Sweet 16

Sometimes it amazes me how quickly time goes by. 

I can remember being in the hospital the day Olivia was born. 

Every nurse, 

every visitor, 

every person I encountered that day

 who was ever a parent gave these wise words:

  "Enjoy every minute with her because they grow too fast." 

 At that point, I was thinking, "Sure, sure, of course." 

 Well, I can now officially say that even though I may have thought 

I was enjoying every minute of her,

somehow, someway, 16 years have gone by in the blink of an eye.

I'm left, scratching my head, thinking,

"Why didn't anyone warn me this would happen?"

Ahh, but yes they did warn me.

And I don't think it matters one bit.

Time just moves too quickly regardless.

Happy 16th Birthday, Olivia!  

You are a ray of bright sunshine in our lives 

and we couldn't love you more!

And also, since you're kind of a genius,

can you figure out a way to slow time?

Thanks.

 

Spring Mantel 2014

I'm not going to complain.

No, I'm not going to say it. 

 I won't. 

I'm just going to share my SPRING Mantel with you. 

Emphasis on the word SPRING. 

If you've been reading here awhile, if you know

anything about me or where I live,

I think that alone should tell you what I'm not going to say today.

This mantel is a simple one.

It all started with the burlap bunny banner on the mirror.

Here's a close up:

About a month ago, I was shopping at Target

and I came across this banner.

It was quite inexpensive ($5.99?),

I ogled it a bit,  then walked away.

But...

I later came back to it.

My daughter commented,

"You can make that yourself."

(Oh, that kid is well trained.)

But...

for the price, I couldn't resist the lure of not

having to do anything but hang the darn thing.

So I bought it.

I then added some vases full of dogwood blooms to each end.

I added a burlap strip across the vases so

that they would coordinate with my burlap bunny banner.

I also added my wooden candle holders.

 I remembered we have a supply of old windows

in the garage, just waiting for inspiration to strike me.

This window was an old one from our dining room.

It made its way to the mantel, in its original paint condition,

along with a grapevine wreath that I threw together with moss and robin's eggs.

I found the cute white bunnies at Hobby Lobby

and added them as well.

It later hit me that I bought a burlap banner,

already made, at Hobby Lobby just

before Christmas.

(I was saving it, too, for inspiration to strike me.)

I pulled that out, simply tied on some colored ribbons

and called it done.

I really do love it when something

comes together easily.

I hope you are enjoying a beautiful

SPRING day today!

Emphasis on the word SPRING.

See you soon!

Linking to:

Tuesdays @ Our Home at Our Home Away From Home

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

Share Your Cup Thursday @ Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

Crossing It Off the List (Sitting Room Rug)

I know that I've shared my favorite room with you before.

It's the sitting room right off of our dining room that I love so much.

I always knew, however,

 that the area rug I had under the coffee table was too small.

See what I mean?  

TOO SMALL.

I've had a new rug for this room on my 

"to buy" list for over a year.
(Do you have one of these lists too?)

I've been searching forever it seems, 

but could never find the right rug with the right shade of blue.

Low and behold, I walked into Tuesday morning 

a few weeks ago and found it!

Now I realize that this one may be a bit too large,

(oh never the happy medium around here),

but I loved it and the colors (and price) were right.

Doesn't it look much better?

I am so much happier with this larger rug. 

I can cross it off my "to buy" list....finally!

 

Spring Chalkboard, I think

I've been giving my home the Spring/Easter treatment. 

Thinking positively, thinking that maybe it'll help bring Spring along. 

You know what?

It worked! 

 Well...
for a couple of days anyway. 

Yesterday was the best day of all.

Yesterday, the temperature was 49 degrees and

 the sun shining brightly.

Yesterday, the snow was melting.
Yesterday was perfect.

Yesterday, the weather complimented my

dining room chalkboard and

all was right in the world.

As for today,

well....

I'd rather not talk about that.

Winter storm be damned!

Oscar Night 2014

Last night was a favorite night for me....watching the Academy Awards.

I love movies, I love celebrities and I love fashion.  It's an exciting night of TV watching because I get to combine these loves into one big affair.

So, without further adieu, here are my favorite dresses of the night:

Amy Adams in Gucci

Cate Blanchett in Giorgio Armani

Emma Watson in Vera Wang

  

Sandra Bullock in Alexander McQueen

And then the darling of this year's awards season,

(this girl can't miss)

Lupita Nyong'o in Prada

I also want to add that this year's award winners,

Lupita, Cate, Jared & Matthew,

all gave the best, most eloquent acceptance speeches

I've heard in some time.  

Hurray for Hollywood!

So tell me, 

did you watch the Oscars?

Who were your fashion favorites?

 

A Transitional Winter Spring Dining Hutch

I have found myself longing for Spring.  

Longing for soft colors, buds on trees, and fresh air.

Oh Spring! 

I know that you are near, 

but sometimes you are just not near enough! 

 I wanted to decorate for Spring so badly.

Trouble is, it's hard to decorate for Spring 

while there's so much snow on the ground.

We did got a few warmer days, temps up into the mid 40s, 

but from what I hear,

the single digits are back this week.

What to do?

I made a transitional Winter to Spring vignette

 on my dining hutch.  

A touch of Spring, but without all the 

soft colors of Spring that I'm craving right now.  

Neutral is the name of the game.

I made the rag wreath out of cream, white & beige fabric.

You've probably seen a lot of this stuff in other vignettes before.

The only new piece is the screened box.

I found it at the antique store & I just loved it.

I have no idea what it could have been used for in its

former life, but I like the texture it adds here.

I pretty much "shopped the house" for this display.

I love to borrow from around the house,

but the trouble is, it always leads

to having to fill in the stuff I borrowed

from the other rooms!  

C'mon Spring!

I'm patiently waiting for you.

Linking to:

Tuesdays at Our Home @ Our Home Away From Home

A Change of Lighting & A Smart Mother

My husband has always accused me of being

"non-committal"

when it comes to lighting.

He's right, of course,

but it would be so much easier to suffer from

 this affliction had I married an electrician!

 

Funny story.

 

Thirteen years ago when we moved into this old house, 

there was a light hanging in the front entryway.  

It was a lantern-style light,

one that I found ugly with a capital U. 

 

I can remember the day clearly.

It was the year 2000. 

 The electrician was here and while taking down the lantern,

 he asked me if I was sure that I wanted to change it.  

He said,  "a lot of people like this old lighting nowadays."

 

I assured him that I absolutely detested that lantern and  

asked him to hang this "oh so lovely" fixture you see below.

After more than a decade had passed, I started

to realize that that "oh so lovely" light was not right for this house, at all. 

 I wondered what ever made me select that light to begin with.

Of course, I didn't want to mention this quite yet

to the husband, lest I have to hear the "non committal" accusation!

  

This past Summer, while cleaning out my Mom's attic,

 I stood, puzzled, looking into a box. 

For in this box, was a lighting fixture...one that looked awfully familiar.

 

Yes, apparently back in 2000,  my Mother

had taken our old lighting fixture home with her

because she liked it and thought I might want it back someday.

 

Do we even need to talk about my amazing clairvoyant mother? 

So just before Christmas, we called the electrician... 

a different electrician than the one in 2000.

Good thing too, because can you imagine what

the other one would think if I asked him to

hang the same light he took down 13 years ago?  

 

 

Ahh, so much better!

The old light is back at home,

just where it belongs.

 

It even looks pretty when it's lit, too.  

 

I gotta hand it to that Mother of mine.

Who knew she was so smart?