Farmhouse Lighting

Hello everyone!

Are you having a nice weekend so far?  I hope so.  I wanted to share a new light I purchased for the hallway that separates my family room and kitchen.  It is an old fashioned farmhouse style light and I really love the look it gives this simple hallway.

Isn't it the neatest?  I found it at Luckett's online store.  That place is worth a look if you haven't already been there!  I've seen this light for sale at other shops for a lot more too.  

It's a small light so it really needs to hang in a small space.  A hallway is perfect or over a kitchen sink.  Even a small powder room would work.

It has that open wire cage look that gives it the old fashioned look I love.

I put a clear bulb in it, but an old fashioned Thomas Edison style bulb would look great in it too!

This light is a bit brighter than the one I had in here too.  Now we can actually see inside the coat closet if we need to.  LOL!  

Thanks for stopping by!  

~ Kelly ~

Form and Function in the Kitchen

Hello everyone!

Have you ever had something in your kitchen that looked pretty, but didn't "serve" you well?  That is what happened in my kitchen.  I decided a change was needed.  You see, I have a laundry room off my kitchen.  It is not very big though.  In order to get the best use out of it, I need to be able to open the door wide.  So, the little display of pillows on an ottoman that I had behind the door was no longer serving me well when I needed to access the laundry room.  And, I need to access it A LOT!  

So, I removed what was pretty and left the floor space empty to allow the door to open wide.  I hung my over sized breadboards on the wall instead.  That seemed to allow both form and function of the area.

I like how it opens up the kitchen by doing this too.  It was a blessing in disguise that I made this change. 

Another change I made was to move my large mixer out from under the cabinets to an open area.  

I like how it looks here AND it is easier to use!  

Now on to some just plain ole fun stuff.  I ordered this rustic twine from Luckett's online shop.  I had been wanting some of this twine with the old style scissors.  This one is huge too!  

I don't think the picture does it justice.

Also, I nabbed this dairy slab from Williams-Sonoma while on sale too.  My sweet friend, Des, from Peeking Thru The Sunflowers ordered one for herself and thought I might like one too.  

Fromage means "fresh cheese" in french.  

Lastly, I decided to hang my vintage grain sack and table runner out of this tall basket.  It actually used to be a laundry basket! I love using baskets everywhere.  They are so versatile.

So..........there you have it!  Just a few changes that helped to serve me better in the kitchen and add style at the same time.

Oh!  And one more thing........

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

For Households with Boys

Hello everyone!

Today, it is dreary and rainy.  I don't have pretty pictures to share with you today.  Instead, I wanted to show you what my life has been reduced to.  LOL!

Yes...............this is it!

I warned you that there weren't pretty pictures on here today.  

If you have boys living in your house, you know exactly what this is and WHY I have this!  I have converted my toilet into a urinal.  Yep!  This snazzy little gizmo got delivered to my house over a week ago and I'm very happy with the results.  

When not in use, it looks like this.

So, we can still use the facilities like normal too.  

This is a pretty neat invention and was invented by a mother of boys herself!  

What led me to this discovery was the use of these.........ALL DAY LONG.

These became my newest and bestest (I know that's not a word) friend.  But, they were not the kind of friend I wanted.  So, now I have this for my newest and bestest friend.

And, if you have this same problem in your house, it can be your newest and bestest friend too!  

Click HERE if you want to purchase one of these.  

The website is called Flippee.com.  There is even a video showing how it works.  

I actually thought of this invention myself (well sort of) and went online looking to see if anyone else had thought of it first and lo and behold there it was!  I heard the angels sing!  I bought it immediately.  When it arrived, I set it up and couldn't wait for my 11 yr old to come home and try it out.  He told me I couldn't watch him either.  LOL!  Anyway, the rest is history.  

I still have to use the wipes, but not near as often, but most of all my wood floors and sheet rock wall around the toilet are now singing my praises.  Really!  I hear them every day.  

I promise to have pretty pictures for you in my next post.  Just wanted to share my newest find for you that has made me smile lately.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Bedroom Changes

Hello everyone!

