Summer in most places boasts of hot temperatures, outdoor living, playing in the water, and sun.  And while people are shedding layers and basking in the sun, we are still bundled up in sweatshirts and blankets.  It’s cruel, but true.  The reality is, we still need blankets and throws to wrap around us in the summer.  But the sheer definition …

For the love of light, I can now post photos of the light renovations that took place the day after Christmas.  You guys, you have no idea the struggle we have with light in Alaska.  In the summers, we lose track of time and stay up way too late every-single-night, because the sun never tells us to go to bed.  …

When I was a little girl, my mom didn’t drink coffee in the morning.  Instead, she would wake up by the method of creativity, with a needle and thread.  I will never forget the sound of the needle, filled with embroidery floss, making a distinctive “pop” through the canvas, and then the voice of the fibers rubbing together as the threads created strokes of …

If any of you have read the story of how I came up with the title of this blog, Of Ruffles and Rifles, you will remember that it has connotations to the poem, “the best laid plans of mice and men often run awry.”  And I titled my blog Of Ruffles and Rifles because this is a journey; a fantastic, …

The snow has been in a hurry to melt the last couple of weeks. The drift that locked the greenhouse door shut all winter quickly evaporated and we could let ourselves in. My husband and boys, already infected by spring fever went out to work, organizing the glass house. When we moved in last summer, the amazing greenhouse became little more …

Have I ever told you I live in a farmhouse? Not a hundred- year-old farmhouse, full of character and charm, like the one the Gaineses live in. But it was a genuine farmhouse, built in the 80s by an Alaskan colonist, who was passionate about farming. He had farms in Alaska and in Hawaii. He sold his vegetables at farmer’s markets. …

So, I confess, it’s not really spring.  The morning I took these photos it was 4 degrees outside!  There also is an abundance of snow on the ground.  But March provides such a shift in the amount of sunshine that tricks our brains into happy thoughts of such things like the hope of spring.  And, frankly, I’m done with winter.  Ok, so I …

I’m so excited to finally share with you a sneak peak of my little girl’s nursery!  When I found out we were having a baby girl (after four boys), one year ago, I immediately had a vision for her little nursery.  I wanted pale neutrals and a pale rose pink with a French Country theme drawing it all together, of …

My boys often groan when we pull into one thrift store’s parking lot.  Truthfully, I try to meander through with as few little people in tow as possible.  I mean, I see their point; stinky, dirty, unloved garbage, and Mom is shopping in there?!?  But I tell them, “I’m treasure hunting, something in there could be a very economical piece paired with a little …

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to embark on some interior decorating endeavors.  It is one of my passions to marry beauty along with functionality — to create an ambiance that speaks beyond words.  But as with almost everything in life, even a natural gift and inclination to do something takes practice.  And practice, by nature, includes mistakes.  In that …