French Laundry

What's More Fun than Getting New Clothes?

2012-01-29T21:10:00.002-07:00

Getting them for FREE! So Saturday night I had the most fun experience. I went to a clothing exchange. You bring your gently worn clothing pieces, jewelry, accessories, and shoes that either don't fit, you don't care for, or that you are just plain "over" and a bottle of wine. Add about 30-40 other women doing the same and when you put them all together, you have a nice combination of clothing (and wine ). The hostess provides a few little appetizers for everyone to enjoy. After you've put your clothing in the appropriate spot (dresses, tops, pants, workout gear, etc), you have a nice empty bag. Go peruse the items brought by all of the ladies, try on at will, and take what you want. Bottom line, new to you clothes for $0. I went with about 30 items and came home with about 15. It was great because I effectively downsized, but now I have some new treasures to wear. It was a ball. And all of the "leftovers" are taken to charity. Isn't that a wonderful idea? I'd vaguely remembered hearing about these kind of swaps, but had never attended one. I have to tell you, it was a fun evening with lots of laughter and nurturing women, not competitive, just a good time. I was thinking a home decor swap could be fun too. Hmmmm....must consider that. Reduce, reuse, recycle. LOVE IT!

Until next time,

The New Year Almost 1/12 Done ALREADY??!!!

2012-01-22T20:37:00.000-07:00

I feel like the little girl on the right. A new year is so exciting, but holy cow time sure flies by! I've been working very hard on my studio space which had kind of stalled out in the finishing of it a couple of years ago. It had become a glorified storage space instead of the beautiful shabby piece of heaven I had envisioned. Mostly, we ran out of money. Secondly, we ran out of steam/umph/getupandgo. Too much on our plates I guess. Anyway, I'm not one for making resolutions, but I did make a couple of promises to myself, one being that 2012 is the year that my creative space will be completed. So, I have started.

I have spent the last couple of weeks working on the one area that is honestly done-the storage closet. OHNOSHEDIUNT, you are saying, but yes, I DID. I am working on the closet. It is turning out wonderfully. My husband asked if I planned on living in there. I laughed, but I think perhaps I might. I can't wait to share photos with you. I've gotten inspiration from lots of places out in Blogland and am trying to put them together in a way that is all me. So far, so good. I have a modular storage unit I got from Michael's put together and loaded up with my paper/mixed media supplies. Now I am waiting for DH to make some shelves on the other two walls for more storage. I hope this happens sooner rather than later so I can finish up this part while I've got my momentum going. Show and tell is on the horizon, I promise.

Until then, I leave you with all the positive energy I can send your way. I'd love it if you could send me some good wishes for project completion SOON!

Christmas Peppermint Tablescape 2011

2011-12-23T15:26:00.004-07:00

Merry Christmas Blogland! My table is set and ready to let the overeating begin! LOL! My table is an uncharacteristically whimsical one this year. The inspiration came from these ribbon candy trees from Hobby Lobby. I saw them in late November and my initial plan was to replicate them with polymer clay, but then a short time ago, they were on such a good sale that I decided I could just purchase 2 and call it a day.

I found the mesh at Hobby Lobby and cut a length of it to use as a runner over my ubiquitous antique white damask tablecloth. I wanted to reinforce the theme of the candy canes and red and white with a touch of green, but I didn't want another tablecloth to purchase (or store), so this was a great alternative.

I've always enjoyed setting a pretty table, but as far as "tablescaping", I feel like I'm a newbie, but one thing I think is key to being easy on your budget: it doesn't seem to matter as much what elements you pull together as long as they are thematic or related by color. Obviously, in my case, the theme was red, white, and a little green peppermint candy, but I added little sparkly snowflake confetti in red and white and some ribbon that I already had was used for the chair backs and the peppermint placecards. Both of these were appropriate in color and, due to the fact that the ribbon had sparkly snowflakes on it, it also related back to the little snowflakes scattered on the table. Does that make sense? You don't have to be too literal in your theme, just have some thread of continuity flowing through each piece whether by color, broad subject, or both, and you'll look all put together.

The napkins are antiques that I've had for a few years.

A little glass from the china cabinet stuffed with bright green shred which I had saved from some kind of package and almost threw away because after several months, I had never used it. HA! Glad I had it because it came in handy. LOVE when things finally work out per plan, don't you?

Stacked an ironstone butter dish on top of an ironstone cake plate (yes, they are both antique, don't hate...). I think for Christmas Day, I'll replace the balls and glass garlands with peppermint bark.

The little white candles I had already and I put them in French tart pans. A little sparkly faux snow (tying back to both the food and the snowflakes) to catch any drips and call it done.

I've never had chargers before and didn't want to pay $1.99 each for them at Hobby Lobby, but then I went to WalMart and found them for .99. Much better. Found the adorable peppermint candle used in the centerpiece there as well for half price ($4 I think?).

So, here's the breakdown of this budget friendly (at least I think so) tablescape:

6 chargers       Walmart           $5.88
Peppermint candle       Walmart    $4
Roll of Red & White Mesh Hobby Lobby $5
5 assorted picks                  Hobby Lobby     $3.50 I think; they were half price
2 ribbon candy trees            Hobby Lobby     $12
Glittered Snowflakes           Walmart                $.97
Everything else was already in my possession, so no additional cost (yay!), so the grand total is $31.35. I know some of you gals could have done this for $5, but I think that for minimal effort and a minimum of looking for bargains, I'm pretty happy with the result. Also, now I have added a few things to my "decor stash", so next year, even less to buy (that's what I told hubs anyway...).

This will be my last post of the year, so from my home to yours, have a very beautiful and bright holiday season with friends and loved ones and I'll see you in 2012.

Until next time,

Linking up with Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch,
Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home,
Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground,
Potpourri Friday at 2805,
Saturday Night Special at Funky Junk.

Falling in Love with Red and White Again

2011-12-20T02:07:00.003-07:00

I have, over the years, loved the look of red and white together, particularly at Christmas, but after loving the whites and the pastels and the neutrals, I thought I had kind of fallen out of love with good old red and white. Low and behold, when I started pulling out things to decorate for Christmas this year (remember use what you have simple?), I decided to use my white ironstone more prominently than I usually do. What better to punch up white ironstone than greens and candy canes? Well, nothing, says I! So I went out to the yard for some greenery and to my neighborhood KMart for some candy canes and ribbon candy and...voila!

Instant Christmas cute-ness on the cheap! Pay no attention to the cord running across the wall. Old house, inadequate electric plugs, extension cords are our reality...

I had a ball with this sideboard vignette and red seemed to enter into it as well, although in a much more subtle way. The little stool is an old red and one of my favorite things from my New England days. A touch of red berries add a little pop to the greenery in a new thrift store galvanized vase given my old zinc paint trick.

Fun chance to pull out my Christmas books and my adorable drawer I won in Mitzi's giveaway along with the awesome little black alarm clock, among other awesome treasures. Thank you, Mitzi!

One of my favorite little doodads, a very cool flower frog topped this month with a bird Christmas ornament and some greenery.

My friend down the street is a talented calligraphy and watercolor artist. She had an open house for Christmas and gave us all a pretty card of our choosing and I loved this quote from Rudyard Kipling, beseeching us to delight in simple things. Obviously, meant for me. I gave it a decorative clip around the edges and then put it in the center of the greenery with an old band instrument music holder.

OK, pure randomness...does anyone else decorate their necessary room? Toilet, potty, bathroom, water closet, whatever you call it. I do, I must admit. I have the great blue and white dishes in there all the time (you mean everyone doesn't have dishes in their potty? Hmmmmm, what's wrong with them????), so I thought a little touch of Christmas was in order in there as well.

Moving on to the dining room, I pulled out my Victorian red flash glass souvenir pieces for a little red love.

These fun little glass items were keepsakes from various tourist destinations. Often, people would have them personalized like this glass with the initials E.S.H. How can you not be charmed?

So, anyway, I also changed out the pastel quilts I display in my entryway (didn't photograph that) with my red and white and red, blue, and white ones for the first time in years and it is so nice to see my old friends. I think red and white and I are going to be spending a little more time together this year. How about you? What did you think you were over that it turned out you still loved?

Linking up with Joy at Thrift'n on a Thursday

Until next time,

Mary, did you know...

2011-12-13T20:54:00.003-07:00

Hello Friends, I hope you are all well and happy and enjoying this beautiful season. I was so behind in my decorating I really was feeling a need to keep it simple yet appropriate to the season. I went out shopping a little before Thanksgiving and just the sheer volume of "stuff" on the shelves and the tinsel-y shininess and the hustle and bustle made me want to run out of the stores and take a shower to wash off the dirt of the conspicious consumerism. I don't know if it's my age or what, but it really bothered me this year. SO, I decided to do a revisit of my last year's mantel and tweek it a bit taking a cue from some favorite things that put the emphasis on the reason for the season.

I had ~~coveted~~ admired the amazing Jeanne d'Arc angel wings, but the $95 price tag was not even remotely in my budget. I happened to be looking at Oriental Trading Company's catalog and came across their angel wings for a whopping $14.99 with shipping. Now, I have to say, they compared in no way to the JDL wings, but with a little help from a bag of white mirabou feathers from Michael's (another $2.99 I think), they are good enough for me. I clipped the elastic things that hold them on your arms because I couldn't see a way to get them out of my way to hang them, then wrapped them in wide double faced satin ribbon that I washed to remove the sizing so the bow would hang nicer (floppier). All in all, I'm happy with the result although if anyone has a giveaway on those spendy JDL wings, let me know cause I'm in! :-)

As I was working on my wings, I had Christmas music on and heard one of my favorite songs, "Mary, Did You Know?". I was inspired to take some of my favorite lines from that song and put them on simple hang tags. I added a little glitter around the edges since the tags just needed a little more "somethin, somethin". Of course, my JDL madonna had to come out to say hello as well.

A relatively simple white poinsettia garland that I had on hand made a nice addition when paired with the fairy light string I made last year out of little coffee dyed tiny muffin baking cups.

My JDL inspired candles returned this year and couldn't have been a nicer addition given the theme.

Antique mercury glass also back for a repeat performance...looks perfect with the Pottery Barn votives that were very reasonable at I think $3.50.

I recently purchased a couple of gorgeous, very old prayer cards that featured the baby Jesus. I wanted to feature them on my big pillar candle but couldn't chance ruining the original, so I made a copy of it on a nice cardstock and went over the gilt scrolls with my gold paint pen. I've done this on other reproductions of old pieces and it gives it that authentic look that I love. I don't think anyone would be the wiser. I punched a couple of holes in my card for my jute twine to go through so it would stay relatively flat and tied it up over a layer of old crocheted lace for a nice layered effect.

Lastly, one of my favorite mirrors that usually sits on the mantel was moved to the wall and I added the heart cut from a German book topped with one of my faux zinc crosses and some greenery. I love the simplicity of it.

There are still some crosses available in my Etsy shop, Elegant Farmhouse.

More fun with copies of pages from the German book...

One of my nativity sets that my husband got me soon after we married. I love it. It is a great visual of the reason for the season, the birth of Jesus.

I'll show you more of my decor soon, but for now, I think that's enough photo overload. I'm sharing the goods this week with Kathleen at Faded Charm and her wonderful White Wednesday Party, Kim at her Wow Us Wednesday Party, Debra at Vintage Inspiration Friday, Courtney at Feathered Nest Friday, and Bev at Pink Saturday. Go over and show the other participants some blogger love, won't ya?

Until next time,

Zinc Ornaments..or ARE they???

2011-12-02T18:45:00.008-07:00

UPDATE: Faux zinc ornaments are now up on my Etsy shop. Victorian ones will be up Monday night.

Let's just be clear on one thing...I love zinc. Old, weathered zinc makes my heart sing. Even if the look is a little rustic for my Victorian "looks like Grandma's house" home, I try to get a little Jeanne d'Arc here and there wherever I can sneak it in. As you probably know though, cool antique shaped objects like crosses don't exactly fall from the sky. With this in mind, I decided to make my own zinc Christmas ornaments. I think these large ornaments turned out pretty darn cute, what do you think? And they really look just like zinc. But what are they you ask? They are paper mache. Yep, paper mache. I had one at work the other day and my coworker swore they were at the very least, some kind of metal. Then I handed it over to her and was she ever surprised. I made several up and I will get them in my Etsy shop this weekend in case you love them as much as I do. I will do a tutorial just as soon as I get a chance; I foresee myself using this little technique many times and I'd love to share it with you.

I also made some of these beauties and foofed them up with 2 or 3 different paints, images, glitter, lace, and whatever else struck my fancy. I'll have them up in my shop this weekend also. I got the idea for these from the Christmas issue of Jeanne d'Arc Living. It really is a nice issue (yes, aren't they all, right?)-lots of serene decorating ideas.

