New Love

While out blog hoping the other day I ran across a blog that had one of those slide show thingys in the side bar filled with her favorite books. As I watched each page turn and another book cover appear, this one came up and I immediately clicked on it. What do you know, it took me directly to the Amazon page where I could purchase the book. So I did, wouldn't you?

I put in my order and two days later the book arrived in my snail mail box.

I could hardly wait to open up the package and take a peek inside.

I don't think I was prepared for what I was about to see...

Faded roses from yesteryear...

outdoor living dripping with cream...

Layers of Vintage lace to hide beneath and dream...

 

Sumptuous appointments fit for a Queen.

These are the interiors of Robin Brown: Founder Extraordinaire of Magnolia Pearl.

Victorian, Bohemian, Gypsy Queen...

My heart is swooning with delight over all the glorious sights!

A Sigh of Relief

Mademoiselle is finally back in her room,
but that doesn't mean we're nearing completion.

I can't tell you how many days I've stood in this very spot
wondering:
HOW LONG...
IS THIS PROCESS GOING TO TAKE!!
I've been told many times
that it's the journey...
not the destination that's important,
but I think it's BOTH!!

Even Elmo has wondered
and spent many hours staring from behind the puppy gate
forbidden to be near the one he loves most...
me!

The room still looks bare,

but soon it won't.

But I DO have a confession to make...

I've committed the design faux pas of the century...
and placed my bed in front of the window seat...
What is a girl to do when one entire wall
is covered with a single ribbon window.
Commit faux pas!
(Architects know nothing ;-O)!

My darling linen table cloth, I mean bedspread.
I found it while in Prescott for a song
and had to bring it home.

The Magnolia Inn

This was our room...Room 9.

By the end of our stay at the Magnolia Inn both hubby and I agreed that this is the best Bed & Breakfast we've stayed in. It's always been a dream of mine to own a B&B and I've gone over every detail in my mind of how it would be. All the way down to the colors, decor, room themes, and names. This romantic Inn had it all. Nothing was missing from my list.
We had a gorgeous view of the little church next door and the largest bathroom in the Inn. There was a small TV and movies available as well as free wireless Internet.
And the room was very cozy and romantic.

Outside our room was a kitchen for the guests that had everything from Microwavable popcorn to tea, coffee, fruit, and a fridge for storing left-overs. There was even a dishwasher. The French doors led from the kitchen to the veranda where I endured the cold to enjoy my breakfast outdoors in the crisp morning air.

A view of the veranda. There was an upper and a lower one for the guests to enjoy.

The entire Inn was decorated for the Christmas season in beautiful golds,
greens, and neutral accessories.

The guest kitchen with it's darling decor was a mix of new and old pieces.

The small front parlor was so inviting with it's large Christmas Tree and soothing color palette. I could have spent all afternoon sitting there sipping cocoa and reading magazines, but there was too much to do and see in town so I just walked by and sighed...aah!

Hubby standing in front of the Inn doors. What would I say the architecture was? I don't think there was any history on the house, but it looked as if it were a 20's style that had been added on to. What ever the architecture was, it was enchanting.

The exterior of the Inn. What a wonderful place to visit.
Next time we'll take a tour of the Historic Cemetery. I'm not sure why, but sweet hubby and I always love visiting the old cemeteries. Until then...

Sweet Dreams

Have you ever been wandering through an antiques mall and stumbled into what you thought was a dream? Kathy and I did Saturday afternoon while hunting for Christmas ornaments. All we could do was stand there and dream..."what if that chandelier were in my room, or that gorgeous mirror was hung above my fireplace." The possibilities became endless.
That's Kathy's reflection with the dreamy expression on her face.
I of course am the one staring into the camera.

There was a sweet faux mantle in the space with old doors painted with roses.

A lovely white painted dresser with delicate details.

The black iron Urns look sweet against the blue of the dresser.
Wouldn't a little Christmas Tree
look darling in one of those?
Hm...I may need to go back and take a better look.

Don't you just love all the creamy whites
against the old brick wall and chipping plaster?
It feels so serene and peaceful that
we both agreed we could be perfectly happy
living in this dreamy little space.

More of Down Towne Orange

Isn't this a beautiful wedding gown? It's in one of my favorite shoppes called "Tea Leaf Cottage." The ceilings soar to 20 feet and this beautiful gown is displayed near the top. In the first picture you can see a bit of the original ceiling detail. This darling store is filled from floor to ceiling with shades of pale pink and green set against white antique furniture. Personally, I could live in this space.

