When the weather turns cooler, I find myself spending more time in the kitchen. Fall always puts me in the mood to cook and bake. Maybe it has something to do with harvest time. Last year this time I was busy canning tomatoes from the garden. This year, the crop wasn’t so hot and there’s…
Have you met Kathryn from The Dedicated House? She’s my Button Swap partner for the month of September, which is a fun get-together for bloggers to hook up. The button swap is hosted by Ethereal Plus What I Love. The idea is to get to know your button swap partner and give ’em some blog…
This past weekend my daughter and I ran the Fox Valley Half Marathon, which means I’ve been a little too tired to think about decorating and taking photos. So I poked around my folders and found a slew of old house pictures that I never posted! How did that happen? So without further adieu, here…
This past Wednesday I had the pleasure of going to my boss’ lake house in Wisconsin. Every year he appoints one week where groups of employees go to his lake house for the day. Did I mention we get paid for this day of boating and leisure? It’s true! I work as marketing communications manager…
My blog is dedicated to both Town and Country living, but it dawned on me I haven’t posted anything country as of late … other than country decorating. So this post is dedicated to country scenes not too far from my house. I love my old home in the center of town, but I’d love…
Although Autumn is my favorite season, I hate letting go of Summer, so the arrival of Fall is bittersweet for me. Fall brings with it a rich range of colors but I thought for the end of summer, a neutral tablescape would be the perfect choice. I started with a strip of dropcloth and added…
A couple months ago I had every intention of offering a giveaway for my 100th post. Well, my 100th post came and went. So now, a few blog posts beyond 100 I’m giving away 2 French style boxes. The first box is this little cream number that I just finished altering. It measures about 6.5″…
This weekend marks the third time this year that I’ve painted the bathroom. And I’m happy to say I think I finally found the right color and the right touches. Still a few more tweaks to be made but I think I’m on the right track now. Took long enough! Here’s my beloved claw foot…
For the longest time I’ve been looking for a full length mirror to put in the bedroom. I either see a gorgeous mirror with a price tag I don’t like, or I see the right price but the mirror is just so-so. I didn’t want to settle. I didn’t have to. I found the oval…
If you follow my blog, you know I like to take exterior photos of historic homes in the area and give ya’ll a tour. Recently I found that one of those historic homes in Geneva is now up for sale and I was able to grab some interior photos (source of photo if not mine…
Little burlap bags can be used for so many things like party favors filled with trinkets or candy, or used as a gift bag to hold a gift card, jewelry, or money. For today’s tutorial, I’m showing how to make small, decorative bags. Once you make the basic bag, you can embellish it however you…
I love pretty boxes! They usually hold pretty things. I have some “new” boxes in my possession. Some of the boxes shown in this post are mine, and some are part of a package that I won at Rhonda’s giveaway at A Little Bit French. I’ll show you the little boxes Rhonda made, first. They’re…
This past week I found not one, but two $5 dressers at the local Thrift Saver. They’re not glamorous. Just simple, utilitarian dressers that get the job done. I was looking for one long dresser but when I spied two of ’em, I figured they’d work just fine. Here’s the after photo … Both dressers…
Lately I’m becoming more and more drawn to anything made with book pages! Within minutes the words on a book’s page take you to another place and time. The musty smell of an old book with an elegant cover is a sensory pleasure I’ll always treasure. And when you’re done with a book, you can…
Today I’m co-hosting Katherine’s Corner blog hop! She has a wonderful blog and each week has a different co-host joining her for Favorite Things Thursday. Be sure to link up one of your favorite blog posts below and then visit others to find out some of their faves! You’ve probably got lots of favorite things in your…
This rusty bucket has been hanging around my front porch forever. I can’t remember where exactly I got this, but I’m pretty sure I either picked it off a garbage pile fore free or grabbed it at a garage sale for just a buck or two. Anywho … it’s time this bucket started earning its…
