Guest Bedroom Tweaking

I've been working at blending in the new night stand with the guest bedroom.

With it's gold decal decoration on it and the shiny metal finish on the bed set I knew I needed to bridge the look in some way.

I stopped in at Kohls and was checking out their pictures frames and I found myself looking at their wall decorations.  I stood there staring at this metal piece and I struck me that the tones in it were a perfect pick up to the night stand!  

I also have a new basket from 
Pottery Barn 
(they call it a shelf basket-narrow and wide) 
that I put the books in and it had a nice warm tone to it that goes well with the piece.  

 I liked the movement of the piece and after I stared at this picture I realized it's overall shape was an excellent pickup to the design on the pillows.

 I recently ordered this pillow from One King's Lane because I was smitten with the design and I liked the texture and color of the burlap.  Again I wanted to bring a little warmer tone in to help the nightstand fit in even more.

I picked up this glass vase with the woven jute design at T.J. Maxx a while back.  After I ordered the burlap pillow I realized that this would be a nice addition to this vignette and add some more texture. 

Realistically the candles make no sense at such a high location but I liked the look they brought to the design.  I've seen some remote controlled flame less candles I'm thinking about using but I want them in white.  So far I haven't found them in white!

I kept staring at this bird cage and it dawned on me that it would be far more whimsical to put the cat inside the cage!  I was tempted to put feathers in there too but I figured that might get too corny looking!

 I need to finish the top of the new night stand.  I know it's look is not complete yet, but overall I'm pleased with the look of the room.  This bedding from P.B. is great but it tends to have a frumpy look!  If you are a neat nick it would probably drive you bonkers!  I also discovered that P.B. has draperies in the fabric of my two accent pillows and it's been on my mind to get them but I don't like the price.  I'll watch for some kind of sale before I take the plunge or at least get free shipping!

I'm joining Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for
Table Top Tuesday 

Thanks for visiting!

Smell-a-licious!

I came across a new candle company

 called Milkhouse Candles with the most 

delicious scented frangrances! 

 I'm a geek for buying scented candles but this one  initially attracted me because of the adorable milk bottle shape it came in! 

(Do any of you remember getting milk at school in bottles shaped like this?

I do and I also remember when the moved off to the paper ones and I knew even then that something unique had been taken away)

These candles are soy based infused with natural beeswax, cotton wicks (no lead) and true fragrances.

I copied this from their web site:

 If you have allergies or know someone with allergies and environmental sensitivities, then you are in the right place. Milkhouse Candle Creamery's rich blend of natural soy wax and pure beeswax is so pure, a whole new world of home fragrance has been opened for people everywhere who have been unable to burn candles in their homes!

(I am not being compensated, I'm just enthusiastic about this product)

I'm impressed with the different glass and crockery styled candle holders they offer.  You not only get a great fragrance but a usable product in the end!

While looking on their web site to see if there was a closer store to where I live to buy their product, I discovered their Facebook page.  Then I discovered a give-a-way that I wanted to share!

 Hanging off the Wire- Milkhouse Giveaway 

The giveaway item is a $50 value!

I wish you could scratch and sniff my picture-

it smells so good!  

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy smells to you!!

Lemon drooling!

Yep

This one got to me!

I have to make these!

I just got an e-mail from 

Betty Crocker

and this was included!

Here's the recipe in case you desire!

Lemon Champagne Cupcakes 

Wouldn't they be lovely for a 

luncheon or any small dinner

engagement! 

I'm joining Rattlebridge Farms
for Foodie Friday

Connecticut connection!

Well, I went looking for a night stand at a local re-sale/consignment shop called 

Classic Consignment

Of course I had to find something!  

The coloring is what struck me for my

guest room- it's a blue/green shade

that I hoped would work with the new

colors in the guest room.

 It's a piece made by  

L. Hitchcock in Hitchcocksville, CT

(I guess they changed the name of the town to Riverton)

I've never purchased 2nd hand furniture

(I know-I'm terrible) 

It's a bit colonial in styling but I hoped 

it would lend a little eclectic nature

to the room!

It has some age showing with some paint

worn and a few small marks on it, but all

the stenciling is perfect and it has the 

original handles that have an eagle on them.

I believe it's known as the "Harvest" design.

The drawers have a printed finish inside

of them like a newspaper article

The drawers have dovetail joints and

are made of solid wood with the exception

of the bottom of the drawer which is a type

of particle board.  

