...serendipity...

*9 Months Later...

2009-02-14T13:15:00.014-06:00

....A dining room is born.

Here is a picture of our dining room when we viewed the house to buy it... so this is the WAY BEFORE picture.

Notice
* awkward arch in the wall,
*the carpet (that was covering up plywood, and beautiful wood floors that had been mistreated)
*acoustic ceiling tiles (we found plywood underneath those)
*wall papered thin wall board

The next photo was shot looking into the dining room from the living room and in it you can see the workmen are enclosing the lovely hole that existed between the dining room and kitchen. Also notice the turquoise shelves.... and the lovely arched opening is GONE!

A view from the kitchen into the Dining Room before the opening was enclosed

and the dining room as it looks today... you can see a big influence from my favorite blogger,
Joni, from Cote de Texas who writes a blog I visit daily. As I told her, I am not a consistent blogger, nor am I a consistent commenter, but I am a consistently huge fan of Joni as well as several other design blogs out there.

The wall color is Ralph Lauren Putty, trim is Pratt and Lambert Seed Pearl. The zebra rug was purchased online from overstock.com, the white slipcovered chairs I picked up from the antique mall for $25 each.... and the McCoy vases I have collected for years.... the fireplace is from Lowes 75% markdown and the mirror was purchased from RED in Fredericksburg Texas.

Here are a few more shots... one from the living room into the dining room

and from the kitchen into the dining room

It has been a L-O-N-G nine months, but I am so pleased with the results of our labor and the whole house renovation. Thanks to my mom for taking the pictures and thanks to all you design bloggers out there who filled my head with inspiration!

More pictures to come!

Mother's Day Remembered

2008-05-15T19:27:00.011-05:00

My eldest daughter has the name of my mother.

My youngest daughter has the name of my mother's sister.

This Mother's Day, my two daughters, my mother and I traveled to meet our cousins in the heartland of America. We gathered in the old family cemetery where my daughters' great-great grandmother and several of her babies are buried. It was always my aunt's wish that she would return to the farmland of the midwest, to be with her grandmother. Her wishes were honored on Mother's Day, with 4 generations of her family clutching umbrellas in the Eel River Church Cemetery.

Afterwards,we all gathered at the only place in town.... Dairy Queen. No matter though... the conversation was rich as 4 generations shared story after story that only a family could love.

The old family home built in early 1900s is for sale. We had fun daydreaming about buying it !

Great great grandmother's farm

House my mom lived in during grade school

My grandfather built this house. We lurked out front for so long that the owner came out and invited us in.

The old movie theatre

Sisters of a new generation on the steps of an old family home

We toured Mom's high school..looks like a movie set.

Does your high School have a natatorium ?

I think it is a good SAT word.

It was a happy- sad- cold- warm Mother's Day we will remember....forever.

Tuesday Morning Coffee

2008-05-12T22:16:00.004-05:00

This is the last month of my son's last year in high school .

After drop-off on his first day of kindergarten a group of overanxious moms met for coffee to hold hands, share, cry and laugh.
Today is Tuesday.... and we are still meeting for coffee.

And guess what ? Next Fall, after college drop off....on Tuesday ...we will gather over at my house... or maybe Becky's house
to hold hands, share, cry, and laugh.

Ahhhhhhhh the power of friends dropping by for coffee.

You can read more about Tuesday Morning Coffee here

Thelma and Louis...part2

2008-05-05T20:02:00.008-05:00

Awhile back I posted about my friend "Laverne" here. Well fast forward from then to now ... and a few bought and sold houses... and next thing ya know.... we are next door neighbors (week-ends)... in little 1930 cottages side by side in the hill country.

Here is Laverne's casa. She had a head start... so her house is in GREAT shape.

Don't you love her bright blue shutters ?

A view of my house from her yard.... well as you know... a total work in progress

( and I am loving the process)

Yesterday in her barn we found an old old cabinet original to her house that we are going
to use as an island in MY kitchen. Thanks LAV!

Can you see it that beautiful old chippy beadboard cabinet in my vintage kitchen with

shiny gleaming floors and beautiful white cottage cabinets ? ??? .
.... stay tuned !!!!

