SPRING CLEANING AT THE LAKEHOUSE

Surprise!  I'm up at the lake!  It was a surprise to me, too.  I really thought it would be a little boring without all the summer furniture and toys out.  We have the boys coming up next weekend to help out, The Husband has a medical condition right now that keeps him from lifting anything heavy.  It was supposed to be a gorgeous weekend weather wise, so I packed a bag and jumped in the car.  

So, we've been here since Saturday.  You might remember that a bachelorette party took place here a few weeks ago.  My daughters had told me that the place was cleaned top to bottom before and after the party.  Well, it turned out, not so much after.  There were a ton of towels in the laundry room as well as the sheets from the beds and something sticky all over the floors.  I think by now you have realized that I'm a closet clean freak.  Give me a few old rags, paper towels and cleaning products and I can make a day of it.  Since I've been simplifying so much at home, I decided to do the same here.  I started with the counter above.  I had every appliance I owned on this counter including a food processor and smoothie blender that I used maybe once.  The dishes on the shelves are used everyday, the open shelves are pretty and functional.  But a little editing never hurts!

I really cleaned up this counter.  It was a catch~all for everything.  I tried to corral it all in baskets but it was crazy, so this area got a makeover.

I took down and washed ever piece if glassware, including the 10,000 wine and beer glasses the girls brought back from their winery tours.  If you want to have a party, this is the place to be!

And I tweaked the Hoosier cabinet, my favorite thing to play with.

The washing machine ran two days straight, I washed all the floors and cleaned the bathrooms.  The Husband tinkered with his new fishing boat, and wow, what a nice boat it is!  Once it's in the water I'll take a picture of it.  I know you are just dying to see it! ;-D

So, I woke up this morning thinking we were leaving and The Husband said, "Let's stay one more night."  Fine by me!  One thing I'm not doing is cleaning!  I may go up to the big farmstand where they sell flowers and make some pots.  I'm debating whether to do tomatoes this year.  I don't know what I'm doing wrong but I never seem to get more than one or two on a plant the past couple of years.  We'll see.

And that's all I have for you now.  I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend.  The Husband is out trimming the boxwood hedges right now and I'm so excited because I'm going to try to make a wreath with the clippings.  I better go grab a rake!

Joining Brenda at Cozy Little House for Tweak it Tuesday.

XO,

Jane 

LIVING ROOM & BATHROOM CHANGES

It's a gorgeous day in Chicago, 80 degrees and totally looking like summer!  And in Blondieville, things have calmed down considerably.  I've caught up on my sleep and I feel like I have my life back.  In fact, yesterday I was thinking, well, what I am I going to do now?  The wedding seemed to use up all my free time.  Thank you so much for your nice comments, I passed them on to Emily and she was thrilled.  

I did a lot of work around the house over the past few weeks, things I had wanted to do but thought, "I'll get around to it.".  And as usual, it starts with one little change, like  a new valance for the bathroom window.  This is a very small bathroom with a tiny sink and vanity and I wanted some surface space.  A trip was made to Home Depot where they cut a long piece of pine in half for me and I found wood brackets that fit.  I painted everything with the same paint used for my living room.  DIL, Mary Clare and I hung them last week, okay MC did 99% of the work, I just stared in awe at how good she was with a power drill!

I like the extra space it gives me.  I just arranged a few essentials, most that I already had.  The jars are from HomeGoods and the hand towels, Target.  The valance is from JC Penney.

I scored a whole basket of these old, old iron hooks at an antique store years ago.  I used most of them up at the lakehouse but found one left and thought it would be perfect here. 

You might remember me fussing and fussing with this long wall I have in my living room.  It finally came together last week as well.  For some of you it might have been as easy as 1-2-3, but for me it was battling with the perfect combination of balance, shape, color and space.  Foremost, I wanted a gallery space but it had to be in proportion with the size of the room and the furniture.  I found these ledges, or "floating shelves" at HomeGoods for $19.99 each.  Let me just say that they are a real test of patience to hang.  Good old Mary Clare and her drill came to the rescue again.   I needed something organic and colorful to go with the sofa...it was all looking very neutral and I found this prints at Art.com.  Anyway, I'm happy with it and after all the crazy agonizing I did over it, it's staying like this for a long time!

