~creamy goodness~

Good morning bloggy friends!

well, it's Monday & the list is long....

so how about a little creamy goodness

before diving into work!

Today I'm tempting you all with

designer Lauren Ross's home

are those stone walls just amazing?

I love how the ruffly slipcovers drape on

the sisal rug.....

aren't her slipcovered dining chairs

2die4???

I love the soft ruffles & the ties in back

AND that MIRROR!! wow~

need one of those......

This picture was my inspiration

for my bedroom makeover.

I love her headboard w/ the monogram

I'm still wanting to do a monogram on ours...

I know lots of you have seen this picture...

what a sweet bathroom....

even a little ruffle on the tiny lampshade!

ruffles & urns....yum.

her daughter's bedroom.....

it's a nice pink huh?

more drapey slipcover yumminess

& ruffly pillow goodness...

I wonder how long these would look nice

in my home????

{I'm thinking approximately 24 hours....}

I love the shape of these chairs....the monogram

the strappy legs...

yeah, love this one too, but

look at that brick floor!!

here's another little closeup

of one of her slipcovers....

this chair was her grandmother's &

she left it "as is"

except adding the little rosettes around

the buttons on the tufting....

love her style~

~*~

ok...now on to real life.....

my life....

I'm happy to report our stairs are coming along!

I'm still waiting on the contractors bid &

meanwhile Mr. T & T started working on

them this weekend!!

I swear there is nothing that makes me happier

than hubs doing house projects!! yippee!

I'll take that over roses anyday!

{in a vase...that is...now if we're talking

about one to plant well....that's a tough choice...:)}

I went "running" 5 times last week!!

can you believe that??

I say "running" because it's really a little jogging,

and a alot of  little walking....

all I can say is.... it hurts like#*@!!  it feels great!

ha ha :)

I do appreciate all of your nice comments &

encouragement!  I was telling my running partner

about all your encouragement & she wants

me to forward those comments to her so she can

believe it's possible to become a runner at our age!

I haven't really been sore from it, just right after

we are done....legs hurt, feet & ankles hurt....

but at least it hasn't been lasting long!

~*~

ok back to decorating...

I have to admit my decorator/remodeling ADD

is kicked into full swing & my head is spinning...

{I won't go into the list or your heads will

be spinning as well!}

seriously.....I drive myself crazy with jumping

from this to that all day!

please tell me some of you do this as well!

~ f  o  c  u  s ~

~hummmmmm....~

{imagine soft meditational music here!}

now, on that note I need to get in gear....

make bed

start laundry

start dishwasher

take shower

replace 14 yr olds cell phone...

go to post office

pick up kids

go for run

make dinner

sound familiar?

have a great day!

xo,

Shellagh

{all pictures from Country Living}

~ticking & such~

as if we all need 'more' inspiration.....

here I go again with some more...

this was one of the inspiration pics I

had for our bedroom makeover~

I ended up going in a different direction,

but sure do love this still!

this is Jennifer Eggleston's home

in Texas...{where all the cute houses are!}

Kim, this is for you!

a ticking slipcover....ahhhhh....

love it!

and who can get enough vintage white dishes?

not me...

I am in love with peonies...

I have a the same plant

and it is simply out of this world....

need about 100 of them

yumm-o

ok...I am also in love with this bedroom...

what about you?

 more yummies....

ok...now a little secret....

shhhhhh....

can you hear me?

come closer....

ok...

you see that?

well, I bought 'em Friday....

and I'm using them...

3 times so far...yay!

I know I'm .....um..... 40 something...

but, I've always wanted to be a runner...

{well, I actually was about, oh, 20 years ago...eek}

you know, those nice muscular lean legs

runners have?

I want those!

so me & my 40 something friend

are doing it....

slowly....

owch...

it hurts a bit...

but we are going slow & working up

to it  s l o w l y...

I'll let you know how it goes...:)

xo,

Shellagh

{all photos from Country Living}

~serious eye candy~

hello everyone!

hope Monday has treated you all well....

for me....very well!

I got an email from Tracey at 6:34 am congratulating me that I won

French Larkspur's giveaway!

I'm thrilled & promise to show you

straight away as soon as I receive it!

I was browsing all my pictures today &

came upon these tucked in a little folder...

{are they tucked in a little folder when they are in your hard drive??:)}

I'm sure many of you have seen this blog...

Hvitur Lakkris

but just in case you haven't...

you are in for a treat!

Her name is Gua, and she's from

Iceland!  But now resides in Sweden.

her style is really wonderful~

and she is as sweet as can be...

to read her blog is like

reading a letter from an

old friend!

And her style is quite contagious...if there is

such a thing!

it seems I am going to be painting everything

in our house white or grey!!

anyone else in the same boat?

what's really amazing to me is to think

it was only this LAST summer

that I started blogging...

and just basically discovered this whole

swedish~nordic style!

not that I wasn't already knee deep

in white slipcovers....and french flea market style...

