65 Years of Wedded Bliss!

Tonight we celebrated my Grandparents 65th Wedding Anniversary!

A few months ago I posted a prayer request. My 90 year old Grandfather, whom we call "Poppy" had fallen and broken his hip. After surgery and a very long stay in a rehab center he has been home for awhile now and doing well. He can't walk without a walker but he still has his sense of humor and my dear Grandmother, "Granny" has been taking good care of him. He will be 91 in January and "Granny" will be 90 next June.

We enjoyed a wonderful evening of them telling stories about the good ole' days and the ups & downs of married life. One involving my Grandmother throwing a glass baby bottle at my Grandfather's head when he once proclaimed "just because YOU had a baby doesn't mean I have to stay home" . Needless to say he didn't get to go out that night and I don't think he ever tried that again!

Another story that had us all laughing,was of them on their Honeymoon to Niagra Falls, when my Grandfather had awoken to the shadow of a man looming over the bed. He jumped up to defend his bride and tackled the "man" to the floor only to discover that he had defeated his coat hanging on the coat rack!

Yes, there have been many ups & downs in this couple's life but they are an inspiration to us and I see many similarities within my own marriage - except I haven't had to throw any baby bottles! But I only hope that my husband and I will make it to our 65th!

Please help us wish these Love Birds many more years of married bliss!

Welcome Changes!

I am constantly changing things in my rooms, I add or subtract, decide the curtain rods need to be hung higher, find a new piece that I can't live without (well, in the moment with my heart pounding upon discovering a new treasure, I convince myself this is true!) that I can't keep any current pictures of the house. The rooms change daily. My husband is so used to this that he no longer notices. Still not sure if that's good or bad....

I've also found that if you take pictures of your rooms, you can see what works or not - things you might not ordinarily notice. I have caught things from seriously crooked pictures to cob webs dangling in the corners and nothing spurs on a cleaning spree like taking pictures for all to see! ;)


So here are a few recent pictures - things may or may not look the same in there tomorrow, but I think it keeps it interesting!

(Mommy didn't buy a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch this year, no siree - she was too busy digging through the gourd bins trying to find just the right ones for the mantle!)

Can you believe "HE" was a $15 clearance section find at Homegoods?! He had a small crack which I wood puttied (sp?) up and dabbed on some paint! I think he was regularly priced around $80. This was one treasure I was proud to show my husband - "Look honey, he was on sale!"

Struck gold again at Homegoods...this heavy wood carved table was $149. I still think that was a great deal! (you should have heard me rambling off like an auctioneer the reasons WHY this was such a good steal to my husband when I was trying to convince him to unload it from the car!)

That little corner of the room needed something ...so I found this little cabinet and thought it was perfect! .. and the bonus was that I could fill it with little treasures that were scattered all over the house...nice & tidy. Makes perfect sense to me....

My husband still hasn't noticed this and it's been several months now. I've learned to be self sufficient at hanging pictures, cabinets & curtain rods!

I retired my former rooster lamp when I found this dressed up version in a store closing sale. He's a little more "glammy" and the size and shape compliments the lamp on the other side of the room (see pic with little cabinet, if you don't take my word for it! ;)

And that concludes the tour of the sitting room - next week it might look different. I'm crossing my fingers that my Hubby never notices! :)

A Little Project....

I know I have been promising this for a while but with Halloween, a few family birthdays, parent/teacher conferences, Oh and the FLU!.. have kept me otherwise engaged. It had also been so long I'm ashamed to admit that I had forgotten how to post! But on to the project...

In our dining room, there was this empty corner behind a wingback chair, I tried a palm tree (may he rest in peace), then a tall floor lamp but still this corner kept nagging at me, this HUGE empty space was just calling out for something....and I always welcome a decorating opportunity! Sadly, my husband doesn't share the same enthusiasim....

So I found myself at Lowe's and inspiration struck!!

I purchased two sets of plain bifold doors - think they were around $34 a set. Made my way over to the wood molding section and picked up some trim...

Then I had to sweet talk my husband and promise him the moon (i.e no omelets for dinner for a month!) to get him to "offer" his assistance. I have not yet mastered the miter saw or the nail gun...For those of you who know how, I am impressed! But for me, I had to beg!

So I sprayed the doors flat black, installed some raised, paintable wallpaper and got my handy husband to cut & nail the trim on...

Then onto the fun part! Painting, "golding" and then "antiquing" it to make it look old - this still confuses my husband ....

And....Ta Da!.....

