Hooray for open doors!

It's hard to believe that in mid-March we are throwing open all our windows and doors here in New England...

But as you can see in our "wavy mirror" reflection, it's true!!!

But since this is New England, I know better than to expect these warm temps to last long.

After all, this is what we woke to on April 1st of last year!

I guess it was Mother Nature's April Fool's Day joke on us.

And as BEAUTIFUL as it was, I do not want a repeat performance this year!

Wishing you gentle spring weather wherever you are!

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

March: In like a Lion...

... if the lion is a little baby cub.

What a strange New England winter this has been.

This is the extent of the snowstorm we had this first week of March. As you can see, it didn't amount to more than several inches. Back in October we had a freak snowstorm, right before Halloween. But other than the snowfall of October and this one now, we haven't had much more than a dusting all winter long.

 These photos were taken on March 3rd, just 5 days ago, and the snow is already gone as the past two days have been over sixty degrees!

I gave my aloe vera plant a little hair cut the other day. The tips of several pieces had been touching the window when we were having colder weather and the didn't like that. It looks much better snipped back a bit.

I love the ceramic pot I have this plant sitting in.  I remember purchasing it a couple of years ago at a local garden center. What I remember most was that my Dad was with me that day. So many things remind me of him.

I got these little bird stakes at the same time. They look quite at home sitting under the aloe vera stems.

Well, it appears Baby has spotted something out in the yard. Maybe it's that itty bitty Lion Cub that ushered in the month of March!

Enjoy this beautiful month!

I'm linking up to Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home. Pop over and see everyone there!

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

Mirror, mirror, on the wall....

 Who's the fairest of them all?

 

Baby is going to be very disappointed to find out that this blog post isn't about her...

...no matter how cute she looks staring at her reflection!

No, this blog post truly is about mirrors on the wall. We've had this large mirror on the wall of our entryway for quite some time now, but it always looked a bit lonely to me.

So when I found these two smaller mirrors at the dump a while ago, I couldn't resist taking them home. This past week, we finally got around to hanging them.

Another view, before the new mirrors were hung, looking down into the entryway or our little split level.

And here it is after the mirrors were added. I think I still need to fill in some spots here and there, either with some small mirrors or whatnot, but all in good time.

 The mirrors are quite rustic and distressed, which pleases me much more than it pleases hubby.

The reflections in this mirror are very wavy and distorted due to the old glass. I absolutely LOVE it! It's kind of like have our own fun house mirror!

The other old mirror to the left has been hanging above our coat rack forever. It was a purchase from eBay many, many moons ago.

Just look at this rustic, chippy, distressed finish! It makes me swoon!

 The second mirror we found at the dump is equally gorgeous (in my eyes).

The bottom of the mirror is extremely distressed, and hubby probably would have preferred we not hang it.

But what can I say? I find perfection in the imperfect! One of my daughters says I should paint them white to match the large white mirror, but I think I like the contrast and I'd hate to cover up all this chippy perfection.

So for zero dollars (except the cost of the the heavy duty hangers), we added a bit more oomph to the front entryway.

Be sure to pop over to Show & Tell Friday At My Romantic Home!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Donna

Hearts are Wild

Just squeaking in before day's end to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day!

 We spent a quiet day at home.

Baby spent much of the day lounging and sleeping with a smattering of mischief and eating tossed in for good measure.

The idea for this Valentine themed post came from Claudia at Mockingbird Hill Cottage. I'm sure you all know Claudia and her blog as it's very popular! For Valentine's Day, Claudia posted a picture of her handsome Scout who sports a big heart on his side. It turns out our Baby also sports a heart on her shoulder so I asked her to pose for you today. (Thanks for the inspiration, Claudia!)

Here's Baby posing with a heart that Claudia made last year. Who knows - you may see something similar in Claudia's new shop in the future (ScoutHarper is Claudia and her sister Meredith's new ETSY shop!). Right now the shop is stocked with gorgeous scarves and shawls handmade by Claudia and Meredith. They plan to add additional handmade and vintage items in the future!

Here is Baby chowing down (so she'll have plenty of energy for her wild shenanigans later on). You can be sure I'll share them with you in future posts.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Donn

A little visitor...

While sitting at the dining room table yesterday, I happened to glance toward the living room window where I spotted the brilliant red that can belong to only one bird here in New England...

I begged him to stay while I ran to get my camera, and he kindly obliged.

I love it when I spot one of these beauties. Cardinals were my mom's favorite birds, so I naturally think of her when one visits.

It's been a very strange winter here in New England as we've only had to shovel the walkway and end of the driveway once thus far. The lack of snow coupled with warmer than normal temperatures have made for quite a pleasant winter for this non-snow/cold lover.

However, we were hit with a mega snowstorm the week before Halloween, when the trees were still covered with leaves. The weight of the snow on the full foliage branches was just too much. In addition to losing major branches from multiple trees, we also lost entire trees in some cases, including a maple next to our driveway, an oak in the side yard, and yet another in the back yard.

This maple tree that sits in our front yard also lost some major branches, but it could have been so much worse. I'm thankful that it is still standing, providing a perfect spot for the cardinals to visit whenever they'd like. Happy February, everyone.... Donna