A Coastal Christmas

I

    Coastal Living

I was born here. 

A sunshine state baby, while my parents and all of the rest of my family hail from Virginia. 

The love the Blue Ridge mountains, while i love the blue water.  They can keep their mountains (it's a nice place to visit as the saying goes) but i will keep my beach.  And i can think of nothing prettier than a low country town decorated up for the holidays.

    Coastal Living

 I will take Savannah, Tybee, St. Simons, or Charleston.  I will use shells and sand coral while they decorate with snow and icicles.

       Completely Coastal

Thinking about a couple of different ideas.  Using my black PB lanterns from Homegoods on the front      porch, with my starfish and some evergreen.

Maybe move the pre-lit dining room tree to the lanai and put a live evergreen in a galvanized pot in it's place and decorate with some burlap and starfish and shells and i'm thinking feathers.  Is that crazy? Is burlap overdone? I'm thinking pheasant feathers - natural colors like creams, browns, sages.....not sure yet. 

Anyway, off to bed.  We're still in Tallahassee for the holiday. Heading home in the morning.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend girls :)




      

I survived - without Starbucks!

We survived :)  Back from an all boy adventure (plus a few moms) in the woods, with tents, and knives and some really big sandhill cranes. One of which wanted to fight me for a pancake.  I won. (But there was a moment when i almost let him have the darn thing).

I wanted to thank everyone that emailed me since my last post - that post really did come out of the clear blue when i was cleaning the kitchen the other day and i felt i had to write it down. Get it out.  And reading your words of encouragement in the emails i received was amazing and i thank each of you, from the bottom of my heart.  

We got home before 11am and we were still pretty wired so we started the process of christmas decorating.  The tree is up but it took awhile to get it fluffed out right from being packed away, and i can't decide what i want to do yet throughout the house - so i'm working up some inspiration....what do all of you have planned?

 Southern Living

 Southern Living

 

Reminders...a love story

This is what i look at on my kitchen counter on a daily basis. In some sort of fashion or another.  

It's not always that same pile.  Sometimes there's a quart of paint (just pick a color - right now i am my own personal Home Depot).  Other times there may be a drill or even 2 drills, just depends.

But this man-clutter is a God-sent reminder to me that years ago when my heart was breaking in a million pieces, He heard my cries.  And He rescued me. 

In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.   - 2 Samuel 22:7

Flashback 6 or 7 years.  I was sitting at the bottom of the stairs in my foyer, alone and sad, and crying over yet another fight between my ex and me - when my MIL showed up at my door.  


I cannot explain the extent of my sadness, but to say, i have lived ALONE -  and not been as lonely as i was during the time I was married. 


My husband didn't want to be married but didn't want to divorce because of the kids, and he encouraged me to find someone to be my companion so that he didn't have to travel with me, or do outings like other married couples.  He said he was bored to death by me.  That is why i was sitting there crying that day. Total rejection.


My MIL, i'm sure with all good intentions, sat down beside me and said something i will never forget.  She said "sheri, no one, NO ONE, will ever love you the way you expect to be loved.  That's not reality." and then she went on to say that she remembered feeling the same way once but she got past it, and moved on. She found girlfriends to travel with, made a life that didn't involve her husband.

My friends, i cannot tell you how her words, which were meant to help me, just broke my heart even more.  I wanted someone that loved me. wanted to spend time with me.  not someone that wanted to be as far away from me as possible - and was telling me to go elsewhere for that relationship i so desperately sought.  I wanted to be married.  That's why i got married in the first place.  I didn't want to spend my life living alone.  But that's what i was doing.  I was also praying a lot.  Praying and crying.  


Sometimes God says no though - and He said no to my marriage.  He wouldn't heal it, no matter how hard i prayed.  So i gave it over and said, ok, if this isn't meant to be, at least not now or maybe ever, i need You to provide income.  I need You to provide an affordable house.  And i prayed that He would provide someone for me - i was so lonely.


One by one He did provide.  Months after I started the divorce process - a brand new house was built down the street in my price range.  I got financing with no hiccups.  and then not even 3 months later, i was offered a new job making 30K more than i was making before.  I remember sitting on my new living room floor (because i didn't have furniture yet)  crying because He did everything I asked of Him.  They were the happiest tears i had cried in a very long time.


