~~FEMININE MATTERS~~

A PEEK AT MY HOUSE

Here's a little peek at how I've been decorating my little 562 square-foot piece of paradise this side of Heaven.

I am by no means finished.  Lots of color to add.  More organizing to do to eliminate stuff that is visible now which will not be visible later.  But this gives you a bit of an idea of how things are.  Updates will come later.

It began with this:

This is the foundation photo.  Our portion of the house is on the east side of the house, where the double garage would have been.  We are blessed to have a nice 10-ft porch that extends the entire length of the house.  Normally, our front porch would have faced the road, but we chose to put it towards the back because our view is of meadow and tree-line.

Next photo is when the house was framed.  Completely framed in steel.  Also sided in steel.

 This is my hubby walking with my granddaughter to look at the progress. The main beams on the house were also steel.  

Here, we have the walls and roof.  I know.  I know.  It kinda looks like a barn.  Seven-year-old Haylee asked us when we were gonna put the bricks on it.  We got a chuckle out of her view of the house.  Not quite the standard brick homes she'd been use to living in.  Our economic goal is to live far more conservatively.

My front door is the one on the right.  My daughter's front door is the one on the left (opened).  The photo is deceiving.  The house is bigger than it looks.

So, enter my front door and be greeted by living room, dining room table and the pantry cabinet you see in the following photos:

Welcome to my little abode.  I should probably call it my "Last Step" since it is the last place I will have before the Lord takes us to glory.  I rather like the idea as I settle in and enjoy the pleasures of God's plan for us in this space next to my grandchildren, and our dear daughter.  She will obviously be better able to watch over her father and I as we age.  While she doesn't want to push that event, she does recognize its reality, as do we.  So we wanted to prepare for that eventuality before we are unable to help ease that burden for her.  She now has the majority of my collections of primitive antiques to display in her home.  It's good to have a daughter who will appreciate them.  And also a daughter willing to care for us in our latter years.  Who could be as blessed?

Next photo is that of entering our back door which is located on the east side of the house.  Here you also see our living room wall, but from a different angle, of course.  We plan to get a different television cabinet which will go the width of the wall.  Craig's List will be fruitful one of these days for that.  This is a great angle to also see our stained concrete floors.  Saved a bunch of money here.

 

I absolutely love my pendant lights above my dining room table.  I put one over my sink, also.  They are made of chicken wire over blown glass.  Sooo cool.  I balked at getting granite a granite countertop, but now that it is in, I must admit, I do love it.  I can put hot pots on it and not worry.  I saw the idea of the corner sink with windows at my friend Barb's house.  I wanted to look outside our south window and our east window as I do dishes.  It worked out perfectly.

I found this raised corner shelf idea on the internet as I searched for corner sinks.  I love how it turned out.  Much nicer than a flat surface, don't you think?  I plan to grow parsley, chives, and mint in window sill.  That area is lit by sunlight all day.  So nice. I think I'll save the bathroom and bedroom for another post.  Don't want to absolutely bore you.  selahV

Cheetah "Love" Chairs

My granddaughters love these chairs.  I purchased them for my husband's office in his last pastorate.  To compliment their uniqueness, I did a marbleized paint technique on his walls which some folks begged me to do in their homes.  It was a pretty office.  Everyone who visited him loved them.  Since we left Kentucky about 8 years ago, they've sat in my living room as you see pictured here.  I love them; I have not tired of the statement they make in my eclectic decor.

The faux cheetah print whispers intrigue and mystery.  Slim-curved arms curl into a question mark at the end of their arms.  The smooth sleek design offers a gentle flow of feminine elegance on which to rest ones hands.  Metallic gold peeks out beneath fine lines of crackled, high-gloss, black-painted arms and legs to add a touch of "bling".  It sparkles like jewelry on a lady's wrist.   

My granddaughters do not want me to sell them.  Alas, there is no room for them in the efficiency space where I am moving.  Haylee, 7, begged me to keep them so she could have them when she grows up.  Their appeal tends to transcend all age groups. Even teenagers have loved them.  They add a classic Bohemian accent to any decor-- a bit of rogue and rebellion amid the traditional, contemporary theme.  

