pocket full of posies...

I have been waiting

 for a l-o-n-g time

to show you this.

Remember this post 

about being afraid to try new things?

Ever since I saw these pocket pillows a few years back

I have really, really wanted to make some

but I have put it off

and put it off

and...

~

~

Well, one day last January

 my family was gone for the day

and

 I decided 

*today* 

is the day.

I spent the entire day going through linens 

deciding what to use where.

(Have I ever told you how much trouble I have deciding?)

By the end of the day I was here:

That was the first hard step.

They sat again for a few months 

waiting to be finished.

Finally, 

I couldn't put it off any more.

It was time for the photo shoot of my bedroom

and this pillow was going to be part of my bed shot.

Another day was spent embellishing with all of the  pretties.

Even though I was afraid to try

I had so much fun once I got going.

 I still have so much  to learn

 but there is so much satisfaction in trying.

I love them 

because 

they use all 

of my favorite elements:

off white linen

 snippets of vintage lace

cabinet cards

and

roses. 

I  enjoyed adding  romance.

This one was for my bestest of best friends.

I am so glad I tried!

Now,

 on to something else new...

You can check out all of the white pretties here.

It's about time...

It is so time...

for my bedroom reveal.

Before we start I'll give you a bit of history.

1. This room is an addition.

The house had 3 upstairs bedrooms but no bath.

The kitchen had attic space but not a second story

so 

we took off the kitchen roof
built  walls and put a roof back on

 to create our master bedroom.

2.We only  had  16 x 16 ft  to work with
so we had to be
 creative.

We wanted to include a walk-in closet 
and  
a full bath
 within that space.

I really wanted a claw-foot tub....a 100 year-old farmhouse just would NOT be complete without it.

~

~

We'd had this decorating scheme for about 8 years.  

The wall behind the bed 

is a faux wall created  for a focal point 
and to fill up the corner.
~
~
~

I was ready for a fresh updated look.

 I did (do) love the cabbage rose wallpaper
 but don't worry ...
I still have it in other rooms...

I'm kinda like that...

when I find something I love 
I get a little overboard
and keep using it.

this was my inspiration 

.

elements I wanted to bring in:

chippy white

vintage

romantic, warm layers of lace

wedding ephemera

things that  had significant meaning in our marriage

white furniture

I started with the bed wall.

(Remember the beadboard  from the chicken coop?)

this wall

became the standard 

as I moved around the room and worked on each section.

I would look at each section 
and ask if it was in keeping with the wall?

If  I started  straying from my standard  
then I would start over.

I remember something Cindy  from Cottage Instincts said 
that has really, really stuck with me:

sometimes, to get what you really love 
you have to give up what you  just like.

This kept me on track.

We placed the tub in the bedroom space. 

You can see we still don't have the faucet...
they're rather expensive...so I'll save my pennies.

I'm lovin' it!

My husband is lovin' it

Mainly, I think he's just lovin'
 that I'm finished 
and he can get out of the room at night 
without stubbing his toe.

I love the *warm- romantic--on-purpose* feel to the room.

I love that most  of what I used I already had .
I shopped my barn, my chicken coop, my parlor floor.

I love that I  re-purposed .
I love how I aged what looked too new. 
I love that I found the beadboard.

I love that we are finally using this highboy 
that belonged to my husband's mother.

(We weren't using it b/c of the finish...
we finally said *PAINT it and USE it!)

I love that I tried some new things (that's for another post)

I love that I'm getting better at going outside of the box.

I really am quite a purist.

I was able to use the un-painted cabinet...
to mix it up...and to like it!

Next week, I'll show you close-ups...
all the details 

that I had so much fun with
and 
pulled my hair out with...

I'll be linking to white wednesday at Faded Cottage Charm

 and 

My Romantic Home for Friday Show and Tell.

the rest of the story...

Here's the rest of my project

I wanted to create a special vignette

for the top of my dresser in my new bedroom.

First, I going to share all of the different elements:

It was important to me to have

special meaning

as well as

*my style*

~that's just how I am~

it has to be pretty

1. My always and forever tag

it was our song

see here for the rest of the story

2. my antique brooch from my grandmother

that I wore on my wedding dress

3. It's been awhile since I've shown this candlestick.

I have 4 of these and they are one of my most-prized possessions.

In our early-married days we were low on Christmas shopping money

so

my honey made me these out of scrap 2x4's from the woodpile.

I'll keep them always.

4. roses from my dearie

5.this photo...did you do these too?

If you love vintage...I bet you did!

This is a bit off-topic but don't ya love it?

I hope they're not scarred for life

this is just one of these that we had taken over the years.

~

~

We've had several done over the years...

this one was *before* we were married.

(shh-don't tell my kids...I'd so be mad if they did this)

But really...what a guy...he should'a run...he can't say he wasn't warned...

I love vintage!

5. my wedding ring and 25-year pearl ring

My guy bought it for me with his little bit of inheritance money from his mother.

At the time, I didn't fully appreciate it because it was during my dark time.

But now I love it...he spent his money on me!

6. and it wouldn't be complete without this

It is the foundation of us...

It took me hours...literally...

to get to where I wanted the arrangement to be...

I won't bore you with all of the tries...

so here it is finished

and here

It's the first thing I see in the morning.

update:

My husband's Cardiologist appt. went well...he did good...the stress test showed the issue...he has atrial fibrillation...an electrical problem that causes the rapid and irregular heartbeat...so next we go to the *specialized-specialist* to see about getting it fixed...other than that his heart is in good shape!

I feel better!

My daughter is back home...tired and weak from her second surgery

in less than a week and  the excessive blood loss...
She is weak but HE is strong.
The long road to healing is beginning.
I am thankful for her little ones...
what a reason to get up in the morning!

Again, I thank you all for your love and support...I'm trying to get around to visit you all and thank you personally but I *can't* keep up with all of your sweetness:)...plus blogger had issues on couple of those days so some of your comments *disappeared*... I don't know who those were...

Everyone please know how very thankful I am.

I'm joining Cindy today...

Have a great weekend...enjoy the sunshine...I'm going to.

We're going to tackle the pile of the furniture 
I left in the barn last fall.

Can't wait.

Rene'