Loving Stripes

Hello everyone!

Thank you all for such sweet anniversary wishes on my last post!  My husband and I went out to eat to celebrate and enjoyed a quiet weekend together.  

I wanted to share some new striped pillows that I've been enjoying lately.  The pattern reminds me of mattress ticking.

I added a rectangular beige striped pillow on my sofa.  It's just enough to add without it becoming jumbled full of pillows again.

It has a down insert in it and is from Ralph Lauren.

Then I found this black striped one in a square shape for my bed.

It adds just enough pattern and color to compliment other items in the room without being too busy.

Spring break is officially here for my youngest son.  We will be taking some time to do something fun this week.  Luckily, our weather couldn't be nicer too!  It is shorts and tank top weather around here.  Hard to believe that just a couple of days ago I needed a jacket and an umbrella!  

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

27 Years Ago

Hello everyone!

Today marks a special day on the calendar.  It is my 27th wedding anniversary.  

I remember it being a beautiful sunny day to get married and Spring was definitely already here.  

My wedding flowers were pink and white roses with baby's breath.

I was so in love with the color pink then.  My bridesmaids wore rose colored dresses and my cake even had light pink icing.  Roses were my favorite flower.  

And if this dress doesn't tell you that I got married in the 80's, then nothing will!

I prefer the style of wedding dresses today with less stuff going on.  Oh well, that was the "in" thing at the time I got married.  

Spring break will begin for kids in our area this weekend.  Hopefully, the weather will cooperate during most of it.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Extreme Cheapskates

Hello everyone!

I know we are always looking for the least expensive way to do things from time to time and the least expensive price to buy things.  But, I found a show on TLC that shed a whole new light on the subject!  Have any of you seen the show, called Extreme Cheapskates on TLC?  

I just caught a couple of episodes by accident.  I was so shocked by some of the things I saw that I just had to share them with you.  I know everyone loves a good bargain, and many of you want to find ways to live on less. But these methods were very extreme. Let me point out that they were by choice, not out of necessity too.  Here are just a few examples of what I saw on these shows:

*One lady uses lint from her dryer to apply her powder makeup.

*One family uses one light bulb for their entire house and just moves it from room to room as they need it.

*One man refuses to use the A/C unit, so he just sprinkles cornstarch on his body to stay cool.

*That same man also refuses to use tap water, so he goes down to the local creek and fills up a large container and just filters it for drinking.

*Another man reuses his paper towels, dental floss and even tea bags.

*I was stunned when that same man took his wife to a movie and rummaged through the garbage at the theater to find a used popcorn bag and cup so he could get a free refill at the concession stand.  His wife was  unaware of this when he brought the food to her to eat. 

*There was a woman that used her dishwasher to cook her food as well as wash her dishes at the same time!  (yes, you read that right)

*That same family also cuts off the TV during commercials to save energy.

I could share so much more, but you'll just have to check it out for yourself!  You won't believe how creative people can get.  

And just for kicks, I included a link to this quiz to see if you could be a "cheapskate" too.

QUIZ

I'm a little bit embarrassed by my score.  Mine came back as a big spender.  Hmmmm.........

I'm sure my husband will get a big kick out of that one!  

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Charming Front Porches

Hello everyone!

This past weekend was so pretty.  It was sunny and warm, but today it has turned cold again.  So, it's still too early for me to do much with my front porch.  I'm waiting on the weather to be more consistent.  Until then, I thought I would look at some other pretty front porches to give me some ideas on sprucing up my own.

Love the lanterns flanking the front door on this one.

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Love the french doors that open up onto this porch along with the ceiling fans.

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Love the cedar shake, stone and bead board ceiling.

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Love the light fixture and the large round columns.

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I thought this sign was funny.

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These houses just scream "southern" to me.  Love the two story porches with ceiling fans and the flags hanging out front.

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So, did you see any that you liked?  Hopefully, April will allow me to clean mine up and plant some flowers.  

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Summer Country Bedroom

Hello everyone!

Now that is officially Spring, I thought I would share with you some changes I made to my bedroom that give it a Summer feeling.  I know it's not Summer yet, but hey, my bedroom is ready for it!  In fact, it's pretty much ready for it year round, since this is my favorite style of bedroom.   

Some of you also asked what I did in my bedroom after removing some items to use in other rooms.  I will show you that as well.

For me, a summer country bedroom must have the following:  

(fluffy white bedding)

Since I pulled my European sized shams off the bed to place on the sofa, the standard ones from the sofa moved to my bed!  Easy peasy!

(chippy painted furniture)

(Chair and ottoman or somewhere to relax and read)

(pretty casual flowers) 

(checked drapes or some other country pattern in the room somewhere)

And you can't go wrong with a basket with extra pillows and blankets at the foot of the bed.

So, that is my summer country bedroom (in the Spring)!  

