Romancing The Home

Yesterday I changed the dishes in our dining room china cabinet to a more spring like display after being inspired by Cindy at My Romantic Home. I ran out of plate stands so as a temporary fix I used these clunky bowl stands. This afternoon I will pick up some more and change them but I thought I would share the progress so far.
These happy couples in the living room are a nod to Valentines Day romance.

I hope you are all having a good week.

Hugs,
Sue

Weekend Finds

This weekend I picked up a few things in an attempt to add some sparkle to these dreary winter months that remain before we get our first glimpse of spring. St. Germain Antiques in Mt. Pleasant never disappoints. This little silver bowl will be perfect for lemon wedges. The cut glass ice bucket and tongs is just the right size for a few ice cubes to have out when serving. I love the idea of collecting sparkly bottle stoppers. This is the first in my collection.

I have been looking for a tray like this for a while and was happy to find this one at St. Germain Antiques. The wine decanter and stemless wine glass set came from Stone Soup in downtown Mt. Pleasant.

My friend Sheryl volunteers at the hospital gift shop. A visit there yielded these cute little hand towels.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Hugs,

Sue

Joy In The Morning

While up this morning mopping the kitchen floor I looked on the counter where I stack things that would hinder a swift swipe of the mop and noticed a pleasant sight that triggered memories from the past. It gives me joy to see randomly placed objects that turn out to be pleasing in appearance. Housekeeping chores can be a drudge or a joy. Little moments like this make it a joy.

This stool & quilt rack belonged to the doctor that delivered most of the babies at that time in my home town. When I was growing up we lived right next door to Dr. Junke and his large familie's house. Many years later I lived in that house. When we bought the house he was moving into a retirement home and selling many of his posessions. We bought this stool and quilt rack from him along with many other things.

When I look at these pieces, setting here on my counter top, I think of the sweet doctor in a Santa suit singing to the children that delighted so in a visit from him at Christmas time. His precious wife Anne that collected so many beautiful pieces that bring me such joy, even now, I think of her.

I am not sure if any of you townies that were around at that time will read this post, but if you do, I hope you will chime in with your memories of the good doctor and his family. I do not think it is too far of a stretch to say that they were kind of like the Kennedy family of our little community back then. Today the memory and the sight of their belongings brought me joy.

Take time to spot your joy.

Hugs,

Sue

Let It Snowman

Let it snowman, let it snowman.

Snowmobile,

snowfort,

snowcone.

Let it snowman, let it snowman.

Snowball,

snowboard,

snowdrift.

Let it snowman, let it snowman.

Poem by Bridgid Giannotta

9 years old

MAC Cosmetics Teams Up With Lilly Pulitzer

I always wished that I was one of those girls that could wash my face with Ivory soap, dab on a little lip gloss and go. Over the years I have accepted the fact that it is not to be, but with a little help from my friends at MAC I can get by with out too much effort.

Last night after dinner, with Dana and the boys at PF Chang's, we wandered around Partridge Creek to walk off our Lettuce Wraps and Mongolian Beef. It was really a beautiful evening to stroll around our beautiful outdoor shopping center with its heated sidewalks providing a smooth surface for the boys to run off their pent up energy from dinner.

We wandered into to Nordstrom's and I saw that the MAC counter had received their shipment of the new Lilly Pulitzer line. While Dana walked around with the boys I made my selection from the new line and picked up a few staples that needed refreshing.

From the top left corner, this is what I got.

Mineralize Skinfinish Natural ~ medium plus ~ A new type of powder for me.

Lipgelee ~ Preppy ~ Preppy is a watermelon color that I often look for. The sales assistant said this has amazing staying power. I put some on when we got home and when I washed my face before bed it was still on so I agree with her assessment.

Lipgelee ~ Shift To Pink ~ A blue pink. These Lipgelee's look really glittery in the tube. Once applied they create a very pretty shine. The glitter seems to disappear.

Studio Fix ~ Powder Foundation ~ NC25 ~ I love this stuff and go through it very fast.

Pearlmate Eye Shadow ~ This is the pink, green & white Lilly eye shadow. It looks like it will be fun for spring.

