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A case of the 2011′s?

Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:49:54 +0000

The start of February is here! This time of year I always find myself under the weather, tired, sad, depressed, lost – I dunno, just generally out of sorts. You recall my just after Christmastime post in 2011, don’t you? Or the after Christmas post from 2010? Well, thankfully I have this trusty blog to look back upon and realize it is just how things go!
Perhaps all the excitement between Halloween and New Years keeps me up, up, up and then it gets quiet and I start realizing another year has passed? It might just be that I am just sad to see all the holiday decorations get packed away - they certainly warm up our place! Over the last month I have been working on a list of what I want to do to really finish off the country house.I’ve gotten quotes for slipcovering the pair of vintage sofas in our fireplace room and estimates on the upholstered headboard I have been dream decorating with for the last year. The fabric is on order for the double dutch pillows, duvet cover, and scatter pillows for the library sofas. I got pricing for upholstering the asymmetrical club chairs and a set of petite french chairs and ottoman. (I purchased those cuties in early 2001 and never did anything with them – but now they’ve found a home in the library and look totally ridiculous with white cotton muslin on them!) And last but not least: I have been looking into wallpaper. $$$ Ouch. Doing the entire room would be incredibly expensive. Amazing, but expensive! I hope to slowly and surely chip away at these projects until they are all completed.Don’t get me wrong, I have plenty to look forward to this year. I have a rekindled friendship and now business relationship with the fellas from High Falls Mercantile. Did you see? They’re selling my letterpress stationery designs! Currently, they have my Perfect Pear and Spooning Leads to Forking cards in the shop. In the future we plan to do a line that will be sold exclusively though the store. No one is getting rich and retiring off of paper goods, but it is really cool of them to show their support this way. (Thanks to photographer Jean Kallina who did a Valentines Day blog post on HFM and included photos of my stationery!)I’ve also got two new interior decorating projects on my desk (I’m *this* close to getting a third one!) and lots of innovative ideas floating around in my head. So it’s all good. Though sometimes when I am feeling a bit weary, I like to see what others are saying about blogging, social media and their thoughts on all the energy and effort that people are putting into it.I liked what Melissa at The Inspired Room recently had to say about blogging in 2011. The Nester pointed out some interesting things about Pinterest that I hadn’t considered before. (I have yet to really embrace Pinterest, but when I do pin, you can find my Pinterest page here.) I also enjoyed reading Meg Worden’s ‘Eat Like an Artist’ on the Elephant Journal and Thomas O’Brien’s thoughtful take on being an interior designer and upscale merchant in the age of social media.
Makes you think, eh? Now that we’re though the first month of the new year my question is: how is 2012 treating you so far?

Images Etsy 1, 2, 3, Lemon Cake, Aero

Desserts for Breakfast {eye-catching photography}

Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:44:53 +0000

Today we’re installing the core furniture pieces for a NYC apartment design project that I am working on. We’re redesigning the living room and dining area of their rental apartment. We purchased pieces that will easily transition with them as they move apartments and as their family grows. Fingers crossed, it all goes smoothly!While I am off arranging furniture, please be sure to check out the ultra inspiring food and lifestyle photography at Desserts for Breakfast. You won’t be sorry that you did!

Happy New Year {ABCD Designs} Letterpress Stationery

Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:41:49 +0000

Happy 2012! I trust you had a wonderful holiday season? I managed to leave the house in Connecticut without grabbing the charging plug to my computer and my camera – so vacation in Michigan turned into a forced blogging respite for me! We returned to The Country House just in time for New Years and entertained guests from Tennessee for a few days. I took the Mr to the train this morning and I am staying behind in the country to break down and pack up the Christmas decorations. These are the letterpress holiday cards I designed to send out to friends and loved ones this year. I used French’s Dur-O-Tone cover weight paper in steel grey with matching envelopes and had them letter-pressed in gold ink.

Holiday Bakery Week {Country Christmas Decor Sneak Peek}

Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:55:44 +0000

Did you have a wonderful weekend? We decked the halls of The Country House in a really big way this past weekend. As a matter of fact, (for the first time in our married life) we went to a tree farm and cut down our tree! Unfortunately, we went to the farm with the idea that we needed an 8.5 foot tree. We learned that all of the trees were relatively young and that they didn’t have any that were over about 6 feet. So, we did what every Holiday Decor loving couple would do…we decided to have TWO trees! We cut a 6ft tree for the fireplace room and went to a separate farm to get a taller tree for the library. As is tradition, I am starting with my annual holiday cookie bakery sessions today. I go to the market and buy way more butter, sugar and flour than any normal person should, lock myself inside and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I proceed to bake every cookie recipe in my book, and at the end I have lots to share with friends and loved ones.Can you believe this silliness? Since I want to be in the City with the Mister all week, I have my Kitchen Aid stand mixer in a suitcase on the train to New York City with me! Which leads me to wonder: when will it be appropriate to break down and get a second Dualit toaster and a second mixer??? Dear Santa, I am full of ideas this year… Ha-ha-ha!

Thanksgiving Sunset, Fall Color, a NEW Tablescape Project

Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:17:04 +0000

Did you have a delightful Thanksgiving weekend? Ours was wonderful! The weather was absolutely fantastic. The turkey fry went off without a hitch. I tried a few new (and many old) recipes. The first night they arrived, we had my mom’s sausage in tomato cream sauce recipe. After Thanksgiving, we ate a ton of leftovers. All were variations on a familiar theme.I watched my sister-in-law crochet in her spare time this weekend. Now I am really itching to start a new project. (As if I wasn’t dying to before – what the heck is stopping me?) I served one last breakfast this morning and ushered our weekend house guests out the door a few moments ago. If I am going to stick to my schedule and get the holiday decorations up next weekend – I have plenty of clean-up to do before I head back into the City!Late last week, I accepted a last-minute project for this Tuesday night. I am designing yet another holiday tablescape! This time it’s for the Girls Night Out event. To make this project extra fun, I partnered with Larry Ruhl from High Falls Mercantile. Over the weekend, I made a visit to the store and hand-picked all of the tabletop items that I will be using to design the holiday table. Stay tuned for the design…This is the last time I will remind you: Time is running out to receive the 15% discount at High Falls Mercantile. This offer ends Wednesday at midnight – just enter ABCD/November at checkout to get the deal!