Northern Summer

 I'm just back from the old baie Georgienne which is my new favourite place in Ontario.  If anyone ever invites you to this gorgeous area pack your bags and go.  You'll likely be staying on a beautiful island in a ramshackle wooden cottage that could easily be the set of a Wes Anderson movie, so bring everything you need as you'll be boating it just to pick up a carton of milk.

Many cottages have sleeping cabins which include sitting areas and bathrooms.

The cottage is built on the Canadian Shield.

Hanging out with my friend Lola.

I have a real thing for wooden boats.

Plenty of Brits like this area and fly over to spend a few weeks.

The plants are that much more stunning growing in the rocks, I like that contrast.

Leather soled shoes from la Canadienne are perfect for navigating the rock faces.
The other option is bare feet!

A teepee is a popular outbuilding.  

Friend Island

 We had a picnic out on Friend Island which is beautiful area of rocks and water.  The kids loved it and swam from rock to rock, playing games the whole while.

 A lack of television and computers forces creativity and the children quickly developed a board game of their own.  I love to watch this kind of play, and listening to them negotiate the rules and regulations of their new game is really entertaining.

I hope you've been well and that you've been staying out of trouble!
xoxDani

Mop Philosophy Monday

 Interested in apricots these days?  I find the fresh ones are nice but they have to be the perfect texture.  The truth is I prefer to cook with them, I'm going to bake these ones into some kind of tart later today.

 I put out some apricot jam for breakfast when our good friends Wendy and Barry came to visit.   Is Bonne Maman the most perfect jam or what?  I know I am swayed by those darling red-checked lids, but still, it is a jam with a true French taste.

I made myself busy last week sewing up some silk draperies and I did a really dreadful job at it.  I made one drapery panel about ten inches too short!  Well at least I have a set of fetching tie-backs for the drapes.   I bought those in France, I think I wanted to bring a little of that Versailles attitude home with me.

 Would you like to meet the newest addition to the Mop Philosophy garden?  This is Rebecca.  Isn't she beautiful?  We find her very calming and we enjoy looking at her in different light as the sun moves across the garden.
Rebecca with the urn is a symbol of kindness and generosity.  She's a good reminder of worthy priorities, don't you think?

Have you been wondering what we'll be reading for the next Mop Philosophy Book Club?

Wonder no more.  We'll be tackling To The Lighthouse.  I hope you'll join me.  It is a slim book which has a reputation for being a bit difficult.  I have never read it and I think it will be very satisfying to know that we can discuss it together.  Especially when I am feeling confused by it.
Let's give ourselves plenty of time, shall we?  We'll have our meeting to discuss this book on Saturday September 21st.

I hope your week is off to a pleasant start.  We might even have our Royal Baby today!
xoxDani

A Royal Baby

 I don't know about you but I go crazy for babies.  My own babies were so cute and cuddly with chubby legs and even temperaments.  They were all born a fair size, between 8 and 9.5 lbs, and they quickly gained weight as I was fortunate to be able to nurse them without any trouble.  They grew so incredibly fast, and I loved buying their clothes, washing them, folding them... the whole thing.  I remember exactly the feeling of holding them in their soft little sleepers, wrapped in flannel nursing blankets.

I often look at photos of my babies and I adore other babies as well, just seeing a baby on the street or in a shop really makes my day.  So of course I'm looking forward to the Royal Baby!  

 Brora is also looking forward to the arrival and they have a whole section devoted to Pieces For A Royal Baby.  They are the most darling items on a cute-as-cute baby model, have a look right here.

Baby Booties!
My own babies wore similar knitted booties, so cozy.

Little soft baby pants.

Awwww!

Are you crazy for babies?
xoxDani

Frock Analysis

 Here we are in the heat of the summer.  It's been super-boiling hot with very high humidity and a high UV index.  I've been wearing a 50SPF and trying not to melt while I'm outside.  Just in time I discovered some really decent summer frocks from Tory Burch.

I had noticed these frocks at the beginning of the season but they were quite 'spensive, I needed to wait until they hit half price before I could try them out.  Now they are an extra 20% off the sale price with code EXTRA20.  Some sizes are sold out but it's worth checking out the sale section as a whole if you like the look of Tory Burch this summer.

Talley Dress

 I hesitated over the Talley Dress.  There is a percentage of nylon in the fabric content as well as some spandex.  I liked the fitted silhouette and the full, flared skirt.  The higher neckline is attractive but avoids being too straight-and-narrow with a deep slit.  The dress is knee length, perfect.  But why a 28% nylon in the content?
Well it makes for a very sturdy yet light fabric.  The lining is a wonderful cotton voile, very comfortable and well-finished.  The dress itself is dry-clean only, but the nylon content allows for an easy spot clean of the fabric.  I've been wearing my Talley dress constantly since it arrived.  I took my usual American size 2.  

The Talley also comes in a fetching print.

 The Ramona Dress, below, is dreamy.

The Ramona Dress

 Once again it is lined with a cotton voile while the outer fabric is a silk and linen mix.  The fabric is soft yet the dress itself is quite structured, particularly at the waist line, which gives that fit and flare silhouette.
The pale blush pink pattern with bits of blue, green and mauve is just beautiful.
The dress falls to just below the knee on me, while the Talley dress arrives just at the knee.  Perfect lengths, and while we are dissecting frocks I should note that I also ordered two linen dresses from JCrew in an effort to find some cool yet polished looking summer frocks.  The JCrew dresses were way too short as well as being high-waisted.  Which makes one look as though they have stolen a five year old's wardrobe.  Not a good look for a woman in her 40's!

