A Pumpkin kind of day.....

"I was born a Pumpkin, 
I will live a Pumpkin, 
and I will die a Pumpkin"
 ~Daniel "Pumpkin" Webster
 Speech on July 17, 1850


Happy Halloween!

The quiet color of universal love......

I'm currently putting together an inspiration book - to gather my thoughts on how I want to design and decorate my guest bedroom.  I did it a little backwards - by painting the walls before I was certain on the color palette.  So now - I think instead of trying to match to the walls - I will re-do them..once I settle on the look.

I initially thought I would do the room in white...with a bit of light blue toile thrown in.  BUT - now I am not so sure...and am thinking maybe I should do pink.  Besides it being one of my most favorite colors - I think it has the perfect meaning for a guest room.

Pink is the color of universal love. It's a quiet color.  Lovers of beauty favor pink.  A pink carnation means "I will never forget you".  It is a combination of red and white.  The quality of energy in pink is determined by how much red is present.  White is the potential for fullness, while red helps you to achieve that potential.  Pink combines these energies.  Shades of deep pink, such as magenta, are effective in neutralizing disorder and violence.  Pink provides feelings of caring, tenderness, self-worth and love, acceptance.  

Put some pink in your life when you want:

• Calm feelings
• To neutralize disorder
• Relaxation
• Acceptance, contentment

So what better environment to invite your guests into?  These are the first entries into my book...hope you enjoy them as much as I do:

Okay - this isn't a bedroom...but I just could not resist.... I LOVE LOVE this living space......

Linking up with Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday....

.....Have a wonderful and 

pinktastic Pink Saturday....

Colorado Rocky Mountain High....

So tonight, I spent some time thinking about a winter ski trip - and couldn't help but get caught up in the inspiration of one of my all time favorite songs....

He was born in the summer of his 27th year,

coming home to a place he'd never been before.

He left yesterday behind him

you might say he was born again,

might say he found a key for every door.

When he first came to the mountains

His life was far away

on the road and hanging by a song.

But the strings already broken

and he doesn't really care,

it keeps changin' fast, and it don't last for long.

It's a Colorado Rocky Mountain High,

I've seen it raining fire in the sky

The shadows from the starlight are softer than a lullabye.

Rocky Mountain High, ...in Colorado....

Rocky Mountain High.

He climbed cathedral mountains, he saw silver clouds below,

saw everything as far as you can see.

And they say that he got crazy once and that he

tried to touch the sun,

and he lost a friend, but kept the memory.

Now he walks in quiet solitude, the forest and the stream,

seeking grace in every step he takes,

his sight is turned inside himself, to try and

understand, the serenity of a clear blue mountain lake.

And the Colorado Rocky Mountain High,

I've seen it raining fire in the sky

You can talk to God and listen to the casual reply.

Rocky Mountain High, ....in Colorado....

Rocky Mountain High.

Now his life is full of wonder,

but his heart still knows some fear,

of the simple things he can not comprehend.

Why they try to tear the mountains down

to bring in a couple more.

More people, more scars upon the land.

It's the Colorado Rocky Mountain High,

I've seen it raining fire in the sky

I know he'd be a poorer man if he never saw an Eagle fly

Rocky Mountain High

It's the Colorado Rocky Mountain High,

I've seen it raining fire in the sky.

Friend around the camp fire and everybody's high....

Rocky Mountain High, Rocky Mountain High,

.....Rocky Mountain High
Rocky Mountain High....

Here's to the serenity of a 
clear blue mountain lake.

Guest Bedroom re-do.....

Last year, my house underwent a significant renovation.  It was so significant - we moved out for 7 months.  As you can see, it really wasn't livable - as most of the house looked like this....and since there was no electricity - and the majority of the foundation was ripped out...we really didn't have much choice.

