Pink Roses

sweet dreams...

Over the summer I had my bedroom painted...out with the pink walls, and in with the neutral color I have everywhere else in my house...Benjamin Moore Linen White.  I know there are a million great colors out there, but I find this one so restful and soothing...and isn't your bedroom supposed to be restful and soothing?

Everything is exactly the same, just different walls, but somehow it all feels new.  I love white linens and piles of pillows and fluffy down comforters...it is my nest!  I made this headboard 13 years ago, out of wooden shutters scavenged from a neighbors garbage.  I still love it today, and it was totally free!

On my nightstand I have a little rose dish that I found at a thrift store in London, and on it is a little handmade bead in the shape on a rose.

Elizabeth bought me this bead (she bought 2-one for me and one for her), when she was away at college.  She said if I were ever sad and missing her, to put it in my pocket, and know that she was with me.  I can't tell you how many times she would call and say "I'm carrying my bead today" and I would ALWAYS be carrying mine as well!  She and I have a connection that I can't explain.  Now that she is married and gone, I keep it near.

 

May you all have sweet dreams...

have a seat...

I had a wingback chair and ottoman upholstered in a black and white houndstooth fabric, as a Christmas gift for my son.  This fabric is the unofficial "pattern" if you will, for the University of Alabama.  Bear Bryant, the famous head coach of the Alabama football team, always wore a houndstooth hat.  Now, houndstooth is everywhere on campus.  I must admit, it is far better than some school colors!  The chair used to be a pink and white check...

now it has a new look...

 

It was tricky, trying to hide this before Christmas, but I did it.  I had a friend stop by on Christmas morning and help me move it next to the tree, so that he would be surprised when he woke up.  I was concerned that he would think it was a dumb gift, but he actually likes it.  He will be graduating from college in May...I can't believe 4 years have passed so quickly!  This chair will (hopefully) always remind him of his fun college days!

dining details…

This summer I finally found some new (old) sturdy chairs for my dining room…

The old (old) chairs were beautiful, but so unstable that you couldn’t sit in them. Crazy, I know…actually wanting a chair you can sit in!  I have 2 of the old chairs on either side of the buffet, holding suitcases and other inappropriate dining room stuff :)

But then again there is a prom dress on the door…

and empty frames with vintage wallpaper on the wall…

vintage wallpaper with pink roses…there’s no place like home!

giddy-up...

I love thinking of new ways to display flowers in my home.  Don't get me wrong, I love a vase (and have an obsession with milk glass), but sometimes it's nice to try something different.  While reading Where Women Create the other day, I noticed that Sally Jean had a holster on her wall filled with paintbrushes.  I remembered the holster I bought in Texas at  the Antique market last fall...

The leather was embossed with flowers and it was only $10.00, so I bought it.  I actually strung it on my belt and wore it over my skirt as a cell phone holder one day.  I think the heat got to me!  Anyway...after seeing Sally Jeans version, I immediately thought of flowers...

I put an old bottle filled with water in the holster to hold the flowers, and strung a ribbon through the back and tied it to the old dresser in my entry.

It's got that rustic-romantic feel...

I've also got a tiny pair of black and red childrens cowboy boots just waiting to be filled with Daisies when they bloom this summer!

something blue...

Post holiday decorating is always a bit of a letdown for me.  Everything seems so boring after the sparkle of Christmas.  I loved the way the dining room looked at Christmas, and seeing it stripped of all its glittery goodness, it was...dull.  So I went with an old standby, my favorite color (besides pink)...blue.  I was cleaning up and getting ready to throw these Hydrangeas in the trash (they are left over from last summers garden), when I thought they would be the perfect color for winter.

Blue has always been a calming color for me, the color of sky and ocean and robins eggs.  This still looks like Winter, but with a promise of Spring.  Something cheerful on this cold winter day...

Blog Party!

 

Welcome everyone, and a huge THANK YOU to sweet Heather for hosting the blog party open house today!  There are over 100 blogs participating, so there's lots to look at in blog-land this week!  Today I am showing you my entry, but I will be posting a new room every day this week, so stop back if you have a chance...

I always decorate the banister with garland and lights, and I love the way it makes the staircase glow at night...a little mistletoe hung in the doorway with ribbon...

I used glittery white poinsettias and silver glittered leaves and sprays of pearls throughout the garland...

We had a huge storm a few months ago and a big tree branch fell in the front yard.  The branch was covered with this great grey-blue lichen, so I saved it to make a winter snowflake tree.  The branch is about 10 feet tall, so the only place it would fit was on the landing in the entry.  I propped it in the corner and hung lots of different snowflake ornaments from it...

