Kitchen decor redo

I have wanted to change up the decor in my kitchen for awhile now and finally accomplished
that today.  I didn't purchase one thing, but rather went shopping throughout my home and
 I thought it turned out great. Something different and fun.   I made hubby a coffee station
which I also turned into a tea station for me! :)

{I was inspired to hang the clocks on the window from Tracey's  blog over at
French Larkspur...and also the 3 tiered metal stand. I am in no way an expert
like she is, but I like to play anyway. lol}

If you remember I used this chalkboard at my Fairy Party this summer.
The coffee pods are in the hanging basket which I JUST realized says
FLEURS!! How funny is that!! Maybe I should turn the basket
around. HA!

Crowns are always in style. Funny story here...I decided I wanted my crown gray so
I spray painted it, totally forgetting that it had rhinestones on it {fake}. I thought
I would clean them off , but never did. Oh well...:)

These cutie pie chocolate eggs were found in the cupboard from Easter. They had not
even been opened yet. I can't believe that! Ferrero hazlenut...yumm!!

Still in love with my french style totes and use them a lot!

Would you like to come for coffee...or tea? :)

Some of my pretty vintage spoons ready to use.

My painted table and mismatched chairs. I still want either a rectangle table or a chippy
white island...someday.

Hmm...I am NOT good at noticing things in photos until I actually post them.
 There isn't anything in my cloche on the table! A few days ago it was full of
blueberry scones! Someone in this house must have liked them, but we won't
say who! Maybe two someones...???

Clock face and linens...what can be better?

Pretty vintage plates with tiny aqua roses on them perfect for a treat with coffee or tea.

I love this candle-holder above, but most of the time it sets on the floor as it is
very large. {That little tiny piece of bittersweet is NOT supposed to be up there
on that shelf. ha! Another oops! Looks kind of silly all by itself }

What you can't see is that I have made a mess of my border up at the ceiling. I don't even
want border, but until we remodel this kitchen {hopefully in a year or two} it is what it
is so I got the brilliant idea to paint it.  I did three layers of paint in different colors and
then appliqued a fleur-de-lis on with drywall mud. LOVE the concept and it turned out
okay, but the color is NOT right at all. Haven't figured out what to do yet. At this point
I have tried three different things and UGH!

Hope you enjoyed my attempt at redoing my kitchen decor.
Happy Thursday!!

Etsy Sale ~

It is time to have an Etsy sale and move some things on down the road so
if you have had your eye on anything , now would be the perfect time to buy.

I have added several old books with beautiful covers along with other vintage goodies.

Also, everyone who purchases a book will receive a set of EIGHT corner page bookmarks
that I have made absolutely FREE! Can't beat that deal! :)

{all will be assorted and chosen by me...not the specific ones in this photo}

So come on over and see if there is something that makes your heart go
pitter ~ patter. 

{You can click here}

If you choose to participate in this sale, you can either go ahead and purchase the items and then I will
refund the excess back to your account OR you can contact me and tell me what you want to purchase
and I will adjust the price for you and then you can purchase and pay.  Either way works for me.
Money is money right?? lol
Thank you!!

OOPS: I forgot to tell you about the sale...
buy one item and get another item of equal
 value or less HALF OFF! :)

Bittersweet

I can truly say that FALL is my favorite season! I do love the other seasons also,
but there is just something about autumn and the beautiful fall colors that
grabs all my attention and doesn't let go until winter is upon us.

Hubby and I hopped in his little ole' truck last weekend and drove up and down the
back roads hunting for bittersweet. It is so hard to come by now,  so I was thrilled
 when we found a small patch.

I don't use much color in my fall decorating except for some bittersweet when I can
find it. {The hooks above are where I hang all my extra until I find the exact spot
where I want to place in my decor}

I  really think that a branch of it here and there is all that is needed to announce that
*FALL IS HERE*. 

Just the right touch of fall above my french themed frame.

I remember my mom collecting bittersweet from the time I was very young. She started
 the tradition and now since she isn't able to get out and look for it , I share mine with
 her. We were very lucky to find any this year. I want to plant my own, but I have to find
 the plants first. I tried it one year only to read later that you need a male plant and a
female plant for it to produce berries. Who knew?? :)

I will say that if you have little children , I do NOT recommend it as it is poisonous.

This is my welcome sign just inside the back door that I have probably shared with you before. I found
 this old frame a couple years ago at a garage sale for $1.00. I painted it white and added a board that I
painted with chalkboard paint. I love it!

A few gourds along with bittersweet in my front porch decor. Will try to get more pictures later
and not just a *snippet*. lol

Delicious autumn! My very would is wedded to it and
if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking
 the successive autumns.
~ George Eliot

                           

Lemon-Rosemary Cake

I tried out a new recipe over the weekend and it was scrumptious! If you love lemon and rosemary
then you will love this cake!

