The Quiet Before the Storm

It is Sunday morning and the house is quiet, to a point of annoying. Husband is at work, teenage son sleeping, animal snoozing and one 5 year old still at his MiMi's. My husband and I both worked this weekend(the perils of a cop and a retail manager) so G went to stay with MiMi.

Peace and quiet was good the first day, not so much liking it now. So when my husband and I arrive home from work at 6 the house should be buzzing again. It makes me so thankful to have such a wonderful family~

{ I Want }

A few of these~

A blue beauty like this~

A memory from my childhood, like this~

And a red barn like this~

pictures from flickr

Porch Time

Spring is on it's way and that means the front porch needs a seasonal spruce up. I love to dress her up for all to see. This year I plan on making her a little more on the cozy side. A cozy place to read a magazine or doze for a few.

Grant St. porch last year This is a favorite photo from Country Home, so cozy~

This is one of my most favorite porch snapshots from Country Home. I dream one day it will be mine~

{I Love}

~I love P.O.S.H {http://poshchicago.com/} don't you~
pictures from the P.O.S.H website

~Thoughts~

Do you bite off more than you can chew, I do~ My brain goes a hundred miles a minute. So many things I want to accomplish and just not enough time to get it done. I read and look at so many wonderful blogs and shops and dream of doing that full time. But reality sets in it is to hard. Full time (consuming) career and home take most of my time and they should. I keep fighting in my head about the little on line shop http://www.honeybendvintage.com/ to open it back up or not to. I have so many vintage horse ribbons sitting in my basement, boxes I say. I debate about selling them all or not. Oh there are the ones I will keep that are my favorites. But what to do with the other 300 I have, no kidding! Do I sell them on ebay, do I wait for my favorite antique show and set up shop one Sunday. Anyone interested in a lot of 30-50 ribbons???

~To Do~

As I sit here on the computer making my plans for day, Ikea and the Ballard outlet keep popping in my head. Cleaning and working out are on my list, but I have a window from 12- 3 when G goes to preschool. It takes me 45 minutes to get there, 30 if I speed. I have two things on my list so an hour should be plenty of time to shop. These sweet topiaries have been on my mind from Ballard Designs for so long. I really want them for my kitchen table. How lucky would I be if I find them at the outlet!

The next item on my list is this "Little Plain Jane" bench from Ikea at 69.99. I forgo the search for new chairs for my dining table. So I thought how fun a dining bench would be. We have one at the family cottage, my Dad made it. I so miss being able to go to him for all my woodworking needs. I love when all the cousins pile on the bench for dinner it warms my heart~ I thought with a little stain and some added detail, it could work. And it doesn't break the bank. I will let you know how it turns out!

Projects and a good buy

I would love a new table and chairs, but it is not in the budget this year to purchase a new one. I sanded the top of the table and stained it with a great black. I wanted and aged look and that is what I got. The other day I decided to add some web jutting to the base of the table. I used upholstery tacks to secure it. This little addition cost me a total of 11.50. Web jutting is so inexpensive and if you like a french country look, it works perfect for a variety of projects. I love how it matches my red jute area rug. I am still working on it and adding some detail but I liked how it turned out. I am on the search for some chairs to replace the ones that came with the table. Here is a rough picture, I will add a better one when the project is complete.

I love when I find a good buy. I have been on the search for two topiaries to put on my mantel. I found these $50 topiaries on clearance for $18 dollars at Home Goods. They were just what I was looking for and it did not break the bank.