A little close up of the ledges.  I found all of my frames at HomeGoods.  I had gone through my photo files on my computer and had some printed up at Walgreens.com., but foolishly ordered them in 4X6.  Most frames are 5X7.  Lesson learned. 

And finally, I had to throw in a picture of my Granddog, Rusty, here with Emily.  He just wears himself out!  He runs around like mad for a half hour and then just collapses in a heap in a corner!

Abigail is leaving for Florida with a big group of kids on Saturday.  They are renting a house on the beach for a week of fun in the sun.  Oh, I'm envious!  It's going to be a little lonely without her.  She finished classes last week.  I have flowers to plant...oh, yes, the front yard was seeded, you can see me out there every morning in my jammies dragging the sprinkler around in the mud.  Grrrrrr....I'm just going to plant a few pots for the front porch and steps, and backyard patio, I have enough watering to do.  And then I'll do the same thing over again at the lakehouse.  Hopefully we will get up there soon, plans this weekend and we have to round up my sons and some of their hunky...I mean strong friends to help with setting out the patio furniture, cleaning the boats, getting out the wave runners and kayaks...ugh, so much to do!  The Husband has been totally dreaming and preparing for his big summer of fishing.  He has driven into Indiana several times to the Bass ProShop for all sorts of crazy fishing gear.  Son Jeff remarked to him the other day, "For someone who rarely catches a fish, you sure do have a lot of stuff"!  Too funny!

I'll see all of you later in the week!

I'm joining Sherry at No Minimalist Here for her Open House Party

XO,

Jane

EMILY'S WEDDING & A TRIBUTE TO MY SWEET MOTHER

Oh, ladies, my friends, I am so excited to write this post and bring you these pictures!  You have listened to me moan and groan and fret over this wedding and I have to say, it all came out and about so beyond my dreams.  But isn't that how it always is?  So without further ado...here are the pictures and a very tiny bit of narrative from me (!!!!).  Above...we kicked the day off with some mimosas...

And as promised, my very best friend in the whole world, Snow, brought breakfast casseroles, muffins and fruit and The Husband ran out and bought donuts and coffee.  These girls so appreciated it and ate, and ate, and ate!

We had two make up artists in the dining nook.  The first one did air brush foundation and base make up...

...and the second did all of the contouring eyeshadow, lashes and lip color.  All of the girls were so excited to get the lashes...they look so natural and  as you will see in the photos, you would never think!

Back in the family room, we had, Kim, hair person, extdrordinaire, here she is working on Megan, matron of honor.

Daughter Abigail had a gorgeous updo.

Here, some of the girls had put on their dresses and were sipping drinks.

You can't see her, but the bride had made her entrance and her friends flocked around her.

And here she is, getting help with her sash,

I could cry...she looked so beautiful...but you know, I cried when they first put her in my arms 25 years ago...she was just as beautiful and precious!

A trolley waited in front of the house for all of the ladies and Emily, and the photographer and I were able to get some great photos.  These girls are so special, not just to Emily, but me.  She not only went to grammar school with them, she attended an all girl high school, which I truly think promotes a special bond among girls.  Maybe that's why she had so many attendants...they were all so close to her heart.

Being the first to get married among her friends, this morning of celebration and joyfulness was truly new and wonderful for all of her bridesmaids and we all had such a spectacular time.  I was long over being a nervous wreck and I think the girls were way beyond Jane as being the basketball, soccer mom, volunteer lunch mom and sleep over crazy lady!!  We laughed and joked and fluffed and primped.  Some of then told me how they had always envied Em for having such a pretty mom and that just made me feel so good...for what it's worth.

So here we are, The Husband and true love of my life (isn't he handsome?), ready to head off to the church.  We were ready for the best part and giving  our daughter to the most special man that she could have ever found.  At this point in my post, I can only say that it was one of the most special days in my life.  I have to wait for the photographers pictures because I just could not bring my camera, I really wanted to "be in the moment" for this occasion, I know all of you understand.

