Happy New Year! We just came home from a winter wonderland in Maine. It was very cold, and the landscape was calm, fresh and ethereal. May your 2014 be just as beautiful and peaceful!
My very best~
Loi
A country lane glazed in snow and ice.
All is quiet around the Town Common in Castine, Maine. Cottages overlooking the harbor.
This stately white-on-white Federal known as the Parson Mason House is one of my favorite historic homes in Castine. Leila Day Antiques and Gallery is located on the premises.
On another home, an ice skate with berries, pine cones and greenery adorns a simple door – so charming!
I just jumped on the computer and this post was the first place I visited…lucky me! What a beautiful way to welcome in the New Year!!! I'm sure it will be one of many happy visits and memories you two will create over the years in your new home away from home! Happy New Year!
xo Kat
Happy New Year Loi,
Your winter photos are beautiful. Everything looks so peaceful and quiet covered in snow and ice. What a beautiful place indeed. Thanks for sharing the great images.
Susan xxoo
What a stunning white winter wonderland! I hope you have a very happy new year!
WOW! these photos are just stunning!!! happy new year, my friend! here's to dreams coming true. 🙂
Happy New Year, Loi! Your photos really show how pristine Maine is…and how cold it must have been. We were lucky not to get all the ice they had up there. I hope all was well at your place.
Art sent me an e-mail telling me you stopped by his shop and was thankful that I had referred you. He's good people and always has something interesting to consider or be inspired by. Did you stop in Peggy Carboni's shops down at the other end?
Happy New Year sweet friend. You really are an amazing photographer and captured the feelings of your new town, even blanketed by snow. How wonderful to be homeowners now when you go to Maine!!!
Gorgeous photos Loi! Happy New Year to you! Here's to another beautiful year!
xoxo,
A
Beautiful blog .. and photos. I love Castine! Happy New Year!
Loi, these photos are stunning. Thanks for sharing and Happy New Year!
Maine is amazing ! Your photos are magical!
MC and I wish you and Tom the Best for 2014!
Hi Loi! You managed to capture winter magic in Maine! Gorgeous photos! Love the ice skates. Merry Christmas and blessings in the New Year!
Monica
Dear Loi,
From the fog to the frosted forests, a serene, pretty scene of cozy cottages and frozen waters, draws one in to this hauntingly beautiful winter wonderland, which you are so lucky to walk through enjoy as your own.
Wishing you the very best in 2014,
when soon, those front doors will open
to welcome the spring,
and awake Castine from its snowy slumber.
xo
Poppy
France door can add a beautiful look to a home as well as provide privacy between two rooms that are openly connected; curtains can help to create a more finished look to your French door.
Breathtaking Loi!
Thanks for these beautiful views.
Happy New Year xxxxxx
Di
Just beautiful Loi! What a beautiful serene calm start to the day your photos provoke. Wishing you and Tom a very happy and exciting New Year!
Sophia x
No wonder you love Castine, Maine. The blanket of snow leaves the whole town tone on tone wintry white. 🙂 Your word etherial is so apropos! Happy New Year to you!
I love snow pictures Loi and these are perfect. No snow or frost for us so far this winter. 2014 should be an exciting year for you and Tom with your new home project. Wishing you both a very happy year.
So beautiful Loi! Were going up at the end of January. Hope you had a wonderful trip!
Happy New Year to you and Tom.
Cheers
Michael
So beautiful and surreal. We had lots of snow and ice this year too. Happy New Year to you and Tom.
Happy New Year, Loi! The natural beauty in your area of Maine is incredibly beautiful. The surroundings are sure to inspire you in decorating your vacation home. Looking forward to learning about and seeing more of Castine, ME through your blog.
-Deborah
Simply beautiful. Our neighbor's son was home from Maine and wasn't sure his flight was going to happen w/the predicted snow. I'm a bit envious of those snowy landscapes. Maybe we'll get some tomorrow? Happy New Year!
Good morning LOI! At first, I thought that first photo was of your new home, but your new place is gray, no?
Maine is a purely magical place any time of the year…so much slower paced (from what I remember) than L.A. where I spent my Christmas! I love Santa Monica Beach where I spent a day, then the rest of the time, I spent it with family.
Your vision of loveliness dearest Loi, has given me such joy over the past year. I am so happy to have found you for not only your fine style, but your kind manners. Be well my friend, Anita
sheer loveliness! Happy new year!
Beautiful! Happy New Year, Loi!
Lovely photos, as always. I am so envious of the snow. Would love to do some cross-country skiing. Happy New Year to you, too, Loi. All the best for 2014!
