Where Bloggers Create Sunday

Brenda at thebrendablog has invited us all to share our spot where we create. This is a scary thought! Hah.... But I'm game for anything as most of you know so here is my tiny spot of my own where I spend most of the day if I'm not sewing or crafting, which is another room but nonetheless scary. ;-)

I enter each day through this magical "portal" which has decal roses on the door. My view as I enter the door from the hallway. I have a wonderful window seat that is the front of my home and I can keep watch, but truthfully, I'm so busy usually that I'm not a person that keeps watch out of that window. ;-)

The view across from me as I type this. As you can see if you look closely, I "practice" different paint colors behind that door. Yeah, yeah, I'll get the room painted some time in the next couple of years. :-)

Proceeding to the left around the room this is a far view of the area where I do a lot of photoshoots. There are pictures on the wall of things chicks have painted and given me or I have purchased and there is even one picture of a bird nest I painted! I am not an artist but I give it a try to satisfy a need in me to be creative. I use the term "paint" verrrry loosely here. That's my computer screen on my desk in the near part. My computer is called Max. The green frog sitting on top of my Apple Cinema Display watches over me and goes with me in the car when we travel to keep an "eye" on Love Bunny's driving. I'm not the "back seat driver", Frog is!! This is entirely true; I'm not making it up. He sits on the dashboard until such time as I gently lift him up and stick his little bug-eyed green face into hubs' face and warns him to slow down that his "eye" is on him. His actual words are "I've got my EYEEEE on YUUUUU!"

Oooooops, sorry, that's Frog's back side. Now he's embarrassed......sigh...... But that's the front of my romantic cottage style desk. It's quite big and heeeeeavvvvyy. Wooooooeeeee, can't move it around very much.

View here is looking directly at me and what is behind me - bulletin boards, "fluff" and shelves with little cottage houses I collect. That's my iSight webcam sitting on top of my monitor.

Going further left around the room that's a closet. Duh!!!!!! I keep those doors closed always for a reason. I can't stand viewing its innards!

A little bookshelf that stores personal items and my "computer" books. I'm a techie and love computers. The clock was given to us on our 40th anniversary by my son.

Inside the closet. Lower half. Packing and postal supplies. Storage boxes with ephemera, bank statements and such items in them. There is rarely anything in my home that isn't useful or beautiful and pleasing to the eye, including storage boxes.

The very top of that closet with our old phones (Ya never know when a phone will disappear in this house; I lost one in here and never have yet found it! Thus we keep them for a little while.) An extra monitor also. I wanted to donate it to DI but hubs says he can use it in the office so it'll go there soon. If my monitor ever goes out I'm toast, I tell ya! :-(

My wireless printer/scanner/fax/copier. The plain printer cart underneath is covered with a cover I made because it's one of those cheap carts and hides all the papers I use underneath.

Back of the chair I'm in most of the time doing computer stuff. I found a gorgeous chair cover for it and just love it. That's my monitor, keyboard, and other essentials.

Front view of chair cover. Love Bunny made me a plywood mat because the plastic ones are always cracking on this carpet. He painted it bright candy apple red because that was the only can of paint he had enough of. You can barely see Max, my computer, peeking his head through to the left of the desk. He's such a showoff!!! Hah....

Full fiew of that lovely chair cover.

Now, this might not look like much to you but the blue dress is one of mine when I was a baby over 60 some years ago. The white one is one of my doll dresses. The Hawaiian outfit was one I got when I lived in Hawaii in the middle 1940s. It was for a mardi gras that they were having when we first arrived there to live for 2 years. Still fits, too!!!! Laughing uproariously!!!! Gotcha, huh?!!?!

Closeup of my little houses I've collected from all over and from when we were in Ireland.

Close up of what's behind me at this very moment.

My personal files and yes, they are pink and lavender. Just about everything in this house is colored, even my stapler and my staples are blue, red and green. I'm not kidddddding............

My window seat with the books I'm trying to get rid of and sell on my selling blog. I'm going to put them all at half the price on there now so you might want to look. It'll take me a while to do this but it's going to be the price as soon as I can do it. The window seat pad was made by me. It was my first attempt so I used inexpensive fabric but since I'LL NEVER EVER DO IT AGAIN, it stays!!!!! It is pretty fabric though.

Photo shoot area up close with all the stuff I just emptied out of a vintage drawer that I was going to sell but changed my mind and am frou frou-ing it up to put in my family room as a shelf/shadow box or something like that. I'll show you when I've finished with it. This area changes frequently with my whims!! ;-) The postal scale on the left sits on a "dumpster diving" find from my neighbor who was moving. I have no clue how I'll fix it up yet so it's just plain now.

My desk close up with all my daily essentials. My JBL speakers called The Creature are on the left and looks like a ghost or something like that. They put out powerful music on my iTunes though.