{this is what was left after cutting a few pieces to take to my bff and truth be told the whole cake did
not look so great! I can make a cake 100 times and it turns out just fine UNTIL I want to take photos
and then part of the cake stays in the pan...grr}

Every single bite is so yummy!

I cut a slice just for you...can you taste it?

Minced fresh rosemary mixed into the batter gives just the right amount of that luscious rosemary flavor.

The glaze, sliced almonds, lemon zest and rosemary sprigs make it look so pretty.

This is the magazine I got the recipe from. I would print it here for you, but I think that is
probably a no-no so just go and buy the magazine. It is totally worth the 7.99 spent. 

Remember this apple crisp from a few posts ago? It is also in the same magazine.

Happy Monday everyone! Go out and celebrate life!!

For sale...

Just popping in quick to let you know that I am offering this gray linen blouse for sale.
I am asking $15 for it {plus $5 shipping}. Brand new without tags, size XL, brand
 Elena Solano, 55 % linen, 45% rayon, invisible zipper in back. I adore this top, but can't
 wear it since I have lost weight and have never even had a chance to wear it. I already
removed the tags so I can't take it back either. I thought I would give someone else the
opportunity to enjoy it.

{blouse is SOLD}

This pink rosebud dress above is now available in my Etsy shop as are the cards below
along with a few other goodies.

Happy Thursday!! I can see the weekend coming!! :)
Blessings~

Making a new crate look old

First off let me  put a disclaimer on here. I am not a professional nor do I profess to be one, but I was pretty
happy with the way these crates turned out. I am not that great at tutorials either because face it gals,
I paint with my right hand so I can't paint and snap a photo at the same time , but I have tried to show you
step by step what I did. I do hope that you get some good out of it and try it on your own new crates.

Okay first off I started with two crates like the one shown above and also a smaller one.
I picked the larger ones up at a garage sale this summer and the smaller one at Goodwill.

Isn't that quite a difference?? Finished product on the top and original one on the bottom.

First, I painted it all with white paint {see I told you...I am NOT good at tutorials. I forgot
to put that picture on here! oops} Hopefully you don't need that step. I just painted the crate
very loosely  with some of the original color still showing through.

{I used  eggshell/satin *country cloud* from Walmart.  BHG brand that I have had for a couple years}

Then I got out my *drizzle grey* paint and my antiquing medium in
*apple butter brown*.

{truth be told I have had this antiquing medium FOREVER}

You can't tell it very well here {in fact I wonder if it is the right photo!}, but I just loosely painted the gray on concentrating on some of the spots that didn't get the white paint, but kinda overall as well.

Then it was time to antique it. The brown antiquing medium was thick just like paint, so I put some
in a cup and added water until it was runny. I slathered it on with another paintbrush...again here and
there. Some spots got more than others.

Then I wiped it all off and wa -la!! Instant old looking crate. I was kinda scared to do the antiquing because
I thought I might not like it so I tried it on the bottom first and decided it was a GO!!!

Two finished crates that I think look so much better than when I started.

{Yep, I recycle my old McDonalds cups. They work great for paint or for cleaning brushes out!!}

Please let me know if you try this technique and how it turned out. I will say that my gray paint seemed to
be thinner than most paint and I am sure that worked to my advantage. I could even wipe some of that off
 if I thought there was too much on.  I have had a fun morning making these crates over. {I also
painted a chair, but that was not so fun! ha!}

HAPPY MONDAY and enjoy your week!

I've been kinda snappy today!

...no, not that kind of snappy...snappy with my camera! lol

{sorry for the yellowish glow. lighting is terrible here today and I had to
have the overhead light on}

I will confess that I am still in my pj's today and it is after 11am here. I RARELY do this,
but today I have no obligations and I am just being lazy with not a care in the world. :)

I purchased this basket at TJ Maxx to use at a show that never happened,  so I use it around my home.
This setting on my camera is color accent or color swap ...I don't remember which. ha!

This is the regular setting on the camera so you can see that the note cards are
really this color instead of white. Cameras sure have come a long way from what
 they used to be. I have had mine for a few years now and still haven't figured
 it all out.

This is a gray linen blouse that I fell in love with at TJ Maxx and purchased it over a year
ago. Then I went and lost weight and it does not fit me! I didn't even have a chance to
wear it once.  :(

I purchased this vintage pink dress at an antique store years ago. It is so sweet with
an underskirt of tulle.

I have had my fun for the day so I better get cracking and actually do something.
Any suggestions?? ha!! Happy Saturday!!