And then, He provided Vance.  (which, in true Sheri fashion, i pushed away from at first) 

But from the very first date - i knew.  I used to hate it when i would hear people say that, but i knew.  If you saw us together you would totally say we are like puzzle pieces.  He starts where i stop and vice versa.  I know how lame i sound - it's ok - i don't care.  It's true.  And he loves me beyond comprehension. He gets me.  He laughs at my jokes.  He has let me cry and started crying because I was crying and he hates to see me sad.  I cannot imagine my life without him.

And when i think back to that day when I was told that no one would ever love me the way i thought i should be loved - i now know she was right.  Vance loves me beyond that.  And every day when i look at those piles of hammers, screws, duct tape, i let that serve as God's reminder to me of how faithful He is when we trust Him to meet the desires of our heart.  And I am forever thankful.


"He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.  He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support. - 2 Samuel 22:17-19

The entry's not quite there yet

But close.  So close it's making me nuts.  It's the rug thing that i just can't get right.   But V built the Heather Chadduck shelf ledge.  Sarah painted the ledge.   We attempted to put the hooks on but realized they were too tall for the piece - so it's back to finding vintage hooks that go more out than up.


My VF Megan over there on the sidebar is telling me i must go to HL - so hopefully next week i can get there.  If i don't get eaten by mosquitoes and sand hill cranes at the scouts campout this weekend.  If i don't post by Monday - someone please send a search party (with a Starbucks in hand).


I also got some great roman shades for a steal. They were probably a steal because they are abnormally HUGE.  Which means i have to perform surgery on them to make them fit. 


So, while i can't get my act together quickly enough to product pictures of my OWN house - i'll post some favorites i've saved.  


Oh...and it's pure randomness.  Obviously.  No tie in whatsoever to this post.  Don't you love me sometimes?  The closest tie in is the middle one is Heather Chadduck again i think.


I think all images are from www.myhomeideas.com but don't quote me. 

 Have a great night y'all :) Off to finish watching Parenthood...
 

It's like Christmas, only better!

My steppie is home!!!!!!!!  And i think if i hug her one more time she's going to slug me.  And i'm pretty sure she hates that word.  I need a new word, definitely.  Work on that y'all, while i'm out, k? 

She's home and we are going on a shopping expedition (If i can get her butt out of bed this morning - what IS it with staying up until 2????  I never got it.  Oh wait, yea, i was young once.  In a land far, far away where time stood still)

BUT once she's up - we're going here...

and then straight to here....



and then skipping 2 doors down to here...

and then across the street to here!!!!!!!

and my wallet will be lighter, and my soul will be filled.  And yes, i do get out more than you would think from the sound of this post.

DID I SAY I'M GOING TO ANTHRO TODAY????

i did?  Ok then.   Off to rouse sleeping beauty....

Have a great start to your weekend!!!

Painted Door Inspiration

                      Home and Harmony

    sigh...Cote de Texas.

Yep. Convinced.

Linking to Vanessa's Inspiration Friday!

Coming along

It's funny.  I had this idea in my head about what i wanted my house to be.  In my mind it was very clear....i even played in this blog party about posting a pic that totally captured my style.  This was it.

I even had this same color in my master bath at my old house.  LOVE this color btw - my version was SW Ancient Marble and i think i'm putting it in my master bath again.

But i was finding it so hard to make so much of what we already had work with this.  Let me re-phrase that.  This room couldn't take all of our junk.  That's closer to the truth.  We have a lot of stuff. This room,...not so much.  And I can't see my son getting his markers and paper out in here and settling in.  I wouldn't be able to settle in and relax watching him do it. 

And this stuff is stuff that we can't part with.  So when we moved it got relegated to the garage because i had that stupid picture up there on the brain.  


And then i decided - out with that idea.  It doesn't work for us.  And i focused on inspiration that used old, or vintage, stuff.  Heather Chadduck.  Sarah Richardson (some times).  The blogosphere's own Holly Mathis. (Sidenote on Holly.  I actually contacted her for a consult and that very same day we found out that we were laying off people where i worked and i had to push away from that idea.  She's not expensive - i'm just trying to be frugal in case of who knows what. BUT I HEART HOLLY.  and this isn't turning into HM post - but i've been  stalking her style for a very long time).