And finally, I want to say Happy Mother's Day to all of you.  This is my mom in her high school graduation picture...St. Sabina High School in Chicago.  She was always   true beauty and she was full of grace.   I am one of seven children, one brother and five sisters  I can never fully comprehend how she did it all, but she did.  We started off in the city and then moved to the flat  prairies of Western Illinois where she said she sat at the kitchen table and looked out at nothing.  But our house was always crazy and full of activity.  I think that made it easier for me to raise 4 children.  When I think of  things she taught me, it was to be a lady,  dress nicely, eat with my mouth closed, wear good shoes and carry a nice purse (God knows she was obssessed with shoes and purses!), wear lipstick,and dress every morning like you were going out or expecting company.  She was absolutely beautiful and had the best sense of humor and laugh.  She loved her children and grandchildren and could change a diaper or heat a bottle like in 2 seconds flat.  She taught my sister and I the basics of motherhood, the rest, she let us explore for ourselves.  She was gone way too soon.  As with anyone you lose in your life, you mostly cry and grieve because you will never see them again.  It's still true for me although it's been 12 years.  Thankfully, I still hear her laugh, see her curled up in her favorite chair with a book and her coffee, doing crosswords at the kitchen table or playing yahtzee by herelf.  If she were still here, that coffee pot would be full and me and my sisters would all be hanging out there...it's so hard to know that you have it all by the tail until it's gone.  I love and miss you Mom...you are so loved on this very day and forever.

Much love to all of my sweet blogging ladies and my precious sisters and brother, as well, on this Mother's Day.

XO,

Jane

WEDDING BELLS ARE (ALMOST) RINGING!

Welcome to my fashion blog! lol!  Last night was the rehearsal and dinner for Emily's wedding.  The Husband and I ran late but I have a very small part, and The Husband, I think he and Emily need to practice walking down the aisle together, they weren't very solemn.  They should probably practice that father/daughter dance, too.  Speaking of that dance, we had a lot of fun choosing what song they would do it to.  We had almost decided on one that goes something like this:

That's my daughter in the water

Every time she jumped I caught her

Everything she knows I taught her

Everything she owns I bought her...

And so on.  She finally went with a sad, drippy song that is going to make my mascara run.

So here is the dress and jacket I wore that I mentioned.   The jacket was entirely too big which rarely happens to me (smile).  It was funny, there were about 10 other girls that had maxi dresses on as well.   

And I found exactly the shoes I wanted, navy T straps with a straw wedge.  Excuse my toes, pedi today.  

The dinner was wonderful.  It was held at a place called Bourbon Street, nearby.  The whole place is divided up into different New Orleans themed restaurants, bars, clubs and event rooms.  Our room was reminiscent of an old 1920's speakeasy.  And the food was outstanding!  The Husband and father of the groom made funny little speeches.  The Husband, who is a bit "old school", gave a warning to the guys in the wedding party that they could not take off their jackets or ties until after dinner, then they were free to take anything off.  This was met with a lot of high fives and fist knocking.  Anyway, it was a great night.  We were home by 10:00 and I learned via Facebook that the party went on into the wee hours.  I haven't seen hide nor hair of my children yet today.

And finally, what's a bride to do when her wedding is just three days off and her To Do list is a mile long?  Well, go buy a puppy!  Meet Rusty, Emily and Mike's new Boston terrier.  I have a grand-fur-baby!  He is SO cute.  He follows Emily all around and came over to play with Milo and Layla.  He wore Milo out and Layla is actually afraid of him!  Emily said he slept all cuddled up with them the first night, at 14 weeks old, this was his first time out of a cage since being separated from his mother and the litter.  How sad.  As much as I want to wring her neck for the timing, I am in love with this little creature.

I didn't bring my camera into the restaurant, my kids freak out the minute they see me with the camera since they know they will be on my blog and that really irritates them for some reason.  I forgot my phone so I borrowed my DIL Mary Clare's phone and took a ton of pictures for her to email me for this post.  Well, I think my sweet little girl was one of those dancing the night away last night and I haven't received them yet!  I will include some in my next post.

