My newest find for the kitchen

For a couple of months now I have been searching for the right piece to put my cookbooks on.  I didn't want just a plain looking bookcase to put in the kitchen.  I was looking for something more unique.  Just when I was about to give up the search I ventured into Tuesday Morning the other day on my lunch break and this is what I found.

It was the perfect size the space and a bonus is that it have wheels.  I was having a hard time getting a good picture as it is over in the breakfast nook and the table is in the way.

I was thinking about white washing the shelves but I might just leave it alone.

So here it what the space looks like with the shelves.  My kitchen is pretty dark as it is off of the covered deck and doesn't get much light.  I have all the lights on in the kitchen and it still turned out a little dark.  It makes my walls look yellow when they are off white.

Linking with

Between Naps on the Porch, Pink When, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Tabler Party of Two, Our Southern Home, Rustic & Refined, Dwellings The Heart of Your Home, Karen's Up on the Hill, Coastal Charm, Cozy Little House, A Stroll Thru Life, Confessions of a Plate Addict, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Our Home Away From Home, The Dedicated House, Elizabeth & Co, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, The Bajan Texan, Oh My Heartsie Girl, Beyond the Picket Fence, The Happy Housie, Have a Daily Cup of Mrs Olson, A Delightsome Life, Aspen Jay, Rooted In Thyme, 21 Rosemary Lane, Katherine's Corner, Posed Perfection, Poofing the Pillows, Milas Little Things, Imparting Grace, The Charm of Home, French Country Cottage, Shabby Art Boutique,
DIY Vintage Chic, Life with Lorelai, Shoestring Elegance, Craftberry Bush, Pieced Pastimes, Scrapality

Spring tablescape in the dining room

Since I don't have all of my Spring decor unpacked I decided to do a simple Spring/Easter tablescape in the dining room.  I stayed with the theme of carrots, cabbage and bunnies as on the buffet.

My soup tureen is a cabbage although not green like the plates but I thought it would coordinate well enough.

Now if I can find a few more items to decorate my kitchen and living room.   Most of my Spring flowers are still packed away so I will probable be limited to using greenery this year in the kitchen unless I feel like climbing over boxes in the craft room.



Linking with
Between Naps on the Porch, Dwellings The Heart of Your Home, Rustic & Refined, Our Southern Home, Karen's Up On The Hill, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Cozy Little House, A Stroll Thru Life, Worthington Court, The Dedicated House, Oh My Heartsie Girl, Coastal Charm, Our Home Away From Home, Home Remedies, Elizabeth & Co, Savvy Southern Style, Beyond the Picket Fence, DIY by Design, The Happy Housie, Have a Daily Cup of Mrs Olson, Katherine's Corner, Posed Perfection, Poofing the Pillows, Milas Little Things, Rooted In Thyme, 21 Rosemary Lane, Imparting Grace, The Charm of Home, Shabby Art Boutique, French Country Cottage, A Delightsome Life, Craftberry Bush, Shoestring Elegance, Life with Lorelai, DIY Vintage Chic, Chic on a Shoestring, Scrapality, Pieced Pastimes

Little bit of Spring in the dining room

For the past four weekends I have been working on the basement and this weekend I am trying to get my study done.  I decided to take a break from the study and do some Spring decorating in the dining room.  I got the buffet done for now and will work on the table later today.

It is not easy to take pictures in this room since it is small and with the mirror it reflects the opposite wall.  I tried to get two different angles of the buffet.

Now I need to get working on the table and of course my study.  Here is a sneak peek of my study.  I do have one bookcase that is completely done.

Linking with
Our Southern Home, Rustic & Refined, Dwellings The Heart of Your Home, Karen's Up on the Hill, Between Naps on the Porch, Coastal Charm, Cozy Little House, Our Home Away From Home, StoneGable, A Stroll Thru Life, Elizabeth & Co, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, The Dedicated House, Home Remedies, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Beyond the Picket Fence, The Bajan Texan, The Happy Housie, Oh My Heartsie Girl, A Delightsome Life, Have a Daily Cup of Mrs Olson, Katherine's Corner, Posed Perfection, Milas Little Things, Poofing the Pillows, 21 Rosemary Lane, Rooted in Thyme, Shabby Art Boutique, The Charm of Home, French Country Cottage, Shoestring Elegance, Life With Lorelai, Craftberry Bush, DIY Vintage Chic, Chic on a Shoestring, Scrapality, Pieced Pastimes, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Tabler Party of Two, Pink When

Getting the basement done

I know that I have been MIA for awhile now but I have been busy trying to get our basement painted and somewhat organized.  If you know me then you know that it takes me a long time to tackle big projects with me working 6 days a week and only having Sunday for projects.  Of course I couldn't work Super Bowl Sunday as our Denver Broncos were playing.  It has taken me about four Sunday's to unpack most of the boxes, move things out of the way and get the walls painted.

This is the bar area.  This is the best view of how I painted the walls.  I chose a dark color on the main wall when you come down (as the tv will be on this wall) and on the curved wall by the bar area.