Creamblend Blush ~ Florida ~ This is really bright but blends beautifully and leaves a nice rosy glow.

Satin Lipstick ~ Pink Nouveau ~My go to pink color.

Amplified Lipstick ~ Chatter-Box ~ A warmer pink.
Matt Eyeshadow ~ Omega ~ This is a staple for blonde's. I use it for my eyebrows as well as for a neutral eyeshadow. Every time I get my makeup done at MAC they pull out this shade.

If you are interested in more detailed reviews of these products or any other makeup items you can go to Makeup Alley and check out the Product Review section. The ladies there know their makeup.

Time To Get Moving

Good morning. Well, the last of my injuries from Christmas day are finally beginning to heal. The house is still covered in Christmas decorations but this morning I felt good enough to start the undecorating. So far I have the tops of the cabinets done. They still need some work but at least it is a start. The rabbits and roses are starting to reappear after their rest in the basement. OK, I know the faux foliage on cabinet tops is way over but they work for us so they are back up. They are clean and not your run of the mill ivy (which I really kind of like anyway, if done right, but it seems to have really gotten a bad rap here in blog land).

On top of the glass front cabinet you get a close look at the faux parsley in a Tiffany blue and white cachepot. It is clean and has a good deal of texture. The lavender plant needs a blue and white cachepot. That will be added when I find one that works. The chalk ware rabbit, in front of the tole tray, is happy to see the light of day.

This black berry plant, with its curling tendrils, softens the top on the opposite cabinet top. The beat up tole painted plates match the big tray on the other side of the room. It does not look beat up from a distance. Well, not much anyway ;) The rabbit with his French horn is tucked in the back to evenly distribute the rabbits around the room.

This blue and white, Crab Tree & Evelyn, wreath softens the corner by the pantry. That funny looking thing in the back, on the cabinet top, is another rabbit that lost its mate over the winter. The little couple below is keeping him company.....

The stairway project is moving along. I have found one Milken carpet that looks like a look-for- less alternative to the Stark carpet that I really want. A sample is on its way to us so I can see what it looks like in person and determine the quality of it. The search is still continuing though because even if the quality and look are acceptable, there is not a border to go with it, we will see. Maybe I do not even need a border to get the look that I am after.

Time to get back to work.

Hugs,

Sue

Colefax & Fowler To The Rescue

This year John and I decided that we would give carpet to each other for Christmas, not very romantic but needed. This morning while looking for a solution to our problem staircase I remembered a tiny picture from Colefax & Fowler ~ The Best In English Interior Decoration by Chester Jones. A note to this particular page in Jones charming book has languished in my decorating notebook ever since we moved into this house six years ago. This little picture has solved all my problems in regard to carpet placement and our problem stairs.


You can see the problem stairs here if you scroll down. My major dissatisfaction has been with the color of the trim. Golden oak does not go with our furniture at all. The C & F solution to the problem, paint it all white. The next problem is that the runner is not even centered on the stair and the existing carpet is inset between two pieces of the dreaded oak. There is particle board under the carpeted section of each step that is about a half inch lower than the oak making the carpet inset on the tread even off center. The C & F solution is to fill in the lower particle board area to make a level step then carpet the whole stair tread all the way across. Ta-da!


The next informative bit of information in the picture above is the placement of the guilloche border. See how the border is placed on the wall side of the stair only. I love that idea. I have seen stairways carpeted with the border on both sides and for some reason it just looked wrong and chopped up. This seems to give the decorative effect without cluttering up the look.

The color does not show up well in the picture here but it is a navy blue pattern on an ivory ground. The wall color is a beautiful mid-range true blue. Since our walls are a mid-range green I will be looking for a dark green pattern on an ivory background. Wish me luck. I know this will not be easy to find but, hey, it has taken me six years just to figure out how to correct this mess of a potentially beautiful stairway.

Hugs,
Sue

Happy Birthday Cathy

Happy Birthday Cathy! This picture is of the ladies on our Christmas Eve. When I enlarged it Cathy was cut off a bit ;( You still get a good idea of how stunning she looked in her Anthropology's dress.

My hand is still hurting so I can't type much. I hope all is well with you all and that you had a happy New Years celebration.

Hugs,

Sue