Taditional Tropical Home

Living room goodbyes!

2009-07-15T13:23:00.003-04:00

Looks rather bare, just before furniture is being taken out. We took the area rug up and the floors really shine through. I want some photos of the house when it's empty, and I will take those next week sometime. Time is short here (with house being sold) and it is strange to see it this bare.

Next house, a new look, some similar things, but we are ready for a new begining.

Dining Room, saying my goodbyes!

2009-07-15T13:17:00.003-04:00

Saying goodbye to my dining room! We have about 15 days or so left in the house, and this dining room set will not be here as of this weekend. The dining room set is sold.

The chandelier is changed out because it did not convey with the house. We put a standard generic one as a place holder for the new owners.

I will miss this room. Those built-in cabinets sure held a lot of dishes! It took quite a few boxes to empty them.

TAKING A BREAK

2009-07-11T22:17:00.001-04:00

I miss all of you, but have to take a break. I will be back to post soon with updates!
We sold our house and are in the process of moving out the rest of our stuff. We are working on the next place to stay.
Hope all of you are doing well.
I'll be in touch soon!

Great idea for a summer look!

2009-06-22T11:24:00.003-04:00

My friend Lisa makes great jewelry and I thought these were an awesome look for summer! The photo has a link to her website! She really has an eye for making classy jewelry for any season!

2009-06-13T04:01:00.002-04:00

I have been MIA because I was busy with open houses and viewings for my house. We signed a contract today and all ducks in a row for closing on July 31st.
I will post here when I can, but now we are clearing out the rest of our furniture and stuff in the garage.
We are excited to be moving South to Florida. We lived there before moving to Va 10 years ago and are happy to be moving near family and grand kids!

2009-05-10T13:49:00.002-04:00

Happy Mother's Day!

My Mother's Day flowers! They were sent to me by my children. Of course I would rather see them in person, but we couldn't do that for this day. I am seeing them soon and am so excited! The are grown with their own lives, I still miss having them around when they were little.

More yard work!

2009-05-08T19:57:00.004-04:00

Been busy in the yard! This is the view in the back of our detached garage. The constant rain has made everything green!

View in other direction, showing my herb bed on the left in the background. A few Maple trees near the pergola

A corner of the yard with new Leyland Cypress planted. The left side shows an Oak Willow, on the ground my Hostas coming back up. And to the right are my Magnolia bush and tree.

Our Dwarf Fig tree (about 5 years old) is full of figs already! (needs mulch!)

My herb bed

My River Birch tree, view to the back of the yard

View of back of garage. My butterfly bush and Rosemary plant

View from my dining room window looking over the lower deck into yard in front of detached garage, you can see my banana plants starting to come up. The back yard that used to be used for our vegetable garden, (gate is open) is now growing grass. You can see the pergola too. It had just rained a lot outside and I love the look of the dark greens that a wet yard has.

Metamorphosis Monday!

2009-04-27T09:18:00.007-04:00

Pat from Back Porch Musings did a wonderful article on her Blog about my home Taken from my blog photos here with photos for what is called Metamorphosis Monday! The photos recall some of my remodeling projects in our home. Thank you so much Pat for such a nice feature on my home!

Please visit her Blog to see her article on my home and others that she and other Bloggers do on Mondays. Her list of followers have wonderful Blogs of their own, and by following their links you will be in Blog heaven for some time!

I show how I did some of my home projects
on my other Blog 'My Home Projects'.
Check it out.

Because of Pat's posting my photos and links to my Blog...on her blog... I hit over 20,000 hits on my counter! I got over 730 hits (as of tonight) from Pat's cyber blogger friends who visited me! Thanks!

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Wisteria blooms!

2009-04-25T10:53:00.002-04:00

Our Wisteria plant blossomed! We had two plants in that planter on the corner of the Pergola that never flowered. We got a 2' branch from a friend's plant and just stuck it into the ground last Spring. The Pergola is 10' tall, so the vine climbed the post all last Summer and Fall. This Spring it is just taking off and gave us these beautiful blooms!

OK it was only a matter of time before I discovered Eddie Ross!

2009-04-19T14:34:00.003-04:00

I have been reading some Blogs and this guy pops up all over! Thing is that this is a great Blog for projects where you repurpose things, hunt for treasures, or just want to dress up something in your home for a bargain price! The ideas are very creative!

http://eddieross.typepad.com/

I was going to post some ideas from his site, but decided it was a better journey for you to go there and discover for yourself the ideas you might want to copy or use. I love everything about his blog, except the tippy top part of his hair volcano look! Reminds me of the hair do I gave my babies after a bath! That could be what I admire about his looks too, brings out the mother in me!

INSPIRATIONAL picture of fabric!

2009-04-04T10:40:00.003-04:00

Ralph Lauren fabrics! I just love this stripe! This really strikes me as 'beach' for sure! Love the crisp feeling! The one thing about my style is that I do not like all items, fabrics, furniture and accessories to blend together. I have learned through trial and error and living with furnishings that I do like the drama of high or medium-high contrast.

So, the dilema is, I love off whites, and just love creamy off whites. So, if I do some fabrics like this crisp white in that RL stripe, then mixing in the off whites might take away from the crisp look. I could do this in a room with all naturals using it as an accent. Will be fun to explore this look! I love RL so I am motivated!

2009-03-07T10:56:00.003-05:00

ONE YEAR!
It has been one year since I started this blog!
I can't believe that much time has gone by!
Thanks for staying with me during the incredible year

and for all the new friends I met and wonderful things I have learned from all of you!

Since our house is on the market, and we will be relocating, that means Another house!

Another house to turn into a HOME! That means all new projects, photos and ideas to gather!

I am so happy I have a wealth of inspiration out there with my Blogger friends!
This next year of Blogging will be interesting!

