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…
After decoupaging my kitchen stools, I had a little bit of leftover black toile paper itchin’ to get pasted somewhere useful. I also had just a little bit of script paper leftover from the decoupage desk project. And well, there was my little ho-hum side table that was looking a little forlorn. I found it…
Every kitchen island needs a couple stools where friends can sit and hang out while you finish preparing morsels of tasty goodness. My kitchen island had no stools and I didn’t want to buy anything new. As luck would have it, I found two matching stools on two separate occasions at the local flea market….
Last week’s junket to the Kane County Flea Market resulted in a few treasured finds, but the least of my purchases resulted in a wonderful surprise. I was looking for something to go with this rusted, spiral piece that hubby found in the same dump as the bottles we’ve collected. It looks like a bed…
I don’t know why, but I think one of the best arrangements of art on a wall is a medley of mirrors. In my humble opinion, they don’t have to match. Pair a contemporary mirror with an antique mirror. Tuck a rustic mirror next to a gilded mirror. Color doesn’t matter either … white, blue,…
My oldest daughter Stephanie gets married next June. As we plan for her formal wedding at Hotel Baker in St. Charles, I find myself looking back to my youngest daughter Bridget’s wedding this past October. While Stephanie’s wedding is all glitz and glam, Bridget’s wedding was a DIY rustic wedding held on a farm. We…
Recently while shopping at two of my favorite boutiques, I discovered the most adorable flowers created with beautiful script tissue paper. One store priced them at $4.95 each while the other store was selling them for $6.50. I figured I could make something similar for far cheaper. This is my version. The ones in the…