Most of my images, including the ones you see here, are from the Graphics Fairy. Thank you, Karen for such great material to work with.

Until next time,

I'm going to be sharing these with some linky parties. Hope you can hop along with us to some great destinations for inspiration galore.

White Wednesday
Feathered Nest Friday
Vintage Inspiration Friday
Potpourri Party
Show and Tell Friday
Vintage Inspiration Friday at the Picket Fence
Pink Saturday
Creative Things Thursday
The Charm of Home
Funky Junk SNS
Farmhouse Friday
Brag Monday at the Graphics Fairy

Happy Thanksgiving Tablescape 2011

2011-11-23T00:01:00.011-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving Bloggie Friends,

So what do you do when the inspiration for a vignette or a tablescape just doesn't come? Turn to our friend Google, of course, which then leads you to Blogland and Pinterest...duh! So, I was trying to find some inspiration for a Thanksgiving tablescape by looking at the things I had since spending tons o money was not an option. Nothing was really coming together. I had these light tan tablecloths which I wanted to use, so I figured maybe a relatively neutral palette would be good. Still, nothing was really standing out as a theme. Then I came across Debbie's amazing table at Confessions of a Plate Addict. When I saw that she and I had the same Wal Mart faux pumpkins that we had both painted ivory, I knew I needed to explore further. I'd like to say she INSPIRED me, but I think it would be more accurate to say that I copy catted her for the most part. I had been wanting to make one of the ubiquitous burlap table runners, but hadn't gotten to it, so I bought some inexpensive loose weave burlap and just cut it and fringed the ends after washing it twice to make it softer. I actually like the way it turned out very much, and you can't beat the price (about $6 and I got enough for 2 runners since the width was too wide for the runner but not long enough to go the length of the table, so I cut it in half widthwise).

The second part of my tablescape came from a source that I'm sorry to say I can't remember, but it involved putting a photo gallery of family pictures in the center of the table. I liked the idea, but not necessarily the execution since I didn't want it to be the only focal point of my centerpiece. So, I took some of my favorite family, pet, friend, house, and beach photos (things we are THANKFUL for, get it?), printed them in black and white, and then put them on a decorative paper and complimentary cardstock. I interspersed them with the large pumpkins and some small ones I had left from my Halloween decor for visual interest.

I made some little leaf name tags and just tied them around beautiful antique linen napkins that I had and put them over my parents' china. I also used my parents' sterling silverware, one of my favorite things that I own.

Lastly, somewhere on the internet (also unknown), I had seen rolls of jute twine used as simple candlesticks. I thought it was brilliant, so I had to recreate it, especially since I had the jute already. I might add that for safety's sake, I will either come up with a bobeche to catch the wax or I will not light the candles.

The rest of the photos are of various other areas in my home. I just love decorating for Thanksgiving. Although I love Christmas, I just can't skip over Thanksgiving and go straight to my Christmas decorating. I need to enjoy all of the seasons and holidays as they come, so I hope you are not too tired of fall because I'm sharing it one more time.

My great aunt Ione painted this pretty pitcher.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones.

Sharing with:

White Wednesday
Farmhouse Friday
Tabletop Tuesday
Vintage Inspiration Friday
Tablescape Thursday
Feathered Nest Friday
2805 Potpourri Party
The Charm of Home

Until next time,

The Best Laid Plans...

2011-11-16T13:50:00.001-07:00

I spent most of last week in beautiful Durango, Colorado over in the Four Corners area of the state helping one of our affiliate hospitals through their Go Live transition to a new hospital information system. Traveling for business is something I rarely get to do, so it was a nice break for me to do something different. I had great plans for all of that "free" time I was going to have since I just knew we'd be doing our hospital thing and then coming back to the hotel where I would then religiously go to the workout room and sweat a little and then shower and go back to my room for an evening of crafting. I had purchased an online workshop from Heather at Pretty Petals probably a year or even two ago and had never gotten "a round tuit" so what better time than in Durango says I? GREAT idea in theory, although the 5 pounds or so of craft supplies that had to go with me on the airplane was a bit much. Still, when I come home with a completed altered journal, won't I feel clever?

So I arrive super early on Saturday, don't need to be at work until 6 a.m. on Sunday. It is snowing, so I just go down to the hotel restaurant located riverside on the Animas River for a bite of lunch. Even in the snow, it is a beautiful spot. There is a pathway that goes quite a way along the river. Great for walking, running, biking, or just getting some fresh air. Pardon the photo quality, I just had my cell phone with me.

Then, after lunch, I go back to my room and I see this...calling me...wooing me...willing me to crawl under the high thread count covers and take a little nap. I had been up since 3 am and hadn't slept worth beans the night before, so I was an easy sell, I have to admit.

So, off for a little shut eye. I did manage to drag myself awake later in the afternoon and begin a little crafting before dinner. I was in heaven. Ella Fitzgerald playing on my MP3, pretty papers and ribbons, and all manor of nifty objects I have acquired over the years as a hunter/gatherer. Glass of wine, no interruptions, ALL GOOD. Then, time for a dinner break. I dined with these fun 4 ladies (I'm the 2nd from the left). I knew Amy, on the far left, from the hospital where I work, but the other gals I met that night. They all work in Denver hospitals and had also come to help out with the computer conversion. We had a lovely time. One thing about Durango is, it is a town of about 15,000 people, but it has some of the best restaurants anywhere, so if you go home hungry, it is your own darn fault! They do tend to be a little spendy though, so I was sure glad the company was paying since my budget doesn't allow much fine dining.

In case you need to know, this little bowl of seafood "stew" was amazing. Lobster, scallops, shrimp, salmon, and I don't know what all else went together for a delicious meal on a cold night.

Then on Sunday morning at 6 a.m., I went to work at the local hospital, expecting to do 8 hours. Almost 12 hours later, I left the hospital and a bunch of us went to dinner at another fine dining establishment. They couldn't serve me a glass of wine fast enough! And then I went home (back to the hotel), and crashed. And that was pretty much the way the rest of the week went...so much for a relaxed crafty kind of off time (what off time?). By the time I returned home, I was spent.

On a more pleasant note though, Saturday, I attended a dinner recognizing me and others for years of service to our organization. I celebrated 20 years (SHRIEK!). It was held at Bronco Stadium in one of their super snazzy club lounges and it was very nice. We got to take a tour of the stadium which was cool, because we got to see lots of cool places like the visiting team locker room (NOBODY gets to tour the home locker room, not no one not no how), one of the huge storage rooms where the beer and beer kegs are kept), the stall for the live Bronco mascot, the media area, the field...

...and this cool private box on the 50 yard line. For a cool $150,000 PER SEASON, you can have this box and you and several of your closest friends can watch the Broncos play in air conditioned and heated comfort. Hmmmmm, might have to pass on that one.

All in all, it was a nice wind up to a very hectic week. Now I am home and back to my "normal" hectic life! I am ashamed to admit it, but I have to remove my Halloween decor and quickly get some Thanksgiving stuff up before it is time to decorate for Christmas. Yikes...time flies when you're having fun! I did give myself "permisison" this week on my days off to work on the art journal that I was supposed to get to work on in Durango and I finished it. Yay! I'll post pictures of it one of these days..

Until next time,

Just Like Me, They Long to Be...CLOCHE to You!

2011-10-31T16:26:00.000-06:00

I know, that is SO bad, but I just couldn't help myself. I have a thing for cloches...gee, ya THINK? They are a great way to group things in your home and I use them for centerpieces on my dining room on a regular basis, but as I looked around the house, I noticed I had at least one in every room. Yes. SO, I said to myself, "Self, seems like you should hook up with Marty's Fall Cloche Party at A Stroll Through Life." So, since today is Halloween, I am showing you some things you've seen before, but I just can't think beyond this evening and the fun we will have with our boys in our neighborhood. I love this holiday. I guess some of us never grow up. As evidenced by me in Walgreen's (my son who was with me is 12 and he just shook his head)...you can't take me ANYWHERE!

Have a FUN and safe Halloween, whether you're a trick or treater, a candy hander outer, a zombie, or a party pooper who just wants it all to be over. (I apologize to all party poopers who may be offended, but sometimes I've just got to call em like I see em and let the cards fall where they may ).

Until next time,

The Nerd & The Gray Lady

2011-10-30T15:04:00.001-06:00

Mr. FL and I went to a costume party last night. He was a nerd and he may kill me if he finds out I posted this pic (shshshshsh, our little secret, OK?). I was the Gray Lady, a costume from the Martha Stewart website that I saw last year and just couldn't wait to do. If you put it in your idea file, get more tulle than the instructions call for because I got 10 yds instead of the 8 1/2 it said, and the dress was just barely adequate to go around. I'd also recommend wearing a gray slip or dress underneath instead of the white that the instructions have because since the tulle is so sheer, you end up seeing a lot of the underneath layer. I didn't find a gray dress, slip, or nightgown at my local thrifts, so I just went with the white, but I think the gray would have been much better. All in all though, it was a fun costume, easy to make (no sew-Woo! Hoo!), and got lots of compliments at the party. Hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween with your loved ones. We have one of the greatest neighborhoods for trick or treating, so it is really like a big street party with friends and neighbors and one of the "not to be missed" events of the year.

Until next time,

Black & White Spooky Tablescape

2011-10-27T19:54:00.020-06:00

Welcome to my first ever tablescape post. I fear it could be addictive. What do you think?

It all started when I purchased this set of creamy white owl napkin rings in one of my favorite little junk shops. I started looking at the thrifts for black or black and white dishes to add some pop to my almost 30 year old Mikasa dishes and found 6 of these little cuties for a couple of bucks.

I started getting the idea of using the white owls as a more subtle table dressing. THEN I saw the little mercury glass owl in West End's catalog with 50% of the purchase price going to St Jude's Hospital for cancer research. Being a mom of a kid with leukemia (in remission), that sealed the deal and West Elm got my $14 which included shipping, by the way. I put him in a little birdcage cloche that I previously got from WUSLU deal a day (don't get me started on that-too much fun, too cheap, and way too easy to buy). He nestled in with some reindeer moss from last Christmas and some little white pumpkins. As you can see, several items are stacked to make the centerpiece with the bottom being a bride's basket that I've had for years.

My friend Michelle made the adorable tombstone tag that hangs from the top of the cloche. She took actual photographs from when she was visiting an old cemetery and made a set of these great hangtags. LOVE THEM! They almost look 3 dimensional...

Candles from last year topping old faux mercury glass curtain tiebacks I've had and used forever.

I was unsuccessful at finding something resembling cute black napkins or black and white napkins and I wasn't in the humor to spend a lot of money, so at the aforementioned thrift store, I found some black linen looking fabric for $2 and proceeded to make my own, using my late mother's sewing machine with the nifty little embroidery feature. I then made my own stencil of an owl. I was so proud...until I put the napkins in the rings and realized it was too much owl. Sigh...back to the drawing board. On the opposite corner, I stamped the word "Spooky" and called it good. And now I can use the owl corner or the "spooky" corner. Seriously, that's like 4 hours of my life I'll never get back again, but it's DONE! YAY! And thrifty touches like that allow me to splurge on more fun things, right?

Napkin Option "Deux":

Oh no, I DIT-UHNT?! Oh yeah, I did...a PAPER stencil. Desperate times call for desperate measures...and the price was right, just one piece of printer paper.

The adorable place cards seen best at the top of the post were fashioned from an owl graphic from (where else?) Graphics Fairy. Glossy computer paper, stuck on black cardstock folded in half to make a tent card (I think that's what they're called).

What to do for a tablecloth...trip to another favorite junk shop where a favorite textile vendor had a black and white striped twin flat sheet for $6, everything in the booth...40% off. Yeah baby, now we're cooking with gas...top it with one of my antique tablecloths, marginally ironed, and you've got TABLESCAPE, baby! Woo! Hoo! Of course, mismatched silver plate is always a favorite in my house.

Next project, black and white coasters. Only one is done so far, but I think they will be used for more than Halloween, so we can talk about them more another time.

A fun hors d'oeuvre or sushi set from West Elm. One of those splurges you can have when you aren't out buying tablecloths and napkins (that's what I'm telling myself anyway).

If you have gotten this far and your eyes haven't yet glazed over, THANK YOU! Now go on over to Between Naps on the Porch and look at some pros at Tablescape Thursday. I'm linking up with their party this week. It should be fun.

