Guest Room Resdesign

Potential visitors and house guests, rejoice. We have done a little re-do in our guest room. We got rid of our double bed and you now may sleep more comfortably and more soundly in our lovely Queen with its, pillow top and memory foam mattress. I am feeling a need to apologize for the bed you have heretofore been subjected to. So sorry! But now I think you will find your stay most comfy.

I kept a lot of the things that had been in the room and kept the bed on a diagonal. The diagonal gives you the most feet to work with in a room. Also I do not want the bed in front of either window so if almost has to go this way anyway. The cottage was constructed before queen and king bed were even thought of as possibilities.

We did however find a new headboard via Craigslist for a real bargain and it was in perfect condition. It is an iron bed with a burnished brass finish so it looks great with the dark furniture in this room. We purposely did not get a foot board as it can cramp Lowell's 6'8" frame if there is one. I rearranged some of the furniture and took out a few things and I think it looks much more spacious and workable. I try to keep the armoire empty but stuff always creeps into it, but I promise to clean it out for you if you come! And the closet has shelves in it too so you will have places to put your things.


I looked for a new bedding ensemble but decided to keep the one I have as I could not find anything I liked and I have always loved this quilt. And the best part it also allows me to keep the red accessories I do love. There is something about the red that is just so cheery. I really like it with the latte paint. I don't know why it shows up as kinda yellow...no yellow in it at all! I really didn't have to do much at all to make the room work so much better for guests.

I think every guest room needs a chair and a place to put luggage . So I brought in a chair from the library and our guests can use the upholstered tall organ bench at the foot of the bed to put their suitcase on. The best part is the soaking tub and shower, etc. are right next door.

I am using this small drop leaf table as a night stand. The great thing about it is if our guests need a little extra surface space for their things they can just pull up the leaf and voila!

The only problem with a cottage is it is still a cottage after all you can do. So if you are a young person you will probably be out here camping at the Ritz Coleman with your Grandpa! Of course any adults that would like to try the cots and sleeping bags are welcome. It is still the Ritz Coleman as the bathroom with running water and a hot shower are just feet away. Now if you have to camp, is there any better way?

So come, you all! We are ready for your visit. You know our door is always open to you and we'll keep the light on for ya, just like Motel 6. Oh, and a great private guided tour of the City just for you is included, as well, and the cooking is not bad either!

Ambiance in the Dining Room

I agree with this card's sentiments except if what is on the table is good it makes the whole experience for your guests just that...a memorable experience, not just a meal. A big part of that is creating the ambiance in your dining room.

Setting the Table

A few days before the dinner I went shopping to get some pretty flowers for the front porch. Well, I got side tracked and landed up buying some new tableware! I never did get the flowers! I have been wanting and saving up for some new white dishes for quite awhile but just hadn't found what I wanted. I found these at Cost Plus World Market and love them. I landed up buying placemats and napkins to go with them and the most awesome glasses were conveniently located just a few doors away at Pier One Imports. Although I purchase tons of dishes over the past several years for the business, I cannot remember the last time I picked out new dishes for us. It was fun. I gave most of the ones from the business away because they were only sets of four.

The placemats match these napkins.
I decided to use my chocolate brown tablecloth.

The swirled flutes came from Pier One years ago, the new ones are the red and orange striped water glasses. They are individually blown and each of the stripes are different shapes and widths, etc. These glasses flat out make me happy. I even love emptying the dishwasher now! I know I am weird, what can I say?

Wish each and everyone of you
could have come over to join us.
Someday, OK?
You come to CA we'll cook for you!
Deal?

Simplify Your Dinner Party!

Easter

Do you enjoy giving Dinner parties? What are some of your tricks for working through them efficiently and without killing yourself in the process? We use to do it a lot more than we have in recent years. But this year we are resurrecting it and have picked up the pace. Retirement is so great for doing more of the things you enjoy and less of the things you do not! We have learned a few things that help us stream line the efforts that I thought I'd share today.

Cheers!

We have had or will have four sets of dinner guests in the last two weeks of this month. One thing I have noticed is the luxury of having a few days to get ready for one, cuts down on the stress and makes us both feel a lot more relaxed and able to enjoy our company.

The Crab Feed

I remember Jim's grandmother use to have things ready days in advance when she was having guests and I use to think it was strange. Now, being a grandmother myself, I am totally on board with it. You have heard me say this before but, the old gray mare ain't what she us to be! Everything takes longer these days. So by planning ahead for that, it really does make it even more enjoyable now, than when we were younger and in the frenzy of everyday life. Here are some things we have learned about dinner parties.

Carefully determine what your favorite numbers of guests is and stick to it whenever possible. You can invite all your friends, just not all at the same time. More dinner parties are more fun anyway.