Another gorgeous store named Tulips. You can find the most amazing things here from antiques to French soaps to sweet baby clothes. It also houses a florist shoppe.

I've been spending a lot of spare moments in Orange searching for a particular "accessory." I haven't found it yet, but when I do I'll let you know. I hope you all have a blessed Friday!

Curious Things

I love going to someones house for the first time and seeing what kind of curious things they have, but while cleaning my house a few days ago I realized I had a few of my own.

This is my office or should I say sweet hubby's office. About ten years ago he started building a wooden airplane to fly in. It was an open cockpit and only big enough for the two of us and a small pic-nic basket. Production stopped when we discovered termites in the garage. The tail has been leaning against the office wall ever since.

A wooden airplane propeller found in the desert by my dad. It's from the 30's and the logo is still visible. One year for Christmas my dad gave it to my sweet hubby. He was so excited!

An old whiskey bottle from my grandfather's collection and a scale model of a 1910-20 Harley Motorcycle. My hubby rides a Harley so as gifts he always receives Harley paraphernalia...oh! I bought him that one.

There's also a program from Bugs Bunny's 50th Birthday party. A copper spring from one of my 140 year old parlor chairs. I couldn't part with that!

And the last picture is a lovely chair from the 30's covered in 1970's burnt orange. I bought the piece to upholster and hubby fell in love with it the way it was. So there it sits in all its orange vinyl. Of course I had to add floral pillows (smile).

What kind of curious things do you have?

Cottage Embellishments

We have several projects going on around our little cottage and many more that need that last final detail. Right now I'm working on curtains for mine and sweet hubby's room. We have what are called "Ribbon Windows" that span two walls in the room. The other two walls are broken up by the closet, the door into the bedroom, and a door into the bathroom. So we have no "Bed wall" due to these two lovely ribbon windows. Not only do we not have a bed wall, but the walls under the "ribbons" are practically useless as nothing with a mirror can be placed against them. I've never understood what architects are thinking when they design houses, but it's clear they know nothing about furniture placement. Sorry, but this is one of my pet peeves in life. Architects don't like designers and designers don't like architects, but if they could learn to work together homes would be much better designed. OK, enough of my rambling and back to my projects.

The picture above is the fabric I chose for our windows. Yes it's quite dark, but it is gorgeous and rich in detail. I started this project on Saturday and only completed "stage 1" last night. Tomorrow I'll begin stage two. Once they're finished and in place I'll post pictures.

Sweet hubby took a piece of melamine and fitted it to two folding tables to use as a work table. It's finished dimensions are 4' x 6' and takes up the entire kitchen area. When we built the island I had sweet hubby build it on a frame that has wheels so it can be rolled out of the way if necessary. That's my island over there to the left and just look at that beautiful 30 year old flooring. One day that is going to go! As a side note...it looks like my walls are in need of pictures or something of interest.This is our other current project. A new screen door for Bramble Berry Cottage. I have been begging my husband for years to replace the screen door on the front of our cottage and as we are "do it yourself" people it takes us a bit longer to do it ourselves. My hubby built this new screen that hopefully will get hinged, painted, and hung by next Friday. I hope.
Two detailed sections of the door. We still need to purchase the hardware and determine how it's going to lock so our puppies don't escape. Once it's hung I'll post some pictures.

I hope you all have a fun Wednesday!

Castle Walls I've built them All!

I've had a lot of comments about my bathroom walls and Pat of Mille Fiori Favoriti thought they needed a post of their own so here it is.
It all began when I decided to host a tea party at my house for my wonderful volunteers. I started planning my menu, picking which china to use, and how I was going to embellish my tables. I was suddenly struck by a horrifying thought... all my bathrooms were a disaster! How embarrassing! Friend's who come over often are used to it but, these were my darling volunteers who had never been to my house.

I'm one of those people who has years of design magazines piled in every nook and cranny of the house and sometimes it's a bit scary how I remember a particular article and what issue it came from. Anyway, I have this one favorite article where the homeowners granddaughter's bedroom is painted like castle walls. That's where I found my inspiration.

When I told my husband what I was planning to do he decided to replace the toilet at the same time. One disaster led to another and by the week of my tea party the new toilet still wasn't installed. I had to cancel my tea party but, it was OK as I was happily painting my castle walls.

I worked anywhere from 2 to 6 hours per day for about 8 weeks and took the weekends off but.
It's a teeny tiny bathroom so I had to get creative when it came to the towel racks. My sweet hubby built the cabinet mirror from a mirror I found in an old junk shop. Oh, the funny thing... people still use the ugly torn apart bathroom instead of this cute little magical one.

There are two other pictures on the post below.