Decorating Inspirations: Bathrooms

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but we have a really, really small bathroom. It's actually the smallest bathroom I've ever had. And there isn't a lot that can be done to make the space bigger, but I do have some ideas for adding more storage space--I just have to convince Jim that they're good ideas!

When Jim and I were staying at the Gastonian for our wedding, there was a fireplace by the bath tub. It was soooo romantic to soak in the tub with a fire burning in the fireplace. So, this bathroom would rank up there pretty high with me, because it has both a fireplace and a claw foot tub.

I love that the bedroom and bath tub are in the same room. There's just something really romantic about bathing in your bedroom. Plus, all the soft chairs... Pure luxury, done very simply with the painted plank wood floors. Again...LOVE the claw foot tub!

What can I say? I think this is one of the prettiest bathroom vanities I've ever seen. 

Another claw foot tub, but I like how this bathroom has a separate shower. And is it just me, or does it look like the tub is placed up against a fireplace. I'm not sure I like that so much, but I do like the rustic feel of the room with the contrasting chandelier. 

When I saw this picture, I fell in love with the bathroom door. I've never seen a bathroom door with windows in it, but I can see how it would let in a lot of light, and since the windows are up at the top, there really isn't a privacy issue.

In case you haven't noticed, I like bathrooms with claw foot tubs. I also like white bathrooms that are very romantic. I would love to have a bathroom that was large enough to have a chair in it.

This vanity has double sinks with great faucets and a ton of storage... When you live in a little house with limited storage, you start to obsess about having tons of storage!

Okay... I could never see Jim using this bathroom, especially since it has pink walls.  I personally love it, and if I wasn't married and was living all by myself, I wouldn't have any problem at all having a pink bathroom. Of course I am married and completely in love with my husband so that won't ever happen. However, the real reason I love this bathroom is because of that mirror. Isn't it GORGEOUS????

Another simply decorated bathroom with a claw foot tub... sighh....someday. 

This bathroom has an idea that I think would work well in my bathroom. See the shelfing unit built into the wall. I really think we could take advantage of the walls in our bathroom to make more storage space just like they did in this bathroom.

LOVE LOVE LOVE...  Nothing else needs to be said.

So those are my inspirations for bathrooms... None of them would work in our little house unless we were to add onto the house, and Jim doesn't think that's a great idea. So, I'll just have to dream about these bathrooms. 

Please leave a comment!  I love having conversations with all of you!

Toodles!

He Agreed!!!

I'm sure you know how badly I have wanted to banish the dated, throw-back from the '80s, oak cabinets in our kitchen. You saw my latest Kitchen Inspiration post, and most of the kitchens that inspire me are white. I love white kitchen cabinets, and I've lamented over and over about how Jim would never let me paint the oak.

Getting into Spring

Spring is here...well, kind of...you couldn't tell it by looking out my window. We've had freezing rain and snow for the past couple days. But I'm not letting that bother me. I've been doing a lot of spring things...well, not a lot, only one really, and really that one thing isn't even just a spring thing.  I've been shopping with my mom. I love spending time with my mom, and now she's helping me plan the reception celebration we're having late May. I cannot even begin to tell you how much it means to me that she's helping.

We've been finding all kinds of treasures. I found twelve, count them, one, two, three... okay, don't count them, just trust me. I found twelve tall candle holders that I'm going to use as decorations for the party. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to paint them, because they're black. But they are wrought iron, so I'm kind of torn. I'd like to make them look shabby and old... I imagine them a creamy white with a bit of rust showing through...  We'll see.

I also found one of those mirror jewelry boxes. I was so exited! I've wanted one of these forever, but I've never found one that didn't have something chipped or broken on it... That might have something to do with the fact that I always looked at the m at TJ Maxx, and you know that they've been picked up, touched, put down, bumped, and basically not treated carefully there. But I did find one there that I think was just put out, because there weren't even any fingerprints on it!  Now it has a place of honor on my dresser!

It's always fun shopping with Mom. Even though we have a lot of the same tastes in things, we don't follow each other around the stores. Instead we go off in our own directions and then meet up periodically and when we're done to compare the deals and treasures we've found. Sometimes we'll put things in our carts that we think the other might like. There's no pressure when we do that...I mean we don't get upset if the other person decides they don't want it.

Do you know what the best thing about shopping with my mom is? It's not finding treasures, although I will admit that is a lot of fun.  No, it's simply getting to spend time with my mom. It's great, because we usually make a day out of it, starting with breakfast and ending with tea somewhere. It's always pleasant. Spending time with her is definitely one of the great blessings in my life.

Please comment!  I love having conversations with all of you!

Toodles!

