Geraniums on a Chair

Okay...How's This?

Oh! What a fabulously bright idea to rid the room of those green curtains.

I'd forgotten just how wonderful it is to let light flood a room!

I also like how the lacy curtains puddle just a tiny bit on the floor.

Sadly, I've only the one pair.

Give me a day or two. I'll find something, somewhere.

Blue, Blue, My Guest Room Is Blue...

This is the view of the guest room from the door way.

This dresser is now a changing table for those guests who require changing.

To the left of the changing table is an old cedar chest that I have under the window, hoping to use it as a 'window seat'.

Presently it is padded with an old white packing quilt and covered in a table cloth.

Note how it is not 'pictured'.

It still needs some work.


Although I must say, it is rather comfortable!

I'm sitting on it to take this picture.

I pulled the color blue from the water in this Mary Cassatt print.

The blue also matched the other beach picture, which looks so much like Jonge that it is uncanny.

Also not pictured is my writing desk. For some reason, it just would not cooperate. But, this room certainly does feel like a nice place to sit and write. Or, at least, sit and THINK about writing.

(i am still VERY unsure of those mossy green curtains...VERY unsure...)

The Sea Shore Room

I wanted to have a blue guest room.

I love the Mary Cassatt picture, so picked out the lightest blue from the water.

IF I can find a quilt (that i already have) with this shade of blue and the tan of the sand (which is also the carpet color) AND the mossy shade of green like the curtains, I will keep the curtains.

If I can't find something to pull in the green, it will have to go.

Actually, in the day light, the blue is rather pale and the green much more transparent.

But, I think I can make it work.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

Arghhhh...

I will most likely be messing around with this cabinet until the end of time.

I really like enamel ware. So, I first loaded up the cabinet with that.

But then, WAIT! What to do with the tins, salt shakers, Dutch people and old lunch pails?

Oh.., difficult decisions abound in my crazy little world.

Corner Cupboard

The kitchen will most likely be the LAST room we do.

So, I've been fusing around with this corner built in.

The hardest part of moving into a house that has been well maintained, is that my chippy, rippy and cheap finds look oddly out of place.

I suppose after we are here awhile, we will bang things up and everything will look at home.

Until then...

Oh, the bottom shelf is waiting for some stuff that hasn't surfaced yet. In the mean time, I'm putting odd things that fit nowhere else there.

The plain was to paint the kitchen yellow.

I've changed my mind. It will be a golden wheat color.

One never knows how many shades of yellow there are until one tries to pick out the 'perfect yellow' only to find that there isn't one!

Soon...

Ah, yes. Soon, this will feel like home.

Until then, I thought I would just label it 'HOME' and see if that helps.

I wasn't quite sure where I wanted to put my Norman Rockwell Mother's Day plates.

I'm not a plate fan, but I do like these. Especially the grandmotherly ones.

I have two more, thanks to the 50% off sale at our favorite thrift store.

Those just may have to go on top.

THGGM hung the Carl Larsson in the bedroom also. I like it there.

We're Moving In!

Into our bedroom, that is.

We've been here two weeks.

THGGM has been working like a slave to get everything all set.

He has been painting, painting some more, ripping up carpet, hanging pictures, delivering dressers and moving furniture.

Finally, tonight, we will 'move in' to our bedroom.

We are not sure about the yellow.

What we were looking for was a 'golden brown mustard' color. This is YELLOW.

I happen to like it very much, but I am sensing that THGGM has plans to deepen and darken the yellow part as soon as he gathers some strength.

We'll see...

The Breeze Way

This is the entry way into the house. It has entry doors from the side street and back yard and a door from the garage and one into the kitchen. If that isn't enough doors for you - it also has the stairway to the basement with a small door at the top of the steps and another door at the bottom.

In between all those doors there is room for furniture! Since it looks like it would be difficult to hang THGGM's porch swing, he is happily relaxing (although not very often) on the porch love seat.

The windows are amazing!

At first I thought it would seem awfully dark out there, but with two complete walls of louvered windows and all the white chippy furniture, it has a rather happy look to it.

In this picture you see the door to the garage and the door to the back yard.

I haven't yet filled the white cupboard with what I REALLY want in there yet, but when I do I'll be sure to post pictures.

There are also two small end tables with bottom book shelves that I have many of my cookbooks on.

This just seems like the perfect place for me to sit, and rock, and look at pictures of food I might make when I get my stove connected!

THGGM found this perfect daisy growing in the lawn.

He brought it in to me.

It's my little bit of beauty amongst all the boxes.

Oh, how in need I am of a little bid of beauty!

Not sure which I needed more, the flower, or the thought that he knew I needed it.

Canister Lid-Scarves

I almost forgot that I have these embroidered napkins with tatted edges!

I tucked them into the handles of the lids to my canisters.

Not so sure how long that will last, but I do like the look!

Cutter Topped Bottles

I found this idea in a magazine. Although I didn't do it quite like they did. I left the 'cut-out' part in the cutter, and set that right into the bottle.





I am very happy with how they turned out!

Amazing View Out the Living Room Window

Certainly I cannot be the only person who finds it truly amazing that EVERY night the sun goes down and EVERY morning it comes up again.

Some nights it is a spectacular sight. Tonight was one of those nights.

Good Stuff

I found this beautiful 'pin dish' at an antique mall today.

I've got pins, and now I have a place to put them!

I also found this recipe box FULL of hand written recipes!