Valentine's Day

We like 4, 6, 8 and at the most 10 at our table. By sticking to these numbers we only have to involve the dining room table either adding or subtracting leaves and tableware. Bringing in extra tables requires moving things all around and not being able to sit all together anyway. The logistical nightmare it sometimes produces often puts a damper on things.

We have had many, many dinner parties that were a lot bigger than the ideal, but for comfort and less work at one time, make your number smaller for sit down, more formal dining. I have learned that when we have a huge group I don't really feel like I visited with anyone very much when the evening is over. Plus all the cooking, prep, clean-up etc. is exhausting.

Easter

The exception to the numbers thing, is when we have a party out on the patio and deck. We can have a lot of people, and it is more casual. It is served buffet style and we have lots of tables. We supply all the main things and our guests usually bring a side dish or dessert or drinks. A lot can be said for that casual type of get together, but I really love doing a fancy dinner now and again too. Our cottage can accommodate a large crowd easily outside when the weather permits. Inside dining requires a lot more planning.

Having guests for dinner two days in a row is a great idea for us. As an example, last week we had the missionaries over for dinner on Wednesday and then had some long time friends over for dinner the next night. Just 4 for dinner each time.

We served the exact same dinner for both nights. I bought a large package of tri-tip sirloin steak, divided it in half, Jim threw half of it on the BBQ and then we served it with baked potatoes and the trimmings, fresh asparagus and a nice green salad. For dessert we had chocolate ice cream and some small cookies. Doing this saved a lot of thought, list making and shopping, money, time and work. And our guest were happy and we enjoyed entertaining them in this more simple way. The best part we had no left-overs, it was just perfect. It was just working smarter to achieve a good outcome each night.

I love to do fancy dinners, but sometimes simple food is best. And I rarely make a dessert. It is usually something like sorbet or ice cream and cookies or something fancy from a bakery. I don't enjoy making them, so I just don't! You can't love it all, I guess. Another thing I rarely do is try new recipes when we have company. I like going with the tired and true for our guests.

Of course I love doing the tablescapes~
that is my favorite part of getting ready!

Tomorrow night we are having our Family Home Evening group over for dinner. We host it every four months and this month we are doing a belated Cinco de Mayo dinner. These are all friends that are empty nesters, so we enjoy having this time together each month. When it is your turn, you supply everything, including a short spiritual lesson. So three out of four months everyone gets to just come and enjoy with no worries! If one of the four couples cannot attend we invite a guest couple and that has been fun too.

So yesterday I did all the planning and shopping. I also kept in mind our great-nephew, his Dad and Jim's mom are coming to dinner next Saturday. I planned to serve the same thing again for both dinners. I organized all the food, measured out all the ingredients. Jim cleaned out the frig and got things organized for the week. I combined that with shopping for the whole week so I don't have to go back to the store again. Getting that stuff done along with cleaning, etc. was enough for one day for me and Jim spent most of the day painting outside.

Mother's Day Centerpiece

This morning we got up early and set up our assembly line and made 24 of the chicken Enchiladas in a flash. Two dinners done in a short amount of time is appealing to me. I rarely cook for just one day. If you are going to make one of something, why not make another?

The hard work was done yesterday so it was just a nice time to do something while chatting and enjoying a leisurely morning together. I also got the table set and made preparations to make chili relleanos and Mexican rice tomorrow. We have planned a simple dessert and all is under control.

Another thing we have learned over the years is if your guests are coming at say, 7:00, we plan to be completely ready but 5:30 so we can just relax a bit before they arrive. It makes all the difference in how much we enjoy the evening. We know ourselves well enough to know that we will fill the time available working, unless we set a self-imposed deadline.

Entertaining and exhaustion are a bad combination for me and it motivates me to plan ahead and pace myself. Jim has a lot more stamina for the social things than me. For me it can be draining for him it is exhilarating.

So for us the pacing is essential. I know that seems weird to you young ones, but you'll be on broad with it someday yourselves. If you want to do what you've always done, you have to compensate for the old gray mare and sire, in all of us.

Compensation = growing older more gracefully.

It is also about enjoying these more stress-free, best times in our life, as best we can. We love the age we are now more than any other, we feel very young at heart. We are working on making this age the best example of compensating for the old horses within us, while keeping the glue factory at bay, for as long as is humanly possible! We are hobbling along at a pretty good pace and trying not to break a leg! They shoot horses don't they? Makes perfect horse sense to us, anyway.

Love you guys, have a great night! Thanks for putting up with my corny horse jokes!

Old Gray Mare!

Old Gray Sire!

Tomorrow...some recipes for the Mexican Fiesta and some tablescape photos. (Nellie, I got my new white dishes at long last!)

Let There Be New Light!

Remember when I showed you this a few weeks ago? Well, I took the plunge and ordered in online. Well it has arrived! What a fun and exciting day that was for me. It took forever but finally came UPS, and we are the last stop of the day so it arrived while Jim was out biking. I told him we did not need to put it up that night but he wanted to...so of course I wasn't going to argue! Bless his generous, workaholic heart!

