PINK SATURDAY: PINKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX

Last Saturday was my first "Pink Saturday" and I had a miserable time finding "pink" in my home. Oh yes, a little here and there, but no collections or anything to make a little vignette...so I took the advice of a friendly blogger friend and went shopping!! One of my favorite pastimes of course. I went to a little town that has a little main street with a lot of little shops with a lot of little treasures, and I did find some pink. Now...you must spot the pink:

Wow, look at all this stuff! Where do I begin?

Oh my, I even want the wallpaper! (And everything else, but I practice restraint).

Have you spotted any pink yet?

Oh yes, finally!! Isn't this the sweetest!! Did I buy it? Well, err...no. What would I do with one teacup and saucer? I may be blonde but I am a practical blonde. I did however purchase quite a few other treasures that I am going to save for another day (hint: Blue Monday...)

I wish my post were longer and you are probably wondering what the heck is up with Blondie that she has not written a post that exceeds 2000 words, but it is late and I need some well deserved sleep after my pink quest today. By the way, I meant to go to many of the other shops along this little main street but my camera battery became "exhausted" just like me now!

Pay a visit to all the Pink Saturday participants that worked so hard to share their pink treasures with all of us and give a big thanks to Beverly at How Sweet the Sound who works so hard to organize this great day!!!!!

xoxo

Jane

THANKFUL THURSDAY: THE LITTLE THINGS

Today is Thankful Thursday hosted by Rhondi at Rose Colored Glasses . Take a peek and see who is participating and do a little visiting!
Today was one of those days where I woke up with a smile on my face. Actually it is Wednesday (I'm posting early for privacy purposes :-) and although I am thankful for today, I will still be thankful for today tomorrow (does that make sense?).
Thankfully, The Husband and I had time to spend together this morning even though we did not get up until 7:00. It was very nice of him to stay a little longer to have a little coffee and talk. I have appreciated him a tad more this week since he just arrived home from Naples Monday night. He was there for a golf tournament to benefit The Make A Wish Foundation and it went very well. As some of you may know, our son Kevin is positioned down there for the winter golf season so The Husband's trip was beneficial (and coincidental) in seeing Kevin again since we were down at Christmas. They had a really great time together when they had the chance and I am so happy for Kevin because I think outside of work he is quite lonely. But he will be back home in the spring and we might just pay him another visit over spring break. So...I missed The Husband! He was tired when I picked him up from the airport (he had to switch planes in Orlando) so he simply ate the nice stew I had made ahead of time and dropped. I didn't think I would miss him so much and although the girls were not home much and it was pretty quiet around here, it was really a longing for his company! Sometimes that feeling ebbs and flows when you have been married as long as we have but it was definitely flowing this past weekend! So we had a nice chat and it was a nice way to start the day.
The girls were both buzzing around the kitchen together at breakfast and I don't think an unkind word was said. That is par for the course (I must have golf on my mind). I think every mother wishes their children always got along but Emily and Abby are polar opposites. But they made me proud this morning and maybe surprised themselves...
After I dropped Abby off at school I snuck around to the front doors to deliver a special "secret" envelope to the office. She is going on a Kairos retreat this weekend at an "undisclosed" location (somewhere on the Illinois/Wisconsin border) and the letters are from The Husband and I which will be read at the Friendship Ceremony. She is so thrilled to be going. Many of the other senior girls (she attends an all girl school) have gone on the retreat but they are sworn to secrecy. Can you believe a teenage girl keeping a secret? Anyway, we wrote our letters last night telling Abby how special she is, how proud we are, what she means to us...I had tears in my eyes as I took a mental walk down memory lane. This is my baby, my last child to go to Kairos and soon she will leave the nest. It is such a paradox of happy and sad feelings. I will need a lot of support from you guys next fall when she leaves for college. But I skipped a little coming out of the school anticipating her hearing our letters. I can really run on and on when writing (who me?) so I know she will feel special and loved.
Today I had another reason to be thankful, the cleaning ladies were here when I got home!! I love it! Two days a month I don't have to make my own bed and you all know I love a made bed. I love these two woman. They work soooo hard to make me happy and to support their families both here and in Poland. Although we don't always understand each other (language-wise), we have a great rapport. I get a tad annoyed when they polish my dresser with windex but I still offer them coffee anyway.
Then it was off to get my hair done. Gosh I love having someone wash my hair!! I turn into mush! And I got really daring (for me anyway) and had two inches lopped off and my bangs cut. The husband will be so surprised if he doesn't mistake me for a boy first! So I was very thankful for my bravery and that it looks o.k. but I haven't tried to put it in a ponytail yet and that would be a travesty because that's my "bad hair day" disguise!!
After that I came home to a shiny clean house and put a nice roast in the oven since I had nothing to clean! And now I am just sitting here reading my favorite blogs, drinking hot cocoa and smelling that wonderful aroma! Ah, life is good. Did I mention the sun was shining today? The snow on the street has started to melt. I almost thought I would see a robin! And that I was thankful for.
So these are just a few little things I am thankful for, but they sure add up. I will definitely go to sleep with a smile on my face, the same way I woke up!!
Happy Thankful Thursday everybody!!

