Monday, April 30, 2012

Jump on the Bandwagon

And I thought I had discovered something new.......guess not!  I dare say I might just be one of the last to jump on the method Cleaning Products bandwagon ( I might just have to run behind it).


I picked up the method ALL-PURPOSE natural surface cleaner, and method DISH SOAP at Target this past weekend and have become a convert. I am thinking I paid $2.62 a bottle, that number keeps popping into my mind, but I could be wrong.  There's a first time for everything.


Biodegradable, tough on stains, with non-toxic, plant-based powergreen technology, these babies work!






Decision time....method has five extremely well done fragrances, cucumber, clementine, lavender, pink grapefruit and ginger yuze.  No lavender or ginger yuze for me. Lavender reminds me of sheets and what the heck is yuze, anyway??


A little spritz here, a little spritz there, by the time I selected cucumber the next shopper down the aisle might easily imagine herself sipping Champagne in Provence or a Seabreeze in Palm Beach.


Now, if they could only capture the scent of a very fine cab, I'd be right at home (and it would even match the little beets in my tiled backsplash)!!




              BE GOOD TO YOURSELF
                                         AND YOUR WORLD!








                                      
            
                                       






                           
                                

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Pinterest

How many of you are on Pinterest?  Geesh, it seems to be the newest form of computer addiction.


I like Pinterest a lot.  It allows me to look for different designs and recipes, clothes, and just about anything else I so desire!  It's like flipping through a magazine. Make a Board, Pin to it, and you have begun your adventure in electronic scrapbooking.


My boards are sparse, and few and far between, sort of just getting the hang of it.  All in all, Pinterest is a great resource and loads of fun.


Because someone Pinned a multi-strand pearl necklace on their Style Board, I decided I needed one (mmmmm, this could be a problem with Pinterest). I immediately Repinned it and went looking for a similar necklace on the internet.(I love chunky necklaces, I think they are youthful, the chunkier the better as far as I'm concerned.)  Don't even ask about the gold linked belt I wrapped three times around my neck one night.


 I found just what I was looking for on Etsy.  Pinterest, Etsy, no wonder I never get anything done around here!




Deciding I didn't really need the pearls, I didn't order them, but Pinned them to my Style Board.


Within minutes they were being Repinned again and again and again and again!  Pinterest is a great way for Etsy Shops to strutt their stuff.  These came from WOWTHATSBEAUTIFUL.


Unbeknownst to me, Douglas ordered them for my birthday, making me very, very happy!  Because they were a present, I won't mention the price.  Let's just say my husband got off pretty easy this year!


                     GO AHEAD,
                           TAKE A LOOK AT MY BOARDS
                                       ON


                







Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Kitchenscapes

Do you ever get tired of looking at the same old thing in the same old place?  I do, quite frequently.  Today it was the kitchen, it needed some sprucing up. The baker's rack was full of mail and glasses and keys and duct tape and who knows what, it needed some T.L.C.




I guarantee that the rectangular baking dish will be filled with mail in no time! 


Next the original kitchen cabinet. When we bought the house 10 years ago, there were no cabinets as we know them.


Hobie sleeps in front of this and there are always dog cookies and empty orange dry cans and cabernet bottles on this lovely old piece, not today.




I just added this little table and lamp, great place to throw your keys as you come in the back door (don't want to be throwing those messy keys into a casserole dish on the baker's rack).




That's the back door, off the porch.  The back staircase is right there and that's the dining room in the distance.  The back little entry gets way to  much use, just look at the floor.  Time to call the refinishing man.


Won't Doug be surprised when he gets home and can't find his mail, his glasses, his cell phone charger and his coffee change?  It's all in a basket in the bottom of the pantry, he can deal with it.


I was so happy with my refreshed kitchen I put a chicken in the oven (manager's special, $3.00 off). I never buy a whole chicken, we don't really like the dark meat but I know someone who does.......bark, bark!


                          A few little changes,
                         make the whole room seem new!


                                




Monday, April 23, 2012

I'm Seeing Yellow

Now we have had excellent weather here in the northeast lately, just fantastic! And then the rain came and did it ever.....pouring.

I took these last week, don't they seem perfect for a gray day?


That's the forsythia, a few stems short. (Remember I  forced some a few weeks ago, smashing with a hammer really works.)


And here you can see my next door neighbor, the Hubbard Free Library, all the granite came from Hallowell.


