ok, ok! Here are some photos :)

So it's been a while (I've been reminded ...Diane, Ashley :) ...but here are a few updated photos of our house progress! We've added a new patio door that's everything we hoped for! LOVE how it lets in the morning light! (not to mention how  I LOVE that it's no longer a faux stain finish) I also found more comfortable barstools that fit perfectly in our space! Aren't they so cute!

The column on the left of the photo is trimmed out and painted, along with ALL the doorway trims!!! Thanks to Lt. Commander Awesome Steve and dad for all their hard work the past month getting the space ready for a baby shower I had a few weekends ago for my friend. So when you're in our house there are no more 2x4's to be seen (whether that makes you happy or not I'm not sure, but for me = happiness! :)

Other favorite addition: matching bookshelves for the living room!!! Ta da! I designed them, and a nice builder named Jim Burges made them for us! (I have since learned that we have lots of books and I filled up those shelves in a matter of minutes...minutes people!) I am so excited about these that I just sat on the couch and stared at them for several evenings. Love how they flank the bay window too...it looks like they've always been there (...except they haven't, what's always been there were blank walls that looked lonely and bare, but now the puzzle is complete I think)

To quote Hannibal from "The A Team" : "I love it when a plan comes together."

or to quote our contractor's installer Johnny : "It's a beautiful thang!"

and finally, to quote my sister Melissa: "finally!"

A Great May!

 We spent a week at my sister Maradee's helping her get settled into the new casa.

There's the cutest garden area within walking distance of her adorable neighborhood that Steve and I took advantage of one morning on our way to the donut shop :)

Her friend Megan gave us an insiders look at Nasa where she specializes in the space station air lock.

It was AWESOME!

Subway is the way!

We fell in love with the look of subway tiles while we were in Europe a couple of years ago. So hat's off to you Paris! We had our backsplash tiled the other weekend and we are so happy with the results! The beveled edges look so nice, don't you think? But at this point in our remodel...anything would look nice to me! ha!

I finally decided on fabric for our dining room curtains! I LOVE them! They are a Thomas Paul print that I've been eye-balling for a while. Matter of fact, Target carries upholstered living room chairs in this print that I have in my wish list! 

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...

Kudos to my wonderful husband and dad! They made our cedar shutters and hung them up this weekend! Doesn't it make the house look fantastic?! I am so pleased!!!

Before

After!

Before

After!

After!

After!
(Yes, it's Feb. 1st and I still have Christmas wreaths up, but I wanted them in the photo with the new shutters to frame them....is that a good enough excuse? I hope so. Ok, now I'll take them down and pack them away with the Christmas tree...which might also still be up in our living room....)

these are a few of our favorite things!

1. Homemade bruchetta: The most amazing flavors! ...it's like your taste buds walking through a summer Italian garden...the powerfully fresh/almost bitter earthy basil mixed with the cool sweet tender ripe red and gold tomatoes glazed in olive oil with a hint of garlic salt, all resting on a slightly toasted buttery bed of goodness of which we call bread....
There was no hope for my poor dinner...for I gorged myself on the appetizer.

2. Chippewa Quiche with wild rice: Thanks to Becky W. for this wonderful recipe, we can enjoy a meal to satisfy our hunger for a hearty breakfast and dinner all at once! All I have to say is "you had me at ham"!

cottages + glitter = Christmas joy!

Doesn't this scene make you think of a quaint neighborhood nestled in the quiet sparkly snow with the faint sound of carolers in the distance singing "It came upon a midnight clear..."? For me, it certainly does. So for that reason I had to make several of these and display them on our dining buffet (even though I risk being made fun of by a certain family member as one of "those people who has too many Christmas - village pieces decorating their homes") Don't worry certain family member, I only have 4.
Ahhhh, sparkly snow!

been craftin'

This is what I made for my fall decorations this year Pappa acorns and baby acorns! Paper mache' egg shapes with newsprint decopaged on top, then painted and sealed to a shiny perfection that all acorns should have, then 'hatted' with rope caps! I love them so much they are still in our entry way...and might be until the next fall :)

I made lots of warm cozies this year to have on hand as gifts and to sell. I have a few left so if anyone is sitting at home with cold toes...just let me know!

These are four 14" x 14" paintings I did for a friend's nursery before Christmas. The patterns aren't mine, she gave me a swatch of her crib sheet fabric to go by. The giraffe is my favorite and Steve likes the hippo.