I especially love this before & after from Lauren & Nick because I have about 4 old chairs from when we lived in France. They are from the Paris flee market and in not so great a'shape. In fact they look very similar to the before picture above. I don't want to paint them because I want to stay true to the French style, and painting furniture is more Swedish...anyhow, this is a great way to give old chairs a new, fresh look without changing their integrity.

These first 2 pictures were taken about 3 years ago when Steve and I visited Rozzie in DC. Rozlynn and I have both lived in DC and instantly fell in love with Old Town in Alexandria, VA. We were visiting in Oct. and I fell in love with how they decorated their beautiful homes.

It was here that I realized you don't have to live in a huge house to add a touch of whimsy, class and charm during the Holidays. No matter where you live or what kind of a home you have you can have a charming and inviting exterior.

When I was visiting her about a week ago I stayed up after everyone had gone to bed and made these sachets filled with her English lavender buds. I used 4 handkerchiefs and was able to make 16 sachets.

I have one in Max and Mimi's room and I told them that when they wake up in the morning to just squeeze their bag and their room will smell like lavender...and it does. These little sachets are potent and their rooms smell amazing!

I wish I had a before picture, they were lost on our hard-drive. But the walls were white, the mirror was a DI purchase that had chipping black paint on it, the entry table was wood and in bad shape with brass handles. I added the frosted detail to the mirror with a little frost spray paint (which can be purchased at any hardware or home store).

Max asked me if I could take Mimi to the pool today while he was at school so she wouldn't miss him or be sad. I thought that was a sweet gesture.

Our mac 27" computer is only 2 years old and it pooped out on us.  I am at my parents place again, it's the only place I can blog because we still don't have a computer.  We heard back from the Mac store and they couldn't save ONE thing from our hard drive.  

Everything is gone...pictures, documents, movies etc. are all gone from the last year and half at least. :(  It is a sad day for us.

moral of the story: frequently download your important stuff onto an external hard drive...dugh...we knew that!!!

Anyone know of any good "mac geek" that could take a look at our old hard drive?!

On Saturday I called the only 3 babysitters we knew and left messages for them to call me to see if they could babysit tonight. I figured the first that called me back would babysit. Well, by 10pm Sunday night no one had returned my call and I began to panic (now I know 2 are on vacation and 1 is still in Hong Kong). By Monday morning I was frantically trying to get ahold of someone to babysit to no avail so I called my family...well, basically....1 hour before we were supposed to be eating a much needed romantic meal just the two of us, plans fell through with my fam.

Steve called and canceled our reservations and I went upstairs to our bedroom and cried for a half hour on the bed like a little baby. After Steve came up and gave me a pep talk, I put my "big girl pants" on and a smile and we took the whole family to dinner.

It wasn't ideal, but it ended up working out. Happy Anniversary Hun! Love you, and here is to at least 42 more years of a very unpredictable adventure!

My mom picked out the fabric for her windows and told me what she wanted to make...and then I made them. I did all four panels over 2 years ago, but the curtains behind her window seat were made too short. I added length to them so they matched the other curtains on her patio doors (below).

It amazes me what some saffron paint color and curtains can do for a room. I absolutely love how everything comes together to create a warm and cozy bedroom retreat.

I also took the unused fabric and made coordinating pillows for the window seat and reading chair (my mom found that chair at the DI for $10 and had it reupholstered...I guess that's where I get it from).