Just a Little Story and More Romantic Rooms

We were burglarized twice when we lived in California. The first time we were gone and the burglar broke in and took the usual items he could get—television, tools, microwave. We didn't keep money in the house so he was out there.

But the second time we walked in on them. Love Bunny hit the first one in the head with a mug but still managed to run away and chased the second one down the street and preceded to try and kill him. ;-) Not really, but he hurt him severely. (You do NOT, and I mean NOT EVER, want to mess with a Marine, especially one who ran marathons!) And I identified the first one from a lineup in Alameda with a trip down the Nimitz Freeway in the back of a cop car going 100 MPH. I was clutching hubs' hand so hard he was in pain. I hate high speeds.

Anyway, it went to trial. Let me just say here real trials are NOT like they are on television. They are as boring as watching crops grow, except for grapes, which actually grow inches in a day. Trials seem to take years when you're a witness.

So we went to the Oakland Court House and were put in a room with no books (you'd better bring your own reading material) and 2 wood chairs. I sat there while the other witness, hubby, testified and he sat there while I'm testified. Boring!!!

When I was on the stand the defense attorney tried to trick me into contradicting myself by asking the same question over and over again in several different ways. At one point, I turned to the judge, a very patient, kind black man, and said, "Judge, he's asked me that already several times!" He smiled and just said to answer the question again. I then knew why it takes so long to get justice. After all that, before the jury even decided on a verdict, the two men pleaded guilty. I mean, I saw them and knew with no doubt whatsoever they were the ones. I guess they just wanted to stay out of jail a bit longer. Such is our justice system, which is better than any in the world, but still lacking.
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Okay, time to look at more beautiful rooms, cute vignettes and just all-around pretty things for a while.

This is a room I could quite easily live in. Love the arrangement of the sofas. If I had enough room I'd have 2 sofas facing each other. Oh, yesssss, I would!

Seeing colorful wash on the lines just makes me feel good. I remember hanging my daughter's and son's diapers on the line and then just sitting in the cool California grass with neighbors chatting while the laundry dried. No dryers for us in those days.

I saw this cute clock and tried to purchase one but they were all sold out.

A dream in white.

This almost looks pink, but it's the hue of the wood I think that gives it that pink glow.

I saw these on a woman's website and thought they were adorable. Unfortunately, she lives in another country and I couldn't understand how much they were but I may try and make one for myself. This woman is waaaaay talented!

Another darling kitchen in red and white.

This dining room is one I would love to have but those wicker chairs would have me falling all over the place trying to get in and out of them at the table. I do love this room though.

Yes, I know. It looks like it's somewhere in France or Italy and you want it. Trust me, you really wouldn't want to live in another country. I have a friend of a friend who is now living in England on a mission for our church. We skyped so we could talk about our genealogy programs. She enlightened me to some things about England. It seems they are taxed to death. Carol said it's easier to take a bus 2 miles than it is to drive the 2 miles. The gasoline is out-of-sight expensive. They also have to pay 200 pounds a year for a license just to watch television. That equates to $317.00 at the current exchange rate. That's a year. In addition to the other costs associated with watching television like electricity. Carol was telling me everything is so much higher than here. Homes and apartments are much smaller. They have a 2 bedroom apartment and it's terribly small. We won't even talk about the food. Or the fact that it's dark at 4:30 PM in the winter.

Another creative idea for cabinets and storage in the kitchen—tie on curtains.

Yeah, yeah, I know. But just think of the upkeep and humidity and bird droppings you'd have to clean up. ;-)

Just makes ya wanna smile, huh? :-)

Hubs and I were only yesterday talking about new pillow cases. He wants me to make some; I want to be lazy and buy some. After seeing these, I think I'll make some as cute as these.

My daughter had wisteria on an arbor several years ago. It took the arbor out of the ground. Wisteria is quite strong and can rot wood if left on there for a number of years. Actually, any window box made of wood can rot and cause rot on the house and termites can then get in your house. When we bought our first house, the inspector told us to take it off because of that and we certainly did. Our neighbors got termites but we never did.

We are always on the anvil; by trials God is shaping us for higher things.
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A Tip on Posting Blogs

I don't know about anyone else but I spend a fair amount of time on each post. I first add the photos, but I generally wait until something strikes me before I add the text for my posts. I'm very picky about what I blog about. I'm also very, very picky about how my blog appears to people. I want everything just so. I may let it just sit for a few days and sometimes weeks before I publish it. Here's how I do it and if it helps any of you then I'm happy to be of assistance.

I've noticed so many as I'm perusing Google Reader where there are huge gaps between the photos. That's because of people using the New editor on blogger. I would show you but I don't want to embarrass the bloggers who do it. The old editor is much more stable when writing your blog. So, I use the OLD editor.

As I said above, I put all the photos in first and then go back and add any text I might want. Sometimes I'm lazy and don't add much but sometimes I feel like being loquacious. But then I always, and I mean always, go back and check everything several times for typos. However, I still will find a typo even after all that. It can be frustrating sometimes. And I always, always put the text above the photo. I am nothing if not consistent! And the same amount of space between each photo and/or text.