To say it was well packed would be an understatement!
We had a tree's worth of paper and packing material.

I could see a bit of a raised eyebrow as he opened it...not sure what he was thinking probably something like... "I will never understand this but...OK. I'm there. I'll put it up!" He is such a good sport about my house ideas. I do so love him for that because I know he does it to be sweet to me. In turn, I try hard to have a pleasant environment for us to call home.

It didn't take too long at all and he was done.

So here it is. Just a little touch, but I really enjoy it and truth be known he does too. He added a dimmer switch and some frosted bulbs the next day and now it is perfect. He told me it looks like it has always been there and it looks like it was meant to be there. That is the highest form of a compliment to a decorator I think. Anyway, I am happy he is happy and he is happy I am happy. So, win/win.

As an aside, I have to tell you this funny thing that happened a few Sundays ago after I had posted the first piece about the chandelier. I have found out recently that several men, whom I never would have suspected....read the blog (I love you guys by the way!) Anyway, one who shall remain anonymous but whose initials are JJ came up to Jim.

You know how men in suits kind of posture when they want to share something important ...they stand side by side and lean towards each other just slightly. (It true, notice it!) Anyway JJ says to Jim, "Seriously Jim that fan is outdated...you need that chandelier!" Maybe ya had to be there, but it was so funny and cute and I loved it! I have always had a special place for him in my heart but it grew bigger that day.

Chandeliers For Sale

And I'm having one of them! Ever since I helped my friend redesign her bedroom (featured in an article I wrote for Blissfully Domestic at the time.) If you just clicked on the link you know why I have been coveting. Well not really coveting, just borrowing her idea and fabulous vision! Thanks, to you my good friend! I have been wanting to add a chandelier to ours and take down the OUTDATED ceiling fan. I have looked and looked and this week I found the perfect one!

Here it is without its lamp shades,
and here it is with them..

I think it will be awesome with our winter white and brass wrought iron bed and I am so excited about it. I love it because it is not stuffy or too formal, it is whimsical and airy and only 18 inches wide and long~ perfecto for over a bed. It will go great in our sparkly cottage decor! Yay!

Cannot wait to get it. This will add just the element of surprise and romance to the master and will be the first thing I see each morning when I open my eyes and look up! We need to make our bedrooms special. A quiet and pretty place, a place of refuge, just for you and your spouse to begin and end your days.

And if you don't have a spouse, do it for yourself, you deserve a pretty place to because it can sometimes get pretty ugly out there in the world anymore.

Beauty, order, cleanliness and bit of ambiance can bring comfort and peace into your life. Who does not need want and seek that? This is one way to shape your environment to achieve it.

Around The Cottage

Things are always changing just slightly around here. I am moving things around, I think I might be obsessed with accessorizing. Seriously! I think it is because we have had most of our furniture forever, so my way of getting a new or fresher look is in shuffling and adding and rearranging the accessories! So here are a few additions and fun things going on around here since Christmas.

The third Friday for the month is one of my favorite days. After our Friday morning friends' meeting, Maureen and I make our monthly pilgrimage to Room with A Past. A I have mentioned many times, I have found so many incredibly fun things in that monthly warehouse sale. Maureen has too.

She and I think (in our humble way) we have the coolest little touches in our homes and so many of them come from this place. One thing I truly love is the prices are so reasonable. Let's just say this treasure hunting is a form of recreation for us...it is pretty cheap, really and truly. We really enjoy it, it keeps us out of trouble and I'd much rather spend a few dollars here than at Target. You can find such unique things.

I adore the lace trim on this lamp shade!

I saw this darling little lamp about two nano seconds after we walked in this morning. I love accent lamps and this one is a treasure. $19.00 and it is looks fantastic on the hearth near the fireplace. Jim paid me the highest complement when I showed it to him. "Hasn't that always been there? It should have been, if it wasn't!" Woohoo...score! Hubbies like this are a rare find too!

I couldn't get the best photo of it because the light is bright but you can get the idea of where I put it anyway. It really adds a point of interest there and makes the room look so cozy~exactly what accent lamps are designed for in the first place. I brought my sunflowers out a little early I know...wishful thinking!


I haven't put my few Valentine's Day things away yet because I pretty much skip St. Patrick's Day and it is a little too soon for Easter. Besides Maureen made me this gorgeous paper Valentine garland for our dining room fireplace and I am enjoying it so much. All these beautiful hearts draping across and just under the mantel looks so pretty. Don't you just love it when a sweet friend gives you something like this? What a treasure!



