieter's Mom & Dad.

The door to the kitchen.

Lamp from Italy from the area where we lived from a local 'Lampedari'. All our ceiling and wall lamps are made in Italy, as well as the outdoor lamps.

The top shelf holds some Colombian items from our extended family.

The bottom shelf shows Schwarovski pieces to the left and other crystals to the right from the Czech Republic.

A hand turned wooden lamp, made by the Father of a dear friend.

The cross stitch rose embroidered bell pull is hand made by me... 

It was part of my dowry.

The wooden tray has been hand carved by Pieter's Father and it does have a glass insert.

You also see one of my gilded magnolia leaves on it...

Silk rug from Srinagar Jammu & Kashmir State, India

Sea shells from the Island of Saint Martin in the Caribbean.

A real batik from Bali on the wall. Some antique botanical prints framed and my oak Dutch Zaanse clock.

China is: English Rose by Royal Doulton ←click it.

{Our Dutch Atlas Zaanse Wall Clock in Oak} ←click it.

English Rose by Royal Doulton

Antique oak tea cart, we removed its wheels...

Related articles:
{More of Our Kitchen} | previous post by me
{Our Kitchen Improvements} | previous post by me
{Our 'GREEN' Bedroom} |previous post by me
{Our Home of almost 20 years} |previous post by me
{French Floral Pillow Set and our Gazebo} | previous post by me

{Edible Agaricus Campestris or Meadow Mushroom}

On August 3, Pieter did make these great pictures of some edible Agaricus campestris in our garden. They are also called field or meadow mushroom. They are closely related to the cultivated white button mushrooms or Agaricus bisporus. You CAN eat them, no problem whatsoever. They eventually will open up as they grow older, just as the white button mushrooms will do. Or any brown variety of course.

Related article:
Modern Mushroom Growing by P.J.C. Vedder (my husband Pieter...)