Until next time,

Also linking up with the following parties this week:
Feathered Nest Fridays
Vintage Inspiration Friday
Farmhouse Friday
Wow Us Wednesdays

Show and Tell Friday
Tuesdays Treasures
Funky Junk's Saturday Night Special
Pink Saturday
Open House Party at No Minimalist Here
Home Sweet Home Friday
Tutorials and Tips
Air Your Laundry Friday
Graphics Fairy Brag Monday

White and Black Halloween, Part 1

2011-10-25T21:47:00.001-06:00

Hello Friends,

I'm still into my black and white Halloween decor, so I thought I'd share a few things from my black and white living room decor for part 1 of this post. I'll post part 2 on Thursday when I will feature my tablescape in the dining room.

I added the wonderful vintage clock face that I picked up from Etsy this year behind little baseball head (as my husband calls him).

I always use old books to elevate our oil lamps but since I was really getting into the black and white theme, I decided I needed some neutrality to their usual pretty soft colors. BUT I didn't really want to have to purchase black books (like I could find them anyway- I always look for pretty vintage black books-but I digress), so I dug through my paper stash and found some pretty black and white 12x12 scrapbook papers and just wrapped the books I had up in them. No glue, no tape, just a simple cover that will come off easily once the season has passed. I like the way they look for now. I also am loving my Wendy Addison garland which I have had for a couple of years. I've used it here and there, but I'm liking it on the mantel.

I have a very beautiful antique Victorian beaded firescreen that normally looks great, but since I was fluffing the mantel, it didn't look right. Again, I went to my paper stash and made a little disguise which I just taped to the glass. Once Halloween is over, it will get rolled up and stored away (or maybe reused on another project, who knows). Kind of loving the crows right now.

I wanted white pumpkins for the urns, but had a hard time finding them for a price I would pay ($6.99 a piece? I think not.) So, I used 6 little white and green pumpkins for 1/4 of the price and thought they were just fine. Pardon the blurry picture-it is not so fine, but unlike my normal gazillion pictures of each thing, I apparently only took one of the urns. :-(

On the other side of the room is one of my favorite places to foof up. I found some cute free uploads of antique poison labels here and added them to some old bottles I picked up at an amazing sale a couple of weeks ago. Colored water finished off the look. I made it look like a drink station, adding some pretty glasses to the silver tray. Love the way it turned out. I couldn't resist more with the crow theme or Raven, if you will, and who better to preside over that than Edgar Allen Poe.

I picked up this cute little skeleton in the graveyard thing at the dollar store and added the banner from Graphics Fairy and the words, "Pick your poison".

Don't you love the hand painted feathers? I got them from an estate sale a couple of years ago.

This white pumpkin is a faux which started out orange from Wal-Mart, but it took well to my foam brush and craft paint, so I was a happy girl. If only I'd purchased 2 more for my urns...but that would have required forethought. Not always my strong suit. :-(

My funny little stairs just needed the little mice, cut out from templates found here. I think they are cute, don't you?

Come back Thursday for my dining room tablescape.

I'm linking up with Kathleen and one of my favorite parties, White Wednesday. I can't wait to spend a little time looking at all the dreamy whites. What are you waiting for? You will love it too!

Until next time,

What Would You Take?

2011-10-18T13:37:00.001-06:00

I wrote this post about 6 weeks ago and then sort of forgot about it. Or maybe I was too superstitious to post this until my brother got a good rain at his house. Either way, the rain came and I decided today was the day, so although it may not be as timely as it once was, the topic is still relevant to me, so here goes...

Hello friends. Most of you probably know that I live in Colorado, but unless you've been a reader for a while, you may not know that I am originally from the state of Texas. Yep, that's me, born and bred, educated and wed -the first time anyway :-) So, most of my family is still there and I've got to tell you, this crazy drought, severe heat, and now the wildfires are really disturbing. Last week, my home county was being ravaged by wildfires and then I got an email from one of my brothers on Monday night that his subdivision in Bastrop Country was being evacuated. His practically new retirement/dream home one shift of the wind away from ashes! He and my SIL got both cars packed up with their irreplaceables and headed back to their old house in Houston (luckily, they were still working on getting it ready to sell, so could land there). The latest update this evening was that they are pretty sure the danger has passed, at least for now, so I am ever so thankful. BUT this got me thinking (you might want to go to the kitchen and get something to drink now or perhaps just close this window because when I get to thinking, I tend to go for a while)...WHAT WOULD YOU TAKE?

If you have been around this blog a while, you know that I am a collector. I love antiques and I have MANY collections. I have to periodically purge my own treasures for fear of the show "Hoarders" coming knocking at my door. It's a bit of a problem, I admit. I am emotionally connected to my STUFF. That being said however, it was an interesting exercise for me to engage in thinking that if I had a few hours or even a couple of days to grab all that was dear to me...anything that I just couldn't bear to be without...and put it in our cars and drive to a safer place, what would I take?

Hmmmmm, says I. Can I rent a semi? Can friends help with their vehicles or is it just us? Can I make two trips? Then it came to me with exquisite clarity: once I had established the safety of my husband, my kids, and our silly little pets, anything else we had the luxury of taking with us would be gravy. Obviously, the important papers would get tossed in the car, the family photos, and the computers and CD backups. Can't replace my photographic evidence of my children in all their diaper butted glory, my parents in their 20's, or my 2007 tax return (with accompanying documentation).

Clothing seems fairly obvious. Favorite jeans, a flattering dress, THE shoes, and, yes, my Magnolia Pearl pieces would have to find their place, but most everything else could be replaced. I'm a thrift store shopper (yes, I have Magnolia Pearl in my closet, but the rest of it is thrifty and nifty) and clothes are necessary, but obviously are replaceable. Clothes for the wee ones would be thrown in along with their favorite toys.

Then I started thinking about "THE STUFF". All of these antiques and wonderful items collected over 25 years. Where to start? Oddly, I look around and although I really LIKE my stuff (good thing I guess), I realize that most of it could be left to chance. It is other people's dead relatives' belongings and there's always more out there. If I had the luxury of picking what I wouldn't want to be without, it would be things like the dresser set my husband bought me for our first anniversary. It was the best surprise anyone ever gave me. I cried at the time and always say that if the house is burning, that would be the one thing I would grab if I could.

My parent's sterling. It isn't used much I know, but it is one of those tangible things that was passed down to me that I hope to pass down to my children someday.

My mother's paintings. Mom learned to paint while my dad was overseas in WWII. She wasn't terribly prolific, but she did a few and I am lucky enough to have 2 small florals plus one that she did of my dad, I think from a picture. She never in a million years considered herself an artist, but she was in so many ways. Painting was one of the first demonstrations of that. Those small paintings I possess are precious to me and I would protect them if I could.

I have 2 of my great aunt's paintings and a few of her china painting pieces. Aunt Da was a very independent little sprite of a thing and when her husband died at an early age, she made her living doing a variety of things, one of them china painting. She had her kilns in her home and her studio always had that faint smell of turpentine. I love that smell to this day. I'd definitely make room for her artwork. Luckily, the pieces are small.

My collection of 1920's ribbonwork....that is my favorite collection. I am completely drawn to it and have spent more than any sane person would on examples of it. One book box would house every piece I own though. SO, I'd probably just toss it all in and call it good.

Strange thing is, that's where my mental list stopped. I'm sure if I were positive the whole place was going to burn to the ground, I'd find a few more things to toss in the vehicles, but for the most part, I'd be willing to chance it. I wasn't expecting that. I guess it all boils down to the fact that if you have your family intact, you really do have everything. Nothing is more precious than that and nothing other than them and perhaps your memorabilia of them (pictures) cannot be replaced. Of course, we all hope that we are never faced with the tragedy of losing everything, but it is an interesting thing to ponder or at least, I think so. I hope this newly discovered introspection will make it easier for me to part with some of my toppling tower of too much that I am faced with (Thanks Lana for that visual).

So, blogging friends of mine, I ask you: what would you take? Talk to me. I'm listening.

Until next time,

It's Always Mermaid Season at French Laundry

2011-10-01T15:00:00.001-06:00

I know that most people out here in Blogland and everywhere else are showing off their fall decor, but please indulge me with a final summery thing. It is truly my favorite season and I would love to have an endless summer if I could. But I digress. One of the things I do with some regularity is dress these old bisque dolls from the 20's and 30's. It gives me a chance to use some of my beautiful antique ribbon and flower ~~hoard~~ supplies. The dolls usually come "nekid", so it is fun to get them all dressed in their finery to once again face the world with beauty and grace. The dolls inspire me with everything from the color of their eyes to the way their hair is done and usually I take a look at my stash and something jumps out at me as THE theme for a particular doll. This little gal whispered in my ear that she longed to be a mermaid. I had the great zig zag lace trim which in my mind translated into the bottom of a mermaid skirt. Several pretty antique silk ribbons, some fun trim and, of course, seashells and pearls came together to dress my little gal. She's destined to be listed on Our Cottage Garden in the next few days, but I thought I would take an opportunity to share her with you and with Beverly and her Pink Saturday participants. There's sure to be a lot of pink yumminess there, so stop on over and have a look.

Love those little shells. I knew they'd come in handy sometime...

Until next time,

Finds for White Wednesday and a Late Summer Bouquet

2011-09-20T17:57:00.001-06:00

I don't have much to blog about right now, but I was out and about a few days ago and came home with these three treasures. When I sat them on the table, I realized I had a little bit of creamy white beauty to share for White Wednesday. I love the rusty topped bottle. I have an idea for some Halloween decor. We'll see if I actually get a ROUND TUIT. As for the little bust, I can't resist these precious beauties. I have an idea for it too. I'll keep my mouth shut for now in case it looks stupid! And then there's the deep ironstone bowl. I am sure I could think of a hundred ways to use it. It may end up on my Etsy site but...maybe I'll love on it a little first. :-)

As for part deux of the post, I have to tell you that the mister has done an excellent job this year of getting us constant color in the garden. It is just as beautiful now as a couple of months ago. These zinnias and black eyed susans looked so pretty together in the white ironstone pitcher that I had to share them. I feel like a kid trying to come up with stuff for show and tell in school! Oh well, sometimes things flow easier for me than others. I hope you enjoy the flowers...for now, I must run and get back to my HOME work.

Sharing with Kathleen for White Wednesday. Pop over and catch some talented bloggers sharing their pretty whites.

Until next time,

Happy Anniversary on White Wednesday

2011-09-14T20:34:00.000-06:00

On a beautiful September morning, 15 years ago, I married a wonderful man in front of friends and family in a glorious garden with the Rocky Mountains standing proud and tall in the background. It was the most perfect of perfect days. I am happy to report, that we are still married and celebrated the occasion accordingly on another beautiful September in the Rockies. ♥ With that in mind, I hope you don't mind a re-post of my wedding cake topper collection. I am sharing this with Kathleen over at Faded Charm for White Wednesday.

It's been a little while since the rhinestone clock collection post, so I thought today would be a nice time to share one of my sweeter collections with you. I started out just collecting any vintage wedding cake toppers that struck my fancy, however, with Ebay and all of the other online shopping possibilities out there, I could see that this could quickly become an overwhelmingly large collection. Not a problem if you only collect a couple of things...ahem, that would NOT be me though, so I had to reign myself in a bit. I decided that since my most favorite toppers seemed to be of the 1920-1930's era, I would limit myself to just those. I proceeded to sell the ones that didn't meet the criteria and then spread out my remaining little pretties so I could appreciate them fully. Then I put a couple of them under glass cloches which is a way I love to display all sorts of things. Not only does it put them in the spotlight, but it also keeps them from needing to be dusted!

I love the ones that still have their bases and flower arches, but I'm also partial to the little bisque "Kewpie" looking ones. Wedding toppers have become increasingly popular in the collecting circles and the prices have definitely gone up, up, up. Once in a while though, you can still find them at thrift stores or estate sales for a reasonable price. ($10 or less). One of the most striking toppers I've ever seen was offered on Ebay this last September. It featured a very well dressed 1920's couple and the bride's dress went up in the front as was the style back in the day. Even though many flapper brides wore that style of dress, the toppers depicting the dresses that way are very rare and this little treasure brought over $200, if memory serves. OUCH! Needless to say, that one is NOT in my collection, but boy I wish it were. Most of the more "normal" ones can be had well within the $20-50 range. Now these prices I'm spouting off are for the older, say pre-1940 toppers. If you like the toppers from the 1950's on forward, you can probably cut the above prices in half unless there is something particularly rare/unusual about it. I don't personally own any reference books on the subject, but I've just ordered a Schiffer collector book titled, "Vintage Wedding Cake Toppers" by Penny Henderson, so it should be interesting to see if she agrees with me! If you like reference books on collectibles, Schiffer has books on almost any item you can imagine. They are usually fairly well done and have lots of pictures on the subject of interest.

This little couple might just be my favorite. Look how cute they are hugging each other, cheek to cheek! The little girl reminds me of one of the little girls in my baby son's Kindergarten class. I hope you enjoyed this brief little visit into the sentimental and sweet.

