souper cool

claudiaGood Eats, Stuff We Like

It’s going to get cold again Saturday, then winter will soon start to slip away here in the South. Before the warm weather returns, we’re thinking about investing in a soup tureen. In our 27 years of married life, Mike and I have never had one — heck, growing up I didn’t even know what a tureen was (let’s just say Joan Brooks did not do homemade soups). Anyway, we’re now thinking we gotta have one, and then it can be an heirloom for our kids. Do you have a tureen? Or a terrine?  Here are some we like.

Classic White

Classic White by Pottery Barn.

Ohhhh, love this in Cassis, by

Oooooh…love this in Cassis by Le Creuset.

Well, of course. (Etsy)

Well, of course. (Etsy)

If you have a really big budget...an 1830s Canton Soup Tureen from eBay.

If you have a big budget, an 1830s Canton Soup Tureen on eBay.

If you have aHUGE budget, an 1880spiece from Augustin Lahure.

If you have a HUGE budget, then possibly one from the 1880s (Augustin Lahure).

K, back to reality. Cool and modern from The Kitchn.

K, back to reality. Modern and fresh from The Kitchn.

Fresh n' lovely, from The Find.

Fresh n’ lovely, found through The Find.

 

a journey, a purpose and some ‘dognition’

claudiaStuff We Like

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Three books your dog would like you to read and soon:

 dogsjourney-purpose

A Dog’s Journey and A Dog’s Purpose — these are now on order at our house. By happy accident I met author W. Bruce Cameron in Houston this month at a conference and naturally we chatted about all things dog — Well…mainly I prattled on about our own canine clan and then somehow managed to detour into a long sidebar about raising teenage daughters (he’s also the man behind 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter). Bruce was just so sweet and polite, I feel compelled to try and return the favor by giving his books and Facebook page a nice plug.

geniusofdogs2

Coincidentally, Mike just pointed out an article about The Genius of Dogs. Pretty sure this book caught his attention due to that sweet Great Dane face on the cover, but we just ordered it as a surprise for his birthday next month anyway — Shhhhhhhh. Check out the author’s Q&A with Craig Wilson in USA Today.

 

‘strategic renewal’

claudiaLife-Work

 

 

Work less, get more done. Sound crazy? Author and CEO Tony Schwartz of The Energy Project doesn’t think so. Read his opinion piece from today’s NYT.

 young girl taking a nap on a tree trunk in the countryside

“I learned that it’s not how long, but how well, you renew that matters most in terms of performance. Even renewal requires practice. The more rapidly and deeply I learned to quiet my mind and relax my body, the more restored I felt afterward.” – Tony Schwartz

l’amour du chocolat

claudiaGood Eats

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If chocolate is your heart’s desire this month then take a peek at La Châtelaine Chocolat Co. in Montana. Whenever we’re in Bozeman I make a beeline for their La Petite stand in the historic and lovely Baxter Hotel. On our last visit we splurged on Frenchy Sea Salt Caramels, Provencal Lavender, Raspberry Thyme and Montana Huckleberry, but there are so many choices.

Only 7 days ’til Saint Valentine’s Day! Press ‘pause’ on whatever you’re doing right now and click here to have these delights delivered to your sweetie. You might even get a personal thank-you note from chocolatier Wlady Grochowski!

Psssst…. Order the Heart Box below by noon tomorrow and get a 10% discount by mentioning the code MORECHOCOLATE. Details on Facebook.

valentines

 

for the birds

claudiaFriends, Stuff We Like

 

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One of the most special gifts we received in December was a custom birdhouse for the farm created by Michelle’s hubbie Anthony, a woodworker. It’s a small replica of our little red barn, and AJ even put an old horseshoe on the front. This little abode is just way too nice to hang outside to face the elements (and the occasional woodpecker), so it’s safely displayed indoors for now. But we’ll ask him to make another one this spring — and that one will be for the birds.

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Anthony can design and create custom orders for your own living spaces. He’s working on his website now so while he works on that, you can reach him at anthonyjonesdesigns@gmail.com.

 

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