Have you missed me.....

I haven't posted in a long while....many things were going on...holidays and birthdays, trying my hand at my own business and holiday decorating for a lot of people (and I do mean A LOT .... after doing several very large homes and a couple of smaller ones and then throw in my own home......tinsel and glitter was in places I really don't care to discuss).  On top of all the holiday decorating, FOB and I started yet another remodel....the Hall Bathroom!  It was a tremendous amount of work, but, FOB came through with flying colors and if I must say so myself ...... it is my "favorite" bathroom in our house.  Here are a couple of before pics...

Picture #1 ... Before

I  guess you really don't realize how bad things look until you update....



 There were so many things that needed to be addressed in this bathroom......

1.  Flooring (bad, bad, bad choice for builders to install carpet in bathrooms!
2. Wallpaper.... I did love this paper in the 80's when I had FOB paper the bath in this Waverly pattern.
3. Tile..... need we even go there beige and country blue..... Gross!
4. Vanities.... double sinks..... double awful.....
5. Door - 3 kids..... sharing the same bathroom growing up ......  I won't go into details but frame and door needed major fixing!

  I knew the exact look I wanted for this bath ..... and I think we nailed the Country French look I was going for.....

I promise this IS the same bathroom!

The vanity was an old dresser that completely changed styles with a little paint and new hardware!

Love the door and crystal doorknob!

I think the improvement is remarkable!  Nothing like a wedding to make you get the house in order.....

Less than 5 months away...... YIKES there are sooooo many more areas to be addressed! 

Sundae.....Fundae!!!!



Lisa's Dining Room

Several friends along with Kadie and I hosted a Bridal Shower for our dear friend Penny's son who will be getting married on 10-10-10!  Instead of the traditional Bridal luncheon spread, we decided to do a dessert bar (thank you Deb)!  Here are pictures of the Dining Room, where we had finger sandwiches, salad, lemon bars and brownies and then the kitchen where we had a Ice Cream Sundae Bar. 

Set and ready for Fall and Friends!

Sundae Bar Pictures:

 

 

Jenny's Shower Invitation

 



Even Pink and green sundae cups!



It really did turn out precious!

YUMMO  :)

We tried to give everyone a sugar high!

Just a few of the many toppings to choose from

Lots of candies too!

Jenny's Precious Thank You Gifts!

Jenny We hope you had as much fun at your shower as we did hosting it!
Lots of love to both of you!





  







Just a funny.....

I thought this comic was so fitting!

Off the list.....

Before.... cute, but needed a little TLC  : (

Another check off the list of things "to do".....it feels sooooo good to be able to do this.  My "TO DO" list continues to grow at mach speed, while the completion part of it moves like a snail.  So the simple task of completing something makes me feel so good!  With that being said, here's a quick peek at the chairs that FOB and I recovered for Nick and Liz.  They turned out precious and they loved them!

AFTER .... adorable!

Rose of Sharon

Image via Wikipedia

August in Texas is by far one of the most unbearable months of the year.  This year has been especially hot and there are very few of our beautiful flowers that make it through the beating that the August sun tortures them with day in and day out ..... except for one, and this particular flower holds its head high daily..... no matter what temperature is .... she is beautiful every day.  I am fond of this flower for a couple of reasons, but one reason is a little closer to my heart.  You see, every day I get up and make my coffee and start my day at the kitchen window and every day right outside the window I enjoy the sight of a hedge of Rose of Sharon.  I enjoy watching the hummingbirds in all their glory buzz from bloom to bloom lapping up every last drop of nectar.  I enjoy hearing the cardinal that sits among the blooms call out to his mate and he is such a vibrant red against the green leaves and purple, white and pink blooms .... but more importantly I enjoy a memory of my sweet father in law.  Hardly a day passes in the summer that I don't remember him .... all because of the Rose of Sharon.

It's been almost 3 years since Pap Pap passed away.  He was a sweet and gentle man who enjoyed the simple things in life.  His family, his garden and his grandchildren .... all 16 of them.  We all have special memories of him, but if you ask Kadie what her memory is ... she will answer just like me ... Pap Pap made me little dolls from the flowers on that bush outside the kitchen window.  It was a sweet gesture to witness ... out the kitchen window I would watch as he picked the flowers and she would hold the blooms for him as he transformed them into a little doll.  The little doll would have to sit on the counter during dinner and then follow her to bed where the poor little thing would wilt and die and the special moment between Pap Pap and Kadie would happen all over again.  I remember my mother in law warning him that the neighbors were going to get angry because he was picking blooms off the bush ... he would wave her off and take Kadie by the hand to make another.  I'm sure he did this with all of his granddaughters, but I guess its because I look at the same bushes and beautiful blooms every day and I think of him and miss him.  I regret not learning how to make the little dolls or asking Mark to learn how to make them so that someday he too could take our granddaughter by the hand and show her a little doll that he could make from the Rose of Sharon blooms.

So today I tried, hoping that the neighbors didn't see me snatching a few blooms and snapping a few pictures of their bushes .... I made a flower doll.  I will have it sitting on the counter for Kadie to see when she gets home tonight and I'm sure that it will bring very sweet and special memory back to her.

I Miss you much Pap Pap.

Another TO DO ........ COMPLETE!!!!!

Well it has been a looooooooooong time coming, but the Powder Room is done!!  I am in love with the transformation.  The travertine tile floor....the "awesome" copper sink that is set in the precious antique vanity, the ceiling that looks like copper ceiling tiles.....the "to die for" faucet......the list just goes on and on!  First and foremost, I have to give big hugs to FOB....he really did work very hard on this for the sake of our marriage me!!!  Although there were many times he wanted to strangle me quit, he plugged on and did it all with occasional smart ass comments a smile on his face and I love him for all his hard work!  So if you don't remember what the before looked like here is a recap  and please don't judge my decorating abilities by these photos....:( 

I really did think this was awesome when I first did this rag rolling technique!

 From this it went to this......

getting better.....  :)

Love, love, love it!

and finally this........
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Is FOB awesome or what???

I added these adorable knobs from Anthropologie

I Love this sink!

This is a shot of the ceiling.....perfection!!!

So as you can tell, I am just a little excited about the powder room!  We are NO where near completion on the "honey do" list ... but, this does make a large dent in it!  Thank you so much Mark for all your hard work over the last few months, I really do appreciate all you do way more than you know! XOXO

If anyone is interested in using any of the products we used in this remodel you can find them here:

1. copper sink
2. faucet
3. anaglypta wallpaper  - Lowes
4. Travertine Tile - Home Depot
5. Wall Paint - Benjamin Moore (Shaker Beige  HC-45 and Simply White OC-117)
6. Ceiling Paint - Sherwin Williams Illusions Translucent Metallic Technique Finish - Copper (unfortunately this has been discontinued :(  and Sherwin Williams Well Bred Brown 7027
7. Antique Vanity - Estate Sale
8. Oval Mirror - Estate Sale
9. Small metal shelf - Estate Sale
10. Wall sconce - On Consignment - Dallas, TX
11. Area Rug - Ballard and Blakely - Dallas, TX
12. Not shown: Only because its not in yet..... is the linen slipcover chandelier shade from http://www.simplelinens.etsy.com/ and trust me it is adorable!
13. Vanity Knobs