The little thing on the lower right is my external hard drive backing up all my files without me even doing a thing. You chicks DO back up, don't you?!??!! You'd better!!

And that's it, my sweet little chickees. My favorite spot in the whole house, the place where I blog. I hope you've enjoyed the tour through my tiny office space. It's not very big but then we're retired seniors and don't want a big house to take care of. Moving from 5,000 s.f. to this 1800 s.f. has been a blessing for us. We are truly blessed!

Thank you so much for dropping by and letting you into my "private spot" and as you can see I'm very much an "everyday chick" in an "everyday space"! It's been a real pleasure hosting this tour for you. Donations are accepted at the small drop box by the door!!! ;-)
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I've received several awards lately and it's very hard for me to keep up with them, but I do so appreciate you all who have given me awards. So I'll share one with you now.

This one is from Gina over at catnipinnprimitives. She's correct in that we don't share similar styles in our decorating but hers is cozy. Plus she's real close to me out here in the west. ;-)
I now have to name 7 blogs and why I love their blogs so much.

1. Rhea at sweetnshabbyroses. I truly believe her pictures are among the best I've ever seen on the blogs. Must be that Las Vegas sun! She and I share a love of many things and she knows exactly what I mean because we talk a LOT!

2. Shannon at Paint Mine Pink because, again, of the photos. Must be that AUSSIE sunshine! LOL And I love her items and the sweet way she has of giving her son a "tea party" when he comes home from school

3. Fitty at fittyspinkyrosecottage because she lives on the other side of the world from me but she lives in a romantic cottage in Asia. How much more special can it get to have someone with such a huge difference in geography live like we do here? She's a little doll!

4. Stephanie of angelicaccents because she and I "share" a true southern belle of a mom! How can this be, you ask??? Well, we've just adopted each other because Steph and I are "sisters" on a group together and we share each other's lives on a regular basis.

5. Ronda Ray Juniper of antiquecottagerose not just because she paints the most exquisite antique rose windows but mostly because she has a Mac computer! We Mac users have to stick together. But her painting is unbelievable!!

6. Kelly of rosevinecottage because she has a camper she has decorated in the shabby style and I could look at it all day. I truly WILL decorate our little popup camper the best way I can in emulating hers. Alas, though, I'll never come up to her standards. *Sigh*.............

7. Cami at camillefano because quite simply she touches my heart with her musings. Plus she got a painting for $2 and I lust for it!! She takes a great deal of time to raise her children when she could be out in the world making big buckarinos but she chose to stay home with the Princess and her brother. I admire that immensely. Cami reads "thinkers" books and I read trashy espionage, mystery and once in a while will pick a "thinker" book. Sometimes though the most "thinking" I can handle is Erma Bombeck and a blind date with Walter Brennan! Yeah, yeah, I read Robert Bork and David Horowitz, but I love seeing the bad guys get caught and burned!!! LOL ;-) My all time favorite book was Lonesome Dove though. I think that book is an American Classic!
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I think you've had enough of me for one day though. Tata, my sweet chicks!!

Pink Saturday 8/23/08

Here it is again - Pink Saturday. Last week there were 80 participants and that's good. I, however, never did get around to visiting all of them and for that I'm very sorry. That's just a lot of surfing and I simply didn't have time with all the other things in life.

I have favorite bloggers I visit. Some just because they may need a lift that day. Some because I simply like reading what they write. Some because of the "eye candy" it provides and we ALLLLL know how I feel about "eye candy"! ;-) Some because I have a history with them and they make my day and make me happy - my ebay group. :-) Some because someone said, "Connie, you're gonna love this blogger so go see her." Well, I've whittled my favs down to about 120 now. Yep, that's just the ones I visit pretty regularly. I have a feeling I'm going to have to "whittle" some more. But I definitely try and visit as many as I can. I may not leave a comment if it doesn't particularly warrant a comment but most times I do.

Now, part of why I blog is to help all you chicks make your homes beautiful. That can involve many, many things - from having a loving home to having a comfortable home people like to visit for the "comfortableness" to simply making "all things beautiful" in the home. (Messy teenagers excepted here!) So let's look at how you can have gorgeous containers out of some "mundane" things.

Old pickle, olive and marshmallow creme jars are what I've done to make these lovely jars. Spray the lids, add roses to the tops if you desire, add some decoupage of your kitchen or whatever you desire (I always do roses.) - and this can even be pix of the munchkins(!) - and then start putting "stuff" in them. I've combined things in these jars and still have to add more stuff to a couple of them, but I'm putting nails, screws, picture holders, etc. in one of them. The other has just snippets of ribbon, fringe, just anything that adds color to it or that you can think of that you'd use everyday and want to be handy while "pizzazzing" up the place. So don't throw those jars out; put them to good use, chickees!

