Floral Fridays

I've decided to share pictures of beautiful flowers on Fridays for awhile.  This one is from Country Home.  Enjoy!

Paint Dilemma

It's so hard to pick the perfect color when there are so many beautiful colors to choose from.  Where do I start?  I need more rooms.  You can find this beautiful photo by Twig Hutchinson, here.  

Sheep Collectibles

Look at that face!  
I collect sheep.  Aren't these sweet?  I received these two precious sheep for Christmas from my DH.  I don't have a big collection and don't want one, but I do want special sheep.  These sheep are hand made by Colin.  I collect sheep because I knit and also because I'm a Christian.  

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 

"Look, the Lamb of God," who takes away the sin of the world!"

John 1:29

Baby Blues?

I'm searching for the perfect blue.  Not too dark, not too light, not too aqua.  I really don't want it to look baby blue.  So, in my attempt to find the perfect color I fell in love with the blue on this take out cup from Corner Bakery.  This top photo is a Phoebe Howard design.

Unfortunately, there has to be at least a quarter size solid spot in order to get the formula for the exact color.  So, Jack and I searched and searched (the Sherwin Williams guy) for a compatible blue from their many samples.  In the end, we took the closest color and added 50% white to it.  I took home two sample quarts to see what I thought.  
I don't know if you can see the two colors.  The upper blue is definitely more aqua.  It was the closest match to the cup. But, I'm liking the lower color the best.  It's just SO HARD to make a decision. I'm going to live with my splotches for a few days. Maybe even longer, since I haven't scheduled a painter to come and paint my two story staircase yet. Oops!  I also think I'm chickening (not a word) out on painting my living room ceiling blue in between the beams we're putting in.  It may just have to go off white.  I know, I know, it's just paint!

Great Hat Pattern

This is my latest knitting project. It's a beautiful cap by BrooklynTweed. You can find the pattern link here. I'm using Cascade Yarns Pastaza Paints for the main color and Noro Silk Garden for the stripes. I have not yet conquered the jogless stripes technique. Hopefully the recipient won't care. Maybe he won't even have a clue. Unless he reads this. Here's my version so far.

This should be a lesson to NEVER put one of your own pictures next to a professional picture. Of course, my hat isn't finished and certainly not blocked.  Yeah, that's it.  

Non-Christmas Mantle

Mantle's get a lot of attention at Christmas time.  I'm curious as to what you do with yours the rest of the year?  Do you change it for the seasons or have a standard mantlescape?  I just bought some "mercury glass" candlesticks from Pottery Barn on sale this December.  I typically use brass candlesticks here but decided to mix the two.  I bought some gold candles in a hurry for some company and ended up with this mixture.  Some of the candles could be bigger, but I thought it turned out pretty nice.  What do you do after the holidays with yours?

FAVORITE COLORS

This dining room has been one of my favorites since it was on the cover of Country Living years ago.  I'm undeniably drawn to red in decorating.  Maybe it's because for 7 years in my last house I deleted all red.  It made me crazy!  I know this room is very "staged" but I love the layers, textures and variety of prints.
This office is very bold with it's bright red walls.  I know from experience that this takes many, many layers of paint to cover, even with primer.  It's especially beautiful with the natural ecrus and browns.  But, my favorite addition is to add blue to the mix.  Red, brown and blue, love it!
While I'm not as eclectic as this room, I absolutely LOVE the color palette.  I have loved this palette for a long time and my current home is a reflection.  I don't think I've balanced the colors as well, I'm working toward it.  I'm trying to pick a light blue to paint my ceiling and stairway that won't scream "baby blue".  We'll see how I do.  What is your favorite color palette? You can see more of this beautiful apartment at Country Living.  All the above photos are from Country Living.  You can see my attempt here.  You can even tell from my blog that I love these colors together.  ;-)

Grocery Shopping

If I were to do this the RIGHT way, I'd be all organized.  To buy groceries the RIGHT way, I should clean out my frig first of all the nasties.  This should even be done every week on an appointed day, BEFORE I do my grocery shopping for my planned menus from a mapped out list. I actually have operated this way from time to time.  Not so much anymore.  For one, I don't cook as much as I used to, before the empty nest and a traveling husband.  Nowadays, if I plan meals and buy produce it sometimes sits when the best laid plans are changed.  This is not only bad stewardship but also a waste of money.  

But LOOK!  I have a cleaned out frig.  Yippee!  This has been a long time coming.  Although, I haven't planned any meals yet, I'm headed out soon to buy groceries.  

Here's a great list to help you map out your grocery store.  This REALLY does help and prevents any forgotten items on your list.  Just make it "your own" and save it on your computer to print out.  Use it when you run out of something.  Flylady also has lots of helpful suggestions on saving money and being organized when buying groceries.  

Moldings and Beams

We're getting ready to add crown molding to the rooms on our main floor. I also would like to have "beams" added in our Great Room. Here are some inspiration photos that I'm working from.
I love the simplicity of this design with the painted ceiling.  I am planning on painting our ceiling a very light gray/blue.  This is probably the direction I will go in order to save some money.  Although I love the boards in this picture below.  The rustic wood looks great with the more formal furniture below.  Aren't these bookshelves wonderful?  We could have these in every room if our rooms were big enough.  Love them!
I also love the sleek tongue-in-groove panels and beams in this room.  
Although my rooms are certainly not as beautiful as these magazine-ready rooms, I think the beams and molding will take away from the "tract house" look of our home.  Unfortunately, this is not a "honey-do" project and is fairly pricey.  I do love the idea of a blue ceiling.  Hopefully this will be finished in February, so I'll post photos for show and tell. Photos courtesy of Style At Home, and Cote de Texas.  

