BACK TO LIFE .......... BACK TO REALITY !! ..........

Back from our jolly 'ole hols, it's back to the reality of the mundane things in life !! For the next few posts, I shall bore the pants off of you all with loads of photographs of our wonderful holiday in Tuscany.

We began in Viareggio, which is a lovely seaside town with a wonderful beach and a great base for travelling to much of the Tuscan countryside.

The lovely Michael of Spice of Life told me of a wonderful restaurant called La Chiesina, in Viareggio. On his recommendation, we went and had the most wonderful evening........... three times !! It is in what was a little church, has the most wonderful atmosphere and is packed to the rafters. Some had pizza, but I had the most delicious lobster ravioli, amongst other things. Michael is a great traveller and is a mine of information and such a lovely guy. Go over and see him and read about his travels. Thanks so much Michael for the brilliant suggestion of La Chiesina. We all loved it as much as you said we would.



Next, we explored the most beautiful and haunting town of Lucca. Everywhere that you look is a photo opportunity. I have spared you ALL of the hundreds that I took and have just given you a little taster !!

Shutters absolutely everywhere ..........

Iron verandas ..........

Street lamps galore ..........

Beautiful little architectural details ..........

Charming little alleyways ..........

Views to die for ..........

Balconies of flowers ..........

Tiny but beautiful little roof gardens ..........

Well, there is just a tiny taste of our holiday and you can be sure that you will be seeing some more over the coming posts !!!!

I shall be over to see you all just as soon as I've finished the ironing !!!!

Time for a Change

Except for the Mora clock, the room above has pretty much looked this way since the day we moved into our house almost ten years ago. I have grown tired of the darkness of the red, the abundance of accessories and the “woody” feel of the space. Thus, I have come to the conclusion it is time for a change.

My plan is to begin by adding a new wall color, lighter curtains – probably panels - and updated pillows. I want to remove some of the accessories to allow the room to breathe and add a fun rug for softness. My goal is to reuse most of the furnishings and some of accessories in order to keep costs to a minimum.

Here is a quick tour of the room as it looks today:

While our house was being built, my husband found the oak doors at a local antique shop. We quickly changed our plans to accommodate them in lieu of the standard pocket doors we had planned. (These obviously will stay.)

My grandmother had a terrific sense of style both in the way she dressed and how she decorated her home. The carved African heads were purchased by her on an African safari and the brass candle sticks (seen in the first picture above) came from a trip to Greece.

I also inherited her sewing box (above) which she had painted by Minnesota artist Enid Grindland in the traditional Norwegian style of Rosemaling. The plate between the windows (below) was a special Christmas present also created by the same artist. I consider both these pieces treasures as they belonged to my Grandmother and are part of my Norwegian heritage.

The furniture is a set – two chairs and a sofa - I refinished when my husband and I were first married. My in-laws had it in their basement but had no room for it in their house. I do not plan to have these pieces reupholstered as the fabric is still in great shape and the cost of this little room redo would skyrocket.

This quarter sawn oak table was found at a flea market my husband and I used to visit every Sunday when we were first married. It was one of those spur of the moment purchases which at the time was probably not very smart - we had little money, no real furniture, etc. – but turned out to be something I am so glad we did. Can you guess what it is?

An antique game table! It is such a fun piece and although we have not used it for its intended purpose since moving here (hard to move with so much other furniture in the way) we have played many a card game on it in previous houses. This too will stay.

On the “probably will be replaced at some point list” is the Bob Timberlake coffee table. I would like to find something more in keeping with the eclectic style and feeling of the rest of the room.

The skirted table will have a fabric change at the very least and most likely will be gone completely. (I never realized how much this fabric looks like my living room curtain fabric!)  I am thinking about a smaller more modern table to add a little twist to this room. (Let me know if you have any ideas.)

I like the size of the mirror and how it looks hanging above the game table but I am not so sure about the gold finish. This was an Ethan Allen floor sample so I am not opposed to painting it. I will have to wait on see on this idea until the rest of the room comes together.

So there you have it. My “red room” which I no longer want to be red! I will be heading to the paint store this week for the first step in this transformation.