My little wall pocket where I put papers until I'm ready to file them.

My packing supplies! Yep, I will occasionally send out something in these pink envelopes. They sure do get noticed when someone pulls them out of the mailbox!

This is a faux rose and you've seen it many, many times over in my photos but it is the most realistic rose I've ever seen in silk. It has fooled just about everyone who has seen them in my home. It is truly exquisite and I was lucky enough to buy all that the store had of these. I have them all over the house. I've never seen them again anywhere. :-(

Since it is "pink saturday" I thought I'd show off this "pink" coupon I got. I've obliterated some of it so it can't be copied and taken advantage of, but not many "coupons" come in PINK! :-)

Steal of the day..........uhhhh, I mean my "best deal" of the day. These sheets were $7.99 each and the pillow cases were 2 for $3.99!!!!!!!! Squeeeeeeeal!! Now, I'm not needing sheets at the moment but I simply could NOT pass these up. They are high-end decorator sheets and pillow cases. PLEASE enlarge the pix to view the tone-on-tone loveliness of these beauties. Just so gorgeous and SOFT!

I have been waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning lately because I'm so jazzed with energy. (My ebay group is starting to worry! Hah) But I'm fine, just so much to do I need to start early. ;-) Anyway, I got up and started making a pillow for the popup trailer Love Bunny just got. (Yes, it will be frou frou-y and I'm working on it!) I have this quilt that I finally cut into and made this darling little pillow to take camping. The quilt is double sided so one side of the pillow is one pattern and the other side of the pillow is the other rose pattern. Came out quite cute I think. The one in the background is a bed pillow that just may get to travel to the campgrounds also. ;-)

A cute little card someone gave me last year. Pink mice chicks having a cup of tea.

I made this polka dot rose to put on this little letter holder about 5 years ago. It is on a paper holder for a wall next to a desk. It has specialty rose papers in it also. Now I've learned there is a blog called the Polka Dot Rose! Cute.

A sweet tag given to me last year for my birthday which is coming up next friday the 29th!! Yippeeeee...........

Okay, little chicks, get busy and make your home gorgeous - no matter what your style. I've given you enough "hints" for this day..............

Coming Soon!!

Coming soon to a blog near you!! Ask Rhea what this is all about, chickees.... ;-)

A Bit More Formal Country

Oooops, sorry, Vickie, it was Salado, Texas. I knew it ended in an "O"!!!
My friend, Vickie, just opened her website and has lots of lovely things to sell. She also has a little shop in Plano, Texas, if you're ever in that area. You'll have to go and ask her where it is though. I'm not familiar with that area.
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Yes, this is definitely country. It reminds me of an english country home - while country, just a tad more formality to it. I truly love this style of decorating. My preference is for my living room to be a little more formal while still romantic with lots of roses around it. I love the "old world" charm of this style. And I've always loved the rich reds in living rooms.

The bedrooms are gorgeous; however, I prefer them light, airy and more romantic, but these are definitely stunning.

Sofas should always be comfortable before anything else. My back cushions are downy-like in their cushiness also. My back screams at anything else! I've had them restuffed to achieve that elegant luxuriousness. Love them. The one below looks very tempting.

We will always have lovers of blue. I love this color. I don't think I would want it in my living room to this extent though. However, yes, this is one gorgeous room with the antique looking chest and tables. Country in its finest form.

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Last night at about 9:30 or 9:45 pm the doorbell rang. Now, hubs is still in Orlando so I didn't answer the door because it was so late AND I had forgotten to turn on the porch light. It rang twice but I just sat there kinda frozen. Know what I mean??? So anyway I told him about it this morning when we talked on the phone and he said I could have looked out the peephole. I said nuuuuuuuu, it was dark! He said you could probably have seen out there anyway and now I wouldn't know who it was. WHO IT WAS??!?!?! I wouldn't have opened it to anybody anyway that late! No self-respecting person would ring my doorbell that late at night with good intentions and since my aged body/legs prevents me from running faster than a "crook" I passed on that one. ;-)

So this afternoon I called our next door neighbor and asked if it was him. They're a young couple with 2 toddlers. He said it wasn't him but it was the police. I asked why the police would come so late. (About a week ago this young couple had all the windows broken out of a car they keep in the driveway instead of putting it in the garage. It is NOW put into the garage at night.) Anyway, the plainclothes officers came around late to ask questions. Kinda weird to me, neighbor too because he was bathing the 2 toddlers to put to bed. But it is what it is. Apparently this happened to about 40 cars that night but only his in our neighborhood. Sad that kids (probably) have to resort to this sort of vandalism to get their kicks. Just makes me sad that I can't even feel safe in my own home or neighborhood anymore. And I live in one of the least crime ridden states and in a nice neighborhood.