Decorating Inspirations: Living Rooms

The calendar says it's spring, but Mother Nature hasn't figure it out yet...at least not here in Michigan. We actually had a winter storm this week--a winter storm with freezing rain, snow, and thunder and lightening! But even though the weather isn't showing any lasting signs of spring, I'm getting spring fever.  I want to freshen up my living room and make it feel more like spring.

So here are my inspirations for how I would decorate the living room if I could. Many of them won't work in our small house...And, I convinced Jim to paint the living room a cozy brown color a couple years ago...There's no way he'll go for painting it again. So these will have to be inspirations for sometime in the future. But I can dream!

This has got to be one of my favorite living rooms. I would love to have my living room look like this. I love the chandelier, the slip covered sofa, the flowers... It's so French and romantic.  Of course, I have a hard time imagining Jim in this room, as it is ultra-feminine

We don't have a fireplace, but I love the curve of this one. I also love the way the mantel is decorated. You can tell by the reflection of the crown molding in the mirror that the whole room is probably lovely. Surprisingly, I could see Jim in this room, but that might be because the furniture isn't really displayed and I can imagine furniture that would suit him better in this room.

Ever since Jim and I experienced the romantic warmth of a fireplace when we got married, I've been obsessed with them. We don't have a fireplace in our house now, but someday we will have one, and who knows, maybe we'll have more than one!

Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a staircase like this one in your living room? I love the slip covered furniture, and I think that's something that I probably can incorporate in my current living room. We have dark furniture, and I think some white slip covers would really give the room a fresh look.

Another lovely fireplace. Don't you just love the mirrors displayed in front of mirrors on the mantle? It really makes the room look larger. And of course, I love all the flowers in all the different containers. 

I love this cabinet. I can imagine all the wonderful treasures I could store in it. And the color is wonderful. I'm finding that I'm really drawn to green colors right now, and this cabinet is such a lovely shade of green.

More slip covers! There is no way I could possibly keep this room looking clean in my house... With a sweet little Pomeranian and a large chocolate colored cat, both of which are always on the furniture...ummm, no I don't think so, but this room is sooooo fresh and clean looking.  I love it!

I love, love, love the dark wood floors in this room. The contrast between the floors and the furnishing is to die for!  The furniture is arranged a little too formally for me, but I think the overall look of the room is so cozy. One thing does bug me about this room though, and that's the placement of that palm tree. How do they use that French door with it in the way?

It's true.  I love armoires--especially white antique ones.  I've never seen one with drawers in the bottom like this one, but I could see this one replacing the book shelves in my living room. I'd keep the doors wide open most of the time, but if I wanted to make the living room look less cluttered, the doors could easily be shut.

Check out the windows and ceiling in this room. This looks like a renovated mid-century modern house. This room just feels so open, and I love that. That's another reason why I want to get rid of the blinds in my living room, but that's another post, and no, I still haven't picked out drapes yet!

I think this love seat is the most darling love seat. The cushions look so soft. But the real reason I love this room is the shelf that extends from the corner over the the fireplace. And of course, the paneling...I'm not usually a fan of paneling, but this paneling is really well done. I know the walls are white in this room, but they read a little green to me and that might be another reason why I like them so much.

Look!  They used real shutters as window treatments! I think that is such a unique idea. No curtains, just clean lines that really gives the room a cottage feel. I think the sofa and chair a slip covered too. And I really like the lamp shades. That's another change I can make in my living room. I want to get new lamp shades for our lamps. 

So there you have it.  These are just a few of the pictures that are inspiring me to change things in our living room.  What do you think? Do you see any other ideas I might be able to use in our living room to freshen it up and make it feel lighter and brighter and more like spring?

Please feel free to comment!  I love having conversations with all of you!

Toodles!

P.S. If you know the source of any of these pictures, please let me know so I can give proper credit.  Also, feel free to hit that follow button!

"Give this to my daddy"... This one will touch your heart

I didn't write this...  I didn't experience it, but it moved me and touched my heart all the same...  This was shared by Paul Moorehead Jr. and he has created a Facebook event, which is detailed at the end. I tried to provide a link, but it would only link back to my Facebook profile... Sorry, but maybe you can find it, and if not, maybe you'll participate without finding it. 


Please give this to my Daddy


Last week I was in Atlanta , Georgia attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed One of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen.

Moving thru the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camos. As they began heading to their gate, everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering. 

When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and Cheered for, it hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red-blooded American who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families.

Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work and home without fear or reprisal.

Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our Service men and women, a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old ran up to one of the male soldiers. He kneeled down and said 'hi...'

The little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her...

The young soldier, who didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her daddy. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek.

The mother of the little girl, who said her daughter's name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Marine and had been in Iraq for 11 months now. As the mom was explaining how much her daughter Courtney missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up.

When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second... Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military-looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it..

After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, 'I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you.' He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying 'your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon.'

The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet, he saluted Courtney and her mom. I was standing no more than 6 feet away from this entire event.