...but this just seems to take it to a whole new level...

a whole new level of fabulous-ness!

 what did I ever do for

inspiration before blogging???

oh yeah, I was a magazinaholic.....

but now I've found, I can't get the same inspiration

from my old favorites...

Country Living ~ yeah ok but just ok.

Cottage Living ~ gone...

Country Home ~ gone but not that good before it died.

now it's from all of you!

all the different blogs I visit...

all the fabulous ideas I find...

I am so serious ~ I cannot believe

the amazing creativity all you girls possess!!

it really has been a wonderful journey!

thanks for all your friendship

and support!

{{hugs & kisses}}

~*~

and now for a.....

~project update~

1)  haven't decided on the arborvitae yet...

found out it's best to transplant in the fall...and now I'm wondering about a few cecile brunner climbing rose bushes instead?? apparently they grow 20 feet tall! anyone experienced these "house eaters?" as in...can grow to ginormous proportions!!!

2)  waiting and waiting and waiting to get

bid back on our stairs.....oh those contractors!! thinking about bribing my dad to come visit & "help" us do them....he's quite the diy guy!

3)  spackle is out, paint is purchased & ready to begin Mackenzie's room~

{here she is last spring helping me plant 100

baby boxwoods!! sweetie girl!}

it is currently a buttery yellow, and I am just so saddened that she would rather go with a creamy white! :)

4)  and about those 100 boxwoods we planted last spring? well only 57 left to prune.....{um...no words necessary.....} felt a little like Edward Scissorhands....but they do look darn cute all spruced up w/ their little haircuts!

5)  sites are set on redoing my previously redone

frenchy chairs.....click here to see what they look like now.....so I'm thinking dropcloth fabric....

and now....I need to set my sites on

fixing dinner....

talk soon!

xo,

Shellagh

~happy friday & a little inspiration~

hello there friends!

it's Friday....:)

it's so wonderful to start dreaming of summertime...

thought I'd share some dreamy pics

with you....in case you're looking for ideas

or for just dreaming...of that wrap around porch....

I really love the color of this painted deck

isn't this farm table wonderful?

me needs to find one....

hello craigslist~?

have a fabulous

weekend!

xoxo,

Shellagh

{all pics are from Country Home except the last which is from Country Living}

~C & R book winner & the project I wasn't looking for~

There's a gorgeous blue sky today.....

in the middle of a VERY rainy & dreary spring

here in the Pac NW....

it's amazing what a little sunshine can do for

your soul? 

I thought it very fitting to post this picture....

it's from the garden of...

the winner....

of...

Christina Strutt's new book

"At Home With Country"

The lucky winner is Carla

from

CosmoGirl's Emporium

these are all shots from her beautiful garden....

I'm waiting patiently for my lilacs to bloom....

you can almost smell them from here huh?

aren't cherry trees just divine?

their blooms are just beautiful...

It looks like she's quite the gardener....

if you have a minute, go over & check out her

lovely site...

here

Congratulations Carla!

I'm sure you will thoroughly enjoy your new book!

Christina also left a comment for

me on the post!  I thought you would like

to read what she said!

Dearest Shellagh,

thank you for lovely interview and thank you to all the heavenly people who have made such lovely comments.

Kate and I are coming to New York in May and our lovely PR Suzie at Branding inc might be able to organise a book signing - we will keep you posted on our blog.

xx christina

Is she the sweetest? I love how she says

"Dearest Shellagh" ...reminds me of

Emma Thompson in

Sense & Sensibility...

and of course you are ALL the

heavenly people she referred too!

She's right! You guys are the best!

now I know I'm risking

a very lengthy post.....

but you might be wondering

what I'm up to now......

well.....the stairs...

we have gone back & forth on finishing the

stairs ourselves....or hiring it out...

this is similar to what we want

but maybe painting the steps a light grey

all the trimwork is what we think

we will struggle with....not being

finish carpenters ya know....

Oh Yeah....I almost forgot

about another "fall in your lap"

kind of project....

you know, like the free boxwoods off craiglist?

well, our neighbor just told me she wants

to get rid of 14 good sized arborvitae!

and we really need a hedge across our back fence

to block {what once was a horse pasture

& is now a paving company..long story for another day....argh}

an unsightly view....

hence, "the project I wasn't looking for"

am I crazy?  no...... don't answer that! ;)

Mr. T & T wants to do it...

especially after looking at buying a bunch

at Costco @ $17 a piece.....

we will probably be digging (big ol') holes....

and doing some transplanting....

this weekend.....

rent a back hoe?

maybe.....

and

I got to meet up with

 Kathleen from Faded Charm

and Kim from White Whispers 2 u

for a very fun day of shopping at my favorite

antique store in Portland, "Monticello"

Kathleen does the wonderful "white wednesdays"

each week, and what an eye that girl has!!

