Berry Good

Hello to you!  Well, are you all ready for the big holiday weekend?  I thought I'd put together a 4th of July inspired post featuring red, white and blue.  My subject of choice, something yummy and berry good.

Blueberries, strawberries and raspberries all grouped together in bright white bowls make an eye-catching an appetizing centerpiece for a holiday table, don't you think?  Mmmm.

How about a sweet treat?  I found some tasty little angel food cakes and topped them with whipped cream and berries for a yummy, but not too fattening dessert.  Of course, I ate this one the minute I was done with my photos.  Gotta make sure they're good, right?!

The photo above is my entry for this week's challenge at Live Every Moment.  The theme is red, white and blue.

Little jell-o molds seem to be the just the right size for little berries and little hands.  Plus, they're cute and won't break :)

Now that I'm finished with my photos, I have to go clean, cut up and freeze all those strawberries.  I bought eight pounds the other day.  They're mighty delicious and I like to stock up when they look good.  Plus, we all have smoothie addictions at our house and strawberries are a key ingredient.  I'll share one of my recipes with you next time...see ya then!

Hope you have a safe and fun 4th!

xo Tricia

I'm sharing my post at:

Feathered Nest Friday
Live Every Moment

A Golden Texture Tuesday

Hello.  Happy Tuesday to you!  I thought I'd pop in for a quick post.  How's your week going so far?  Mine's off to a good start.  I thought I'd join in with Texture Tuesday again.  Today's assignment was to use Kim's golden texture.

I have just a few random shots that I took awhile back, but never posted.  They're from the group of photos where I used my much beloved plum blossoms...over and over and well, over.

I found this vintage hanger recently.  The wood is has such a nice patina and is a little bit worn.  The words embossed into it make it even more appealing to me.

Along with Kim's golden texture I also used some actions from Florabella.  I set all of my textures at soft light and applied a Gaussian blur.  On the first photo, I also added a second layer of the texture at multiply.

Well, that's that!  I hope you have a great week.  It's supposed to get pipping hot around these parts and I must say, I'm lookin' forward to it  :)

xo Tricia

A Summer Look for the Living Room

Hello to you!  Hope your Summer is going well so far.  This week, I decide to give my living room a new summery look, complete with bright whites, a few vintage elements and fresh flowers.

I started with some rearranging...swapping the porch furniture with the living room furniture.  The living room is directly in front of you when you walk in the front door and I wanted it to feel nice and welcoming.

I washed all my slipcovers, which was quite the chore due to my crappy washing machine, then after finally getting the furniture all put back together, I added a little vintage stool as a side table and a few old books.  And, of course, no makeover is complete without the addition of flowers.  My lovely neighbor gave my these pretty pink peonies with instructions to take as many as I want.  How great is that?  I managed to contain my glee and greediness and only took a few.

I kept thinking about the other possible decorating options for this room and wondered how a bench would look in front of the couch.  So, I got one out and added a few flowers and some old canning jars to help liven it up a bit. 

I liked it, but I think I'd prefer a rustic side table instead...maybe something with metal.  Another idea that came to mind was logs.  We have these huge peeled logs in the garage and I'm wondering if perhaps the Mister would be willing to cut the end off of one for a little table.  Oh, I think that would look good! Those things cost a small fortune though, so I don't know if he'll go for that idea.

There ya go sweet peeps...my summerfied living room.  Well, all this talk has me hungry...I think I hear some strawberries calling my name.  Hope you're having a wonderfully sunny week.

xo Tricia

•• Since people often ask me...the chair is from Room and Board ••

Joining:

White Wednesday

Show and Tell Friday

Saturday Nite Special

My Daughter's Room

Hello sweet people!  I thought I'd show you a few photos of my daughter's room today.  I've mentioned a time or two that I've been working on it and while there's always more I'd love to do, I'm just going to call it done.  Yay! 

When I was first thinking about what I should do in this room, I was in such a quandary.  I like things neutral, while my daughter's favorite bright color changes by the day. With that in mind, I hoped to create a space that I thought blended well with our home, but was still cozy and fun for my four-year old Little Miss.  In the end, I chose to keep things as neutral as possible and just let her toys add the colorful jazzy part :)

The color combination in this room makes me think of Neapolitan ice cream...so yummy...with lots of pink, brown and creamy white.  The duvet and shams are from Restoration Hardware.  They're soft pink and have ruffled frayed edges, which I think gives them a nice old well-loved feeling.  I found the sheets at Bed, Bath and Beyond and couldn't believe how well the color matched.  I love the pattern too...very simple with a white background and pink leaves.

Of course, I had to add some flowers to pretty things up.  I found some beautiful peachy-pink Stock and some Chamomile too.  I popped them into this old enamel bucket for a nice informal flower arrangement.

A few of the things in her room I made...the slipcover for the lampshade, the bedskirt, the brown bed pillow, the chalkboard and the white pennant flags.  Gotta give a shout out to the Mister too since he made the bench.