I have not even begun to look at fabric for pillows and curtains, rugs or additional furnishings. I know this is probably not the best way to approach a room transformation - most designers will tell you to have a plan in place before you begin. I am just going to “wing it” and change things one at a time and see what develops! Sounds like fun doesn’t it?

It's not ALL about paint!

Sometimes paint just isn't the way to go...and yes, I know what I'm saying. Case in point: this chair (scroll to the end of the post). It has been restored to it's 1884 glory, and that's just as it should be.

"D" also had this amazing coffee table. Once again, I don't have a before picture--but the finish was faded and the varnish was peeling, and the whole thing was very wobbly and shaky.


Stripping and sanding this table was a nightmare! Look at all the amazing details on the legs and on the top edge.

I took the whole table apart so it could be re-glued. I finally found a use for the two boxes of copy paper I bought a couple of months ago--they made the perfect weights! I stained the table with Minwax Dark Walnut stain, and then I used Minwax hand-rubbed polyurethane for protection (I love that stuff).


I told "D" she is NEVER allowed to paint it! I love it just as it is. It still looks old, but it glows now.

Then she had another little table that belonged to her mother (no before picture here either ). The original finish was some yellowish-fake-wood-grain looking thing--I'm sure there's an actual name for that style, but I have no idea what it is! Then, because that was unattractive, it was painted white. The original wood was beautiful underneath.


I finished this table with a different product: Minwax Polyshades in antique walnut. Ugh. I don't care for it, and I wish I had stuck with the winning combination on the other table! However, the end result is still pretty.

The marble is original to the table, but it's not the "in" thing right now. I think we need to find a vintage-y covering for it now!

Tomatoes!

We enjoyed our first cherry tomato harvest over the weekend! It was a notable moment as the tomatoes got off to a rather slow start due our cool, rainy June.

Most of the heirloom varieties are still quite green. We're hoping that before the fall temperatures settle in, we'll get some more late hot summer days to help them ripen.

As you can see, I'm ripening as well. I'm a little over 23 weeks pregnant now and the babies are growing fast. I'm so excited to say that we've begun working on the nursery. Hubby finished all of the painting in the dining room (photos to soon follow) and has officially begun the painting projects for the nursery.

Once the painting is finished, everything should come together quite quickly as all the furniture and design plans are pretty much complete! Can't wait to share it with you!

Link Love No.21

Hi all! Shcool started for my two boys last week. This week my baby, the youngest will start kindergarten. Wow, all I can say is, "Really?!" I feel like she was born yesterday, now she is so eagar to put her backpack on and go out the door.

I will continue to be busy so, don't have time to be so sentimental. Although I felt a little sting in my heart, as I was packing their lunches. I thought about the day when they would be much older, independant, and not needing me anymore like they do now. (I know that is a good thing, but it is still hard.)

Will I be sad? Lonely? Maybe so, but I picture myself taking lots of classes, sewing more and who knows, I might be traveling more.

While I am going through this journey of mommyhood, taking the time to sew and doing blogging gives me the chance to be ME. And I know so many of you are that way too. It is great to see all of your creations at my link party. Thank you all for sharing a part of you!

There are many wonderful talents in this week's link party too, it wasn't easy to pick only a few posts, but here they are.

Creative Minde shared her Paper quilling. I always wanted to try this, and she made it look so easy and simple. Beautiful work!


Look at this adorable horse! It is made out of a sock, and Kleines Fräulein shares an easy to follow tutorial. This will make a nice gift for a little boy, or awesome party favor for birthday parties!


I loove those baby booties! Leafy Treetop Spot made very fashionable and cute booties. My favorite are the brown ones.


I have seen so many fabric flowers in the past, but I have never seen a fabric flower this pretty! Our daily chocolate created this beautiful flower and she is thinking about a tutorial in the future... please do so!


I wish I had this when my kids were younger, The Planner and the Procrastinator made this portable fabric high chair (with help of This Mama Makes Stuff). I bet this will make so many mothers' lives easier.


Thank you all for linking up. I sure appreciate them. I hope you all have a wonderful week!