Keep little things from your children, or any children in your life……that simply bring you joy !? I do….I love the lilliputian goodies our boys make….sometimes it’s a mother’s day thing, other times it’s an I love you thing. I put these little treasures all over our house…I find they mix in beautifully with antiques and other “grown-up” finds. I hang them on our walls, put them on our consoles right with sterling cups and other lovelies. I find they bring even more soul into our home…and that’s just it………..it is “our” home….and I know that when our boys see the wonderful creations they make mixed in with everything else….it makes them feel prideful and delighted to know we truly find elegance and joy in everything they do. No matter what sort of thing it is….I love them….sweet innocent little things that bring a smile to your day no matter….just like kids.

Cheers and Simple Discoveries,
xxx,
T.
Tracy Porter

A few springtime thoughts to freshen up your world and your porch!!

• New pillows will revive any chair, from the porch to the kitchen they are perfection in my book!!
• I hang art right on the walls of our porch, I am quite keen on the way it allows our “outside “ room to feel a part of our home….
• I also love the idea of lamps on a porch or any outdoor room, I keep them close to the house with the most protection from the elements of course, but they add a truly magical layer!
• If you do have a porch, sunroom, or even a foyer that needs a glorious springtime lift….try a chandelier…a magical mainstay to me…. that will add a layer to awaken all that enter!
• Consider a range of textures when decorating any porch type room. Wicker & bamboo are of course lovely and exotic in any form….but consider throws, books, mirrors….even rugs!!

Cheers and Happiness…
xxx,
T
Tracy Porter

These things I warmly wish to you-
Someone to love
Some work to do
A bit o’ sun
A bit o’ cheer
And a guardian angel always near.

Maybe some of you recognize this photo from one of our first catalogs……thanks to you we are here and blooming !!

Cheers and Four Leaf Clovers to You!!
xxxx,
T.
Tracy 0’ Porter

P.S. Today is LIVE TRACY PORTER RADIO day…hope you can join in..who knows…maybe this will be your lucky day!!? You are welcome to call me toll free at 877.864.4869 . If you can’t join me live…well…have yourself a moment with the podcast it is simple to use, and on your own clock my love!!!
TTFN…xxx

shop tracy porter online catalog now
We are really excited about this idea as it will allow us to offer you even more options in the coming months. With our new Tracy Porter online catalog we will be able to give you more inspiration, more content, tips and ideas…more ways to mix it up and create goodness for you, your home and your wardrobe!!!
Let us know if you like the way it works….I love that you can make the pages really big ( good for those of us with reading specs!) and how quickly it goes from page to page…( as I am a terribly impatient sort)…..but….what I really love is, when you click on an item it takes you right to the shopping page for totally effortlessness shopping …..now that IS speaking my language….” Easy shopping” = happiness for all!!!

Cheers and Splendid Encounters!!
xxx,
T.

This snack tray idea for kids has been something we’ve done for years. Always makes the kids happy!! These work for a million reasons!…and I will tell you why they rock our world…Any season, any occasion…happy little campers indeed!!

• You can personalize these snack trays…..all kids have their favorite snacks and this lets you sneak them in!
• They are superbly easy to clean up…..I always use paper muffin cups….( lazy and lovely!)
• They are easy to make ahead and stack in refrigerator , for your own kids or company kids!
• When kids are sick this will bring them top to bottom joy….our little guy Gus calls these ” Goodie Trays” ( or in his speak…Duddie trays)
• They can be super junkie or healthy…we go mostly healthy with 10% junk…
• Perfect for sampling new foods….these are sort of a modern day TV dinner..( i always did love those!!)
• These snack trays incredibly portable…just wrap with plastic and you can take them anywhere…picnics, etc!

Happy times for all!

Cheers…and bountiful snacking!

xoxo

T.

Perch little faux birds on a stack of your favorite dishes….

Look back at your garden photos…..and imagine what you will create next….

Put a Child’s drawing somewhere that will make you smile every time you see it?

Do you…..?

Cheers and Fanciful Dreams…
xxx
T.