xoxo
Janie

TAGGED BY A SWEET PEA!!

Yikes!! I've been tagged again! This is me when I was three...(I can laugh a little now!). Actually my new blogging friend Paula at Virginia Sweet Pea has tagged me to retrieve the 4th picture from my 4th folder. Since I haven't been blogging too long, it's back to Christmas in Naples! I'm glad I went back for a look because I think The Husband took this and isn't it a hoot! I can recognize this from the night we were shopping on 5th Avenue. This little guy is just sitting there on the hood of a car like it's no body's business! I am hoping that some of my Floridian friends may recognize him (and I don't mean like the bird your neighbor has been looking for...)! As a Northerner, it reminds me of some of the egrets we get up at the lake. I'm too lazy to get my bird book. He is a cutie though! If he were a cartoon poster, what would the caption read? Comment with your ideas just for giggles!

I recommend that you pay Paula a visit at her blog. She is a very active, athletic, sweet girl and she shares a lot of great recipes. I'll definitely have to start working out after I make her Three Cheese Pasta Bake that she posted yesterday!! I now have to tag 4 people to do the same, post the 4th picture from their 4th folder and write about it. The list is as follows:

Judy from A Southern Belle Dishes on Decor

Cynthia from Cynthia's Cottage Design

Ms. Tee from The Delightful Home

Kathy from Empty Nester

I would also like to Thank Laura from Shorehouse Chic for giving me an award which is on my sidebar. I am so truly humbled and honored by the awards I have received, not to mention how colorful my blog is starting to look. One day I will make a banner!! I recently bestowed the Lemonade award to Laura and though I could wax poetic about her forever, please go to her blog, you will love following it. She went to D.C. for the inauguration last week and has a few pics. Thanks Laura! :-)

I wish everyone a great week. I'm off to look at some tablescapes and live out my fantasy of owning 42 sets of china... If anyone likes the idea of commenting on a caption for Mr. Egret (?), please do so and maybe we can have some fun with it later.

xoxo

Jane

Tag; I'm It!!!

April from Straight From The Heart was tagged to write a post listing 25 random things, facts, habits, goals, etc... and pass it on to 5 people. She left it open and I decided (gulp) to grab the tag. Those of you that know me know that I am a blonde of very few words (!!!!!!!) so I thought I would clear up some of the misconceptions of myself and blondes everywhere and also set myself up for scrutiny. Here are the facts, just the facts...

!) Above picture is pretty self explanatory. I had a brief career in modeling when I was twenty. Success was never an option because I am only 5'2. I did however grace the pages of some obscure fitness magazines wearing aerobic wear and was on two pages of the JC Penney Winter Catalog. Whooo!!!

2) I am fifth in a family of seven. One brother, five sisters. My brother was the oldest and went away to college when I was 11 years old. We girls were left to torture our poor father. He is now 81 and we fawn over him and make up for all that cruelty!

