Recently I brought home a huge stack of coffee table books to look through and my sore shoulder is proof of being too greedy at the library. I really should have stopped at just a couple books but they all were so lovely. Coffee table books do the same thing for me as beautiful magazines but they are free (when borrowed from one of the three libraries I can choose from). I am a very visual person, perhaps that is why I enjoy these picture filled books.So what can these gorgeous volumes bring to my life? They are all filled with pictures of homes far beyond my tax bracket, even when my husband worked as an engineer. Because...once again...they are full of ideas. As homemakers, we are never to stop learning. I can't make the entire menu shown in these books and my house can fit in the master bedroom of some of these palatial homes. However, I can purchase the same ingredients for the recipes and the pictures of the houses give me an insight (again...at no cost to me) of how I can decorate my own home. I'll let the authors pay thousands of dollars to an interior designer but with the publishing of the books, I get a free education.
When I was looking through these books the past couple of days, I realized once again there were two concepts that kept coming back through the pages whether they were showing food or decorating ideas. The first was the need to think through and plan whatever we are doing (whether it is having a tea party or redecorating the family room). The second point which kept coming back to me...it's all in the details. Whether the pictures were of amazing rooms or breathtaking table scapes, what separated the average from the extraordinary were the details.
Below is a list of some of the books I was reading. There are a lot of these big, gorgeous books in the cookbook and home decorating aisles of the library. Check them out, lug them home (watch the shoulder and back) and open your mind to the education you can receive. In one of Diana Warings books, she talks about going to a very fancy restaurant as guests of friends one evening. The next day, she had opportunity to tour the restaurant's kitchen. What did she notice? That all the ingredients were the basics she often had in her own home. It was all in the cooking and presentation (aka: details). Here are my four favorites that I have been reading.
An Affair With a House by Bunny Williams -- This is a beautiful book about a lifetime of taking a house in sad condition to a community show place today. I saw it first at Barnes & Noble and looked through it there. I was thrilled my library also had it in the "New Nonfiction" section.
A Return to Family Picnics by Russell Cronkhite -- I have his book A Return to Sunday Dinner and I have given it as a gift many times. This book (Picnics) is beautiful to read and it has great recipes. I decided to bring it home from the library rather than put it on my "purchase someday" list. I personally have simple meals when going on a picnic so I didn't need to own the book. However, this one is still worth reading just for the ideas. I have a big deck so it may inspire me to do more outdoor meals next year. I'll definitely be checking it out again.
Entertaining with Southern Style and Garden Parties (the latter by Suzy Bales)-- I brought both home for the recipes. Also, there are beautiful ideas for table scapes, arranging food, presentation, etc. that I can use even on a smaller scale and budget. I can't tell you how many times, as I read through these two books, I asked myself "why didn't I think of that?". I don't entertain often but the ideas in these two books are worth writing down for later use.
I'm looking forward to bringing more home after I return these books. This time I'll limit myself to a couple books, if I can...
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