Making It Mine

We had several of the rooms on our main floor painted last week. I've been wanting to do this for a long time, but couldn't decide on a paint color. That's such a tricky decision, isn't it? Our home was entirely painted brown before we moved in. In some cases, and in some seasons, it was lovely. In the end, I decided to lighten things up. Making one change always affects something else and this is no exception. The entire main part of the house looks cohesive now, until you walk into the kitchen.  I won't be showing you that transition. Also, my photography isn't the best here, partially because of the light and partially because it's entirely on my iPhone.  My Canon and MAC laptop have decided to stop speaking.  I don't know who ticked off who, but I wish they'd figure it out soon.  

In progress.

Here is the Living Room area in brown.

Here it is in Revere Pewter. 

I've covered the piano to protect it from the sun, cuz I just like my window open, okay?

Brown

Pewter

(funny thing is, the wall over the stairs on the right, is a different color.  It's SW Kiliam Beige)

Living Room Mantle on Brown

Pewter

I think the family photo walls looks much better.  We had one fatality however off of the top shelf.  This entire arrangement is still a work in progress.  Maybe one day I'll be happy with it.

Entry area in Brown

Entry in Revere Pewter

Dining Room in Brown

(shhh, it looks really pretty in this photo)

Dining room in Revere Pewter

I think it's the light or angle, or photographer or all three.

Here are the colors of my Family Room and Living Room now.  

Much, much lighter.

ISN'T SHE LOVE-LY?

 If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen all of these pictures already.

 I thought I'd do a round-up.

It's taken awhile to finish this sampler because I had to stop working on it for about a month. I bought this "LOVE-LY" sampler from Charlotte Lyons during the Art-Of-Craft workshop at French General last January. At the same time, I bought this beautiful floral fabric, La Belle Fleur, from Kaari at French General and chose floss colors to coordinate with it. I couldn't find a green ball fringe that I liked, so I used this blue rickrack.  I think it's perfect in my guest room.  You can find all of Charlotte's pretty samplers in her Etsy store.  I have her newest design, "Homebodies" waiting in the wings.  

Happy Mother's Day

I have the best Mom. 

Happy Mother's Day

I love you!

I'm also proud of my own sweet girls. I need to get a newer photo. Love you both!

New Tweets

Have you tried Twitter?
I have.  Barely.
I just don't get it.
Give me a good photo anyway and I'm all over it.
Twitter, not so much.

There has been a lot of tweeting going on over here recently.  The pretty, amazing kind of tweeting.  I'm familiar with Finches, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Chickadees, Juncos and even a Tufted Titmouse.  But, there are some birds we've been seeing lately that are new to us.  I've shown you an occasional Egret, Quail or Roadrunner. 

Recently I've seen some gorgeous birds.  This Roadrunner was trying to get out of my way. 

I was walking SO FAST.  

This is a Spotted Towhee.  I had to get out the bird book.

source

Last week HH and I saw an Oriole on our walk.

source

Wednesday a beautiful bird flew in front of my car.
I had to go home and look him up too.  It ended up being a Western Tanager.
A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

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See, there's been a lot of tweeting going on here lately!  

Self-diagnosis

I've done some self diagnosing since yesterday. I've decided that I have ADHD. Combined with nearsightedness it's an awful combination. Hang with me here.

If you ask any of my local friends they would say that my house is always clean. It's pretty much always picked up except for those pesky awkward dishes that don't fit into the dishwasher. I set out yesterday to actually accomplish something. I'm not talking about anything earth shattering like deep, deep cleaning. I'm referring to dusting and vacuuming along with some clean toilets. Okay, ewww.

Well, I've come to the conclusion that I have Attention Deficit Housework Disorder. Let me tell you it took me FOREVER. I kept getting distracted. Geesh. I think I got my living room and powder room clean. Good grief. Then today I worked on the Master Bedroom.

I also can tell that there is an advantage to being nearsighted. Who knew there was so much dust on those white baseboards? Certainly not me. And who's big idea was it anyway to decide that white woodwork was back in style? I just try to ignore it, thank you very much.

Here's a little snapshot of a clean spot on my dresser. I told HH not to get used to it. Hope you've been more productive than me. Have a great weekend!

Snooping On The Neighbors

This past weekend was my birthday. We went to dinner Saturday night at PF Changs to celebrate. We had so much fun talking and eating that I only took one picture. The husbands didn't even get in it. Also every April right around my birthday, our neighborhood has a huge Garden Walk. I'm just positive it's the same weekend for good reason. The money made benefits the educational programs at a local preserve. Every property here has a minimum of 5 acres, some have many, many more. I posted pictures last year as well. This first home was also on the tour last year. They've added more features. Including an amphitheater for watching movies and this "room" with a fireplace below. They have a hillside with several waterfalls going down, filled with lovely places to sit.

 Can you see the little bubbler coming out of the rock?

I loved the next house. They had built this little room, that is not screened.  It's called a music room and they had a cello case sitting with two chairs.  There are beautiful chimes hanging around the perimeter. It sits in an Agave garden.

 This house had 50 varieties of fruit trees.  Mostly citrus and it smelled A M A Z I N G!

 There was a nice long Bocce Ball court for entertainment.

They built a cactus rock garden, where the rocks are from the property.

 Lastly was the vegetable garden. 

Somehow I didn't photograph the Deer Grass Meadow or the Zen Garden.

This house had a beautiful pool and was nestled against many large boulders with trails in and around them.

 The hummingbirds were very busy.

The next location was an organic farm with a spring fed pond.

 You could feed their catfish.

The last location raises miniature horses. This little guy posed for just a second before he realized I didn't have a snack for him. What a wonderful day!