Color Chic

My Helper...

While Tuesday watered everything...

Bennet and I...

and the bird kept watch!

Paper Lanterns...

I thought a few paper lanterns hanging in the trees would be fun...

My honey thought they should float across the pool... Great idea! Very fun!

Another Home Project... Replacing the Entry Fixture!

Let me just say I've never liked our entry lighting! It was one of the last things to be selected when we were building the house and money was tight so we just picked something inexpensive we thought would work. Well it never quite filled the space. I tried to find a picture of it so I could show you the before and after and all I could find was a sliver of it here.  Of course I could have taken a photo before my honey took it down... but I didn't think about it. I was just so excited to see the old one down and replaced with this Iron Orb Chandelier...

My honey is quite the handyman and fortunate for me he enjoys these kind of projects! ...

This Chandelier fills the space so much better and I couldn't be happier with it!

Now I've got to find a good home for the old one... there really wasn't anything wrong with it; just not large enough for our entry!

The First Snow...

We woke to a bit of snow yesterday morning; the seasons first! I'm glad my honey picked up the camera to catch the beauty of it all as it was gone by early afternoon.  This was shot from the sunroom. I know it was a pitiful amount, but still very beautiful!

And the winter wonderland from the kitchen window...

Hopefully we will have a bit more before the season ends!

The Airstream...

If you follow this blog at all you know that we recently made a trip to Yosemite.  Our accomodations were amazing and we've taken it out two other times since that trip mid-September and are planning to get away this weekend. Rain or Shine!  Our accomodations... Bambi!

I was reminded a couple of days ago that I still have not done a post on our "vacation home on wheels". So here it is... It's just 19' in length, perfect size with all the amenities of home.

Let me begin by saying we have the same "no shoes in the house" policy we have at home...

After all it's a tiny little space and I have the most awesome mustard colored rug from Crate and Barrel in the middle of our home. You can see it here in front of the dining area. We took the big cushions out from behind the seats creating more of a lounge area.

That brightly colored blanket you see in the foreground is the Circle Dance quilt I made with Amber a couple of years ago. It never really had a good home, but now it has a great one!

Yes, that's our Master Bedroom Suite! Right next to the bathroom...

The shower is actually ample size and we even found a clothes drying rack that fit inside.

Our closet, between the sink and stove has enough space for a shoe rack and even more for hanging coats.

The little basket on top holds hat, gloves and misc...

The kitchen is a dream! We have all the necessities including a pizza stone in the oven! Bill added extra counter space next to the sink; it still needs to be laminated, but the extra 8" is going to come in handy. We've created some amazing meals in this little space.

The drawers below the range are well organized...

As are the shelves above!

The refridgerator at the end of the bed has a very spacious pantry!

 Our home is very compact, but like I said it has all the necessities of home. And when it's raining outside we stay very dry!

While I'm eager to get away again this weekend and explore, the challenge I have is I'm a bit type-A and feel like I always need to be doing something.  I'm not one to sit and read for hours on end, and I can only knit for so long. I mostly feel the need to be creative and I can do that with our meals but I'm really looking for an awesome craft I can work on during our down time.

I love sewing but really don't have the space. Any ideas?  It probably should involve Ribbon so I can share with all of you the wonderful crafts I'm creating in "Bambi"!

So if you have any great projects I could work on in this little space, please share! I'd love some ideas!

Just in case you were wondering, we've got the backing in thing down to a science! We're able to put it in the tightest of spaces... We don't even put on a show ; )!

Opening the Pool...

It can be a little scary when you take the cover off the pool at the beginning of the season.  It's usually not crystal clear, in fact it can be darn right disgusting, which is why I'm not sharing photos of that. But add a few chemicals, drain a bit of water (1/3 of it), refill and wait... At first we think we can see the drain, but usually it's an illusion and we see it because we know where it should be. But this morning...

It's really there! Now we just need to wait for the sunshine....

A Fresh Look....

with new color palette!