Until next time,

I wasn't going to do a 9/11 post...

2011-09-11T13:59:00.000-06:00

I just felt it better to reflect on the day privately with my family. Today when I was at church however, we sang a beautiful old song which touched my heart and struck me as especially poignant for today's 10th anniversary. So, I share with you the words of this hymn and a Youtube video which I thought was so beautiful although it was originally put out there in cyberspace for Independence Day. So enjoy "This Is My Song" and please pray for healing, forgiveness, and peace in our world.

This is my song, Oh God of all the nations,

A song of peace for lands afar and mine.

This is my home, the country where my heart is;

Here are my hopes, my dreams, my sacred shrine.

But other hearts in other lands are beating,

With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,

And sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine.

But other lands have sunlight too and clover,

And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.

Oh hear my song, oh God of all the nations,

A song of peace for their land and for mine.

May truth and freedom come to every nation

May peace abound where strife has raged so long;

That each may seek to love and build together,

A world united, righting every wrong.

A world united in its love for freedom,

Proclaiming peace together in one song.

Until next time,

Feeling a Bit Better OR "How I Spent My Day Off"

2011-09-02T01:19:00.000-06:00

So, this is what I spent my day off doing. Dear husband thought he was clever to hide my heat gun. Something about me going all rogue and just arbitrarily stripping paint off of our house. ONE TIME years ago, I put the baby down for a nap and started stripping the paint off a window...sheesh! Let it go already. OK, maybe I MIGHT have slit a little 3 cornered area on the carpet on the stairs to see what was under there and MAYBE I've been known to rip wallpaper off just to see what was under there...well, hey, I'm CURIOUS. Anyway, he didn't know I had a backup heat gun. I think I used to use it for embossing in rubber stamping. Gotta be prepared for anything... :-)

Isn't this pretty (NOT!)? But it WILL be, I assure you. And yes, I will be repainting. I like white woodwork...so sue me. But I don't like 90+ years of bad paint and chippiness and me trying to repaint over it. Funny how a table or something that was all alligatored and chippy would be an awesome find, but the trim around your house being in that condition...not so much.

At least I have a nice view out the window. Thanks Mr. FL! The flagstone path was last summer's project. I love it!

Just popping in to let you know I'm still alive and kicking. Thanks for your kind comments on my last post.

Love y'all!

Until next time,

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

2011-08-27T19:34:00.001-06:00

via

Do you ever see a photo that sums up the way you are feeling just perfectly? This one does it for me. I love the ocean. The light sparkling on the water and the sand beneath my feet, waves crashing, all make me feel alive, peaceful, and grateful. But that same ocean, when viewed on a stormy day is another thing altogether. I feel small and insignificant and vulnerable. Suddenly the life that exists below the surface which at another time might be interesting and delightful becomes disconcerting and scary, dark and unknown. The beach becomes a place where I feel very unsettled and fearful, afraid of what the storm that lurks may bring.

This life that I love and live has been flip flopping a lot for me lately. One day, it is the sunny beach where everything seems possible and the next day (or sometimes even the same day), it becomes the stormy sea where everything seems so impossible. I feel so incredibly inadequate and wonder if I can keep my head above water. I feel fragile, yet I know that I possess inner strength. I feel alone and yet, I know that I am never alone as I have my family and my heavenly Father with me. I feel scared of the unknown, yet exhiliarated by the possibilities that exist in the unknown. Maybe this is what it is to really experience life, I'm not sure. I've had bouts with mild depression, but it doesn't really feel like that...it isn't quite that hopeless and sad. It's more scary, but in a reflective way if that makes any sense. Maybe it's my age. Maybe its menopause (highly likely). Whatever it is, I am sure, this too, shall pass, but for now, I'm going to try to see what I'm supposed to be seeing. I know that God has ways of showing us what we need to look at if only we open our eyes. I'm going to try to conquer my fear and open my eyes to really see.

You know I lurk your blogs a lot, many times not commenting, just reading and pondering. You gals (and a few guys) are a great community and a great support group. I am not always the best at communicating it to you, especially when I feel a bit overwhelmed, but know that I appreciate you putting yourselves out here in Blogland and I feel your love and light, even though I've never met most of you. I'll be back with more light fare one of these days, but for now, thanks for letting me get out of my comfort zone and take an uncharacteristic swim in the deep end of the pool. It's where I am right now.

Until next time,

Can Ya Help a Blogger Out?

2011-08-05T01:19:00.002-06:00

While doing a little ~~surfing~~ market research tonight, I stumbled upon an online store I'd not seen before, VivaTerra. They have some very cool things and I like their philosophy as reflected in their "about us" section of their website:

"Our name VivaTerra or living earth is inspired by our dedication to living in harmony with nature - for a healthier life now and for future generations. All of our products reflect a commitment to:
ecology and elegance: The finest goods that uniquely fuse exceptional quality and design with eco sensitivities.
organic, sustainable sources: The purest ingredients and sustainable resources possible - selected to be the best available.
earth and people friendly: Partners and suppliers who share our values and work to make a positive difference in the world.
handcrafted by artisans: Distinctive goods of uncommon value, handcrafted by passionate designers and artisans.
celebrate life: Celebrate life and human spirit by honoring traditions from cultures around the world."

Gotta love that, right? Anyway, the little 3 bin wire basket shown above is calling my name, but the $169 price tag is not. Does anyone know where I could get a similar piece with a more "consumer friendly" price? You guys are awesome resources and I just thought MAYBE someone had come across something like this in their travels. If not, no worries, I'll probably get over it, but I thought it would look SO cute in the little man's new room (still in progress).

Oh and BTW, little man and I went to our first IKEA store on Sunday. Denver FINALLY got one, the first in the state of Colorado which had opened 5 days prior. HOLY COW! It was like going to Disney World...all sorts of traffic directing from the signs at the interstate to the gazillions of neon green vested workers pointing the way. THEN we got in the parking garage and shuffled in the building along with several hundred of our closest friends. :-) It was crazy...talk about feeling like you were stuck in a herd of cows. MOO! But it was SO cool. I got a set of 6 juice glasses, a long ceramic tray that they showed with 3 small pillar candles on a bed of small river rocks, one of those cool metal plant pots that look they are edged with lace on top, and a vanilla candle. All for under $13 bucks, including tax. Not to mention the awesome ideas I got for future reference. Sweet! I see why you gals are so crazy for IKEA.

Thanks in advance Bloggie Friends!

Until next time,

Have you seen "Patina Style" yet?

2011-08-02T11:41:00.001-06:00

Just me here doing the quick check in. The Colorado mountains were lovely but now it's back to the routine. We rode horses, rode an alpine slide, the boys climbed the climbing walls and jumped on the bungee trampolines, we rafted, we boated, we swam, and we ate (a lot!). Good times were had by all, but boy were we pooped! Anyway, thanks for your comments on my last post. I will try to get around to visit you in response, but it may take me a while-bear with me pretty please.

So, when I saw that Brooke Giannetti of the blog Velvet and Linen and her talented husband Steve had a book coming out called "Patina Style", I wasted no time pre-ordering it from Amazon. It came just before we left on our vacation and it does NOT disappoint. I would highly recommend it if you are a fan of Brooke's style as there are many beautiful photos to salivate over. I have not had time to savor it and read it cover to cover as I would like due to all of my irons in the fire right now, but I have no doubt the text will be as interesting and wonderful as the photos. There are MANY inspiring rooms and vignettes using antique and vintage treasures for you to ponder and delight in.

Just a quick sampling to tease you. Must get back to big baby boy's new room. I'll check in as soon as I can. Enjoy the wonderful summer while it lasts!

Until next time,

Just checking in...again.

2011-07-27T12:20:00.000-06:00

Hi friends! Hope you all have been well. I want to start off by saying I have been working my butt off pulling up carpet and stripping off 2 layers of wallpaper that has been covered by 2 layers of paint. Yes, it is worth it. I am doing it for my big little son so he can have his own room that isn't a pit. And it is worth it because 12 years ago, I promised this old house (107 or so years old) that I would save it and help return it to its former simple beauty that existed before idiots came along and did their best to screw it up. I am making small steps, but steps nonetheless.

Sigh...I haven't taken my children to the pool as much as I would have liked. I haven't been to even one free concert or farmer's market. Fifi and Mark have not been round to visit MY house. I haven't taken a picture in I don't know how long. I haven't made any mosaic art in even longer. But I'm okay. One step at a time. I am a crummy blogger in that I don't document every step of everything I do, but I love this old house, and one of these days, I will have some pictures of the "after" to share with you. If I am actually willing to share them with you, it will be a miracle, because this redo is literally on a shoestring budget. BUT hope springs eternal, so bear with me. Later today, I'm taking my kiddos up to the mountains for a little fun for several days, so I will be out of the loop even more (no computer access-yikes! I haven't gone "computerless" in a LONG time).

PROUD MOMMA ALERT: In a photo that I did manage to shoot this summer, I have a picture of my gardening boys showing off the fruits (or would that be vegetables?) of their labors that the pesky squirrels didn't manage to make off with. Radishes...yum. They were so proud. I think they tasted extra good. From my little boys' hands to our table...now that's summery goodness!

Until next time,

Just checking in...and some garden tour pics

2011-07-11T12:11:00.002-06:00

Hi Blogging Friends,

It's been a long time...how are you? I am just taking a little moment to check in so you don't think I've fallen off of the planet. I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that our garden was on a garden tour at the end of June. It was a lot of work getting ready for it, especially since it was the weekend immediately following the mutha of all garage sales (which went well, by the way...YAY!), but it was worth it. Now we get to enjoy our beautiful yard SANS junk and clutter for the rest of the summer. I thought I'd share several photos of our home and outdoor space since I don't think I've ever done that before. I didn't spend much (any) time sprucing up the pictures, so they are pretty much straight off the camera. Award winning photos....well, not this time, but I really want to get a post out there before I have to move on to my next project for the day. :-)

On our front porch by the door, this sweet angel welcomes you.

Also sharing space on the front porch is my antique European goat cart that is carrying a huge geranium that my husband overwintered from last year. Yes, that is ONE pot!

As you look at the side of the house, you see the meandering flagstone path taking you to our backyard and large gazebo type covered deck.

My husband's attempt at being artsy. I like it! Cute AND Zen inspired!

Asiatic Lily

Rocky Mountain Blue Columbines, one of our favorites...

Daylilies

One of my favorites, lavender, with a little concrete bunny peaking out.

Another "critter"

My favorite spot to hang out all summer long in the form of our outdoor living room. Pardon the pillow in disarray, but apparently Mazie the cat didn't like it the way I had it. She says, "Meow" to mommy's blogging pals.

My shelf holding several of my mosaic pieces as well as an old quilt which has on more than one occasion been used to wrap up in as one or more napped on the couch. I love decorating my outdoor space just like an indoor space. It makes for a very cozy and welcoming spot for friends and family alike.

One of my favorite projects, a chandelier dewired, rusted up with my favorite Sophisticated Finishes patina solution, topped with glass globes, blinged up with some old chandelier crystals, and filled with little fresh flower posies. I usually have candles in them, but dressed it up this way for the garden tour since it was during the day, obviously. My husband and kids think I'm weird to have a chandlier outside, but I know you gals get it, don't you? Of course you do!

My little collection of old vases and flowers pots. Most of them are McCoy, but some are just unknown beauties. I don't generally plant any flowers in them just because with our extremely dry climate, you have to water little pots like these probably twice a day and that just doesn't fit in with my life right now. It's okay though, I enjoy them just as is.

I call our house "Doodlehaven". It's really just a joke, but one time I was working an estate sale for a family that was from back east, old money. We were looking at the family's album of old pictures and their history and we noticed that people that have money always have a name for their home. These were very stately sounding names like "Pine Crest" or "Ravenswood", you get the picture. Anyway, we of lesser means began giving our own homes names. My boss lives in a 30's Tudor style bungalow and she said her house could be "Tudorcrest" or something like that. I said my momma used to call me "Doodle" when I was a little girl, so my house would be "Doodlehaven". I got some very pretty cracked china from the estate sale, one of which had been purchased from Tiffanys so I had to make a mosaic nameplate for the house. And there you have it. Doodlehaven.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a little mini tour of our outdoor space.

We're in the middle of ripping out the nasty carpet that was in our upstairs. Every room, carpet glued to the 100+ year old hardwood floors. Yes, I said GLUED. Can you imagine? Anyway, when we bought the house, we were told the floors upstairs were in "pretty rough condition". Well, after removing the nasty carpet, scrapping rubber backing, and sanding it down (one room down, 3 to go, plus a hallway and stairs), it looks pretty darn good. I can't even guess when I'll have pictures for you, but I will share some, I promise. I guess you know what I'll be doing instead of blogging!

Until next time,

Where Does My Time Go???

