Everyday Moments

It forever "seems like yesterday" when you're the parent.  My kids have been busy doing the things that kids do and I've been busy trying to keep up with them, while trying to stay present to the moments that matter.

My daughter is preparing for her First Eucharist.

It's a full circle moment, watching her do the things I did as a child.

Farming the land is in full swing around here, every chance my son gets, he is outside, walking in his dad's, grandpa's or uncles' steps.  Which usually involves at least one tractor to get the day's work done.

I have loved this perpetual journal idea from Abby for a while and finally got around to doing something about it:

I used a thrifted sea-foam index card holder, prettied it up with some MS home office products to make a spot to record those little-big moments.

Like the things they say and do: 

"Grandma, can you pass me one of those chickens?"  

(Little Mr.'s explanation of deviled eggs being served at lunch.)  and

"Mom makes me craps every Sunday." 

(From Miss D. in her weekly writing from school...that'd be crepes :) 

Do you record your family's memorable moments?  Do tell!

May your day be full of *little big* moments!

Love to you!

Fabulous

These pillows haunted me after a visit to my favorite antiques store.  I have a (now flexible) rule about anything stuffed from anywhere - "New stuffing only!"   I broke my rule and bought them. (They were $7.00 each!)

Remember when we used our old pantyhose to stuff a pillow?
Remember pantyhose?
Does anyone call them "pantyhose" anymore?

They received a tearing apart. (Yes, I *gasp* threw away the pantyhose filler.)

I am so in love with needlework in general...as long as someone else has done it!

I added to green velvet backings, zippers and some new stuffing...And they have a cozy spot on our sofa...

This weekend  I was reading Jonathan Adler's Happy Chic Colors...

...and I stopped my tracks when I saw this picture of Diana Vreeland in her Billy Baldwin designed, red, Red(!) living room - and that little pillow there!
Check out the view in the mirror, too - the art, the tulips, the "inspiration board"...the swag!  And, Doh!, I want a floral sofa now!

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You just never know where something fabulous might lead you...
Someday I'll be lounging on my chintz sofa...
My grandchildren will sit in a little chair next to me.
(They'll take turns because they are such lovely little dears.)
And I'll quote Ms. Vreeland:  "Too much good taste can be boring."
Or possibly myself:  "YOU are full of Fabulousness!"

Love to you!

Enzo Mari

As Melanie pointed out on Babble, this Enzo Mari print is lovable in so many rooms.

I have a weak spot for a room that has an updated schoolhouse feel.  Is there a mom that doesn't love (apparently empty) baskets all in their places?  :)

AD

We have a die-hard "I love wood" fan in our house.  So I try to be "realistic" when pinning images:  This beautiful trim and wall color with Mari's art feels modern and inviting.

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Here is some more Enzo Mari via Nova 68's website.  Enjoy!

Well, "Kiss the Goose and Clean the Zoo,"  my kids would love this too:

L'oca (The Goose)

The Apple and The Pear in two of my favorite "colors".

 La Mela e La Pera

And a pretty pink pig!

II Porcello

Love to you!

Spring Cleaning

My husband helped me make (made) these Ana White Laundry Basket Dressers last weekend.  They're solidly built and perfect.  I have them primed and need to get the final coat on and maybe some legs, or casters?

Anna-White.com

Because our Laundry Room & Office are in the same room I'd been purging the whole room last week.  You know, to make way for the Extreme Organization that will magically occur with new furniture! :)  

BHG

After ditching 2007 receipts, I moved on to the all the old bookmarks on my computer. (If you follow me on Pinterest, you may have noticed my copious pinning last week.) I reorganized some of my favorite pins (to include them on more than one board) and (somewhat) alphabetized the board titles.      

BHG

You may already do this, but going back to the photo source before pinning (found by clicking on the image...usually) will help you track down the image later.  (It's sooo difficult to resist the temptation to just click and pin but worth it when you can source it later.)

The Lovely Cupboard

Even though it's so refreshing to get things cleaned out, it's overwhelming, too.  I think *every.single.closet* in our house needs a major "going through"!  

Have you been Spring Cleaning lately?

Love to you!

A New Look...

   

Country Kingdom aka Angie in the Country has a new look thanks to Lara at Designer Blogs.

Lara (who was so very patient and kind) worked with me to install the Adelaide Pre-Made Blogger Design and customized a signature line and title for me.  I love the results and look forward to posting now that things look more professional around here.

So many thanks to Lara at Designer Blogs for putting my ideas on the page!

Tell me what you think of the new look - I'd love to hear your feedback.

My Other Dining Table

We hosted 14 people in our little house for Easter dinner.  Thank goodness my family is full of great cooks, because they brought the main ingredients, while I ran around my house moving furniture, trying to decide how to get everyone in!

Naturally, the week before Easter was the *perfect* time (not!) to start re-finishing the top of this table.  It's a beautiful dark walnut on top now, and though I still need to touch up the white legs and apron, it needed to be used (All tables on deck!).     So I moved it to the living room for our Easter Party because it's narrower than...(ya-ta-da-da!) My Other Dining Table.

I tried many months ago to give this to any family member who would take it - The table is part of our grandparents dining set - I'm so glad now that no one wanted it!  Instead of tucking it back into storage, I grabbed the scratch cover and gave it a good "buffing".  I love the wider shape - which I originally thought was too big for our kitchen.  The kids can look out the window and enjoy their meals, without us telling them to "Turn around and eat!"

Though kitchen the whole floor plan needs rearranging, for now, it seems to flow a little better with the table oriented this way.   And  Abby has a great solution for that for the no longer centered light fixture. (Look away now, Dear.)

