A Valentine's Breakfast Table

Setting up with a mix of dishes.

I brought the Red Willow dish set home with
me from North Carolina.

 I keep dragging things back to Florida! 

I'm using the breadboard that we just made
 for the centerpiece and topped it with
 the Red Willow tea set.

I kept the gingham checked pillowcases on
the seat cushions that I used during
 Christmas.

Kept the stripped and quilted toss pillows
out too. I used two placemats, a white lace
vinyl over red flannel that reverses to
a  tartan plaid for another look.

 Churchill Red Willow and
Porsgrund Hearts and Pines.

Hearts and Pines salt & pepper set sits
 on the heart cut-out.

I like using the red and white for 

January and February.

Basically, I just like playing with dishes.

Cheers!

Links: The Shabby Creek Cottage,
Savvy Southern Style, Stone Gable,
No Minimalist Here,
Between Naps On The Porch,
My Romantic Home

I Heart Trash Day

I get the best freebies when our neighborhood

 has it's quarterly bulk trash pick-up.

Some people can't be bothered selling on 

Craigslist or donating so they just toss 

perfectly or slightly perfect household things

out to end up in our landfills!.

 It's the stuff of nightmares! 

I do what I can, by rescuing a few items. 

Here's the three I found this time.

 A beautiful  wrought iron chandelier. 

Ready to hang in my dining room. 

It's 31"D and 21" high

 It has 9 arms complete with shades. 

 Even the bulbs were included...

at no extra charge!

Perfect white shades.

 A giant 36x48 canvas that had been painted

 green. I can paint right over that or find lots

of creative uses for it at Pinterest. 

I've pinned some too. 

I unscrewed this perfect black lampshade

off of a broken lamp. I guess the former 

owner didn't know you could do that.

 It's black silk with a cream silk lining.

 Of course there were lots more goodies,

but I was with someone that kept asking,

"Where are you gonna put it?" ahem!

I did tell my lawn guy to swing over a few

 streets and pick up a great brown leather

 sofa and love seat.

I'm gonna need a bigger truck!

Cheers!

Links: Under The Table and Dreaming,
Between Naps on The Porch,
A Stroll Thru Life

Make A Bread Board for Valentine's Day

I'm starting to think about Valentine's Day.

I have a few small projects planned.

My first project involves a scrap of wood,

 (no big surprise here), a jig saw, a little
 sandpaper and a bit of mineral oil.
Easy peasy!

Cut out a heart on some paper and use it as
 a template to trace onto the wood.

Cut it out.

Sand the edges.

Give it a few coats of mineral oil. Let the oil
soak in after each coat. It will condition the
wood, darkening it a bit and bring out the
grain. Re-apply anytime your boards need it.
I keep the oil-soaked cloth in an empty tennis
can to use anytime I want to re-condition my
cutting boards or butcher block island top.

Remember, imperfections add character.

Use it as a serving board for bread and butter

or cheeses, grapes, and crackers with
 your evening wine.

Tie on a red bow 

and find a display spot until you need to it.

 It also makes a nice tray.

To use for afternoon tea and treats.
(Warm oatmeal nut muffins)

 Or, use it as a centerpiece tray.

Make several. Make some smaller.

 Make someone happy and give them one.

Cheers!

Links: Savvy Southern Style,
Stone Gable, No Minimalist Here,
The Shabby Creek Cottage, Bloom,
Between Naps On The Porch,
Common Ground, Finding Fabulous,
French Country Cottage, The  Charm Of Home,
My Repurposed Life, My Romantic Home,
Miss Mustard Seed

                                                          facebook

Kim's Bedroom - Before & After

The colors  Kim chose for her bedroom in
Texas are plum, black, and neutral. 

 We used the two lamps that we brought 

and took her single Waterford lamp downstairs 

to use in the sitting area HERE.

Bedroom before.

Bedroom after.

We hung the mirror that we made for the

 family room in her last house above the bed.

 You can see that post HERE. A faux

 furry throw is tossed at the end of the bed.

Her dog Fritzie loves it. 

Fritzie is our dog Lucy's brother. 

He loves to watch TV and look at Facebook

 on her iPhone. He's a hoot!

see part 1 Moving In HERE.

see part 2 HERE.

Cheers!

Links: My Romantic Home,
Common Ground, Miss Mustard Seed,
My Repurposed Life, Funky Junk,
Under The Table & Dreaming,
Between Naps on The Porch,
A Stroll Thru Life, Stone Gable,
My Crazy Beautiful Life

More Moving In

Here are more of our 'helping with a move' 

projects in Kim's new townhouse in Texas.

I thought it would be a good idea to repurpose

this dresser from a previous bedroom 

and use it as a buffet/sofa table. It's

a great space for napkins and placemats. 

I brought a bamboo table runner and topped 

it with a tiered stand that holds two of 

her Grandmother's rose teacups.

I also brought these two iron and wood etageres.

 Here they are in my hallway decorated for Christmas.

Larry was able to take them apart and we 

crammed them into our van along with other

loot (lamps, table linens, tools, etc).

Now, that left this big 'ol blank space

in my house. What to do?

 While Larry was still taking the etageres

 apart I couldn't resist sketching possibilities

 for a 'new' project. Luckily Larry builds 

better than I sketch. 

Something to plan for January.

Here's the eating area before.

After. I think the etageres work

perfectly with her dining set.

We were able to reuse Kim's valances

from the previous house. 

 It took me while to figure out how to attach

the rod at the corner.

We also found a good spot for the plate rack.

The view into the kitchen before.

after.

 Ready for a cake.

Black granite counters and stainless sink

in the kitchen. I added a valance on a tension

rod between the cabinets.

 The valance is black with stainless buttons. 

Matched perfectly. 

A lucky find for $1 in a thrift shop.

I brought a salvaged cabinet door to use as

a chalkboard. The stainless curved handle

is a good place for a piece of chalk.

You can leave a quick note here!

Cheers!

see part 1 of Moving In HERE.

see bedroom before and after HERE.

Links: Coastal Charm,

A Stroll Thru Life, Funky Junk,

The Shabby Creek Cottage,

Savvy Southern Style,

Between Naps on The Porch