Claudia
What a treat this morning to view this post…I so enjoyed your beautiful photos, Loi.
Wishing you a wonderful 2014!
Dear Loi, it is indeed a winter wonderland ! Here at home we are experiencing the same beauty! I am looking forward to spending my winter organizing and getting things back to normal again…looking forward to hearing more about your beautiful home in Maine! All the best to you and Tom in 2014…N.xo
Now…that's how I like to look at Winter scenes…from the inside looking out! Beautiful! Happy New Cheers to You and Yours!! Viva 2014! franki
STUNNING
!REALLY STUNNING……….love the skate on the door!
You certainly make the case for Maine, and very successfully! I love the images with the fog: so very peaceful. And I guess they are about to get a lot more snow, right? While the cold and snow is not for me…. it certainly is gorgeous from afar. All the best for 2014!
The fog is so mysterious and the blanket of snow is beautiful Loi. Gorgeous spot to ring in the new year ~ 2014! xxL
Hello Loi, You certainly have portrayed snow at its most appealing–if only I could forget about shoveling it or driving in it!
I'm glad to see that you and Tom are already enjoying your new house.
–Jim
Happy New Year tom + loi + glad you are back safe + sound. beautiful photos. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com
Simply breathtaking! I wish you both a beautiful 2014 and cannot wait to see the transformation of this already gorgeous home!!
Hi Loi -Beautiful photos, so peaceful. Good health and happiness to you in 2014. Looking forward to posts about your reno. Patty/BC
Hi Loi,
Happy New Year to you and yours!
Fondly-Lisa
Such beautiful images Loi. You're a super photographer. It looks so much like my mother's small town in New Brunswick, which I really miss this time of year, so thank you for sharing!! So beautiful, but icy roads I don't miss!!! 🙂
xo Terri
Thank you so much for the New year wishes dear Loi! The pictures are fabulous!
Many warm hearted wishes in return!
xx
Greet
What an absolutely magical place, a very Happy New Year to you!
Loi,
It looks amazing, if not like the coldest place ever! I love every single shot! Wishing you a wonderful New Year!
Best,
Christina
a snow covered landscape speaks to my soul.
happy new year!
debra
How beautiful, Loi! I've always loved Castine and Maine in the summer, but had never seen it in the winter. So serene and lovely. Everyone told me Maine could be pretty dreary in the winter, but one couple insisted it was great without the tourists. I think that couple and you have found the Maine's secret season.
Have a wonderful new year with your new home, your old home, and your plans.
b
Happy New Year to you, Tom and your pups! How lovely to see familiar sights of Maine covered in snow!
Our house sold the week before Christmas and we are busy trying to organize all for a move south shortly. Looking forward to watching your Maine home get the Loi treatment. Thank you for sharing your beautiful life with all your readers. Cheers to the New Year!
Hi Loi!
Your photos are lovely…and I can't wait to see your new home evolve, either. I saw something on the weather channel and it came to mind when I saw this post. FROST FLOWERS. I have never seen them…apparently they only survive for 10 minutes or so when the sun comes out. (So that means I may not EVER see them!) In any event, they are beautiful, white ice-flower creations and your post reminded me of them. You can google for images or see this link http://www.kuriositas.com/2012/12/frost-flowers-natures-exquisite-ice.html
What a gorgeous place to welcome in the new year. Wishing you all the best in 2014, Loi!
Loi,
Happy New Year to you! I love the way the ice glistens on each branch. Castine looks like something out of a Christmas picture post card. Your photography is wonderful.
xo,
Karen
P.S. I'm loving the Southern Living, January issue!
Dear Loi, You're a brave soul to winter in Maine, even just for the holiday, but then this is a Florida boy speaking!
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year Loi!
I hope that your trip to Maine was magical. I am sure that your renovation plans are already in full swing and I for one cannot wait to follow along.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos, talents, and adventures. I am looking forward to more.
Best wishes to you and Tom for a happy and healthy New Year.
Hello dear Loi!
Your photography skills beautifully compliment your excellent taste- you have perfectly captured the serenity of your new home town!
xo
Mimi @ A House Romance
Happy New Year Loi! This little town looks so quaint and lovely. It is truly picture perfect:). All the best to you in 2014.
XO
Sarah
Happy New Year. Your photos are beautiful. How wise you were to chose such a magical place for your get-away home.
Best…Victoria
Loi…your photos are beautiful, but that last image is gorgeous!
Dear Loi
A very Happy New Year to both you and Tom
Maine looks like the kind of place where dreams are made.