But the very first thing I do is go to the Post Options and put in the last day of the year—12/31/2012 for this year. But if I'm posting in the latter part of this year, I'll put in 12/31/2013. Why? Because I've published a post before I wanted to publish it and once it's published, it's published. I learned that lesson early on when I clicked Publish Post when I meant to click Post Options inadvertently. Nothing like publishing a post meant for a holiday 3 months earlier than I meant to publish it. Generally, the last thing I do is give it a title.

I like Swedish colors and design but it's far from my favorite. It is a pretty design but too minimalistic for my tastes.

Come. Walk with me through this doorway and into a garden. That seems to be what the door is saying.

I absolutely love this effect. I wish I had stairs so I could do it, but maybe I could do it along a walkway or the back yard patio.

Enticing entryway.

I think this could be done for any day of the year, not just Christmas. It's delightful when you use just any kind of white or silver garland with everyday things.

This is a green and fuchsia crewel rug I am thinking of buying at World Market. I'm just not sure if it's feasible as it will be used in my kitchen. It's dry cleanable only. See what I mean. Oooh, my dilemmas. See what I mean. ;-)

What an elegant way to set a party table. You could do this with ribbon or scraps of torn fabrics. I love the look.

See, your laundry room doesn't have to be drab at all. This is quite adorable and very French looking.

This is my laundry room and different from any other in the state of Idaho I'm sure. ;-) I absolutely love going into this room. It's a walk-through from our garage into our hallway.

Charming chair in a charming vignette.

Charming stroll along these paths.

This is a striking example of what small dashes of color can do for a room.

Craft room we all would love to have ours look like.

I never make the mistake of arguing with people for whose opinions I have no respect. This is absolutely true.
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Thanks for Bringing Sexy BACK?!

I am linking up with Cielo at House in the Roses. Go there to view the other participants for Show Off Your Cottage Monday.

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A few weeks ago when Fashion Week in New York was happening, I saw one woman's comment on one designer's line. The comment was: Thank heaven sexy is back. I was floored by that remark, especially when I saw that designer's line by clicking on her website. The designer was Tory Burch if you care to go look at her designs. They were gorgeous and modest! All the dresses came to the knee and were just utterly feminine and classy. So tell me, what did sexy have to do with it?! I thought the newer definition of sexy was to have it all hanging out there for everyone to see and the more hanging out the better. No mystique for the men anymore. The informal definition of sexy can be exciting and/or appealing, and I think that's what the commenter must have meant because the design line was exciting and appealing.

I'm like a lot of people I know who are fed up with the attire of today of most teenagers, mothers and even grandmothers. I redesigned my wardrobe about 20 years ago but I didn't have to redesign it much because I was, and am by nature, a modest person. Sure, I wore mini skirts, but the other day we were visiting with a couple when we were talking about my wardrobe of the late 60s and 70s, my hubby said something about my skirts being very short and I just about fell off my chair! Au contraire, Love Bunny! Luckily, I had my iPod with me and a picture of me in what he described as mini. Here's a photo of it. Now, this is the photo he was talking about so I proved him wrong. I did, however, have a few skirts that were a tad shorter than this, but not anywhere near what you see today. So don't ever let me hear I was immodest. Big hair, yes; immodest, never!
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Rant over. Let's visit some absolutely delightful and darling photos of gorgeous rooms and ideas.

Cute, cozy, small and homey.

I think this kitchen is just warm and cozy and loved it.

Now, I've seen these slipcovers for sale and they're pretty cheap but look how cute they are on this sofa and really just make this room adorable.

Pink holder and blue pencils and scissors always did go together, right? ;-)

This looks to me like an English kitchen. Look how the lighting is put in. I'm wondering if it would even pass code in most states.

I have decorated some of these papier machê letters. I love doing them and placing them around the house in different areas.

Here are some in my laundry room I did. And for those of you who have never visited my blog before, yes, my walls are pink. That is not a camera malfunction; all the walls in my house are pink except for Love Bunny's office and it's a beautiful pale blue/green.

Charming shabby vignette of different feminine articles.


A few days ago I was cleaning out my closet here in my office. I cannot tell you how much of it I am donating to a thrift store but I kept several things. One of them was a clipboard and am I glad I did. I'm going to set my craft room back up after clearing it out for my granddaughter and her hubby and my great granddaughter when they visited here last summer. (Yes, last summer!) I want to get back to crafting once again. I've missed it. I have more ideas in my mind and one idea involves this clipboard. There will even be a giveaway of something utterly fantastic. ;-)

Just a sweet vignette I thought you'd like to see also.

My kind of room! I love this adorable sunny breakfast room.

I wonder how I could imitate this idea in my home. I mean the hanging flower jars. I do like the burlap curtains for the cabinets though.

A darling camper. If mine were this cute I might like camping. Aaaarrrrgh. I can't believe I said that: like and camping in the same sentence.

Our dream patio, chicks. Sigh...

I just hope my luncheon I'm giving soon will look like this. I'm certainly going to try and replicate this look and feel.

Yummy yellow and pink kitchen. My favorite color combo is pink and yellow.

This is a brave homeowner to do this but I really like it.

Yes, I know. And sympathize with each of you lusting to have this little shed in your own backyard.

I also think this is one of the coziest rooms I've ever seen.

Little children are still the symbol of the eternal marriage between love and duty.
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