We live in house that was built in 1953 which is considered OLD in this part of Florida.  We purchased it in 2002 after the previous owners completely renovated it and since he was a general contractor, he added on some really nice details during the renovation.  One of the details I loved so much was the living room wall was completely covered in big slabs of keystone.  It really was such a beautiful wall...or so I thought.

A couple of years back, I noticed the seams between the slats of wood on the floors appeared to be growing.  When I mentioned this to my husband he said, of course they are going to settle over time, these are the original wood floors, they're 55 years old.  I thought...Hmmm.

Well, over time, it seemed to be getting worse and worse until one day the floor appeared to be sloping.  Next thing you know - I felt like I was walking downhill in my living room.  We had someone come in and take a look - and yes, the beautiful keystone wall was the culprit...it was way too heavy for the wall - and slowly over time, had caused foundation problems.  We contemplated on whether we ripped the house down and start over - or to fix the foundation.  For many reasons, most importantly that it would take at least two years, we decided to fix the house.

This is the culprit wall - right before we moved out.

                           This is the same wall - a few weeks later.

                                           Here is the same wall today.

So we hired a General Contractor and asked him to check underneath the entire house - and see if there were any other trouble spots in the foundation - so that they could be fixed at the same time.  There were... and they were fixed.  Or so we thought.  After we had been back in the house about 3 months - I started noticing that wood seam problem in the back guest room and hallway.  My husband gets out a level and tells me that I am imagining things.  Well fast forward to about three weeks ago when I walked into my guest room and saw that there was a 1 inch gap between the baseboard and the floor and big gaps between the wood slats.  The house was sinking again...only in a new spot.

After a small argument with my husband about him not listening to me 6 months ago....he agreed that we indeed had a problem but felt sure that we did not have to go through all the trouble we went through last time - that it was an easy fix.  So he hired someone to go under the house by cutting a hole in the guest room floor....I took a photo of the big hole - from my phone so it's a bit blurry....

So here is the room now....and it is level again.

So as of today - it is "fixed" - although I still feel a slight slope in the hallway.  I have a funny feeling this is not over yet...but I'm hoping that I'm wrong.  So my new decorating challenge is to re-do my guest room.  The walls are painted a really pretty very soft pink with a slightly darker variation on the bottom.

I'm currently searching for inspiration and have decided to challenge myself to re-do the rooms with all vintage, repurposed and recycled (except the mattress of course) pieces.  So I am going to use my favorite blogs for ideas....Wish me luck!!


I'm linking this up to:

The Shabby Chic Cottage Transformation Thursdays

Living in Bliss....

"On the beach, 
you can live in bliss."

- Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys




Here's to a blissful Monday......

Perfectly Pink

I went to an all-girls high school – so I didn’t experience all the fun and excitement that goes with Homecoming season and proms.  While I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have cared that much about the whole homecoming thing – I really would have loved to experience a prom.

Not because of the dancing and party part - but because of all the fabulous dresses that I would’ve tried on while shopping for the ultimate gown.  While I spent my teens in the halter & sequins era of the 1970’s…(the style icons were Farrah Fawcett and Cher)…. I would have wanted a frilly, poufy princess dress…. which of course, would have been totally out of place. 

So in honor of Beverly’s Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound, I’ve put together a collection of fabulous 1950’s party dresses that I would have for sure tried on.... in my quest for the perfect dress…..

Sheer Chiffon from TimelessVixenVintage Etsy Shop

Primerose Lace from margaretpearl Etsy Shop

Silk Satin Sweetheart from TimelessVintageVixen Etsy Shop

Bubble Gum Pink Lace from pistolpoppy Etsy Shop

Sweetheart neckline lace from pinkcherrios Etsy Shop

Pink Silk Organza from TimelessVixenVintage Etsy Shop 

And even though it is not very "promish" - this is the one I would have selected - I love this dress...

Pink Lace with Circle Skirt from TheVintageZone Etsy Shop

Have a very happy and 

pinktastic Pink Saturday….