As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of selflessness turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek.

We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be an American.

RED FRIDAYS ----- Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the 'silent majority'. We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers.

Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday - and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that.. Every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will wear something red.

By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers.

If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family. It will not be long before the USA is covered in RED.

The first thing a soldier says when asked 'What can we do to make things better for you?' is.....We need your support and your prayers.

Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example.

Losing Weight Update

Well, I've been working on losing weight for a month now, and I'm really pleased with the results.  I'm down eight pounds from my highest weight and five pounds down from where I was when I started four weeks ago! Whooohooo!

I started out using Shape.com's Virtual Trainer, but last weekend the Virtual Trainer was down the whole weekend! I started really reading their forum, and it turns out their program is down quite a bit. One person even said it was down for eight days one time, and from the looks of the complaints, it appears to go down about every three to four weeks. I'm sorry, that's just not reliable enough for me.

NOT my stomach!

When I whined to Jim about it being down, he simply said, "You get what you pay for." And you know what, he's right. Not that anyone from Shape.com was listening to complaints anyway, but even if they were, I couldn't really complain, because I wasn't paying for the service.

After finding out about the instability of the Shape's program, I was pretty frustrated. I decided right then that I need to find another site, and I think I've found it. It's called MyFoodDiary.com.  Right now I'm on my free week trial, but after that, it will cost $9 per month. It's less than Weight Watchers. Four days into it, I'm really liking it. The only real complaint I have is that it doesn't give me a report that shows the average calories I've consumed for the week.

Worth ever calorie today!

Today, I went a little crazy and split a piece of Lemon Cream Cake at Olive Garden.  It was soooo good and completely worth every single one of those 310 calories!

Don't forget to leave a comment!  I love hearing from you... So much easier to have a conversation when there's more than one person doing the talking!  Oh! And don't forget to follow me!

Decorating Inspirations: Bedrooms

We have a super small bedroom with huge furniture. Jim bought the furniture for the last place he was living that had a much larger bedroom, but we've managed to make the furniture fit and not look too cramped. Still, I wish for a bigger bedroom...

The reason I downloaded this pictures, was because of they used a china cabinet with a hutch in the bedroom. I just thought it was so unique and creative. I have a huge china cabinet in storage that could easily be painted a soft white and distressed... Of course, that would be for a future bedroom. It won't fit now!

Look at how HUGE this bedroom is!!! It has several sitting areas, and lots windows and a fireplace. Not thrilled with the light fixture, but I do like the high, vaulted ceilings. Again...an idea for the next bedroom if we build.

Nothing says romance like a canopy bed draped in gauzy fabric. We had a canopy bed in our room at the Gastonian when we got married. I would love a bed like this.

Love this mirror and the way it just leans against the wall. I have a mirror that is very ornate with a white crackle finish, but it is too short to lean against the wall. If I do, I can't see my whole body, which is hard to do considering that I'm only 5 feet tall!

I fell in love with the bedspread in this one. I also love the color. It's not white, which would actually work better for us, because we let Tia and Jasper up on our bed. I know...there are people who don't like pets in their beds, but we do. I also love the way the throw is just thrown on the bed and not neatly folded. It looks so inviting, like you can just curl up and pull the throw over you.

The French doors drew me to this one. I also like the bench at the foot of the bed. I keep going back and forth about the walls, but I do think they're cool. I just don't know if I'd like them in my room.

Brick walls are so sexy! I love the juxtaposition of the romantic, soft, white bed against the rough, hard brick wall. Again, do you see they've just thrown that pink throw on the bed...sooooo inviting!

Call me crazy, amid all the white beds that I love, I like this one too! The dark wood against the wait board and batten just looks right. I'm not thrilled with the little table in front of the bed. The color of it is wrong, and I think a nice padded bench would work better. Oh! notice how high the wainscot is? LOVE it!

I think this is from Kim's master bedroom at My Domestic Bliss

I think every woman needs a chaise. I've never had one, but there was one in our room at the Gastonian that was soooo nice. I just wish it had had a little table next to it like this one does. Oh well...someday...

This one is definitely Kim's bedroom from My Domestic Bliss

I like the colors in this room. I've really been getting into the soft greens lately. And look at the creative way they made a headboard. It's not actually a headboard at all, but trimmed out bead board. So crisp looking. Of course, I love the white comforter, but I tried a white one in my apartment, and it did NOT stay white, so that's out of the question. 

I like the mirrors they placed over the night stands in this picture. I think it would make the room look a lot larger. I can't help but think that they don't really use this room though, because the night stands are so far away from the bed. You would practically have to get out of bed to reach a glass of water in the middle of the night.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this headboard. It's the only reason I downloaded this picture. I would die to have that headboard... I'm not sure if Jim would go for it, but it is soooo gorgeous. I want it!!!

