Happy New Year!!!!!!!!

Warmest New Years Blessings To All~xoxo

Thanksgiving Blessings........

Welcome Fall

It's been a while since a post. It's a busy life here but wanted to post a photo of "Lola" our fall pumpkin lady we lovingly created for our barn sale at mangiacotti. She is a complete diva with leopard pumps, wild hair & long false eyelashes! Hope you are enjoying fall wherever you are. It is going to be 86 here in new england today-crazy!

Happy Birthday Lucy....

Happy Birthday to my favorite actress & comedianne Lucille Ball~can it really be 100 years ago that this talented lady was born?! Have I told you that my nickname around here is LUCY?

Rosa Rugosa

One of the lovely benefits of summer~this beautiful rose flavors teas & has wonderful medicinal properties. The best is finding them growing along beach paths all summer long. Hope you are enjoying your week xo

Scenes from a wedding & chalk paint........

It feels like forever since I've been able to actually sit still for a while & read favortie blogs & post something here. I've missed blogging but haven't had the time & when that happens so does the brain freeze that goes along with it. Do some of you get stumped on what to post or what to say? I don't know how daily bloggers do it. When I get so busy with projects, garden, housework, family, friends or my job I get tongue tied for blogging. Main reason why I've been away for a while. Life seems to be settling down a bit here a bit so I'm back, even if it's only for a post or two. My daughter was a beautiful bride in early June & her wedding was all we wanted it to be. I can't believe how planning for a wedding can consume you. It was a labor of love & fun but kinda glad it's behind us now. Hubby & I are back to being best friends. For a while there, I thought he was going to run away as we climbed higher & higher over budget-lol. Here are some of my favorite pics of the wedding~so many more but had to condense.......

On to the chalk paint....I haven't even laid eyes on this stuff but I already LOVE it! I found a place about 45 minutes away that carries annie sloanes fabulous chalk paint. Check out this fabulous shop http://www.searosecottage.com & see where I will be headed on friday morning to load up on supplies & paint. I wanted to post a "before" photo of a piece of furniture I will be painting but I haven't cleaned it up enough for a picture. I'll post soon & then post after it is painted. I get so much inspiration from blogs like Miss Mustard Seed. After seeing all the furniture Marian has painted on her blog, I knew I had to tackle something & try this paint that doesn't need a primer base, adheres to anything & gives furniture, cabinets & floors a wonderful look. I'm going for a very swedish look for my piece. I'll be back in another post with the befores & afters. I'm hosting a bridal shower for my niece-in-law on sunday & will probably be pulling an all-nighter painting on friday night. I'll post as soon as it's done.

The summer is flying by~enjoy your week. xo

Saturday, June 4, 2011

We are so excited for our daughter's upcomming wedding in a few days. Just had to post this gorgeous vintage sign made by the talented Paula of castle & cottage, an adorable etsy boutique. Her vintage signs are to-die-for gorgeous & boy did she nail this one perfectly! The theme is garden-vintage-elegance & this will greet people as they make their way into the tent. THANK YOU paula for making our day with this! xo

" There can be no other occupation but gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone you would find them smiling" Mirabel Osler

So busy in the garden & getting ready for our wedding in three weeks-taking a bit of a blog break. Enjoy the warmer weather where everyou are~xoxo

Run Don't Walk......

If you didn't already know,these awesome pillows are on sale at restoration hardware (in store & on-line) what a deal on these french inspired beauties. I came home with all of them yesterday. Going to play when I get home today & have some fun with them! xoxo

Warm Easter blessings to you & yours xoxo

restoration hardware love........

A quick trip to the mall last week & a peek into restoration hardware & I fell in love with this fabulous french inspired reproduction laundry hamper & grain sack pillow. LOVE them & got both for a sweet 20% off. Truly one of my favorite places to shop. I think I'll store extra pillows or my growing collection of grainsacks in the laundry hamper & keep it under the desk in my office. I love sprucing up the house for Spring don't you? Tell me what fabulous things you've found~I'd love to hear! Have a great rest of the week. We are expecting a nor'easter on friday-can you believe this goofy weather? xo

Those eyes........

Tulips....need I say more

There is nothing prettier or more anticipated to me than gorgeous tulips once the warmer weather of spring hits. These beautiful shots come from country living ,since I have not had one minute to shoot some of the gorgeous tuplips blooming in my own yard. I told my husband last night that planning a wedding is a full time job & that I should get paid for it-hahaha-that went over big. Have a beautiful weekend friends~xo

Spring Ahead........

So looking forward to setting the clocks ahead even if it means losing that extra hour of sleep. Have a wonderful weekend! xo

I Heart Urban Outfitters........

Does this scream "SPRINGTIME" or what? Just when I think I am so over pink...I see this & love it all over again! :) Happy Monday! xo

Little Project....

