The Bright Side

love this quote!

Saw the following quote, written by the songwriter, Leonard Cohen, over on Julia's Hooked on Houses blog in a post about Elizabeth Edward's home.  This quote is written on Elizabeth's kitchen wall:  

 

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in

Isn't it beautiful?  I think so.  It really spoke to me and truly captures how we've felt and what we've experienced having autism in our lives, so I thought I would share it here with you.  

 

Julia also has several photos from Oprah's visit to Ms. Edward's home as well.  My absolutely favorite room was the children's playroom.   Now this would be an awesome place for some seriously enjoyable homeschooling!!

 

The books, the shelves, the cozy couch, oh my!

 

And how about this for a workspace?  Lovely.

 

Thanks, Julia, for bringing that quote into my life.  It is a keeper!

 

 

sunshine and tulips

Today we enjoyed sunshine, blue skies and 54 degree weather on our hike around Lake Harriet.  Signs of spring were everywhere.  The ice on the lake is beginning to melt all around the edges.  I have a feeling sparkling blue water isn't far off. We saw pairs of ducks and geese quietly paddling in the open water, enjoying the warm weather. Cheerful little chickadees hopped from branch to branch and we spied a few trees beginning to bud.  Yes! 

All of that springiness inspired a quick re-do of the foyer table.  It's time for tulips and bunnies and colored eggs.  I can't wait for 60 degree weather and more sunny days.  Happy spring, everyone!

Oh, and Sophie found a cozy spot for a snooze.  All in all, a great day!

 

mission accomplished!

Hey all you procrastinators! Welcome back! With one day to spare, I finished my Procrastinator Party project and I am pretty pleased with the results.

The project I chose was to fix up my food pantries which were jam-packed and completely disorganized. Sadly, my cupboards have been this way for sometime. I tackled one section at a time and it really surprised me how little time it actually took once I got started.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

A few close-ups:

My canned goods:

School supplies:

Liquor cabinet:

Broom closet:

Cooking dinner in my kitchen tonight was a joy! Each time I reached for an ingredient from the cupboards, I grinned like an idiot. No digging, no searching, no wishing I was more organized.

And here is the second cupboard I tackled.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I love these expandable 3-tier shelves from The Container Store. They expand from a width of about 14" to 25". I bought the type with a little textured no-slip surface.

The cupboards aren't super stylish or cute, but boy are they organized! Thank you to Melissa over at The Inspired Room for holding this Procrastinator's Party. I hope she will do this again as it was really motivating and I can't wait to see all of your after pictures!

welcome home

After days and days of rain, the sun is shining today!  The air is crisp & fresh.  It is a picture-perfect fall day. Ninety-five percent of all the other trees in our neighborhood are still green, but not this little fellow. Every time I arrive home, I am greeted by this bright orange maple by our front door.  We planted it last fall and are so pleased with its progress!

This tree is an Amur Maple. It is a rounded crown type maple that generally grows to a height of 15 to 20' and a width 15' to 28' ft. The perfect size and shape for this spot near the front walk. The Amur Maple happily thrives in zones 3-8, grows slowly and is pest-resistant. (My husband just told me this sounds like some sort of sales-pitch. I'm not selling, I just really like it!)

If I can talk Paul into it, I would love to plant another one (or two) just like it in the backyard.

Wish me luck!

procrastinator's party

I'm so excited to tell you (deep breath) that I am joining my first procrastinator's party over at the Inspired Room.  

So, here goes, my project proclamation. (This part is a bit embarrassing.) I have chosen to organize the contents of our food cupboards. They are a MESS and in dire need of some love and attention.  As you can see, I have been putting off this project for a long time! But, now thanks to Melissa's party, I can't wait to get started.

The "before" photos (blush):

The second cupboard doesn't look so bad, but to find something usually involves taking 10 other things out to locate the desired item.  Some sort of organizational system is badly needed!

Now on to the fun part, pulling everything out and starting over.  I'll post my "after" pictures on the party deadline, October 20th.  Good luck on your party projects!!

fall foyer

Good morning!  It is a drizzly, cool fall day here in my neck of the woods.  A perfect day to light the candles, turn on the mood music and cozy up to the new season.  So, I pulled together a few things and began to set the stage in my foyer.  This is what I have so far...