It's sad when we must let go of something we love.  But, my friends, it is only stuff.  Granted...it's pretty stuff.  And I am hoping they will find a nice home and fill an empty space for a person who will love them as much as I and others in my life have loved them.  Then again, maybe, just maybe they will find a spot in my daughter's bedroom.  Who knows?  Stranger things have happened.  For now I am holding onto them until November when my granddaughter, Bethany, comes in before the Airforce relocates them to Virginia.  I hope to have her dear hubby take a picture of all the ladies in our family standing behind them and sitting in them.  Keepsakes.  Pictures.  They take less space than chairs, don't you think? 

my ARTISTIC friend and Beadiful Soul

Victoria Gaines defined: Victoria Gaines dot com

 
Ah...yes.  Defining Victoria with very limited vocabulary is:

V ictorious

I nspirational, Introspective

C herishable Caring Christian Counselor

T rustworthy, Triumphant, Transparent

O bedient and Open

R efreshing

I nnovative

A mazingly Accepting

G iving and Grateful

A wesomely Artistic 

I nsightful, Intercessor

N eeded

E nergizing, Encouraging

S oulful, Sensitive, Sparkling, Stupendously Steadfast and Sweet 

How does she do it?  Uh...by the grace of God.

Victoria is a writer, a blogger, a business woman, an artist, a crafter, a baker, a loving friend, wife, mother and grandma.

She's full of life in the truest sense of the words.

Internet surfing led me into Victoria's life years ago.  I loved her sparkling personality and her love for Jesus.  She is an encourager and comforter.  She empties herself into the world and allows God to use her in every way under the sun.  She's a counselor and comforter.  She is an enigma to the world because her struggles in life are mountainous, and yet she remains steadfast and strong in the Lord.  I see her goodness in the midst of all she writes.  I feel the empathy in her heart from 2,000 plus miles away.  I call her friend.  She's my prayer partner and sister-in-Christ.

If you want to spotlight your femininity, I pray you visit her Etsy website, Beadiful Soul.

If you need a sweet gift for a friend, family member or co-worker, Victoria makes lovely jewelry as she battles chronic illnesses, struggles to help add income since her handicapped husband lost his job.  She spends a lot of time boosting the spirit of others.  I pray you visit her Etsy site, Beadiful Soul and see if there's anything there to strike your fancy.  Indulge.  selahV 

PEDDLING PINK AND PRECIOUS

 
This is the dream room.  This is what Haylee and Kinsey want when they get their own room.  One will sleep on top and the other will sleep on the bottom.  I'm guessing they will tromp across Haylee's bed after climbing the stairs and then slither down the slide in their pretty pink pajamas.  I priced the bed set on the internet and it was almost 8-thousand dollars.  I almost choked.  I'm hoping to use my set of bunk beds for a base and let their handy-dandy daddy (who builds houses for a living), come up with the plans for the bookcases, staircase and slide. I actually have two bookcases we could attach to the front and all he'd have to do is cut out the particle board for the the top of the castle and the opening in the front. I've found some variations of this without the fancy-dancy circular railing on the staircase.  Am sure I can handle directing of this project.

As soon as we get it built, I will post our own photos of our rendering of the Princess Room fit for a Queen.  It shall be fun.  And you can bet your bottom dollar that it isn't gonna cost us even 2% of 8,000-dollars! 

My daughter's birthday cake

Nothing fancy.  It just sorta looks like it is.  First I bought a strawberry cake at Wal-Mart's bakery.  Then I decorated the Hershey's Special Dark candybars.  Dipped fresh strawberries (make sure you pat them dry before dipping).  And then assembled the candybars by gluing them together with melted almond bark.  I broke up the candybars in little rectangles and stuck them to the sides of the cake.  Then decorated the pan, with the strawberries.  I know.  I know.  I should have put one of the paper doilies under the whole kaboodle.  But it was still kinda pretty.  Next time I make it, I'll do better.

 
  Yummy, yummy!  This was so fun!  I wanna do it again!  Need a cake?  selahV

AND THEN THERE'S COUNTRY

I was raised in Virginia and lived most summers in the hills and hollows of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Tennessee.  I have an avid appreciation of all things handmade and all things used to make things by hand.  As well, I love decorating with everything and finding different uses for all things old.  You only have to browse some of my archives here and find the pleasures I receive in country living.  Pictured above is a group of blue pottery.  These pieces are all made by hand.  Made by different potters, but grouped together they make a sweet collection for lovers of blue decor.  These pieces can be mixed with other colors for a wonderful French Country look.  I've used these to hide away gum, lollipops, loose change and those things you can't find a place for when they are lying around.  You know...twist ties, paperclips, pins, and stamps.  And of course...flowers!!!

I particularly like antique mason jars.  In these are stored macaroni, dried beans, and loose tea.  I have these in various places in my kitchen decor.  To the right is one with herb teabags stored next to a couple of my teapots.

