There May Be Hope For HGTV

Because of this very pretty lady--Sarah Richardson!

OK...I admit it, I've been hopelessly addicted to making my space "MINE" since I bought my first house almost 30 years ago. Back then it was all the rage to stencil country ducks and checkerboard patterns at your chair rail. I did put "reclaimed" wood under the chair rail molding long before "barn wood" became the material to use. I did shop at antique shops and listened to my very first CD playing from a little armoire that I still own today. It sits in our little cottage. The CD was Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms (I'll never forget it).

If I had every penny I ever spent on decorating magazines in a big jar, I would probably be able to afford the rest of the landscaping we need to do here on our property. No kidding!

When HGTV first started up, I couldn't have been happier. A dream come true for someone like me. I watched religiously. I had my favorites, of course. I still love Divine Design and the tall and classy Candace. David on Color Splash has more charm than any one person should be blessed with. I love him and his bold use of color and, most of all, his original artwork pieces.

But what happened to other shows that we loved so much?

Am I the only one who is just SICK of House Hunters and House Hunters International? It is rare to find anything that is worthwhile to watch these days.

But there IS hope.

There is Sarah. Her House. Her Cottage. Her REAL style and talent.

She is amazing. Don't get me wrong, I've been watching her for years. I loved Room Service on the Style Network and Design Inc what good (but a little too contemporary for my taste).

If you haven't seen this show. You gotta make a point to start watching it.

Get more details here.

I have started recording all the episodes. Watch for it on Friday and Saturday nights.

She is truly amazing. She incorporates old with new. She can do just about any style or color palette and make it simply fabulous. She shares her thoughts with us and her inspiration sources. She is a "can-do" person and you get the feeling she really did sand the floors herself, tromp through the mud and muck with the contractor, and put the antique bed frame together on the floor with Tommy (her wonderful partner--you'll just love him too).

I've probably gone on enough about my new guilty pleasure. I hope HGTV takes the popularity of the show and springboards into some similar shows that are actually something to look forward to again.

Do you see this master bedroom with the four poster bed? The quilt? She found that at an antique fair and literally decorated the entire room around it, never planning to have a yellow room before finding this teasure.

Now isn't that what all of us "amateur" self-proclaimed home decorators do?

Isn't that what sets us apart from many others? Aren't we the ones that lay in bed at night and think about what color we are going to paint the mud room, what circle shaped item we need for our mantlej, or what look for less we can achieve next?

Yep, that's us.

We applaud Sarah.

Just a few peeks at her genius..

She designed the headboard for this room...

this is the mud room in the farmhouse she re-did...that chest, that light fixture! Oh my.

this incredible cottage kitchen with the most wonderful little touches...

and here's Sarah with Tommy in front of the farmhouse she totally redesigned..

HGTV, we can't get enough of her!

The Music Of Our Lives

Ok...if you are a follower and you read my "About Me" you know I'm no spring chicken.... : )
I have developed a very eclectic taste in music over the years.

But this man stands out for me - Jackson Browne (yes, I did kind of name my son after him). You have to admit--he still looks pretty DARN GOOD.

His music speaks to my soul, always has and always will.

I've recently discovered Pandora and of course I have a Jackson station, among many others.

The music of your life...think about it. I don't think anything evokes a memory of a happy (or sad) time quite like music.

It's magical.

I finally updated my playlist today (It's long overdue).

I popped in a few Jackson songs and lots of others that just make me think of summer.

Here's to the music of our lives....

Hope you enjoy the new songs.

Summer Weekend Fun

I'm finding myself feeling "that summer feeling". Our weather has been beautiful and we are enjoying being outdoors, especially in the morning and the gorgeous evenings.

Yesterday we were invited to this stunning home that belongs to our neighbors. I thought I would take a few pictures to share the beauty of this home's exterior.

The beautiful balconies on both the front and back of the house are just spectacular. What a great space to entertain off their great room on the east side (shady side in the evening). They had roasted meat in the ground for 16 hours and it was so tender and delicious.


This is my son Jackson (on the left) and his buddy.
You gotta love their madras plaid shorts (Did they call ahead to ask what each other was wearing??? LOL).

