Summer Fun

Our wedding inspiration board we put together for Maggie.
We had a ball getting creative {it's been a loooong time} & using our supplies to come up with a "Michigan meets Ohio meets stripe-y straws meets humor meets burlap/linen----you get the picture "true love"!

This & that........
{Please someone buy us a real camera HINT}
Petite trifles for favors, toppings, packaging, you name it----we found it.
Maggie & Cort getting hitched 9/4/10
Last Friday headed to a quilting show,  I was more interested peeking at Vogue fabric's booth.

{They have locations in Chicago}

There was also a darling dealer there selling vintage buttons, all arranged by color. {swoon}

Worth paying for the admission was finding this brochure as we left, The Iron Horse. Forget eating at Ikea, it was so worth it!

We drove a few miles South to Glendale and found this "farm to table" restaurant. They make everything from scratch. Lunch prices were friendly and I was content to eat al fresco with my loved ones. I'm counting on heading back to this find.
Luke along for the ride........
My love affair with beets. {don't get me started} Baby arugula, goat cheese, red onions, golden & red beets with a scrumptious vinaigrette. 
Jill's "box" finished in summer red colors. {whew, took me long enough to scratch that "to do" off my list} Sorry, my dear, you have such a procrastinator for a friend.
See that little price-y thing-y tied on the box? Those will be for sale sometime in the next century on our website. {I know, I know things keep coming up and keep me sidetracked}
I was a happy mom to purchase this vinyl coated fabric. Perfect for my kidlets and summer picnic tables.

There among the plants & pot section at Ikea I ran into Amy B. She is calm, cool & collected and there I am flapping my arms as I chat away. I was glad to see her mom again as well. 

We're winding down towards the end of the week. This weekend hails celebratory festivities. Friday, Saturday & Sunday we'll join our comrades and munch, munch, munch. 

P.S. Did you know they make a 100% beef frank with nooooo nitrates. Yes, folks they do. Amen.

Happy 4th of July!!

Progress

Graduation gift wrapped........{1 more to go, eeeek}
Strawberry shortcake with a layer of fresh whipped cream.........{yum}
My dad's 66th birthday.................{A milk bucket from his childhood, filled with soda.}
1 of 4 Clover & Bee projects we completed..........{this one is now up here!}
Last Saturday Jill & I hauled these 3 stinkers, oops I mean cuties to town...............{Luke was in heaven with these two girlies. I thought he would never calm down, he was so excited. Usually it's just mom & him.}
I came home to a laid, salvaged wood floor after shopping..................{Thanks Travis & Matt!!}

Now for sanding and putting the finish on. Really, all the fun things now---walls, bead-board ceiling, trim & decorating-- woohoo! 

I researched whitewashing for the boards to go on the walls. I'm so happy to have finally decided on this--paint, whitewash, paint.........{Whitewash it is! & thanks to those that put their 2 cents into that decision, I'm grateful!}

Darcy's coming tomorrow---the first since before her back incident. She is doing well, mobile and slowing getting into the groove of things. 

I need to clean, clean the upstairs so we can get inspired and get things done. We have been putting things off for far too long. We are working on something and fingers crossed we'll get to share with you next week.

k & d too

Company's Coming!

My agenda for May was cleaning & more cleaning + fluffing for company. Goodness, I was looking forward to seeing two of my peeps. We haven't seen them & their families for 3 years!

You know how it is, nothing like company coming to get a flurry of sprucing done! {ask my husband about this--I drove him nuts!}

This cabinet was painted french country reds, yellows, blue and it was ready for a fresh look. I was married in the late 90's and that look was everywhere! Remember when Toile fabric was a must? This silly thing took me forever to finish. I always think painting takes no time at all, ha!

1st, primer by Valspar to go over glossy finishes, as this had a wax finish on it. Then, 2 or was it 3 coats of paint? I then rubbed a brown stain over the entire thing---oops my husband did that. Last, putting a wax finish on it. {Note to self: finish as you only did part of it}
Jill of sew a fine seam made me new pillows. I choose linen fabric with a flat ruffle on the ones toward the back. The front ones have a simple piping. The middle long pillow was made with fabric I have had for 8 years. I purchased the fabric at one of Nell Hill's store in Kansas. Jill was actually with me & my mom on that trip. Good grief, took me long enough to use it. It's a good thing I still liked it!
My CA friends: Karen on the left & Joy on the right.  Darcy was able to pop in to visit too! 

Now onto finishing up some Clover & Bee projects.  Next week I will hopefully get back in gear with the website. That is bugging me immensely. {Note to self: you were supposed to have that task done already!}

Then there is the mudroom project........aaaaaaaaccccccckkkkkkkk! {at least the subfloor was put down before company came!}

k

The Weekend Flea!