On my kitchen windowsill a group of jars sit with rice, flour, sugar and other staples.  On the cornice connecting my cupboards I've hung antique rolling pins and opted out of putting up a curtain because the sun doesn't come through that window very much.  So I like to keep it free of covering.  That's an old iron plow tine in the center of the pins.  I'm planning on using it to hang my collection of iron pots and pans some day.  (One of those things I haven't gotten around to yet.)  [ALL the blue pottery is going to be on ebay soon.]    selahV

   

INSPIRATIONAL DECORATING ~~ OR HOW DO I GET STARTED?

Sometimes I'm asked, "How do I get started decorating a room?"

I've always picked one thing I love and build my room around that.  It's kind of like buying a dress and then then picking accessories that compliment it.  Or it can be picking a necklace and picking everything to go with it.  Below is a lovely example of one gal I know who picked a painted screen and decorated a bathroom using it as her theme and focus.  Notice in the mirror that the screen is right behind the vanity.  Her handtowel matches the screen.

Here we have a view going out the door with the screen at the side.

Notice how Trish chose her wall colors from colors in the screen?

The screen is there as a well-place divider between the commode and the rest of the room.  Great idea and fetching way to camouflauge the negative while accentuating the positive.

Job well done...in my estimation.  What do you think?  selahV

A BIT VICTORIAN, A BUNCH OF ROMANCE

Like I said in the previous post.  I am very eclectic.  My bedroom begged for French Toile.  Ceiling to floor drapes give an otherwise tiny boxed room an extended look (look in the mirror). It allows me to blend nicely the antique silhouettes I collected.  I took a frame, placed it on the wall, then placed each set of silhouettes into the center of each framed inset.  Again, that setting framed a very large antique mirror from an old dresser.  [I am listing the silhouettes on ebay now.]

The nice thing about decorating with toile is you get to mix and match patterns.  You do not have to stick to one scene.  My walls are a sand colored taupe.  A black and taupe toile floral sets the stage for all my beaded purse collections and aged black and white prints such as the St. Bernard carrying a baby in a basket (pictured on the right).

Vintage black and white photographs of my family dress bedside tables and  cabinet tops.  Clustered together they bring a cohesive theme of then and now to memory.  I hung strands of old Austrian pearls from the lamp to add a touch of sophisticated charm.

Above the bedside table I decorated the window sill with vintage crochet and an darling embroidered antique silhouette with a little girl.  Added to that vinette are more family photos of when I was a toddler.    I plan on listing a lot of these things on ebay and my store/blog very soon.  selahV

I BLAME MY STEPMOTHER

Don't know why I started collecting things.  I think it may be because my stepmother was a packrat and some of her mania wore off on me.  Nevertheless, for a while I had all kinds of collections.  Today I have many of these collections boxed up.  I had an antique mall in Kentucky, and when I moved to Oklahoma, I rented a booth in an antique mall to sell off much of it.  Not nearly enough was sold before the lady's antique mall closed.  Now, I want to get rid of alot of the stuff I have horded because someone else out there can enjoy it more than I.

In coming posts, I'm going to publish some ideas on how to display some of the goodies one has in their collection.  I'm also going to explain some of the techniques I use and why.  I'm an eclectic kind of person. My decor includes modern, primitive, traditional and contemporary things.  I have a knack for mixing it up to look like I purchased it for that very spot.  You'll see what I mean if you keep up with this blog and I keep my promise to show you.

I'm planning to open an ebay store to sell a great deal of the merchandise I show displayed.  So you'll be able to purchase it or bid on it if you'd like.  In the meantime if you see something you think you can't live without, email me and we'll come up with suitable arrangements for each of us.

In the top photo I show some shovels and a headboard from an old bed strategically placed in my bed of hollyhocks.  They grow very tall and the shovels and headboard are great for bracing them so they live in a country lovers setting.  One shovel was a friend's I found discarded in her garbage because it had a broken head.  The other is simply old and rusted.  (No, I won't sell my shovels.) 

This photo is a collection of wooden churches.  Some are birdhouses, and one is an old bank that use to sit in the vestibule of a church to collect money for special offerings.  I displayed an original pen-and-ink drawing that my stepbrother drew and gave me of Mary and Jesus.  This is a great collection because at Christmas I just add holly springs, a couple of wooden angels and three giant terracotta wisemen and wellah!  Instant holiday!  Afterwards, I just remove the evergreens, and pack away the wisemen.  This display consumes one corner of my living room.    selahV