a bit more randomness

so i'm still somehow stuck in my little funk. i have literally done nothing 'inspired' for like two weeks! crazy, right?

a huge thank you to everyone that is hanging in there with me. i promise to have more quilt updates, room updates and maybe some new signs asap.
also, my cold is still hanging on for dear life. going on day 13.it's amazing how much a cold can affect your mood and then how much your mood can affect your motivation. for a brief moment yesterday i felt some sense of relief, but it was short lived. i guess this is just a good excuse to pamper myself and take it easy.

i also thought my computer was going to give out on me. for the past week pictures and videos were taking forever to load. i felt like i was on dial-up again or something. i could barely get through two posts in my google reader before pictures wouldn't load. it was terrible. turns out my 'entire area' was having internet problems. that was finally resolved yesterday and things seems back to normal.

so after going through 500 posts in reader while watching this movie (which is truly wonderful and inspired and happy - highly recommend. [and the house that most of the movie was filmed in is beyond stunning and beautifully decorated]) i was feeling a bit inspired. so i figured i share a little bit of it with you. so, as most of my truly random posts go, here's a bit of everything.

i was overwhelmed by this post from the lovely jek over at scrumdillydilly. some people have such a magical way with words. i am not one of those people. i often have a really hard time describing what i'm feeling, which is why i often look to music or the written word to describe it for me. make sense?

here's a couple lines for her passage, but go give it a read if you have a moment.

"there is simply not enough time to do what i want to do. what i wish to do. even with all this time i have, there is not enough time. for someone else, there may be heaps and bounds and oodles of time but for me and the cacophony that is in my head, there is not enough. i wish i had a quiet mind. it's loud in here, in the noggin that is mine. there are thoughts and words and songs and colors. .... all of this, and that and that, and that keeps me from doing. from DOING. i am so panicked by the idea of losing these thoughts that i sit and breathe deeply all closed eyes and fists. i make lists and lose lists and make new lists that get lost all over again. ... i wish i had an idea. a good idea. just a single idea. i have many, many that may be good or great or brilliant but they are so loud i cannot focus..."

beautiful right? jek - if you are reading this, this was a quite, brilliant moment. thank you!


i'm loving this video on youtube.



if you watch the clock, you can see how much time to process took. but totally genius, right? love it.


i've recently discovered this blog via this blog. i love it. just love it. there's no amazing projects or inspiring images. but there is a blogger with an amazing way with words. and photos. surreal and beautiful. love this recent post, so honest.


i made this pasta for dinner last night.

  source

it was cheap. it was easy. and friends, it was delicious. beyond delicious.

and that's all i have for today. i'm going to go get some wine, eat some leftover pasta and start making some lists.

the forecast for tomorrow ... sunny.

source unknown

it's about time.

just hit play

okay. stop what you're doing, hit play and take a couple minutes to dance and sing.



you'll thank me when you're done.

so stinkin' cute

do you ever dream, plan or envision your forever home? your dream home? or maybe you're already in your dream/forever home.

well i'm not in my forever home yet, so i still dream. often my dream changes, sometimes daily, but certain things remain the same. i want an old house. something with character ... a story. but it should have modern conveniences or the ability to have modern conveniences. the house should be smaller, rather than bigger. cozy. i want land. enough to have a couple gardens and room for chickens, but not too much land that it's consuming. and nice, friendly neighbors. the kind that share a cup of flour when you need it. that's not to much to ask for ... right?

so i when stumbled across these pictures over at danielle oakey interiors i totally fell in love. especially with this house.

i mean come on! it may not be every one's cup of tea, but the yellow stripe around the house! adore. seriously. adore. and you see the ceiling on the porch is painted blue. beautiful.

loving the blue and white inside too.

these homes are designed by hatchwork homebuilders in texas.

i could move right in and be as happy as a clam.

and i just love the front porch on this house. and that blue porch ceiling again!

granted the landscaping could use a little work, but what a beautiful little house.

and a great modern interior. totally swooning.

off to add these to pinterest asap!

i'd love to hear about your dream home! let me know in the comments below.

i called. you answered.

thanks to all of the lovely people the answered my final call for fabric for my quilt! once i have the following pieces all cut into lovely squares i think i'll finally be able to determine what size quilt i'll be working with here and then i can finally start piecing all of this amazingness together.

a couple of you still mentioned you have some pieces to send. sadly i'm an expect on procrastination, so i know where you're coming from! i still should be able to fit in some last minute pieces, but please hurry.

so on to the review of the latest, and perhaps last, submissions.

this first set is a bit super special to me. it's from my sister-in-law. she cut squares from my nephews' and niece's clothes to act as square for the quilt. amazing, right? thanks cari. these mean more than you know.

the next two are from northern cottage. loving the little pinned on notes here. one of these pieces is from the very first piece of fabric she ever bought and the other piece is from one of one of her daughters first dresses.

