Welcome Summer {Please Don't Stay}

 Summer is not my favorite.
I don't relish the extra hours of daylight, the heat is my sworn enemy, and the sun makes me feel sluggish.  The way a lot of people feel about winter is the way
I feel about summer.

So this post is just a collection of glimpses around the house lately, a distraction from the day's
hot and sunny forecast.

Russell Westbark is back, you might remember him from this post.  We had him along with his two siblings when they were just 6 weeks old.  He was adopted but then later returned {no fault of his own} so now he is a 4 month old loving playful boy looking for a forever home again.
He does an expert head tilt and is so cute it hurts.

Russell loves to empty the toy basket each morning and scatter everything all over the living room while Birdie keeps a close watch.

I put these flags on the front door for Memorial Day and decided they should stay up all summer long.  Once they were situated might as well leave them in place for July 4th and then for Labor Day.  

I used to have a tray on the entry table for mail but I never used that tray because I go through mail immediately.  So in its place I put an antique boxer that belonged to my grandma under a glass dome and an antique dish to hold mints.  

We've recently started watching TV with closed captioning turned on {you really do catch so much more!} so it's fitting we would have a dish of mints by the 

front door.  

I finally figured out what to hang between the brass lamps in the dining room.  This brass laurel wreath is from Restoration Hardware's holiday collection and I got it on clearance in January.  I didn't want anything to actually sit on the sideboard and deter from functionality but I also didn't want something just one-dimensional on the wall.  Laurel wreaths are so classic and this brings a dose of traditional to what is probably the most modern room in the house.  

Also, I'm considering having the metallic walls painted over.  They were fun when we first moved in but 3 years later they are starting to feel gimmicky.  During the day they look kind of cheesy but then at night with the lamps turned on they look pretty and sophisticated.  Luckily the walls have not set a deadline for the decision so I can waffle my little heart out.  

I found a huge platter at my favorite antique shop, Mockingbird Manor, and put it up on the mantel.  

Currently it is hung too high, but it is covering up some old nail holes that need to be repaired.  

Future plans are to move it down and get a brass or bronze museum light to hang above it.  

Trader Joe's eucalyptus is $3.99 a bunch and lasts for a long time.  

I love the organic look and it stays pretty even once it starts to wilt.

I'll sign off with a puppy pic: fosters Walter & Willa who were both recently adopted :)