I've been wearing these great frocks and toting my Tory Burch straw bag around, it's an easy combination.
 
I would normally add in my own pictures of the frocks, especially as I am trying to do a little bit of analysis here.  I like to take special note of why some items work and some are just a waste of money, after all our goal is to find well-made things we can really wear and be done with it.  I know that actual pictures help you to see the details.
However it's been a difficult time lately... I lost my Nana on Saturday and though she was 93 years old and "waiting for the Lord to take her" I am reeling from the loss.  She was a very special lady who taught me to love theatre, lunches out and dressing up.  She always told me to dress like a lady and to stay away from "the turkeys" (excellent advice).  She was all about having fun and toasting to life, with a perfect manicure and a nice outfit.  Her small family was everything to her... she was a treasure.
And while a good frock won't bring world peace (Nana might have begged to differ), I was very happy to have the Tory Burch dresses and my Brora cardigans during the last few days of her life.  Sitting with Nana while she went on to the next world I knew that she was happy with my frocks and that she was aware that she had taught me well.
xoxDani

Uniform Lately

As is so often the case the clothes I had planned to wear this summer are not the clothes that I am actually wearing.  I am trying to ask myself in the wardrobe planning stages "what are you actually going to wear?" but then unforeseen circumstances pop up and my plans go awry.
The linen schoolboy jacket from JCrew for example.  I had one in white at the beginning of the season (purchased last summer) and I did wear it a couple of times this year, until I noticed that it was starting to look like I had rolled around on a great dirty barn floor covered in newspapers.  Which I have not been up to.
So I bought a barn-floor friendly version instead, this soothing "honey-brown".

 I've been wearing it all the time!  This is how: over a navy cotton perfect fit tee shirt, dark navy Goldsign jeans, those Kiki ballet flats and my Tory Burch straw summer bag.  That straw bag is probably the only visually interesting thing in the whole get-up.

 I think Lane asked me about a month ago if I was using my straw bag and at that point no, I thought it was too big.  But then I started hauling it around and it is indeed ideal for summer.  It can hold newspapers, magazines, two bottles of wine, a large package of almonds and a bag of chips.  Clearly it is the perfect summer bag.

 I had planned to wear my navy linen Chanel skirt with button-front shirts from Kiel James Patrick.  (Remember this post?)  Ha!  What was I thinking?  I love those shirts but wearing one makes me want to chew my arm off!  So I've given them to my daughter who does wear button-front shirts all the time.
Phew.  Instead I'm wearing another perfect fit tee with my skirt, the one above has an elbow-length sleeve which I think of as a tiny bit dressier.

Perfect Fit Long Sleeve Tee

I have about eight of these tee shirts in navy, they are boring and basic but it's exactly what I feel like wearing this summer.  They seem to be back to full price (as does the linen schoolboy jacket, not sure what is up with that) but I bought mine on sale for cheapie, which is all they really deserve.  The hems are already unravelling on mine which I am tolerating as I do like the fit.

Can you see what is missing from this summer wardrobe list?  Yup, cotton frocks.  I'm trying to find a couple (that are not white, I've wrecked two already) that I can wear through the end of August so I've ordered a couple on the sales from Tory Burch and JCrew... stay tuned for those reviews in the next few days.

What's your uniform looking like these days my Tooties?
xoxDani

Mop Philosophy Monday: 19th Century Edition

 We're just back from a trip to Amherstburg, Ontario, my hometown, which involved a visit to Fort Malden.
Growing up we were frequent visitors to the Fort, it was a great place for bored small-town kids to go kicking around.
As a child I loved visiting the historic buildings which were filled with accessories particular to the 19th century, all of the tools of domesticity used in days past fascinated me.  I loved the look of scrubbed surfaces and rudimentary military organization, the lack of plastic and modern appliances.  It seemed like a simpler, more beautiful world to me.

Need some new socks?  Target didn't exist, you'll have to knit your own.

 Of course I still see the beauty in it but now that I run a household of my own I see the hardship in it as well.

Imagine ironing with this thing!

Gardening wasn't a past-time, it was necessary for survival.
I'd be in trouble!

It looks like the loo but in fact it's a smokehouse.

How about this outfit?
I liked the linen apron very much but the student wearing it said it was hot as anything.

Blue and white.

A teapot?  A water jug?

Neatly rolled bedding, flannel and ticking-stripes.

The bathroom area.  

Pegs for organizing clothes and bags.

 Even though I wouldn't trade in my Miele dishwasher and vacuum cleaner I still find these images so inspirational and soothing.  Everything seems useful and clean, there is a lack of excess and ornamentation which I find calming.

The cookhouse smelled terrific but it was boiling hot.
I would definitely end up crying in this kitchen.

 This week will involve some serious Mop Philosophy:  I've set it aside as a week of de-cluttering and cleaning.  After engaging in normal household routines for the last few months I find the mess creeping back in from the edges of the house: the storage areas, the donate bins and the closets all need an emptying followed by a good scrub.

Simple pottery and wooden surfaces: so attractive.

 I'll be clearing out and scrubbing and maybe I'll be inspired by these images of simpler times which caused so much daydreaming when I was young.

 I have a scrub brush just like this one!  

If you are ever in the Amherstburg area I encourage you to visit Fort Malden.  Parks Canada does an excellent job maintaining the site and they hire students to re-enact the chores and military routines particular to the time.  You can visit the site which lists special events right here.

What are you up to this week?  Are you heading off to holiday or are you at home?  Anyone engaging in a little de-clutter like I am?
Are you equally fascinated by old-time household tools and routines?
Hope all is well in your world no matter what you're up to.
xoxDani