3) As a child I hated sweets. My only "candy" was raisins. 2 years ago I discovered chocolate and I blame my good group of friends called "hormones" for turning me on to this decadent treat. I'm really trying to lose these friends and their bad influences but I think they are going to hang around a little longer.

4) You might call me an animal rescue person. Years ago a squirrel had it's leg caught in the chain of my son's bike lying in the driveway. Try as I might, I could not free the struggling squirrel and suffered many scratches & bites. I finally retrieved a kitchen knife and (close your eyes if you are squeamish) amputated it's foot. I was observed for signs of rabies that I thankfully never developed and for years we have seen a three legged squirrel scampering around our neighborhood. (This is a cross-my-heart true story!!

5) My favorite treat is raspberries & whipped cream. To make: get a small dessert dish, fill with about 1 inch of Reddi Whip (you have to use Reddi Whip. Forget Cool Whip-it is an impostor that should be banned from all supermarket shelves). Layer approximately 1 handful of raspberries, cover with another generous layer of Reddi Whip. Enjoy. Remember, the ratio of whipped cream to berries is 3-1. Feel free to add whipped cream as desired. If no raspberries are available, the whipped cream is fine by itself.

4) I am a killer at Trivial Pursuit. My mind is filled with endless trivial information and I am rightly proud as all good blonde's should be.

5) I am a wonderful gourmet cook and quite modest about it. (!!) I was once an assistant chef at a popular Italian restaurant in Chicago. I was relegated to making salads and was fired when I suggested we blanch the broccoli for a more colorful appearance.

6) Although I live on a lake for most of the year, I am afraid of water. Had a bad experience water skiing once and also...cannot swim.

7) Have a dreadful fear of insects with hard shells; June bugs, crickets, cockroaches, ladybugs...

8) Have to sleep on 3 pillows, (my choice)

9) Have to sleep with 2 dogs on top of me (not my choice)

10) Love to make and can salsa and red sauce from my vegetable garden.

11) Was featured in local newspaper for the above

12) Was nominated for the Excellence in Writing Award at the University of...but lost out to a guy who wrote an essay on aeronautics...

13) After years of getting up at 6:00 a.m. with the children, I became a late sleeper. I am now so grateful to God that I now get up at the crack of dawn to watch the sun come up.

14) I am 80% hearing impaired. I wear hearing aids and read lips. I rely on closed caption to watch T.V.. This is a degenerative disease I was born with and although the prognosis is not good, I am so grateful for the hearing I have left. I would also like to break the stigma that hearing disabilities are only for the "old folks". Every day that I can hear my family talk, and hear the birds sing is a blessing!

15) Foods I abhor: beets, liver, catfish. This list could change if anyone were able to make something with these items that I might tolerate.

16) My mother's maiden name is Doll (German) I always thought it would be cool if she were named Barbie and her brother Ken! (or maybe: Whata) (!!!)

17) Speaking of names, my husband is French and our last name is very common in New Orleans. No further clues!

18) I majored in Art & English

19) I once had 14 cockatiels in my house that I hand fed and raised from babies, products of two very romantic parents I bought not knowing their sexes!

20) Both of my daughters weighed 5 lbs at birth but were extremely healthy!

21) I am a very reclusive person but have an outgoing personality. Go figure.

22) Passions: cooking, gardening, reading, journaling, shopping, traveling, being at the lake, being with my husband & children and dogs, adding to the list!

23) When I was 22, I took a two week vacation to California with only myself. Saw & did a lot of stuff and got to know myself very well!

24) Have been married more years than I have been single!

25) Am absolutely loving blogging. It has given me the opportunity to share of myself with others and get to know so many amazing people. My wish is that we all meet in person someday!

