The New Sofa

Okay, so I'm not posting as much, but life gets in the way sometimes. It's going to be hit and miss for at least a while around here. And YES, I've missed it, but having to do so much physical therapy is taking its toll on me. Plus a bit of an attitude, but we all know about that.

The trip to visit our granddaughter and the new great granddaughter took its toll on both of us. Eight hours driving in a car is a bit much for both of us, and I refuse to fly anymore.

But here is the new sofa:

While the pillow fabric selection was with the help of the designer and the pillows came with the sofa, I'm not wild about them. I'm going to try and find some Aubusson pillows for it. The sofa fabric looks different shades from different angles and it is beautiful to me. I love it and it will never wear out—a kind of velvet chenille and very thick and sturdy. The arm covers don't do the rolled arms justice so I've decided to not use them. It's just hubs and me so it won't get dirty at all and looks much better without them as you can see in the second photo above. My next post will be about the "overcrowded" family room and what I'm doing in there.
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This is a beautiful room I could definitely live in.

Love the pillows in this one.

While I'm not crazy and really don't like high ceilings even though we have them in our living room, dining room and kitchen, this room is spectacular.

Little tags to hold a place in a book. I may make one for me as I use post-it note paper and they don't last but one book for me.

Cute pink for a tiny living room.

Those look like hydrangeas but how they got them to grow like that I'll never know. Maybe they cut them and put them like that for a photo shoot.

Place I'd like to be right now!

Another lovely pink and cream bedroom.

Love this lamp and what they did to it.

Pretty pink and reds.

Just beautiful romantic roses.

Darling collectibles in tiny boxes.

If only wash day were this pretty! Hah.

I've always thought of having 4 chairs like this but I truly love sofas in my home. I would do this in an extra room though, perhaps a large office or library.

This is about all the Christmas you'll see here. We don't do much for Christmas anymore. Just too much trouble for this old lady. But I love the feeling, especially in big cities. I haven't done it for a while so maybe it's not that pleasurable anymore. But I used to absolutely LOVE shopping at Macy's at Christmas in Union Square, San Francisco.

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Linking up with NMH Open House Party and ATPF Inspiration Friday and CedarHillRanch.

A Few Thoughts On My Photos

Several people have asked me where I find my photos. Well, I've answered that on a post here. Check it out. But I will elaborate on a few things. One question is how or why I select the pictures.

That's a bit tough to explain but I'll try. First of all, pink is a qualifier. Second, roses and/or flowers are another qualifier. Then it goes on from there.

I do not like orange in the least bit. I have a Liz Claiborne blouse that has orange in it but it has other colors overpowering it. I love that blouse, but actually, it's too small at the moment but I hope to someday be able to wear it again. (Don't we all say that?) Anyway, it's absolutely stunning and when I unpack it from the garage attic—someday in the future—I'll photograph it and show you. So not liking orange determines that I'll rarely show much of that color. It brings a truly negative feeling to me. I don't really know why but I have a suspicion, and no, I'm not revealing it. Nothing traumatic or tragic.

Then, there's what I am doing at the moment as another qualifier. If I'm trying to buy a new sofa, then I'll look all over the internet at sofas or rooms.

There's also the feeling that one photo might bring to me. Perhaps just something in it will haunt me until I put it in my folder for photos, which I call "Unfinished". Then when I've Photoshopped it a bit, it goes into the folder on my desktop called "Pinks". It is then uploaded to Photobucket. Perhaps a froufrou lamp or an ottoman or just the photographer's skill in doing a great photo shoot. Laundry on a line is another thing I love, along with lace and terrific views out a window and windows. Sometimes it's as simple as seeing a Mac computer. When I see a Mac than I know that person is intelligent. :-) As only intelligent people buy Macs. :-) As they say: I have to kiss a lot of frogs to get my prince—meaning photos.

I also don't show the upper- or high-end homes much. While we all love to see exquisite homes, there aren't many of us that will ever have those. I'm one of those and that doesn't bother me one bit. They're still fantastic to view. But I prefer "normal" everyday homes. It seems more real to most of us. I think we all prefer reality to fantasy. I do! I don't dream big.

I'm really a simple girl; although, a lot of people would disagree with me. They truly don't understand my heart or what makes me tick. I have very few "best friends" as I'm very picky. I have a lot of acquaintances. That's a huge difference in my book. Hubs is my bestest friend and I can tell him just about anything and know it's safe.

As a simple girl, I love simple things like decorated bottles, beautiful rooms—this does not mean elaborate or expensive. Just beautiful. Most rooms I see on a regular basis are what I call "couch potato" rooms. The television is directly across from the sofa and all the chairs in the room face the television also. That would never happen in this house. All the chairs are grouped for conversation. I talk to people. (That doesn't lend itself to me being able to pronounce the name of the latest middle east despot but I don't care one whit as their names are unpronounceable anyway.) I don't have them over to watch anything, especially since we have no television. We read a lot! I'm an avid reader of fiction books.

