The etsy shop is up

Let the buying begin! I will be posting more at least once a week (maybe more on the weekends).


My etsy shop!


Enjoy!

Our home...some befores, durings, and now. Specifically the kitchen and bedroom.

Bedroom peeks:
So, when we first moved in, the bedroom floor had carpet. Ech. Used carpet makes me want to vomit. Strong reaction. I know. But, the idea that other people's skin cells are all up in there grosses me out. And I am not easily grossed out. Believe it.
So, we had Penelope (more about Penelope in a bit) pull up the carpet within hours of closing on the house. He then patched the wood, sub-floor and then painted it white. Ahhhhhh. Blissful white bedroom floor. How dreamy. No. It turned into a mess of a disaster. Within a few days, and our five dogs going in and out of the back yard, through our bedroom, the floor was FILTHY! Having the housekeeper come every week as opposed to every other was not in our budget and niether S nor I are big into mopping. So....we had the floor re-done. Viola.
See? White floor.

Bye white floor.

Some little pics of our bedroom:



And a peek into our closet. We came out long ago-so funny, I kill me! We recently had some shelving put in. Again, the amazing Penelope's handy work!



The kitchen:
Before:
These pics are mostly from the walk-through, the day of closing. I have a few more pics from when I first saw the house and holy, freakin' whoa! It was baddddddd (imagine the first picture and times it by 1 million)! Too many wolves howling at the moon on too many blankets, shower curtains and rugs! (I cannot even tell you how difficult it was to take down those dusty as all get out fake ivy from above the window. They were SCREWED in!!! I had to get the drill out!




During:
Ok, so Penelope is the BEST carpenter around. He is amazing and talented and a major perfectionist! He has done every single project that we have hired out for in this house. He made the pantry, did all of the counter-tops, the wainscoting, installed our outdoor shower (shhhh, don't tell code enforcement), did all of the crown molding, built one of our decks, and will be assisting (actually, I will be the assistant) in the making of our chicken coop!
Here is Penel in all of his glory!

After:
After many trips to Goodwill over the years, I have finally collected my dream kitchen decor. All vintage-y and sweet!





Any new re-dos in your homes? Share! This means you, KMH (since I believe that you are the only one who reads this)!

Gettin' Hitched on a Farm

It's true....I am getting married! I am saying "YES, I DO!" to the woman of my dreams this October. I have been in full wedding planning mode and it is FUN! Even though gay marriage isn't legal in Florida yet, we are making this the real deal holy field! So, when gay people can actually get married legally, all we will have to do that day is jump on over to the lil' ol' court house, sign some papers and then go out to dinner!
For people who know me....like, really know me, like KMH from this blog then they know that making this commitment to S is nothing to scoff at. I am smitten...actually, beyond smitten. I am in love. Like knock me down, head over heels. S rocks my world. She challenges me and pushes me and loves me in all the ways that I didn't even knew existed. I am a lucky lady!
Needless to say, but I'm gonna say it anyway (why do people say this?), that for the next 9 months, this blog will probably be a bit wedding planning filled. I have been searching every website, every etsy wedding treasury, every photoblog, for all things wedding planning. We are throwing this shindig by ourselves and I am planning on making almost everything. Even the food! Ahhhhh! Shhhh...with the help of Costco. ;)

Below are some pics of inspiration. I hate that I don't remember where I found them online so if you happen to know, let me know and I will give credit where amazing credit is due.





Oh, and we are getting married on a HORSE FARM!!!!!!!!!!! YIPEEEEEEEE!

Binging and Purging

So, for the past 3 hours I have been cleaning out my closet. I filled 4 huge bags full of stuff to bring to Goodwill. What does this mean, you ask? Well, it means that I need to stop the madness! I am a clothing fan! I loveeeeee a good deal and I enjoy the hunt at a thrift shop or any store really. I love to shop. Period. There. I said it. I need to not do it so much...even if they items are a good deal...or free...or expensive. I now have a closet that feels organized (even more than before...KMH, can you believe this?!?!) I am not into New Year resolutions but maybe I could make a new mindset about shopping this year. I will ask myself before every purchase, "do I need this?...do I have something at home just like this?". And if I answer "no" to the first question and "yes" to the second, I will simply allow my delicate wrists to place the item back on the rack, smile, and walk away.

