Me and my man!

Bob hardly got the words, "Maybe we should stay at a Bed and Breakfast for our anniversary," out of his mouth before I was on the Internet searching for just the right one. We thought about going to Toronto or someplace out of state, but decided instead to give our state whatever economic boost we could.

The website http://www.michigan.org/ was really helpful with my research. I soon discovered there was a plethora of B&B options, but unfortunately a lot of them are covered from floor to ceiling in rose wallpaper. Now, I love flowers, but I'd rather have some in a vase than on wallpaper... I wanted to find something romantic without making Bob feel like he was having the testosterone sucked out of him.

Well, the Belvedere Inn in Saugatuck was just perfect. The room was lovely and cozy with a window seat big enough for two.

Here's the view from our room, which was beautiful even if the spring color had not yet begun to work it's magic. I'd love to see that view in all seasons.

What a grand entrance, eh? This little mansion was the summer home for a Chicago family. It was built in 1913 by a colleague of Frank Loyd Wright.

A summer home, can you imagine?

Of course, a trip to Saugatuck would not be complete without a trip to the beach, even if things are a little on the dreary side... do we look disappointed?

And here we are on the grounds of the Belvedere again. It was the perfect way to celebrate our anniversary, which is coming up on Thursday.

Besides offering a great room, the Inn has delicious food. Because we visited in the spring we got a discount on a four course dinner on Saturday night. It was easily the best meal I have ever had and one I won't soon forget. Most of all I just loved the company. I really felt like I was on my honeymoon all over again.

I wouldn't mind trying a different Bed and Breakfast every year, I think it would be a neat way to experience different communities. There is even one I'm very interested in in Detroit called the Inn on Ferry St. The only problem---it's difficult to follow-up on perfection.

Give their website a visit at http://www.boutiqueinnsofsaugatuck.com/

Please help me decide

Okay, so I spent my Earth Day rehabbing some pretty ugly chairs. I can't wait to show you the picks, but I have to wait until the sun comes out because I find that I can always get better pictures outside.

I didn't work on this chair, however because I couldn't decide if I should paint it or not. Any thoughts? I love a painted finish, but sometimes I'm still a little hesitant about painting old wood. When casting your vote, please don't consider the desk part ... something will have to be done with that, thanks to some school room graffiti.

Me and my Wonderfuls

We went to Traverse City and went on a wine tasting tour. I didn't know what to expect. I had never been on a wine tasting and I'm not a huge wine fan. That's changed a little. The wine tasting was fantastic.

The best part was spending time with my best friends, who I have nicknamed my "Wonderfuls."

I don't remember when I had so much fun... except possible the last time I spent time with them. The simply fact is my "Wonderfuls" are fun people and I'm a lucky girl to have them in my life, wine or no wine.

Happy Easter!

I know, it's technically the day after Easter, but I was off spending time with family so I couldn't blog.

Easter is one of my favorite Holidays. Like most Holidays, it has chocolate and I love the cute little bunnies too. I have a few around the house to mark the occasion.

But most importantly, it's a time to reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When I was growing up, my church sang the old-fashioned hymns and I have to say I still love those old hymns. Yesterday the line, "I serve a Risen Saviour; he's in the world today; .... He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus Lives today, He walks with me and talks with me, along the narrow way.... You ask me how I know He lives... He lives within my heart!"

It's such an important message. One I'm so thankful for because times have been hard for my family lately. The economy is really taking its toll. It's good to remember that my saviour not only paid for all my debts (the ones that really count) but that He's Risen and in my world, ready to listen; ready to communicate with me if I keep my heart open.

Powerful stuff. Much better than any chocolate bunny.

Okay, so sometimes I'm a snob

At a recent stay at a hotel, I couldn't help but take a picture of this... at which point my husband said, "You're such a design snob."

Really I'm not. In fact a true design snob would probably come into to my home and be horrified.

It doesn't look quite so bad in this picture, but in person this just looked ridiculous... or is it just me? Isn't this picture just hung way too high? In fact, I think this headboard is so massive a picture above it was just not necessary, especially since there was a big blank spot over the room's desk.

Oh well. Sometimes, I guess you have to crane your neck to take in the view.

Another Ugly Chair Bites the Dust

As always, I forgot to take before pictures, but this was a pretty straight forward intervention. The finish had seen better days and the seat was flattened and uninspired. This is the second chair I've done using this fabric which has Italian vignettes on it. I love the contrast of the black with the white.

It was going to stop there, but
.... then I decided to add some Italian words using a technique I learned about reading this blog http://jenduncan.typepad.com/whats_new/

I used scrapbook letters to form the words and repainted the chair to give a very cohesive look. I love the black on black look of it, even though its a little hard to photograph.

I also used it on a frame for my latest decoupage project. I hope to list this soon in my etsy shop www.paddywackdesigns.etsy.com.

A necessary change

I know big television cabinets are becoming a thing of the past thanks to the flat screen t.v., which is why we were able to get this one so cheap at a garage sale. It use to be rustic pine, but I painted it to make it look a little more elegant.

Part of the reason I want a this massive piece of furniture was because my son was starting to toddle around and I was afraid our old one was too flimsy and he might be able to knock it over. No danger of that with this monster.

Flash forward a few months to a new house and a toddler who is doing more than toddling. See the gap underneath this massive piece of furniture? Well, while I was in the other room, my son, I think he was 18 months at the time, got his head stuck under there while trying to retrieve a ball. EMT's had to come to his rescue, lifting up the edge of the piece while I pulled him to safety. Well, it took me awhile, but I've removed that danger from our house with a little Victorian-style baseboard. Alas, I didn't make miter cuts because I only have a hand miter saw and these boards are pretty massive, but I think it looks pretty nice. It was a $30 fix, but it looks a lot better than something more makeshift.


My son's head won't get stuck and I can't see all the dust bunnies underneath of it now. Everyone is happy.


Now that he's 2, who knows won't new dangers he'll discover in our seemingly benign home.