So tomorrow is the big day.  Today is being spent totally at home, scrubbing the bathrooms and going over all the other rooms, tweaking a few things here and there and making some appetizers for the guests coming back to the house after the church.  I'm making Loaded Baked Potato Dip, a marinated Italian antipasto kabob thingy with tortellini, mozzarella cheese balls, cherry tomatoes, salami and olives, and finally, white chocolate dipped strawberries.  I will give you all of these links in the very near future.  

Tomorrow I will be up at 5:00 just to have some peace and quiet before the rush.  The guys are getting ready at Emily and Mike's house and the girls here.  Starting at 9:00 a.m.,  we have 2 hairstylists and a makeup lady and we all have a scheduled times to get prettied up.  My best friend Snow volunteered to make and bring over breakfast casseroles and fresh fruit and The Husband is going to run out to get the big box of Dunkin Donuts coffee and some donuts.  And of course we will have some mimosas!  He exclaimed,"Before mass?".  Once an alter boy, always an alter boy!

I will see you before you know it! :)

XO,

Jane

PRIMPING THE HOUSE & YARD

I'm celebrating spring...I think it's finally come to the Midwest.  Well, I'm pretending anyway.  We have some sort of flowering bush next to our front steps and the fragrance is blowing in through the windows...I wish I could bottle it!  I have a busy weekend ahead of me, a busy week, so I'll dispense with the weather report, I think we can all agree that we're going directly from winter to summer!

First off, I received my area rug for the living room.  The dogs took to it right away, sniffing and rolling and stretching out on it.  Milo looks like a polar bear in a snowstorm!  You might remember the debacle I went through at the post office returning the wrong size.  Well, after a week I called LL Bean to see if they had received it yet (and did they credit my account) and I got some mumbo jumbo about it taking 3-4 weeks.  Well, let's just say that after I told them I really wanted the credit so I could order a larger rug...shazamm, I got an email and we were good to go.  Nothing against LL Bean, I love them and both times my rugs were delivered within 5 days.  And I love it...so soft and thick.

Now, to mix a little bad with the good, here is my front lawn thanks to our wonderful lawn service (this is turning into Consumer Reports).  Apparently we got some grubs last summer that slowly ate the grass and the lawn service did not treat it.  Actually, we thought we were in bad shape because of the drought, but they came out a few weeks ago and said the lawn was gone and they would rip it out and reseed it.  That's the last we heard from them.  We've had this service for almost 7 years and they are widely used in our neighborhood.  They just won't return our calls.

Last week I hired a nice, small company that is going to start the work Monday. Then we plan to send the bill to the old service.   It's obviously going to be a sore sight to see for awhile and it saddens me that we won't be able to get wedding pictures in front of the house, but the backyard is fine.  Anyway, I need this like a need a hole in my head.

My week actually wasn't that busy.  I went for another dress fitting Tuesday.  The seamstress, Maria, is incredible.  It was big in the neckline and shoulders and she just pulled that up and pinned it and the dress took on a whole new look.  I hate to jinx things but I think I actually saw a bit of my waist.  Shhhhh!  I've gone 3 weeks without sweets except some cookies yesterday for good behavior, so maybe I lost 1/16 of an inch.  I think I may have lost some of my boobs, too.  That's only because I got some new bras and the Gods do not want them to fit.  Anyway, I did a little here and there around the house all week and after a long day downtown yesterday, Abby met me and The Husband at a Mexican restaurant for dinner.  I'm working on her bedroom, too, as the bridesmaids will be using it for a dressing room.  She cleaned and organized (and found some birthday presents from 2 years ago) and I have a new dust ruffle, pillow shams and rugs to finish it up with. 

The rehearsal and  dinner is Wednesday night.  The dinner is actually at a more casual place than my son Kevin's was at.  I ordered this sundress from Gap and I'm going to wear a white jean jacket with it.  I was thinking of some straw wedges for shoes, hmmmmm...what do you think?  This dress will be great for the summer when we take little trips to small towns around the lake...it will go from day to night.  And it's navy, not black.

I had to throw this in, it's not as if you can read it, but it gives you an idea of the wedding party Emily and Mike have.  Yep, this whole page.  This is the church program.  16 bridesmaids and 16 groomsmen, 2 junior bridesmaids, 4 flower girls and 3 ring bearers. The Husband thinks Emily is nuts, I think she saw too many Disney movies!