OK - back to this.  

So, Sunday, with an extra hour on our hands -  Vance and i grabbed a cup of coffee and wandered into the jungle of the garage and took inventory of what needed to be brought back into the house. 


This is what found it's way back inside, in addition to 3 rugs.  I had no idea Vance had that telephone - which had to be hung up immediately since we both work in telecom.  Too appropriate NOT to display.  I love those prints on the left - they are so freakin dusty - still. haven't decided what to do with them yet.    The phrenological chart is in a vintage burlewood (sp?)  frame.  I wasn't going to hang it up and then i saw it in Country Living the other day and was like "hey - we have that!".   The pencil sketch is actually of the library at FSU that is name for Vance's dad.  He was published professor there that passed away when Vance was in high school. I think Vance said another faculty member did it - i'm not sure.  The pub mirror also came from Vance's mom and the chippy white frame came from a junk run that sarah and I did over the summer.  Not sure what to do with that.

We also put down those rugs - the blue one here came from Vance's mom's house.  Oh, and see those silver trays - have a great plan for those - they came from a couple of different places.

And we threw the green one that came from my old house in here for now.  Obviously, the cats like them.   I hung the pub mirror for now in the entry and i think i can talk V into making that coat rack ledge this weekend while Sarah's home (big hooray! on that - miss her around here) and we can hang that up under the mirror.  I want it to be big and chunky and allow for some leaning pics overlapping that mirror.

There is one more ginormous rug that we brought into the family room.  but i can't even think about that room until this one is done.  Yes, that's laundry on the couch. What? You don't ignore folding laundry in favor of decorating?

 

Now i need a rug (3x5) and i'm getting overwhelmed. Nothing seems right for the space.  I had a couple of ideas but it has to coordinate with that blue rug up there because you'll see all 3 rugs (entry, DR, LR) from the front door.  So it has to be cohesive, yet eclectic.  I don't know if i can pull it off.

It's hard enough with all these items being brought back in. I feel like i'm walking a fine line between "home" and living in Bennigans.

If you have ANY thoughts about the rugs - i'd love to hear them :)  Send pics please :):)

Stuck in the middle of Heather, Sarah and Ralph. I wish they would stop fighting already. It's exhausting.

Somewhere between here...

   Heather Chadduck.

and here...

    Sarah Richardson

...is my idea of the perfect entry. 

Unfortunately, this is what i have to work with:

Here is shot i took earlier in the day.  What i'm sure of staying is the furniture...what i'm undecided on are the prints.  They are V's, and while i really kind of like them, and am leaning toward a 'collected look' - i'm not sure i can make it all work.  He had a RL traditional man-cave/den look going on in his house which i liked but I want to add a little more rustic character, and de-formalize a little.
  

The entry space is small. Probably too small for an entry table - as the door swings all the way to that outlet you see in the wall.  And as much i would love a small entry table that i could pretty up during the holidays, i'm afraid it will look forced.


So, i'm thinking i could do something like the coat rack - ledge that Heather Chadduck did in the first pic.  Is it too casual, you think?  I am also really really considering painting the inside of those doors.  I know this, it can't make it worse.  Good grief, how boring can doors be already?But what color?  

I don't need inspiration, i think i need to make a decision - but i need help! Feel free to chime in.  Linking to my girl Vanessa for her Inspiration Fridays Party - come join us :)

Most boring post ever.

Sorry.   Maybe it's not.  But i told you yesterday that i was trying the Shaklee Scour Off paste - and, oh my word.  For a very brief period, i enjoyed cleaning.  It smells like cherry gum to me and i love that.  Not bleach, not chemicals, cherry gum.

Here is the stove top after - look how shiny!

And, i didn't stop there...I ran to my shower while i still had the urge.  Actually, i was bored. Election coverage, thus no good TV to distract me....but still...it took all the shower soap scum away.  SHINY.  And i used it on the surround and glass (on left)  - and all the hard water deposits came off. But i kept getting a hankering for cherry gum.

It felt so good to clean with something that wasn't harsh on your family, and yet still worked. That's been the main reason why i haven't caved to these organic, "safe" cleaners before.  They didn't work. 

After my little cleaning frenzy, i went online and ordered the surface cleaner and the germ bacterial cleaner.  (i know, i'm on a roll here. Someone stop me before i start darning socks or something silly like that). 


