february 12 of 12: a few of my favorite things

today dawned bright, sunny, and bitterly cold. my planned 12 of 12 for the month involved venturing out-of-doors, and i early on decided not to. in an effort to salvage the project, i started to showcase some of the everyday items in the house that give me small joys. i am by no means a "material girl" - but these things, i just love.

this cabinet. i bought it on impulse for $100 that i didn't have many, many years ago. i painted it this odd color because i just liked the teal, then built the room around it. some might think it's a tad shabby, but every time i polish it or put something inside, i'm glad all over again that i bought it.

these candles. it's all i burn these days. hand-made soy, with amazing combinations of scents. i allow myself only one of these candles a month. and when it's gone, it's gone.

pottery. crocks and jars, vases and plates. none of them particularly of any value, many of them chipped, but all simple, utilitarian, and i love using them. this is one of the only pieces i have with an intact cover!

here's my vase of choice, a reproduction redware three-handled cup from a plimoth plantation in massachusetts, given to me by a friend. twice, a handle has broken off and twice, it's been repaired. i can't imagine why this would need three handles - i think that's part of the charm.

this is the measuring cup i've had all my adult baking life. it works well to dip into dry ingredients, it levels right at the one cup mark, and the 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 markings are easy to see inside and out. recently, i found another almost identical measure in a consignment shop. now i have one for dry ingredients, one for wet. i'm a happy baker!

my favorite room in the house, probably because it's the one that stays the cleanest. it was the girl's when she was small and now serves as a guest room. i love this bed, one that i bought covered with horrid paint and stripped to find beautiful walnut with inlays. if i leave the door to this room open, i can see into it as i go through the living room. i like that.

i have lots of needlework around the place but this is one of my favorites. the girl made it for me one year for christmas. i like it so much, i just never take it down! by the way, my other favorite is here. 

this is far from my most intricate quilt but it's the one i like the best. i like the colors and the prints and the design. it hangs on my wall, in close proximity to that cabinet above, because in the light of that room, the greens/teals look like the same color, thank goodness! 

ranunculus, my new favorite winter flower. i'm always happy when i stop for friday flowers and these beauties are in the cooler. they last and last and those petals circle from the outside in and look like they never end.

my favorite socks. comfy. cozy. soft. warm. great colors. i have about seven pair of these, each in a different color yarn. i wear them all winter long, even around the house with birkenstocks. yes, i do.

for a grown woman, i have way too many teddy bears. this one's my favorite. it was my mother's, it came from harrod's in london, and she used to keep it on her bed. after she died, i bought it sweaters so the little girl could dress it up for holidays. yes, i did.

my favorite technology. it reads the conditions right outside the door. you know what a weather junkie i am. i love that these readings come from my own yard. and that it shows the phase of the moon.

i am so late with this month's 12 of 12 and only finish it because i had taken all the pictures. someone once told me that this would happen, that i'd get too busy to post within an acceptable period of time. silly me -  i didn't believe him. guess he was right after all.