i'm so humbled that people share such wonderful memories with me! even if this quilt turns out to be ugly looking (which it won't ... it can't) it will be beyond beautiful to me! thanks northern cottage!

next up are from a fellow pennsylvanian (at least at one point) and quilter! some of these lovely fabrics are from her first quilt and an apron she made.

she also bundled everything in muslin with the coolest straight pin! some people are just so genius! love it. thanks kate!!

this next colorful bunch is from aliesha from feathers in our nest. she used these fabrics when decorating her baby girl's nursery. she created some super fun projects like this one and this one. loving the bright and cheery colors. thanks aliesha. oh and she also made (i believe) the cutest card she included with the fabric. which of course i forgot to photograph, but i just love it.

and a slew of lovely fabrics from kim in indiana. loving the fun colors and patterns in these.

and this collection is super fun. love the pinks, aquas and yellows. i'm sure these created something very beautiful. thanks a million kim for all the amazing fabrics!!

and last, but of course not least, are some stunng pieces from allison in oklahoma (where the wind comes sweeping down the plains) sorry... couldn't help myself.

 i love them all especially the flowers with the aqua background... and the green clovers with the specks of pink. pretty. pretty. pretty. thanks allison.

so that's it folks! the beginning of the end i suppose. and i'm amazed, honestly, out of all the fabric i received not once did i receive a duplicate. amazing, right? i can't wait too see it all come together. i'm still hoping to have it finished by summertime this year. *crosses fingers*.

thanks again to everyone that contributed! you are amazing!

catching up

agh.

so it's been a while since my last post and i wish i had some awesome fun explanation for what i've been up to, but i really don't. i think a full force of cabin fever and a self overloaded plate have taken me over. meaning ... have you ever had so much to do or so much you wanted to do that you actually can't seem to get it anything done? make sense? or maybe i'm the only one.

so, i really haven't worked on my room that was supposed to be finished last friday. fail. i haven't pieced any more pieces of my quilt. fail. i haven't made any more beautiful signs. fail. and my posts here have become few and far between. fail.

but there have been some successes. and pretty important successes. last monday i visited my brother and his family. my nephew invited me to be his 'special person' at his preschool. i spent a couple hours with him at his school on valentines day. he sang with his classmates, we played games and decorated cookies. best. day. ever.

after returning home i did come down with a pretty nasty head cold which drove my already shrinking motivation deeper in the hole. the later part of the week was spent preparing for this past weekend when we celebrate both my niece's and mom's birthday. another wonderful success.

which brings me to this morning when i woke up to ten inches of the heaviest snow i've ever had to shovel. hence the cabin fever. i am beyond sick of snow. especially after being teased with a couple days in the 50's last week.

it has also been rather unseasonably busy here at the bed and breakfast. which, i'm not complaining, but i suppose i'm finding myself a bit overwhelmed and i can't say i'm a person that reacts very well under stressful situations. but i'm trying to organize and get stuff done and de-stress.

i often found that when i have a lot of things on my plate i tend to cut out things i really enjoy doing, like blogging, for things i don't really like doing. but i'm making a concerted effort to make more time for things i enjoy doing like watching dexter and painting signs and quilting and (and of course sharing it with you.)

so thanks for hanging in there and my regular posting will continue.

and i'm curious ... what do you do to de-stress? or to clear your already overloaded plate?

and does anyone live where it's sunny and warm? and if so, can i come and visit?

new (and old) printables

valentines day art is out. new 'please let spring come asap' art is in.

in other words i made some new 'artwork' for the frames in my kitchen and i wanted to share them with you. i also wanted to give you copies of some of my other images since some of you have been asking for them and i never did post them.

so here are my two newest creations:

 we could all use a little reminder to 'shine' every once and a while. don't you think?

"if in this moment you don't feel entirely happy or secure in who you are … or you feel bullied or disenfranchised.  it’s never too late to harness your confidence and inner superstar and say I was born this way … i’m going to achieve my destiny.” -lady gaga

(yep, just quoted lady gaga)

and although it's not always easy, it's important to try and capture joy even in the toughest situations ... cause it's there, just a bit harder to find.

like before, i wanted to share these prints with you too! hopefully you can create some artwork of your own, or use them to make a card, or post them on facebook, or whatever suits your fancy.

so, if you'd like a copy yourself, just click on the images above. copy and paste the images into a word document (or mac equivalent), adjust the size, print and frame! it's that easy.

i've also included the an image that i created a while back. some of you have been asking ... i apologize for the delay.

**update
be sure to check out my new 2012 valentine's printable! it's one of my favorites! click here for all the details!

enjoy!

enjoy them! and if you post them on your site be sure to link it back here. i appreciate it!

loving this

sorry i've been a little scarce this week. it's just been 'one of those weeks.' ya know?

and for whoever is responsible for these things, i could really used some sunshine... please. no snow! no freezing rain. just sunshine!

anywho, i just came a across this video and really enjoyed it.



i've always been fascinated watching a painting or a piece of artwork come together. it's beautiful. 

it's about the little things that make it all come together. i'm often dumbfounded at the imagination and talent it takes to create one piece. and whether you like the finished piece or not, the journey of its creation is nothing short of magic.

the artist that created this piece is kelly rea. she's a fellow blogger. i'm also super jealous of her living room, kitchen and dining room. stunning and sweet!

have a great weekend everyone! back with more from my room makeover next week!

