On the Road: Southwest Colorado

My baby brother was just married in Ouray, Colorado and we had a great time visiting. I think most people were busy taking photos of the mountains, but there were other grand details that caught my eye.

I was impressed by the Victorian cottages, dripping in trim.

There were beautiful chandeliers hanging in the barn where the couple were married. They were made to look like old oil lamps and it brought a refined touch to the rustic architecture of a barn.

The Beaumont Hotel was full of interesting things. This safe at reception was painted with pretty details, I love when someone thinks to adorn a utilitarian object.

The wrought-iron supports for the ceiling fans in the cafe, I love this kind of detail.

The house had some fun trim, I love the "eyebrows" over the upper windows.

Here's the happy couple leaving the wedding, isn't the Beaumont Hotel beautiful? That staircase was so grand.

Seriously?

I was looking thru the latest email from Restoration Hardware when I noticed that they were selling "Decorative rope". For $89.

Rope. For Eighty-Nine American dollars.

Apparently, one is supposed to pile this rope decoratively somewhere in their house. Sure, it would have been helpful when Hurricane Earl came to New England last weekend and we needed to tie down the patio furniture. But really? Rope for $89?

I am clearly not taking advantage of the crap lying around my house. I've been trying to be more creative lately when it comes to decorating, so I decided to let Restoration Hardware be my inspiration. I looked around and realized I have lots of things with which to decorate!

Assorted garden hoses..

Sculpture Pile of old Nails Fasteners

 These would be especially interesting, old window weights with rope. A two-fer!

Then it hits me! Functional yet colorful, neatly coiled, just like RH's rope. Green extension cord! Don't you love it?

Preparing for the worst

In theory, Hurricane Earl should arrive tonight. We live about 40 miles west of the coast, so I'm not expecting much more than rain and some wind. With the dry summer we've had, I'm hoping for lots of heavy rain.

But, when it rains, we often lose the power, so I decided to can a batch of tomatoes, rather than freeze them. It took a little while, but I think I have the hang of it.

This batch started out as 10 lbs of heirloom plum tomatoes from the CSA. I think next time I'll squish more tomatoes into the jar. But as a first-time try, I feel pretty good about it.