Loretta's Top Ten APPLESandRUBIES Posts of 2011

Looking back at 2011, here's my favorite TOP TEN APPLESandRUBIES posts:
(click on the links to view the posts)

 

#1 January 2011:  APPLESandRUBIES Pure Style Home Inspired Lunch post. Creating a winter tablescape based the color palette of Lauren Liess's star turn article in Better Homes and Gardens. Thanks for the inspiration, Lauren! (and it gave me the kick in the butt to finally hang curtains in my dining room!)

 

 #2 April 2011: APPLESandRUBIES Wishes For Charlie post. How could I forget this beautiful and moving interview I did with fellow blogger Sarah Greenman of La Maison Boheme about her son's upcoming surgery? This charming boy is doing so well now! See an update on Charlie here.

#3 January 2011: APPLESandRUBIES Dreams and Dragonflies post. One of my favorite pieces of jewelry,  based on Loretta Fontaine Jewelry's sterling silver Maria necklace. I enjoyed researching, sketching and painting the delicate dragonfly for this custom piece.

 #4 May 2011: APPLESandRUBIES A Letter To Vern Yip post. What a pleasure to get together and have a GREAT design consultation on my home from HGTV's iconic interior designer Vern Yip.

Stacey, I'm still waiting for those photos of Vern and I... I know you took, like, a hundred photos!!!

#5 June 2011: APPLESandRUBIES "A Beautiful Windowseat" Post - This was the MOST POPULAR post of the year. (Seven months later it still gets dozens of hits a month... Unbelievable!!!)  A tale of how I envisoned my dream windowseat, and the random Google search that lead me to Lauren Liess's blog Pure Style Home.

 

#6 June 2011: APPLESandRUBIES A Little Custom Can Make All The Difference post. One of my favorite things - customizing my jewelry to perfectly fit the client! This is the Loretta Fontaine Jewelry sterling silver "Theresa" necklace with the miniature original photograph "Reaching Boxwood."

  
#7 August 2011: APPLESandRUBIES Labeling: My Dad and A Sharpie post. Dad, I love you and you crack me up, always!

 #8 September 2011: APPLESandRUBIES More Paper Model and Demo is Done! post If you've followed my blog this year you'll see the slow progress of my windowseat construction as the year went on. Making this paper model was a blast. (You can see the latest windowseat update here.)

 

 #9 September 2011: APPLESandRUBIES Our Backyard Flooded From Irene post. Yes, this is our backyard creek. Looking more like a small pond. What a storm!

 

#10 APPLESandRUBIES Best and Brightest For Nate post. Yes, I picked the outfit on the left, and yes, I will post soon on the trip to NYC to see the show taped. And yes, I am so SAD The Nate Berkus Show was not picked up for next season!

What a fun trip down memory lane to make this list. I put my top ten list in chronological order, because, honestly, I could not rank my favorites within this bunch.

Happy 2012!
Loretta

Wishes For Charlie: An interview with Sarah from La Maison Boheme

Our dear friend and blogger Sarah Greenman of  La Maison Boheme has a beautiful eight month old boy Charlie who will be having cranio-surgery soon.  Charlie suffered a stroke in-utero and is on a healing path with great strides but a lifetime to go.

{Charlie}

 I've asked Sarah some questions about this blessed and challenging time in her life.

Where does love fall in this journey?

Sarah: It falls everywhere.  It falls all around us.  The only reason Charlie is here is because I loved someone.  He is an embodiment of LOVE in all its forms.  And, while I'm not a religious person, I believe that he is healing because of the enormous out pouring of love that is swirling around him.  The doctors don't know why he's getting better.  They don't know why he had the stroke or the skull fuse and they can't explain why he isn't more "affected"... but I think its love. 

What are your wishes for Charlie's surgery?
Sarah: I am so pleased with the care he has received so far.  Dr. Fearon is really wonderful on all kinds of levels.  I want this surgery to go smoothly and for it to be 100% effective so that we don't have to go back in next year and repeat the surgery.  

What have you learned from your sons?
Sarah: Oh this is a hard one... so many things.  I've learned that I take myself and my work too seriously.  I've learned that there is a deep well of joy in every living creature, and that this joy must be nurtured in order to be revealed.  I've learned that my husband and I are even more perfectly matched that I suspected.  I've learned that the only proper response to hardship is to embrace it, listen to it and create a space for its transformation.

{A powerful paintbrush}

How can you help? Sarah is asking for prayers and good wishes. Big Brother Walker has put his artwork on greeting cards on the Help Charlie Heal shop on Etsy to help his adored little brother. And you can make a direct contribution at www.charliesfund.blogspot.com.
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Loretta