Day 983's sign of Spring

I promise I'm not trying to brag to those of you still in winter, but the daffodils are blooming here in central Alabama. They are the first real sign that Spring is on its way in (though we had our only measurable snow while they were in bloom last year).


These guys are blooming around my office, which reminds me, I need to start taking lunch out on the patio before the temps get unbearably warm!


If daisies are the friendliest flower (name that movie!), don't you think daffodils are the happiest?


This has me wishing I'd planted about eight bajillion of them. Maybe next year.


Our own daffodils are little behind. I was starting to get worried, as they came to our house in an unusual way: my dad dug them out of a hillside on his Tennessee farm and I separated them and planted them last spring. But they seem to be doing fine, and I can't wait until they bloom.

Day 982's project and a question

Remember my Salvation Army chair? I still can't decide what to do with it. I thought I wanted to refinish the wood, but the longer it sits next to my brown sofa the less I think that is a good idea. I did bring home a few fabric samples last week, but had to return them before I came to a decision.


Then I spotted this little chair on the Mrs. Howard Personal Shopper and now I'm leaning toward going soft white with a little of this treatment. Thoughts on where I can find this locally? Online shopping kind of gives me the creeps.

Day 979's pretty

I don't really have much to say (not that I ever do on Fridays), but I just love this image. The sofa (shape, color, fabric), the sleek lamp, the painted floors, and the beautiful light pouring in through the window. It looks like it's spring out there, doesn't it?

Happy Weekend!

Loving: Kitchen Cupboards

Our kitchen is a little lacking in the cabinet department but luckily there is an attached breakfast room with space for the massive piece of furniture that my Dad gave us when we moved in. Its middle cabinet has a glass door and is ripe for a nice display, and as I'm working on sprucing up our kitchen and breakfast room, I'm looking to other kitchen cupboards for inspiration on how to treat mine. The idea, of course, is that it be both practical and pretty. Aren't these lovely?



Oh baby, pieces like this one make me want to sell off my worldly possessions and be the old lady who lived in her cupboard.






Photos: Paul Massey, Country Living, via A Country Farmhouse, via Cote de Texas, The Simple Home, Liz Williams via Blueprint Bliss, Style and Substance, Earle Interior Design.

Day 977: tulips and portraits

This image caught my eye this week because it reminded me of my house ...


And the white tulips sitting under my little portrait. I loved the way they drooped the night I brought them home from the grocery store, but of course they were standing at attention by the next morning. Tulips are so unruly. Maybe I just need to let it go* and let them do what they want. Trina says they shouldn't even be trimmed!

*Don't worry, I'm not losing sleep over tulips.

Day 976

This is were I was all day yesterday, and where I am again today, watching the snow/sleet/rain fall and nursing the viral funk that's been going around. Hope your week is faring better!

Day 972's pretty

I know I'm not the only one, but I am loving all things in a soft shade of gray lately. Except the weather, which has thankfully turned from gray to nice and sunny and conducive to Wes' starting on a big outdoor project this weekend!

Happy Weekend!

Photo is Atlanta Bartlett

The Slippery Slope of DIY

Sometimes projects go easily and smoothly but other times ... not so much. And in a 50-year-old house you just never know what you're going to find behind door number one. Or, in this case, behind an ugly light fixture.

We took one down in the kitchen last Sunday afternoon and this is what we found. I didn't even take a photo of the old one because merely changing a light fixture seemed so inconsequential at the time. Oh the slippery slope ...


While trying to secure the junction box (so that the new fixture will hang straight) the ceiling started to crumble. Lovely!


Okay, so a simple drywall patch can fix that, but it has to go all the way to the nearest stud, so down comes more drywall.


And with it, nasty old insulation. Yes, I am aware that he needs gloves and goggles. At least he's wearing a hat.


As the insulation started to fall, I was very glad I called a timeout and put down a drop cloth.


So, after a quick shower and wardrobe change, the patch is in.


And now, instead of a shiny new light, we watch the drywall mud dry and get started on the actual project we had planned for the afternoon. Which -- thank goodness -- went easily and smoothly.

Day 970's bedroom

My bedroom has kind of been driving me crazy lately. It was the first room I painted after we moved in and I'm starting to think it's too dark (Benjamin Moore's Bar Harbour Beige). The room is on the Northeast corner of the house and, despite windows on two walls, it definitely gets the least amount of sunlight. You've probably never even seen it because it's so dark I can't manage a decent photo for the life of me.

Not to mention, this is still looking kind of wonky. I just painted my kitchen China White and, though I never considered myself a white-walls kind of girl, I have to say I kind of love it! Should I repeat it in the bedroom?


This lovely bedroom is from the 2009 Southern Accents showhouse at Riverhills, which, sadly, was never published in the magazine. You can still see it all online here. Is it just me or is the ceiling blue? Hmmmm maybe that would satisfy my supposed-need for some kind of color the walls? Before I get ahead of myself (and give Wes a heart attack) maybe I should just replace the navy lampshades and see if that helps with the light situation.

Day 969: a more simple approach

My antithesis to the more cluttered look that I posted about last week is restrained, simple style that makes me think of a well-appointed farmhouse. The furniture is antique, but not fussy, and the accessories are usually utilitarian objects displayed in collections. Fabrics are made of elements found in nature (cotton, linen, maybe even leather), and the colors are quiet.

This Texas Hill Country house is a perfect example, and this one is a more refined version. Trina from A Country Farmhouse has this look down pat. Tricia Foley is another master.


I love this look, but am definitely not disciplined enough to make it happen. Does it work for you?






Photos: All came from the new-to-me blog Brabourne Farm; click to see the original sources.