So here it is. I have bared my heart & soul and I suppose there is no further guessing about this strange blonde blogging person. Or perhaps not...we'll see

xoxo

Janie

Pink Saturday: The Quest

It is Pink Saturday and I am so thrilled to participate. Last week I had a "trial run" of sorts as I did not submit my name in time , but posted some pictures anyway (Hee Hee). I would like to thank Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for hosting this event. I have had much fun perusing blogs that have participated in the past and it is always a treat. Thank you Beverly for organizing this day! :-)

I call this post my "quest" as I did not realize I had so little pink in my home although I am a very feminine gal and love romantic pastel touches. So I scouted around, room after room like a spy with my trusty camera (not so trusty actually as I can't figure out how to work the blasted thing). "Emily, What is this lightning bolt for?" "It's the flash Mom." O.K. So off we go:

We are going to start with a couple of quilts on my bed. I love old quilts and I have been collecting them over the years from various antique stores in all sorts of small towns in the midwest. Unfortunately, my kids love to crawl under a soft, broken-in quilt at every given opportunity so I have them carefully packed away. Yes, I know this breaks the rule of practicality, but someday I will bring them out again. And display them behind glass!!

EVERYDAY QUILTS

This is my favorite and most "broken in" in quilt. I call it a "napping quilt", and although I don't take naps, this would be the quilt I'd use. The dogs, however, adore naps and this one is a favorite. I am realizing I may love dogs more than kids as you can see, I have not packed it away. I have folded it over so you can see the reverse side which is pink and white gingham. Makes me almost want to nap which is very un-blonde of me.

I recently decided that I needed a little more punch to my bed aside from above quilt and for the fact that kids and dogs are now crowding me out to enjoy said quilts. Almost have enough to round things out here. This is a romantic but "happy" quilt and should I ever be so inclined to take a nap, which I have already stressed that am not inclined to ever do, I think I would have "happy" dreams.


I thought this was a closer view, but it must be something wrong with this beastly camera! I promise to read the instruction book as long as it has more diagrams than words. If possible, note the tiny rosebuds on reverse side.

I also have a blue quilt on my bed to accommodate any stragglers, but it is blue so I won't go in to detail.

Oh, here we go, closer view. Enough said!

Today I went to Jewel, our grocery store chain, and came upon these beautiful primrose, potted in the most pathetic containers. They were crying for a home and a re-potting and fool that I am, I took two home with me. At $1.00 a piece they had better live. Hit the jackpot with this pink one...



...but I have to say that yellow flowers always melt my heart. I think they give a garden a little pop in a most gentle way. And I think yellow flowers can be paired with any color. Sorry the photo didn't turn out so well. Will bring camera in to shop tomorrow for adjustments.

Here we have spider mums. These happened to be the last to stay on from a rather gorgeous bouquet I received a week ago. Add to that the time it took to transport them from a warmer region of the country, it's a miracle they are alive at all!! :-)

Moving along, I have a photo of a tray with a sugar bowl and creamer that Emily gave me one year for Mothers Day. It brings a tear to my eye when I remember her saying; "I couldn't afford the teapot". She made her money babysitting and I knew the gift shop she went to was very expensive. I keep this set on display always.

While I was going through the house griping that I didn't have anything pink, it was pointed out that both of our bathrooms are pink. How funny the way things slip my mind! I didn't think it proper to photograph the entire room where we, err... do private things, so I just took a picture of a darling little cabinet we bought at Target to hold some essentials. Em assembled the whole thing and though it wobbles a bit, it serves the purpose. Note the pink floral lining of the baskets. The bathroom is also painted by means of using the top two coordinating colors on a paint chip card (can't go wrong with that!) with a white chair rail dividing the two colors, which are a sort of blush pink. We have some pink restraint in this bath as this is where The Husband does his private things in addition to the women of the house.

We move on to the second bath which is quite an oddity and I pray that some day my fellow bloggers will inspire me to be courageous and act on my impulses to change it. But first, the wallpaper. It is a trellis design with pretty detailed roses. A little whimsical I think. I used this wallpaper to feminise a bath that the previous owners did some strange things with (to put it mildly).

The walls surrounding the entire bath, excluding the tub and shower are paneled with this rough pine. I think they were trying to give it a sort of "rustic" look. Maybe said previous owners were cow hands. I have waited and waited for a sign to come to me that I ought to whitewash this wood and bring it up to a real shabby, shabby chic look. Please fellow bloggers , give me a sign. Also, prod me , as I am inherently lazy.

