Tuesday, March 31, 2009

APRIL FOOD DAY

Everyday the news is filled with our economic condition and today people that have never had to worry about where their next meal will come from are finding themselves at local food banks for help.  The sad truth is the food banks are becoming empty...they need our help.
Pigwtown Design and Easy Elegant Life coordinated their efforts in creating April Food Day 
April 1st,  to make a difference in over 200 communities across America.

Do you know that...
  • One in eight Americans are at risk for hunger?
  • Four million Americans receive assistance from Feeding America each week?
  • Children who are hungry have slower emotional, social and educational development?
  • Millions of elderly Americans go to bed hungry every night?
$1 provides for 7 meals or 10 pounds of food and $25 provides 75 meals.  Let's all chip in together and we can make a huge difference in our communities.  Please go here to make your donation and here to find out where the food banks are in your community.

Thank you so much and many blessings, together we can make a difference.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

My Design

I created this vase of flowers that are actually made of wood and vines for a sweet friend of mine. It came out so well that I am going to have to reproduce one for myself! I really like using natural elements.

Now - an interesting find - a while back I noticed that when reading others' blogs there were either NO or only a few pictures and had heard many of you talking about using Writer's Live a windows based program. I investigated WL and realized how much more "user friendly" it is to post especially when it comes to adding pictures. I started using it as well and when my post would publish not all of my pictures would show up, but they showed up on my MAC laptop. Crazy. I finally figured out it was because I use Mozilla Firefox as the main browser on my desktop (not a MAC)...when I logged into Internet Explorer...voila...all the pictures posted. My last post on pretty paper still had some glitches...on the MAC the pictures did not display as I had entered them on the Writer's Live. Am I the only one having these problems? It is hard to get the full meaning of a post when the pictures are not there....so frustrating. By the way, posting using Blogger displays fine on Mozilla. Any of you have any of these types of problems OR any words of advice for this not so tech savvy person?

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Note Writing

I am hooked on beautiful papers. Whenever I am out and I see something different and unique, I try to add to my collection. I truly enjoy writing a note of thanks or encouragement or just “hello, I am thinking of you.”

pretty paper 2 pretty paper 3 pretty papers

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A few weeks ago The Peak of Chic did a post on a young woman named Hanna Nation who is a senior at Wofford College and has a passion for designing her own line of stationary. I was so impressed by her work that I contacted her and bought one of her designs. The paper is a beautiful quality card stock and on her designs is a place for your monogram.The design above is what I chose and it is a bit hard to see from this picture, but my monogram is beautifully displayed. You will find Hanna’s website here.

pretty paper file box


How about a fun box to store all of your pretty paper in? I love love love fun file folders too!








Pretty papers-coco and kelly

OR…this type of box to store your papers as seen here on a posting done by coco+kelly.

I am crazy hooked on writing notes (see what Julia at Hooked on Houses is hooked on), it is fabulous (see Simply Seleta for more fabulous Fridays) and it is quite fashionable see Fifi at Fifi Design Decor for Fashionable Friday!

Have a wonderful weekend….

Setting a Pretty Table

Tea party-gold and silver

I so much enjoy setting a pretty table…in my collection of silver I can always find interesting ways to use the pieces I have. It is lovely to layer different plates on top of one another. Why not go here to see how others decorate their tables?

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Garden

Since Spring has sprung, I find myself thinking about what type of garden I want. We are just short of one year in our home and I am still seeing what we have inherited. I love flowers but the hubby likes veggies, can we do both? How about flowers centered around a vegetable garden?

Garden 3

I think about what flowers are best in our region and what I would like to cut and bring inside.

Garden 4

This is beautiful but way too much work for me.

Garden 6

Garden 5

I like a bit more natural setting with different heights and variety.

Garden 8

Garden 9

Oh, I do love an arbor or trellis, which do you like? More color or more green? Garden-herbs

I like having herbs in pots, and lovely flowers in pots on the front porch!Garden 7Garden 11 Garden 10

And of course, PINK, my favorite!

Flower 17 Do you have a place to hang baskets? They always add so much to the landscape of the home!

Flowers 15

These black eyed Susan’s and the yarrow are drought resistant which we need here in the south. I just adore a field like display!

Flowers 21

The Easter bunny is coming soon. Love the carriage with an assortment of foliage.

Birds

I enjoy watching the birdies play and splash in the bath…

Birdhouse 2

Bird feeder 2

…and come and feed on their favorite seed!

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THis is my goal…to have beautiful flowers all season long on my table.

Flowers 22

How does YOUR garden grow? Be sure and visit A Southern Daydreamer for outdoor Wednesday and see what she and others are up to!

All photos from Southern Living, Sunset and Veranda.