Grow..PRETTY PLEASE...

2008-05-02T08:40:00.005-05:00

During the past few weeks I have visited so many beautiful garden posts from fellow bloggers, Joni at Cote de Texas, Brin at My Messy,Thrilling Life, FiFi at Chez Fifi, Cindy at My Romantic Home,Nancy at Shab-n-Chic... and I am GREEN with envy... because my thumb is brown and is coupled with the disadvantage of deer and hot hill country weather.

BUT we are trying to change the brown thumb trend this year!

So armed with the garden expertise of my MOM and the muscle of my DH and HS SON.... here are a few not so good pictures of the outside garden fun we have had in the past few week-ends.

Brand new Belinda's Dream roses along the wall

Birdhouse... no green thumb required

Bouganvillas... They grow like weeds at Nancys... but I will have to baby these

Front porch.. no flowers due to deer

Ladies on the front porch

   Geraniums from High School fundraiser

   Hibiscus in the big pots

   Lavender... supposedly grows well in the hill country

   Secret garden....aka sideyard.... but secret garden sounds more artistic

  But if the gardening efforts fail...we can always sit back and enjoy the view !!

These are the garden BEFORE pictures.... can't wait to post AFTER.... keep your fingers crossed !

Demolition and Dirt **

2008-04-28T10:17:00.003-05:00

"Would you like a pedicure this week-end ?" my DH asked on Friday.

What a sweet man..

Ladies....he had no clue what was on the agenda for the week-end..... demolition ...

We continue our demolition in the hill country house...discovering layers upon layers of surprises....some happy surprises.... some not. Here are a few:

WE WILL BE DOING A WHOLE LOTTA SHEETROCKING IN THE R RATED BEDROOM ( see bad word above door?)

THERE ARE WOOD FLOORS IN THE MASTER BEDROOM.... under the carpet,the plywood, the linoleum, the black glue

THERE IS BEADBOARD ON THE WALLS IN THE KITCHEN.... but how do we match it ?

THERE IS AWESOME DINING AND GOOD FRIENDS IN THE HILL COUNTRY ... after demo eating place

SOMEDAY MY KITCHEN MIGHT LOOK LIKE THIS....kind of..

So no pedicures for now.... but it will be totally worth it...uh maybe !!!!

Hey God.... it's me... diana

2008-04-24T09:45:00.003-05:00

The remodeling continues.... but has moved slightly down on my list of things to do...

High school son is making last minute college re-visits. We made 3 last week. The deadline for decisions... is May 1... and he is waiting until April 30. Tad stressful.... but we will survive and come May 1... we will all have happy faces !

**Be VERY careful what you say....

2008-04-10T07:59:00.006-05:00

As soon as I published my last post a YEAR ago... my world went topsy turvy and before I knew it... I was too stressed to be blessed. As I look back on that last post i shake my head and realize the gentle... no BIG BIG reminder life throws us to not be so smug, so content, so confident in our circumstances... as circumstances can change in a second. Yup, they really can.

And so I return today wiser, more reflective, but happy, enthusiastic, and eager to continue in sharing with my cyber sisters. I will continue my search for humor,love, truth and beauty in my little life with my DH, my HS and College Princesses and HS son.

Here is a new project I have undertaken in the beautiful hill country of Texas. I think I will call it.... design a house around this chandy.
Here are the "bones" of the project. A Sunday House to be

A stone patio
A cutie little german stone house ...exterior
The interior of the stone house.... complete with wall to wall 70s sculpted carpet,lovely wallpapered wall boards, layers of 70s linoleum
I am in heaven... why???? because I don't really see the sculpted carpet, the wall papered wallboard...the linoleum. I see something very different... because I just know there are beautiful patinaed oak floors, cream colored walls, crisp white trim, and that beautiful chandy in store for this baby !

And HS princess says I have lost it... she called me INSANE . Can you believe she said that ?

More soon and much much love to my cyber sisters. xoxo diana

Too blessed to be stressed...