This is how i ended my night.  This candle is only $5 at Walmart and it's so CLEAN smelling.  It out-scents the Williams-Sonoma kitchen candle that i paid $25 for.  Won't be doing that again. And i'm tempted to take it back and ask for money back. Can you do that? Return a burned candle?

This was going to be called "Misc Monday" but it's Tuesday...so call it what you want

We were a busy household this weekend.

I had grand plans, and you know what they say about the best laid plans? WRITE THEM OUT CLEARLY FOR THE HUSBAND AND PUT THEM BESIDE THE REMOTE.

haha. i'm funny today.

So here is my list of misc crap:

Shaklee.
Ok, so i stumbled upon this very cute blog where i became very intrigued with this Shaklee stuff.
I read some of her reviews from others that just went on and on and on about how great it was...but honestly, that's not what convinced me.  


This.  This is what convinced me try it.  Seriously.  The woman has NOTHING under her sink.  She's got a few spray bottles for the concentrated solution that cleans most everything, and her dish soap and the stove cleaner in that tub. THAT'S IT.  

So, i ordered online, mainly because i got lost on the www and then couldn't find my way back to her blog for days - which btw, makes me feel bad for her because she was the sole reason i ordered.

Anyway....guess what FINALLY came? And trust me when i say this took so long to get here that it almost missed it's window of opportunity.  These cleaning waves don't come along very often.   Just sayin.

I ordered the stovetop paste called Scour Off and because i needed laundry detergent anyway, i ordered that.  Look how small that bottle is.  Says it replaces my Tide large bottle.  Interesting.  And sorry for the blur.  That's after a lot of coffee this morning.
 

 I'm going to test it on this.... see that faint yellow ring - around the outer edge? CAN.NOT.GET.IT.TO.GO.AWAY.  So, we'll put this on and report back this week.  Fingers crossed.

  
And I'm not sure you can see this...but see that dull spot in the lower right down there? That's not camera issues - it's really something that refuses to come off.  So, like i said, here's hoping.

Now, it wouldn't be misc Monday or call it whatever you want Tuesday if i stayed on topic - and who am i to disappoint - so...here was MY personal project this past weekend.  Re-paint the breakfast nook set.  It's been beaten up pretty badly.  The paint was coming off in chunks on the chairs..

And, this lovely picture is the result of me setting pizza boxes down on the table with hot pizzas inside.  Large white skid marks. Lovely.  And it's stuff like this that makes me want to throw myself down on the floor and scream....but i don't.   I lock myself in my bathroom and drink instead.  And those aren't crumbs.  Those are yet more knicks in the paint. 

 So...in case you're new here, let me tell you something. I am lazy.  LIKE REALLY REALLY LAZY.  And if i'm working on something that very well may end up in the trash ANYWAY...let's just say i'm not putting a whole lot of effort into it.  So, having said that, do you honestly think i sanded the darn thing? HAHAHAHAHA. Meh. Seriously, no.

I put this on and trusted it to do what it said. 


So, this lazy thing also applied not only to the prep piece, but also the painting itself.  I know oil works best for almost anything that's going to take a beating - but that lazy gene kicked in and i didn't want to work that hard. Oil takes patience. Oil takes a lot of patience.  I ain't got that. So, I asked the HD guy what paint he would use on a throw-away piece of furniture that was going to take abuse from a gaggle of kids.  He said floor paint.  I said excuse me? He said it again. Floor paint.  I said, can you make it a color? He said sure. I said sold.  and that got us to this...

No idea if it's going to hold up.  We'll see.  It's been curing since Sunday, and i tried to put on a clear coat but it repelled.  Vance shook his head at me when i looked all confused and said - IT'S FLOOR PAINT, IT'S GOING TO REPEL WATER. oh.  So, i have no idea what, if anything, i'm going to add to this - either paste wax or a glass round or nothing.  Right now, it's got crime scene tape around it so the criminals stay away from it until i figure it out.

And that wasn't the only project going on...here is a wonderful view at what's going on in my master bath right now.  This is the man project.  It involves circular saws, drills and paint. And it doesn't seem to bother HIM half as much as it bothers ME to step over this to get in and out of the shower.

Good times, people, good times.