As I was redoing my office space I needed to fill a wall. Being an impatient person by nature & wanting to complete my room I thought of something in black frames that would look clean & crisp next to the white dove or dove white(always get the exact wording of this benjamin moore paint that I love mixed up.) anyway, I came up with an inexpensive yet sentimental project that would fill my wall. I simply went into microsoft word & played with fonts & sizes of fonts until I came up with the style & size that would look great inside an 11X14 black frame. I made note of the style & size of font but can't locate it right now. Just go in & play until you have something you love. It can be anything you think of- I decided to do a collage of numbers that are my kids & grandkids birthdays. So simple, so inexpensive & looks great! I chose a black frame with a white mat & simply placed the print out (on regular copy/printer paper by the way) inside & placed another piece of white paper on the back to make it more opaque. VOILA! Instant gratification. The only hard part was measuring. I always try to skip this important step & try to eyeball the exact locations. My super practical hubby always talks me out of doing this & measures for me-he is the best! We hung them & I love the way they look & the sentimental meaning behind them. Still adding to the office & still waiting for my sisal bound rug. Hope you are busy doing projects that put a smile on your face. I am going thru the whole house repainting & sprucing rooms up for a much anticipate SPRING. Have a wonderful rest of the week! xo

Office Redo........

So messy & torn apart!

Here it is...almost complete. Just a few tweaks- like cutting off the rest of the curtain tabs & adding black rings, adding my newly ordered pottery barn coir bound rug, & finding baskets for the formerly painted white bookcase that is now sporting a black color. We added a new chandelier that replaces the frilly tole one & I am loving the new look! I will show you a project that is inexpensive, sentimental and fills one of the walls with black frames soon. I love how accents of black against a white background looks so crsip & clean. For now, this is where we are at & I am a happy camper! I have to add that my husband is a saint. He's been painting whatever I ask without a rolling of the eyes lately. I think he knows that this winter cabin fever gets to me & that I need to freshen up to lift my spirits. We also have a wedding in June & I want the house to look fresh & up to date with the look I am loving now. It's funny how your decorating evolves & changes. I couldn't get rid of the pink (although not that much) & the frills fast enough. Gone & I feel more settled & happy. Posting more pics of the office in steps & my inexpensive project later in the week. Have a wonderful rest of the week my blog friends! xoxo

Time For A Change......

Taking some time off to re-do my home office. It needs it & I need it. Nothing like a fresh coat of paint, a new chandelier, some black accents, new window treatments(linen to be exact!) & a furniture re-do. I'm thinking I can repurpose some pieces from other rooms so I don't have to buy much. Notice I said not much instead of nothing? It's like starting a diet, the first time you say "I can't have that" then you end up binging. (well I do anyway) I'm thinking that if I really want a new piece I can have it, that way I won't end up binging on new purchases! I know, it's a strange way of thinking but it works for me. These photos are from when our home was featured in Romantic Country a few years back. Soooooo much pink aghhhh! Please excuse the cloudiness-they are not the best photos!

Although I was slowly changing things up, I needed to just take it apart & start from scratch. This was at 10:00 last friday night by the way. My husband being the saint that he is painted it the next day in a gorgeous dove white by benjamin moore. I'm still working on the white trim. We are having a dinner party on saturday night so it needs to be all put back together by then. Yes, I do work at warp speed. Trips to Ikea, Pottery Barn & Restoration Hardware are complete so I think I have what I need for now. I'll be back with an even newer blog look (the banner is being re-done as we speak) & a new home office that really compliments the look I love now. Have a wonderful Valentines day! x0

Back To Blogger & Dreaming Of Green Things.......

Back to blogger(not completely finished yet) & a new look. Blogger is so much easier for me to navigate & use plus it's free! No brainer for this non techy, easier is better girl. Thanks to Mandy for a pretty new blog. Still working on photos to add to the banner, but for now completely happy with the outcome!

The warmth of spring & summer is what I am waiting for. Watching things grow & walking outside barefoot is just an added bonus. Not that I don't like a beautiful snow fall here & there & enjoy the holidays & the crisp winter weather but... this is ridiculous! We have had 3 major storms in two weeks & there is more to come. We are buried & I am getting cabin fever. I don't like to be contained to long in one space-does anyone really? Schools are out,work is hard to get to & so is shopping. Enough already-come on Spring! I am a warm weather, loves the sun girl at heart & winter just doesn't do it for me after January. I try to remember to enjoy each day & not wish them away but I just can't help dreaming of the sun & the warmth, the beachhouse,the gardens, shorts & flip flops etc etc. (you get the idea) Are you dreaming too or are you a cold weather, winter girl? Hope you are warm & cozy wherever you are (it is very cozy here I must say) & enjoying your week....xo