On the table I stuck with a neutral color scheme...

I used my favorite covered pedestal and placed a makeshift nativity inside, on a bed of mica...

I have several whole nativity sets, but years ago I found this little plastic baby Jesus and manger at a flea market all by itself.  I brought it home and surrounded it with angels...ones I had been collecting.  It might be my favorite "Nativity" even though there are no wise men, or Joseph and Mary..

I was going to replace the balls of crochet cotton with Christmas ornaments, but I really like the way they look in there...I just dressed it up with a vintage pearl choker and rhinestone shoe clip that I bought from Carol Spinski...

 

a crown and an angel on a old ceiling tin box...

a footed silver divided tray with chandelier crystals & chocolate...

a shabby chic bottle brush tree...

mercury glass votives...

I found this beautiful painting at a Catholic thrift store this past Spring...the frame is damaged, but I love it. 

I hung a few of the hearts I collect above it...

So that's my entry...I showed my dining room in my last post...more rooms every day this week...Thanks for stopping by!

anthropologie-ish...

The other day I mentioned that I was a little bit lost without my usual decorate-by-numbers scheme I have been using in the dining room for the past 12 years.  This past spring I changed the walls from red to linen white, the furniture went from cherry to various shades of chipping white, and the table went from rectangle to round.  Everything is different, so I had to re-think my whole decorating plan.  I was determined not to buy anything new, and be creative with stuff I already had.  Every year I use this silver champagne bucket in the center of the table with poinsettias in it...(click here to see last year)

This year I wanted to change it up a bit, and so I thought...what would they do at Anthropologie?  The answer was: use something ordinary and common, but use it in a way you would never expect.  Sticking with the cream, pink and silver theme, I looked around the house to find something in those colors.  I found what I needed in my knitting stash....

I stuck a silver tinsel tree in the center of the bowl, and wrapped it in a pale pink scarf that I knitted last winter.  Then I placed various balls of pink and cream yarn on top of the scarf...

It's quirky, but I'm kinda loving it...not quite sure if it's a hit or a miss.

I'm using silver chargers with creamware plates and the napkin holders came from Anthropologie's after Christmas sale a few years ago.  I did have to buy a new tablecloth because I didn't have a round one.

Little damask votive's from Michael's, 40% off last spring...

Here's the finished table...

 

and the sideboard...

 

 

I keep switching things around, but I am going to stop now...there's a 10 foot naked tree in the sunroom calling my name...

Texas inspiration: 3

This was an idea that was new to me: tissue paper flowers made from dress patterns.  I saw these flowers in a few booths, including Theresa's...

The natural color of the tissue paper makes it look instantly vintage, and the black lines and writing give it a great look.  I bought a bunch of patterns for 10 cents each, and started making these last night while watching TV.  They were really simple, but the tissue tears easily, so be gentle...I tore mine in several places! I think these would look great on a package, or pinned like a corsage onto a mannequin or lampshade...endless possibilities!

Have a fabulous weekend!

{Edit: here's a super simple little video I found online that shows you how to make tissue paper flowers...she uses 4 sheets of paper...you could use more...hope this helps!}

Tissue Flower Video

Texas inspiration: 2

Willow Nest Farm. {sigh}   Their website reads...

"Willow Nest is a pleasure for the senses; a combination of the romantic and the rustic, the practical and the frivolous.  The juxtaposition of something old and primitive placed with something soft and pretty; that's our style -- the "Linda and Ludmil " style."

I love it! Here is one of the MANY inspirations I got from their booth in Texas...using books without covers.  I loved the way they looked so aged and worn, yet very neutral and versatile...so shabby chic, or should I say rustic romantic!  I couldn't wait to try this at home.  Just take any old hard bound book...

This would be a great way to use thrift store/garage sale books with damaged or ugly covers.  I used a knife to cut away the cover, and then peeled the backing off of the spine...don't peel it all off...you want that aged look...

Use an odd number of books for more visual appeal...

Tie them up with some ribbon, and add a chandelier crystal or a faded millinery flower, a vintage photo...you name it.  This took all of 5 minutes to do, and I think it will look great in a bookcase, or on the mantel.  Thanks Linda and Ludmil for your creative inspiration.

Texas inspiration: 1

A few days ago I mentioned that I saw lots of displays in Texas where things were under a cloche of some sort.  I had an old birdcage hanging in the garage with no bottom to it, and decided to use it as a cloche in my dining room...

I used a big tarnished silver tray and piled it with china, and covered it with the cage...it kind of looks like a jail cell for china...a china prison...

I admit it's a work in progress, but kind of different...tell me your thoughts...