a few thank-yous and a home tour

To Laura: This is how the big letter "B" arrived..all in one piece.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. It really is awesome. If by chance

anybody else wants a big letter shipped to their home then go here.

Also thank you to Grace for the below box. I love that the box holds

treasures that Eddie has picked up in such places as Maine, Greenwich &

the Hamptons.

It really is beautiful.

But wait that's not all...

So not only did I win the above box over on Grace Happens that was given to her by Eddie Ross but Grace is a blogging friend of mine. I have in the past called her the "Queen of Burlap" (she even gave away some burlap goodies to a couple of my readers). Let's see what do I have to say about Grace other than they don't come any nicer. Grace lives on the Pacific coast by the ocean. I love to come visit her blog to see beautiful pictures of the beach, her cute family and of her newly renovated coastal cottage. She has so much style. When the above box arrived it looked like Lilly Pulizer had gotten a hold of it and wrapped it...darling to say the least. Did I mention Grace loves vintage Lilly... Anyway go over to her blog to take the tour of her home. You will get to see many more pictures which include the before shots. The transformation has been so much fun to see. Thank you so much Grace for letting us into your home:-)

P.S. - Thank you to Shan (fellow triplet Mom) for the award. You make me laugh and I have loved emailing back and forth about such items of business as training triplet toddlers to be great little law abiding citizens. haha!

Dad's creative touch

Somebody asked me how the photo wall was coming along. I say it is 87.954% done.

I feel the need to point out that some of my very most favorite items that I have added to the ledges have been art that my Dad did in college. My Dad constantly inspires me and even though he didn't use his art degree for his career, I still got to be the recipient of his creativity. I truly do prize every single piece of art that I have acquired from him.

P.S. - Thank goodness for affordable wall ledges @ IKEA.

little green chairs and stripes

Q: What does five little green chairs and stripes have in common?

A: They both make for some fun family-friendly spaces. (The flowers were

thrown in for me, aren't they gorgeous..)

Thank you Kellie for sending the image of the 5 little green chairs all

lined up.

{top photo via Roger Davies photography, bottom left via Skonahem}

{boots, quatrefoil & a plunger}

I wonder if this little chunk-a-bunk realizes that I obsess over him more than he obsesses over all boots...

He is a very patient little dude..almost as patient as my very outdated bathroom...except different because he doesn't totally get neglected.

Speaking of bathrooms, when husband was gone the toilet clogged. Not my favorite, especially because we officially sound like a broken record as we coach the girls to not put too much toilet paper in the throne...aren't you glad I just shared that tid bit? Anyway, how about I make it up to you by sharing a beautiful bathroom?

Something about quatrefoil and beautiful legs (now that I am looking @ the legs, they kind of look like the plunger that I couldn't find..hmmm...anyway.

{found via Desire to Inspire}

{connecting orange with citrus thoughts}

My MIL comes at least once a year to come pick citrus. Her arrival has made me think about a few random things:

a) I used to write much more on my blog, as seen here on MIL's last trip.

b) Citrus is healthy and happy, and bright.

c) We that live here close to the orange groves take the fruit for granted.

d) MIL has reminded me how I love fresh squeezed juice.

e) The aroma that comes from citrus tops my favorite scent list.

d) Fond memories of driving through the orange groves on hot summertime nights. It always drop at least 10 degrees.

Oh the happiness all because of orange.

I'm feeling really good about all things infused with citrus today....especially my MIL.

I'm also thinking that a home infused with small doses of orange is right up my alley.

Or if you feeling extra bold how about a full dose of orange..

{seesaw*vintage*fun} a local fave

Did you see that seesaw designs has a new vintage shop? I already have the below calendar but also have a crush on the below dress just added to their shop...and they match...

Of course the above colors reminded me of the Kate Spade 2010 summer palette. Found here.

Now I just need a resort style vacation....better mark it on my seesaw calender:-) If husband were smart, he would read my blog and purchase the above dress to go with the vacation. Ha!

