Girl, Interrupted

Thunderstorms have interrupted my outdoor painting projects today but I did manage to finally hang my patio curtains before the thunder started only to discover this ...

Shrinkage!  I suppose its always a good idea to read the washing instructions before you actually wash items.  Oops!  They didn't all shrink, but luckily, they also weren't expensive and they give me a reason to go back to Ikea.

Check out my white floor though ... I love how its turning out.  I have quite a bit to do out there but good weather is coming so I'll be back in business tomorrow.

More Blue and Green

I mentioned in my previous post that I was going to search for a valance with blue and green that would tie the kitchen chairs in with the rest of the blue and green on the first floor.  How hard a task that has been!  My usual nemesis, brown, was everywhere, and I even found a few blue valances, but blue and green was elusive.  As luck would have it, I went to Sears to have portraits of my 4-year-old taken and decided to take a stroll through the curtains.  Jackpot!

Mr. T's reaction was that it looks like we've finally moved in.  (Please ignore the extra blue cushion on the chair.  That provides an extra boost for the tiny 2-year-old in residence.)

I was having such a hard time finding valances that I considered making some of the same fabric I used for my dining room chairs, but then I remembered that that fabric wasn't inexpensive ... and that the last thing I need is another project.  The fabric of the valances is nearly identical to what is on my dining room chairs.

The valances have some buttons that were nearly destined for removal, but they've gotten a reprieve for now.  I'm back to working on the list of projects earlier listed.  I don't think its possible for me to work on one thing at a time! 

Bistro Table and a Preview

So, I painted my bistro table Heirloom White.  When I took pictures of my completed shed, I realized that you can hardly see it.  Plus, the black paint was faded and chalky so it really needed a fresh coat anyway.

I think it looks better than before ...

I got a few recommendations to make it red and that would have looked great but I just wanted to keep it neutral so that it would work no matter where I moved it to and I wanted to accent the white in the plants particularly because this is a very shady spots and it can use the brightness.

I've been getting a lot accomplished lately and I'm taking advantage of the momentum. 

Projects I'm working on include:

~ Painting the second floor hallway a pale blue/grey. 

The yellow in my living room currently goes through our entry and up through the upstairs hall.  While I love it in my living room, its never seemed right in the hall.

~ Finishing up my younger daughter's room.

My strategy to crib transition with my girls has always been to wait as long as possible to make the transition easier and everything at home was fine but when we were in Maine, my poor little girl didn't have much room in her portable crib.  So, it was time.  Luckily, she is in love with her new bed.  I have one piece to paint and I'll be sharing her completed ... and ridiculously girly ... room.

~ Rearranging the Patio. 

The patio project includes making a bench from the sides of my daughter's crib.  Besides that, I have quite a bit to do here including a lot of painting. 

It really seems like summer is flying by and I feel like I'm being pulled into autumn.  I've been searching for patio items and despite the fact that its July, summer items are gone and back-to-school is already here.  Fall is my favorite season, but this year I'm actually enjoying the hot days and wish I could tell mother nature to slow down so I can spend a few more days in the sun. 

So that's what's to come.  Have a great week!

Delicious Doilies

Last week, I received the most generous gift from a reader ~ Judy from Texas.  Upon receiving them, I immediately put them on my dining room table.  I love them!

She said that years ago she was given 3 embroidered doilies as a gift from a neighbor. She was told that the neighbor's grandmother in India made them. 

They're really perfect with the yellow of my living room, blue of the dining room and bits of green in the kitchen and dining room. I also realized how great purple accents might look in my dining room thanks to these doilies.

Before sending these, she told me not to get too excited because they were nothing special.  Well, Judy, they're special to me and I love them.  Thank you so much for the beautiful gift!

Kitchen Color

Back in March, I painted my kitchen changing it from tan to cream.  If you followed my project you might remember how I desperately wanted green but I simply could not find paint that worked with the wood tone of the cabinets and the tan backsplash.  Here is the result ...

I love blue, but blue has taken over my life from what I choose for my home to what I wear.  I seriously need therapy for blue OCD so I'm really trying to make an effort to choose other colors.  I've always intended for the main accent colors in my house to be blue and green.  When the green paint failed, I thought of changing the kitchen chairs to green and several of you agreed.  So, here they are ...

I'm considering aging these a bit with stain, but I think I'm going to leave them for now.  Its supposed to be at or near 100 degrees here today and tomorrow and stain will be impossible to work with and will never dry.

I'm also considering a valance for over the kitchen sink and over the sliding door that has blue, white and green in it.  I think that would finally tie the entire first floor together.

Pretty Pies

When I was in Maine, everything was blueberries and lobsters.  I'm not a fan of lobster but I love blueberries.  My husband had to have some blueberry pie so he ordered it one day and I took a bite.  What a delicous miracle!  I'd never had it before ... I know, I'm clearly sheltered ... but what a delicious surprise it was especially with Maine wild blueberries.  So, I found frozen Maine wild blueberries and made a pie today.  The recipe I followed said to make a lattice crust for the top. 

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Next thing I knew, I was looking at all these really pretty pies ...

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This is great ... but, seriously, I really don't have time for that.

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I absolutely love this one!

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Patriotic pie!

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Mine isn't nearly as beautiful ...

... but I really made this pie for my wonderful husband who has been so supportive and understanding lately and I'm quite sure he couldn't care less what it looks like.  I haven't tried it yet, but remembering the bite I had in Maine, I think I may have some trouble resisting eating the entire thing!

Souvenirs

When I travel, I don't buy souvenirs like t-shirts or plastic key chains readily available in most tourist traps.  I try to find something a little different.

This switch plate, for example, was from our honeymoon in Puerto Rico ...

Its a little imperfect and doesn't hang straight but its in our kitchen and every so often, I'll look at it and remember walking on the blue cobblestone streets of Old San Juan and finding this in a little shop the same day we had a fantastic meal in a restaurant with an open air courtyard.  What a beautiful place. 

The botanical prints on my living room wall ...

Souvenir note cards from my trip to Monticello a few years ago when pre-kids we traveled in a roundabout way to West Virginia to whitewater raft a treacherous river.

My most recent acquisition is this little teapot set.

We stopped at a little store on our trip to Vermont and while the typical tourist kitsch was in abundance, there were several of these little tea pots there.  I have always wanted one of these so I decided to buy one.  There was a beautiful one that I loved which had delicate flowers on it, but I ended up choosing this one instead.  Why?

Even though we were in Vermont, the state bird of Virginia (where we live) is the Cardinal.  The more I looked at it, the more it grew on me.  I thought of Virginia and how I've had such a life here.  Virginia has given me a great career, the love of my life, a house I've grown to appreciate (even if it isn't my dream home) and both of my girls were born here.  When people ask where I'm from, my first reaction is to answer New York which is where I grew up and will always be where my roots are but Virginia has a special place in my heart no matter where I end up.  Such deep thoughts for someone on vacation ... but I thought of all this as I perused the tea pots in front of me and of how often I see those Cardinals in my yard. 

Sold.

Interestingly enough when I got it home and unpacked it I realized that, like the switch plate, it's slightly imperfect and the teapot does not nest perfectly on the cup.  Just like so many others out there, I try to find value in items that people would consider flawed.  It adds character, right?  It seems the little teapot was destined to be mine.