True work in progress

I am not an interior decorator...no kidding!! I read the beautiful blogs of blog land, and I am inspired on a regular basis...and I have so much fun using my home as my personal styling lab! I get such a kick out of going back and looking at old photos when I had items that I loved, and was trying to use them to get the look I wanted. I'm getting close - but I have fun thinking what my rooms will look like next year...when the current pictures will be the "befores"! I thought you'd like to see the evolution, so here is my front room when I just began using flea market finds and refurbished items to decorate:









These are some picture I submitted to a contest held by Romantic Homes Magazine...I did not win :) but I had fun staging and working on the room...










...And here's what the room looks like today (next year's "before"):












My dog Sydney is usually very camera-shy, and runs whenever I try to take her picture. However, let me try to take some styling pictures, and she wants to be part of the action! Go figure...

Do your "befores" make you smile?



Have a great week!!

Lavender Crush and Soft Linens

About a year ago I began collecting soft, fine linens. I displayed some, but most, I kept in a cupboard, awaiting inspiration for a good use. Some time later, I fell in love with the scent of dried lavender buds. You can guess what happened next :)







I had so much fun with lavender sachets, I made some smaller sachets in different shapes using flour sacking and old buttons:



My whole studio smells like lavender...



...would it be weird if I decided not to sell them??

When the Power is Out....

About the only thing that WAS working when Irene knocked out my power for FOUR DAYS last week was my camera. I never realized how dependent I am on electricity!! No lights, no TV, no internet (that was the worst), no Keurig coffee-maker (no, THAT was the worst!!). The second it stopped raining I ran to Starbucks for their instant "Via" coffee...which by the way, is not to bad in a pinch!!

I did a lot of painting and rearranging in the house, and then eventually went and stayed with my sister, who had power. Seriously, on day 4, when I realized I was going to face another night in darkness, quiet, and no internet, I started to lose it!!

Here's how I kept busy at home...

Moved all my multi-colored china out of my cabinet and replaced it with all of my white-only pieces



Painted everything in sight




Painted and stamped some drawer pulls (I've been wanting to try this)



Arranged a few vignettes






Re-read one of my favorite Mary Kay Andrews books



I am so fortunate to have won a contest she ran last year, and received an autographed copy...so cool!!



....and experimented with romantic candle photography. That got old quick...it's very different when you can turn the lights on when you're done!



I know I was fortunate...I had no damage or flooding, and life got back to normal pretty quickly. However, I will most likely invest in a generator and a crank radio...not even getting the news is brutal!!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend!!