No More Golden Oak

I am still on the hunt for the perfect carpet but the stair case is painted. Thanks to Ryan and Mike, my fabulous painters, for a job well done.

Welcome Spring

Happy Spring!

We are finally getting the stairway painted. The painter's started last Thursday and promise to be finished by this Wednesday. At this stage it looks terrible.....We had house guests this weekend that were kind enough to tolerate the light coating of dust that has permeated the entire house. Of course I did the best I could to remove as much as possible before their arrival but I am afraid the thin haze of gunk remained where least expected.

I hope you are enjoying Spring where ever you are.

xoxo,

Sue

Guest Blogger Today is Blake Moore

Dear Aidan, Have a nice day. Have fun at school. I am staying with my Grandma. Good by.

~ Spring ~

So is everyone in the northern hemisphere enjoying this glimpse of spring that we have been getting recently? We had a great time in Florida last week. After 5 weeks on Weight Watchers the Lilly bathing suits worked out alright.

Since we got back from Florida I have been working on putting away the heavy winter clothes and bringing out a few lighter pieces. We can not be certain here in the north that we will not get another snow storm until around the end of April but I am feeling like it is safe to start thinking about spring at this point in time.

Today is supposed to be beautiful so I am heading to the outlet mall at Birch Run to meet a couple of my girls and their boys for some pre-season shopping. I have some birthday gifts to buy and then on to some of my favorite outlet stores. The Ralph Lauren outlet store is starting a sale today so that will be on my list of must stop shops. JCrew, Brooks Brother's and Coach are a few other ones that I hope to get to if I have enough time. I will let you know if there are any great buys out there.

Hugs,

Sue

Fun In The Sun

March came in like a lamb here in southeast Michigan. Yesterday we had beautiful sunshine warm enough to start melting the 10 inches of snow that we received last week. Just the kind of weather needed to get me in the mood for our up-coming trip to Florida. From the looks of the extended weather forecast for southern Florida next week it should be clear sailing for soaking up some Florida sunshine.
My sun soaking attire needed to be refreshed this season so while holding my breath I nervously order a couple of two piece bathing suits. I was holding my breath because I have not attempted to wear a two piece for many, many years. I really wanted to be able to sit in the sun with out wadding up the skirt and tucking in the straps of my old skirted tankinis to get an even tan so I placed the order.

The package came yesterday and to my surprise they fit. Three weeks of Weight Watcher's helped a little. The little sundress coverups help a lot!

The plan is to wear the little dress over the two piece and only remove it when reclining on the pool lounge chair.

Thank you Lilly Pulitzer for these generously cut, well fitting bathing suits, and for letting me borrow your pictures.

I have been busy with house guests and getting ready for our trip so have not had much time to get around to visiting all of you but I miss you and hope you are well.

Hugs,

Sue

The Perfect Cottage

Last spring we looked at this old, old cottage and we were instantly smitten.
It has four separate little cottage apartments all connected to this huge common screened in porch that faces the water.

The old boat house has room for three good sized boats.


This is the view from the water.

Can't you just imagine lazy summer days spent here?

The Dining Room Bay Window

Welcome! Last week, while rearranging, I brought this demilune table down stair to put in the dining room bay window. The half moon shape made it easy to push back into the bay window to fill that akward space. The curved front leaves room on the edges to easily walk around it.
A few favorite pieces add to the vignette.




In this close up picture are a MacKenzie-Childs dinner plate in the green Honeymoon pattern and a set of pot de creme dessert pots on a matching serving tray.

They are flanked by a pair of custom lamps.

This pair of romantic Staffordshire figurines came from Longton Hall, an antique shop, in Petoskey, Michigan. I am not sure if Longton Hall is still there but if it is you might want to stop by if you are in the area. They carry a beautiful selection of Staffordshire figurines, as well as furniture imported from England and Scotland.

When I worked for Patricia Woods & Co. in Harbor Springs Pat had these figurines made into lamps for me. I love the fabric she selected for the lamp shades. If I am not mistaken, I think that she hand painted the bases to coordinate with the shade.