This is the view of our house and guest cottage from our friend's property. It was fun to see it from this perspective.


Yep, we sure do live out in the country..

For entertainment, there was skeet shooting off the hillside...

Now if that isn't summer evening fun, what is????
Look at these beautiful flower hanging baskets adorning their posts in the backyard area...Aren't they to die for?

What a great evening...so glad they included us.

Oh...here's a couple things I found yard saling yesterday.

A very cool cake/cupcake taker...Haven't seen one like this for awhile..

and this wonderful headboard and foot board for only $10!

I'm planning to turn this into a garden bench....I've never done it before, but, hey, there's a first time for everything.

Of course I'll share it with you when it's complete.

I hope you are also "feeling the kid in you" and enjoying the summer pleasures. My favorites?

Haring a cup of coffee in the morning and sitting outside to look at the view.

Having a big bowl of fruit in season.

Watering my flowers in the morning and evening.

Sleeping in a little bit : )

It's all good.

Red & Apple Green - Not Just For Christmas

Those of you who have been following my blog for awhile know that I love the mostly neutral palette that I have used in my home...BUT, I do crave splashes of color.

Inspired by the cover of Country Living and the beautiful primitive red wood bowl I found at the consignment store above, I did my kitchen hutch with pops of red and apple green.

I painted some wood bowls in Apple Green from my favorite Rustoleum 2x coverage collection.

I picked up this cutie pie cow print at a yard sale for $1.00. I painted the frame barn red and just love the way he looks.

I found these wood pineapple bowls and a yard sale and really love them with a pop of red and my "faux pepper".

I'm loving this color for summer.

Hope you are having a great Friday and enjoying a bit of the lazy, hazy days of summer.

Had To Share This....

Check this out.

This GORGEOUS fish pllate looks like it was custom made for this cabinet above our refrigerator.

Where did I find it? On a trip to Italy? From an expensive kitchen catalog store? At a pricey antique show?

Nope.

I bid on this plate at a local thrift store auction.
I was the high bidder at $25!

Can you believe it? It is stamped made in Italy on the back and just the most interesting shape and it has no damage or chipping.

Our local thrift store does a "window auction" each month. They place items in the windo that are obviously "more than junk".
Each item is numbered. You can put your bid in a ballot type box. At the beginning of the new month they pull out the bids and contact the high bidder.

If you won, you can go to the store and inspect your item closely. Unlike Ebay, if you are not satisfied with it, you can turn it down with no consequence (bad feedback).

They give you 2 weeks to come in a pay If the high bidder doesn't show up within 2 weeks, they call the second bidder.
That's how I picked up this adorable vintage doll buggy. I was the second bidder.

Isn't this a great way for the charity to make money and for peple to have fun with the mini auction?

Does your thrift store do this?

Framing Up A Find

One thing I am always on the lookout for at yard sales is frames.

Frames are expensive and those old pieces of art that may not appeal to many anymore, sometime have fabulous frames.

This one was a dark gold. I painted it and added some aging to it with Rub n Buff.

Then I covered the actual art with cork board.

I did a pattern of twine across the board, added a few buttons and there you go!

A great bulletin board for your work space or family hub.

This is a great way to repurpose those old frames and give them a new life.

Hope your have a wonderful summer day today..

See you soon.

Summer Soap

Yesterday my daughter and I did something that I've been wanting to do for a long time....

We made soap!

I've been watching The Soap Queen videos and learning how to make basic soap. There are really well done and easy to follow.

First we chopped up our soap...

melted it in 30 second bursts in the microwave...

we made a layered swirl loaf using purple, pink, and white..

We sprinkled in some gold mica powder to give it a little more bling..

We poured 14 or 15 layers...

We used an essential oil for fragrance that is so yummy!

It's called Yuzu (a cybilla fragrance)....It is a wonderful fresh clean summer scent...I love it!

after letting the loaf harden overnight, I cut it into 8 pretty bars...

I shrink wrapped them with some plastic wrap, wrapped a burlap trim around them along with some twine and tucked in a cute little tage.

I will put the bars in our space..

This was such a fun and rewarding project.

We will definitely be trying more soap making techniques..

I hope you are enjoying these first days of summer...