Classic Movies

I love old movies.  We have a local movie buff group that supports a Classic Movie Night once a month in a local theater.  Last Sunday night was the January movie.  I enlisted some girlfriends and we went to see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.  This movie was made in 1954 and starred Jane Powell, Howard Keel and Julie Newmar.  Julie Newmar is best known as Catwoman.  The theater was packed, as usual.  Prizes were won for trivia questions answered correctly.  Why is a simple thing so much fun?  Here's a clip from the movie.  Check it out here and maybe go rent it.

How Organized Are You?

Now my family might argue with my test results, but when Martha says, "YOU'RE METICULOUS", I'm inclined to go along with it!  See for yourself what your test results are here. If I didn't exactly organize things the way she suggests, I opted for the most similar answer.  I'm pretty proud of myself, actually (patting myself on the back).    

Valentine Pretties

I thought I'd search for some more Valentine inspiration on Etsy and Ebay.  This search could go on for HOURS.  Since I am a fiber fan, I started there.  Here are some lovely creations for you to enjoy.  

Wouldn't this yarn make someone a wonderful scarf?  The colors are like sherbet.  You can buy this beautiful art yarn, here.  
LOOK AT THAT FACE!  Isn't he adorable?  You can find this precious love bird, here.  
This lady makes these wonderful Waldorf dolls necklaces.  They're so lovely.  
You can find this beautiful felted brooch here.  
I bought these hearts last year off of Ebay.  They are from old ceiling tins.  Don't you love them?  They also make beautiful frames out of ceiling tins.  I love the peely, crustiness of them.  Well, I'm done searching for tonight.  We'll see what I find another day.  

Valentine Preparations

I know it's only January 6th, but it's never too early to plan ahead and to do it well.  A few years ago I was invited to a friend's house to make homemade Valentines.  It was a lot of fun. She wasn't very creative, but I fell in love with the idea and her antique paper cutter.  We were gardening friends and we cut pretty flowers out of catalogs.  I'm not talented as are the ladies in this wonderful publication from Somerset Studios.  In recent years I have made homemade Valentines for my family, paper doilies, flower photos and stickers included.  Last year I didn't and boy did I hear about i!  So, I'm trying to prepare early this year.  I'm also having Bunco at my house in February.  Check out this fabulous book for lots of creative ideas.  Does anybody else make homemade Valentines?

Minnie Me

Well, I promised I'd show you my new ears.  This obviously isn't the greatest picture.  It had been a long day and it was cold.  Relatively, anyway, it is Southern California.  I actually got a compliment from a stranger that I looked great in my ears.  All my DH could do was laugh.  I like them.  What do you think of my sparkly silver ears?  They go well with my sparkly silver hair.  

Magazine Sadness

I'll admit it, I love magazines.  I bet a lot of you do too.  Especially since you use many magazine photos in posts.  Magazines take us places that we would never have an opportunity to visit.  I was searching for a magazine the other day at B&N, but with no luck.  When I looked on their website they had announced it was no longer in publication.  That magazine was ORGANIZE.  It was fairly new and I thought well done.  I just received a note from Cottage Living that they are also ceasing publication.  I don't see it mentioned on their website.  Somewhere on a blog, I read that Mary Englebreit's Home Companion is stopping as well.  It is posted as a news release on their website that they are looking for a new publisher.  Last night I was again in B&N and noticed so many random and specific magazines that I wondered why these have stopped publication.  Obviously, our economy has a lot to do with it, but who knows what else will be ceasing publication.  Makes me sad.  

PANTRY LOVE/HATE

What is it about the New Year that makes us want to clean out, give away, throw away and organize?  Is it the plethora of organizing articles in our magazines and newspapers?  Is it the fact that we now have more stuff than we know what to do with because of Christmas giving and baking?  My pantry is a DISASTER!  The same goes for the garage and closets.  The Christmas decorations need to be put away, Goodwill items need to be gathered, recycling needs to be sorted!  There's just so much to do.  I'm enjoying my new computer that I got for Christmas, but again, that means that photos and documents need to be saved and organized.  Yikes!  I think I'll just take it one step at a time.  Maybe I'll start with one section of the pantry.  

 
Right now I'm disgusted with my pantry.  You can see that in the past I have attempted to be organized with lots of Tupperware containers to corral different items.  This is a good idea especially if you've had any problems with bugs in your pantry.  As you can see above and below, my pantry is in serious need of a purge.

This is MUCH better!  It's not as pretty as the Country Living pantries, but it's organized, clean and it works. YEAH!

Here is a great article from Real Simple on getting your pantry organized so things don't get lost in the back recesses of your shelves.  Above are some beautiful pantries from Country Living.  Does anyone REALLY have a pantry that looks like these?  Please send me a picture if you actually cook and have a pretty pantry.