CANDICE OLSON VISITS & MORE DECORATING NEWS

It's so good to be back!  Little did you all know, our internet crashed Wednesday night.  It was apparently due to our friendly little squirrels nibbling away at the cables outside.  We thought it was from the horrendous thunderstorms we had been having...flooding and water damage everywhere.  We definitely got our share of rain.  After a week of doom and gloom, it's sunny and beautiful out.  And I'm in a much better frame of mind since I last posted.  Thank you ladies, for all of your support.  Decorating should be fun and we have moved on to Plan B.  More on that later.

I busied myself with what I could accomplish in the meantime.  Remember those dried hydrangeas I found on eBay?  They came all the way from Seattle so I thought they deserved something nicer than a simple vase.  I dug through my baskets and containers and found this guy...I think it's from Wisteria, it came in a set of three.  I filled it with moss from Michael's and poked the dried flowers in it.    I think these are the prettiest hydrangeas I've ever found on eBay and you can't beat $7.50 for a nice sized bunch!

I found this basket, too, and put it to use holding pop and bottled water that doesn't fit in the fridge.  Very handy.

Emily was so excited to learn that Candice Olson was going to be visiting the furniture shop she designs/sells in.  They carry a line of furniture by Candice and she stopped in for a meeting and to talk to the designers.  It was the thrill of Emily's life to meet one of the icons in the design world (and how great so early in her career!). Em said that she ran into Candice in the ladies room and was terribly nervous as they washed their hands side by side.  But Candice was super friendly and they struck up a long conversation.  

Things You Might Like To Know About Candice Olson

She is as sweet as she is beautiful.

She is super tall.

She played professional volleyball in Canada

She will not be coming here to give me decorating tips.

I'm sorry if this is turning into Emily's Journal.  I'm trying to talk her into starting a blog once the wedding is over with.  She continues to work on making her new house a home and look at this dresser that she found through Facebook.  Two girls that live in the Chicago burbs find furniture and fix it up.  I wish I had posted the before picture...a very ugly, beat up brown thing.  She has it in the room that will be the future nursery.  Isn't it gorgeous?  I only had my phone to take this picture, I wish you could see the detail better.  I love it!

I went over there Thursday evening and we had some wine and worked on the table seating and the place cards.  She is just so organized even though she has a zillion balls up in the air.  May 10th is fast approaching...I just hope spring arrives in full bloom before then!

And then I just have to share this quick side dish that I threw together last night.  I'm always trying to find innovative ways to use potatoes that don't involve boiling and mashing.  Sorry this picture isn't too appetizing, I like taking pictures of desserts so much more.  Anyway, I just sliced potatoes somewhat thinly so they would bake fast, tossed them with olive oil, salt and pepper, added a handful of crumbled bleu cheese  (you can use Feta as well), poured about 2 tablespoons of melted butter over the top and baked uncovered about 40 minutes.  Give them a toss halfway through.  So, so good!

Back on the redecorating/organizing front here, I dragged the big area rug from LL Bean to the post office to return it.  Never believe it when a company says, "easy returns".  The post office really frowned on me using 10 rolls of masking and electrical tape to wrap it so I had to stand in the vestibule and redo it with packing tape.  Then I had to run back home because I forgot the address where I was sending it.  And it cost $30.00 to return it.  But I kept my chin up and spent a crazy amount of time this week organizing rooms and tossing junk.  All I have left is the den (our catch all room) and the office (another catch all room).  We will probably just close Abby's door as we always do when we have company.  

Well, The Husband and I are off to Homegoods to return the floating ledges.   They are impossible to hang so I bit the bullet and ordered two from Pottery Barn.  I also ordered and received (in 4 days!!) two framed prints from Art.com.  I will share them after I have the monster, pain in the neck wall in my living room finished.   Where's Candice when I need her?

Joining Tweak It Tuesday at Cozy Little House.  See you there!

XO,

Jane