Photo projects

I have been consistently taking the same types of pictures since I was a kid. I remember my mom gave me a little camera (110 film?) and I was hooked. Since then, I still shoot with a simple camera but I am still focused on taking pictures of my feet, pictures from over my head, pictures of me in mirrors, and pictures of me drinking coffee. Now, I have added to the list and I take photos of me in my favorite vintage finds or pictures while I am walking and, since I travel sometimes for work, I take photos of myself in hotel rooms.
What kinds of habits do you see in your picture taking? Care to share?

Gifts are good.

As a gift to myself, and Shaun, I have been buying fresh flowers for the house every week. I am actually surprised by how much seeing them everyday affects me. I smile every time I wash the dishes because I put one flower in a small vase by the sink and the rest in vases/pitchers on the dining room table. Some of the vases/pitchers are thrifted, some are from Ikea and some are from TJMaxx...a small investment towards your heart and home.
I suggest that if you need a odd bit of joy, but yourself flowers. Make it a habit!

To do: drink coffee and write

Good morning!
Working from home today, and then writing (revision of a short story due this weekend), and setting up for a conference that I am presenting at tomorrow. Oh, joy! So much to do. And then, this weekend is STREET PAINTING FESTIVAL!
I have gone to the festival every year for the past 15? years. I have pictures on my computer from last year's fest and I will try to post some later today. The handy man is on his way over to give me an estimate for installing the outdoor shower. Shaun thinks I am nuts to want to shower outdoors. Ha! It is bliss I tell you, pureeee bliss!!!!
Any one else like to shower outdoors?

Here is a picture of Zenny in the guest room. The canopy is vintage and I bought it at Goodwill a few years ago, knowing that it would be lovely hung above the bed! Bed spread at foot of bed from Anthropolgie. Book case: Goodwill


Last night we had dinner at my mom's house. She made an incredible salad with kale (who knew?!) and mac and cheese from scratch with Coastal Cheddar cheese...omg, yum! I had cold Stella with a slice of honey-bell orange. Amazing! Thanks, mom!

Tuesday is TACO NIGHT!

In the adorable little downtown that I live in, there is a little place called Havana Hideouts (The restaurant was on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on Food Network-I'll link to the show when we get home from dinner). On Tuesday nights they serve tacos for ONE DOLLAR with the purchase of a drink. I usually order a glass of their homemade Berry-Basil Sangria with two black bean tacos. Yummmmm!

It was only a few months ago...

that I bought this cottage, my first home, the home I plan to own forever, adding to it's original charm and creating my dream home!
A picture from the day I closed on my own-SOLD! An amazing, yet surreal day!

Years ago I bought this chair for myself as a graduation present when I graduated from under grad. I wanted the "perfect reading chair" and searched for MONTHS for a chair. I finally found this gem at Goodwill and was so amazed that someone would have given this baby up! I love the way it looks in this corner....mushhhhhhy!

I am heading out to yoga class in a little bit, but much of me would rather snuggle up in this chair with a glass of wine and the book that I am currently reading, "How the Light Gets In" by M.J. Hyland. Ahhhhhhhhhh

Where in your home is your favorite place to read a book?

Thrifted!

I am a HUGE vintage fan- clothing, art, housewares, furniture, etc. Below is one of my new, well new to me, dresses from Goodwill- a simple cotton dress, great with flats or boots!

Welcome to my new blog!

Welcome to my new blog! This will be a place for me to link you to some of my favorite blogs that I read, posting pictures from decorating and renovating my 1925 house, writing about foods, thrifted finds and other things about my life. My goal is to post daily, some days more than once, but, we shall see!

Here is a few pictures from re-doing my library. Being a rather big book lover, I always knew that once I bought a home, I would have a library! The chairs, rug, pillow, table and throw blanket are from Ikea. The black, chipped paint desk is a vintage find from Goodwill, the knobs are from Anthropologie, the green vase on the floor is from Marshalls, the chandelier is from Lowes (I HATE wires! I made a wire cover for the wires coming down from the ceiling and ceiling medallion from thick black fabric from Jo-Ann Fabrics), the cabinetry was built by my handy-person, the paint is all Valspar in eggshell (I will write the color name next time) for the walls, and semi-gloss in Beluga for the inside of the shelving, the white is called Muslin white and it is used on all trim, including the wainscoting and the crown moulding.
A large round mirror will be hung later this week, as well as two amazzzzzing thrifted pieces of art.