Butterfly Tray

I  Love Butterflies and Trays……A Lot

Hello Bloggy Friends, I am a huge collector of trays….it is hard for me to pass them up and since I have a lot of them, from years of collecting, I thought I would share some from time to time.

The colors in this particular one just make my heart sing.

I put it in our hall bathroom and leaned it against the wall. Actually, this tray is quite heavy and tends to slide down if I don’t prop it up with something. ;-)

I hope you have a wonderful day. It is raining a lot but we need it in our area. Stay cool.

Thanks so much for your visit.

Barb

A Decorating Craze

Beaded Decorative Garlands

Do you ever get into decorating spells? I do.

Right now, my new passion would be decorative beaded garlands. Good grief, I can’t get enough of them, in all colors…especially the creams and pales.

  This is the centerpiece on my Family Room table…..we use this table for casual dining and playing games with friends. It is also used as a table for family projects….a very busy place, indeed. :-)

The garland beading gives it the exact ‘light touch’ I am looking for.

It is raining today and I love hearing the soft sounds on the skylight in my Studio. I’m making a peach cobbler for dinner along with baked pork chops….time to get busy. Peach cobbler is my hubby’s favorite dessert and I can’t wait to see the smile on his face when he walks through the door.

Barb

 

Our Shabby Chic Bed

Loving the Beautiful Whites

Hi Friends, several weeks ago, I changed our master bedroom from rich and intense colors to whites and pale, soft colors. I also changed the wall color from a shell pink to a cottage white, which I adore.

I was amazed at how much I loved it…..I felt as though I could breathe again. I purchased some of the Rachel Ashwell bed items from Target and pillows from Home Goods. Of course, the comforter and pillow shams were wrinkled and I told myself they would just have to wait to be ironed. I have too many other things to do. You understand, right? Ha.

As the days passed, with no ironing, I found that I loved (!) those wrinkles. I think this is absolutely amazing since I am the most structured person you will ever meet. I want everything perfect all the time and kill myself to get it that way. Yikes….wrinkles. Yes, wrinkles……I love them. I think they are ‘me.’ My husband thinks I am going off the deep end. (wink)

This room is soooo different than the way it was before. I am mind-boggled but so happy with it. I think it is good to change, don’t you?

I might add that I am very blessed to have a husband that goes along with my decorating and mood changes.  I love our bedroom….it is soft, sweet, warm and wrinkled….ha.

Thanks so much for stopping in today.

Barb

 

 

Dining Room

Such a Calm Space in Our Cottage

The dining room has the least amount of color in our home. It is larger than it appears because the chairs I have chosen are bigger than the average dining chair. I have specifically  chosen to keep it subdued and understated as I like my tablescapes AND my food to take ‘center stage’ when I am entertaining. 

Since we rarely use this room… as we have a full dining table in our family room and  a dining table on the sun porch, (also a kitchen table), we have considered remaking it into something else…don’t know what.  I am glad we have chosen to leave it as it is. There is something so calming about this space. I particularly love the round table…we can add chairs for more people as this round table could easily sit six and up to eight people. There is nothing like a round table for conversation….it is, by far, my favorite kind of dining table.

The space is filled to the brim with natural light which I love. Dining in this room is always cheerful.

Barb  

 

Mantel Vignette

Going to the Dogs and Loving It

Hello Friends, I couldn’t resist that sub-title. Just a bit of humor. :-)

My husband gave me this set of dogs for our living room mantel for my birthday. I have had my eye on them for a while. They just make me smile with delight. I am a dog lover and they look so peaceful and sweet.

It is hotter than blazes in Florida but the humidity is the thing I struggle with the most. Awful! How is your weather? Are you getting ready for the 4th of July? Ron and I are digging out our little flags, big flags, decorative things and lights for the back porch. Yep, we love to decorate for the seasons; just so festive.

I can already smell the hamburgers on the grill……yay!

Have a wonderful day.

Barb

The Keys to Life

God’s Grace

Faye, my friend for a long time….my mentor. A true angel and a messenger from God. She passed away last August 2010.

On Sundays, I will post things that she taught me that changed my life. I met Faye during a particularly difficult time in my life and I am convinced God sent her to me. We were close friends (more like mother and daughter) for over thirty years…a time I will always cherish.

The most important and life changing key Faye gave to me was about God’s grace.

Take each day as it comes….God gives us grace for 24 hours and then He gives us grace for the next day. Try not to take on tomorrow’s problems. Hard to do….but if we are aware of this thought, it is surprising how much more grace we feel.

Try it.

Hoping your Sunday is totally blessed.