2011-06-10T01:25:00.001-06:00

I'm sure I speak for most of us when I say that I don't know where the heck the month of May went! Just a moment ago, it was April. All good. Then WAMMO! My calendar says it is June and double digit June at that! Well, I guess when I started doing a little retrospective of what I'd been up to, I can see why my time may have gotten away from me. I've been sewing up a few of these large lavender heart sachet pillows made out of antique European grain sacks for my Etsy shop. They smell so good and, I might add, would look great with Maria's square lavender grain sack lavender pillows.

I've been busy listing fun things (besides the lavender sachets) as well. I love this antique wire basket. Almost kept it.

These cool Indian clubs were sold within a few hours of listing (means I sold them too cheap more than likely, but oh well...).

I was fairly busy with helping out with my 5th grader's Shakespeare play, "As You Like It". The kids did so great. Pardon the blurry picture, but I haven't quite gotten the hang of photographing stage performances.

Never thought I'd see the day when I got to put makeup on my kid and his friends. They were really good sports though. I think they were really committed to the production and knew that stage makeup was just part of the deal. My little man didn't need mascara because he has the most amazing naturally dark and super long eyelashes. SO not fair.

Then there was graduation day. My big boy is now a middle schooler. I'm not sure I'm ready for this, but I think he is. He and his friends clean up nice, don't they?

Then there's my youngest little one. Some things just defy explanation. And for the record, he did this to himself. AND he is still smiling. That's my boy!

Then there's the impending mutha of all yard sales next weekend followed by our garden which is going to be on a local garden tour the following weekend (Mr. FL has been working very hard to get ready; I'll have to take some pictures and post them soon). We spent all day getting the covered porch opened up for the season last week. So much work but we've been in heaven enjoying being out there.

There's also been a few little DIY projects, not really worth mentioning, but time consuming nonetheless. So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I can't wait to have some free time to catch up on my blogging, but the project list for this summer is lengthy and then I would like to spend a little time enjoying the monkeys while they are out of school, so I may be in and out, but I will catch up when I can.

Until next time,

I'm linking up to Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday. I can't miss a good party, busy or not!

Random Musings on White Wednesday

2011-05-31T23:00:00.001-06:00

Yep...playing with the mantel again. Our beautiful Snowball bush is in full bloom and how could I resist clipping a couple of branches off and plopping them into my vintage white matte urn? I couldn't, DUH! They almost remind me of little hydrangeas, they are so pretty. We don't really grow hydrangeas here in Colorado; our soil is too alkaline and we're at such a high altitude (over 6,000 feet) and low humidity that they just can't thrive. For a while, we had a couple of hydrangeas in our yard. We planted them near the Colorado Blue Spruce to take advantage of the acidity created by the spruce, but they got all of about a foot tall. I guess it just wasn't meant to be. Anyway, back to the pretty white Snowball bush...

As you may have noticed underneath my urn, I like to use pretty old books as elevators. This little grouping is one of my favorites so far. The one on the bottom was a recent ARC find as well. I was all yippie skippie over that because of the great color and the gold pizazz. But I digress.

So forgive my randomness, but I thought I'd share a kind of lame attempt at a redo. Miss Mustard Seed I ain't, but bear with me. I got this cute little no big deal hanging wall basket at the ARC thrift store ($ .50, just the right price!). I liked it, but I wanted to make it look like old wicker.

I did this concoction of water and walnut glaze. I painted it on with a foam brush (which took absolutely forever). It really didn't soak in since the basket wasn't actually old wicker, it took freakin' forever to put on because you had to really get it in all of the cracks and crevices, and oh, did I mention, it looked like CRAP?! I didn't even take a picture of it because it was SOOOOOO bad. So, I decided to try to pull it out with a coat of paint. I watered down a concoction of grayish paint and put it over the awful walnut stain. It isn't what I originally had in mind, but it is OK. I had this really cool wide wired edge linen ribbon which I girded it up with and then I added some reasonably good fake lavender since my lavender is a LONG way from blooming. I hung it on the door to my studio (yes, that's an outside door...my studio is over our detached garage, so it is in a separate building).

I think I like it. Was it worth the effort? Maybe the jury's still out on that one, but at least it is done.

So, after all of this randomness, you probably should pop over to visit Kathleen at Faded Charm for White Wednesday. There's no doubt oodles of fun posts featuring our favorite color (or is that lack of color? I think COLOR.)

Until next time,

Antique Ironstone Love

2011-05-27T14:36:00.000-06:00

Casseroles and butter pats and platters...oh my! Now available at my Etsy shop Elegant Farmhouse with more to come as I dig through my boxes and stashes. I LOVE the clean classic look of antique ironstone, don't you? It goes with any decor and it mixes and matches with newer pieces as well.

Speaking of clean and classic, I am SO excited. Colorado has never had an IKEA store anywhere in the state. Well, come the end of July, Denver is getting one. We passed it yesterday on the way up to watch the Rockies play and it is HUGE! I can't wait to visit it. I've never set foot in one (since we've never had one-duh!), but I see such wonderful things around Blogland and in magazines that have come from there. Everyone is so pumped, I'm sure I'll need to wait a bit for things to cool off...or just gird my loins and enter the foray. Guess it depends what kind of mood I'm in come the end of July! Not like I'll have any money to spend, but lookie looing is a lot of fun and doesn't cost a thing.

Well, time to go get ready for my real job. Have a lovely weekend my sweets!

Until next time,

Be Careful What You Wish For...

2011-05-26T02:53:00.004-06:00

source

Sometimes, you realize that your deepest wish, your heart's desire, and that which you never thought possible was becoming your reality. Many years ago, I dared to express out loud what my heart's desire was...and it is becoming apparent to me that this desire is indeed becoming a reality, at least in part. I am grateful for the chance to live my dream and yet, it is terrifying. I never actually thought I could live the artful life I am living (no, I haven't given up my day job, but my other life is becoming more and more prevalent). I never thought the work of my hands and the yearnings of my heart would support me and my family, but it is becoming more and more important in my financial livelihood with Mr. FL not working. We aren't solvent by any means, but we are hanging in there and I can thank, in part at least, my creative life for helping to keep us afloat. The grace of God is the other piece of the puzzle. I keep getting the gentle nudge that says, "Trust me to provide for you. I will be faithful if only you will put your trust in me." I must say, every time I get to feeling terrified and panicky, I get a big sale on one of my web venues or something else presents itself that makes me feel like it is a sign that I need to take a deep breath and stop worrying. I need that, I will admit. It feels great and yet, I forget and then I begin to worry all over again. I should grasp that everything will be fine, it just may not be look like what I think it should look like. I need to get over the preconceived notions of what my life should be right now and accept what is and be grateful. I admit, I struggle with that on an almost daily basis....but what is life without struggles, right? I am trying very hard to remember that all we have is now and worrying about tomorrow is a waste of time, but it is so hard. I've never been "here" before. I've never had to rely on the Almighty to figure out how I'm going to pay my bills. This is uncharted waters and yet, I see more and more opportunity for my creative life of art and antiques to become not only a hobby, but a source of my family's very existence. So I go back to my blog title, "be careful what you wish for". It is a double edged sword-wonderful and terrifying, all at the same time. Satisfying at the end of the day. Scary. Warm. Cold. Amazing.

Thanks for being such a great positive and creative source of energy for me and so many others. You guys rock and you mean more to me than you know!

Until next time,

Helping Celebrate 100 White Wednesdays!

2011-05-17T14:36:00.001-06:00

I don't know about you, but I am amazed at Kathleen over at Faded Charm...for the last 100 Wednesdays, she has hosted the most fun blog party around, White Wednesday. That's quite a feat, or as someone who has a blog called French Laundry should say, a "tour de force". I thought in honor of this, I would do a little retrospective of a photo from each White Wednesday I had participated in (22 in all-seems kinda puny in light of 100 posts, but that's why she's AMAZING and we're all helping her celebrate. I've shown pictures of my mantel (lots of times...but hey, I like it!).

Statues have been a favorite, along with pretty lacy things, and Jeanne d'Arc Living inspiration...

I've shared some craftiness...

And some shopping tresors from my antiquing jaunts...

We've shown our whites on holidays...

And it wouldn't be White Wednesday without the occasional piece of ironstone...

And, this still remains, my favorite WW post when I did a couple of mosaics of pretty white things I found around my house.

Kathleen, hats off to you gal, you've been faithful and oh so consistent. Thanks for making WW THE event of the week. We should be giving you gifts, but instead, sweet Kathleen is giving US a chance to win her most amazing 100th post giveaway. All sorts of beautiful gifts for a lucky blogger. I am getting all excited just thinking about it. Click here to be taken there.

This week is going to be one heck of a party!

Until next time,

Show Me Your Style Honorable Mentions

2011-05-10T19:21:00.000-06:00

Well, I didn't get this post done late last week like I said I would, but better late than never, I guess! Story of my life, running behind and playing catch up. I just had to share some of the other entrants of the Show Me Your Romantic Prairie Style Photo Challenge. These gals all have their own take on the style. These 4 readers are a little more towards the romantic feel. I just want to go "YUM" when I look at their photos.
Amandashows off her entryway, Jenny had a divine stack of quilts, Jasmin had some amazing lilacs, and Nicki has a beautiful dreamy bedroom (loving that bedcover and its ruffles, aren't you?).

The next 3 ladies also submitted photos that totally tickled my fancy. From L to R: ShawNa (who I got to meet at her very cool store since we are in the same county-she's a hoot, I think we'll be getting together again!), Julie from Austrailia had a beautiful vignette, and Sandi who has great style and can make the prettiest photos out of the simplest items.

I hope you enjoyed seeing a few more photos from the challenge and again, thank you for those of you who sent in photos.

I'm going to pop on over to visit Kathleen and White Wednesday and get a little more inspired (if that's possible).

Until next time,

Show Me Your Romantic Prairie Style Final 5 and a Winner...

2011-05-04T12:38:00.000-06:00

Hey Blogger Friends,

My apologies for being slow at getting the 5 finalists of the "Show Me Your Romantic Prairie Style" Photo Challenge. I have been getting ready for the MUTHA of all garage sales. We are really choking at our place with our own slightly pathological accumulation of stuff. So, we are being as ruthless as we can. It's hard. Sometimes there are tears. But I know that eventually, this weight will be cut from around our necks and we can start to enjoy our lives more. Or that's the plan anyway. SO, if I am a bit MIA the next month or so, rest assured all is well and I am just taking care of business. NOW, with that bit of dirty laundry out of the way, on to our finalists. Thank you to all who entered. I've had a ball going through your beautiful pictures and seeing how you interpret the romantic prairie style, but after much deliberating, I've narrowed it down to 5 pictures that really struck me. I hope you'll pop over to these gals' blogs and see more of their unique styles.

First up is Lynn of The Vintage Nest. She shared 3 beautiful photos with me, but this one is the one you absolutely have to see. This cute little house is her chicken coop. Now I don't know about you, but I think if your chickens have a romantic little abode (they call it the Romantic Roost), you've got a good start on the romantic prairie style. She said it was a child's playhouse that was no longer needed and they bought it via Craig's List after about a year of looking for just the right place for their backyard chickens. I think it is darling, don't you?

Next, we have a very talented gal, Lara from Air Kisses. Her use of zinc and natural materials is very much in keeping with the romantic prairie style in my humble opinion. Her photo collage showed several lovely elements and captures the simplicity of materials that come together to make a simply beautiful vignette. Lara was just featured in Artful Blogging and you'll want to pop over to see her gorgeous blog where it will become quite evident why she was selected to be in this quality magazine.

Our next gal is Patti of The Shabby Chick. Patti has been a follower of mine for a while now and she is one of the nicest ladies you'll ever meet. She's always tweaking and fluffing her beautiful home and infuses so much personality into it. I hope you'll agree with me when I say I am enchanted by the top of her bookcase featured below. I love the way she used the vintage silverware as decorative elements and, of course, you know I love the ironstone....yummy! Stop by and see her amazing kitchen redo that she is working on. I think it is looking smashing!!!

Next is Karen's home from A Delightsome Life. It just says "farmhouse" to me and, while perhaps a literal interpretation of romantic prairie style, I just want to move in (get my room ready, girl!). Everything looks like a turn of the century home and yet, it is very fresh and inviting. This is where I hope to go with my kitchen one day. I can't complain too much, its been a very nice and amazingly attractive space (albeit a bit small) for over a decade, but I would like to infuse some farmhouse charm. Anyway, back to Karen. She's been doing some gardening lately and her plants are beautiful. Go check them out when you have a chance.