2007-03-02T20:57:00.000-06:00

High School princess wanted to watch the academy awards this past week end. It wasn't on my list, but since I had been sick in bed all week and since she was sweet enough to want to be with her sick mama... i did her a favor and watched the whole enchilada... barbara walters,the red carpet, and then dozed thru the actual awards show.

High school princess loves watching the stars arrive on the red carpet and to me the best red carpet moment was when John Travolta told Joan Rivers his life philosophy " I am too blessed to be stressed."

Yeah.right.John.Travolta.is.blessed,

but as the night drug on, I mean passed by... I kept thinkin about that cute John Travolta.... and ya know..just like John, I am so blessed...we all are...

And so once in awhile... I am gonna dance a little dance and sing a little song with John...

I am too blessed to be stressed. I am too blessed to be stressed.

Please dont call HS Princess to see how this is goin... i'm workin on it...k?

Rock solid

2007-03-01T15:46:00.000-06:00

My college princess is a gentle giving soul. She is my first born and came out of the womb smiling,talking, and reaching for her mommy. During the years she has bestowed me with many gifts in quite a celebratory fashion: dried weeds, love notes,imaginary food she cooked in her baby kitchen,songs,artwork, pottery... the list goes on and on.

The summer after my father died, she and I were in a little giftshop when she spied a group of rocks. Each rock had a word of inspiration on it. She immediately picked up one and presented it to me as a gift. All of the love gifts this child has given me have melted my heart... but this rock melts me to my core. I keep it on the coffee table.

This rock of love is my daily reminder of the importance of rock solid love... unconditional love that I yearn to give to my children, my husband,my friends and family. If my legacy is this rock-solid love then I will leave this earth an eternally happy woman.

These are a few of my favorite things...

2007-02-27T07:56:00.000-06:00

We girls love to surround ourselves with family memories and treasures . Here are a few of the treasures I keep on the white bookshelves opposite the desk in my studio.

a few favorite design books

My mom's Sogetsu flower arranging items

Lunchbag..... very 60's

darling daughter's artwork

and my dear Daddy's pipes

I love having my favorite things all together in my creative space. What are a few of your favorite things you have kept ?

Ooops!

2007-02-22T18:10:00.000-06:00

The other day I was reading a fellow bloggers post in which she congratulated herself for finally getting all of her Christmas decorations taken down and put away. As I read her post.. I smiled to myself thinking.... oh girl I had those down the day after Christmas!

After I finished my round of blogs, I went into the kitchen and saw this:

(those would be my Christmas dishes)

Then I went out to check the mail and saw this in my entry

(that would be my Christmas wreath)

And we wont EVEN go into the Christmas Closet

oops.... guess I better wipe that smile off my face !

RDQ

2007-02-21T18:19:00.000-06:00

"Mom, did they have the SAT test when you were in School? "

"Well yes they did my darling... SON."

" Did you have to take an SAT prep course ?"

"No I didnt have that opportunity ....SWEETIE ."

"What did you do to get ready for the test ?"

"Well.... I got a good nights rest, ate breakfast and my mom drove me to the test. Just before I got out of the car, my Mom reminded me to RDQ."

"RDQ... what's that ?"

"Read the Damn Question".

"Oh"

Why did life seem so simple back in the dark ages when I was in High School ?

EXTREMELY RIGHT

2007-02-20T09:17:00.000-06:00

(photo bysluggo)

Last month the TV*Crew*EXTREME*MAKEOVER*HOME*EDITION* came to the hillcountry for a makeover. The home chosen by *TY*and*company* belonged to a family I knew... in fact I taught 2 of their children.

This sweet family has 6 children,5 of whom are diagnosed with autism. The parents are good,dedicated, HARDWORKING parents, but they were in jeopardy of losing their house. *TY*and*company*came to town and paid off their old house, leveled it, then built a new paid for furnished house, and arranged for the new home's taxes to be paid.

Last night as I watched the TV show, I was so moved at how the *HOME*MAKEOVER* staff researched autism and used the advice of experts to design five unique bedrooms for children with austism. Tears filled my eyes as I watched the reveal of the house...

and in the end.... I say Hooray for *TY*and*company. They got it right ..*extremely* right.

