Dear Jarred, Brittni, & Cotton

I Miss You Already.  Love, Mom

When All Else Fails, Decorate!

Right now you probably will not find a decorating blog out there in blog land that has not dedicated at least one post to seasonal changes.  And why not!!  It makes for great blogging material.  By the time fall and spring come, we are ready for a change in scenery, both inside and outside of our homes.

And...change is good, right?

Let me start out by saying that I never have nor will I ever claim to be a writer.  But just like I imagine it would be for people who write for a living, I often have thoughts and even words swirling around in my head that will not go away until I write them down (or type them).  Sometimes I share and sometimes they remain private. Obviously if you are reading this then I have decided to share my thoughts on my blog but promising not to make a habit of it.    

I cannot remember a time in my life when I did not decorate.  When I was young I was always redecorating and rearranging my bedroom.  When I went to someone else's house I would lie (or is is lay?  See I told you I am not a writer) in bed at night and in my head I would redecorate it in its entirely.  I know, obsessive, huh? I never pursued decorating as a career.  And now that I am at a point in my life that I feel it's a little too late, I am making a hobby out of it.  Again, I don't claim to be better at it than anyone else.  Trust me, I doubt myself more than anyone else could ever possibly doubt my abilities.  There ARE areas of the decorating process that just come natural to me but that is to say other areas do not and that is when I rely on other sources: blogs, the internet, and magazines.  I strive to rely on my own taste and instincts but copying is not beneath me.  I will and I have.  We all do.   

At times I fear someone may look at this blog as something that it is not.  Those who know me know that I am a private person.  I have never been a "look what I have" or "look what I can do" type of person.  I have no desire to send anyone into a decorating or antique and thrift store shopping frenzy.  But, if shopping and decorating is what you love to do than all I can say is go for it!  I only want to be an inspiration.  Hopefully, I can achieve this.  I believe God has given me a talent and a passion and I don't want to waste it.  

Someone told me once that my house was different every time they came to visit.  This is only because I am constantly moving things around.  I operate on a shoestring decorating budget, so I try to be creative.  Moving things around is about the easiest and cheapest form of transforming a room you could possibly ever do, even  easier and cheaper than painting, and we all know what a new paint color can do for a room.  However, there are some things that paint will not fix!  There are many things around my house that I have to wonder what we were thinking,  were we even thinking?  For instance, why did we put green tile in the kitchen and breakfast room?  Why didn't we utilize the attic space to have a vaulted ceiling in the living room?  Why did we put carpet in the dining room?  This is only to mention a few.

Oh, if I had it do over again!  There would be changes for days!  But I can't so I decided a long time ago to change what I can and work around what I cannot.  And the older I get the list of things I work around seems to grow.  For instance, we COULD change the tile out, but realistically probably never will so I work around it.  We COULD raise the ceiling height, but again probably never will.  Some things just don't seem as important as they once did.  There are still; however; many things such as the carpet and a kitchen update that I am hopeful of changing in the future.  

I KNOW this post is entirely too long and I apologize.  If you have made it this far and you've had enough please by all means get back to what you were doing.  I am close to the end, but I have a little more to say.  Remember! Those silly words in my head.  I've got to get them out. Sorry.  

Changes! In the past five or six years some unforeseen changes have taken place in my life. 

One incident caught me off guard, knocked the breath out of me, and sent me to my knees, literally.  My parenting ideas are different today because of it.  My relationship with my Heavenly Father is also different.  I came to rely on Him in a way that I never had to before.  He made His presence know to me many times during that journey.  It changed me and made me better.

Another change that took place: a job change (not mine, his).  It was an unexpected but at the same time welcomed one.  And ultimately I am blogging today because of it.  I thought a physical move was going to take place for us a little over four years ago.  It caused me to put house projects on hold and to give other ones quick, makeshift redos in order to make the house appealing to potential buyers.  I will not go into all the details involving my frame of mind when I realized this move was not going to take place.  You would need an office with a couch as well as a door with a nameplate.  I WILL tell you it was NOT smooth sailing.  As far as decorating goes, I did nothing for two or three years.  Nothing!  I had the wind knocked out of my sails, completely.  But I did; however, come to realize that no matter how hard you might paddle in the direction of something as clear as  "land in sight" if others are paddling harder in the opposite direction you can never reach the place you're striving for.  Maybe the "land in sight" was occupied by pirates or head hunters, but I'll never know.  Realizing the need to stop going against something a lot bigger than me, I started turning my little vessel around to  hopefully catch a wind that would take me into a different direction.  By this time I had already started following several decorating blogs and then one day I said, "Why not!  I can do this!  Maybe not better than several, but surely as well as and even better than some." 

So...here I am: Still waiting for clear direction clouded by things beyond my control but back to decorating and now writing about it.  (Well, except when I am writing stuff like this.)

When all else fails... go decorate!!       

    

My Window Treatment

Like? No? Are you sure?  I thought I would set a new trend.  It's called "Shabby Wrap" and it's so easy to achieve and inexpensive too.  Mr. Picker actually did this all by himself, so if he can do it, then you can do it.  

OK...all joking aside.  Here's the scoop: ( But, seriously, this IS my window treatment - at least for the time being anyway).  We've just finished painting the master bedroom.  Before we started painting, I was set on removing these top mouldings, but impatience changed my mind because I knew all the sheet-rock damage would have to be repaired and I was ready to get the show on the road. 