It’s  endless you know, I always tell you inspiration is everywhere…and indeed it is in everything we do. Anytime we create a new collection a layer of vintage inspiration ….(gasp-inducing loveliness) is there for the taking. It drives romance to a new place….vintage inspiration is modern, soulful….and irresistible . I for one…cannot help myself…..never could really. Even when I was a kid digging through my grandmothers old laces and trims to find just the right thing to sew onto a t-shirt……the sweetness, the elegance …the pure earthiness of age is enough inspiration for us to create collection after collection of goodness! Fragments of happiness combined with other remembrances make for the perfect mix of high and low….feel good, wear it forever sort of goodness.  Thanks for loving what we do…it is far too much fun for us….and knowing you like it too…well…that my loves…is the cherry on top!!!

Cheers and Kisses!
xxx,
T.

P.S. check out my fashion video …..loads of inspiration for your wardrobe! Xxx

Since it’s cheap and relatively instant gratification…..and well…sometimes we just need some change…I say PAINT IT!! This is my age old sage piece of advice for anyone looking for great transformation for little cash! Now,….really you know me….I am in the camp of if it sits there long enough it will eventually get painted. If it has no fur you can paint it, if it’s not walking and breathing you can pretty much…..paint it. It’s as simple as that. Don’t complicate…don’t over think…..just get inspired and try something new…a new color perhaps….a new object…whatever just do it my love.

Things that love paint…..

• Lamps and their shades ( they like trims too…but that’s another day)
• Chairs….they LOVE paint. ( I have actually painted upholstered ones as well…you think I am kidding…)
• Walls….too obvious…but, I am shocked at how many don’t do it!!
• Staircases…..
• Floors ( get fancy if you like….)
• Chandeliers….yes, I have done my fair share
• Ugly sculptures ( it’s all subjective)
• The inside of bookshelves
• Vessels of any size or shape
• Dressers….well, any furniture really….

Ok….now that we have covered that…Be bold, trust your gut, no fretting, messy can be cool, drips are interesting, missed spots are a sign of good luck….etc. you get where I am going here….get a bucket of paint…or three…and blog me in the morning!!!

Cheers and Happy Trails,
xxx,
T.

P.S. Today is LIVE TRACY PORTER RADIO DAY!!! Hope you are able to join in for loads of luscious chatter! Should you get the hanker to call me…I’ll be there…ready for you…hot tea in my hand ..cookies on a plate in front of me…….toll free 877.864.4869 If by some oddball reason( cannot imagine) you are not able to join me live! Then by all means do grab the podcast…it ‘s truly a snap…just click here and you are good to go my love!! Until then!! xxxx

xxx
Tracy

There is something quite extraordinary in someone that can be so very human and real and lovely, so willing to stop and look and love. I was sitting recently at my brother Danny and his wife Tara’s house….I was reading and I glanced up to see Tara swoop their 10 year old daughter Sydney out of her wheelchair and into her lap on the couch…like lifting a little butterfly off the ground…..to sit and talk with her. Sydney mind you doesn’t speak, or walk…… isn’t able to eat ( except through a permanent feeding tube in her belly). She is in a wheelchair all the time, she sadly has severe cerebral palsy, I have shared her story with you in the past. But when you see your family..or anyone for that matter give so much of themselves to someone else…and then you see that darling big smile pop up on Sydney’s beautiful face….you know…maybe she really does understand more…maybe she really is communicating in her own astonishing way…with the remarkable family she has. It makes you want to be just that much more extraordinary in any way you can…..to stop and look and love, and be there……don’t you think?

My brother Danny with my sister-in-law ( his wife) Tara….Sydney between them. Isn’t she darling…& aren’t they?

They bought this little Maltese tea cup pup…the tiniest thing you have ever seen…and when they put him ( “ Duke”) by Sydney’s face she laughs in the most wonderful way…he licks her face…and she is all smiles and happiness…..it melts your heart instantly!

Cheers and Extraordinary Moments to You!!
xxx,
T.

