Statement Makers

Hello everyone!

Recently, I decided to make a change to the wall in the hallway that leads to the kitchen.  I've had the same thing hanging there for a few years now.  I know.......you're probably choking right about now.  That can't possibly be true, can it?!  

Well, yes it is.  But, I fixed that problem right up!!

So......here is what I hung.

I've seen this done all over blog land in the past.  So, this is nothing new or anything I can take credit for.  I simply took an empty frame that I painted white and hung it on the wall.  Then, I hung this monogram (of my last name) in the center.  Couldn't be any simpler than that!  I really love the look.

It's simple yet makes a statement.  That's my favorite type of artwork.  Oh......and it cost me nothing.  I had all of these pieces on hand already.

So, now where did the piece go that was hanging on this wall before?  It went here.

I know......so inventive.  I think this is about the 3rd clock I've had hanging in this spot now.  Maybe the 3rd time is the charm.  Let's hope!  For now, I like the statement it makes.  I like the pop of black above the mantel.  

Oh, and don't look too closely at it.  It's the one that I painted over and re-numbered haphazardly.  Oh well, I guess it just adds whimsy that it's not perfect.

See?  It's a little whop-sided.  Is that a word?

Oh, and just for good measure, because I can't leave anything alone too long,  I decided to take things down off the tops of my cabinets in the family room.  Then the light bulb went off in my head and I decided to try this arrangement on the coffee table.

I'm kind of liking it for summer. This is a collection of blue glass bottles that was on top of the cabinet you see in the background.  Now, it sits center stage on the coffee table.  I like how the light shines through them during the day and, again, they make a statement.  

Well that's all I have for today folks!

Thanks for stopping by.

~ Kelly ~

Flowering Branches

Hello everyone!

I love this time of year when everything is just starting to bloom.  

I think flowering branches look great brought inside to decorate your home.  

And I'm not opposed to the fake ones either!

That's right!  Mine are FAKE!  I'm not ashamed of it either.

 However, I think they look real.  

And I like the touch of Spring they bring to this corner of my kitchen.

By the way, did you happen to notice my new header?

I have the good fortune of knowing Brenda from Cozy Little House and she is an expert (to me) on making changes to your blog!  She helped me when I first got started blogging and was such a lifesaver. 

So, who did I call when I was ready for another change with my blog?  That would be Brenda!

  Go check out her blog, if you haven't already.  It's full of great inspiration.  She hosts a "link party" every Tuesday, called Tweak-it-Tuesday, spotlights a bloggers home once a week and welcomes new bloggers every Friday.  Whew!  She's a busy gal! 

Thank-you Brenda!  I couldn't be happier with my new header and all the other suggestions you made.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Hope you all have a great weekend.

~ Kelly ~ 

Let's Take a Tour Outside

Hello everyone!

Now that things are finally greening up outside and the flowers are blooming, I thought I would share some pics around my yard.  We still have some work to do, however.  We need  to finish planting our garden,  clean the pollen off our front porch, and plant flowers in our planters.

  

Our azaleas are blooming nicely.

Our hosta is making an appearance too.

These are all planted along the walkway leading to the front porch. I'd like to add more azaleas to the other side of the porch too.

The river birch is putting out new leaves too.

Out back, we have rose bushes ready to bloom.

We also just planted our vegetable garden!  We still need to add to it though. There's not much to see right now. We currently have tomato, squash, bell pepper and jalapeno peppers planted.  

Our neighbors just put up a beautiful fence too.  We get to enjoy one side of it ourselves!

(Just ignore how splotchy our grass looks right now.  As it gets warmer it will look better.)

Our vine (forgot the name of it) is blooming on our arbor.

While I was snapping pics, my dog was doing his favorite thing! 

My poor porch planters are naked right now.  My husband is going to take me to the same nursery we went to last year to pick out some flowers for them.  Looking forward to getting the porch ready to sit outside and enjoy these pretty days before it gets blazing hot!

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Thanks for stopping by.

~ Kelly ~

Kitchen Linens

Hello everyone!

With all of the changes I've made recently to my kitchen, I decided some new kitchen linens were in order.  I found some cute ones on Etsy.  You probably recognize these shops too.

The first set came from my sisters daughter in law, Daniella.  She has a wonderful blog called Frugal Ain't Cheap.  She also makes these adorable flour sack dish towels with french writing on them.  

I just loved them, so I bought a set.  I placed them in this scalloped bowl on my counter.  

You can find her shop here.  She also sells other items as well.

Next, I found this cute monogrammed towel from Frog Goes to Market.  You may recall I bought some red ones during Christmas from her.  Now, she offers blue too!  She always packs your order with a bar of her homemade soap as well.  

I hung it on a hook on the side of my cabinets.

And finally, I found this cute dish towel from a local shop near me.  I loved the cute phrase on it.

It's made out of the same material as some pillows that I already have!

Hope you all had a nice weekend.  It was chilly, but sunny here.  

Thanks for stopping by.

~ Kelly ~

Linking to:  Amaze Me Mondays

Painted Kitchen Chairs

Hello everyone!