And I never miss an opportunity to display plates!! :)

It was a bit labor intensive but it was just what that corner needed. Well, in my opinion anyway! Hope this will inspire you to try this out, the options are limitless and I am already scoping out the house to see if I can fit another one in.

This room has also had a few mini makeovers recently.....

I changed the rods from black iron to thicker "wood" ones and used rings.

And I recently acquired a new obsession (I have many!) - Majolica!

That's it for now! I'll be posting again real soon...I promise! :)

Time has flown by...

Oh My goodness!? Has it really been a MONTH since I last posted? Time has flown by....


The kids are all in school, including the now 4 year old, three times a week. Yay! Full days at his request! He first thought that nap time looked fun! Now, I don't think he is so sure....

I think the thrill of having some free time to myself has gone to my head. It's wonderful to just get in the car and GO! No cajoling, no threatening, just me, myself & my purse! I can actually browse while shopping and have had the peace & quiet to read two whole books! Amazing!

Now the family has been putting in their hints (well, more like demands!) for us to have a FOURTH child...(even the hubby got that baby envy from seeing the little ones at the preschool!)... but I am happy to finally rediscover ME for a while... I actually got myself a manicure & pedicure on a Monday morning! Wow!


All the things I thought I would do while the kids were in school (clean closets, have NO laundry whatsoever, etc)..haven't quite happened yet..hee-hee! This HAS been my vacation! Albeit, only 3 days a week, and only from 8:30 - 3:30 but for me to have the notion that I could take a bubble bath in the middle of the day, ALONE... had me running out and blowing 50 bucks on some delicious smelling stuff! It, of course hasn't happened yet because I would have to clean out all the bath toys from MY tub first but the knowledge that it could happen was such a thrill!

So forgive me dear friends...while I do have some new things to show you (did you think I didn't buy anything on my solo shopping excursions?!)I have been selfish...this is my first vacation in many years ....I might just be taking that long awaited bubble bath!

**Thanks Dot! For inspiring & reminding me to write something on my blog!**

And one more time....

Here it is again...my Gentleman's Study as I had once called it on RMS.... And then dear Miss Nikki Crumpet came popping over and wanted to know where were the men?.. and where did we study them? On the couch? Oh that made me laugh. So now I just call it The Study...

I know alot of you have probably seen this the 5 or 6 different times (or maybe it was 8 or 9 times?) I posted it on RMS....and my very first blog post was about the ottoman I had reupholstered in this room...

and then I even posted on my formerly pink deer head...

There also were alot of comments about my peacock feather wreath...


and my addiction to tole trays which I scatter all over the house...



This room sure does get alot of discussion.....but I am positive this will be the last time..(don't hold your breath!) But as a decorating fanatic and I know there's alot of you out there - DecFan's are never satisfied with our rooms. We like to keep shopping.




...and shopping... A new rug and a slipcover for my Dad's old wingback chair (courtesy of my Mother in-law - for the story on them read down a few posts). A few more doodad's here...



And there....




oh, and over here too....


Just HAD to get this houndstooth pillow with the leather buckles..it was calling to me...




And isn't this a sweet little old chair? My three year old's time out spot, reading chair, step stool and whatever else he can do with it. It's the rotating chair, moved all around the room, so forgive it's placement at the moment.

I have been taking pictures of my rooms since the day we moved in and the changes even make me laugh!

Before's

Do you think it looks "lived in" yet? :)

****Just a little note to all of you who have stopped by to read my last post about my Grandfather. I really appreciate all the kind words & prayers for his return home. I've got some wonderful friends out there in blogland and you've all touched my heart deeply!! Now, you've got me crying again....but really, I thank you for your support! ****

Say a little prayer...

Dear Friends,

I am hoping you all could maybe add my family into your prayers... My dear sweet 90 year old Grandfather is in the hospital, recovering from hip surgery which resulted from a fall about a week ago. He is now in a rehabilitation center for a few weeks undergoing therapy.

This sweet old man who was always singing and making silly jokes is now lying in a hospital bed, still wooing all the nurses with his charm, but is trying to cover up his pain with humor. My 89 year old Grandmother who still drives & cooks is lost without him. He really is the only Grandfather my children have known and he is lovingly called "Poppy". My Dad passed away when I was 21 so he didn't see me marry my husband, so my Grandfather has taken on the role of spoiling my children.

This was his 90th Birthday Celebration this past January....

The pictures below were taken last Christmas. Even though he is legally blind and has a titanium knee replacement, he still wanted to dance with his bride. I was lucky to capture the moment on camera......

Please say a little prayer for my dear, sweet, Italian Grandfather Louis, that he will return home to all of us. Many thanks.... ~ Laurie