A small sampling of the touch of yellow in my pocket garden, which looks pretty bad right about now.

I got some yellow bargains, too.



Dryer sheets from Restoration Hardware for $1.69 at Christmas Tree, and they do still smell like lemon. I can only find them on Ebay now, for $13.99,  wonder what Restoration Hardware was getting for them.


Found a pair of these at Goodwill a while back, not great, but for $4.99 they add a bit of color and can go soooo many places.




They don't look bad on my mantle?  P.S.  Most everything in this photo has been moved or deleted. Red urn, out to the porch and Louis Chair across the room.  The mirror and vases still remain, at least for now.




 I love these Bruno Magli's Amy found in Winter Park for about a "fiver," a chip off the old block, wouldn't you say? That's the second pair of Bruno's she's found for me.




So, it is still raining cats and dogs, which reminds me of one more yellow thing...... he wasn't a bargain, but worth every penny!




Of course, that's one of Hallowell's favorites, Hobie!


With no sun beckoning me outside, I am spending the day figuring out which half done project to attack next, listening to some tunes and you might say, singing in the rain!














Thursday, April 12, 2012

They Sort of Look Alike

I saw this on Etsy and thought it was lovely,




and well worth the $65.00 price tag ( $13.00 more for shipping).  I'd consider buying it if I weren't so cheap and didn't know my way around Dollar Tree.



I had the basket (3.99 from Christmas Tree three years ago) and spent $l5.00 at the Dollar Tree for the flowers and the ribbon. 


I will say, as I've said before, I really do want a black front door, next sunny day, perhaps!




Monday, April 9, 2012

Easter and the Masters

I knew my husband and son would have to watch the Masters, so there was no hope of Easter Dinner in the dining room! Put the food out buffet style and eat on our laps in front of the T.V., wouldn't be the first time!


I had til four and it was just noon, I'll come up with something more my style.
So, I got our outdoor table from the barn and coaxed it through many doorways on it's way to the living room.  Sometimes  I got stuck, sometimes the table, you'd think I'd get the hang of it after two or three doorways, not so.


There she is, isn't she purty?




I  now have a naked table sitting in the middle of my living room, think fast!


















Totally thrown together in a matter of minutes.  Never having been one to plan a tablescape, I just pick the colors and run with them. 


I honestly never thought I would pair the napkins my daughter Amy and I bought,  on sale at Anthropologie, during Christmas in Florida, with the drapery panel thrown over the table.  Sooo much pattern, but just look at the colors!


My Goodwill bird plates are perfect and the Christmas Tree Shop green goblets round it all out. The yellow plates are a T.J. find from years ago, and the brass candlesticks are "the little bit of history" I always like to add.


Our dinner at the Masters featured, Chicken Piccata, Roasted Asparagus with Ham, Arichoke Pasta Leaves, Carrots, and yes another carb, my favorite, Potatoes with Olive Oil and Sea Salt.




Everything worked out just fine on Easter Sunday at 117 Second Street.


The boys were happy,  I was happy.  The only thing missing was AMY!!!





Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Daffydils

Well, I did it again,  pulled  some old silk flowers out of our "summer kitchen" aka our junk room.


I think they are cute and realize I am the only one in the house that does.  Hopefully, they're not too high on the tacky meter.




Just some color to brighten the room, no reason to get all bent out of shape.


Last time I featured FAUX FLEURS in the house, they were soon replaced with the real thing by the, less tacky than I, man I married.


Wonder if he'll be coming home with Daffodils tonight?

Monday, April 2, 2012

Pillow Painting

You may have noticed  by now, I change things around quite a bit.  That's what happens when you are a seeker of bargains.  Can't pass up a great deal, but not entirely sure what to do with what you find. You just have to be flexible.


 None of the original pillows I thought were for the living room seem to have found a place on the couch!  Two are in the front hall, two are on the "why did I buy these?" list and two are totally the wrong color!


Overstock's Seafoam was a little too dark for me and the room.




So I decided to add a little paint!!!  Gold, Dark Green, and Beach Glass turned it into this.






This one didn't stand a chance.







And this might just be a contender.








So easy to do, just a foam brush and little bottles of paint from the craft store. Yes, you can feel the paint a little, but you are leaning against it, not sleeping on it, so it works just fine.


I bet Overstock would have charged a heck of a lot more for this exquisite, one of a kind, hand painted pillow, don't you?