Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Platinum Sounds Good

I have so many projects in the works and find myself taking a break from all of them, oh well.  Haven't painted my newly tiled bathroom yet, but am sure it's going to be white.  I like white!!


So, what's more fun than painting, finding things for my newish bathroom. It's going to look so nice when I finally get around to painting it, definitely need new towels, white of course.


These are quite nice, Waterworks Studio Tile Sculpted Towels at Bloomingdales.


White, right on the top, although they call it Moon (that must be a fancy name for white) and they are even reduced.


Boy am I lucky, they are $34.95 a piece, now that's a steal compared to their original $45.00.  


Of course you know I'm kidding.  Just wanted to know how much my new towels, complete with their Bloomingdale's label, really cost.


They sure do look alike.




You'd be hard pressed to find a washcloth at Bloomingdales for what I paid for these.  I know the suspense is killing you....




I'm sure Bloomie's price tag is a bit more elegant than this one, and they probably even give you a shopping bag, but the tag on the inside says it all.






Platinum Select sounds right up my alley.  Hope I can hold on to these for a while, towels seem to disappear around our house!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

They Sort Of Look Alike

Been kinda looking for a desk, but probably won't end up buying one.  Must be something in the barn I can stick four legs on, like an old door, we'll see.


One of my rather strange hobbies is finding "the look for less."  I scour more expensive stores for things I like and then go on a treasure hunt.


Here are a few of my desk finds.  In these cases even the pricier one wasn't that pricey.



Z Gallerie $449.00

World Market $199.99
Crate and Barrel $499.00
World Market $229.00


Anything you are looking for?  I'd be glad to help you in the search!

Friday, February 24, 2012

A Fun Find

Love, love, love these watches.

So cute, I can't decide which one to order.  I'm thinking this one, I like the white face.


Now that's a lot of fun for $24.00.

I found these Pixelmoda bright, funky watches on fab.com. (thanks to my hairdresser) one of my favorite new internet haunts.  


Oprah likes Pixelmoda too, I knew we had something in common!



Thursday, February 23, 2012

Red Carpet Glamour Cocktail

I'm not a movie buff, but I do like Champagne, I knew I'd like something about the Oscars!


Moet Red Carpet Glamour Cocktail.




Here's how you make it.


Fill a chilled champagne flute 1/2 way with ice.
Stir 1 ounce fresh squeezed Sour Mix and 1 ounce Hum Botanical Spirit with fresh ice.
Strain into flute to fill 1/2 way.
Top with Moet and Chandon Imperial.
Garnish with a single rose petal.


Now that's pretty easy.


Continually refresh as you wish with Champagne as it will float on top of the Hum Sour, but it's effervescence will deliver Hum's heady Cardamom and Kaffir lime notes.


To make Fresh Squeeze Sour Mix, combine 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water until sugar is completely dissolved.  Add 1 cup fresh lime juice and 1 cup fresh lemon juice and refrigerate.


I just knew I'd find a use for those Valentine's Day roses!







Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The "Big Easy" Has Nothing on Us

When you think of Mardi Gras, perhaps New Orleans comes to mind.  Not so fast, the "Little Easy," Hallowell, Maine, has a pretty good time strutting their stuff!


Hallowell likes to party!






















The purple, green, and gold balloons are gone and things are pretty much back to NORMAL in Hallowell.  Oh, I shouldn't say that, back to SPECIAL, is more like it!!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Time To Pick a Color....Again

While I'm downstairs tearing down wallpaper, a tile man is upstairs putting up tile.  I cannot tile and have no interest in learning, not too fond of that whirring circular blade so close to any of my body parts!


I have a black and white floor and thought that white subway tiles were the way to go. You know, they never go out of style and all that.  Well, they were too white and too shiny for me and my ten year old tub.


I needed something neutral and, for the money, was not at all impressed with what Lowes or Home Depot had to offer.  Salvage store , here I come.


Antique Beige imported porcelain tile, at a third the original price, sounds good to me.  One, two, three..........and yes, they had enough boxes to do the job.  Under $100.00 for over 70 square feet of very nice imported tiles. 




They are quite light with a flat finish, and a stone-like texture, not well  represented in the following photos.


So very happy to see the surround out of the bathroom and into the back hall, hope it doesn't stay there for too long.




