~ Give me sequestered nooks~

'Give me sequestered nooks and the sweet serenity of books'

                                                        -Longfellow

Books, much like my dishes, have a way of overflowing. But I love the look

 of books spilling about.

Books piled up by my reading chair.

Books stacked by my bed.

Books in my tote bag.

"My Library is Dukedom enough. "

                                                                                            -Shakespeare

'The Bookworm. '

by Carl Spitzweg

which hangs in my library

I love the play of light and shadows in this piece.

Of course you can see why I love him. He's a man after my own heart.

The smell of a vintage book can  immediately bring back fond memories of

visiting old book stores in San Francisco with my Grandparents.

Spending hours perusing  aisles lined with books that whispered to me

.....are you ready for an adventure?

Yes, Amelia Earhart

and Florence Nightingale

 and so many others

beckoned me to sit quietly and let them tell me their story.

I loved these trips to our favorite book stores, with their creaky wooden floors and  their tall ladders reaching to the ceiling. One of my favorites spots had so many book

 they spilled out everywhere. Two stories tall.

Stacks on top of stacks.

 Books in boxes on the floor.

 And books on top of boxes.

Oh to be surrounded by books.

and I pledged that one day I would have a library

Well, not quite

 (no, not exactly)

( Hmm, not this one either)

  ( ahh yes, just right)

Be it ever so humble, my little library nook is a beautiful world to me. 

And yes, I'm surrounded by books.

as well as some of my favorite items.

 

 

 

 

I am happy here in this little corner.

A book, a chair, a good light for reading....and I'm off.

These books aren't just items on a shelf

They are my friends. When I look at these shelves, I see  far flung places I've visited from my armchair, things I've learned, laughs and heartaches I've shared with these characters.

And to use a little literary license from one of my favorite characters; 

Ebenezer Scrooge

"Robinson Crusoe, not real? Elizabeth Bennett, Scarlett O'Hara not real ?"

Of course they're real, I say.  Their lives are lived on these worn pages,

and I am free to visit them over and over again.

So I pick up a book, sink into my comfy chair 

 and say to myself

" where shall I go today?"

~The Girlfriends Luncheon~

I have a little tradition of throwing a 'Girlfriends Luncheon'. The only thing is, for this particularly named soiree', I only have one invitee, my BFF, Gail. I start gathering ideas for the theme months in advance, as planning is half the fun. As you can see, the theme for this last luncheon was 'An Olde English Library'. The invitation was a quote from Longfellow, with a little twist from moi.

"Give me sequestered nooks and the sweet serenity of books. And a little soup and sandwich wouldn't hurt either."

For the tablescape I wanted the colors to be rich and dark. My inspiration was this beautiful paisley scarf that I decided to use as a table runner.

Pages copied from an old book tied up with a lovely copper colored ribbon served as napkin rings.

At the Dressed Up Cottage, you use what you have. The fun is in finding new and interesting ways to use everyday objects.

I found this adorable library card template, which I used as the menu card.  Naming each course after one of Shakespeare's works.

Sir William surveying his stage.

Yellow roses nestled in a faux wooden book.

The rich jewel tones of the runner are echoed in the velvet lining of the wooden book

Gail is such an appreciative audience for all my silliness. She adores all the attention to detail and makes all my effort worth while. So I am busy planning the next luncheon, as we speak.