Another darling home in the French countryside.

This caught my eye very quickly.

More froufrou for you to see.

I don't know why but these walls look pink to me so here they are. Like this room a great deal but I'd do something more with those lamps.

What's not to like about this bed? Lovely!

How do the people in this country drive on the streets? They are so narrow and the buildings and flora are right on the street.

You knew I wouldn't resist this pink door, right?

A darling European kitchen. See, we chicks are so different even when we're from different countries. However, is that knife holder making a statement from the woman of the house? ;-)

Lovely vintage, rustic birdhouse.

Pretty wallpaper border.

Yep, yet another getaway for ya. Hubs has been wanting to buy one of those large umbrellas. I just may let him next year. Then I'll throw some netting over it and sit outside under it. I don't do sun! My granddaughter and I are exactly alike with the same pale coloring. My only coloring? Age spots!

I wish I had found this old cupboard. Adorable.

Cute eye candy.

You know this isn't anywhere in the U.S., right?

I could vacation here...if I didn't have to fly to get there.

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A Word About My Photos

I get questions all the time about the photos on here—where do I find them, etc. I scour the internet and I do mean scour. There are billions of photos and images out there. You just need to know where to find them. I'm not divulging my sources. If you want to find them just start looking. I can't wait to post sometimes because of the beautiful photos I'm finding. Being more computer savvy than the average person though I am able to find them more easily. But sometimes I'd like to post every single day to share all of them with you. I just can't post every day.

I'm having a problem with my hands doing so much on the computer. Let this be a lesson to those of you that are texting. Your thumbs will be so bad in the coming years you'll either have to give up texting or have surgery. Trust me on this. My contemporaries are now experiencing this phenomenon. It all takes a toll on our bodies. You're talking to th' queen here now!

Youngsters have been warned by there mums and dads for years about the danger of loud music. Those teens today will be deaf or need hearing aids in their forties or fifties. It happened to my hubby but his was being in the Marines and all the training he did for the recruits on the rifle range. He regrets it now. The military does give him free hearing aids though so that's a plus, but nothing takes the place of your own hearing. You have been warned!
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There is just something I like about this room. I can't explain it but it is a room I'd like even though there isn't any color in it. Just has a timeless feel about it.

Isn't this a clever idea? Use an old wheel with spokes for holding things.

Does it feel like autumn yet?

Lovin' this little rustic can of posies. ;-)

Yes, I'd like this fuchsia chair!

Clever place setting.

Don't you just love beautiful old roses pitchers? Sigh.

This is a cute kitchen dining area with red and yellow.

I have one of these but don't use it. Just sitting away somewhere waiting to be given to the thrift store.

Looking at all that bougainvillea reminds me of Mexico. This looks to be Italy though.

A gorgeous box!

Clever idea for gift giving for the holidays.

Don't you just love the look of these old buildings with the tall thin windows?

And a touch of vivid pink raspberries for you. :-)

And a vivid pink bench with lots of beautiful pots and flowers for ya.

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Introducing Juliette Elizabeth

We had an emergency call for help from our granddaughter to come over to Washington because she's was due to have the baby and we were the closest to her.

That was Tuesday night, so we washed clothes that night, packed and got in the car the next day at 7 AM and drove over. She actually went into the hospital 3 times that day but false alarms. Juliette wasn't quite ready. She went in on Thanksgiving day so we just cancelled the dinner until Friday. Still no baby, but contractions all day and Saturday. We had to leave Sunday as hubby had to teach Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Granddaughter went in at 2 AM on Sunday; Juliet was born at 5:30 AM and we drove over to kiss her little lips and cheeks before we headed back to Idaho. She's a doll and Caroline is now an Official Big Sister. We're so happy and thrilled to have them both.
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My granddaughter pregnant with her 2nd child. She and I sound just alike according to my son. We're the same exact heigth, she's a size 2 and I'm not anymore. ;-) I looked just like that when I was pregnant with her mother, in the tummy, I mean.

Of course, her Pop-pop and I think she's gorgeous even if she is F-A-T!

Here's her two and a half year old looking cute while eating. She's a big sister as of Sunday morning at 5:30 AM.

But this is what she usually looks like eating spaghetti. ;-)

And here's Juliette, little sister as of about Sunday 9 AM.

Dark curly hair to her big sister's light curly hair. I love these two beyond reason. Kids are great, grandkids are even greater but great grandgirls are absolutely the epitome of our greatest blessings. We're thrilled to be alive to see the great grands. And our granddaughter is giving us more. She promised! She and her hubby are just over th' moon with th' girls here!

Another gorgeous bottle.

Just some lovely pink fabric with embellishments.

Another bedroom I love.

A necklace for a gorgeous dress.

Bottle with a cake pop inside for special little girls!

A beautiful cupcake in red.

Eye candy in the way of little packets for a party.

A neat way to store tiny boxes and ribbons.

A jewel button on what appears to be a shoe.

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Linking up with NMH.