whatever...

This may be s-t-e-t-c-h-i-n-g it 

for white wednesday but I'm going to anyway.

I want to share a bit of what's been on my heart this week.

Whatever is…

true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable

if anything is excellent or praiseworthy

think about such things.

We're all women here, right?

We know how emotions

can rule

our hearts and our minds.

When I get in that dark place

and

the thoughts are swirling

and 

just getting darker and darker;

this is what I come back to:

What do I know  to be true?

I can always come back to the

promises of God

and HIS character.

God is good.

HE loves me.

And HE's got this(whatever this  is).

And almost  all  of what

I am dwelling on

is NOT truth

but 

rather my emotions.

This week, this became

my meditation once again.

linking to:

White Wednesday @ Faded  Charm
Show off Your Cottage @ The House in the Roses 
Creative Blogger's Party & Hop @ Homemaker on a Dime
Make it Pretty @ The Dedicated House
Tuesday Cowgirl Up @ The Farmhouse Porch 
Your Cozy Home @ Cozy Home Scenes
Knick of Time Tuesday @ Knick of Time
Tuesday's Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
*****************************************
Cottage Garden Party@ Fishtail Cottage
Under $100 @ Beyond the Picket Fence
Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants
Time Travel Thursday @ Brambleberry Cottage
Air Your Laundry Friday @ Freckled Laundry
Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground
Fabulous Creative Friday @ Jennifer Rizzo
Farmhouse Friday @ Laurie Anna's Vintage Home
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home
PRIMP Your Stuff @ (PRIMP)
Thriftin' on a Thursday @ Savvy City Farmer
Inspiration Friday @ At The Picket Fence
Potpourri @ 2805

come on in...

Hi all...how was your weekend?

Mine was spectacular:

the roses and peonies are in bloom,

we have a  new grandbaby,

my roses are blooming,

we managed to get a load of furniture painted,

and did I mention that

my roses are blooming?

I have been sprucing up my blog

and 


adding some page elements...(those tabs under my header)

For this week's posting, I am going to post one of the 

pages...it has all of the links in one place.

I thought it might be helpful 

for the new readers 

that may not know me.

I hope to get some pictures 

of the roses and peonies later today.

Oh, and here is one more baby picture...indulge me,

 k?

Have a great week...be back soon.

*

*

*

come on in

We've lived in this house for 15 years now

and

I'm on round 2 of decorating.

I love creating beauty in the everyday things around me.

My current style love is a jumbled up mix of:

shabby, romantic, primitive, romantic, farmhouse,

with a touch of victorian.

And  ViNtaGe.

The more vintage the better.

We'll go room by room

and 

 I'll keep adding links as I cross off my projects.

My Kitchen

here and here

The Pantry

here and here

Our Master Bedroom

found here and here

The Parlor 

here

This is where I wash my clothes

here

My girl-youngin's new room.

here and here

linking here:

White Wednesday @ Faded  Charm

Show off Your Cottage @ The House in the Roses 

Creative Blogger's Party & Hop @ Homemaker on a Dime

Tuesday Cowgirl Up @ The Farmhouse Porch 

Your Cozy Home @ Cozy Home Scenes

Knick of Time Tuesday @ Knick of Time

Tuesday's Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

*****************************************

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants

Time Travel Thursday @ Brambleberry Cottage

Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground

Farmhouse Friday @ Laurie Anna's Vintage Home

Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home

PRIMP Your Stuff @ (PRIMP)

Thriftin' on a Thursday @ Savvy City Farmer

Inspiration Friday @ At The Picket Fence

Potpourri @ 2805

white in the parlor...

A few of my favorite photos of my parlor

I so love

 the peacefulness of white,

 the warmth of wood,

with just a titch of pink roses.

That's all for today...hope your week is grand!

linking to:
White Wednesday @ Faded  Charm
Show off Your Cottage @ The House in the Roses 
Tuesday Cowgirl Up @ The Farmhouse Porch 
Cozy Home Scenes
Knick of Time Tuesday @ Knick of Time
Tuesday's Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Under $100 @ Beyond the Picket Fence
Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants
Time Travel Thursday @ Brambleberry Cottage
Air Your Laundry Friday @ Freckled Laundry
Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground
Farmhouse Friday @ Laurie Anna's Vintage Home
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home
PRIMP Your Stuff @ (PRIMP)
Thriftin' on a Thursday @ Savvy City Farmer
Inspiration Friday @ At The Picket Fence
Potpourri @ 2805

next up...

It's time for a new project.

Remember, I am on a mission to finish this house 

and get the piles outta here.

I know, I know

this is so last  year...(read all about it)

I am still pluggin' away; baby steps for sure.

My next project is my entry.

This is what it looked like  a few weeks ago.

It has become the landing spot for all of the leftovers...

So, it was the next logical choice.

The front porch (to the left) is the one area 

we didn't get finished last fall 

when working on the outside of the  house.

It is the priority for the summer, 

as well as sprucing up the landscaping.

No one uses our front door...we want to change that.

Back to the project...one fine morning,...(I blame it on my exercise class...I came home feeling like I could conquer the world)...

I (impulsively) started ripping  wallpaper  off.

(Insert a word of encouragement here:  if you are ever hanging wallpaper...DO your prepwork...use oil-base primer...it made ALL the difference...I had that top floral paper off in 2 hours...by myself!)