Last, but certainly not least, I'd like to show you Rene's beautiful living room. Her blog, Miss Gracie's House is a beautiful study in white and all it's many shades. The warmth of this lovely spirit's home is amazing. Every detail is well thought out and tells a story. Her many vignettes give interest to this 100 year old farmhouse and her generally traditional Victorian style is stunning. The color palette keeps it light and airy and fresh. Another source of inspiration for yours truly to be sure. Drop by and take a look at her post titled "Why Do We Love White" and make sure you check out her divine bedroom. I get inspired each and every time I go by her place and I know you will too.

Well, these are my picks. Later this week, I will be doing a photo collage of my "Honorable Mentions", so check back again. As for part 2 of this post, one of these lucky ladies featured above will be getting their own copy of Fifi O'Neill's "Romantic Prairie Style" although I think they may just have to give it away as a gift since they obviously have it going on already! I assigned each one a number, based on the order in which they submitted their pictures, so the numbers are as follows:

1. Patti
2. Lynn
3. Lara
4. Kathy

5. Rene'

And Mr. Random Number Generator says the winner is...

Congratulations to Lynn of The Vintage Nest!!!

Sorry I couldn't figure out how to do a screen shot of the generator, but I guess you're just going to have to take my word for it that it came up 2. Lynn, give me a hollar with your physical address and I will ship your beautiful book out to you.

That's all for now. Back to the sifting and sorting...

Just for grins, I'm linking up with Kathleen's White Wednesday over at Faded Charm. Maybe just a few stops before I hit the basement again... :-)

Until next time,

Springy Whites-as in the season, not the swirly metal thing!

2011-04-26T19:14:00.001-06:00

WOW! Where does the time go? I've been MIA for 2 weeks...how did this happen? Been taking care of business, it is true, but I sure never intended to miss out on this much out in Blogland. Do know that I've been popping in and visiting a little, even if I haven't commented, but for the most part, I'm trying to stay focused on the daunting tasks at my house...organizing, purging (ruthless, I tell ya), planning, and trying to get out of a storage area that we have been paying for for way too long. I know you all have been there as I have followed your blogs, but sometimes it feels like it will never end, doesn't it?! Oh well, at least I've made a bit of progress. Any WHO...here in Colorado, we are just now starting to see spring. My forsythia bush is almost bloomed out, but I got one little vase of pretties for Easter Sunday. The crabapple trees are all popped out in full force although the one in our yard is a little later to bloom. Tulips have come up, and my husband is spending hours in the yard doing clean up (a sure sign spring is here). We had a smattering of snow on Easter Sunday, but that's just how we roll in these parts.

I have to admit, I liked the way the fallen blooms looked on the mantel, so I didn't move them. This incredible little lavender sachet was made from an old linen doily or something. I got it on Etsy from a lovely seller, Bailiwick Designs.

I just listed this little cutie antique marmalade crock on my Etsy shop today. I LOVE the crackle and the color. Perfection...the next 2 photos are also things available at Elegant Farmhouse.

Since I am sadly behind in the Easter show and tell department, I have to show you some of my pretty "Easter Egg" blown eggs. I put mine in an antique white ironstone compote and they are just so serene looking.

I loved this zinc carrier so much, it almost didn't make it into the shop, but if you go back to my first paragraph about sorting, purging, downsizing...well, you get the idea. It HAD to go up for sale. But my daffodils in the old milk bottles sure looked sweet. Very Romantic Prairie Style, don't you think?

Speaking of Romantic Prairie Style, if you haven't sent me your pictures for my "Show Me Your Romantic Prairie Style" photo challenge, you still have until Saturday night, April 30th to enter. Just click here for the details. When all is said and done, one blogger will win a copy of Fifi's divine book, "Romantic Prairie Style". Plus, the 5 finalists will be the subject of one of my blog posts with lots of ooohing and aaahing to be done by all! Join in the fun-you can send new photos or ones that you have in your archives as long as they are YOUR home, garden, or studio. Let me see your interpretation of this beautiful livable way of decorating. Don't worry if you think your style is a little outside the box. If you've seen the book, you know that this style runs the gamut from French fancy to farmhouse minimalist and everything in between. The main thing is to SHOW ME YOUR STYLE and HAVE FUN!

I'm sharing this post with Kathleen's White Wednesday over at Faded Charm. Come on over and get overloaded on the dreamiest whites around.

Until next time,

Playing with Sophisticated Finishes Patina Solution

2011-04-12T18:30:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago, I was shopping at a little junque shop in town. I say junque because junk is a bit harsh, but antique is a bit of a stretch. I saw this little metal terrarium thing complete with candles and silk flower bits (I appreciate the thought, but not so much the outcome). I didn't buy it first time around, but then a couple of weeks, went back and decided it just needed to come home with me. AND I needed to do a little fussing with it until it was more rusty crusty and full of character. Below is what it looked like when I brought it home.

Before, as purchased. Not bad, just not me

I have used this product before and like it a bunch. It is Sophisticated Finishes and it can be found at Michael's. It comes in a bunch of different finish options and is a 2 step process.

This set gives an aged copper patina

First you paint on the base coat. I had the aged copper kit, so the first step made everything deep copper metallic color.

After the first step of the process. Copper metallic finish.

Then, you add the patina liquid and let it sit. I did a lot of dappling with a sponge brush and just let it run wherever. As you might guess, the tray got the best of the patina since it is flat and the liquid doesn't run off. If you like "extra crusty", you can toss a little salt in the mix and it does a bit of the pock thing. Kinda cool.

After the second "patina" step has been added.

I liked it, but it was a little too orangey for the look I wanted, so I got on line and found out that Sophisticated Finishes also has a kit that is iron and rust. Since I used up the last of my copper patina on this project and I had a coupon for 40% off at Michael's, I decided to replenish my rusty crusty maker stock with the iron and rust. I then dabbled on both steps so I wouldn't completely obliterate the coolness of the finish I already had, but I could just tone it down a bit. Below is the result.

After adding dabs of the Iron/Rust set

I like it. Funny how sometimes it just takes a little more layering before you're happy with the result.

Then came the fun part of putting some stuff in the structure. I printed off some stuff from the Graphics Fairy and decided on the Birdie Darling sheet music cover. I added an actual bird's nest which was abandoned in one of my Christmas wreaths one year, put in some Quail eggs, a little lace scrap to soften things, a crusty old finial, and the cute little porcelain bird which was on clearance at Michael's (OK, yes, impulse buy, but I did resist the first time I saw it and only bought it the second time around, so I think I get a little credit!). I'm not sure I'm totally happy with the inside vignette yet, but the fun thing is, I can play until my heart is content now that I have it looking the way I wanted. I like that now it isn't so obviously new like it was before. Rusty and crusty and a little elegant. Ahhhhhh, PERFECT! And, pretty easy as well. If you like to alter stuff to look like old metal, I think the Sophisticated Finishes do a pretty good job. The kit runs around $12, but you can get several small projects out of it and, of course, if you use a coupon, it is much more reasonable.

Filled with fun "junk"

It has cute little ball feet although its just balanced on my architectural piece right now.

I'm linking up with Kathleen's White Wednesday over at Faded Charm and Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday. Stop on over and get filled up on eye candy galor!

Don't forget my Romantic Prairie Style "Show Me Your Style" Photo Challenge that you can enter for a chance to win your very own copy of the fabulous Fifi's Romantic Prairie Style. Read about it here. Hope you gals don't mind, but I'm pushing back the deadline to enter the challenge to April 30th. We all need more time, right? Or maybe that's just me...smile.

Until next time,

Pretty Statue Makeover

2011-04-06T13:57:00.000-06:00

Hi Blogger Friends,

A week or so ago, I posted about some of the finds I got while out antiquing and one of them was this little fella. He was so cute with his little ivy wreath crown and bird's nest, but he was painted an old gold. I love old gold on some things, but on him, not so much. Don't get me wrong, if for some reason, I could only have purchased him with the agreement that he had to stay as is, I still would have picked him up, but luckily, that was not a stipulation of purchase! Like so many of you out there, sometimes, we just think, "but I could make it so much BETTER..." And off we go, paintbrush in hand. Here's what he looked like when I got him.

I had wanted to leave a little of his gold peeking through. Hmmmm...I painted him all a watered down white and then wiped some of the paint off. YUCK! That wasn't even photo worthy. He ended up in the sink with me and a brillo pad. Back to the original...after numerous coats of a little white paint mixed with a little walnut glaze, then watered down walnut glaze to go down in the cracks, he ended up looking a bit like an old bronze statue. I kind of liked him, but when I got up this morning, that old painting jones got the better of me and I got back at it before I even ate breakfast (or got dressed for that matter-I know, it's a sickness). I wanted him lighter. After a little more white paint mixed with a little glaze, ragged on, I sort of liked him, but he was a little chalky looking and the walnut glaze in the cracks seemed a bit too...well, wal-nutty. SO, add some black paint to the watered down concoction and drippled that all over and then wiped if off the surface, just leaving it in the cracks. Better. I think we're getting there. This is the result.

In this picture, he looks a tad zombie-ish, so I think he may get a little more dabbing of color in his face. Tweaking, tweaking, always tweaking...sigh.

Overall, I think I'm happy with him, but there's always room for improvement, right?

Don't forget to enter my ROMANTIC PRAIRIE STYLE SHOW ME YOUR STYLE PHOTO CHALLENGE . Click over to that post to get the low-down and send me your take on the romantic prairie style. You never know...you may be in fabulous Fifi's next book! No, I don't have any inside information, no I do not know if she has another book planned, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. One thing I can say for sure, the winner will receive a copy of Fifi O'Neill's stunning new book, Romantic Prairie Style. Archive photos are fine, you don't have to snap new ones, as long as they are YOUR personal photos of your home, garden, or studio.

Linking up with Kathleen's White Wednesday. Pop on over for some great white inspiration.

Until next time,

We have a winner...AND a Romantic Prairie Style Photo Challenge

2011-04-02T09:20:00.001-06:00

Today is the day, yessirree...we have a winner of Fifi's fabulous new book Romantic Prairie Style and one of my little lavender sachets. AND I have something exciting to tell you at the bottom of the post, so bear with me.

Thank you to all who entered and became followers and tweeted and posted on Facebook. I wish I had a book to give all of you, but I don't, so we'll just have to congratulate the nice gal who's "number came up".
Mr. Random Number Generator came up with the number belonging to....

RECYCLED RITA!

I'll be contacting you Karen for your mailing address so I can ship you your treasures. YAY!

Now, for PART DEUX. I am pretty excited about this and I hope you are too. Today on my doorstep, the mailman brought me a SECOND copy of Fifi's book. Yep, a second one. Now, at first I thought I'd just have the random number generator generate two numbers. BUT, that would be too easy. I thought perhaps we could have a little fun and promote one another as well. SO, here is my idea:

**********************************************************************************

Between now and tax day for us in the U.S. (April 15th-SHRIEK!), send me a photo from your home, studio, or garden that you feel best represents your take on romantic prairie style. It can be a vignette or a room photo, whatever you prefer, just send me a file size that is suitable for posting in the XL Blogger picture format because that is the size I like to show on my blog so everyone can see your beautiful details if you are a finalist. I will pick the 5 entries that I feel best embodies the romantic prairie style and do a post on my blog featuring YOU and your wonderful personal spaces with links to your blogs or websites. THEN, those 5 people will have their names thrown in the hat and the winner will receive Fifi's book. Now if you already have Fifi's book, you could give this one as an AWESOME gift and look like a rock star (don't worry, we won't spill the beans that you got it for free!). Please don't feel that you can't enter just because you don't "need" the prize. I really want to see your pictures, whether they are brand new or from your files. Feel free to send up to 3 photos since, if you are like me, you will be torn as to which is the "perfect" one. Now you don't have to decide. Also, please don't stress out about your photos. We are just having fun and that's what its all about. By entering, you do, of course, imply permission for me to post your photo on my blog should you be a finalist.

My only rule is this: these MUST be your OWN photos. No magazine inspiration photos or photos from FLICKR, etc. Go forth and get those cameras clicking and show me what ya got! Let's have some fun with this. If we are a little sluggish getting started, I do reserve the right to push back the end of the contest so we have enough to play.

Send your photos to the email address posted on my sidebar. It is not a direct link because I don't want the automated bots to fill up my inbox, so sorry for the extra step. I will send you a very brief confirm that I got your photos.

Spread the word by posting about the contest on your sidebar. Here's an image you can use if you like, and please link it back to THIS POST so people can find out the details.

Until next time,

What do lavender sachets and Marie Antoinette have in common?

2011-03-31T14:49:00.001-06:00

Marie's beautiful image is on a lavender sachet just listed in my Etsy shop, Elegant Farmhouse, that's what!
They are SO beautiful and fragrant and will add that little je ne sais quoi to YOUR elegant farmhouse with their beautiful vintage laces, millinery, and seam binding. In case you miss out on Miss Marie, by the way, she has several friends in the shop that are equally lovely.

