White houses can be clean and modern, shabby and charming, stately and elegant, or classic and traditional. So here’s a salute to the All-American dream, the pride and joy of a well-loved home. All homes were photographed in Geneva, Illinois, where I spent the first 25 years of my life. Unfortunately, I didn’t grow up…
In addition to bottles, I’ve got a fetish for boxes. Small boxes, big boxes. Square boxes, butterfly-shaped boxes. It doesn’t matter. The plainer the better so I can transform them into something pretty. Here’s my latest decoupage project … Choosing decorative paper and figuring how you’ll use it is always the fun part. There are…
For the most part, our dining room has been complete for the last few months, with the exception of some minor details … like stuff to hang on the walls. But after a few shopping trips I feel like the dirty deed is finally done. Here’s the dining room the way she looks today ……
Lately I’ve been lovin’ bottles. I seek them out in boutiques. I search for them in flea markets. I hunt for them in the little dump in a hidden location at the forest preserve down the street from my house. I can’t get enough! My hope is to alter enough of them in a pretty…
My house is old. Circa 1875. Which means it has a little bit of charm coupled with quirks and oddities. It makes weird noises. Door frames and floors aren’t always straight. The layout doesn’t flow like today’s homes. But I have wide baseboards, divided windows, claw foot tubs, and solid wood doors. You gotta take…
My last trip to Goodwill resulted in a couple of finds that I knew could be transformed. The first project I shared was a little cherub for the wall, which you can see here. The second project is a little crock I transformed into a kitchen utensil holder, with a bit of French flair. I’m…
Shopping the Goodwill store is hit or miss, and in our area, it seems like there are more misses than hits. I think I still have a complex from my mother though, who would never be caught dead in Goodwill. “What do I want with someone else’s junk?” is what she would always say. She…
Several years ago I purchased an Ikea cabinet to house my computer. The pieces came in a box with illustrative assembly instructions (no text – just pics). I’m proud to say I put this cabinet together all by myself. Although the wood grain was pretty, I decided to paint and embellish it. This is the…
Have you heard of Trash the Dress? Apparently this is a new phenom where brides have a photo shoot of mucking up their wedding dress … after the wedding of course. My daughter Bridget trashed her dress in the city of Chicago last year after her October country wedding. (She didn’t really trash her dress…
A recent trip to Hobby Lobby didn’t result in getting what I went there for (drawer pulls – do they even carry these?). Instead, I saw some plain yet adorable paper mache butterfly boxes and knew just what I wanted to do with them. I was tired of walking around the store looking for the…
Normally I don’t put together a post for a specific linking party (mainly because I don’t have time to customize posts and I’m simply too forgetful), but today I found out Donna at Funky Junk Interiors has a giveaway for Folk Magazine and one of the ways to win is to submit a post about…
A little over a week ago my hubby and I took a little jaunt over to Sycamore to take a walk in the historic district. I took too many pictures to share in one post, so this is part two of some beautiful homes in the Land of Lincoln. (You can view the first post…
“Butterflies are self-propelled flowers.” ~ R.H. Heinlein Two things I’m lovin’ these days … French Script … and Butterflies! So when I saw a beautiful French script butterfly wreath in one of my fave stores, I really wanted to buy it. But at $36 and some change, I just couldn’t bring myself to open…
Summer is a great time to think about sprucing up your front door. I love cruising around local neighborhoods for inspiration. What’s not to love about this little porch with its pink flowers and bright green mailbox? Little blue birds highlight the yellow, iron archway framing the entrance. I love a blue door with an…
Savannah, Georgia has some of the most amazing residential architecture in the United States, so beautiful that General Sherman didn’t have the heart to burn it down during the Civil War. Travel quite a bit north to a cozy, Yankee town just 60 miles west of the heart of Chicago, whose gracious homes remind me…
Tonight was my first visit to the Na-Da Farm Barn Sale, and it did not disappoint. A few fellow bloggers were setting up booths at this market and I was especially looking forward to meeting them in person. All the wonderful eye candy and trinkets for sale were simply the frosting on the cake. Located…