Look at how romantic all of this looks together. Gauzy curtains, beautiful chandelier, antique armoire, and an old window...and everything is white... pure romance. 

Here's the mirror I think I need to go with that headboard that I love! I'm a sucker for mirrors leaned against the wall...I'm not quite sure why, but I think they're cool.

Okay... Remember the first large bedroom I showed you? Well, I like this one even better. I think i would have French doors going out onto a patio, but this might be on a second story. And look! TWO chandeliers. I'd probably move the table under the far one. Otherwise, Jim would probably bump his head on it. I could see us having our morning coffee there though. I love the cozy chairs by the fireplace. We had two fireplaces in our room at the Gastonian, and it was soooo romantic. Oh, and cute dogs too! Do you see them in the chair next to the fireplace?

Another canopy bed. I love the detail of this one. Wouldn't it be wonderful that the headboard I love had a canopy.  But this one is very nice too. I love white beds. I was going to paint the bed I had in my apartment, but never got around to it... I still have it, so who knows, maybe someday I will.

So there are my bedroom inspiration pictures.  Aren't they lovely?  As always, if you know where the pictures came from, let me know so I can give them proper credit. 

Don't forget to leave a comment and follow me!  I love hearing from you!!

P.S.  I found the credit for one of these bedrooms and have add it. Yeay for finding one!!!

Link Party

I joined a link party over at the Shabby Chic Cottage.  You can join it too!  Here's the link.

Decorating Inspirations: Kitchens

One thing that I am notorious for is downloading and saving pictures of rooms that I think are beautiful--rooms that I would love to recreate the look of in my own home--but then when I want to share them with all of you, I can't remember the source. How do all of you keep track of where you find pictures?

I really LOVE these rooms! They appeal to my romantic nature. I could easily see myself living in these rooms. So I thought I'd share one room at a time with you, because I have sooooo many inspirational pictures to share.

As you might have guessed, I'm starting in the kitchen. After all, it IS the heart of the home.  I've shared pictures of my dream kitchen here.  But here are some other pictures that have me inspired for our kitchen.

I saved this picture, because that refrigerator is like ours, and I like how it's built in. Unfortunately, there is a cold air return above the place where I want to move our refrigerator, so we wouldn't be able to build the cabinets above it, but I think having the refrigerator built in gives the kitchen a more finished look. What do you think?

I love the counter tops in this kitchen. They just seem so warm and welcoming. I also love the glass cupboard doors, but I know my kitchen cupboards would never look that tidy!

See that wall on the right side of this picture?  That's how I would like to do our walls. I don't want a standard  chair rail. I want the beadboard to go further up the wall.

You'll never guess what it is I love about this picture. It's the plate racks that are on the windows! The moment I saw them, I thought, "what a neat idea!"

I love the table/island in this picture! It's so large and I think it has drawers in it too.  I also love the chairs.  I would die to have something like that in my kitchen, some place where we could sit and visit in the morning. I could see Jim with his coffee and morning paper sitting in the chair to the left.

What can I say? I love apron sinks, and this kitchen has TWO side by side! I also like that the sink is bumped out a bit, which gives a little storage behind the faucets. (Love the faucets too!)

Okay, this one is just beautiful I love how clean it looks, but yet it still has that cluttered look that makes it look like it is lived in. White kitchens just turn me on. haha!

I saved this one because I liked the idea of adding cabinets for storage above the door. We have a door that goes into the laundry/utility/mud room, and we're also short on storage, so this idea seemed like a really good one.

I love this faucet, although with my lupus, the knobs would not be a good choice for me. When I have a flare, it would be really hard for me to turn those knobs. I also like the back splash, although, I will admit that the thing that caught my eye first was the white pitcher with the pink flowers!

I've mentioned several times that we're short on storage space, so I really liked the shelf they installed across the window in this picture.  I also love that country sink! It looks like it has draining trays on both sides, which would work well for me and Jim, because he's left handed and I'm right handed. We do the dishes opposite from how the other does them. I do them right to left, and he does them left to right. Oh! and check out that chandelier! Can you imagine anything more romantic in a kitchen?

The pantry door caught my eye on this one. It just adds so much country charm. I also like the punch of color that it adds.

I fell for the little shelves in this kitchen. I've been watching Craigslist for some brackets that I could paint to look like those, but so far I haven't had any luck.

This is a close up of those shelves. See how cute those brackets are? I found some similar to them on eBay, but they were way too expensive.

So those are my inspiration pictures. As you can see there are things in each of them that appeal to me. Some of the things I think I could make work in my kitchen, others are just dreams for sometime in the future when we have a larger home.

As always, if you know where I found these pictures, please let me know so I can give proper credit and links to the source.

I love comments, so please share your thoughts!!!