Sadly, she closed the shop last year. Pat has her permanent home in Dallas and summered in Harbor Springs where her shop was located. It was such a privlige and honor to work for, and learn from her. This pair of lamps will forever remind me of the time I spent with her and all of the knowledge that she so generously shared.

Thanks for stopping by ladies.

Hugs,

Sue

Bringing Up Baby

Good morning Ladies.
Meet our new Spode, Blue Italian, soup tureen. This new addition to the household repertoire is courtesy of Mom & Dad. Over the years Mom has hand selected beautiful pieces for my table every year for Christmas. As time past and the family grew it became more efficient to gift us all with pin money to add to our collections at will. I have had my eye on this beauty for a while, so in the tradition of lovely pieces for the table it became ours.

Hopefully for Valentine's Day a big boquet of creamy white roses will fill the empty vase.

Well, you all know how one thing leads to another when you add something new to a room. Here is the thing. During the holidays my red rug that used to be in our cottage goes under the dining room table. The rest of the year a less than desirable old blue and green rug has filled the space by default.

It occurred to me that there was another rug from Summer Hill (the name of our old cottage) in the basement that might work better. I had been hesitant to use it in the past because of concern that the pink background of the rug would clash with the orange hue of the kitchen cabinets, not to mention the whole red thing going on in the adjacent great room.

Over the years, and with an English Cottage attitude toward houses, I have learned that sometimes the things that you can not imagine working actually do work out. The play of light and shadows do amazing things to soften the look of a room. The light in our kitchen comes from the north which generaly produces a cool effect. When the table and chairs were added back in the shadows it created really did soften the area. I am guessing here but I think that the combination of the cool color of the rug against the warm color of the furniture and cabinets kind of neutralized the whole room.

I do not know, but when the rug went down with out any furniture on it the look was awful. When the furniture went in place I really liked the way it turned out. Am I wrong here??

See how blue pink it looked here all by it self.

Anyway, I am glad to have this baby up out of the basement seeing the light of day. This tree of life pattern rug came from a junktique shop in Charlivoix, Michigan in the early '90's. It was in pretty good shape for an old barn rug. After a trip to Hagopian in Birmingham for a good bath and new fringe it looks almost like a really good old rug. I do not remember exactly how much I paid for it originally but it probably was not much more than $100.

I hope you are all having a good week. It is sunny here this morning for a change and there is a pretty light dusting of snow on the ground covering up all the dinginess from our last rain shower that melted all our snow.

Thanks for coming by.

xoxo

Sue

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

Nubs Nob

Today we are packing to head up to our family chalet at the base of Nubs Nob ski resort in Harbor Springs, Michigan. The picture above is of the Lodge at Nubs. The family has spent Christmas break there, with a few exceptions, since 1961. Boyne Highlands, a resort in the Boyne Group of resorts, is right across the street. Nubs is a much smaller resort but those of us who are regulars swear that Nubs is better ;) If you are looking for a fun place to take the family for Christmas break come on up. The Petoskey/Harbor Springs area is a winter- wonder-land this time of year.

This is the view of the face of the ski hills from a Chalet close to ours. Unfortunately, I just lost the link to an article using this picture that I was trying to share with you that is about the area and the interesting people that own the beautiful Chalet that is attached to this porch railing. If I find it I will come back and edit this post.........

Christmas Recap

Warning: Picture heavy post ahead. First let me say that at our last stop on the Christmas trail I fell. As a result I won't be doing much typing because my left hand is pretty much a mess.

Our first stop was at Mom & Dad's to celebrate Christmas Eve with my side of the family. A good friend of the family came by and helped them deck the halls so every thing look especially beautiful. Thank you Eunie!!!!!

Every year we alternate spending the night Christmas Eve with one of the children. This year we were at Aaron & Angie's. The Christmas magic was felt in a big way there as those of you have been readers of Life At Home for a long time can imagine.

The weather was icey and rainy so after breakfast at A & A's we headed over to our friends to do a quick gift exchange then got on the road to come back south as early as we could.

Our last stop was at my brother and sister in-law's for a polish feast with John's side of the family.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. My hand is throbbing now so I will sign off.

Hugs,

Sue