By the end of the week, I was here...

paper off and walls painted.

Painted white, of course.

which will lead me to my next post....

To paint or NOT to paint. 

I know, another teaser...

You'll have to come on back.

Thanks bunches for your sweet words of encouragement with my last post...it is so encouraging to know that you all understand...you really would think that after this many years, we would *get* it.  We did have a nice, relaxing weekend away...talk to you soon.

White Wednesday @ Faded  Charm 

Tuesday Cowgirl Up @ The Farmhouse Porch 

Cozy Home Scenes

Knick of Time Tuesday @ Knick of Time

Tuesday's Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants

Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground

Farmhouse Friday @ Laurie Anna's Vintage Home

Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home

PRIMP Your Stuff @ (PRIMP)

Thriftin' on a Thursday @ Savvy City Farmer

Inspiration Friday @ At The Picket Fence
Potpourri @ 2805 

what's old is new...

or how I took all of my old stuff
and used it in a new way.
kitchen 2012

Before we get started
let's review 
what I was going for:

VINTAGE-that almost goes without saying

WHITE-lots of it

LACE-a bit here and there

WOOD-to warm things up

PRIMITIVE-a touch but not too country

NEUTRALS-gotta have ironstone and tea-stain, too

and

ROSES.

 Let's start here.

This is where I spend most of my time:
doing dishes!

First, we  removed the cabinet doors under the sink.

Yes, I got the look.

the areyoucrazy look

We'll just say I pulled out the
 it's my christmas present  card.

 After I reassured My Mr. that the doors  would be safe
and 
that we could always put them back on if we wanted to,

he willing obliged.

Next, I unburied my sewing machine.

We tried to act like we've always been bff's

but let's just say it was awkward at times.

Hats off to those of you that sew...

Me? 
I'll take a paint brush.

Anyday.

I made the curtain and the ruffle (you are impressed, aren't you?) 
out of a dropcloth 
and installed it with one of those spring-ey type curtain rods.  
I found mine at our old-fashioned hardware store.

I also had  My Mr. remove those double faux fake panels under the sink and cut me a single piece.

 I applied a glazed rose applique' from my supply stash.

The hardware matches my pantry and was found on ebay.

Moving to the right are my glass cabinets.

I have narrowed down 
my everyday dishes  
to  vintage white.

Are you surprised?

The dishes got a little lost with the white background

so we  My Mr.
 cut a thin board  to fit the back of the cabinet.

I covered it with  leftover  embossed  wallpaper, 

 painted a base coat of my wall color,
and

 glazed it with walnut stain.

Oh, more lace.

I do love me some old lace.

I love this piece of chippy rusty metal.
I found it at The Shabby House.

My BAKERY sign that I made

 to the left of the sink

 is  the pantry 

in case you missed it

you can read about my pantry project

here

 and

here

aww...chippy, brown ironstone
I already had it hanging there with the rusty fencing
I think it shows up even better now.


The ceiling is covered 
with an embossed paintable wallpaper
that looks like  tin ceiling 
and 
painted with high gloss paint.

the chandy
was hanging in the barn for the barn sales


another "pleeeaaase, it's my christmas present,
 won'tcha  please put it in here?
It will be easy."

See the fridge?

Those things are hard to hide...
I have always wanted to have a built-in fridge.

This one really is too big for the space.

It is the one we had when we moved in

and it just keeps on a-runnin'

I'm saving my pennies for one 
of those 
fancy-schmancy french-style ones

in a 30 or 32 inch size..then we'll build it in.

Here's the top of the fridge.

LET TRU-BLU BE YOUR BAKER

I've had this baking powder sign for 25 years.
My Mr. uncovered it in a wall 
 in one of our first homes.
 It's kind of special.

I think it is perfect.

The high chair is from my grandmother.
My babies used to sit in it 
when we went to her home for dinner.

 rust, lace, numbers and roses

I loved how this corner turned out.

A few of my favorite things

more chippy white

before and after


I traded out the buffet for the dark wood piece
It was in the barn...I use it for a display piece for the sales.

Did you notice that I finally put that  rose print IN a frame?
This gorgeous frame was stashed in the hallway to my bedroom.
Doesn't everyone have a stash of picture frames lining their hallway? 

 a sweet trivet found thrifting
advertising a bakery from a small neighboring town
one of my  rose teapots
my perfectly rusty birdcage

a few answers to some questions that have been asked:


1. curtain rings found at wal-mart


2. the wood countertops
island: oak  slab/food-grade epoxy clear
we put that on for durability
pantry : pine / polyurethane clear finish
this area won't get much use or water
the main countertops are still formica with a wood edge

I am in love with my kitchen...I have only purchased a few items...
mostly it was paint and re-arranging and using what I had in a new way. 
 There are still a few things that I want to do...
aren't there always?  

linking up:

White Wednesday @ Faded  Charm 

Tuesday Cowgirl Up @ The Farmhouse Porch 

Cozy Home Scenes

Knick of Time Tuesday @ Knick of Time

Tuesday's Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants

Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground

Farmhouse Friday @ Laurie Anna's Vintage Home

Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home

PRIMP Your Stuff @ (PRIMP)

Thriftin' on a Thursday @ Savvy City Farmer

Inspiration Friday @ At The Picket Fence