Last Day in New England . . . Coventry, Connecticut

[We just returned from a wonderful little trip to see our kids and granddaughter, Tayvee. It's always great to see our kids and get caught up on those baby hugs and chase Tayvee all around now that she's walking.]

I've been wanting to finish posting about our New England trip, so here is our last day in Coventry, Connecticut. We arrived in the evening at the Daniel Rust House, a charming 1800 house turned Bed and Breakfast. The owners have furnished it with beautiful period antiques and furnishings. We truly took a step back in time as we entered this home.

Up the stairs and through this door was our room . . .

Blue toile, an old painted raised panel wall with a fireplace; I was home . . .

The next morning we had a wonderful homemade breakfast in this

beautiful dining room

We kept seeing these rock walls around New England and discovered

they were placed here by slaves when clearing property to plant crops

On the way to the airport, we had time to make one stop, and, just by chance, we found this wonderful antique shop in downtown Coventry. It was bigger than we had time to shop; so after a quick run through, we came home with these treasures . . .

This tray we purchased at an estate sale a few days earlier for $1;

after coming home we found out it was from the late 1800's and probably worth $100.

I think I'll keep it as a souvenir from our trip.

Currently on our mantel (which I put on an earlier post), 

a framed print from 1880.

Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to visiting your blog this week.

Hope you all have a great week!

~ Julie

A special thank you to Erin at I Heart New England, who helped us plan our trip.


Linking with:
Time Travel Thursday ~ http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/2011/03/time-travel-thursday-36-signs-of-season.html

A Burlap Bag from DAPHNE NICOLE

Today I received the burlap bag from Daphne Nicole!

I still can't believe I won her giveaway! The bag is fabulous!

Here it is . . . 

Thank you so much, Daphne!!! I love it!!!!

It is, no doubt, the coolest bag in my closet!

Tomorrow we are off to visit our kids and grandbaby in Boise, Idaho! Yeah!!!

and . . . . guess what is coming with me . . . . .

Have a great week!

I look forward to reading your comments and catching up when I get back, 

or maybe I'll read a few in between baby hugs :)

~ Julie

TOILE

Good morning, friends,
Hope you're having a wonderful day!

Have you seen the new cover of Country Living magazine?

Can you believe it? Timeless, traditional, red toile is now for the shabby, country home.

I love it! I have always loved toile and have some touch of it in almost every room of our home, so I thought I would share some of my toile with you.

But, first, how about a little history of this gorgeous French fabric?

Toile de Jouy
A Fabric with Roots in the Eighteenth Century

by Patricia Cummings

What is Toile de Jouy?

Toile (pronounced twahl) means "cloth" in French. “Toile de Jouy,” or “toiles de Jouy,” are terms that refer to fabric that was first manufactured at a factory in Jouy-en-Josas, a village located southwest of Paris, near Versailles. Founded in 1760 by German-born Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf, (1738-1815), a textile entrepreneur, the factory site was chosen primarily because of its proximity to the clear running water of the Bièvre River. Oberkampf knew that water is a crucial element in the dyeing process. Only the highest quality goods were used in the production of the factory's printed fabrics made of cotton, one reason for the enterprise’s success.
Taken from:  http://www.quiltersmuse.com/toile.html

Toile is fabric made with an elegant printing technique that tells stories in engraving-like detail. The initial toile was a monotone, one-color print,  on a white or cream-colored background. As my youngest daughter describes it "the fabric that tells a story". I love that.

For a more complete history of Toile, you can visit Design Sponge here, who did a detailed post about Toile last March.

Yeah, now we know how to pronounce it (twahl).  "Toile de Jouy" ~ sounds so pretty. Don't you just love French? 

Sharing some toile around our home . . .  

Red toile guest room

pillow shams made from kitchen towels {I like the plaid and toile together, 
and the towels were just the right size for a standard pillow and easy to make}

pillows made from Toile napkins {cloth napkins are really just the right size for pillows}
 

In the study . . . 

This black background toile fabric works great in Kevin's office, 

and gives it a more masculine feel.

It's on the windows and a bench.

pillows made from decorator fabric sample squares from Jo-Ann's purchased for $1 
{again, just the right size}, and the back side is different  (black plaid on this one)
so you can totally change the look whenever you want

In the kitchen . . . 

on the walls

 dishes  . . .

Waverly blue tablecloth

In the laundry room . . .

In the foyer . . .

Toile wallpaper in the downstairs guest bathroom

 And, of course, more pillows . . . 

in the family room

in the living room 

{blue floral ~ it doesn't tell a story but has the toile look}

For me, toile will never go out of style.

Hope you made it through the long post.

Thanks for visiting. I love and read all of your comments.

And, if you're a follower, thank you. I hope to get to know you better.

Have a great weekend!

~ Julie


I'm linking with:

http://www.freckledlaundry.com/2011/02/air-your-laundry-friday-link-party-15.html
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/2011/02/bedroom-inspirations-welcome-to.html  
http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/2011/02/vintage-inspiration-friday-25-where-to.html 
http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/2011/02/time-travel-thursday-33-laughter-is.html 
http://charmbraceletdiva.blogspot.com/2011/03/come-on-over-to-my-house-do-you-toile.html 

Still Winter Whites . . .

Today we woke up to snow!!!! 

I know many of you are tired of your snow, but we rarely get snow;

and some winters we don't get any. So today was a happy day!

AND

the power was out, 

so Kevin built a fire, and we had hot chocolate 

cooked on the wood stove and sat enjoyed the quietness

(no tv, no internet, no heater or refrigerator running . . .  just quiet) 

by the fire.

The snow makes everything so quiet and beautiful,

and the brightness shines through the windows and fills every room with light. 

I needed the brightness today; a change from the darkness of gray clouds and rain. 

Thank you, Lord, for the beauty of fresh fallen snow.

So . . . the first task of the day . . . 

walk through the snow and take pics so I can share them here, with you, 

and now I have a post for White Wednesday.

We only had an inch, and it's already melting.

I'm still dreaming of spring . . . 

Hoping you have a wonderful day!

~ Julie

Today I'm linking with:
http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/2011/02/white-wednesday-87.html 

Dreaming of spring . . .

Just dreaming of springtime and roses . . . . 

Happy Valentine's Day!

~ Julie

Linking with:
http://fishtailcottage.blogspot.com/2011/02/cottage-flora-thursdays-7.html
http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/2011/02/216-outdoor-wednesday-110.html