New little CLOCK!

2009-03-04T16:38:00.002-05:00

Today we passed by the thrift store I frequent (to donate and check out). DH and I walked around and then I saw this little silver colored clock, it was all taken apart for $6. I thought that was a little high, but the Church needs the donatations. I brought it home and put it next to the only clock I have not packed yet. It went back together nicely and works well (I didn't care if it worked or not).
It has an arrow and bell on the side, the ornaments are held with a screw you can undo inside the clock shell. When I get settled I can change it out (seems to be a Southwestern ornament). Not sure where the clock came from, but it could have been Target. It is brass (heavy) that is silver colored. I think it will be a good friend to the rest of my clocks!

Craigslist mirror FIND!

2009-03-01T10:15:00.003-05:00

This mirror was on Craigslist for $35! I called, met a nice lady (who has a nice Shabby Chic home) and got it home.I placed it in front of my mantel Acorn-shaped mirror already hung there.

I put it on the mantel since there was no other place to put it right now... and it looked so good I am leaving it there till time to pack it! Turned out to be Empire style...(my style!) It is smaller than the one I already had, but well made and in almost perfect condition! Not bad for $35! AND I met a nice gal who does Shabby Chic and collects some interesting things. We talked for a 1/2 hr while she gave me a tour of her creative home! I am introducing her to Blogging!

What you are seeing in these two mirrors is Duncan Phyfe and Empire mix, they play off each other since they are both in the same style and era. They both are made of mahogany and have a mahogany wood backing.

Foyer new paint freshened

2009-02-27T11:10:00.007-05:00

We repainted the front hall/foyer. It had been painted some time ago, so we refreshed it. I picked SW's Pacer White. It has a cooler tone than cream (no yellow) or tan (no orange), I think it goes better with sand. The ceiling is pure white. Thought I would show the molding details.

I had to search for the rest of the photos I wanted to add that show the rest of the foyer!

This photo shows the 'before' picture. The baseboards were smaller, we moved electrical, added columns and crown. There also was no french doors leading into the living room, was just an opening. We also changed out trim to a larger size. This was the only room with hardwood flooring, we added to this for the whole first floor.

Bubblin' over Award

2009-02-19T09:46:00.002-05:00

Today Tammy surprised me with a really sweet award called "If the Shoe Fits - Wear It!"
I was surprised and honored to receive this! What a motivator Tam is and a great friend!
I will gather a few words and come back with 3 people to post this award to, that are so special to me. There are lots of great friends I have met Blogging, and it will be a nice award to pass on to 3 of them! I displayed this honor award in the left column to view when post moves down.

2009-02-14T09:55:00.002-05:00

Hope you all have a wonderfully warm day!

Taking a few days off posting!

2009-01-31T17:42:00.002-05:00

AS some of you already know, we are packing the house, and sprucing it up for sale. We bring boxes to storage to clear clutter, but clutter keeps finding us! ha ha.
I keep thinking we are near the end... but more shows up!
Sold some things that do not match, things I do not use, and things I do not like.

The END RESULT should be that the next time around in our newer house should be a begining with things that I like and go well together. I am hoping!

We have a few houses in mind, but cannot DO anything until we have a commitment on this one. The house just went on the market last week. We are just taking it one day at a time. As my friend Chris says on her Blog... Refining Life we are Refining our lives.

Our Goal: To downsize, live simpler, easier and in a warmer climate, with the great reward of being closer to grand children!

Blogs becoming ads

2009-01-20T18:28:00.002-05:00

I loved reading blogs, but now when I surf some, they are like the ad pages of magazines! Some of the magazines I get have more ad pages than content. Is this the fate of Blogs?

I wanted to add that a few ads are not that noticable, but when the Blogs are full of and mostly ads, they become like excessive noise. For me, I visit, and recommend a few blogs here that the bloggers do a great job with interesting comments and photos! There is a lot to see out there that is GREAT and we can learn so much from!

Happy New Year!

2008-12-27T12:54:00.005-05:00

I took down some of the silver to leave more wintery setting. I left the heavier over mantel shelf. Happy New Year Everyone! Project of mantel shelf is here on my Projects Blog.

Table setting for Christmas!

2008-12-21T07:56:00.003-05:00

Playing with my tablesetting for Christmas dinner. Silver, shells, birds, paper roses (I made from coffee filters) crystal and dishes! I used a few carnations to fill out arrangement until I can make more roses!

Plates (white with silver stripes are from Target.

"Happy Christmas" by John Lennon

2008-12-20T11:01:00.005-05:00

I LOVE the song Happy Christmas, and also Imagine, I thought John Lennon's words fit the times for wishing for peace for the whole world.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to all!

Christmas Mantel decor

2008-12-14T12:50:00.005-05:00

I did a symmetrical setting this time, but you will see some asymmetry as that is my favorite style of vignette. This is the center of the fireplace mantel with the mirror behind it. This part shows the right side and then the left side of the mantel decorations.

This last picture shows the whole mantel. The mantel has a shelf cover over the original shelf so that I could attach nails, staples to it for the greenery without damaging the wood underneath. In reality I could lift that dark mahogany stained over shelf off with all the decor and restore the mantel underneath to its original non-holiday status.

Link to post where I showed how this top mantel shelf was made and applied click here. And on my Home Projects Blog (where I post my projects in more detail) are more instruction and pictures click here. Thanks.

Shell decor even at Christmas time!

2008-12-14T12:44:00.003-05:00

I love my shells and have decor showing them off around my home. They fit right in with mercury glass and Christmas decor too.

The starfish below are from Lillian August and are silvered.

Christmas tree 2008

2008-12-12T15:25:00.004-05:00

AS you walk into my Living room and then to the left you will see my tree up.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! Happy Holidays!

View into the dining room

back into living room