Sunday, September 29, 2013

House Tour Favorite Part 2


Here's part 2 of my favorite house on our local tour of homes.

Judging by the comments, most people love that dining room light as much as I do! 

We left off in the kitchen...


The kitchen had a great walk-in pantry.




Everything was organized and labeled.
Love the baskets with chalkboard tags
of course.
 

And the decorator obviously shares my
love of free-standing plate racks!
 



That's Wild Bill's hand ready to do
a "Vanna White" presentation of
the built-in ice maker.
 

The man taunted me by pointing out the
ice maker. He knows I want one badly!
 

The master bathroom had a walk-in shower with no doors. Another thing high on my "perfect house" list. Have I mentioned how I hate
cleaning glass shower doors?
 



Outside the master bedroom was a built-in shelving/storage unit.


Here's a peak at what everyone in the living room was going out the door to see...the patio.
 
The house is newly built and for sale,
so no trees or landscaping yet
except for grass.


This is just a small part of the patio. That's a flat-screen TV over the fireplace. The floor is stamped and stained concrete.

I'm glad you stopped by and want you to know I love reading your comments! Hope your Sunday was cooler like ours today. Yay Fall!

I'm sharing at the following:

http://missmustardseed.com

http://www.dwellings-theheartofyourhome.com

http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com

http://www.frommyfrontporchtoyours.com




Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Tour Of Homes Favorite House


We did a tour of new homes last week. This was my favorite house and here's the reason why...




 It was love at first sight for me and that dining room!

 


 
Really love those lights and the blue/green in the kitchen too.



Love all the different colored cabinets...white, blue/green, natural wood, tan. I could've moved in right there and then.



That's my 90 year old father-in-law feeling up the granite. He's my partner when it comes to touring houses. He loves to see the "high-dollar" ones as much as I do!


I'll be back with part two soon as there are too many pictures for one post. Here's a sneak peek at the stairway going up to the bonus room.

 
 
 
Sharing at the following parties:
 
 
 
 
 
 

 


Wednesday, September 18, 2013

The Boatmen


There were many stories of bravery and determination on 9/11/2001. Here's one that touches my heart and makes me proud to be a fellow American to these "Boatmen" of New York.


I hope you will take a moment to view this short video narrated by Tom Hanks. I discovered it on another blog, so to give that blog the credit, I've just linked to their post:


http://pigtown-design.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-911-story.html






Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Vintage Plate Rack Up-Grade


Let's talk plate racks. Yeah, I love them!

I've found it's cheaper to buy vintage ones
and fix them up. This one was just $12.
I bought it at a junk shop in town.
 

It was gold when I bought it.

I didn't care how bad the finish looked
because I planned to paint it with some
leftover ASCP in Paris Gray.



 
Ummm, I didn't care for it in gray...

 
It seemed too pale, especially
for the Fall season coming up.
 
Then I thought about the Amy Howard
One-Step Paint, which I had
purchased recently.


I purchased it in black to paint a piece of
furniture. I really loved the finish on the
sample I saw in the shop selling the paint.


So I painted the plate rack,
and a few other things, to test it out.


The finish seems smoother and more
chalky than the other chalk paints.
 
While I was at it, I painted the little
chalkboard that the pig holds. 


I went back to the store recently and
bought some more of Amy Howard's
paint in both a creamy white and a gray.
 
The shop owner told me Amy Howard's
paint has been around for decades.
The paint formulas were based on the
paint found on old European furniture.
 
The opinions expressed here are my own.
I received no compensation...not even
free paint! I just really love this paint.
 

Joining the following...
http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/
http://elizabethandco.blogspot.com

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Livvie Lu And The 75-Cent Dress


 
Remember the 75-cent dress I bought at a 
yard sale for little Livvie Lu to wear?
 
 
Her mama finally posted pictures
of her wearing it.

 
Livvie turned 6 months old yesterday.
 
Even at that age, she likes feeling
the tulle on her dress and being
"dressed up"



Funny how a dress makes even the
youngest little lady perk right up.
 


 

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Pottery Barn Desk Chair Knock Off


I love the white Pottery Barn desk chair,
 
but $360 for one with arms...
 
Too much for me!
 
 
Here's one I painted white:
 
 

A while back, I saw an old wood chair
on Craig's List for $35.
 
Of course I forgot to take a "before" picture
until after I started painting.

 




 

The wood was rough and dried out.
I kind of thought I wasted $35.
(Wild Bill knew "fer sure" I did)
 
I made some homemade chalk paint using
Behr's Paint & Primer in
Swiss Coffee.
 




Here's another picture of the final result.
  
It's a little shorter than Pottery Barn's
 version, but it was only $35 compared to $360.
  


 
 
I'm happy with it.
 
Thanks for stopping by!
 
 
Sharing this week at the following party:
 
 
 
 
 
 


Sunday, September 1, 2013

Fixin' Up The Breakfast Nook


We're starting to make progress on the breakfast nook.
 
Someday we'll build in a bench on this wall,
but for now it holds a large mirror and
a cabinet with baskets.
 
The baskets are from Target.
The cabinet looks so much better with the baskets.


First we put the mirror on the wall.
I don't know what we did wrong with the measurements,
but the hangers show at the top.


We (and I really mean me) are planning to paint
the room, so we didn't bother to re-hang it for now 
since it will come back down real soon.
 

 
I had a really old floral hanging piece in the closet...
for now it's hiding the hangers that hold the mirror.


 When I say old, I'm not kidding. I bought it in '91.

I'm sure at least one of my three daughters
will email to let me know the 1990's called 
and want my decorations back!



My mother had the cabinet on her porch
trying to find it a home. 
 
It belonged to my youngest sister who died
on St Paddy's Day 2010.
 
I think it brought my mother sorrow 
when she looked at it.  
That's probably why it was on her porch.
 
She asked me several times to take it,
but my heart wasn't in it either.
 
Finally, when she said no one else in the family would
take it and she was going to donate it,
it came home with us.  



 The old "to paint or not to paint" debate
rages in my head.
 
At the least, it needs to be refinished and re-stained.
 
I'll  put that on my list as soon as my head
makes a decision.
 
Right now, my heart's not in to changing it...


Here's the window that needs drapes,
or maybe chunky trim with
a window treatment on the top.
 



 
I know you've seen these birds before.
 I love them.
 
Expect to see them again.

 
 
Seems the more we do, the more there is to do.
 
September is finally here. A time for renewal.
 
Thanks for stopping by!