Friday, March 20, 2009

A Gentleman’s Farm


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The Homestead…being featured as the 13th annual showcase home tour in the northern suburbs of Atlanta. It sits on 30 rolling acres and is the longtime dream of the owners who have lived on the property for 15 years in the caretaker’s cottage. The cottage is over 100 years old and has some original beams, floors and other details which I will show in just a bit, and there is a stable which houses 4 horses. Each room of the homes were decorated by local designers.
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This is the caretakers cottage..I love how the fireplace is built on both sides to enjoy nice fall evenings.IMG_1079
I thought this hanging vase was a nice detail.
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Right inside the front door to the caretakers cottage is this lovely bench and hanging shelf…they both have beautiful painted detail. Everything was for sale, the organizers gave us all a pencil and wish list to
carry along!
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The wood floors here and these beams are original to the house. Low ceiling throughout.







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I love this sideboard and actually the whole arrangement. There are equestrian art and details throughout….after seeing the horses, I can see that their lives revolve around them!
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This whole room is done in stripes of belts alternating with chenille fabric upholstered to the walls, the lamp base is filled with belt buckles. Quite creative, I got so enamored with the walls that I didn’t take any more pictures, it is a small gathering area..family room of sorts.
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The kitchen I am sure was upgraded at one point during its 100 year life, but the cabinets and floors have been there for many of them.IMG_1085
The dining room chairs have been elegantly slip covered in this beautiful linen…
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Now up to the main house….it has just been built and the owners have not moved in yet. They designed their home with a local architect and it was built by the Capstone Building Group, the only company in the southeast that have their own custom cabinetry and millwork shop and I will say the work is beautiful.
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After walking in the front door, to the right is a very spacious office with this beautiful Queen Anne dual desk with leather inlaid. Each side can be worked from. The room overall, really has a masculine feel.
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This is a gorgeous gate-leg dining room table….I am drooling. There are beautiful hardwood floors throughout this home with a variety of area rugs in each room.IMG_1134
View of kitchen and keeping room. IMG_1137
I wish I had gotten a close up of the two tiered plate stand with vase attached, it really is a great piece. I like black granite over the white woodwork, high ceilings…the owners made up for living in those low ceilings for so many years.
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I like this ottoman with all the different hides.
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I am not keen on the decor in this living room, but I do like the fireplace, it is absolutely huge. Arranged in it now for aesthetics are two giant ferns, the mantel is beautiful.
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Right off the living room is this lovely little patio with fire pit, hung high on the opposite wall tucked in a corner is a flat screen TV…nice lap pool and hot tub overlooking part of the acreage.
IMG_1093From the patio is this nice butler’s pantry to keep all the necessities one would need while socializing outside. It leads into the master bedroom .IMG_1094
I like the green walls, deep molding and the bed is a beautiful iron.
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I am not too fond of faux finish, but I thought the dimension on the entering the wine cellar was amazing. It truly looks like an iron gate.
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I know a little girl would like the dragonflies and butterflies on the wall. The flowers are raised as well, with the stems painted on the wall.
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Nicely done game room with stained concrete floors. I do like this kind of treatment.
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One of the bedrooms upstairs….here is the color Suzanne Kasler was talking about as one of the “hot” colors now, a beautiful and very subtle lavender. I also like the way these shelves were used as a sort of “base” for the bowls hanging on the wall.
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A child’s bed and bath. The walls in the bath are interesting, a faux finish that actually looks like wood.
IMG_1119 Family room upstairs…lots of built in storage space.
IMG_1116I loved this idea….shutters with pictures just stuck in at random. IMG_1121
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IMG_1123 Upstairs laundry and craft room….creative twist on an old gate…
IMG_1125 IMG_1126 IMG_1127 This was my favorite bedroom….tall upholstered headboard, fluffy beddings, trunks for sidetable, airy linen window coverings, and the basket of hydrangeas!
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Downstairs laundry on the other side of the kitchen…tons of storage. I could have plenty of room for all of my flower arranging or everything I need to throw a party so close by! I am showing the desk under the cabinets because as one who loves to organize, I thought the basket with the pretty file folders was a great idea and the picture board is a board covered in muslin.
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Mother-in-law suite on main level, nicely done. Isn’t that table cute? It is a huge plantar with a glass top. All of the counters are set lower for handicap access.
IMG_1139 The bathroom is the same with no doors. Pleasing wall color.
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The stable which had these beautiful creatures….
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This one was due to give birth at any moment, I was told she has “held” for as long as 30 days to birth when she is ready! Wouldn’t that be nice?
While this home is lovely, overall not my taste in decor, the only room I really wanted was the bedroom I said was my favorite and the gate-let dining room table. The upstairs laundry/craft room would be a delight for sure. I didn’t get nor could I find anywhere the square footage of the home, my guess would be somewhere between 8 and 10 thousand. It’s a good thing there is a caretaker’s home, because they will certainly need one!
Tell me what you think. What would make it more “homey” for you?