Shadow play...

 The window in my new studio office faces west...

... and as the late afternoon/early evening sun streams in, it creates beautiful shadows.

In this case, the beautiful vintage parakeet lamp that Claudia of Mockingbird Hill Cottage helped me find casts beautiful shadows on the wall.

The sun moves so quickly that the shadows fade away very quickly.

The rooter that hangs in this window with the sun streaming behind it...

... casts its own fleeting shadows...

... on the wall and door of the studio.

The bedroom is on the other side of the house...

... so it's the morning sun that creates window pane shadows on the sheer curtains in this room.

We are expecting gray skies and rain, so there will be no shadows for several days. Wishing you all a beautiful week, whether it is filled with sunny skies or gentle spring rains.

I'm joining Brenda at Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday
and Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday this week.

Donna

Early Morning Shadows, Baby, and PicMonkey

The sun was shining in the bedroom window the other morning, casting the most beautiful shadows across the bed (and Baby).

 I love this photo of Baby sitting on the nightstand at the foot of the bed. I thought it would be a perfect photo to "play" with. Claudia posted a great tutorial of PicMonkey the other day and it looked like so much fun that I had to give it a go.

 I absolutely love the results! I softened the image, darkened the edges, and framed it. I may have to get a real frame for this photo!

Here's another photo with the sun creating beautiful shadows.

And here's the same photo using HDR, darkened edges, rounded corners, and again a frame.

By now Baby had moved to the bed, totally enjoying the warm sun shining through the window.

And here's the same photo after adding Yester-Color, darkening the edges (again), and using the Polaroid frame with text. I think I'm totally addicted to PicMonkey now!

Would you just look at how beat up the finish is on our poor bedroom furniture? We've had this set since 1989 and my nightstand has been the springboard to the bed for all of the beautiful kitties we've owned since then (it's a VERY high bed). Clearly their claws have done a number over the years. It's a good thing I'm into old, rustic, and distressed!

Clearly Baby doesn't seem to be concerned about the marks she and her predecessors have left on the nightstand. She knows some of those marks are also from puppy paws over the years, trying to see which kitties are snoozing in the bed.

Baby looks lost in though in this photo. I do hope she's not feeling bad about the furniture after all. Don't worry about it, Baby. I'm not.

A final photo of the gorgeous shadows on the bed... Happy (almost) spring, everyone!

I'm linking up to Cindy's (My Romantic Home) Show & Tell Friday. Be sure to pop over!

Donna

Torn between two styles...

For years now our bedroom has been in a state of limbo...

... caught between our old, primitive style (much of which is completely out-of-date... yes, grapevine wreath and wallpaper border, I am referring to you!) and the newer, cottage style I fell in love with years later.

 (Notice the window open! It's Feb 23rd and warm enough here in New England 

for me to air out the house. What a strange winter it's been!)

While so many others redecorate rooms in their homes at the speed of light, our bedroom remains a mixture of those two styles. I revisit this subject about once a year and have even blogged about it in the past. Maybe I should just accept it, refer to it as 'eclectic,' and forget about making any changes.

Yet every time I walk into our room and see the mauve wallpapered accent wall behind the bed and this 20+ year old wallpaper border on the other walls, I know this room desperately needs a makeover.

I remember one blogger who updated every room in her house several times a year - living room, kitchen, bedroom, and I mean complete makeovers! How do some people have so much ambition and energy and others (finger pointing at me) have none?

Clearly Baby is just fine with the way things are.

I suspect I am, too, or I think I would have tackled this project by now.

So Baby and I will get into a very comfy position and give this a lot of thought. And if any changes are made, you can be sure that you will be the first to know!

Be sure to stop by  My Romantic Home where you will find bloggers with much more ambition than I have sharing Show & Tell Friday posts!

Donna

A bed of roses...

The last time I showed you our bedroom, the bed itself was a rumpled mess (thanks to our Baby!!). I promised to share pictures when the bed is made and, as usual, Baby insisted on being in the photos (she's such a little ham!)

I have a couple of different coverlets or quilts for the bed and this is one of my favorites. Who can resist lush pink roses against a robin's egg blue background? Baby and I certainly can't!

The back set of pillows are covered with white eyelet shams...

... and the front pillows sport vintage Battenburg lace shams...

...with beautifully embroidered rosebuds.

A small accent pillow with roses and pink pom pom trim (from a little girl's department) sits between all the other pillows.

With it's 'sweet dreams' message, bluebird, and pink roses, I decided to indulge the 'little girl' in me.

I thought this photo of Baby was hilarious. To me, it looks like she is climbing out of a (non-existent) hole in the center of the bed!

So after all of the bed-making chores are done....

... it's time to relax and enjoy the long overdue delicious spring breeze coming in through the open bedroom window!

In my next post I'll share some thoughts we've been throwing around  about how to give this "stuck in the 80's, half colonial/primitive, half shabby cottage" bedroom a much-needed facelift!

I'm linking up to My Romantic Home's Show & Tell Friday. Be sure to stop by and see what everyone is sharing this week!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Donna

This is my excuse...

...for not making the bed every day.

There are actually many excuses:

1) I certainly can't disturb Her Highness during bath time...

2) And all that washing can wear a girl out. I have to let her be once the yawning starts...

3) ... because the yawning always lead to a cat nap, and how could I disturb her during that?

4) And cat naps always lead to full out "head tucked under the tail" deep sleep. I wouldn't think of disturbing her then!

5) Of course after waking, the stretching starts. Stretching is second only to sleeping in the cat kingdom, so I certainly can't disturb her then!

6) And after washing, yawning, napping, sleeping, and stretching, Baby likes to zone out and meditate for a while.  I always let her have her space during that time.

7) And truth be told, sometimes it doesn't take more than a cute look for me to forget about making the bed...

But on those days when the bed is going to be made, and made now, this is her annoyed look because she knows she is going to be removed from her comfortable spot! Next time I'll show you what the bed looks like when it's finally made! And I'll bet you can guess who is right back up there as soon as I'm done!

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Donna

A blank canvas...

... just waiting for Amanda's personal touches to make it oh-so-special!


The bedroom in Amanda's new apartment is just beautiful with its oversized windows, soft grey walls, white trim, and wood floors...


I wonder what's in these boxes, waiting to be assembled?


Looks like it's the full-sized bed from IKEA... You and daddy start assembling it and I'll take the pictures :)

Looking good, honey!

You and daddy did a great job! I think Daddy and I should get one just like it - it's soooo pretty!!!!

Okay, time to call it quits for the night. We got off to a late start here today because were finishing up at Court's apartment earlier...

Day 2

So what's on the agenda for today?


Of course - the IKEA cube bookcase!

Fast forward several hours and some harrowing moments and it looks great! Amanda's now busy screwing in a leg on the white desk from Wal-Mart that will serve as her painting table.

Luckily this little beauty didn't need any assembly! It was a freebie we found on the side of the road while heading to a doctor's appointment last month... Talk about being in the right place at the right time... Amanda's going to use this for her laptop and printer...

I love the locking drawers and the old hardware... So pretty! Okay, we're done for today... Tomorrow all the fun stuff gets moved in... decorations, clothes, artwork, painting supplies, etc., so tomorrow I'll share pictures of the finished room, but until then, here's a sneak peek of the decor...

A vintage (unfinished) painting of bluejays Amanda purchased (from ETSY) as well as this canvas tree print from The Christmas Tree Shop... Have you guessed the theme yet?

Donna