A mixture of Vintage, Seashells and Fall....

I'm still working on my Fall tablescape..it's hard to get into the swing of things when it's 80 degrees outside.  However, Fall will be here before I know it - so I'm getting busy.  I've already made the centerpiece which is a cloche filled with seashells, moss balls and other Fall inspired pieces...

....but I still need to work on the accessories that will go around it (I have a really long table).  The challenge is my home is decorated in coastal cottage and its hard to work in Fall and keep the coastal feeling.  So I made two more pieces that blend a sea inspired feeling with fall colors - to work with my centerpiece - so I am pretty close to pulling the whole tablescape together.

Being a vintage loving fanatic - I wanted to tie in two of my vintage milk bottles.  One of the most important elements that I want on my tabletop is to have varied heights and shapes and sizes - all working together  - which is why I selected two different sized bottles.  I put small river stones on the bottle of the larger one and kept the smaller one plain.

Then I took some lavender that I purchased from and Etsy Shop....

And then I took the green, orange and ivory dried rosettes that I purchased from Michael's and customized them by changing around the color schemes...and cutting the stems down to size.

From there, I took the empty stems that were left when I removed some of the rosettes and hot glued some little seashells & coral onto the stems.....

And added in a little bit of raffia, a sand dollar and a sugar starfish....and there you have it...

So I'm almost ready to 

get this tabletop together...

stay tuned....

And on another note - I am happy to say that Debbie of Debbiedoos won the Haeger Pottery bowl and glass floats for from my 100th follower celebration.  Congratulations to Debbie!

I'm linking this post up with:
Cindy's Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home
Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots and Jello
Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors
Cottage Instincts Make it for Monday

A bit tired but still standing....

"You can't cross a sea

by merely staring

into the water."

- Rabindranath Tagore

Here's to taking action and moving forward....

no matter how insurmountable things may seem. 

Have a glorious Monday!!!

A hundred reasons to celebrate....with a sea inspired gift

One of the first blogs I discovered was Completely Coastal....it was my initial foray into this wonderful and amazing network of learning and sharing your experiences with others.  It is where I first learned about authentic vintage glass floats.  

So needless to say, I was overjoyed when Maya featured me as a result of one of my early posts called Loving My Glass Floats.  It meant so much that she thought something I wrote about was interesting enough to post on her fabulous blog.  So with that – I am celebrating the reaching of 100 followers by extending a very special giveaway to those 100 who were interested enough to follow along with me.  

Being that I love all things related to a coastal lifestyle and also love vintage accessories – It is only fitting that I celebrate this milestone with three of my favorite things:   Vintage Haeger Pottery, Glass Floats and Sanibel Seashells.  So this is a three part present for one of my 100 followers:

Part 1 –A vintage 1960’s Haeger Gold Tweed clams shell bowl

  Imagine my surprise when I recently came across an
exact duplicate of my clam shell display bowl.

Part 2 – Two vintage glass floats to start or add to your own collection   

These are from Glass Float Junkie.  Both are green and
one has it's original netting.

Part 3 – Seashells collected from Sanibel to fill your bowl with

So here it is with all three parts together - plus I had to throw in one of my staples - a white sugar starfish....

Here is it next to mine that is filled with a variety of vintage glass floats...

So I am thinking the odds are pretty good here to collect this amazing sea inspired gift.  All you have to do  is to be one of my first 100 followers and leave a comment on what your all time most favorite blog or post in the blogging world has been. 

So for me, this accomplishes two things – the first is that I am spreading my “Love of the Sea” to someone that will enjoy these pieces as much as I do....and the second is that I love to discover new blogs… so what better way to find them than from learning from your experiences.

So thank you Maria at Bubblegum and Duct Tape for being my 100th follower - so I can now publish this post!!  Have a great Saturday everyone!

I will use the random number counter for the winning number on Wednesday, October 20th.  Stay tuned for the results...