You will see that I tried to feminize this room as well by papering with florals and putting in not only a pink marble vanity top, but the floor is pink tile (sorry, no picture) and the shower has blush colored wall tiles. This is the girls' bath but they rarely use it as the water pressure is very low. The tub is pristine.

A quick tour through Abby's room. It is a menagerie of color but I think pink is the predominant color. I love girls. Little girls , teenage girls, girlfriends. We were just born to be pink from the day we were born and swaddled in pink. Why was that anyway? Do any historians know? Why weren't we wrapped in fuchsia or aqua green? Our homes would have taken on a whole new realm!

My Abby. The activist. She has walked in the Why Me? 3K walk every year since she was thirteen to support funds for breast cancer. She is involved in an organization to save the whales that are being slaughtered with the nod of the Japanese government. She has also, without any regard for her safety or good hygiene, rode the dolphins in a smelly pool while vacationing in Mexico. She is one spunky teenager!

Need I say more? (Note pink bag).








I never knew I had so much wallpaper. This was from back in the day where you wallpapered everything! And I did! This is a close-up of the walls in our den, or library if you will. I was in my Victorian mode. I like that I mixed pastels with darks. Very daring for me. :-)

Last but not least is a wreath with dried roses. I don't wish to offend anyone but I do not want anything plastic or silk in my home. Dried flowers or arrangements are the only thing that get past my door. Personal preference.

So there you have it for Pink Saturday. I have exhausted all the pink in my home unless I decide to start pawing through my cabinets and cupboard. I'm sure there is a plethora of forgotten dishes in there. We'll see.

Happy Pink Saturday. Thank you Beverly. Thank you fellow bloggers. I meant to be more visual than verbal but blondes tend to be led astray. But in my case, a good way!! I hope.

xoxo

Janie

How Many Times Did You Think Of Me Today?

I am so happy to be participating in Thankful Thursday hosted so graciously by Rhondi at Rose Colored Glasses. I think it is a wonderful way to share with our blogger friends the things that we are thankful for in our lives and I also believe it is an opportunity to reveal more of our authentic selves to our new found (and old) friends.
Last night The Husband and I were sitting quietly reading our respective books, when he got up, stretched and yawned and said "How many times did you think of me today?" To say I was dumbfounded would be putting it mildly. Where did this question come from? How could I respond honestly with no thought or preparation for such a loaded question?!! So I did what any smart blonde would do and said, "You're overtired. Go to bed." And then I proceeded to sit up way past my bedtime pondering this question.
I have been going around lately with a satisfied grin on my face, thinking that I have discovered the art of living in the moment. I have convinced myself that this enlightenment has come with age and experience as well as a keen sense of self. But I now think I have been missing something here. Doesn't living in the moment mean having thoughts of our loved ones other than the norm; "I hope he gets to work safely, I hope he has his gloves, I hope he doesn't get too stressed out at the office today, I hope they have the ice cream he likes at the store today..."
I say my prayers every night, thanking our Lord for all the blessings He has given me and I ask that He watch over all my loved ones. That is all well and good but The Husbands question has forced me to think more outside the proverbial box. I need to stop the worry which does no good for anybody, and start thinking about things such as his warm smile when I say something funny, or the way he moves his head back and forth as he reads sentences in a book. The way he gets me in a bear hug when we are laughing hysterically over something. These are the things I should stop and think about and include in my day. Not just thoughts of my husband, but all of my loved ones. I am sure it will bring a smile to my face and have me humming a little as I go about my day.