I just finished the bedskirt this week.  Whew...was that a job!  All those gathers...I was wondering if my sewing machine was going to be able to manage.  Luckily, it got 'er done.  I made the pennant awhile ago.  You may remember me telling you that my daughter thought it looked like shark's teeth.  She told my mom that when she first saw her her room she was "torrified."  Terrified and horrified all rolled into one...how nice.  Luckily, she's okay with it now :)

I wish I had more pictures to show you, but I had a hard time just getting the few that I did...the room isn't very large and the light is a little off, so photography is a bit of a challenge.  There's not that much more to see, just her little kitchen and the closet doors :)

Hope you have a good weekend!

xo Tricia

I'm sharing my post at:

Feathered Nest Friday, Home Sweet Home

Show and Tell Friday & Saturday Nite Special

Prettying Up the Dining Room

Hello everyone!  Hope you're having a good week.  I've been super busy...just trying to get some things done around my house while my son was still in school.  Today was the last day...now the fun begins.

I've been thinking that my dining room has been needing some love.  Because of the nice light this room gets, its usually the place where I take my photos, so I'm constantly moving things around here and there and then, before I know it, it looks like a big gigantical  mess.  This week, I finally got it all cleared away and then I decided to pretty things up a bit.

Since I love flowers, I started there.  I found these pretty pinkish peonies and thought they'd be just right for a pop of color.  I just plopped them into a pitcher, added some dishes and a few old spoons and voila...done with the table!

I decided to add more vintage elements to the room.  I brought in some canning jars and then hung an antique grain sack on that old ladder.

I've had both the grain sack and the ladder for quite awhile...probably close to ten years.  I used to hang tablecloths on that ladder in my shop. It worked out so nice for displays because of the height and it looked pretty at the same time too! I'm so glad I kept it.  When I see everyone using the ladders and the grain sacks now, I think that I must have been before my time.  It's a look I had kind of gotten away from, but am now falling in love with all over again...bring it into my house more and more.  I generally prefer a mix of vintage and contemporary.  I think it keeps things looking fresh.

I found these old silver plate spoons at the antique store the other day...a dollar for six. Oh happy day!

Remember that old pie safe I showed you awhile back?  The one that where I had the nightmarish task of removing all the paint?  Well, there it is in its new home on the sideboard.  I think it seems like the perfect spot.  Now I can see all of the nice embossing on the door.  I think the cat misses it though.  He used to lay on the top of it to sun his little self.

Well, my prettying up of the dining room is all done.  I've got some new projects to work on...such as sewing a bedskirt and shams for my daughter's room so I can finally be done in there too!

Hope you have a superb weekend ♥ Tricia

I'm sharing my post at:

Feathered Nest Friday

Vintage Inspiration Friday

Show and Tell Friday

Bloom

Hello sweet people.  I thought I'd join in with Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday again.  I always love her challenges.  Today we had to use one of her textures and a word in our photos.  I chose to use her Just Cause texture and, as you can see, the word Bloom.

Mmmm...bloom, such a wonderful word.  It brings to mind something that is growing and flourishing...becoming all that it was meant to be.  I've been hoping and wishing and praying that I would bloom.  Perhaps through this blog of mine.  That was the reason I started it, you know, to find my way back to me.

"As long as we are persistence in the pursuit of our deepest destiny, we will continue to grow.
We cannot chose the day or time when we will fully bloom.  It happens in its own time."

 ~Denis Waitley

This quote kind of sums up the way I feel. It tells me to keep trying and, that in time, things will happen for me.  Let's hope :)

Best wishes ♥ Tricia

A Sweet Ride and a Winner

Oh happy day!  It's nice and warm and sunny outside...nearly a perfect day.  It's the kind of weather that that makes me think I should take this sweet ride out for a leisurely spin.  Ahhh the wind in my hair, the sun on my face and perhaps something cool to drink in that little basket.  Doesn't that sound wonderful?

I don't actually ride this pretty wicker and bamboo bicycle...I just love it for it's looks :)  Although, the Mister did take it around the block the other day, just to see if it was working properly...I'll bet that was a sight! 

I got this little beauty when I owned my shop.  It was perfect for displays and on warm summertime days I would wheel it out onto the sidewalk to entice passersby to mosey on over in my direction.  There were plenty of people who loved it like I do, but I found it just too pretty to part with...so now it happily resides with me.

Okay my lovelies, are you ready for some giveaway talk?!  The winner of my giveaway, who was randomly chosen, is Elizabeth at Just Following Jesus.  I want to say a big thank you to everyone who entered and also to everyone who blogged about my giveaway or added my button to their sidebar.  As an aside, I've gotten so many wonderful comments lately that I'm sooo far behind in my visiting.  Just know, that I appreciate everyone who visits and leaves a comment, but sometimes life gets in the way :)

Big hugs ♥ Tricia