You are of course by now well aware of my “get more on the wall weakness/addiction/love affair”….yes, it’s true, and I have no intention of stopping it. Quite frankly it will ( with any luck) only get worse…my eyes will open more, my magpie tendencies will happily own me into eternity. ( or as Buzz Lightyear says…”to infinity and beyond”…clearly I have a 3 year old…nay…nearly 4 year old….) this little ditty is from our boys room. All four of them share a room with bunk beds….it is really something else!! They like little things as much as I do….stamps, rocks, plastic animals, photos….average stuff you can find in nature or in the bottom of most attic boxes. Little piles of happiness to make collages with…this is one of them. An oddball mix of goodness….imagine how it will spread….just like that.
Cheers , Luck and Happiness to you!
xxx,
T.

LOVES!! Do come on over and check it out! New spring fashion has arrived! There is much to behold!! Jersey cardigans and dusters to make you swoon, spring dresses embellished with layers of vintage goodness, shirts that truly speak the ornamental language, gypsy bags…..( calling all magpies!!) skirts and frocks dripping in enchanting color and pattern! We love to inspire & bathe you in goodness! Cannot wait to hear what you think…what do you love…..?!! Do tell ……We love you for it!
….and since you are wondering…that gorgeous darling in the photo…that’s my sweet sister Robyn! Some of you know her from videos we have done of her delicious house…some of you know Rob from the blog…..she was kind enough to jump into our photo shoot, she is a true gem inside and out!

Cheers ….Passion and Pleasure!!
xxx,
T.

Yes, you read that right. You know….find a bunch of cool rocks and start piling them up in whatever way that tickles your fancy..then walk away…leave them…or knock them down…….wonder who will discover them…..
We found some one day on the beach and then a much inspired John and Gus kept making them. Gus was all about the make and knock down version….John was more of the make them and walk away version.

I love this one…may have to frame as a black and white photo.

This one was cool too…my brother Danny and my sister in law Tara and I sat and watched as John and Gus scooted across the rocks.

John in a state of bliss….making his next move

Gus started bringing flat rocks to the sandy part of the beach and making his own version of sculpture.

So Do You…? or will you……?
Cheers and Happy Gathering!!
xxx,
T.

Quite possibly one of my favorite things. Tide pools….absolutely beautiful, entertaining…hours of excitement, beauty & learning. If you have never seen one of these gorgeous little wonders of nature, they are simply a rocky pool near and ocean filled with sea water. They exist generally at low tide. Our kids were entirely fascinated by how much goodness there actually was in each small shallow tide pool. Sometimes we would stand for a few minutes before seeing anything, then suddenly everything would appear…we would all be talking at once…look, look…a starfish, a sea cucumber….look little crabs everywhere…..mussels lining the sides of the pools…as though we were seeing everything under a glass bubble….we were treasure hunters of nature…but we did not disturb her…we just looked with wonder!

A spectacular sea anemone …the prettiest pale blue…all those tiny pebbles landed on her….sweet little moonflower. We saw these in so many colors….

A dancing magenta sea plant…sort of looked like coral but wasn’t…so elegant.

The kids searching for more treasures…endless entertainment.

A wall of mussels….lining a tide pool. We saw lots of these…natures form of mosaic…many of the mussels had another layer of creatures growing on them….

Crazy good wasn’t it! I knew you would love to see these…just wish you had been there in person for every ohhh..and ahhhh….

An Ocean Full of Kisses to You!!
xxx
T.

p.s. Hope you can join me today for my LIVE RADIO SHOW!!! as always I have a heady mix of topics, girlfriend chitter-chatter…you name it we will cover it my loves! If you cannot catch the radio show live please do listen in on the podcast anytime it works for my darlings!!
Cheers!!

For all of you who joined our BLOG’s CHATTER last week (and every week)… THANK YOU! Such a marvelous community of women… sharing.. inspiring one another!!   Thank you for giving back to all of us – we are ever-humbled and grateful for each of you every day!!
We are THRILLED beyond words for  DENISE… our LUCKY $250 Gift Certificate Winner!! Congratulations, DARLING…. + Happy, Happy Shopping to you!!

xxx
Tracy