Well, I just couldn't help myself.  You remember when I moved my new European sham pillow out of my bedroom and into my foyer right?  As usual, one thing leads to another and I decided to make some changes to my bedroom.  I thought it was a bit busy.  I removed some items and replaced others.  

I still love a cottage style bedroom, but I didn't want it too cluttered or too dressy. So here is what it looks like now.

I removed the netting above the bed and utilized the ledge design of my headboard to lean floral paintings on.  I love this casual look.  The netting was a bit fussy and dressy. This immediately opened up the room.

While I was taking pictures, look who decided to come lay on my bed?  Little stinker!

Another thing I did was use the ruffled blanket I got at Ikea on the corner of the bed.  I love it here.  I hardly noticed it in the family room.

I also removed the matching lamps with the brown shades.  I instead used this black iron lamp and cream colored shade that I had in my basement.  I like the casual feel of not having matching lamps on each side now. I even removed the decorative plaques on the wall.

The dresser on the other side of the bed got a makeover too.  I changed the artwork hanging above it to something smaller and added some silk peonies.  Having no lamp on this side frees up space and gives it a lighter look. 

I'm enjoying the fresh lighter look.  I need to repaint this room.  I'm not sure if I will use this same color or not though.  It's a nice vintage cream color called Creamware from Restoration Hardware.  I'll have to give it some thought.  For now, I'm content with these easy, no cost changes.  

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~ 

Random Changes

Hello everyone!

How is your week going so far?  It has been going fine for me.  No complaints so far!  

I've been making some tiny changes around the house.  Nothing new for me.  Thought I'd share a few pics with you.

I've had this old, chippy, peeling, painted piece of tin for years.  It used to hang above my tub in the master bathroom.  I decided to move it to the top of my grey secretary in the sitting room.  It's just simple and country.

  

Where did the other items go that were on top of here before?  Well, I'm sorry to say they are now residing in my cold basement.  Such is life!  LOL!

One of my favorite changes is a big surprise to even myself.  Remember the new pillow sham I bought for my bed?  Well, I decided to give it a try in my foyer, just for kicks, and well...........the rest is history.  

I liked it here better.  Now........where did the blue and white grain sacks go that were on this bench?  

Why in their very own basket of course.

I found these cute little plates too.  They were dirt cheap!  I stacked them under my little plant in the foyer.

They are apparently old restaurant plates, I was told.

And, finally, the last little change I made was putting this sweet little drop cloth ruffled material on a bench  next to my chair in the family room. 

It was custom made by Ann for a little stool I had, but it has made its rounds on other items too.  I had no idea how versatile it was!  

So, that's it for today.  

Until next time.........

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Linking to:  Wow-Us-Wednesdays

Coffee Table Vignette

Hello Everyone!

Remember when I said I couldn't fit one more white dish in my house?  Well, I lied!  This one found its way home with me and ended up on my coffee table.  

It has a plate that goes with it too, but I just didn't use it here.  I have a weakness for white tureens, in particular, so I couldn't leave this behind.  

I placed it on this willow tray and surrounded it with some of my favorite things.

I love candles, so I included this one along with some soft greenery and a wicker wrapped bottle.  

I'm enjoying the mix of neutral colors and textures here.  

What's on your coffee table?

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Fleur d'Ivoire in the Bedroom

Hello everyone!

I wanted to share a new pillow I got for my bed back before Christmas.  It's a European square pillow sham from Ballard Designs.  I actually got it on sale with free shipping at the time.  I would love to get another one, so I'm hoping they'll run another sale before they quit selling it too!  I don't want to pay full price plus shipping.  Too much $$$$$!

I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it and just knew it would work well with my bedding.

It is made of burlap with cream embroidered flowers on it.

Unfortunately, it's getting wrinkled because my dog likes to lay right on top of it.   Since he sleeps with us at night, I guess he thinks this pillow belongs to him!

Are you ready for the weekend?  This week just flew by!  Better yet, are you ready for some Football???  The Super Bowl is this Sunday, so I'm sure with a house full of boys, you know what will be on my TV!  

Ah!  Much better with a little lamp light! 

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~