Monet at Giverny

Monet created over 250 paintings of the Water lilies or Nympheas at his gardens in Giverny (in Northern France). These paintings always remind me of calm summers, just in time for my yearly pilgrimage to the beach next week!

The gardens of the house he first rented then owned have been open to the public since 1980. I would love to visit while in Paris but I think time is not on our side -next time!

Become a Fan on Facebook

Want to keep up with One Main Street on Facebook? Now you can. It's a great way to stay up-to-date on event information, special offers and to interact with other fans of these Bellevue condos.

Become a Fan on Facebook

Want to keep up with One Main Street on Facebook? Now you can. It's a great way to stay up-to-date on event information, special offers and to interact with other fans of these Bellevue condos.

Closet Lighting Lover (Me)

From reading my blog, you wouldn't necessarily know it but I'm a closet lighting lover. I love a good sconce, or a fab nautical lantern. A really amazing lantern can take your breath away (yeah, dramatic). If lights are plain you don't notice them, if they're ugly, they can ruin a room but if they are something really special and beautiful they can become a work of art. They can make a room amazing. These are a mere smattering of pendants that I've seen that have caught my eye. Enjoi.

I find it very precious and glamorous when a sweet chandelier like this one is above a bathtub. By the brilliant Nate Berkus.

How much would you love to have a bowl of fresh berries and yogurt in this calm looking breakfast room? I think the soft square lantern with fretwork at the top really makes this room. By Mollie Johnson.

Very uncharacteristic for me, but this funky glass globe pendant looks so glam here. By Madeline Stuart.

I am obsessed (like the show) with this cut out lantern from the Veranda Estate showhouse. The shadows that it casts on the walls and ceiling is breathtaking.

This interior by Alex Papachristides, has a pretty but not too delicate chandelier over a cocktail table. This room is just plain amazing and the chandelier is what makes it.

Too bad I'm a renter otherwise I'd have so much fun with lighting in my apartment. I just have to make due with cute lamps.


Alicia B.

Top 3 beautiful fruit trees for an edible Japanese Garden

Though I can only fit one more tree into my soon-to-be planted Japanese edible garden, here are the ones I most desire and must choose from:

Persimmon tree photo by Hiroshi Yoshino

There is no tree more graceful and delicious than the persimmon, I never want to live without one again. It gallantly sacrifices its leaves in a burst of autumn color, then treats us to a view of its lovely limbs, decorated only with lantern-like sweet fruit. Over winter, the sun will stream though its branches to my Japanese herb garden.

Weeping Ume (Japanese apricot) at Burnley Horticultural college. Photo by Cecilia

This extraordinary tree made its presence known long before I saw it, with the heavenly plum-blossom scent. Sadly, the weeping variety is different to the tree that makes the vividly-flavored umeboshi (salty pickled plums) that I eat with my rice each day. I would love to create my own supply. Unless they are pickled, the Ume plums - known as japanese apricots - are not edible. Umeshu is the lovely sweet liquer made at home by steeping Ume fruit with a blend of distilled alcohol (shochu) and sugar.

Weeping mulberry photo from EdibleLandcapes

Mulberries are great with sugar, clotted cream and shortbread, or make lovely cordial and low-sugar jelly. If you get the urge to make your own silk, feed its leaves to your silkworms.
A choice bush for for chasing women around then canoodling under, its traditional function.

I must choose only one of these gorgeous creatures.
Tantalizing. But maybe I could persuade the other two to be happy at potted balcony garden trees. Where there is a will...

Happy Anniversary Alicia B. !!

I just realized that this day marks the ONE YEAR anniversary of the blog! How exciting is that? I never would have thought for one millisecond that more than 8 or so people would read this blog and only because I forced them out of guilt.


I'm extremely grateful for the support and interest I've gained through this whole experience. I've learned a ton about design along the way and I feel like I'm learning more and more every day. There are tons of fun and creative blogs out there so I guess I'd just like to thank you all for taking the time to read mine!


I'm so happy in fact that I want to thank you all by offering a 20% off discount today on all my photos on aliciabdesigns.com, which is my website for photography. If you haven't been there yet, do it now. Have a great day--you deserve it!


Alicia B.