When we built our house stone ages ago, we (for some unremembered reason) chose to put short windows in this room (unlike in the other rooms where they go all the way to the floor).  I know all the King's men and all the King's horses (in the decorating world) will tell you to hang your curtains close to the ceiling and all the way to the floor. But I am kinda liking this "Shabby Wrap" look.  Well... maybe not exactly the shabby and not really the wrap. However, I have decided to defy the "laws of gravity" and keep my window treatment between the top moulding and the sill, using something like a bamboo shade, not sure yet. 

Anything has to look better than this.  Don't you think?

  

I will keep you updated on the progress of this room.  These do-it-yourself projects seem to take us a little longer than they use to!  Hmmm.  Wonder why?

Wooden You Know It

I don't go to garage sales for every often, but a couple of weeks ago I came up on one in a church's parking lot while on my way to work.  So, I stopped.  And this ugly little shelf was all I got.  It was really crude.  Looks like maybe it was homemade, but it was only $1.00 and I thought it would be an easy little project.  Slap on a little paint and be done.  "Wooden" you know it?  I was wrong!

First of all I was going to simply wipe it down but soon realized there was so much nicotine on it that I was going to have to sand it.  So sand I did!  Then I got one coat of paint on it and didn't like the color so I had to repaint.  The shape and size also made it awkward to work with.  Lastly, I over waxed and had to once again sand, sand, sand!

Whew, finally finished!  Better. "Wooden" you agree?

Mr. Picker helping me stage it:

Change of Scenery

I keep this metal book stand in my kitchen.  When I get tired of looking at one picture or when the seasons change, I flip the page.  How easy is that?

Linked to Feathered Nest Friday

One Dollar Deal

Found this little silver tray today at a thrift store for you guessed it: $1.00!  This was my only purchase, but that's OK, it was worth it since I didn't make an out of the way trip.  While running errands, it was on the beaten path!!

 It's pretty tarnished but nothing a little silver polish 

and elbow grease won't take care of!  

See!  $1.00

The handles: 

Don't be afraid to buy silver that has been engraved.  It will be covered up with food when you use it and besides nobody usually notices.  If they do, just tell them it is a family heirloom you inherited and you have no idea what the initials stand for.  This one says C.A.F.B. O.W.C. 1976-77.  Go figure.  It looks like maybe it was given to someone who served in the position of C.A.F.B. at the O.W.C. Organization for one year between 1976 and 1977???

I got out the silver polish and did a little polishing even though it still needs a little work.  Call me crazy but I kinda like the tarnish look.  It is silver plated, but still worth $1.00 don't ya think?

 

Goodbye Fall!!

Hello Winter!!  I just knew it!! I went to Mexico last week and missed Fall.  Seriously.  In South Mississippi we tend to skip Fall and Spring completely and go straight into Winter and Summer.  Woke up this morning to 34 degrees.  Oh well, fall is still on my front porch.  Thought I would share some pics before I go drag out the Santa decor.  

This is the wooden canister that I shared here, the one Mr. Picker rescued from the garbage bin at his work.

A Couple of Questions for You!

Here is what I bought over the weekend:

Ugly, huh?
But, in less than two hours, I turned it into this:

I can't decide if I want to replace the mirror in it or make a chalkboard.  What do you think?    ALSO... the store where I purchased it had another one, it is identical.  I don't know if I like it enough to go get it even though the price is low enough for me to sell and make a profit.  Someone let me know what you think.  PLEASE!

Linking to Coastal Charm
                What We Keep
                Savvy Southern Style
                Restore Interiors
                Decore To Abhor 
                Faded Charm
                Primitive & Proper
                Potpourri Friday @ 2805
                From My Front Porch to Yours

Where Have I Been?

A Few Hints:

New Family Member

My new Grand-Dog: Little Mr. "Cotton".  He is a Beagle and Cocker Spaniel Mix

Mr. Picker

You have your American Pickers as well as the Picker Sisters.  Now, please allow me to introduce to you Mr. Picker.

Taking on the role of Danielle of the American Pickers, I called Mr. Picker this week and sent him on a wild goose chase through the streets of New Orleans.  Here's the story:  A daughter was attempting to empty the contents of a house that once belonged to her mother and step-father.  Both passed away and the house had been sold.  She had to have everything out by the 14th of this month.  Both mother and step-father were antique dealers.  So...you can imagine what kind of goodies lurked within those rooms.  However... five antique store owners from the New Orleans area had already swooped down on it and left with a pretty hefty haul.  What could be left?  Mr. Picker knows collectibles when he sees them and there were still plenty of those in the house and in the shop behind the house.  The furniture was  pretty much gone, except for one desk.

With limited daylight (the shop was dark with no lighting) Mr. Picker got busy.  He was more than excited when he called me to tell me about his loot.  And here it is, all for under 150.00:


Primitive spool for a weaver's loom: (or something like that)

Oriental Fan:

Basket of Christmas blocks: (Also, some Shiny Bright ornaments that I did not take a picture of)

Old advertisement or newspaper:

Comic Book:

Wooden Eggs:

Primitive cabbage slicer:

And last but not least, a ladies writing desk.  It appears to be old, solid oak.  It has a ton of character even with all its flaws:

I will probably try to sell everything except the desk.