Daily Walk

2007-02-19T22:35:00.000-06:00

Outside my front door
Fresh air feeds my mind,my spirit
Return full,renewed.

For the Love of McCoy

2007-02-16T09:30:00.000-06:00

The Nelson McCoy company began manufacuring clay pottery in the Roseville area of Ohio around 1910. Mccoy pottery covered a realm of uses from functional jars to sophisticated vases and jardinieres. There is something about old McCoy pottery that makes me swoon, especially pieces in the old creamy white matte finish. Through the years I have collected a few uh I mean several.. NO... way too many pieces. You probably caught a glimpse of my McCoy in my creative space shot.

I also have a few pieces under the sideboard on the sun porch

On my desk

On my dressing table

And a token seaglass green piece in the kitchen

What do you think ?? Do I have too many ??? Can a girl really have too many things she loves ???

Hearts To All

2007-02-14T09:06:00.000-06:00

20 years ago today I found out I was expecting my first child. My husband was in college and we did not know how we would be able to handle college AND a baby......but,.actually it turned out to be a blessing and the best thing that ever happened to us.

Happy Valentines Day to all my cyber sisters xoxo.

Therapy Needed

2007-02-08T16:07:00.000-06:00

I was STRESSED when I made the call yesterday.

"George, I need to make a therapy appointment asap ". I said.

" I am free any evening this week except for Thursday" she said.

We quickly set up a date and time.

I hope this will help I thought.

I have to tell you... office buildings in the hillcountry are not your run of the mill clinics. To illustrate this, here is a picture of my favorite therapy clinic.

(photo Ken Wang)

What do you think ?
I think sipping on a mango margarita is the perfect medicine for my stress .
You know what I'm talkin about ?

TAG

2007-02-07T11:10:00.000-06:00

Sweet Cindy from Romantic Home tagged me and here are my answers.

1. If you could build a house anywhere, where would it be? New England coast
2.What's your favorite article of clothing? I love shoes
3.Favorite physical feature of the opposite sex? Eyes and teeth
4.What's the last CD that you bought? Norah Jones
5.Where's your favorite place to be? any place with my family
6. Where is your least favorite place to be? gym (hah!)
7.What's your favorite place to be massaged? dont like massages (should have that on weird list)
8.Strong in mind or strong in body? Mind
9.What time do you wake up in the morning ? 6- 7 a.m.
10. What is your favorite kitchen appliance? my new fancy stove
11.What makes you really angry? unkind people
12.If you could play any instrument, what would it be? I play Piano
13. Favorite color? Blue and white
14.Which do you prefer...sports car or SUV? Sports car, I drive a little red convertible 15. Do you believe in an afterlife? yes
16.Favorite children's book? I loved them all but guess Goodnight Moon is my favorite
17. What is your favorite season? Fall
18. Your least favorite household chore? bathroom cleaning
19.If you could have one super power, what would it be? read minds
20.If you have a tattoo, what is it? not gonna happen
21.Can you juggle? No, I lack co-ordination
22. The 1 person from your past that you wish you could go back and talk to? my Daddy
23. What's your favorite day? Friday
24. What's in the trunk of your car? Christmas decorations i forgot about, a return I need to make, shoes, blanket, tennis rackets, tennis balls
25. Which do you prefer, sushi or hamburger? I have never tried sushi

I am not good at tagging, but from me to you : please feel free to tag yourself !

Conversations...

2007-02-06T09:34:00.000-06:00

with my family while I was gone last week.

"Mom, I thinkwe get along better when you arent here ."(brother and sister)

"Mom, Dad is going to bed everynight at 8 ."( great. hope the party is fun)

"Mom, we have had pizza for 3 meals now."

But when I got off the plane the first thing they asked me... "Mom, what's for dinner ?".
I think that means they missed me !

The hydrangeas in the vase are the last summer hydrangeas from my garden last year.
I am drying them in a vase in my bedroom.

