Patience pays off

I've always wanted an old crock large enough to put my newspapers (something one of my BFF's does.) But it's always been cost prohibitive until I found this slightly cracked (you can't even tell) crock for $12. The man I bought it from was quick to say, "Now, you can't make pickles in it or anything, but it's still nice to look at." So honest.

My Pink Bathroom

I live in a house of boys. My husband, obviously, is a man. I have a 2-year-old son. I have two dogs, both males. Our orange tabby-cat, you guessed it, a guy. And as for the Beta fish, I can't confirm its sex, but don't they normally sell males?

So, I decided I needed at least one truly "girly space" though my husband probably would argue that much of the house is "girly." I decided our upstairs bathroom was a good candidate. I painted it a color called "dress pink."
I think it was a good compromise. As you can see in the pictures, it is fairly pale, though in person it is a bit brighter.
The shower curtain is an old, linen bedspread that I got from freecylce.com and I dyed it gray to avoid the room being to sickening sweet. Our bathroom has original black and white, basket weave tile, which looks smashing with the pink.

With a son named Jack, I have a thing for "Jack and Jill" items and decided that the bathroom was a good spot for them.

Here's a cute little card I found on etsy.com. I framed it and added it a wall that displays "Jack and Jill" sheet music. A favorite purse. Jack's handprint and a vintage textile block.

My husband said, "It looks nice." He may just be grinning and bearing it, but I like to think he doesn't hate it.

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.