This week's inspiration: Vintage circus

So, I have loved vintage circus imagery for forever.  And now, I have the opportunity to use it as an inspiration in a room I am designing.  My head is full of ideas...and I can not wait to see them come to life. 

Some...or maybe most...of you may have read the book Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen.  

I loved the book...and I was looking forward to seeing it come to the big screen.  What I loved most about the movie was the warmth that was brought to the imagery.  It was exactly what I envisioned when I looked at the vintage photographs that I loved from the early 1900's

(pictures copyright Fox 2000 Pictures)

 Here are a few of my favorite images from traveling circuses:   

(circus photos courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society)

I can't imagine the lives these people led.  I am sure it was anything but boring : )

Fabulous Food: My favorite sandwich

The other day, I was walking through a fresh market, when I saw these wonderful freshly baked baguettes and mozzarella made fresh that morning.  Instantly, I knew what I had to make for dinner - mozzarella, tomato, and basil sandwiches.  I have had this sandwich many times before, but nowhere was it better than in Oxford, England.  The whole rest of the day,  I was trying to remember what made that particular sandwich so amazing , besides the fact that we were in England eating it : )

Oxford was beautiful.  It was extremely busy, but still felt relaxed. 

We drove through Oxford on our way to the Cotswolds. 

We saw the University and Christ Church.

It was actually perfect.  Before we got back on the road, we stopped at a tiny deli where I got a mozzarella, tomato and basil sandwich.  The best I have ever had.  What I realize now is that everything in that sandwich was absolutely fresh...so that is what I knew I had to do to recreate it.  

 Vine ripened tomatoes...

 ...fresh cut basil...

...freshly sliced mozzarella...

 ...and a baguette.

I layered the mozzarella, basil and tomatoes onto the baguette.  A light sprinkle of sea salt, pepper, a little extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and ... 

 ...you have a big piece of heaven : )

Pair it with an ice cold hard cider (Bulmer's was the cider of choice in England).

If you are not a fan of tomatoes (like my husband), you can use roasted red peppers instead, and it is still absolutely delicious.

Even though I can't say it beat the one I ate in Oxford, it was pretty darn close.  Soooo good!

The Friday Five...

Shopping for fabric at Mary Jo's - the mecca for fabric in the SouthEast...

Watching my child try and blow a dandelion...unsuccessfully...I might add. 

Taking the time to lay down on the grass and find animals in the clouds...

Eating a barbecue slaw hamburger at a hometown favorite hotspot.

(I didn't take a picture of it because not only does it not sound too good, but it doesn't look too good either.)  You will have to take my word for it- they are absolutely addictive.

This is a hard one to explain.  Mr. Flamingo was given to the girls by their grandparents.  He does everything with us outside...even sit by a fire...to chase away the cold.

What are your five?

A little taste of snow...

The weather this winter has been anything but predictable- cold in the mornings, warm in the afternoons, with no sign of snow on the horizon.  

Jason loves snow...and I do believe that it is his mission in life to have the girls play in the snow at least once every year.  

That is why we all loaded up in the car and drove to the mountains this past weekend.  It took around three hours, but we finally found the promised "snow" land the weather channel had spoken of.  

I was not sure it was going to happen.  We had driven almost two and a half hours before we saw any snow at all.

The sun was out.  The sky was blue.  I knew we would keep on driving until Jason found exactly what he was looking for. 

We reached Roan Mtn. State park.  There was only a few inches of snow on the ground, but it was enough.

 

We found a hill next to a playground that seemed to have a lot of potential.

 

 And so the fun began.  This is Ava and Isabella sledding together.  They were absolutely fearless in their pursuit of a good sled ride.  Reminded me a lot of their father : )

After a couple of hours, we took a break for some hot chocolate and...

...some pretzels.

And then the wind began to pick up..

 ...a little more...

 ...and a little more.

 The sun took to the clouds for refuge and the snow began to really fall. 

 Before the end of the day, we were able to enjoy our little piece of the winter wonderland.

And up the hill we did go.