 I would like to have some shelves put on the tile wall here.  I am thinking about getting shelves that look like rustic wood.

I am wanting to do a woodland theme in the basement.  This is my inspiration.

My husband got me this statue for Christmas one year.  I love moose.  They are my favorite woodland animal.  His place will be on the mantel.  I have a picture of trees that I am going to hang behind him.

I didn't do anything to the outside of the bar area yet.  It is still the original color which is a pinkish beige.  I haven't decided if I just want to paint it the light color or do something with wood or stone.

This is a picture of the bar area before we moved in.  All of this furniture is from the previous owners.  I am going to paint the cabinets a dark brown.

I want to change the tile on the fireplace as it is more a grey color than tan.  For now I just did some faux painting on it.  Here is the before picture.

Now the after picture.  I just used to two colors that I used on the walls.  This will do for now until I find just the right material for the fireplace.

Here is some more inspiration for my basement.  I drew these pictures when I was in my late teens and early 20's.  They are drawn with pastel pencils.  I also have a couple of victorian ladies that I drew back then too.  I am not sure where I will put those.

I haven't hung this up in over a decade.  Now they will have a place in the basement.

Linking with
Coastal ChCozy Little Housearm, Dwellings The Heart of Your Home, A Stroll Thru Life, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Karen's Up on the Hill, Cozy Little House, StoneGable, Our Home Away From Home, Elizabeth and Co, Home Remedies, Savvy Southern Style, Diy by Design, Beyond the Picket Fence, The Bajan Texan, The Happy Housie, A Delightsome Life, Have a Daily Cup of Mrs Olson, Rooted in Thyme, Posed Perfection, Bless'er House, Katherine's Corner, Milas Little Things, Imparting Grace, Shabby Art Boutique, DIY Vintage Chic, French Country Cottage, Craftberry Bush, Life With Lorelai, Pieced Pastimes, Scrapality, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Pink When, Tabler Party of Two

When something calls to you

Have you ever been somewhere and it seems that something is just calling to you to stop and look?  Well it happened to me yesterday when I was in Goodwill.  I went there to see if they had any furniture that I could use in my kitchen.  Of course they didn't as I am usually never that lucky to find exactly what I am looking for.  So I decided to just take a look around.  I started looking at the pictures that they have on the top shelves through out the store and I came to a dead stop when I spotted this.

For some reason this picture was calling to me.  I am not sure where I will hang this but it almost makes me want to design a room around it.  To take the picture I hung it on the wall when you first come down to the basement.  I know I won't be using it down here since I plan on doing a woodland theme.  Maybe it will work in my craft room whenever I decide to tackle that room.  I am still not sure where I will put it but I knew that I just had to have it.

Buffalo checks in the kitchen

I almost have my kitchen done.  I still need to replace the backsplash and I want to add some beadboard and moldings to the island.  I have it painted and my new curtains arrived and they are hung up.  I have never had buffalo check curtains before and it is taking me some time to get used to them.  I think that I made the right choice. 

The rug is new as my old round rug was red with gold and purple tones in it. It now has a new home in the formal living room.   I think this one goes well with the curtains and the chairs.   I am not a big fan of plantation shutters but it would be too much work to remove them as every window in our home has them.  Also the trim in the home was restained dark but the windows underneath the shutters is not.  I would have to restain all the windows so I guess they will stay.

So here is how the kitchen looks from the family room.  We also replaced the two pendant lights above the island with a lighted pot rack.  Since these cabinets are smaller than my previous kitchen I needed more storage for my pots and pans.

Linking with
Coastal Charm, Our Home Away From Home, Cozy Little House, Stonegable, A Stroll Thru Life, The Dedicated House, Between Naps on the Porch, Home Remedies, Oh My Heartsie Girl, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, The Bajan Texan, Have a Daily Cup of Mrs Olson, A Delightsome Life, From My Front Porch To Yours, Posed Perfection, Katherine's Corner, 21 Rosemary Lane, Imparting Grace, Rooted in Thyme, Shabby Art Boutique, Mila's Little Things, French Country Cottage, DIY Vintage Chic, Chic on a Shoestring, Life With Lorelai, My Romantic Home, Craftberry Bush, Pieced Pastimes, Scrapality, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Pink When, Tabler Party of Two, Dwellings The Heart of Your Home, Karen's Up on the Hill, Rustic & Refined, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

My 50th birthday

Today is my 50th birthday.  Oh where has the time gone.  Today is a happy occasion and a sad one for me.  My father and I shared a birthday.  We only got to share 30 together.  I so wish that he was here to share my 50th with me.  He would have been 93 today.
I was a special birthday present for my father 50 years ago. My two brothers and I are adopted as my mother had three miscarriages and could no longer become pregnant.  My parents waited a long time for a baby girl and I was lucky enough to become their daughter.  So here is the poem that I found for my father this year.

Happy Birthday Dad!