Creole Thrift

Recently, I was having an email chat with Linda from Restyled Home. Again... I LOVE her. Anyway, as I was typing my latest to her, I sort of had an epiphany. I even told her that I may just have to copy and paste what I realized... so here it is...

"...It's really a lot harder to get over living in an area like New Orleans than I expected. The fullness of life there is just unparalleled. I've been trying to force myself into this "Texas" state of mind, and it has been totally depressing me! Today I came to the realization that to have any peace, I'm just going to have to bring a little decadence to Houston. I just thought, To Heck with It... I'm doing this my way! I love how the pictures of your home really speaks to who you are. If we can't be ourselves in our own place, where can we be?..."

Now, for most people reading this blog, you don't know that I didn't grow up around New Orleans. My upbringing was far more rural and straight-laced than that. However, after my husband and I got married and his first job out of LSU was in New Orleans, we made the area our home for nearly 11 years. The division between "North and South" Louisiana is striking. One's not better than the other, but they could be different states, on opposite sides of the country for all of those differences. I never felt more at home than I did in Southeast Louisiana. We loved the time-worn beauty, people, and of course the food. It was us. It was home. (Sorry Mom)

So keeping with the square peg in a round hole theme... here's my latest project.



The piece was originally a terribly worn console table that I found at a thrift shop. I paid my $75 and took her home, cleaned her up, and gave her a nice little black dress. She stayed that way for a while... then she started to beg for some bling... I know, I KNOW... a girl's gotta have some jewelry.

I found a graphic that I liked online. (hence the paper taped to the front) Then I leveled the picture onto the front door panel.



I traced the parts that I wanted using a ballpoint pen. The impression from the roller ball inside of the pen makes guidelines for painting later.





I took a metallic glase (in gold)and went to work...
(sorry... I've tried to fix the rotation on this photo... but it's not changing...)


After I followed along the drawings, I highlighted the bamboo trim and distressed the top a bit. So now the girl's all dressed up and ready for a party. She's sitting in my dining room ready for that table and chairs to be delivered...





So, I guess this is a shot of her flashing you (New Orleans style), but I just had to let you know what's really inside... it's a bar with a glass rack on the top... Get it?... Nice Rack... ;-) Sorry, I couldn't help myself...

Tis the Season

Hey yall! I'm happy to announce that the cool weather is starting to hit the south, and the decorations are coming out of hibernation! I love this time of year. Besides Christmas, it's also going to be our 11th anniversary this year. The cool weather makes me want to light a fire and curl up with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book. Or a good movie. Last night I watched The Holiday with the beautiful Kate Winslet... I love her. Jude Law is ADORABLE in this movie as well... and no, this isn't Jude Law. It's Jack Black, duh. He's funny too.



Yep... it's time for the Holidays!

While the girls were out playing in the fall weather with the neighbor kids, I started dragging out some decorations... I just couldn't help myself...



Here's a close-up of the twig topiaries...They Sparkle! I'm using lots of different greens and white this year.





After being camera-less for over two months, I've nearly forgotten how to use the darn thing... this picture proves that. But besides stating the obvious, yesterday I found these great red weathered fleur-de-lis pots and rosemary topiaries at Smith and Hawken. I also picked up a bag of their Festivity potpouri and a reed diffuser... it smells soooo good!

I've found some great furniture this week, so the before pictures are patiently waiting at Photobucket for their reveals... A few pieces were custom, so they'll have to wait for their moment in the spotlight. I've also gotten curtains picked out. They will be done after the holidays, so I'll have a fun reason to pack up all of the decorations. Next up... paint colors! Then I will have some particularly fun posts!

For any readers in the Houston area... Laurie's Antiques in Tomball is FABULOUS and worth the trip! and Metals Petals and More in Old Town Spring has some really great stuff right now... just doin' my part to stimulate the economy!

Divine Design

So... What do those crazy scatter-brained A.D.D. nut-jobs do when faced with a huge organizational problem? We BLOG about it! Here's my problem... I have about a billion things running through my head. I keep poking around blogs... then I jump to another blog, that leads me to ANOTHER blog... I keep finding these "perfect" pictures for inspiration, and then I loose them! Do yall ever have that problem?

There are two places that I always check in on when I am looking for some divine decorating intervention. Velvet & Linen and Restyled Home. These gals really are my BFFs. They just don't know it ;-) If I could keep up with my bloggy links, they'd be right at the top. FOCUS Holly... Back to keeping track of inspiration... I found these pictures via Linda's and Brooke's blogs. I HAVE to keep them nearby so that I can keep looking at them. The garden picture just takes my breath away. Levi's bookcases for the LSU office are being delivered today... and I STILL haven't painted. But at least with Brooke's help, I now know what to do to keep the books from looking like a bunch of schplech on the shelf!!! Bless you Honey!

Welcome to my perfectly decorated entry...



Would you like to sit a spell?



Or maybe read a good book?... no, I promise there's more than Twilight on the shelf... they just look similar because they are DESIGNED to look pleasing to the eye!



Dinner's nearly ready. Would you like a glass of Pinot before we eat?



How about an evening stroll through my enchanting garden?



Ahhh... now that the company's gone, I think I'll go to bed and read some more. And yes, I'm reading Breaking Dawn... AGAIN...



Nighty Night... Sleep Tight... Don't let the vampire bite ;-)

Dreaming now...




;-) Yummy...