Barb

Time for the Weekend

A Little Work…A Little Fun

Hello Friends, time for another weekend….can you believe it? Where does the time go? I ask myself that question a lot these days. ;-)

When I saw this picture, I thought to myself….oh no, the bottom three books are upside down. They are antique books and they are right side up….guess they did things a bit differently way back then. **wink**

I hope you are doing something fun this weekend. My husband and I have promised ourselves to try and relax a bit  and not work all the time. We are rebuilding our dock and boat house and it is a major job that just goes on and on. Okay….I will try not to complain. Ha…ha.

Have a wonderful and safe weekend. Thanks for stopping in….

Barb

White ~ Simple and Beautiful

So Calming…I Love It

Hello Bloggy Friends, I hope you all are doing well.

A few weeks ago, I redid my kitchen china cabinet in white…or mostly white. I am just loving it. It is so calm and serene; just makes me smile each time I look at it.

I found this little pitcher in Home Goods. It is totally ‘me.’ Love!

The little pink cups behind the white bowls are Pink Milk Glass. They work so beautifully with all the whites.

  This isn’t in the china cabinet but thought I would show you, anyway. :-)

If you read my blog, you already know I am crazy for white pitchers. I have them everywhere and like books, they are taking over. Ha.

  I finally managed to find some drinking glasses I like to replace the other glass ones I have. I seem to have the hardest time finding really pretty glasses. When you live on the lake, everyone is more prone to drink from plastic when they are outside, for safety reasons, and plastic is just not my thing. My husband keeps telling me to ‘ease up.’ I’m trying. ;-)

Thanks so much for stopping by…..have a great day!

Barb

Entry Hall

Trying for a Different Look

The foyer in our dear old cottage is tiny…as in little. ;-)

I am always looking for ways to make it interesting and inviting to us and the people who enter our home.

We found this chest in Kirkland’s Home and it is perfect for this small area. It is narrow with a lot of drawers for storage and the color works perfectly with the living room. The color is sort of a blue and a green depending on the light in the room. I love it.

I found some matching color accessories in Hobby Lobby. We just got a Hobby Lobby in our area (which is huge) and now, we don’t have to drive two hours to one anymore. Yay!! That could be a bad thing….when you think about it. Ha.

Have a wonderful day.

Barb

Wreaths and Candles

Sweet Additions to the Mantel

Hello, Bloggy Friends, yesterday, I found the sweetest wreath for my family room. It was exactly in the colors I wanted and had the light and airy feeling that I was looking for. The colors are so soft and inviting.

I also found this beautiful candleholder with chippy spots. My husband can’t understand why I would want to purchase an item with paint missing. Ha.

I am crazy for candleholders and candles and can’t get enough of them.

Of course, I had to add a little bird…there is a set of them on the mantel. Bird sets are everywhere in our cottage. They make me happy and always bring a smile to my face. The tray was purchased sometime ago to add to my growing tray collection. I totally love them!

I hope you are having a blessed Sunday.

Barb

Happy Weekend

Hope It Is a Relaxing Time For You

I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing weekend.

I have received a number of emails asking why my blog is comment free.

It is really simple….I do not have the computer time that I used to. This is  my own choosing. I have a lot of things to do and get done and I can’t spend hours at the keyboard.  Not returning comments bothers me…so this is the solution for me at this time. Hopefully, I will return to taking comments in the future…when I have more time AFTER I get the things done I want to do. Life is sweeping past all of us….we just don’t realize it. :-)

Please remember, your emails are always welcome. Thank you for your visits…they are appreciated.

Happy weekend!

Barb

Torn Between Two Loves

Always in a Constant and Fun….Yes, Fun Battle

I am torn between two loves….always in a battleground.

The two loves are colors and whites. Bet you didn’t guess that, huh? ;-)

I love color but as I age….and only slightly, because I refuse to age any other way, I find that I love softer and softer colors. My love of intense colorations seems to be flying out the window. This amuses me and makes me kind of nervous since red has been a lifelong favorite color for me. I am an ‘all or nothing’ person and red is flying out of my house so fast….it makes my head spin. (Also, the head of my husband.) Ha. The den remains in red….in all its glory to the great satisfaction of my guy who has always allowed me to decorate any way I please. God bless him.

I am drawn to the ‘white blogs’ like a moth to a flame. White seems to soothe my spirit and blanket me in a serene feeling. Yet, even as I have redone our bedroom in white, I still find myself trying to inject some color into this room. Am I hopeless?  I am laughing at myself and all the while, find that I am frustrated with myself. I can decorate for others and give lots of advice…..but I can’t do a thing for myself. I like it all……..I have trouble NOT liking it all.

I will say it again……….I like it all. :-)

Hope you are having a colorful and peace filled white day. *Wink*

Barb