Well, I figured out what was wrong with my changes to the breakfast area of my kitchen.  Something kept bugging me and at first I thought it was the new draperies (can I call drop cloth that???).  The problem was with the chairs!  They contrasted nicely against the black french doors, but when I painted them grey, they sort of faded away.  So, what did I do about it?  I painted them!

Now it has a better contrast against the grey doors.  I like the fact that the chairs no longer match the table too.  

I sanded down some of the edges around the chairs to give them a worn look.  I still may change the fabric in the chairs.  I haven't decided yet.  So for now, these will do.

  I removed the burlap pillows I had in here and brought in some with ticking stripes.  

So, now........... I believe I'm finally done in here. Well, at least until my new sign arrives.  (Do those words sound familiar?  I think I'm having one of those deja vu moments.)  

Next week, weather permitting, we will start planting our vegetable garden.  So, get ready for some digging in the dirt photos.  

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~ 

Changes to the Breakfast Area

Hello everyone!

I've finally completed the changes to the breakfast area that I was working on.  Now, of course, I say that lightly.  I'm never REALLY done changing things around (as you already know).  But, as of today, this is how it looks.  LOL!

Remember I moved the checked drapes to my bedroom.  So, I decided to hang simple drop cloth panels in here.  I like them, but I'm still getting used to them.  I may try the burlap panels in here and then make a final decision.  

I painted the french doors the same grey color as my open cabinets.  Remember they were black.  

The large sign pictured above is on order from Antique Farmhouse.  When it arrives, I'm planning on hanging it above my french doors.  It measures the exact width of them.  My little Bon Appetit sign will go the consignment store.  I've had it for years and am ready for a change.

I moved the hanging fabric wall art to the other side of the french doors and repainted the interior door brown to match the rest of the house.

Filled a basket with some lavender bushes too.

So, now that I've removed some of the black out of my kitchen and replaced it with grey, it feels much lighter.  I'm still experimenting with different vignettes etc since I've made the color change.  I've had black in here for so long, it takes some getting used to!

Hope you all are having a great week so far.  

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Linking to:  Wow-us-Wednesdays
                  Inspire Me Tuesday

Library Wall Light & Blooming Orchid

Hello everyone!

I hope you're enjoying your weekend so far.  I wanted to share my new wall light that I ordered from Decor Steals.  It was supposed to be hard-wired, but my husband converted it to a plug in light so I could use it where ever I wanted.  One day, I would like to get it installed the right way though. 

I love the patina on it!  I hung it in my family room over a chest of drawers that didn't currently have a lamp on it.  

It just got hung up today, so I can't wait to see what it looks like at night!

Next, I wanted to share my orchid in bloom.  I'm so excited that it is blooming.  It has been dormant for almost a year!

This is the first live orchid I've ever owned.  I tried to do what everyone suggested in order to keep it alive.  I had heard they can be temperamental.

It now has 2 full blooms on it!  As you can see, there will be several more in the next few days.  It's in a blooming cycle right now.

I had it sitting on the floor in front of a window while it wasn't blooming.  It wasn't too pretty then.  I watered it very seldom and drained off the excess water each time.  I cut back the old stems and waited.   It worked!  I set it in a tureen on top of the chest in my foyer.  It gets good filtered light in here.

I can't wait for the rest of the buds to open up!  

Speaking of flowers............

I am suffering with allergies now.  So, this is now by new best friend.

It REALLY works for me!!!!  

I appreciate you stopping by.  Hope you have a great weekend!

~ Kelly ~

Bedroom Makeover

Hello everyone!

This week just feels like it has flown by!!!  I guess it's because school is back in session and I've still been finishing up projects around the house.  

I finally have my master bedroom makeover ready to share! To see how it looked before, click here.  There are two things left to fix in there, but other than that, it's done.   I'm loving how light and bright it is now and "less busy" than it was before.

  

We painted the room in Linen White by Benjamin Moore.  It's my favorite white color!  It's not a stark white, but a creamy soft white  (it really does look like the color of linen).

  

I replaced my green floral bedding with a new white set and added my burlap European shams that I recently purchased.

I added a touch of color by adding some purple flowers on each side of the bed.  

I changed out the drapes with the buffalo checked ones that were in my kitchen.  (I'll reveal what's now hanging in the kitchen in another post.)

I placed a small burlap bench at the foot of the bed.

I kept the cow canvas above my bed and brought in a black pharmacy floor lamp to the other side of the room.  It was sitting in my basement until I realized it would be perfect in here!

I'm loving the change!  It feels like it flows better with the rest of the house now.  If my walls could talk, they would be saying "Thank-you!"  They were in such bad shape.  I had so many nail holes and scratch marks  all over them.  Moving the furniture out in order to re-paint allowed us to clean the room thoroughly.  I cleaned out all the junk that was stored under my bed and took some of it to Goodwill already!  You really have no idea how dirty a room is until you remove the furniture.  It was scary folks!!  

I've still been busy making a few more changes to my kitchen.  The eating area to be specific.  I'll share that soon.  

By the way, did anyone catch the firefighters hostage news coverage yesterday????  That was my husbands fire department!  Luckily, he was not at work that day.  I'm thankful that all ended well.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Linking to:  Wow-Us-Wednesdays