I finally hung up the sign that Laura made for the bathroom. (Was held up by trying to figure out how to hang it without damaging the front.) I know you cannot really see the sign in this photo but wanted to show its proximity to the fresco. There is a good one below. I had intended to put it over the towel bar near the tub but I wanted to be able to see it easily so put it here in the little alcove for the loo. It is now lightly coated with a dusting of glitter and looks so beautiful with all the fun Italian things in the bathroom. So I pronounce the bathroom 100% done now, at last.

"We Enjoy The Sweet Life"

We loved the white towels in the bathroom during the holidays so I kept them up and just added orange hand towels for a little warmth and color. Here is Angelo my funny little angel with the glass eyes that really feel like they are looking at you! He came from the Hen House in Lafayette.


This angel that does not have a name yet, now hovers over the other glass towel bar near the tub. He reminds me of the Celine Dion recording of Sleep Tight where she sings...Sleep tight, May angels hover over you and spread their wings to keep you safe and warm." Hazie loves that song and likes me to sing it to her. Maybe his name should be Dion!

Call me crazy but...I love stuff like this!

One thing I have been working on is replacing some of the little things I have on my dresser top. Last month I showed you the funky, little decorated bottle I got at Room With a Past, today I picked up these fun hair clips for the mirror on my dresser as well. Mind you, they will never see the light of day in my hair actually, but they are so pretty! The stones are my favorite color and look heavenly on the dresser.

The little three-dimensional, sculpted, white wedding cake is something I will probably not replace because I love it. My sister-in-law, Marilyn and my brother, Gary gave it to us many years ago for an anniversary and the little wedding cake is just beautiful. It is a little reminder to keep the newness of romance alive!

In the same vein of keeping the romance alive
here is a sweet, heart-shaped, embellished wall hanging.
I have it hanging on our bedroom door knob.

I picked up this little candle cup today for a song.
Maybe $5.00. It is mercury glass and apple green
and I got it for this spot in our dining room.

It looks very pretty in the sunlight
and also lit at night.
The tall green decanter is also from
Room With A Past from days gone by.

I really like this lady's art work!
Maureen and I run for this booth
every month now to see what is new.

I showed you this last month and it has finally come to rest in our hall way next to the door to the brick patio. Perfect little spot for it. It proves my point that if you love something and it speaks to you, you will find a spot for it, even in a cottage. You just have to take something else down maybe, but if you love it, it can resurface later and be just as much fun the 2nd time around.

Surrounding yourself with people and things you love in your home just makes life so much more enjoyable. And it truly does motivate you to keep things maintained and tidy if you care for what you have and find your own, unique kind of beauty in it. What does you house say about you? It should be a window to your heart and your soul.

Eat Pray Love~On the Italian Culture

I did this post in 2008 before our first trip to Italy. After spending an accumulative 7 weeks there and having kids live there for three years I can clearly see that Luigi Barzini was right on. It will be interesting to see the new movie, Eat Pray, Love in August when it is released.
"I recently read Eat Pray Love in anticipation of our trip to Italy. Elizabeth Gilbert summarizes Luigi Barzini, in his 1964 masterpiece, The Italians, that was written when he'd finally grown tired of foreigners writing about Italy and either loving it or hating it too much. He tried to set the record straight on his own culture. He tried to answer the question of why the Italians have produced the greatest artistic, political, and scientific minds of the ages, but have still never become a world power? Why are they the planet's masters of verbal diplomacy, but still so inept at home government? Why are they so individually valiant, and yet so unsuccessful as an army? How can they be such shrewd merchants on the personal level, yet such insufficient capitalists as a nation?

He said it had much to do with a sad Italian history of corruption by local leaders and exploitation by foreign dominators, all of which has generally led Italians to draw the seemingly accurate conclusion that nobody and nothing in the world can be trusted. Because the world is so corrupted, misspoken, unstable, exaggerated and unfair, one should trust only what one can experience with one's own senses and this makes the senses very strong, in fact they are stronger in Italy, than in all of Europe. This is why, Brazini says, Italians will tolerate hideously incompetent generals, presidents, tyrants, professors, bureaucrats, journalist and captains of industry, but will never tolerate incompetent 'opera singers, conductors, ballerinas, courtesans, actors, film directors, cooks, tailors...' In a world of disorder and disaster and fraud, sometimes only beauty can be trusted. Only artistic excellence is incorruptible. Pleasures cannot be bargained down. And sometimes the meal is the only currency that is real. (This is a thought worth some reflection.)

The Pieta~Michelangleo

To devote yourself to the creation and enjoyment of beauty, then, can be a serious business---not always necessarily a means of escaping reality, but sometimes a means of holding on to the real when everything else is flaking away."

I really found this so interesting and it struck a cord with me that I don't fully understand but I want to ponder. I find some truth in it in relationship to my profession as a decorator, how my senses can be trusted to find the beauty in the chaos. It is all rather worth some serious thought and reflection for me."

Luciano Pavarotti