~ Re-Painted Breakfast Nook ~

Hello friends!....in my last post I mentioned that we also re-painted our breakfast nook and I wanted to show you the before and afters, but first I gotta say that I know vertical blinds are a no-no and I am going to get a drapery panel. I've found the one I want at Country Curtains and it will hang from rings behind the valance and will be able to slide to the right just like the blinds. The only time the blinds are closed is overnight, the good thing about them is in the morning (that sliding glass door faces east) I can keep most of the hot sun out and just open them a wee bit for light, with the drapery it will be all or nothing, oh well!....now for the pics.

BEFORE: it was a dark taupe up top and sort of a candy apple red down below and it just never wowed me.

AFTER: so now it is Lenox Tan up top (same as the dining room) and Cottage Red (also Benjamin Moore historical) down below....the new red is a darker more country red, not sure if you can tell the difference in the picture or not but it looks way better to me in person!....I am standing at the kitchen sink taking this picture, that is bar countertop you are seeing in the foreground.

Here are a few more pictures of the breakfast nook:

My most primitive piece is this old stepback cupboard.

The drysink is really old too, probably 1800's.

I'd love to know the age of these chairs....I bought the table in one antique shop and the chairs in another....I found out that the table was common in the twenties and thirties but these chairs are so interesting to me and I know nothing about them, they seem really old.

I'm taking this next picture from the family room....the kitchen is painted taupe and I think it works nicely with the new tan, I just didn't want everything the exact same color....and the little hallway, as we call it, is the same sage green as the family room, there's two bedrooms and a bathroom on that side of the house.

Now here's a real hoot!....this is what the breakfast nook looked like when I was into cottage....quite a difference isn't it, ha!

Ah now this is much better:

Ok that's it for now....have a lovely Monday and a great week!

~ Painted The Dining Room ~

We spent our long holiday weekend last week painting the dining room and breakfast nook. I've got the dining room put back together and wanted to share some pics. It was olive green before and I wanted to neutralize it but dang I liked the green better ::::sigh:::: I'm going to have to live with it like this for quite awhile because it's just so much work moving everything. Here are some before and afters:

The black and creme toile goes with anything in my opinion. I have a small collection of plates above the doorway that matches the sheers, it's not primitive but I still like it.

I have been in such a funk lately that I haven't felt up to being cheerful and visiting all of your blogs like I normally do. I was feeling down before Michael Jackson died and then that really threw me for a loop, I feel like I lost a member of my family, silly I guess, but true. I was hoping that doing some redecorating might help and it did help a bit, I just wish I liked it better than before. The breakfast nook we painted the same tan on top, I wanted to tie both eating areas in together, I'll post pics of that in a few days. Oh and this was the first time we used Benjamin Moore paint, and boy is it ever nice to work with, it dries nicer too and the tape comes off easier and everything, I'm sold! This tan is called Lenox Tan in the Historical colors catagory.

That's all for today, have a lovely weekend!

~ Music and Michael Jackson ~

What a gift it is to have the ability to touch the souls of people all around the globe. Michael Jackson's music will live on forever. I have spent the last week and a half listening to every single CD and watching every music video that I own of MJ's, and I have them all!

Today's service was so very moving, I have been in tears for most of the day but when his little girl spoke at the very end that did me in....I lost my Dad when I was just four.

I have always felt a deep connection to MJ....born the same year, grew up in Southern California, raised in the same religion (Jehovah's Witness) which does not allow the celebration of birthdays, Easter, Christmas, many of the things most people remember fondly from their childhoods....so I feel that I had that in common with him. I left that religion when I was seventeen. Our youngest son is named Michael because, in part, of Michael Jackson. I grew up loving the Jackson 5 and Michael was always my favorite because we were the same age. His music and dance has touched my soul for as long as I can remember....and always will.

May he rest in peace.

~ R.I.P. MJ ~

I am very saddened by the loss of Michael Jackson. He brought so much joy to hundreds of millions of people all around the world, myself included. I never believed for one second that any of the allegations that were made against him were anything other than extortion schemes, something he did not deserve in any way. He was a kind and gentle soul, a musical genius. He has always been and will always be, one of my most favorite people ever, and I will miss him very much. May he finally have peace.

~ Erma Bombeck ~

Remember Erma Bombeck?....she was one of the funniest writers ever!....I have been feeling down lately so I've been re-reading some affirmations that I have saved, trying to lift my spirits, and wanted to share this one:

If I had my life to live over
by Erma Bombeck

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television - and more while watching life.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."

There would have been more "I love yous".. more "I'm sorrys"... but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it... live it...and never give it back.

~ In memory of Erma Bombeck ~