{garden)

There is a little garden place called Terrain At Home in PA that I dream about. I mean just look @ the above flyers that they use just to market their events. If I were to live anywhere close I would take some of their gardening classes.

Pls. observe the charming gardening tools/accessories below. Most of them are found here.

I would need those pillows just because. The humor in the garden signs are great and I could not garden under any circumstances without a little humor.

In theory I really love the concept of having a garden.

It's only a theory @ this point because I have never grown one all by myself.

In which I feel is a good idea to prove this theory for myself someday soon.

I understand the value that goes into growing one and have even reaped the rewards of other people's gardens

The best is when a quaint little restaurant grows their veggies only meters from their little eatery...I know.

For now I am really enjoying thinking about the parallels of life & the growing of a garden.

*Takes much patience

*Takes light

*Sometimes needs a extra boost

*Takes cultivating

*If at first garden doesn't turn out the way one wants, stick with it because next year the soil will be much richer and prepared to be a success

*Takes work & discipline

ETC...

Of course I would have to have a nice space to sit and watch the garden grow.

Happy weekend!

{stuff}

I have SO much stuff. I am so sick of stuff actually....clutters my brain.

Today I have been trying to rig a space for the MIL. She wants to visit us for the sunshine so I gave it to her (refer above). Hopefully the weather cooperates as well.

I guess the good thing about stuff is you can always go shopping in your garage to decorate a space in a jiffy when there is limited funds and a major time constraint. Yes all of the above came from piles either in the garage or in my storage cabinet...some even with tags still on them (tags that say Goodwill or Home Goods, which I know others can relate).

We'll revisit stuff later!!

Would you believe me if I told you that the above map is actually a 6 ft. long...crazy camera.

{quirky collection}

I'm doing some major cleaning. I came across my vintage patch/applique/notion collection. Above is just a small sampling of what has been sitting around for many years. I think it's time to put the collection to work.

Obsessed! Happy President's Day!

Happy President's Day! For some reason this day made my little mind connect to the word federal. Makes sense though really as the word federal usually pertains to or notes a central government...and we do have a government with a president and with presidents before him.

Anyway on to the REALLY, REALLY good stuff that pertains to federal....you know, the nitty gritty of the above photos. When I first came across the above images I just about did a back flip. I mean I can hardly type right now as they sent me into pleasure overdrive. The title of the article that these images came from is "Inside Lisa Martensen and Don Skipper’s Fabulous Federal-style Home". As I read on I discovered this home was in Texas and how fitting since most people from that state are highly patriotic (understatment..to my understanding they want to be their own nation..I have a few Texan friends:). See this post fits perfectly into the whole President's Day theme. Are you with me..

As I read the article from the "D" magazine I felt an immediate connection to Lisa, the home owner because I aspire to be that good at collecting. I would love to hang out with her any day. Not only is she self- educated on collecting and finding treasures but she a eye and passion for anything thrift, flea, antique, garage sale, estate sale, etc. As I looked through the photos her talent for finding treasures and having an eye for design is evident as you can see the control she has and the curator she is over her meticulously decorated home. Anyway just read the article here. The only thing this article made me long for was pictures of her kitchen.

credits:

above pictures via dmagazine.com

photography by Stephen Karlisch

In the patriotic spirit & collecting, does anybody like federal mirrors? 

So far we have celebrated President's Day with the eating of breakfast on the curb in front of husband's big jeep. They will make their Dad really happy when he gets word of the girls trying to help the Jeep not feel so lonely. I have a few ideas of my own on how to make Jeepy not so lonely....

I don't feel too sorry for Jeepy because he has seen such great places as Jackson Hole, Moab, Hollister and Sedona...just to name a few...and we have flipped him in half of the places.

The girls packed their backpacks with drinks, apples, baggies full of cold cereal and Bear Naked bars. They told me that they even had a 4 minute nap after they made the trek around the culdesac. I especially love that one of my girls is in a sleeve-less dress but insisted upon gloves because it was cold.

It's a good day worth celebrating!