"Art is not a part of life, it is not an addition to life, it is the essence of those pieces of us that make us fulfilled. That give us hope. That give us dreams and provide the world a view very different than what it would have been without us."

  - Hasan Davis

via

adore

i know i've mentioned i'm not a huge fan of online magazines, but this one may have changed my mind.

adore home is austrailia's first online home and lifestyle magazine and it's seriously full of beautiful interiors, ideas and accessories.

i haven't had a chance to look it over in it's entirety, but i already have a couple ideas brewing. the only drawback is that everything is priced in the euro and probably only available across the sea, but i'd never turn down beautiful inspiration. right?

anyway, back on the home front, things are progressing in my room. but they are progressing quite slowly. i will most likely be extending my completion date of next friday (as some of you may have already guessed). but i'm okay with that. it takes the stress off a project that's supposed to be fun.
the past couple days have been spent preping. all the wallpaper is gone thanks to jen's amazing tip. seriously. amazing. she made my day.

yesterday and today i have been filling gaps. with a house that's going on 100 years old, things tend to shift and move creating gaps between moldings and such. and unforuntatly this rooms has quite a few.

for example ... this is what a section of the base modling used to look like.

and this is what it looks like after a little spackle. much better! right?

want another example? before...

and after!

it's a bit time consuming and tedious... especially when working with moldings around four windows and four doors. but it's done. it's all about the details and having all these gaps filled make an amazing difference.

i also hung and attached the wood for my window coverings. they even have a coat of primer on them (that happened after i took this photo.)

...and  a couple pretty pictures of things to come.

these are a pair of vintage corbels i bought about two years ago that have been sitting in my basement. i'm finally putting them to use in this space. i'm really excited to share this project with you. i'm just hoping it works. *crosses fingers*

and these are antique wrought iron nails heads. another cool project i'm pumped about!

and this is my new chandelier for the sitting area of the space. ain't she purdy?

i love the wrought iron, and the crystals add the perfect amount of glam! so pretty.

so things are moving along ... slower that expected ... but isn't that how most things usually work? hopefully by tomorrow i'll start painting the ceiling and move onto the trim by the weekend. then it's smooth sailing after that.

anyone want to come help me paint? i make a killer breakfast.

garden suite {the before}

well folks, no pretty pictures here today. just some tragic before shots. remember i mentiond i was decorating? i was delayed a week, but the madness is about to begin. i'm giving one of my guest rooms a little makeover! so onto those before shots ... you ready?

so the garden suite, on of my guest rooms, consists of two rooms, the bedroom area and a sitting room. let's start in the bedroom.

all wallpaper will be removed (yikes, right?) the french door leads outside to a small balcony.

more ugly wallpaper. old fan will be removed and replaced with a new fan. it's also hard to tell in my pictures, but the walls are textured. can i offer some advice. NEVER wallpaper textured walls. i guess the folks that put it up didn't plan on taking it down. it's no fun.

still in the bedroom. this door leads to the hall and will be covered with the bed and custom made (excited about this) headboard. i don't like covering/blocking doors, but it will make the room much more functional. and it's the only combination i can use two night stands. 

 this is the sitting room. the bathroom is on the left behind the wallpapered wall, it separates the two spaces. the door that is open leads to the hallway and acts as the entrance to the room.

the wood above the windows is the beginning of my new window treatments. (i got a head start before i started taking pictures). so excited to see how these turn out. details coming.

again, the ceiling fan will go and be replaced with a chandelier instead of a fan. wallpaper will be removed on this wall. the day bed will go against the currently wallpapered wall. this wall is also going to get two amazing wall sconces i'm going to make.

a small dresser and tv will go against this wall.

so that takes care of all 'the before' stuff. this is essentially how the rooms looks as i'm typing this, minus some wallpaper. i'm painting the ceiling (white), the trim (as is...white) and the walls (a grey or really light yellow). i'm sewing all the curtains (3 sets), bed skirts (queen and twin) and pillows (a lot). i'm also making the headboard and two fancy/vintage sconces. plus some other fun art work. i have really high hopes of completing all, or most of this, by next friday. any encouraging words are welcomed. meanwhile i'll be busy cleaning rooms, cooking breakfast, working in the shoppe, making baskets and all that other fun stuff.

there will be other projects (painting furniture ... additional accessories ... paint the bathroom) but these can come after the room is 'finished'. the goal is to get it back 'on the market' asap.

so, i hope you'll stay with me and i'll do my best to share as much as i can along the way. and lets hope things move a little easier than my attempts to remove wallpaper from textured walls. oy vey.