&

 Kim has a very cute blog & etsy store

and also can spot a 2die4 item 50 yards away! ;)

we had a great time ~ I love meeting new friends

well I could go on & on but I know

you need to keep blog hoppin'

so I will see you next time!

xoxo,

Shellagh

~C & R interview & giveaway part II~

Happy Friday everyone!!

I really love Fridays......

the kids are done with school for a couple days....

Mr. T & T is home for a couple days....

Ya know it amazes me how each Friday

every single week.....feels so

hopeful & exciting!

what are we doing tonight.....

watching a movie as a family?

going out to dinner w/ Mr T & T?

getting take out for family?

go watch airplanes take off from the airport?

{we are strange like that.....}

go to the mall & browse around

go on a bike ride? weather permitting of course...

don't you just love the feeling of anticipation?

kinda corny I know but.....

I bet you're ready for part II of my

interview w/ Christina Strutt

Founder of Cabbages & Roses??

let's do it then!

Ticking and Toile: What is your housekeeping routine, Christina?

Christina: Bicarbonate of soda (I think that's just baking soda right guys?) is my housekeeping routine.  I use it to clean the baths and sinks, in the laundry, in the potting shed.  It is the only cleaning material I have in the house along with copious quantities of white distilled vinegar...which I also use in the laundry, and to disinfect chopping boards. (wow....have us Americans really been snookered into buying all the stuff we buy?? We don't need softscrub, bleach, comet, windex?? ) I can get quite boring about housekeeping so it is probably best for you to buy a copy of Cabbages & Roses Guide to Natural Housekeeping, which is the only way to make me stop droning on and on about how easy it is to use natural products for all your housekeeping needs!  One of our cabbage girls spotted it for sale in the new Anthropology shop in London at the week end.  It might be available in Anthropology in the USA ~ it is certainly available in all good book shops via amazon.  {is she so fun? ;) }

 { I think that must be baking soda in that little jar there on the counter!}

T & T: Where do you look for inspiration?

Christina: Strangely, to my youth!  Unconsciously my designs always seem to slip back to the 60's and 70's both clothing and home designs.  I think people were braver then and happy to use colour after the drabness of the 40's and 50's.  It seems that minimalism is the antithesis of Cabbages & Roses style, where life becomes neat and beige and streamline.  Give me wobbly lines and faded roses, stripey t shirts and wellington boots every time!!

I am also inspired by music and films.  And Paris!  It is always such fun putting the music together for our fashion shows, that now I tend to fall in love with the music, and then design clothes that go with it! (that's what you call creative, huh guys?) For home inspiration there are many designers that inspire me.  Particularly Colefax & Fowler, and Jean Monroe, who produced beautiful floral chintzes with timeless qualities.  Their interiors had such impact and warm inviting coziness that even the keenest elk hunter wouldn't notice he was surrounded by flowers, but would immediately feel warm and welcomed!

T & T: And lastly, you have truly followed your life's passion in founding Cabbages & Roses.  What advice would you give someone who wants to fulfill a similar dream but is unsure of where to start?

Christina: Start by asking yourself if you are ready to devote 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for the next 10 years to your dream.  If the answer is yes, then go for it!  Be prepared to do everything yourself from designing to answering the telephone to hand writing address labels through the night, and into the morning.  It is also important that your family understand that it is better to join in than wait in the wings for your attention, because unless they can wait for 10 years, they won't get it.

Once the above is established, follow your dream.  Make sure that your dream is your passion, and that you are prepared to stick with it through thick and thin.  It is not unlike getting married or having children.  Once you embark on it, it is very difficult to get off.  Secondly, do thorough research.  Make a one year, two year, and a five year plan.  Be realistic and budget very carefully.  There will be pitfalls, and low times, but keep your eye on the bigger picture and you will get there!

wow! 

that is serious dedication isn't it?

well she would certainly know what it takes....

given Cabbages & Roses enormous success!

Her latest book is sure to be a huge success as well....

oooooh the color of that bench......yummy.....

I really enjoyed this opportunity

to interview Christina....

what an amazing woman~

and an amazing company she has built~

I hope you all enjoyed it as well!

If you haven't entered my giveaway for

her new book

"At Home With Country"

You can leave a comment on today's

or yesterday's post,

follow,

blog about it

grab a button

4 opportunities to enter!

{drawing will be April 14 in the morning}

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

xoxo,

Shellagh

{all photos are from the Cabbages & Roses website, with the exception of the very last photo which is the cover of "At Home With Country" by Christina Strutt, photographer Edina van der Wyck, http://www.cicobooks.com/, $29.95}