As you know I spent hours trying to find the perfect new colors for our interior. At first I treated this project like anyone might... simply by wanting a certain color. Well my certain color was gray, and I thought if I picked the right shade it would work... Not! 15 samples later I decided it was time to treat the project like I do with my clients, I gathered my carpet sample, a pillow from the sofa and went into another room and sat down with my paint chips; after all I wouldn't be replacing either of these items and the color I selected had to work well with both. The challenge of it all was finding a color that worked with my carpet, it has a yellow-peachy undertone you don't notice with the right color. With the wrong color... gasp... it looks horrible!  Treating the project like a professional, selecting the perfect color was easy, I went right to it.  The main color wasn't what I thought I would end up with, but it's perfect and I love it! 

I used Sherwin Williams Duration Home Paint with a matte sheen, this finish is one step up from flat and I love it!  As I said I went through several samples and the main colors I ended up with were on card D19/3 from Miller, so it was necessary to color match.  The living room and entry are color Montezuma...

 

With SW 6395Alchemy as the ancent wall on dining room wall next to the kitchen...

The wainscotting in the entry is a shade darker than the Montezuma; Garden Hedge.  Notice the need for new scones...

As you look though the entry you see the family room, as well as the hallway upstairs and down the lighter shade: Bleached Meadow. This color is very light but the family room is on the north side of house with little natural light.  The accent color is 80% of SW 6249 Storm Cloud...

  
What I love about the Bleached Meadow is I'm able to have splashes of color throughout the house, without them competing. SW 6606 Coral Reef in one guest room...

Swanky Gray SW 6261 in other guest room...

The sunroom also got a fresh coat of paint as the sun had faded the walls...

I'm definitely not afraid of using color, it just has to be the right color! And my painters did an awesome job getting the job done! Thanks Academy Award Painters!

Parting with Stained Glass...

For those of you who have asked for this piece of stained glass, it's still hanging in the sunroom. This is not the stained glass I have parted with.  No, it's the glass I've been saving to use when I take up a craft I persued years ago.  But 25 years later, moving it twice and storing it under the house for the last 13 years I decided it was time to let it go!

I've done several different crafts in my lifetime, each time getting into them with intense passion. Creating pieces of stained glass was no different, I bought all the necessary tools and collected beautifully colored pieces of glass like one collects fabric.  But after constructing several windows and lamps for family and friends I abandoned the hobby to take up something else. Unfortunately I had given up the hobby before using up the pieces of glass collected, so I stored it for future use. Well that day never came and let's be realistic it wasn't coming!

Last weekend was cleaning day... I brought out all the boxes of glass from under the house and started cleaning them.  Seeing the beautiful pieces brought back memories of finding lovely glass which would be used for future projects... Not!

After cleaning, I boxed it up in the appropriate order, because I like to see things organized (and I'm a bit obsessed)...

Then I looked through Craigslist I found someone "wanting" glass.  This woman drove 60 miles on a Sunday evening to get my glass.  I really hope Michelle puts this to good use. But she may choose to resell it since she got such an awesome deal! Either way it's out from under the house!

It's a shame to have a surplus of material when a craft ends. My little pieces of wood for tole painting ended up as kindling, fabric which was no longer trendy ended up at Goodwill and yarn that felt so good in the store, takes up way to much space.

What do you do with your material when a craft ends?

Sunday Rituals....

Nothing better than a great latte (steamed milk) and the funnies...

How do you spend Sunday mornings?

Shipping a Goat...

Shipping a "Goat" costs a lot more than one would expect! When I saw this cute thing in Camden Maine I knew it would be the perfect memento from our trip:

Unfortunately I didn't realize how much money it cost to ship! The owner of the store let me know she would be taking it to a packing company and having it shipped from there and that it usually is more than expected. But seriously "how much could it be"? So I gave her my CC knowing I would have a goat when I got back home! A couple of days later and miles away from Camden while enjoying our vacation I get a call from the packing company... It's going to be $#$@#$^$% + to ship a goat! Are you kidding me! Seriously! I could have bought a piece of luggage wrapped it in bubble wrap, paid the airlines to bring extra baggage and still be ahead!

But I have to say it was wrapped very well!

And it's so awesome! I'm not disappointed with my purchase at all! It will bring back many happy memories of our trip each time I look at him.

I really think I should give my goat a name... any ideas?