I'm hoping to post after the rehearsal so that I don't have to mix that into a post with the wedding, which is Friday.  I hope I'm not boring all of you with this.  A week from now all in Blondie's world will be back to some sense of normalcy.  I hope.  

Have a great weekend! :)

XO,

Jane

BLOOMS, PROJECTS, A PARTY & MY SINGLE GIRL WEEKEND!

Hi everyone!  I hope all of you had a great weekend.  We had gorgeous weather here in Chicago and this week is going to be in the 70's, which is really weird for us at this time of year.  I'm definitely not complaining!  I picked up these pretty white tulips at the grocery store Saturday...couldn't resist, just $5.00 for the bunch.  I think I'm going to add some white to the garden bed along the fence that I showed you last week (and thanks for all the compliments!).  I smile every time I look out my windows.

The Husband packed it up and headed to the lake Saturday afternoon.  He told me he was going on a sabbatical, he told Emily he was going on a retreat and told Abby he was going there to get some sleep! lol!  I personally know that he has been nurturing his love affair with his new fishing boat.  I think I mentioned to you that the old boat he bought last spring was too small for our rough lake.  So he found another bigger used boat on Craig's List and he is happily toying with it up there right now.  He'll get home tonight, exhausted I'm sure.  

I, on the other hand, had what I called my single girl weekend!  Saturday I cleaned, grocery shopped and made a terrific jalapeno popper dip for the Bachelorette party #2 that night.  I'm going to give you the link to this dip next time...it was SO good!  While I was mixing and humming and dancing a little to some 90's music all alone in my house Saturday afternoon, I felt like I was twenty again!  I think we all need a little time alone once in awhile.  Outside my kitchen window I could see people walking dogs and kids playing ball in the street and I just couldn't help but think how good life can be!

And look!  I am tying up all my personal loose ends for the wedding.  Emily and I took a trip to the mall Friday and I found my shoes.  My dress has a silver broach at the waist so I thought silver shoes would compliment it.  And these are kitten heels so I won't break my neck.  I also found silver/crystal drop earrings and a purse. 

This picture came out sideways and I couldn't fix it, but I also found these jeans in a little shop and fell in love with them.  I am loving all of the bright colored jeans that I've been seeing this spring but I never thought I'd wear floral.  These were just subdued enough and I wore them to the party with a gray cardigan and black flats. 

The party was at Megan's house (the matron of honor), and it had a Mexican theme.  See the little sombreros hanging in the door?  We had salad, fajitas and rice, along with pitchers of margaritas.  We played some really hilarious games, too.  One was like Jeopardy, which pitted Mother In Law against Bride on who knew Mike the best.  I could feel a few feathers getting ruffled when we were playing that.  Another was how well we know Emily, I lost by one point to her best friend.  I couldn't guess her favorite cocktail.  I could tell you her favorite Gerber baby food when she was a baby but this stumped me!  We had a ball and she got even more gifts, these of a more personal nature...pretty nighties, soaps and lotions and candles.  She really has such a great group of family and friends.

Here's me and my girl at the party.  She's having problems with her contact lenses, but oh, this is just one thing in a long line of jinxes that have been happening to the poor thing.  A few weeks ago we were driving and we were rear ended by another car...just a slight tap and we were okay but she was so shook up.  Then, when we had the huge rains 2 weeks ago, they had some muck come up in the basement of their new house and though it was just a little bit and caused no damage, she was down there sanitizing everything for two days.  A few days later she walked outside to go to work and found she had a flat tire.  And then a few days ago, the real icing on the cake, the big diamond from her engagement ring fell out.  Luckily she found it under her desk, but her jeweler won't have it ready for her until two days before the wedding.  That's really pushing it.  She seems to be taking it all in stride, she has more energy than anyone I know.