And to think that I didn't even know that I needed one.

Moving Right Along...

Um. Okay.

We moved the loveseat into the living room.

I liked it in the den, but it matches better in the living room than the loveseat that we had in there.

And, amazingly, the other loveseat looks pretty good in the den.

So, we changed around a lot of things.

And bought another lamp at the thrift store. Can't have too many lamps.

Nope.

Cute Little Yellow Bunny

I found the cute little bunny and egg planter at an antique mall today.

It fits right in with the yellow stuff in the bathroom, and I just happened to find the same flowers that are in the picture to pop into it!

Oh, how I LOVE when things work out like that.

Makes me feel special.

Love Seats

Saturday THGGM walked into our favorite thrift store and saw this love seat. It had a 'hold' tag on it.

Because the price was SO incredible he asked if it was possible to put his name on it if the 'hold' fell through.

I think Son-in-law is really beginning to regret owning a pick-up truck.

Anyway, I can see that the curtains will have to go, but they would go anyway when the air-conditioner goes into that window. I certainly do not see THAT happening this week.

Spring Decorating

I've never been a fan of turquoise and brown, but it really worked for the bunny and chick!

Then, I found some old beads and made a funky looking button bouquet. The pastel button bouquet came out pretty. I wanted the bunny to actually HOLD the bouquets, but it makes her tip over. I guess I will have shoot some lead into her tail.

Then, I found the "Little Pillows" book. A friend of mine from church gave it to me years ago. I love it. It was written by Frances Ridgely Havergal. For some reason, Baby Boy is very attached to this book. He likes to point at the words and follow them with his finger.

Spring Sprang Sprung

Teeny tiny white flowers have appeared all over the backyard.

They are really pretty!

Spring Is Here.

We've been anxiously awaiting Spring.

I opened my front door this morning, and Spring greeted me with rain.

Snow still lays in piles where the sun doesn't shine, and even where it does.

I opened the door, and welcomed her anyway.

Baby Ware

Today I added a new child's cup to my small but well-loved collection!

I like it. It has a certain charm to it.

Now I feel compelled to get out my baby bottle collection again. Baby Boy is getting so big, but there is a new little one on the way, and we must anticipate the arrival with much excitement!

My Favorite Shade of Blue

Today while out thrift shopping I found a little enamal ware covered pan in the shade of blue that I absolutely LOVE.

I'm not sure if it is old or just a part of someone's discarded camping gear, but it blends in nicely with the things on the shelf on the back porch!

Oooo. I LIKE This Very Much!

THGGM has gone and done it again.

While I single mindedly shop at Michaels Craft Store, he pops in and out of Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond, Marshalls and some electronic store from which our new DVD player came from.

He had a Bed Bath and Beyond coupon (he has tons of these) and with it he found a single panel curtain.

I sort of threw it over this chair we found years ago at an antique mall for $15.00.

I LOVE this! You know, I don't think I will ever actually reupholster anything, or even make a slip cover. I'm just happy to fling things over my old junky furniture and sit back and smile...

Tweaking the Guest Room

The lamp shade THGGM found at a thrift store works great on the lamp he found at a different time.

Oldest Son and Daughter-in-law are coming for a long weekend.

I hope they feel comfortable in this room.

Remember, I only show the good parts.

The sun shown very brightly in here this morning, but I still could not get a good shot of the room.

I moved in my Mary Cassett print that I love so much.

Of course, that meant that I had to bring in all my other seashore memorabilia.

Then, I thought my four tier plate stand would work, so I drug that up too.

I think I like it.

The Tiniest Room Ever

The tiny upstairs bedroom is empty again.

These curtains were found at a thrift store, and work like they were tailor made for this room.
THGGM found the bed a few years back at a garage sale in the neighborhood. It has a nice Grand Rapids Furniture label on it.

The bedding came from a garage sale our church youth group held a few years ago.

I'm hoping that it won't be long before Baby Boy can sleep in this bed for nap time at Beppe's.

THGGM bought new shelves for the tiny closet, which cannot hold hangers, except on an angle. The blue-prints we found in the house label this room as a 'sewing room'.

I think I'll be loading up the book shelves (again!) with children's books and a few quiet toys.

But, until I decide FOR SURE, I'm leaving it empty.

Judy Bears All

THGGM painted the cupboard doors Saturday so they would be all done for my mom's 80th birthday party on Sunday.

He even bought new hinges.

But, when he went to put them up late Saturday night, he realized that he had purchased the wrong hinges.

So, this is what my kitchen looked like, until this afternoon.

Oh, well.

He rearranged my cupboards while he was at it, so it was kind of nice to actually SEE where everything is now.

No one seemed bothered by this except for me. An open cupboard door I MUST shut! I nearly went insane, swatting at invisible doors.

LOOK!

I have a new counter top!

Actually, it isn't new at all. I had the two cupboard units and the counter top up in my art room.

While I spent the blizzard weekend putting hundreds of things into and onto this I got to thinking about how I could really use more counter space in the kitchen.

Well. THAT weekend was a total waste, because the next weekend I emptied it out and THGGM painted it white, and...well...I just LOVE it!

He ordered hardware from an e-Bay store to match what is on the existing cupboards. We also plan to do some moving around of the stuff on the walls. And, quite possibly that tall white cabnette will go into my art room. Which, I'm sad to report, is a mess again.

Oh well. That's progress for you.