So hubs gets home tomorrow and said that the Sunshine State lost its reputation this week. He didn't see the sun once while in Florida and it rained every single day. Next year the convention will be in Phoenix. Okay, Arizona, get ready for rain!!!!!! :-)

Photographers and Stylists

When I read a magazine or book, I read all the little, seemingly inconsequential, things in it - who did the photographs, styling, editors, staff, date it was published (if a book) and all those little things with which we don't concern ourselves very often. I can actually tell when the editor of a magazine has changed just by perusing the magazine even before I sit down to peruse it leisurely. They each have a certain "style" as evidenced by the "recent" (few years ago now) changes in Romantic Homes magazine. I noticed it immediately with Country Home and Country Living through the years.

But besides seeing who the writer of the article is, and let's just talk about magazines in this post, I look for the stylist also.

I didn't think it would be a particularly hard job, but certainly glamorous, and would have loved to do it. But since I've become a photographer, and I use this term very loosely here, I learned how hard both jobs can be! Getting the light just right. Cramming all the lovely items into a small space to add pizzazz to the photo. Hard work I'm sure!! I don't even come close to being good at either. I am barely adequate when posting pix for this blog. So with great "reverence" I salute the photographers and stylists of those truly beautiful stories we read in the magazines today.

Now, the the proofreader I've noticed is slacking on the job though. The current issue of Romantic Country, summer 2008. Have you noticed that on page 21 in the top left picture the clock is running backwards? And just below that one the clock looks like it's upside down. Now, that can't be a reversal of the photo but what's with those people hanging the clock upside down???? Page 28 left photo of the buddhas. Read the description and look at the buddhas. They've reversed the photo. Then we have page 50! Whooooa chicks! The pink telephone dial is backwards, the writing on the shadow box on the wall is reversed and the clock again is running backwards. I know, I know, not a big deal, but those proofreaders should have caught those "goofs"! Yoohoo, Romantic Country, I'm available!!!!! I'm not cheap though!! :-)
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The shutters were put beside the archway on the dining room side. I'll probably spend the rest of the year patching nail holes........uhhhhh, only the visible ones though!

I've put one french wire basket under the picture off center. I could not get it centered with all the other stuff. AND since I worked so hard to get it out of my daughter's shed and home to Idaho I'll be darned if I'm NOT going to put it up somewhere! Now I just have to figure out where the other one will go. It will have to be low because of not being able to see what is in it up high. I also hang items HIGH and low on walls. I think it adds visual interest and love it. I've even put pictures leaning on the wall on the floor or on baseboards too.

Be creative in what you do in life and how you decorate your home. It sets you apart from all the "cookie cutter" or "accepted" decorating styles and shows YOUR style, not your friend's style or the show room salesperson's style, but your unique style! I do and I highly recommend it. :-)

Today I went to Boise since Love Bunny is away. I bought these 2 feather pillows for $24.99! Squeeeeeal, yes for both! That's $12.50 each for a 20" x 20" feather pillow. I am truly blessed. :-)

Now for this next part you're going to have to use your imagination since I didn't get "before" pictures but they're in some picture somewhere on this computer but I'm too lazy to find it so I'll just describe the "before" to the best of my ability. Ooooohmygosh!!!! Yep, that's what it was before. (I bought it but for the life of me I can't remember WHY I would have bought it!!) An "ohmygosh" lamp! Dark wood with a beige shade and amber crystals hanging down. Pretty ugly let me tell ya, chicks! Soooooo, I decided to take my handy dandy spray can of white paint and spritzzzz it. I had that other shade - remember, I stuck a faux fern in it till I could figure out what I was going to do with it?? Okay, after taking off the amber (yuck!) crystals and painting the lamp white, I then decorated the lamp shade.

Now, a sweet friend named Sharon gave me a little charm last year and I wanted to do something reeeealllly special with it since it is so teensy tiny. I don't see how she paints on them. Very tiny! I decided to put that little pink roses charm on the new lamp. Voilà, the new frou frou lamp with parchment roses, lace and Sharon's lovely exquisite charm!! Very little effort for spectacular results!!!



Sharon's hubby is really into western movies. He watches them frequently. I have this art print by Chuck Haan in my hallway. No, I am not into western art, but when I saw this many years ago in a little antique shop in the Niles area of Fremont, Calif. it touched my heart. It's an Indian brave looking sweetly at a little bluebird on a snow covered branch of a tree in the dead of winter. It just stole my heart away and I had to have it. So even in a romantic, shabby, girly pink house this print holds a place of honor. I thought Sharon might like to show it to hubby.

The point of this story is: If you love it, if it touches your heart, then you should have it no matter what the decor of your home is. Ooooooh, and btw, please don't tell Love Bunny I said this. It DOES NOT apply to model trains!!! No no no no no no no no no!!