Rusty Old Birdcage

How is your weekend going? It’s still chilly here but the sun is out and the sky is blue.

Can’t ask for much more then that.

I got a lot of great gifts for Christmas and my birthday but I thought I’d show you something a friend of mine found at a yard sale for me.

She saw it and thought it was something I’d like to redo.

But the thing is, I don’t want to redo it. I like it the way it is.

Is that crazy?  

She sounded a little disappointed when I said I loved it like this.

It has weathered wood trim and scrolly accents on the bars and door.

The roof is metal and sort of a blue green color. 

It has bits of rust here and there but still a lot of the great blue green color that I love.

I’m not sure what I’ll put in it. If anything. The door doesn’t open very wide.

So what do you think?

Would you leave it or paint it?  

New Coastal Decor

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky to win a giveaway over at Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures.

She had put together a wonderful coastal mantel but she was ready for a change.

So she decided to a have a giveaway to celebrate her 1000 followers.

I thought I’d show you how I used some of the pieces on my own mantel in my bedroom.

The sea fan was part of the giveaway but the LOVE sign was something that Tracey made. 

You can go by and see how she made it. She used one of my beach photographs to make it! 

I was so flattered that she used my photo and then thrilled when she wanted to pass it on to me.

I think they look great together on the mantel.

But wait there’s more!

This fantastic weathered looking sailboat and two knobby starfish.

I almost bought a similar sailboat myself and I’m so glad I waited.

I love this one so much more.

I placed them on this little half table that I redid last year.

It sits at the end of the hallway. My bedroom is just to the right so I get to see them often.

I thought they went well with this trio of pictures I already had up.

I’ll share a little secret about these matted prints.

They are really just cards. Greeting cards.

I found the frames at Michaels years ago and they included the mat.

They were ridiculously cheap inexpensive.

All I did was pop in the cards.   

I also received 3 jars decorated with netting that I plan to use soon.

I hope that I can show you that sometime next week.

Thanks so much Tracy for having the giveaway.

It was so fun to open the box and have a few new things to play with.

I also wanted to thank you guys for all the sweet comments you left me on my last post.

I know some of you were shocked to actually see me! 

Now you have proof, I’m not a starfish ;)

see ya,

Ironing Ferns

I did a quick little update the other day.

Yeah, I don't iron my clothes but give me some fern and I whip that iron right out.

Remember when I showed you this back in November?

Well it was looking like this recently.

It had faded. But it lasted quite awhile.

I do like the color it faded to.

It just didn’t seem summery so I just peeled it right off and saved it.

It came off in one piece too.

I thought I’d try a different fern this time.

I grabbed a couple of supplies after finding some fern in the yard.

I just ironed the fern between the wax paper. It’s best to use a dry iron.

It doesn’t take much heat.

Peel it off the paper carefully.

Spray it with a bit of glue and just press it on a plate or wherever you’d like.

They stay flexible so you can bend them into different shapes. 

I’m still not sure how I feel about these fern leaves.

It will stay for now. It just seemed to darken a bit. 

I think the iron had some water in it or it was too hot.

But I have a ton of fern in the yard so I can try again and again.

I guess I could try some flowers too.

It’s a quick and easy way to make some white dishes stand out a little more.

see ya,

Wintery Welcome

Old man winter has arrived. In Florida where we are usually in flip flops and shorts we have been in sweaters, scarves and gloves. I know what you are thinking, you wimpy southern girl. But it will be 25 degrees tonight and it was colder then that over the weekend. In my post showing my mantel there was a bucket of logs all nicely staged on my hearth with some greens and a huge pine cone. Gone. Hubby promptly threw them in the fireplace when he got home from work.  A duraflame log doesn't look quite as pretty in the bucket.

I have a stack of baskets and right now they are holding pool towels. We won't be needing them anytime soon. But the top one I opened up and filled with my Christmas books, a wool blanket and a small pillow. 

I love my curly willow. I added some icy looking twigs to the bunch. Then stuck some greens inside the lamp. Which needs a bit of adjusting.

My old box got filled with an assortment of candles. There are really only 3 sizes. Here's a tip: use cans to change the height of the candles. One is on a real candle holder but some of the others are on tuna and water chestnuts. The greens hide the cans.