I am totally lovin' my new little finds from the ever-popular "Tar-jay" boutique... I can't quite decide what to put in the apothecary jar, though.  Maybe Ryan and I will take a nature walk later when things dry off a bit and see what little autumn treasures we can find.

This pumpkin spice candle with the tiny acorn doo-dad is my favorite thing on this little tableau.  The candle has a wonderful pumpkin-y aroma.  The scent is subtle, quite pleasant and not at all over-powering. Paired with the vanilla votive candles, it all smells quite delicious.  Now if I could just get Alex to stop blowing out every single lit candle that he sees, the moment that he sees it....

Here's how it all looks, standing back a bit...

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the results.  I would like to add a bit more texture of some sort.  That's half the fun though, isn't it?  Having a work in progress?  It will be interesting to see what else gets tucked in here and there. I do think it will be a nice warm welcome for family and guests.  Hmmm....suddenly I have this strange urge to bake pumpkin bread!  I wonder where that came from?  

Be sure to check out all the great ideas over on Beautiful Life Fridays at The Inspired Room and at Hooked on Fridays over at Hooked on Houses.

How's your fall decorating going?  

have you been to janet hill studio?

Have you discovered Janet Hill Studio? Janet Woodward-Hill is a talented artist from Stratford, Ontario. Her blog, Janet Hill Studio is where I purchased one of her oil paintings and I love it! In case you haven't found her on your own, I just had to share. Her work is wildly popular, it seems that almost as soon as she lists it, it is gone.  So, you have to be quick!

Fairy Lights

Janet describes her work this way, "I call these paintings my oil sketches because they are quick impressions of people, interiors, table settings and other household objects."

The Cake Show

I just call them heavenly! Each one is more delightful than the last. I am captivated by the colors, the textures, the subject matter and their smaller size. You can also find Janet Hill Studio on Etsy.  Be sure to check it out as she has a wonderful selection of very affordable prints there.

Petal Shoes

Janet also paints portraits.  I'm not sure if they are real people or right out of her imagination.  Either way, they are dreamy, thought-provoking and often mysterious.  How about this beauty?  Isn't she lovely?  

The Piano Singer
And finally, this is the painting I was lucky enough to snag.  It is called The Pool House.  Doesn't it just look like the perfect spot to curl up with a good book on a sunny summer afternoon?



The Pool House
I hope you enjoyed my review of Janet Hill Studio.  Check it out, I think you might really enjoy it.  She usually posts new paintings in the early evening and remember they go fast.  If you are interested in purchasing one, I suggest bookmarking her blog and checking it periodically during the late afternoon, early evening.  That's how I got mine.  
Be sure to check out the fabulous Hooked on Fridays blog party over at Julia's Hooked on Houses. Plus, I am certain this recommendation also qualifies to participate in the Beautiful Life Friday happening over at The Inspired Room. And a great big thank you to Janet for allowing me to use your beautiful photos!!

So, what do you think?  Isn't Janet Hill Studio awesome?
Happy Friday!!

I have a confession to make....

Yes.  It's true.  I have a confession to make...

I...have been lusting after ... a pot.

Yes.  A pot.  That's what I said.  Silly, I know.  But, it is not just any pot.  It is a beautiful Le Creuset dutch oven in Caribbean.  Isn't that a lovely name for a color?

I first saw said pot on The Pioneer Woman's blog.  Damn Ree and her amazing giveaways!  Putting all sorts of crazy ideas in my head!  (Seriously, if you haven't discovered The Pioneer Woman, then you are in for a treat! Head over there immediately.)  Wait!  Maybe after you finish reading this post.  

Anyway, it was love at first sight.  (I lead a rather sheltered life.)  Ever since then, I haven't been able to stop imaging all sorts of delicious concoctions bubbling away within that pot.  

See for yourself.

Isn't it gorgeous? You could decorate an entire house around that pot! It is now officially the one and only item on my Christmas wish list.  Last year I received several bowls that I had lusted after. My loving and obliging family showered me with bowls of all shapes and sizes.  We dubbed it, "the year of the bowl".  

This year just might have to be "the year of the pot". 

Have you had any experience with the Le Creuset line?  Does it live up to the hype?  

powder room makeover

Picture a room, a tiny room. My powder room, in fact. I had painted it a dark color I thought would make it cozy. Instead, it turned out cave-like, somber and bor-ring! I never took a picture of it because it was so unworthy, so I don't have a true "before" photo.  