My projects have dwindled down to almost nothing.  I had a few really eye popping pictures of our totally unorganized office that I tried to upload but they kept coming in upside down.  This is actually the cleanest corner.  The desk is stacked with Abby's school books and there is all sorts of craft stuff and odds and ends from Emily's interior design school days.  All mixed in with The Husband's work.  So this is what I'm working on today.  This is a really small room, in fact, it used to be a kitchen!  Our home was built in the 1930's and a few years later an addition was made that they called a "Mother In Laws Quarters".  It had/has 2 bedrooms, a bath, a kitchen and a living room with a small porch off one of the bedrooms.  The living room is our family room and of course, we didn't need another kitchen, so first that was a nursery, then play room and now an office.  It's a crazy little house we live in but sort of charming, too.

I roamed the backyard with the dogs and my coffee early this morning and discovered this lone tulip...I think it's called a stargazer (?).  Just all alone.

And the last of my daffodills which bloomed during the rain and I never got to cut and bring in.  I hope to get out this week and pick up some pansies for a big pot on my front porch...it's still too early to plant annuals here (even if I had the time).  

SO, I'm going to get on with my day and find out when The Husband is going to tear himself away from the lake.  I'm ready to make a nice big dinner, after my weekend as a single girl I found I really don't like cooking too much for myself so it was cereal for dinner last night!

Have a great week everyone! :)

XO,

Jane

WHAT'S BLOOMING AND HAPPENING

In spite of the rain and gloomy weather, my tulips decided to make an appearance this year.  This made me really happy because last year we had such a mild winter that I thought I had lost all of them.  What a pretty sight!

Further down from the tulips is my forsythia bush.  It's a monster.  I call this my Woodland Garden because of all the trees that shade it like a big canopy.  I have day lily's, astilbe, columbine and bleeding hearts in here...there's always something blooming from spring to fall.  Ignore my neighbor's garage, that tree on the right will block the view soon.

The forsythia branches have to come inside!  They last about 2 weeks.  Unfortunately you can't dry them, they just shed their petals, but they are so pretty while they last.  

As you know I had the kitchen painted along with the living room last month.  I had a very flowery wallpaper above these cabinets and everything up there just sort of disappeared in all the busyness.  I used to  keep my cake plates here because they're so hard to store anyway, but this time around I did a little different arrangement...some baskets, vintage bowls, a bee skep (this is the left side)...

...and a bit more on the right side. 

A couple of ladies asked me about the stove hood that they spotted when I posted pictures of the cookbook shelves, so this is a shot of it.  We had a carpenter do our whole kitchen, the cabinetry, trim, counters, electrical.  He even did the fireplace in the living room as well as the wainscoting.  So, he surprised us with this, I think the design on it is called a breadbasket.  It's also continued on the spice rack and trim around the kitchen window.  He really was a talented guy.

Once again I have odds and ends accumulating in the living room, ready to be pieced together.  Everything is here but for the area rug (it's on it's way!!), I just need The Husband to hang the floating shelves (same deal, just different shelves).  And I'm working slowly on the den and office, packing and purging.  I know I could get both rooms done in a day, but I have been having the worst allergies and asthma over the past two weeks.  There isn't a antihistamine I haven't tried.  I used Claritin on Sunday and I thought I would just lie down on my bed for an hour and I woke up 5 hours later and was still groggy.  If you have something good that you take for allergies, let me know.  With the asthma, I just get very winded and have to stop and sit for a few minutes when I'm doing something strenuous (like making a bed or carrying a box, I'm serious, it's a terrible thing to have).  I think it's from everything budding outside but I've never had a spring this bad before.  Sheet.

Rumor has it that The Husband is going to the lake to play with his new fishing boat.  I wish I had a diversion like that right now!  He really needs a break right now and after this wedding I'm going to lock up the house, grab the dogs and head to the lake where I'm not going to do anything but float on a raft and sip spiked lemonade!  But for now, I have to get out and find new shoes, a bra and a clutch purse.  I have a fitting appointment after I get the carpets cleaned tomorrow and then there is another party for Emily Saturday night, sort of a bachelorette party for all the ladies invited.  The stripper party last weekend was just for the bridesmaids! lol!  Sunday is going to be my day of rest.  I mean that. :)

Linking to Feathered Nest Friday at Courtney's

XO,

Jane