I have a storm door so I needed something rather flat to work between the two doors. This fit the bill. More greens, a red bow and a sparkly reindeer.

I pooped out when it came to my front porch and didn't really do much. Little Gourdman got put outside and my twig sign was put up in place of the iron scrolly thing.

My tree is sill naked. Well, it has lights. I suggested we decorate it tonight and son #3 said he wanted to wait for his brothers because it was a family thing to do it all together. Sweet I know. Need a tissue?  Don't let him fool you with his touching tale. He just didn't want to be stuck doing it. I've got news for him. Son #1 isn't getting here until Christmas eve and we aren't waiting until then. I'll keep out a few of their own ornaments and they can put them on when they get here. I think that sounds like a plan don't you?

Linking up with :

No Minimalist Here Share the Decor

see ya later,

Christmas Mantel

We had some sunshine today so I could take some pictures of my mantel. I know I'm a little slow. I tried to decorate more wintry since I like to keep it up until after the new year. I am not the person who rips down the tree the day after opening gifts.

I have these two curved mirror that have been sitting in my closet. I remember grabbing them on the last day at an antique market.  It was one of those "I have to get one more thing" moments. So, I paired them up with my old window and hung my little starfish up. Almost like a coastal snow flake.

The greens were plopped in my champagne bucket along with some pine cones that I found out back still on the branches. I just tipped them with some with paint to match the ones on the wreath.

It seems blogger is feeling a bit fussy tonight and not letting me upload any of my other pictures. So, I will have to leave you with just this for now. Have no fear, I will try again in the morning. Hopefully I will have better luck tomorrow.

see ya later,

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

The tree is up and it's feeling and smelling more like Christmas now. I've been working on inserting tree clippings them here and there. I'll let you know when the tree is all dressed. It's still naked right now. Spreading it's branches and drinking up lots of water. Here's a peek at the mantel. I'll be back with more pictures when I clean up my mess. I hope the sun comes out tomorrow.

Also, today is son #2's birthday. He is 22.  Holy moly. That went by so darn fast. He is in college in Atlanta so we can't spend the day with him. But he will be home shortly after his exams are over. 
 

 
We were living in Arkansas when my middle son was born. I had miscarried right before getting pregnant with him so I was a bit anxious throughout the pregnancy. I had so not wanted a December baby since I am one and always hated that my birthday blended in with Christmas. But that's just the way it worked out.

 why can't we dress them up like that anymore?

 I remember going into labor late on the 10th and feared it was going to be a long sleepless night. Which it was. I had an epidural but it did not take. There were lots of colorful words flying around. It's all a big blur. 

One thing that stuck in my mind was when we got back to my room we looked outside and saw that it had snowed. It was so beautiful. We had a new member to our little family. A blanket of fresh white snow. It was a great Christmas that year.

see ya later,

The Christmas Decorating Has Begun

Just so you all know, I have started decorating. I got out all of my Christmas dishes and did a swap out in my hutch.

These are the dishes I started collecting when I lived in Germany. We went to the actual Waechtersbach factory and I bought most of them there. Back then the exchange rate was superb so I got them really really cheap. I won't tell you how cheap because you would hate me. Okay, truthfully I don't remember, but I do know it was cheap. Cheaper then some of the pieces I got at Tj Maxx.

This is the cabinet I had planned on painting so lets us turn on our imaginations and picture it a creamy white with the bead board to match the walls. Isn't it lovely?

My mom brought this ornament back from her recent trip to Italy. I just love it. I tied a ribbon to it and hot glued the ribbon to the inside of the cloche so that it is suspended. It needs a little snow for the bottom don't you think?

The glasses were found at the Mikasa outlet years ago. Then I found more at Tuesday Morning. I really love them. I have another box of them down below.

I still have to go get some greens from the store. I just don't have a lot of pretty evergreens outside. I have tons of azaleas though. So, I will fill in spots later when I can clip some from our tree which we need to go buy. It used to be a big family event to the tree farm. Picking out just the right one. Driving everyone nuts because I couldn't decide. Everyone freezing. Kids bickering. Good times. Now it's just a drive to Home Depot. Somehow it's not the same.

Linking up with :

French Country Cottage Feathered Nest Holiday

see ya later,