A few years ago I moved into an apartment that came complete with a beautiful fireplace and a large empty space above the mantle that needed just the right picture to set the tone for the room. I was thrilled!  I'll take any excuse for a good treasure hunt.  As I searched through antique stores and thrift stores, on Craigslist, and at garage sales, I found many striking pictures, but not that one that encompassed the range of personality and colors I was hoping to find.

I was actually quite surprised when I finally found “the” picture and it turned out to be floral. Not your grandmother's floral, but a richly-colored, whimsical floral called Dahlia I by Kim Parker.  I have a Pavlovian response to great color and this print definitely made my mouth water.  How could it not? It was everything I'd been looking for with colors and texture, and even a hint of ethnicity that would work perfectly with my findings from my travels and the years I spent in Africa.

The picture was so vibrant and rich that the rest of my living room seemed a little lackluster. The only thing I could imagine that might provide enough color to really compliment the new print was an assortment of glass in wonderfully saturated colors.  Thus began what has become an incredibly enjoyable collection.

I've been gathering glass for about four years now, and I'm still in love.  It is endlessly fascinating and each piece makes a dramatic difference in the collection as a whole.  While I seek out unusual shapes and colors, and have definite preference for bold saturated colors, I really only have one firm rule for the glass I bring home... It has to make me smile. 

I moved into a new apartment this past summer, and as I was packing I realized that I had a dilemma. My new kitchen is blue, and my canisters were the exact same shade of blue. Maybe that's not a dilemma for most people, but I prefer not surround myself with things that match too closely.

My sister and I began searching for "new" canisters and she found the perfect set for me on Craigslist. Given my weakness for colored glass, the bright yellow glass canisters were perfect.  Add their quirky lids and I'm pretty sure that we were meant to be together.

A few months after my move, my niece and I were roaming through one of our favorite antique malls when we discovered a long lost relative of the yellow canisters.  The slender blue addition matched perfectly in style, but not color. Much better.  More recently,  I found a baby for the canister family in another antique store and arranged for an immediate adoption. 

Now, isn't that a beautiful family?

It's November in Washington State, and though we had a few unseasonably sunny days early on, it's been predictably and predominately gray. Some people dread this time of year because of its grayness, but the drabness of the weather just increases the challenge to find details that are interesting.

Last Sunday during a break in the rain I grabbed the opportunity to take out the garbage.  I'm not really sure what prompted me to grab my camera (the garbage does not usually inspire my creative flair), but my journey to the dumpster turned into a hunt for spectacular color and texture.  I found it!

Looking out my window, all I'd been able to see was a monotone and featureless day.  However on my short walk I found lots of yummy details to savor - rough bark, weathered wood, rusty nails, peeling paint, and a perfect row of tiny mushrooms.