Creative Space

2007-01-30T15:03:00.000-06:00

I am usually the last to catch up on reading a new good book and this is one of them. In her book, Where Women Create, Jo Packum interviews and photographs the creative spaces of 26 different women. The creative spaces in the book are sure to imspire and vary from small nooks to large rooms. After reading the book I have informed my family that henceforth my creative space would be called the studio...... instead of the study... now I need to commence creating !

Here are a couple of shots of my STUDIO

You can see in the first shot the studio houses my piano from childhood and my books and momentos. The second photo is shot to show the opposite side of my room ... the desk was my moms. Bad lighting today... the walls are much lighter .... all in all it is a work in progress, but a great place for this woman to create.

WEIRD

2007-01-23T19:18:00.000-06:00

I have been tagged to list 6 weird things about me... only 6 ???

1. I am left-handed and my 3 teens and DH are also lefties.

2. I am an excessive worrier... not the big things, but the little things. I spend way too much time worrying and then solve the problem quickly BUT.... then I reach into my worry databank and add another one to the neverending worry list.

3. I have a strong dental phobia and have to be sedated when I go to the dentist's office.

4. I still own and use most of the furniture and dishes from my first apartment ... and I still love all of the pieces.

5. I taught myself to knit when I was in 2nd grade which was a feat because I was a leftie and had to do everything in the knitting book backwards.

6. Even though I strive to make my teens great drivers like me (HAH) the truth is I FAILED my first driving test.

Picture: the 4 barrel-back chairs are from my first apartment and the wicker screen was in my room as a child... told ya I am
a sentimental girl.

Newspapers and Stoplights

2007-01-22T12:19:00.000-06:00

This morning a white convertible drove up beside me, slammed on the accelerator and sped up, cutting me off as the 2 lanes diverged into one. "Hmmmm, she must have an emergency, we'll let her go first" I said to the 2 teens in the car with me. I am constantly making these "MOM" statements with hopes of brainwashing my kids into becoming great drivers... just like their mom.

After I dropped the teens off at school I went for a walk. As I walked along one of my favorite streets I saw flashing firetrucks and ambulances ahead..... and as I approached the scene... I saw the little white convertible parked in front of the house where the medics were loading a little old man into the ambulance.

I knew this man, not by name, but I knew him. When I first moved to the 'hood with 3 babies I used to rise early to walk before DH went to work. Each morning I would pass by this man's house in the dark and each morning he would stand in his driveway greeting the walkers as they passed by. I said good morning to this man for 10 years. As he greeted the walker-bys he would also go around to each of his neighbor's houses , fetch their newspapers, and gently lean them up against the neighbor's front doors so that they would not have to step too far to retreive their morning news.

What a sweet man !
My thoughts and prayers go out to this man and to his relative in the little white convertible.

The Christmas Closet

2007-01-17T11:28:00.000-06:00

Our hill country town has been shut down for THREE days now due to a LIGHT dusting of snow and ice.... which I am sure those of you from the north of us find hilarious.

By day 3 I was stir crazy, the newness of the situation had worn out. So when my friend Pattie called yesterday... I practically begged her to let me come over and help her clean out her closet. Pattie is one of those fun people who makes ya feel so good about yourself.... and she thinks I am soooo organized, so I happily headed over to her house yesterday determined to organize. Within an hour and a half we made major closet progress... enough to fill my car with a huge load for goodwill.

So Pattie thinks I am just the best most helpful, most organized friend ......

But what Pattie does NOT know is that this is what MY Christmas Closet looks like

So really I am a big fake... a person who lived in denial yesterday..... oh well.. maybe when the kids go back to school I can turn my attention to the Christmas closet and once again be organized.

Brrrrr....

2007-01-16T12:54:00.000-06:00

Cedar pollen has left the hill country.... tiny pellets of sleet and tiny flakes of snow are falling on the ground... school is cancelled...

college princess is back at scool...

high school princess is curled up reading a book..

teen age son is riding on cardboard down the hill at the junior high.... reminds me of using cafeteria trays to go down Daisy Hill in college.

hubby and I just got back from a long walk in our winter wonderland lite-

HS princess just announced she is making brownies.... yummm brownies and snow...