Mercury Glass Love...

Well hello!  Anyone else out there crazy about mercury glass???  I have quite a few pieces, and had decided to try and group, at least the candlesticks, together on the shelf where the white dishes used to reside (they're now in the cabinet, remember?).  Well, I started to work on this, and then I had my brain storm idea about switching the living room and dining room...so now this is going to have to change...but, I figured you wouldn't mind if I showed you the pictures anyway, right?!  BTW, you can make out little itty bitty reflections of me taking the shot in the picture above :)

...still lovin the vintage sheet music on the wall...that will probably stay (thank you Kasey for the idea)...

...more Jeanne d' Arc influence, I've been embellishing my candlesticks with vintage, sparkly buttons...

...these little beauties are old tin Christmas tree light reflectors that my MIL recently gave us...I just really like them so I included them on the shelf...

Well, I'm deep into the switcheroo with my rooms and I'm really liking it so far!  I hope to have pictures for you soon...until then, have a wonderful rest of your week my friends!!!  It's cold and nasty here, so I'm sending warm and happy wishes your way...

Tracey

Stencil Happy...

Yep, it's true, I've gone a little stencil happy lately!  This St. Therese stencil is actually the first stencil that I wanted to use, but just haven't had time to do it until this weekend.  You may remember this post that I did back in October, where I redid my 2 year old, Caighton's, room...well, her middle name was chosen after St. Therese of Lisieux, so I felt this lovely French stencil was a perfect addition to the room...

...this little cherub chandi is my favorite

I may put a small shelf under the stencil, but I'm still thinking that one over...when Caighton moves into a "big girl" bed, the room may get changed around, so I have to think long term...

I also wanted to share with you a new blog I came across last week called Dreamy Whites.  It is a must see!  Maria's style and use of my favorite color white is amazing!!!  She just started her blog, but has already created quite a stir here in blogland!  Take a quick peek...

{dreamywhites}

{dreamywhites}

Swing by Dreamy Whites and see lots more of Maria's gorgeous house!!!

Have a wonderful week everyone!!!  I had this crazy idea to switch my living room and dining room this weekend!  So now my house is in complete chaos and I have LOTS of work ahead of me...I do have a plan though, just wait...

"He guides and inspires me every moment of the day.

Just when I need it,

a new light shines on my problems."

~ St. Therese

Tracey

Reorganize...

Hello Wednesday!  I don't usually get to say that, because I don't usually post on Wednesdays.  At any rate, I have been busying myself with reorganizing my dining room...because...well...that's what I do...I organize, reorganize, redo, and redecorate!  I have a constant need to change and rearrange, but fortunately for me, I now have a place to come to where other like minded obsessive compulsive decorators leave me encouraging comments for my efforts :)

So today's post features the reclaimed wood cabinet in the corner of my dining room (it has a large old window as the door, so it makes for a good place to display things)...I moved all of the white dishes I had sitting out on the open shelving into this cabinet...and changed things up a bit, of course.  I used the opportunity to practive my photography a little, so there are lots of pictures for you today...

I don't quite know what's going on here with the salt thing, but that's how my mind works when I'm decorating...quirky ideas just kind of pop up...and I usually just roll with them!

BTW, I have gotten a lot of mileage out of the clock faces that I photo copied...I made wine charms for a little get together the other day by using my tag punch on all of the numbers...makes for a fun look...what is this craze I have for numbers lately??!!

The winner of the giveaway is Debbie from Talking Trash!!!  I'm so honored and so thrilled to be a part of this blog community where people rally around those in need like all of you have done!!  You girls rock...and you hold a special place in my heart!

Hmmm, what shall I redo today...

:) Tracey

Giveaway...and a little help...

{hanging bird's nest (you will receive 2)}

Happy Sunday!  I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!!  When I sat down to my computer today, to check my emails, I noticed a message from my friend Tara...asking for a little help...you see, her friend Gina, of Feather Your Nest, suddenly lost her husband last week to a heart attack at age 39...and now she has to sell everything in her online store, inorder to provide for her family!!!  My heart just ached for her and her children...I simply can't imagine how difficult this time must be for her.  So the email from Tara asked that we, her friends, take a look at Gina's shop and see if we might need anything.  I desperately wanted to help this dear family, but did not really need anything myself...so I decided to buy a few of her lovely things and pass them on to one of you, my sweet readers...I thought a giveaway might help raise some more awareness of Gina's shop, and send a little more business, and help, her way.

{2 beautiful styles of legal pads}

So if you leave me a comment by Tuesday, January 19th at midnight, I will enter you to win all of the wonderful items pictured in today's post, from Feather Your Nest...

{pretty office file folders (6)...to help get you organized}

{big blocks of Savon de Marseille French soaps (2)}

***If you get a chance PLEASE pop on over to Gina's SHOP and take a look and see if there is anything you might need or want...every little purchase helps...and prayers are always appreciated...

Blessings to all of you!!!

Tracey

Lunch...

Phew, I made it to Thursday...it's been a busy week so far!  Yesterday I had a friend over for lunch.  She came after I dropped my son off at preschool, and while my 2 yr old was napping, so it was one of those rare times when I could actually focus on the conversation and enjoy myself, without being interrupted by needy and inquisitive children...it was blissful! 