So on this Thankful Thursday I want to thank my husband for coming up with this question (that I still have no idea from where it came or why). I am thankful it provided me the insight to examine how and how often I hold my loved ones to my heart each day outside of my prayers. I will now go to bed at night and not only thank God for blessing me by giving me this wonderful man to spend my life with, but also for giving me the ability to ponder the messages given to me and act on them. My days will be so much more fulfilled.

xoxo

Jane

Weatherbunny Reports from Michigan

Off we went to the lake early Saturday morning and of course found exactly what we left behind. Guess. Driving up old Brownsville Road I snapped a few pictures of the surrounding farm fields. Around the lake, corn and green beans are grown for the Green Giant, so you may be looking at a picture of the field where the corn you have sitting in your cupboard was grown!! I truly feel like a midwestern girl when we are up in this part of the country. Driving down the backroads with open fields on both side, the windows rolled down, wind blowing my hair all over, the radio blasting...wow, what a feeling of pure freedom . But that is in the summer folks! :-)This is the lake house from the street. She is a sweet old thing. It was getting dark, snowing and I was freezing, but I wanted to show you where I spend a lot of my time, almost every weekend in the summer. Many renovations have been taking place there over the last two years. A major job was re-staining the entire exterior. It was light brown and now it is this sort of wedgewood blue. We also had the house lifted about 12 inches as it was sinking...yes sinking. The ground is marshy and back when the house was built 30 years ago there were no codes for building on the lake. Now everything goes under inspection before a permit is issued and newer homes are built with special foundations. So, the old girl was lifted in the summer of 2007 and she creaks and groans and occasionally we have a wall crack, but this is to be expected for the next couple of years as she settles back in. (And I thought we had problems here in Chicago in our 80 year old home!)

This is a view of the front porch. This was added on by Resident Carpenter last summer. I love this porch because it faces the big lake. The back side of our house faces the bay. We are basically on a strip of land with a channel that leads us out to the lake. I ordered some wrought iron furniture from Overstock.com last fall when everything went on sale. It's boxed up in the garage and I don't even remember what it looks like. Overstock has become my best friend as I can order and have it shipped directly to the cottage. And where else can you get shipping for $1.00?

I took a picture from the covered patio that looks out at the bay, which of course doesn't look particularly like water, but is. Resident Carpenter extended said patio out into the open around our cute little acorn tree which provides shade. By the way, cute little acorn tree has a family of flying squirrels in it. This summer I will try to get a picture of good 'ol Rocky, he's quite cute. :-)

This is a picture of the Summerhouse, as we call it. It also serves as a guesthouse when we are filled to capacity. The Summerhouse idea came about when we tired of making a run from the patio into the house when the mosquito's invaded on warm summer nights. We did not want to screen in our covered patio as we didn't need another room, and we didn't want a screened gazebo as our neighbors just built one...so, there you have it. The Summerhouse has eight windows and two Murphy beds which fold out from behind shuttered doors. I got as far as furnishing it with wicker but that is about it. I'll have fun playing with it when it warms up. Note the little front porch on it. It is so sweet. We have two glider rockers on it and we like to sit and have a more close up view of the water.

I took pictures of the wallpaper in both of the bathrooms as the next time I go they will have been gutted. I think I mentioned, when it comes to the designing of the renovations and redecorating, I have the kitchen, Emily, Future Interior Designer Daughter has powder room, laundry room and mudroom and The Husband has the main bath.

I LOVE this wallpaper and hate to see it go. It is the bathroom you run to right off the patio when you have been out on the boat all day drinking beer. I bet there have been many sighs of relief heard within those walls! :-) The beach chairs make me smile as well as the kites and the sailboats remind me of the Sunday morning regatta which is just glorious to watch. Fun, fun wallpaper, goodbye. :-(

This is my upstairs bath wallpaper. I think it is so elegant. I once stayed at a bed & breakfast that had wallpaper similar to this and I loved it. It can't be salvaged, and as I said, The Husband has dibs on this room. I have my fingers crossed for the outcome. Since when did men start to take such a keen interest in decorating? I wish he'd just go fix a leaky faucet.


We had a great weekend. After looking at some of the new work we took Resident Carpenter out for a sandwich and a beer at our local tavern. He then got on a Greyhound to go visit a friend in Pennsylvania and I think it was the first time we've had the house alone in about two years!!

We have so much more to do. Renovations will be done by March 1, and then I have all the fun shopping to do: towels, linens, area rugs, art work...Oooh yum!!

See everyone again soon!!

xoxo

Jane