Do you discover new places at each new visit.
Helenx
Hi Loi, So beautiful. It is hard to imagine the snow and the cold–it's been in the low 80's here. I love your new home! So many plans in the making. xoxo
Mary
Everything looks so dreamy
and serene. Great pics, really!
Have a great year ahead.
Everything looks so dreamy
and serene. Great pics, really!
Have a great year ahead.
Loi-
Happy New Year to you! Thank you so much for sharing these stunning images! I want snow!
Teresa
xoxo
So beautiful! Just like a Currier and Ives postcard!!
XOXO,
The Glam Pad
Happy New year Loi!!!! Your pictures are just simply amazing, thank you for sharing the beauty of your new home to us, it is just magical! I can just frame them up already! You have a real eye for beauty and we're all lucky that your able to capture it just as well!
LOI! Happy new years my dear and talented friend! Thank you for stopping by Castles! I bet you are just brimming with joy and new ideas for the new digs up in Maine, n'est-ce pas? I can't wait to see what you have planned for your garden and interiors….thank you Loi for coming over. It was a sensational Christmas and two weeks off from school. Next Monday, we trudge back in this infernal cold of -20 degrees!
Warm hugs to you and Tom. PEACE! Anita
Happy New Year Loi! These images could easily be made into postcards! They are beautiful and the scenes depicted are so picturesque. Love! Cheers to an AMAZING 2014! xx
What magical images, Loi. I can't wait to see your home as you transform it into a showplace, I'm sure. Wishing you and Tom all the best this year!!
From what we've seen on the TV news down here in Southern Australia today Loi, you left gorgeous Maine just at the right time! Keep warm & cosy while the Big Chill does its thing on the East coast. Happy New Year my dear, may 2104 be a truly wonderful one for you!
Love Millie xx
How gorgeous!! You captured the stillness and beauty of snowy magic in Maine! Absolutely gorgeous….we are in sunny Cali but heading back to lots of snow and super cold temps. Stay warm and wishing you a happy and healthy 2014!!
Loi it could not get anymore beautiful than a visit here with you.
What beauty before my eyes, and your design style fits right in with my passion for home living.
Beautiful 2014 to you.
Xx
Dore
Oh, what gorgeous photos Loi! Your talents know no bounds! Here's wishing you a healthy, prosperous, successful new year. Oh, that reminds me… Wasn't there some big news you had a while back? Did I miss it? Maybe it was the magazine spread. If not, hope to hear about it soon! xoxo, Laurel
pure magic, loi. i could get lost in these images daydreaming. all the white just thrills my heart (and big fat snowflakes are falling right now, frosting everything with clean luscious bright white). you are bound to make many lasting memories in this vacation home–so happy the home has you as its new guardian.
hugs.
michele
Such gorgeous pictures! We're recent transplants to Connecticut and can't wait to explore Maine now that it's within easy driving distance – such a beautiful place!
So picturesque! Love the photos of all the snow and ice. Happy New Year! ~ Carla
Beautiful, Loi! Your photos are just gorgeous. Glad you were able to begin the year in such a peaceful and lovely place! We also started the year off with snow – although in a spot with a much more "wild west" than New England sort of look.
Here's hoping that you find plenty more beauty and adventure in 2014. Happy New Year!
Olá Loi,
neve que sonho. Aqui é calor durante 7 meses temos pouco tempo de frio, mas neve nunca apareceu por aqui. Amei seu passeio. Lindas imagens.
Desejo a você e sua família tenham um excelente 2014 com muito amor, paz, saúde, realizações, alegria, prosperidade e muita, mas muitas felicidades.
What beautiful photos, Loi. That little town looks so contented in its snowy mantle. My favorite photo is the last – gorgeous! – the back-lighting on the delicate ice coating is so lovely.
Happy New Year!
Suzanne
AMAZING house…when can I move in haha 🙂 I hope you had a great Christmas holiday .
Check out my new post…Swedish curtain inspiration 🙂
Have a fab day
LOVE Maria at inredningsvis – Swedish decor, food, and fashion
Such beautiful photos. I was in Halifax, N.S. a few days ago on a street named "Castine Way". Why was that familiar to me..that name…finally made the jump!! Loi 😉
Beautiful! I'm just getting a chance to see these photos, and after missing our usual winter week in Maine this year, they are medicine for my soul today! Thank God for beauty!
Gosh Loi,
You look as though you had a lovely holiday: And took some really lovely photographs!
Happy New Year to you and Tom
Kirk