Off we go to flea, flea, flea---------I purchased the power breakfast sandwich at Panera that morning and had a yummy black cherry smoothie. Hope that made up for the bucket of fries I had later for lunch?? Ok, I did share with Jill!
Loving the packaging around this remnant piece. They were into the details back-in-the-day!
Some yardage of  vintage fabric I purchased that I will have my talented seamstress make into bags for me. Please note I do more for her than just make her chocolate brownies for sewing! I was laughing at my slipcover post and realized that people must think she is crazy!! 

What are the odds? I found a locket with the initials "M B" on it. How perfect for McKell's 13th birthday! I hope to finish making a necklace of some sort with it.......by  her birthday, August 22nd & along with Zach's baby book......before baby #3 arrives! Say a prayer for me!

 McKell's middle initial is "B" and what are the chances of finding something like that? I was even more tickled that I wasn't even looking for such a petite thing!

{p.s. we have no idea what we're having, this is new for us as we knew with the other two--surprise, suprise!}

I came across a huge, thick book from Sherwin-Williams, circa 1941 on painting your home from the inside out. Oh, the architecture it contained, loving this! I'm smitten by 1920's t0 1940's homes.  This book contains a wealth of pictures for me to digest, so happy I did indeed buy it. The price was friendly to boot!
Love, love steep roof lines.........
Exterior paint samples from the book---everything was intact and in superb condition!
Looky at the cute outdoor furniture & the paint schemes........
While we were cutting between a tent I spotted this. I have no idea what it was used for, but my plants seem happy in it. There is a larger opening in the center and stuck a yet to be planted 1 gallon peony in it. I plan on using this for a Clover & Bee project. 

{always take the less traveled path---never know what you'll spot!}

Enjoy your week!

k

My "Modest" Slipcover

As you know I've been editing our farmhouse. The living room is now freshly painted and for a long time "all the legg-y" chairs & sofa were bothering me. The chairs were sportin' mini skirts and indecent dress. I finally had this chair slipcover with a floor length skirt. Now my furniture can stop blushing! Too many legs were showing & feel this has really made this room sing.

This slipcover really softens the room---& covers those legs!
Ottoman covered and loving it!

I have loved scallops ever since I spotted scalloped liners in baskets & tablecloths at this darling store on Rue de Bac in Paris in 2000. {The store is Le Rideau de Paris 32, Rue de Bac, 32 -Paris 7e} I still have the lovely paper bag, more like a piece of art, that a purchase was tucked into!

My talented seamstress* helped me, she did the ottoman and did most of the chair. Oh, I did help with some of it--but, mainly keeping us fed with iced chocolate brownies as it takes brain power to make these things!! Now just need to wash the chair slipcover to get our markings out and then put the velcro in to secure the slipcover in the back.
{Note* my talented seamstress is Jill of Sew a Fine Seam}

k
{darcy has been to two rounds of physical therapy--- she's going stir crazy, but rest will help her heal}

{Gardening Inspiration}

I've been outside weeding, trimming, planting & loving it! I'm heading out today to work on a garden project.........the grass paths need edged & more seeds planted.
Clover & Bee project
Dreaming of garden parties with these chairs & these lights---- with fun names like.........
"industrial light strings"
 "vintage light strings"........
& street fair light strings...........

{photos Restoration Hardware}

Now I just need to set the table and have a gathering!

Have a lovely day!

k

{Hello}

{freshly painted cabinet}

It has been awhile! 

Yesterday was a good day, not extraordinary just good. Started off with thick slices of french toast---plenty of almond extract and cinnamon in the egg mixture. Fresh mangos and yogurt made them complete. Yum. 

{light in our bedroom}

Sunny 1st half of the day, wandering outside with the kids soaking up the sun. 

Even the afternoon was lovely turning into grey clouds and a soft rain coming down, my favorite.

{this is one of my lifesaver storage solutions, baskets are a favorite}

The last 2 weeks brought a flurry of change, painting 2 rooms a rich cream color with a little lamp black and yellow ochre in the paint mixture. Really just a good backdrop color for a 140 year old farmhouse. 
I painted 4 other smaller projects: inside of this cabinet & the cabinets above. I have another one that needs a couple more things done to it before I post it. Spring a time for change!
A light against freshly painted walls. Some touch up work to do, couple places need to have another coat where we missed on the ceiling. This is best done early morning. We have a hallway & dining room to finish painting. All of our main rooms downstairs will be the same color so everything flows.
New baskets for the website---I have emailed our designer and hope to get started on the big task of reworking things.

 I have enjoyed getting our house worked on, sometimes need to do somethings for me!!  Although after painting we need to focus on mudroom/laundry too. {deadline June1st, hmmm} I know we kind of got sidetracked, but we did need to paint. 

On another note Darcy is recovering from a bulging disc & something else {I can't remember} and is to be doing absolutely nothing for the next 3 weeks. Her entire summer will be recovering as they want to avoid surgery. 

She is home from the hospital and she is a doer so this will be an adjustment for her. I feel so bad for her as she has been in severe pain for over a week. Thank goodness for the medicine she is on for relief.  I hope to see her soon, with some treats in hand.

Have a lovely weekend dear friends...........

k