Poppy and Ivy

November Rush

Portland, OR has experienced a very unusually warm fall. Tomato plants were still producing and tasting GOOD until Halloween! 

But the chill has hit. Turkeys have cooked, gravy has been poured and it is as if this is what the skies were waiting for....December is tip-toeing up on us.

Most good space owners were ready for Christmas in August. Not me. I was gardening. And taking my kids to the beach. And drinking coffee in morning sunshine. I am not very good at keeping on top of the holidays!

So for the last 2 weeks I have been out gathering during the day and in the basement painting shelves, trunks and desks until my fingers crack at night!

There IS a gingerbread man book tucked in there!

I have a great blow mold light, red pom-pom trimmed tablecloth, old felt stockings...oh my! Headed to Camas Antiques tomorrow!

A little bit of playing with paper, mica and glitter...the trifecta!

I should be ready for Christmas by March at the rate I am going....teeheehee.

It's all good....

 

The Calm Before the Storm

I had the urge for change. I knew the answer was paint.

Now, I have to admit the urge hit in July and I have had my living room slathered with paint chips and photos. I don't think you should rush into a big color change.

After hours on Pinterest getting ideas, the pictures went back up, new collections were added and furniture was flipped around.

I absolutely LOVE it. It went from a deep, dark mustard ale color to a cool sage --Ancient Marble to be exact.

It's calming, soothing, lovely in the sun and equally as attractive in the rain which is a good feature for a home in the Pacific Northwest.

I love how it compliments our mercury glass collection....

I come down my stairs every morning and walk down the hallway towards the newly painted living area and I feel as if I am in a new home. It never ceases to amaze me how a can of paint can change an entire feeling in a room. I probably haven't spent more than an 2 to 3 hours in my living room for the last 2 years. Since the paint job....we gather there every day.

And now that everything is in its place, cleaned up, walls patched, pictures hung and dust bunnies scared away....the Christmas tubs have bumped their way out of the attic and down the stairs.

The calm was good while it lasted!

 

C'est magnifique!

Or something along those lines....

I only took French for 6 years because THE CUTEST GUY IN THE WORLD did. A football player no less. His French name was Jaques (originality was not his thing). My french name was Elisabet because there were five Amy's in the class. Thanks Mom.

Last I heard he was somehow caught up in the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan scandal back in the day, so clearly I made a poor choice in who to stalk. But I DID walk away with just enough basic language skills to be dangerous or end up with something REALLY terrible on my plate at a French restaurant.

No matter....France is on my radar...always has been.

I have been on fire on Etsy and I sold THESES cute patooties:

to this cutie patootie blogger. From France!

I tried to read her blog, but again...I am rusty. There was a really cute picture of her (there are many because she's cutie patottie folks!) and once I translated one of the captions as "I ate my best friend's dog with silk, high heels and a chenille blanket" I decided I might need a Rosetta Stone crash course before I went any further.

Continuing on my love all things French...great estate sale finds for yesterday were:

If they keep the Metro exactly the same for another 20 years...I have a chance.

This image is from a half used 1932 German calendar. The images (125 of them! all different...all lush) and print and fonts are spectacular. I am not sure what to do with it exactly. I might just stare at it a bit longer.

Au Revoir! Off to some estate sales!