The tiles are going up really fast, cuz I'm not bugging the tile man.




No wonder they are so straight, what a cool level.




They look so pink, they aren't at all.  I don't like pinkish tiles,  I'm telling you they really are antique beige.  These look horrible.  Mine look great.  


Ahh, there, that's a little more like it.




Another room to paint, and so it goes. FINALLY going to use Palladian Blue by Benjamin Moore, I think. I seem to have a commitment issue with Mr. Blue.




I know, I said I was going to use it in the entry, down the hall, up the stairs, etc, that's a whole lot of Palladian BLue. Let's just see how it looks in the bathroom first.


It will be a few days, the tile man's not coming back til Sunday to grout, something about the humidity (it's raining out). Guess I'll have plenty of time to change my mind......you know I'm really into white lately!?!?!?







Thursday, February 16, 2012

Project "Little Room"

Haven't really "worked" since I painted the living room, thought it was time to get off the couch!  We have a "little room" about 8 by 12 that is a complete waste of space.  So, I have decided to fix it up just for me.  I'll need a chair, a table, maybe a bookcase and that's about it.  I just wish that the person who put up the wallpaper (me) had prepped the walls just a bit!




I have my spray bottle with my tried and true vinegar and warm water mixture, and yes, it still works.  




You cannot imagine how much wallpaper I have removed in my life, and it's not my favorite job!




And finally, after an hour or two (that's about all I can take of this) I'm happy, happy that I only wallpapered part of the wall!




Time to clean up and get outside, warm and sunny in Maine today!




I'm such a neatnik.




Now wasn't that exciting?  It's going to look great, bear with me just a little bit longer!  


I've already got the rug, want to see it?




This is going to be one fun "little room."

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Louis Likes the Living Room

I really like this chair from Ballards.




Very nice, could go almost anywhere, and not bad for $550.00 - $750.00, depending on the fabric and finish.


I like this one too.




Works for me, $75.00 at T.J. Maxx.  I keep hoping to find another.


They call theirs a Louis XV chair, I call mine a steal.


I bought mine for a desk (that I don't have yet) so it sat for a while in my dining room,




til I decided to take the parsons chairs from the end of the table and put them in the corners.




So Louis goes to the living room.




I think he feels right at home!


It's time for a glass of wine, so I'll tell you about the pillow and the mirror some other time.  Cheers!








Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Valentine's Day!

Oh my goodness gracious, it's Valentine's Day!  Happy Valentine's Day to one and all, especially my family.


Douglas and I have been married twenty-eight years and have two absolutely wonderful children and a yellow lab!




I must have married him for his sense of humor.








Our son, D.J., is twenty-six and I finally have a photo of him without a golf club in his hand or a baseball cap on his head, what a handsome devil!




Next is Amy, our almost twenty-five year old, with her Dad in Florida, couldn't be cuter!




And last, but not least, Hobie, who wears his heart on his chest!




I'd say I'm a pretty lucky gal, wouldn't you?








P.S. Hey, those of you on Facebook who haven't been able to leave comments on the blog would you try again sometime soon, so I can see if I have fixed the problem!  If it still doesn't work, I'll have to consult an expert.

Monday, February 13, 2012

And It Even Lights Up!

It was below ten degrees yesterday and what did we buy...a fountain.  You see we were at Home Depot because we had to get supplies for the tile man, and that's no fun, so when I saw a SALE  banner, I was gone.  Just a few summer items, not much at all.

Let me fill you in.  Summer before last, I worked really hard on a little courtyard garden.  I put up a free fence, seeded an area and planted the rest.  It went from this



to this.








I remember I did it in a day for a hundred dollars (obviously the grass had to grow).  Let me tell you, those broken, cementy, ugly, walkway things were HEAVY!


So, last year I added a few plants, a few vegetables,




 and attempted to beautify the walk to our back door.




The white picket fence got a coat of Essex Green.and things were looking one step above a junkyard!




Don't you think  I deserve a fountain after all that?


Here it is.




Don't worry, it's going to look fine, the garden needed some height and they'll be plants all around it.  It won't look like this, promise.


You've probably already peeked at the price tag, and it does say $37.00.  If it were April and not February, it would have been four times that plus one (that would be $149.00).


It lights up and everything, I just hope we don't look like the Bellagio!