Blue & Grey...who knew?

Country Homes & Interiors, February 2008

click to open fully :)

really good REAL ESTATE #2

I would SO live here for the curb appeal...

this lovely pool...




and this crazy-charming fireplace area!!



It's a shame I don't have $995,000 for the purchase price and another $12,243 in yearly taxes. To see the inside, go here.

Edited: My link won't work (go figure)...so here is the link... http://www.realtysouth.com/Listing/ListingDetail.aspx?Search=6dff42a0-bb7d-4ffb-a83e-c3ec312196e8&Listing=36801064&IRPAgentID=9424738&Image=1&First=11&Last=20&pagesize=10&SearchType=&ListingDistrictTypeID=&FirstLetter=&Sort=&Cookies=&UseColorBar=false

curtains

I have saved all my Cottage Living Magazines.

I even buy 2nd copies from the Thrift Store so I can cut out pictures I like.

Recently I was re-arranging my stash (of magazines)...

they have moved from the den cabinets

down to the old china cabinet in our playroom.

I rather like it.

They look much more organized and I can see them through the glass.

(but more on that later)

I came across this issue and fell in love all over again with this house.

It's from November 06.

This room is just.so.pretty.

...the curtains I thought were just.so.pretty.

Sorry for the bad picture quality...

My den kind of has a ceiling like this. Kind of.

Same wall color too.

And then I was in Pottery Barn recently and saw a bed set up with this pattern. Oooooh. So pretty in person...much prettier than it shows here. The colors are so crisp and the fabric is almost a cotton duck. I couldn't place my finger on it...but it was so familiar to me. Then I found that magazine and it all made sense. I must have those curtains for my den. My den which currently has nothing over the one window and french doors.

I must have those curtains.

I must, I must, I must.

I'll update if it ever happens. :)

love, the unreliable blogger :)

Busy making cookies

My youngest is about to turn 6. I can't believe it...the years have flown by and I'm a little bit sad to not have a preschooler anymore. We are having a simple birthday party at home and I've been trying to figure out a cute cookie to send home with the kids. These are just my sample mess-around-with models...I don't think I've ever iced cookies like this before. It's fun, I just wish I had more than green food coloring. And more talent.

Be back after I get through this weekend.

real estate I LIKE

I have tried and tried to post this house.

My pictures keep getting cut off.

So.

I made them smaller and I guess you just need to click on them to open fully.

This TOTALLY annoys me.

Has really slowed me down...all I can think about is what's not working.

Done ranting for now. :)

This is the cutest house.

For half a million, it could be yours.

They say it has a copper roof.

The door color is perfect for our sweltering climate most of the year.

The windowboxes...nice.

Oh...and that curving walkway.

Love how they hung the art around the tv.

sigh.

The guesthouse.

Looks like creeping fig on the wall...I could live back here very happily.

Perfection...sweet perfection.

Real Estate I really like

I'm going to try this again.

Hopefully the pictures will show in full.

This kitchen, I love.

Those glass cabinets...perfection.

Everything about it reads, warm and cozy...and happy.

And fresh.

And light.

And...oh I could go on all day about this.

But, I won't.

I'll stop and see if this picture worked for me.

And if it does...I'll post the rest of the house later.

winter flowers

This is my mailbox garden last year.

I ran out of time and steam this year

and only planted 2 out of 4 of my window boxes.

Not much to look at for now...

but that's ok.

Come spring, I can't wait to see

how well my lilacs do.

I replanted them

in the mailbox garden this summer.

So, for now...

I'll just enjoy my pictures from last year.

paint COLOR

a warm BLUE GRAY

Benjamin Moore

Riviera Azure #822

Photo: Max Kim-Bee and Domino Magazine

Painting Furniture

After painting a piece of furniture

with semi-gloss latex paint,

follow it with a clear, protective coat

of Benjamin Moore

Studio Finishes

Latex Glaze #405.

Thanks for the information Domino Magazine!

**Edited to add...here we go with the picture problem again!

REAL LIFE is just more interesting than perfection

I didn't realize Pottery Barn

had a Video Library on their site.

I've only viewed the

Where I Live

for some fun House Tours.

http://www.potterybarn.com/stylehouse/video_library_2/index.cfm

I loved Amanda & Jeff Marcus's house...

and liked her thoughts on eclectic.

Also enjoyed Deborah Needleman from Domino Magazine

and her home. Her words...

I think real life is just more interesting than perfection.

This is my real life.

Two new pillows with the tags still on,

squished up to one of my favorite yard sale pillows.

The back has some tears

where the previous owner's brittany spaniel

took a taste drive on it.

I'm sure she had a small fortune invested in this pillow...

I would have died

if MY dog or MY kids

had done that to a pillow I had custom made.

I guess I give myself permission

to really use stuff when I know I didn't invest alot of money in it...

because seriously...in my house...you are taking a big chance with 3 kids and a big black dog.

I have no idea what that brown thing is sticking out behind the pillow either. A leaf maybe?

galvanized buckets

I am loving galvanized buckets lately.

So many ways to use them.

(Country Living)

(Kerry Michaels)

(Chocolate Star Bakery)

(Kerry Michaels)

What I really want to do,

is ditch all my outside pots

and use some buckets by my

front door.

And my back door.

And maybe some scattered around my yard.

Here and there.

Then I'd like to use rub-on letters

to say something like...

"Welcome"

or my house numbers

or "Grow"

or "Hydrangea"

or "Winter"

or "Hello"

or whatever.

Maybe something witty.

I like the way this looks.

(Ocean Interiors)