What is your favorite style of bedroom?

Thanks for stopping by.

~ Kelly ~

Problem Solving

Hello everyone!

Have you ever found yourself constantly working around a problem in your home?  One that you wish didn't exist but you feel stuck with  for one reason or another? Well, that's how I felt with a few issues in my family room.  So, I've slowly been trying to solve them.

  My number one problem has always been my sofa.  It has a slipcover on it (which I like), but it gets messy very quick.  I've learned to live with that since most slipcovers (that aren't custom made) get that way.  But, what I COULD change were the pillows on the sofa that always seemed to be in piles all over the place!  They may have looked neat for the photos on my blog, but trust me, they never stayed that way!  So, when you combined that with the messy slipcover, it would always look disheveled.

So, this is what I did.  And.........it cost me nothing!  I've always loved the look of extra large pillows on sofas as opposed to a lot of little ones lined up.  So, I went upstairs to my bedroom and grabbed my European square (26") pillows right off my bed.  And, placed them on my sofa just to see what they would look like.

And guess what?  I liked it!  

I like that they are big and feel more like a part of the sofa and they come up higher on the back of the sofa which makes the sofa look taller.  Since these are a substantial size, I no longer have to worry about a million pillows ending up all over the place. They seem to stay in place better than the other ones.

So, once I knew that I liked how they looked, I had to make sure they were comfortable and not too bulky.  I sat down, and smiled.  Just right!  I guess this is starting to sound like the Three Little Bears story now.  LOL!  

My husband gave them a thumbs up too.  So, I can rest easy now.  He always lets me know if he doesn't like something.  

Another thing, that I've already shared with you, is the trunk that I placed next to the sofa.  It solved a problem too. 

Hiding these!

My tea table was so open underneath and it just so happens to be where all of these unsightly black cords plug in.  

So, this trunk solved that problem instantly!

After we started using the trunk, we realized it didn't have a nice flat surface to place a drink.  So, what to do about that?  

Add books, of course!

I could always use a wooden or metal tray too.

So, now some of my main problems with my sofa and cords showing have been solved.  Oh, and by the way, so many of you gave me some great suggestions for what I could place in my basket on my coffee table.  I ended up putting magazines in it for now.  I have to be careful of things impeding the view of the TV, so I can't have anything too tall.

Have you solved any  problems in your home lately?  I would love to know if you did.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Old French Basket

Hello everyone!

I spied this basket hiding under a table in someone's booth.  I walked passed it and later kept thinking about it.  So, I went back for a better look and decided it was a keeper!

 At first, I used it on my kitchen table.

I played around with it and decided it might look better with something draped in it.  So, I decided to use one of my grain sacks in it.

It has wonderful patina and is quite large.

I liked it here for a few days.

Until I tried it in the family room.

Who knows how it long it will stay here either.

Now, I need to clear out some baskets that aren't being used anymore down in my basement. Baskets are another weakness of mine!

Thanks for stopping by, and for those who celebrate, Happy St. Patrick's Day!

~ Kelly ~

Vintage Grain Sack and Other Changes

Hello everyone!

I'm always on the hunt for more vintage blue striped grain sacks.  I found this one for a very low price at an antique store.  

It has just a little spot behind one of the embroidered letters and a tiny amount of small rust spots further down, but other than that, it's in great condition!  

I draped it over the back of this chair in my family room.

I  decided to move my wicker trunk (from Ikea) beside my sofa.  It makes a nice side table.  

I also changed my lamp in here to this one.  I missed having this burlap shade in here.  The lamp base is from Better Homes and Gardens and has the same weathered wood look as the floor lamp on the opposite side of the room.

By the way, my blue striped pouf swapped places with the trunk and is now in front of the fireplace.  

I like that this is shorter and not hiding the fireplace as much.

Well, just one more to go.  See you soon!

Thanks for stopping by.

~ Kelly ~

Blue and White Transferware

Hello everyone!

Lately, I've been coveting blue and white colors.  So, blue and white transferware is something I'd like to have more of.  I found these two plates in just the right shade of blue and added these to my secretary doors for display.

  

Here is the marking on the back.

It says, Asiatic Pheasants.  As I was looking at the pattern of these plates, I realized that my other two blue and white plates are of the same pattern!  Except, they are reproductions.

(Reproduction)

(Original)

How about that?!  I'm obviously drawn to this pattern.  

Since I moved my silver candle holders off the chest in my foyer, they relocated to this secretary.

And I can't believe that the green hydrangeas from my photo shoot, weeks ago, are STILL alive!

Hmmmm...........the roses they brought died in less than a week and probably cost a lot more.  I think I like the hydrangeas better!

Hope you enjoyed seeing another item that came home with me from my mini shopping spree!

Thanks for stopping by.

~ Kelly ~