Pinterest; Josie; Design-Crisis

Of course I'm also never opposed to a little paint!  I had pinned the image above (I can't determine the original source - anyone?)  a while ago with My Other Table in mind...thinking I'd paint it and sell it *gasp*.  I have a major crush on anything turquoise and velvet green!  Though those chairs don't seen really practical with play-doh and spaghetti sauce, do they?  It also looks as if this table has a piece of glass over the top, another idea I love.  (Would toy trucks scratch the glass, like they scratch the wood? ...Grrr.)

BHG

I also love this dining area - With the black table and the modern chairs, it looks as if a busy family lives here.  (Maybe the cook gets a pretty, velvety arm chair.)  The white accents and the mix of  traditional, global and modern influences is simply beautiful.  Actually, this whole home tour is one of my favorite Before and Afters:  check it out here!

Wishes to you for a simply beautiful weekend!

Kim Parker Home

Last week, I picked up Kim Parker Home at the library.  I was really taken with her description of her early working life (in sterile offices) and how she would come home and paint at her kitchen table... (Like a meditation to wash the events of the day away).

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In her book, her rugs and art are styled with her romantic antique finds. (Right up my alley!)

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Kim's website also features her home products and her art.  (In other words:  some really gorgeous pillows, rugs, paintings and tableware.)  

Have a beautiful day!

Ohio Farmhouse

Country Living featured this great Ohio Farmhouse.  She's an antiques dealer, he's a veterinarian and their home reflects them so beautifully.  There's much more on the CL site, but here are a few of my favorite images.

This is my favorite room:  The Chesterfield, wall color, the art and the shorter bookcases - the blue lamp and the two tables - so good!  Don't you love it when design seems so attainable:  the rug is from Home Decorators and they made the pine shelves (the shorter height has got me thinking and planning).

I'd love to be a child going "to the farm" and staying here!  The color and pattern reminds me of Martha Stewart. (Is that a steel ceiling?)

Do you have raised garden beds?  Each spring I get excited about having a garden as bountiful as this one (and with that view!).

  

Ahh, and a little cottage for the adults.  

Such a clever use for a tiny building - the plantings and path draw you right in!

See more (kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, & chickens!) here.

Trunk Love

I have contracted some horrible (Think: "Help me, Mommy!") bacterial respiratory infection, a sprained rib from hacking up a lung for the past two weeks, and (I admit) a sour demeanor (more than usual :) from just not feeling well enough to enjoy, well, life!  I know many of you have been exposed to the same "bug"!  (Yuck, right?!)  I'm thankful my kids and husband are healthy and send so many good wishes for healing to any of you and yours who are just not feeling well.  (Being sick is the pits!)

                                              

On top of being sick, we've had Spring Break and major gorgeous weather.  

Which is great, except I have the energy of a snail and my best friends are Naps and Sofa lately. All in good time, right?  Every time I see this little revamp, though, I am  cheered right up!

I've always treasured this trunk, but it sat on our porch (aka: "in storage") since we moved here.  It was very "golden," difficult to move around, and though it is "mine," it was not very "me."  When our township tore down the "old town hall" in the '80's, the boards were sold to interested residents.  My grandfather (Val) made this trunk from the boards and gave it to me for my high school graduation.

The trunk's potential kept calling and I finally came up with a plan:   A coat of white paint (a few times to get it right); some wheels (expertly added by a sweet husband who knows that "carriage bolts" are best in this application :); 

...and a set of handles (so practical!)  

My obsession with these handles is full blown - I am trying (possibly not successfully) to restrain from putting them everywhere, in every finish!

I  love how the trunk better reflects "me"... and "us," as my kids sit at it to eat their breakfast.  (I know "bad mommy" - they love it though!)  It's so handy to store the throws we are always using to cozy up on the sofa; and when the urge to somersault strikes, the kids can roll it out of the way.  

In an almost completely unrelated note, I took the paneling off that door in the background and painted over the chippy paint.  There's nothing better than a fresh coat of paint to cheer the soul!

Love to you!

March Right In

We have been having the most mild winter & I have been loving it!  Tomorrow evening we're set to get 3-7 inches of snow and I'm ready to be tucked inside and working on projects.  My kids are asking to go away on vacation.  They might need a DIY break.  

Last weekend, I finally finished putting on the braided trim on this bench.  I checked out all the rope options available and choose laundry line from Wal-Mart (by the clothespins - not in Hardware) because it had a bit more texture than the poly-coated.  It was also cheap!  Another vital requirement!

After cutting the rope in thirds and knotting the three strands together, it was just a matter of braiding them together.  I looped the braided trim around an old hanger and coated the trim outside with Scotch-Guard.  (Thank heavens my kids haven't acclimated themselves to tomato sauce yet - whether or not the Scotch-Guard works hasn't been tested.)

Then, I simply hot-glued the trim right over the upholstery staples. *Ahem* After getting the air compressor and staple gun back out (= making my family nuts) to remove and re-staple ev-er-y side of the upholstery! (I had the staples up way too high and they would have shown.)

The ends were another conundrum altogether.  Some flame throwers, burnt fingers & curse words may have been involved in getting them to "look right".  Which they don't. As evidenced by that lump in the middle.  One day I may just walk into the kitchen to discover the trim all on the floor.

In that case, all necessary curse words have been uttered and I'll move right on to Plan A.550...Or to another project ...like that one waiting in the workroom kitchen.

Have a great weekend!   Will you be "snowed in" this weekend too?