I'm linking up to Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday.
Until next time,

UPDATE: Please join me in my Romantic Prairie Style Photo Challenge. Show me your style! Click here to learn more.

Weekend Treasure Hunting

2011-03-30T14:01:00.001-06:00

Hello Friends,

I thought I'd take a break from altering costumes for my son's Shakespeare play (yes, 5th graders doing Shakespeare-and they do it well! Does that rock or what?), to say hello and show you a few of my finds from over the weekend. I did a little thrifting and a lot of antiquing and came up with quite a few treasures, some for me, some for sale. I am only showing you the white or white-ish ones since it is, after all, White Wednesday, possibly my favorite day of the week! Least productive day of the week since I spend WAY too much time hopping around looking at all of the pretties, but still my fav! ANYWAY, I scored the beautiful little glass apothecary jar shown above and below. I saw it and just knew it had to be my new mother of pearl button container. It's going to look great in my studio.

I got a set of 4 of these pretty little doilies. I will use them for some project down the road. Or maybe just enjoy them as doilies, who knows? I think its important to keep an open mind, right? My husband would tell me we could go broke keeping our minds so open, but he doesn't have to know everything!

I paid a lot for the heart shaped doily, but I have never seen a heart shaped doily before and I do have a special place in my HEART for heart shapes, so it just had to be. I think this would be great incorporated into an altered blouse or in a beautiful Magnolia Pearl inspired purse or tote. What do you think?
Or maybe into a lovely pillow inspired by my very talented blogging friend Rene' . Hmmmmm.... No Rene, I'm sorry, this one is mine.

These beautiful earrings are going to be cannibalized for their incredible beads and will be made into a necklace along with some of their vintage jewelry friends that I have been ~~hoarding~~ collecting for a year or so. Well, no, I've never actually made a piece of jewelry, but I do have a couple of great books and I need to have a stash in order to get the proper inspiration, right? Yeah, I think that's what the poor folks on that show "Hoarders" probably said 15 years prior to being "featured" on the show. Yikes! There but for the grace of God...

This beautiful little fella (or maybe gal) almost didn't get picked up because of his very gold paint job. But when I walked over and really looked at the detail, I realized that it just had to come home with me. I will do a little makeover on him/her and subdue the paint a bit. I'd like to leave a little of the gold and silver peeking through though. Any thoughts? Email me or just comment on this post if you have any ideas on how to do this. Come on, you gals are the most innovative, creative, and talented people on the planet, I know you know. (smile)

Just love the detail on that sweetie. Ivy crown (or is it grape leaves? A horticultural genius I am not, I leave that to my brilliant husband), bird's nest in the hand, sweet face... does it get any better? Well, after a little make over it does, but other than that, I think not.

I almost fainted when I saw this incredible vanity tray. Nuff said.

Swoon...

Lastly, the thrift store was a bit of a dud where home goods were concerned, but where clothing was concerned, I was pleased. Check out this gorgeous top from one of my fav stores, White House Black Market. I couldn't buy it fast enough. Love its lace detail and the color is divine. I'm thinking "date night".

Well ladies, must rock and roll. I'm linking up with Kathleen at Faded Charm for White Wednesday. YAY!

DON'T FORGET to enter my 100th post giveaway here. Time is getting short for you to win a copy of Fifi O'Neill's Romantic Prairie Style and one of my lavender sachets. Entries need to be in by midnight Mountain time tomorrow, March 31st with the winner being announced April 1st, so get on over there. You'll be glad you did.

Until next time,

Pink Saturday Retrospective

2011-03-26T11:03:00.000-06:00

Happy Pink Saturday! I am super busy in my studio making some items for a friend's shop and enjoying a little time with my kids over spring break, but I wanted to participate in Beverly's wonderful Pink Saturday, so I hope you don't mind a little pink redux. These are some of my favorite past Pink Saturday images. I hope you enjoy them! Light on text, heavy on pretty pictures...perfect for a nice Saturday.

Don't forget my giveaway of Fifi's new book, Romantic Prairie Style. Just leave a comment on the giveaway post by March 31st and the winner will be announced April 1st.

I am linking up with Beverly's beautiful Pink Saturday. Stop by and say hello to all of these cheery pinky ladies!

Until next time,

Gratitude from me...and a giveaway for you!

2011-03-22T18:38:00.004-06:00

The Giveaway is now closed.

Hi Beautiful Friends,

I can't believe I am FINALLY composing my 100th post. YAY! First, I'd like to acknowledge some pretty wonderful people I've met through blogging. You are all awesome, but these gals have given me presents recently, so I do need to give them a special shout out!

I won a fabulous giveaway over at Paula's Castles and Cottages. She hand paints these beautiful Pottery Barn inspired plant holders which she made (or maybe DH made them, I can't remember), available in two sizes, and personalizes them with whatever your heart desires in whatever font you would like. She generously gave away the smaller one (which is still a substantial size) and personalized it to my specifications. After a few mock ups back and forth via email, I got this incredible piece in the mail. It is WONDERFUL. I haven't decided on its final hanging place, so I have used Paula's pic that she took when she finished it for me, but you will see this beauty again once it is hung (I'm very slow at making up my mind) and has something cool in its little holder. THANK YOU Paula from the bottom of my heart. You are incredibly talented and you'd better believe I will be coming by your way should I have any signage needs (and I'm thinking I just may).

Next, I was fortunate enough to win a sweet little giveaway over at Rhonda's place, A Little Bit French. She is a very talented lady as well who hosts a monthly French Friday giveaway. March was MY MONTH! Those of you who read my previous post about never winning anything will note that perhaps my luck did indeed change. Yippee! I hope so. Anyway, this precious little bag came my way last week. I absolutely love it. THANK you Rhonda! Rhonda is headed to France in 11 days, so I'm going to refrain from being green with envy in light of your beautiful tresor you sent me! LOL!

Lastly, I participated in the Pay It Forward project that I read about over at Michelle's beautiful blog, Petite Michelle Louise. I was one of 5 commenters to her blog who were sent this beautiful handmade stamped seam binding by Michelle. In return, each of us "paid it forward" by blogging about the project and sending a handmade gift to our first five commenters. (And BTW, if you were one of my 5 commenters, your tresors are on the way as of Monday. Hope you like them). This is the pretty package that Michelle sent me:

Inside was this darling card. There was also a pretty little hand stamped bag tucked in the back which had beautiful punches from old ephemera-I look forward to crafting with them, but I forgot to take a picture of them. Trust me, they are wonderful as well.

THANK YOU, Michelle! You know I'm a huge fan of yours anyway, but your generous spirit is something I'm also a fan of.

Okay, now if you've stuck with me this far, it is time for us to get to the GIVEAWAY which will commemorate my 100th post. First, I will send you a pretty little lavender sachet, handcrafted by moi.

I may eventually add some of these to my Etsy shop, but my kiddos are on Spring Break this week, so probably not until next week.

THEN, the piece de resistance....your very own copy of Fifi's new book, Romantic Prairie Style!!!! I had pre-ordered mine AGES ago but I have to confess, the hype that was swirling around Blogland made me skeptical...you know, like when EVERYONE tells you how great a movie is or is going to be and you go and see it and you think...it's OKAY. Too much build up, ya know? Or maybe that's just me. So, anyway, I kind of thought it might be like that. AND, I have to say, over here at French Laundry, my style is a little more fancy than what I perceived the prairie style to be, so I figured it would be a bunch of interiors that maybe I didn't totally relate to. Alright, all of that being said, when the book came, I was BLOWN AWAY! Yeah, it's that good. Not only are some of the ladies I've been ~~cyber-stalking~~ reading with enthusiasm for quite a while featured here, but also some folks I don't know who have the most amazing homes. And the cool part is, the interiors truly run the gambit from ranch to cabin to elegant farmhouse (Wow! That's a great name, maybe I should open an Etsy shop called that-oh yeah, already did!). It has been one that I have absolutely salivated over on page after page. Glad to say, the hype was justified. As you will see, it is an awesome book and is being provided as a giveaway from the great publishers at CICO books. If you aren't the lucky winner here, you can order your very own copy from them here.

HERE'S HOW YOU WIN:

1. Leave a comment on this post for one chance.

2. Become a follower of my blog or if you are already a follower, just let me know for another chance.

3. Give my giveaway a shout out on your blog or on your sidebar, on Facebook, or Twitter.

You MUST leave a separate comment for each of these. You can do one of them or all of them, for a total of 3 chances to win. The giveaway will be open until midnight MDT on March 31st and the winner will be announced on APRIL 1st (no foolin'!). Good luck and thanks for being my pals and listening to my rambling over the last 100 posts. I am full of gratitude for all of the wonderful folks out here that love and support, pray and lift up, and beautify and inspire, day after day. You guys ROCK.

Linking up with Kathleen's White Wednesday because it's the place to be! LOL!

Until next time,

Just checking in...

2011-03-18T01:32:00.000-06:00

Hi sweet friends,

Just a quick hello to let you know I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I just don't know where the time goes. One moment I just put out a blog post, the next moment, a week has passed, then almost two. I know part of it is my own level of busy-ness, trying to take care of my family and run my online stores, but I also think that part of it is that blogging about the minutia of my life in the wake of the terrible tragedy in Japan just seems trivial. I don't know, maybe I'm just in a slump. I have a few things to share with you, but I think for now, I will just take a moment to be grateful for my family, my home, my friends, clean water to drink, a warm bed to sleep in, and food in my belly.

I'll be back soon. I have to be. I will with my next post be celebrating the longest time in Blogger history that a person took to reach their 100th post. Yes, with my very next post, I will be hitting 100-you know, the number that most of you probably hit after 6 months or less? Yeah, it took me...well, I do have to tell you in my own defense that I broke away from blogging for much of 2010, but really, over 2 years? Yes, there you have it. TWO years. PLUS. Oh well, it is what it is. And, of course, you know what that means is in store. Yes, you know the drill....A GIVEAWAY. I'm not going to tell you what you will have a chance to win, but I'll give you some hints. Hot off the presses, possibly THE most anticipated event in Blogland for quite some time, many of our friends are featured in the most yummy thing I've seen in a long time...well, I've probably said too much, but I think you know where I'm going with this. And you can get it here for FREE. Plus another goody or two just for good measure. If you have no clue, check back next week and find out. If you do have a clue, you know you want it. Don't be shy, come by and enter to win.

In the meantime, please keep the people of Japan in your prayers and donate to any of the reputable charities out there in any amount you can. I can't imagine the devastation and then there's the worry about the nuclear power plant melting down. It just keeps getting more and more surreal. These folks are going to need so much in the next weeks, months, years, but for now, many of them just need food and shelter and hope. Do what you can and remember there can never be too many prayers offered up.

With love until next time,

Mostly White Wednesday and...Charlie Sheen???

2011-03-08T18:30:00.001-07:00

What, you ask, could White Wednesday have to do with Charlie Sheen? Well, if you have even peripherally caught some of the rants of this latest train wreck ("winning"), you know that Dear Charlie has two live in girlfriends which he calls...now here it is....the reason for my catchy title...are you ready?

THE GODDESSES

Now I certainly can't condone Charlie boy's actions as of late (although I do think we are witnessing a very sad, very real meltdown of a person's life), I do have to agree with him in his admiration of goddesses. I have long been fascinated by the figural representations of goddesses and, as I am wont to do, went on a mission to see how many I could find around my home. I know there are more, but my light was fading fast and dinnertime loomed.

This beauty resides in my bathroom...

This lovely Mucha lady lives in our upstairs hall...

A gift from a dear friend that occupies a little spot in the dining room...

The following all reside in my studio...perhaps they are the goddesses of creative inspiration???

This stunning old door which is propped up in a corner was painted by the very talented Lori Gutierrez.

How could I not feel happy just looking at this beauty?

I hope you enjoyed this little mini tour of my goddesses. This week, I wish for you to find your creative muse, whatever your method of expression is, and embrace the goddess within yourself. For more great inspiration, go over to visit Kathleen at Faded Charm for White Wednesday. You'll be glad you did.

Until next time,

Pay It Forward

2011-03-07T21:07:00.003-07:00

I am participating in a great blog event called "Pay it Forward 2011". I heard about it from the lovely Michelle from Petite Michelle Louise and I just knew I needed to be a part of it. Here is the deal:

The first 5 people who comment on this post will receive a gift handmade by me, Judy of French Laundry. In return, you must write a blog post explaining Pay It Forward 2011 and send your first 5 commenters a gift handmade by you. It's a great way to make new friends and spread some handmade love around Blogland. With all of the talent that abounds around here, it should be a very fun time. No rush to send them out today or even tomorrow, but do make sure you send them out.