I had decided earlier in the week, that I would set up the little old table that I tote all over the house in the living room, in front of the mantle, for us to have our lunch at.  It seats two perfectly, and I was able to have a little fun setting it as well.  I took my inspiration from the current issue of the Jeanne d' Arc Living magazine and went with a bit of a numbers theme...

Before she came over, I snapped a few pictures to share with you.  I rarely have time to set a themed table anymore, with 3 little ones and all, but I do really enjoy the creativity of it...

...linen wrapped gift in petite metal buckets {currently only $1 at Michales}...I added a vintage enamel number tag to the bucket and tied the gift with one of my petite stencils...

...napkin rings made out of a vintage tape measure and finished with a button...simple...

...an old watch face to decorate a candle...

...Jeanne d' Arc suggests using old clock faces as coasters...I photo copied mine onto heavy stock photo paper (that way I didn't have to worry about the back of the clock face ruining my tablecloth)...

And speaking of tablecloth...this one is something I made using my favorite new find...a solid natural linen curtain panel from Target (Home brand)...it's finished nicely on all sides and doesn't look at all like a curtain once on a table...and it's only $19.99 per panel (84" length or 95").  I love these curtain panels, and have used them for several projects lately!  All I did was use one of the Cuisine stencils from my shop (you could use any stencil, even make your own), and fabric paint, and applied it right to the curtain panel where I wanted it...the curtains are nice and thick and my paint did not even bleed through...Jeanne d' Arc look, Target price!

It was nice to catch up with a friend, and I had a lot of fun setting the table and taking the pictures too{(my husband doesn't understand how setting a table could be fun, but I know you girls do :) }.

Have a fabulous weekend my friends!!!

Tracey

Scandinavian Love...

{evalindh.se}

Happy Monday everyone!!!  I made it through the bitter cold weekend by trying to stay in my home as much as possible (the car read 4 degrees when I went out briefly on Saturday morning)...the theme of the weekend was "take back my house"!  We finally took our tree down and all of the Christmas decorations too.  It's all of those leftover boxes, gifts left lying around, and toys strewn everywhere that make for such a visual mess...I couldn't stand the clutter for another second!  So work I did, and I'm happy to report I again have a clean, white, uncluttered living room again :)

Back in December, I was introduced to the incredibly talented stylist Eva Lindh, on Gypsy Purple's blog.  Naturally, I instantly fell in love!  So I wanted to share a peek at her work, for those of you who have never seen it before.  All I can say is...love, love, love!!!  Enjoy...

{All photos from evalindh.se}

I'm working on a little do it yourself project for later in the week...if all goes well...and now, I'm off to start my very busy week...

Stay warm girls!!!

Tracey

Tool Box...

Hello friends!!  I was inspired recently by my sweet and talented blog friend LuLu to use the vintage tool box that I have in a different way.  Usually it sits out in the garden with flowers or herbs in it for the Summer...a few weeks ago I decided to bring it indoors, give it a good scrubbing, and wait for some inspiration on what exactly to use it for...

So, a few days ago I decided to paint on one of the Jeanne d' Arc garden stencils I had ordered for myself...and then I proceeded to fill the tool box with bits of things that reminded me of gardening or the fact that Spring WILL come, in time...

You see, every year when Christmas is over, and I'm feeling a little blue with all of the excitement over, I turn my attention to gardening...the seed catalogs start rolling in...I begin flipping thru all of my saved copies of Country Gardens...and I dream of my garden!  Gardening is a passion for me (like decorating) and in the looooooong bitter cold months of January and February, it is a bright spot that pulls me along with the promise that I will again feel the sun on my face and the earth in my hands...

Isn't that little "paquet" adorable?  It came with some little crocus bulbs in it (the ones under the cloche)...I bought it from the very talented Judy during one of my flea market excursions last month.

When we finally take our tree down this weekend, I will move the whole table that the tool box sits on over in front of the window...

What helps to get you thru the long months of Winter?

Wishing all of you a wonderful weekend!!!

Tracey

Oh, and I almost forgot, since so many of you have emailed me, I figured I would just post the paint color I used on Halena's furniture (sorry, I don't know why I didn't just include it in the first place)...it's called Notre Dame by Valspar (Lowe's)...a million thanks for all of your loving comments about her little redo!!!  You warm my heart!!!

A little redo...

Well good morning girls!!!  I'd like to say that I've checked off everything on my "to do" list while I've been gone, but as these things often go, we didn't get quite as much done as I would have liked...not to mention my son was quite sick and I've been fighting off a cold myself...

But I wanted to at least have something to show you...so although I'm not done fluffing and accessorizing and all that other good stuff...these 2 quick pictures are of my daughter Halena's room, which got a little bit of a redo this past week...

We painted the walls an antique white (doesn't photograhph so well) and I painted her bed and dresser a new lovely shade of {duh} grey that I recently found...yep, I'm still not over the grey thing...

I barely had enough time yesterday to get all of the paint stuff cleaned up and the furniture back in place before there was no light left to take pictures...so we'll have to revisit Halena's room when I have it all complete...

I'm anxious to get around and see what all of you have been up to!  I feel so out of the loop!!  I hope everyone enjoyed their New Year's holiday :)  I'm not quite ready for the week to start, but here it is anyway...

Of course, I didn't forget about anouncing the winner of the contest...it's Chrissy from the Apothacary Shop...email me which pair you want Chrissy, and I will get them right out to you!!!  Thank you to everyone who participated!  I had soooooo much fun reading about your favorite Christmas presents...a true delight!

Tracey