And so began this little project. I was just going to throw a bit of cheerier paint on the wall and call it a day.  But, before I knew it, there was wallpaper involved, granite, new faucets, crown molding, chair rails, a ceiling update and new accessories.  Has that ever happened to you?  One little change led to another and another? Oh, my.

By the time I finally realized I might want a "before" photo, I had already removed the old white laminate counter top and ugly faucets, primed the walls for papering and painted a lovely shade of blue to go below the future chair rail. Oh, and I had also removed the popcorn texture from the ceiling.

My first design choice was the wallpaper. I chose the Thibault Sweet Life Happy Frogs (blue on white) wallpaper for a touch of whimsy.

My mother said, "Frogs?"

"Yes, mother." I replied patiently. "Happy frogs."

I didn't name this blog The Bright Side for nothin'! The wallpaper is a traditional pattern, but with a bit of humor thrown in. And that's the way we like it around here.

Next up, we decided to change out our tired old white laminate countertop to granite. Black granite. I ventured out to Home Depot to price it and after telling the sales girl the size we needed, she whispered the name of a stone store in my ear that had an incredible remnant inventory. Bless her heart. Turned out that store had room after room of remnants. The price ended up being about half the price it would have been if we had gone the Home Depot route. Score!

While we waited for our granite installation date, I de-popcorned the ceiling with the help of a mister and a 3" putty knife (that took less than an hour from start to finish), hung the wallpaper and then installed crown molding. What a difference that made!

After that I shopped around for a new mirror to replace the old plain one. It didn't take me long to discover the Stella mirror from Ballard Designs. One little old hint to the husband and on my birthday it was mine. Thanks, honey!  

Finally, our granite installation day arrived. We did all the other work ourselves, but when it came time to fit that heavy granite into that tight spot, we decided to leave that up to the professionals and I am so glad we did. It turned out beautiful and they had it installed in no time.


We put in the new faucet and chair rail after the counter top was complete. A few more finishing touches like a towel ring, new tp holder, new towels, fou-fou soap and we were done!


It is now one of my favorite rooms in the house. It makes me smile every time I go in there. Mission accomplished. Has that ever happened to you where you make one little decorating change and it leads to another and another? I'd love to hear about it.

A big hello to all you visiting from Between Naps for Metamorphosis Monday. Isn't Susan's blog lovely? This is my first time participating in Met. Monday, so I'm a little nervous. I hope you'll leave a little comment saying hello. Thanks for visiting!

gate envy

Oh, how I love a pretty garden gate. It's true, I am harboring a serious case of "gate-envy". We don't have one and darn it, I want one!! So, I decided I better do a little research just in case the husband suddenly out of the blue, develops a strange, out of character, urge to build a fence. I'll be ready!But how to choose? Gates come in all sizes, shapes and styles. Formal, rustic, artsy, cottage style, shabby chic, you name it, there are gates to match most any garden style. Cruisin' the net, I found the following gates which I seriously adore. First up, this sweet little violet gate. I just LOVE this color. So inviting!

Photo Source: Ornamentals & Edibles

This next gate is a bit more rustic, but seriously, wouldn't you just love to spend some time relaxing in this garden?  Something about the way a gate beckons you to explore what lays beyond.  It gets me every time.

Photo Source:  Old Country Gardens

Now, here we have two gates which are a little more formal, both charming in their own way. One is a white wooden picket style and the other a wrought iron design.  I just adore the climbing flowers. They're simply wonderful. Sublime, some would say.

Photo Source:  Better Homes and Garden

And how about this little beauty? Looks like it might be a door on a shed, but how fun is that? I just love how the hoe and the rake are painted as well. Wouldn't that be a fun afternoon project? 

I can just hear my husband now, "Uh, honey?  The tools.  Have you been painting again?..... Seriously hon', flowers? You painted flowers on my tools?"

Photo Source: Garden Gate Magazine

So there you have it. Gates add charm and personality to any garden, not to mention good old-fashioned curb appeal. They are a definite bright spot in this old world with their promise of the peaceful sanctuary beyond. Gates just make me happy.  

How about you?  If you had to pick a favorite of these gates, which one would it be?

Oh, and welcome to any of you Hooked on Houses readers.  I'm a little late to the Hooked on Fridays party, but this is my first time participating in a blog party.  Did I do it right?  Did I mention I love gates?