"It's not the size of the item that matters, but the spirit
of paying it forward."

Let's pay it forward!

Until next time,

OK my friends, I have my 5 gals, so the "Pay It Forward" on this blog is now closed. If you hop on over to any of my commenters' blogs, you will no doubt get a chance to play along. Thanks for responding so quickly. I need to get busy making your gifts now!

A Good Day Junkin'

2011-03-01T01:12:00.004-07:00

Still beats a good day at work. OK, I know, the phrase is, "a bad day junkin' beats a good day at work", but I had a GOOD day junkin', so EVEN BETTER!!! I went out to a couple of places this weekend, one which I go to once in a while, and one that I'd never been to before, and look what I came up with.

10 count em 10 uncut yards of super wide crocheted lace-it is probably almost a foot wide. Would this be great on a bed skirt or couch skirt, or WHAT?

And then there's this stool. Is it cute or is it cute??? Oh wait, I know the answer...loving those worm holes or whatever they are on the top.

I can't seem to pass up cute bags of crochet thread. You'd think I crocheted or something! I'll use the creamy ones with some others I have for display in an apothecary jar. The pastel ones will no doubt end up in a pretty sewing box that I will put together for sale on Our Cottage Garden. The little pink tissue napkins will probably land in some type of art project since I'm not too keen on using them as napkins. Like the thought of the pretty vintage-ness of it, not sure about the vintage germs (I am a microbiologist, ya know).

Love the vintage tobacco tin and the old bottle. The bottle will be dolled up, the tin I bought to alter, but I'm sort of liking it as is, so I may just leave it and put it on Etsy.

Then, as if I weren't having a good enough time, what did my little eye spy?

A LARGE cement Madonna (the mother of Jesus, not the pop star). Her chippy multi layered paint called me over and beckoned me to take a closer look. I have to admit, I started looking around as though everyone must surely be laying in wait for me to make my move and then walk on so they could swoop in. But perhaps that was just the Jeanne d'Arc Living lover in me making me paranoid. (Speaking of that, have you seen the new issue??? SHREAK! I think it may just be my favorite one yet. But I digress.) I still did the cool, disinterested mosey-over just in case. You know the one I'm talking about-if you're a junker, you've done it. Yep, cool as a cucumber, that was me. Look at something close to the piece for a little bit, then casually let your eye wander down to the item you're really interested in. Then, without looking TOO interested, check it out. Look like maybe, if you want, I could take it off your hands...pull off price tag, just in case someone else might be lurking. Try not to skip on the way to cashier.

She's not in a proper place yet, but I had to share a little peek with you because you guys "get it". Mr. FL, not so much, but I'm used to it (and so is he). Anyway, when she is situated, I'll take some more pics and share them with you. I told Mr. FL I intended to sell her and honestly, I planned on it, but she's like a hundred pounds and I'm not sure I want to take that on, and well...she is so pretty. And chippy. And perfect. And...well, you know.

And on that note, I think I've babbled on enough for one post. Do you have a favorite junking story? Like a purchase for sale that, well, never made it to the shop? Come on, we're friends, you can tell me!

Until next time,

Linking up with Kathleen's White Wednesday. Come on over and join the fun.

Camera Love

2011-02-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

Selling online as I do, I spend quite a bit of time behind a camera, but not much time doing it just for the fun of it. I saw Kristen over at Faded Prairie was hosting a photo challenge and decided to play along. I had to screw up my courage at bit, but I did it. I didn't have a lot of time to take photos before work, but I got a few of some rusty stuff at my house for the week's theme of "once loved". I ended up really liking these and put them on Flickr for the challenge. Hope you enjoy seeing my photography done only for the sake of doing it! I may have to try that again sometime! Have a super weekend you guys!

Until next time,

Oh white ironstone, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

2011-02-23T02:11:00.002-07:00

One...I love the way you look on chippy cupboards.

Did I mention this Country Living magazine image makes me swoon????

Two...I love the way you look when grouped en masse.

Three...I love the way you look all by yourself.

Four...I love the way your European Faience cousins look.

The detail is so lovely.

Your Italian counterparts are also capable of drawing me in...

Love that handle...

OK, I admit, I was having a difficult time coming up with a White Wednesday post, but truly, it is one of my most favoritist posts of the week, so I had to do some rummaging through my own photos and from the internet. I am working extra days this week at my real job, so playing photographer will have to wait for now, but I will, one of these days, do a post about my small but wonderful antiique white ironstone collection. It makes my heart sing just to look at.

CHANGE OF SUBJECT ALERT (my husband seriously wishes I would make that announcement when we are chatting with one another!): In case you were crushing on my antique grain sack stockings at Christmas but you didn't get one, pat yourself on the back for being so patient and waiting. Just today, I lowered the price on my remaining stockings by 40%. Yes, you read that right, 40%. They were reasonably priced at $32, but with the sale, they are $19.20. That's a pretty smoking deal, you've gotta admit. No coupon code needed, just go to my site here and pick your favorite(s).

Go on over to see Kathleen at Faded Charm for more White Wednesday posts. You will be SO glad you did.

Until next time,

What's On My Workbench

2011-02-15T19:58:00.005-07:00

Hello Blogger Friends,

I have just a quick post to show you what I've been up to lately. I have all of this great antique lace and after seeing a few pretty wrist cuffs around, I thought to myself, "Self, you should do that." So I did. It turned out so nice, I decided to make another one to sell on Etsy at my shop, Elegant Farmhouse. I'm thinking I might make a couple more since inspiration is now flowing with all of this pretty lace...

Oh, and that beautiful antique HAND WRITTEN French sheet music the cuff is on in the first picture was an Etsy find. I love ETSY!

I'm linking up this post to Kathleen's White Wednesday , Sandy's Vintage Video Party and Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday.

Until next time,

Spreading A Little Valentine's Day Love

2011-02-14T10:24:00.003-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day weekend! I thought I would, predictably, share a little Valentine's Day love from my home to yours. The first photo is my dining room centerpiece. It is normally under a cloche, but I still haven't learned how to adequately take a photo of a cloche without glare and everything. I am open to suggestion so all of you top notch photographers out there (and there are MANY of you), feel free to give me some hints. But I digress. Anyway, that piece that is normally under the cloche but for today is not under the cloche is a Goldbug Studios piece (Ashley Carter-awesome artist). I normally can't afford her stuff, but last year, Earth Angels Toys had a significant sale on several things, this sweet Valentine's piece being one of them. I scooped it up faster than you can say "CHARGE IT!". I leave it out all year round although not usually in such a prominent place as plopped in the middle of my dining room table.

Sort of sappy sweet, but I do love my little faux cookies. I bought them several years ago from a gal on eBay. I think her name was Rhonda, but I can't recall her seller name. They are, in my humble opinion, some of the prettiest ones I've seen. I chose to display them in my very old bride's basket. You can't see them, but under the cookies are cherubs engraved on the basket part. Somehow, just knowing they are there makes me feel a little more "Valentiney". I know, I'm a goof.

I love vintage Valentine's Day cards. I use them a lot in my decorating. I don't do too much over the top decorating for Valentine's Day, but I do try to put at least some of my little cards out here and there. Here are a few that begged me to be featured in today's post.

I hope you enjoyed the little peek into my world. It's getting pretty late, but I'm going to head over to Beverly's place at How Sweet the Sound and link up to Pink Saturday. I'll bet there's loads of pretty pink Valentine's over there. Why don't you join me?

Until next time,

UPDATE: Faux sweets are by Rhonda at http://rhondasrosecottagedesigns.com or eBay rhondasrosecottagedesigns

A Beautiful Etsy Treasury

2011-02-08T19:07:00.002-07:00

Hi Blogger Pals,

I know many of you have Etsy shops like I do and many of you have been lucky to have been featured in some beautiful treasuries (a collection curated by Etsy members). Nothing new here, but I just wanted to show you a beautiful one curated by my friend Lesley from Flatswoods Folk Art who has a beautiful shop on Etsy as well, called A Vintage Season. I was so intrigued by this beautiful treasury which I was featured in that I decided to share it with you for your viewing pleasure. Do feel free to oooh and aaah as the mood strikes you. You can click on any photo in the treasury and be taken to that Etsy listing. Yes, another cool widget thingie which you can find here. I'm starting to think I'm becoming a techno-geek. Hmmmmmm...it is a possibility.

I think I will be taking a bit of liberty and linking this post up with Kathleen's White Wednesday since I seem to have a pretty full dancecard this week and I don't believe I'll have time to pull any additional white inspiration before tomorrow! I'm sure any working mom can relate to this! LOL! Stay warm and hug your loved ones.

Until next time,

Winner winner chicken dinner!

2011-02-04T01:17:00.001-07:00

I'm always amazed when I read about bloggers that win one, two, and sometimes even three giveaways in a short period of time. I am NOT one of those people. I have entered my share of contests, giveaways, drawings, and raffles over the years. I have never won. Yes, I said NEVER. Really. In my 20's, I used to say that I never won the door prize raffles, but if you were with me, YOU would win. It happened like 3 times where the people with me won a door prize and me...NADA. So, you can imagine my surprise/delight/shock, when I actually saw my name as one of the winners of the most generous giveaway hosted by Kim of White Whispers to You. She had this incredible lineup of gift certificates or products that you could choose from. All of the vendors were awesome and so it was a tough call, but I love Tracey over at French Larkspur, so I chose a gift certificate and in short order, picked a pretty canvas bag which Tracey sent wrapped in her beautiful style. Seriously, I almost hate to open the package because I would love just looking at the wrapping.

BUT, I did and this was inside...


Photo from French Larkspur

I just love it. I carried it a few times as a purse, but that seemed a bit too summery, so for now, it hangs in my entryway and I love looking at it. So, I am now no longer an "also ran". That's right...I'm a winner! Thanks Kim and Tracey for changing my lot! LOL!

Hope you all are having a good week and looking forward to a great weekend. We finally got past our cold spell, so things are much nicer around these parts.

Until next time,

1920's Bisque Doll for Valentine's Day

2011-01-28T01:48:00.001-07:00

Today I am sharing a little 1920's bisque doll that I dressed up with antique silk, lace, and ribbon work. I have been doing up these dolls for a year or two now and I love how they turn out.

This sweet gal is all ready for Valentine's Day with her little vintage crochet basket filled with miniature handmade valentines.

She is a real cutie pie and if you love her as much as I do, you can check her out here. Yes, a little shameless self promotion never hurt anyone, right? Hope you all have a blessed weekend. I am linking up with French Cupboard's Handmade Valentine Party and Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday. Join us for some fun!

Until next time,

Pretty But Random

2011-01-25T18:41:00.002-07:00

Hello Friends,

Thank you so much for your uplifting positive comments after my last post. You guys rock! It really makes me feel like I am not alone...many of you have experienced not only job loss, but other trials in your life (I guess we all have-DUH!), but you keep your sunny outlook and you keep your face turned to the one who holds all of the answers...the architect of the universe. I am feeling much better today and wanted to share with you some random prettiness. I realize that we all have an area or two in our homes that we love and, hence, we take lots of photos of that area. For me, I guess it is my white mantel. I realize that I have showed you a ton of pictures of it in various reiterations, and here is....TA!DA! one or two more. But this time, there's a catch. The two tall candle holder things were created by little moi. I read a tutorial here by the talented Rosemary encouraging me to use the little holy candles that you can find at, of all places, Wal Mart. I then dug through my stash of antique laces and found some pretty things to wrap around the candles. I put one crepe paper frill that I got from Etsy from sweet Angela's Etsy shop. I finished one off with a scalloped heart made out of a page from an old French dictionary and added a punch out of an image of mother and child by Bouguereau that I just love and on the other one, I tied on a tag that I simply adore that was in my package from the very talented Michelle and her Etsy shop (seriously, what the heck did I do before Etsy???). I think they turned out nice and they certainly go with the theme of my mantel, don't you think?

On a completely unrelated subject, here is my next bit of random pretty, the beautiful Bella. She got her first ~~shave~~ haircut the other day. It was pretty shocking since all of her black baby hair was cut off and I brought home a white and silvery gray dog. We're getting used to it and, if I do say so, she is still a real cutie patootie.

I leave you with another mantle picture which shows exactly why I don't much mind cold winter nights at my house, despite the drafty old Victorian and the endless to do list. Winter is a season and it is a part of life. And you know, without it, we probably wouldn't appreciate spring and summer so much. Hmmmm, good advice I say to myself. My son read a book last year in school called Trouble Don't Last. And winter doesn't either. I think I will try to enjoy it and experience it, and then rejoice in the spring. But I still feel a bunch of nights sitting in front of the fireplace are in my future. And that's okay, too.

I'm linking up with Kathleen's White Wednesday. If you love white, you need to stop over and check it out.

Until next time,