I took the drawer out and flipped it over

and it has 10-1 on the bottom.... now I'm 

imagining it was made in 10- of 2001??

Darn...thought maybe it was from the

50's!!  Well I paid $125 for it so I think

I did okay- especially when I look at

the cost of quality furniture and or the

cheaper imports.  It's a solid little piece

and none of the wood has cracked or

separated.

I tried to learn a bit about the history

of the company and what the age

of my piece is, but it's very confusing

to say the least.

I wrote to Scott at 

Used Hitchcock Furniture 

who has an incredible amount of this 

brand of furniture that he sells.

He says it could have been built anywhere

from the late 1950's through 2006.

Hitchcock furniture closed in 2006-

Another company that was unable to

compete with the demand for low prices

because of competition with the 

overseas manufacturers.

One of the things this company was 

known for was the stenciling. It was 

more affordable than hand painting

the designs.

 Their chairs are probably the best known

and most familiar to people.  The 

originator of the company started back 

in 1825 with only chairs.  

So that's my show and tell!

Hope you enjoyed and let me know

what you think of it!

Please join me and others for
Table Top Tuesday
with Marty at A Stroll Thru Life

Anniversary in Orange

Yep 34 years....

 where did the time go?   

Dan did well, and brought me a surprise of long stemmed roses in a beautiful shade of orange.  He said the ladies at the store were helping him decide on the color of the roses to go with, and they steered him away from the traditional red.  He chose well! These are lovely and smell wonderful!  

Forgive my indulgence but I'm posting a bunch of pictures of them!  The color is refreshing!

I took various shots to show off the color variations...

Orange to a soft pink!

I took pictures last night and posted some

on my other blog

This one is like orange sherbet! 

When Dan was in the florist shop the delivery truck came with their fresh order of flowers and he got to see how the roses come in!  He was telling me how they are boxed and I said- one of my blogging friends posted about her brother-in-law's rose farm, so I showed him the link and he said "yes" that's just how they came!!

I'm including a link to Fabby's Living to the post she did about the rose farm.

 Altaflor Farm Tour @ Fabby's Living

Wouldn't that be something if they actually came from there!!  

Have a great weekend!  I am watching specials they've been showing about Titanic since it's the 100th year since it sank.  Unfortunately it is the same day as our anniversary (along with tax day) but hey, we just thought April 15th sounded like a nice day- and it was!

It was a sunny spring day and everything turned out great!  We're a little older now and not exactly built the way we used to be, but we're still kicking!!

 April 15, 1978

The photographer came by and knocked

on the trunk and we all turned real quick!

Surprise!

That's my Dad's big Lincoln Continental Mark IV

That thing had a 40 ft. front end on it I swear!

Big V8 and boy could she go!!

 Of course it got about 12 miles to the gallon...but...it was fun!

Thanks for visiting!  

Guest Bedroom Dressed Out!

Here is my guest room finally dressed out!

You know decorating a room is like dressing up...you add 

some jewelry, shoes, belts and purses and you 

get your look!  Don't you agree?

 After a long delay from Pottery Barn

who forgot to ship my order 

(and they gave me a shipping refund because of it-Thank-you!)

I finally got this bedroom dressed out!

  I am super happy with the pillows.  The

printed pillow is from Pottery Barn and 

the white shams and bed skirt are from a 

local dept. store called Younkers. I loved 
the edge on them and I got them at a 
fraction of the cost over many other 
choices I looked at.

 The picture frames I had found at

T.J. Maxx but needed a print...so

I scoured art.com and finally settled

on these.  

 They go so well with the

frames!  It was as though they had

been custom made and I'm real 

happy with them!

Next to the bed is a small shaker

style accent table 

(I've had from Ethan Allen for years)

I am still playing around with this.

 I used this planter box to set books in.  

I put the alarm clock/radio on the books 

to help blend it in a bit. (It has a pull out on the

side so you can charge your iPhone or iPad-but it's very modern)

If I keep this planter box in the room I 
want to lighten it's color up a bit.  I want 
to live with it a bit before I make any 
changes.  I am looking for a small but 
larger table than what I have since this 
little shaker piece is very limited in it's use.

 The books are a collection I've

recently acquired from my Aunt's home.

She's living in assisted living now and

sold her home.  These were going to be

donated so I shuffled through the pile

and selected these.  Perhaps a guest 
will enjoy reading some!

To the left of the bed is the dresser.

