I hope you got here, this morning, after a restful night of sleepy dreams! Sometimes/often, I travel in my dreams. In fact, I have a wonderful time, when I dream! What a stress-free, inexpensive way to travel! Since I last wrote about the Paris Flea Market, I’ve continued to explore the idea of visiting Paris, next spring, if not soon after. It looks like other’s have thought of this idea before me…imagine that!…because there are lots of services in place, to assist travelers with the flea market in mind. First of all, there are a bunch of companies that take…
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I was re-stocking my shop at Veranda today and see that I’ve got lots of furniture, painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in inventory right now. These two matching bedroom/vanity chairs are very sweet, painted in Old White. I love how these two counter height bar stools turned out in Emperor’s Silk and lightly distressed. Not the best of pictures. Trust me, there are two stools! I think the little blue and silver table would be sweet, stacked with towels, next to a tub. There’s lots more, so if you need some wonderful old, rejuvenated pieces at great prices, i…
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Thanks to those wonderful little furniture moving pads, that I discovered as a home stager, I can make my living room sofa do a three-sixty, in nothing flat! So over the years, I’ve tried lots of variations, without measurable success. Early on, I had a slipcovered sofa (using my favorite painter’s drop cloths), carpeting…pretty simple. Then, I discovered a true love for draperies. These were made to order. They’re nice and heavy and hang beautifully from some wonderfully simple oil rubbed bronze rods. At this point, we had purchased a new Lee Industries sofa in a beautiful silk velvet, on…
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Do you ever wonder what motivates you? I do. What leaves many of us content, while others have to look for the next challenge? I wish I knew. Somewhere, I have to have this tattooed into my brain (ouch!). I won’t go through my list of what I’ve been doing to fill my days lately, but trust me, the list is long. I ask myself how I spent hours, with the help of Mr. Wonderful, trying to figure out what went wrong with my 20 year old sewing machine, over the weekend. Then, frustrated, we made the unpleasant trek to…
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Mr. wonderful gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers, for our anniversary, recently. While I am not a professional florist, my mother was a stellar entertainer. Having lots of dinner parties, and not a lot of money, she always made her own centerpieces. Her tables always looked like a wonderful celebration was about to take place. I learned a lot, just watching her. Years later, I always enjoy making my own centerpieces and if you haven’t tried it yourself, it’s easier then it might look. 1. First of all, find a bowl or pot that you want to use for…
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Welcome back to Veranda! While I am the keeper of the shop today, I thought I’d give you another tour. You might see something you can’t live without! Or better yet, you might find the perfect Valentine’s Day gift…or gift certificate…for your sweetheart! I love this old original pastel. The frame is especially great! I’ll let your fingers do the walking! Are you old enough to know that line? This is the West Virginia and Fenton glass I brought back from the east coast, along with my dear door stops! Need a “new” spring bag? …and of course, don’t forget…
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While open shelves were probably first designed to hold daily essentials, today…or at least in my world, they offer wonderful points of interest in a room. Give me a nook to fill and I’m at peace with the world. Some decorate shelves, sticking to a color scheme… While pretty, these shelves would never end up in my home because my style is so much more eclectic. . Now, I don’t know what it took to collect all of these old red books, but I sure love how an old door was used to enclose the space. And how clever is…
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Before heading to the Ft. Lauderdale airport, we had the wonderful chance to spend time with dear friends, Gale and Glenn, at their gorgeous home in Coconut Grove. Gale and Glenn are the “poster couple” for a fun-packed and rewarding retirement lifestyle. It’s no surprise that they have a steady stream of house guests, because they “go the distance” to make their friends feel welcome. We were greeted with warm hugs and once settled in our lovely guest quarters, enjoyed a scrumptious lunch, out on the patio. …our lovely hostess, Gale, sitting down, probably for the first time all day.…
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