 I brought in the "nest" jar that was

on a table near the kitchen to see if

it would work in here (still not sold)...the tray 
and the mercury glass carafe were found

at T.J. Maxx and the small vase is

a mark down from Pottery Barn.

I'll use the vase to put fresh flowers

in when guests are staying!

Looking across the room you can see 

the night stand in the corner with 

my new lamp and birdcage I got

while visiting downstate recently.

 The lamp is from Kirkland's but

I swapped the shade out with my

white one to keep the crisp white

look going. 

The bird cage is from Home Goods 

and I used a candle holder to 

set the bird on that I got at a

garden center and I added moss to 

dress it out.  The cat was some added

whimsy (hubby picked out) from

the same garden center!

 In the corner is the large armoire

that I dressed the top up

with some new finds.

The candle holders came as a set of

three but it was too much up there,

so I used the other one to be a stand for 

the bird in the bird cage.

The vase was a Pottery Barn find

on mark down.  

The picture is a find from Home Goods

and the small latched box is from 

Kirkland's. 

 This basket was from Kirkland's 

and I grabbed it up thinking of a

few different ideas I could use it for.

 I got it in my head to use it for a

trash container but since it was so open

I went looking for a solid piece that I 
could stick inside. I found this container

at Bed Bath and Beyond.  It would also

look awesome with tall flowers in it!

(Ignore the ugly carpet....that's going to be replaced)

The bed turned out the way I wanted.

After a few tries this layout with the 

pillows won!

I'm in pursuit of a throw or quilt

for the end of the bed.

 I have to pay homage to my 

Jiffy Steamer (J2000)....this baby is

a best friend!  I was able to relax the wrinkles in the duvet cover and I used it on the bed skirt and curtains!  I can't say enough good about owning this...I use it often in the laundry room to fix wrinkles in clothing! My husband was super impressed with 

this unit because it is a U.S. made product and it has a complete manual with all the parts broken out and itemized in case you need a replacement part.  

It's very well made and I don't expect I'll need any parts, 

but it's a good thing to know it can be repaired

and won't end up in the landfill someday 

just because it was a cheap import that

had no support.

Overall the room ended up with a blend of 

white, blue/greens and the soft yellow walls.

I worked at keeping the bedroom furniture 

in mind while choosing the "dressings" for 

this room!  It's easy to get sidetracked!

I hope you like it and I always love

to hear your comments!

How hard do you try?

How hard do you try to find things when 

you embark on a new design process?

I used to run to them mall and look at 

what I could find, grab it, rush home 

with it, put it in it's place and live with it.

  

Now because of the internet I have an 

endless amount of resources but I

often confuse myself with too many

choices, thoughts, ideas, concepts....

Last week I posted about the guest bedroom

that I am making over.

This was a set from Penney's I considered

I briefly considered this look but it

was not in keeping with my 

direction...

I considered this look from 

Soft Surroundings 

but their pricing scared me....

I do love their fabrics and the aqua seems 

to be something I am drawn to this year....

That led me to look for less expensive quilts

to try and create a similar look..

I found this set and was pleased with the 

fancy edge trim and that it was less money.

My sister saw the lamps I got from Pier 1 

and suggested Hollywood Glam so I 

veered off looking for something that 

would work.   Grays and yellows are in

too!  I found this at Macys....

I like it, but again I was drifting 

off course...

Remember I have the three picture frames 

with the bluish/green coloring and I was 

trying to use them so....

While having my coffee and browsing 

through the Pottery Barn catalog I was 

struck by this set and the coloring...

and this....

and this!

I loved these pillows so much that I was 

ordering them as fast as I could get 

on my computer!

The picture frames are up 

(waiting for the prints I ordered)

 and I put up some curtains...I also 

ordered another set from JCPenney's 

that I am waiting on just because these 

curtains are a bit bluer than I 

anticipated going with.  

I am still waiting for the Pottery Barn

 items to come so I can't make a firm 

decision until then. 

The yellow glass lamp is a carry over 

from the bedroom before I started this 

update.  I may have to replace it too, but 

my cheap-o-meter is going off!

Soooo.... I'm still waiting to get this

finished...

Inspiration comes from many

places....even if I end up with a different 

look, there might be one design element 

that inspired the whole thing!

Now I wish I had bought the 

bird cage at T.J. Maxx that

I passed up a month ago!

It will all happen and I will be happy

soon....tap...tap...tap!!