~at home with country~

Happy Monday everyone!

and a humongous

giant

size

thank you!!!

for all of your super sweet compliments

on our bedroom makeover!



I am delighted

you like it so much!


you guys are just the

best!!

and I am working hard to reply to everyone
because I really do appreciate you so much!

so what next??? you ask??

am I tired??

worn out??


of course not!
{I honestly do not know why.....I certainly should be!}


is there another project started and 1/2 way through
on the horizon?

:)

of course there is....... the stairs!!!

click here for

 Mr. Ticking and Toile's my next job!



but guess what??


I have some very exciting news!!
:)

The U.S. PR company for Cabbages & Roses

contacted me....my wee little blog...

 {after reading this post}

to see about doing a post or 2.....

for Christina Strutt's newest book

Of course I was

.......thrilled........

the book looks absolutely

fabulous!!!

and if you remember my post

just a couple weeks ago

on an amazing stylist, Tricia Foley...

Tricia actually wrote the forward, and

her beautiful Long Island cottage home is also featured in

"At Home with Country" 

along with homes from England, Sag Harbor
and Cape Cod!

{ooooooh are we liking this or what??}

 they sent me a book "blad"

which is like a little
sneak preview.....

yummmmy....

and I can only post just a few images.....{rats!}

from

"At Home With Country"


and what you can look forward to.....

just enough to pique your interest...

it's fabulous.....is all I can say...

and the book is just like the title says...


"bringing the comforts of country home!"


how to make our homes feel inviting...

"how every room should exude a welcoming relaxed atmosphere while remaining functional and practical" * ("At Home with Country" page 5, Christina Strutt)



but the best part is....

I will be posting

 my

 interview

with Christina Strutt!!

***

yup....did you hear that?

my very own interview!!!


my very first interview!!!!


I really tried to ask her questions

that would be relevant to us....

about stuff we would love to know!
ya know?

about our homes & how to make them
awesome....and what we can do right now....
to "get the look"


and


then



I



am



so





lucky....




because....





they are sending me






 a copy 




of







this fantastic book....







to









 give away!!!!

seriously girls!


so keep a watch out.....


coming soon.....



~a   n   o   t   h   e   r ~



giveaway for you!!!



{{hugs}}



Shellagh



now for the fine print....required by the publisher ;)


All images (except image #2)
are from
"At Home With Country" by Christina Strutt, 
Photographer Edina van der Wyck
CICO Books, $29.95, http://www.cicobooks.com/
All copyright laws apply

image #2 is from Cabbages & Roses
http://www.cabbagesandroses.com/

~final bedroom reveal & a giveaway!~

Well, hello my bloggy friends!

first things first....

do you like my new blog design??

I love it!

It has been so great to work with

Karen at Valentine Design

whom you probably know as Karen
@ my desert cottage

she has been wonderful to work with!

so go see her if you would like something new...

she is just now launching her new blog design business!

~*~

OK....now...

you're probably thinking......

holy cow......

what could possibly be taking her so

long to finish that bedroom???

is she finished yet???

yes.......she is!! yay!!!!

but, first let's talk about my first ever

bloggy giveaway!

a couple weeks ago I received this fabulous

magasinet in the mail.....

from our sweet friend

Tracey at

French Larkspur

she was offering them at a disounted price

because they are written in Danish...

um....do we care about the language?

no.  pictures please....

so, I ordered 2, one for me & one for you!!

ok, I was totally blown away when I got it....

it's so fabulous....full of pure delicious-ness

so the lucky girl who wins..... will receive a 

~

 "Jeanne d' Arc style" giveaway!

~

starting w/ the Magasinet....

and some other treasures I've collected for you....

like this awesome ironstone soup tureen....

with a ladle

and these beautiful antique salt & pepper shakers....

and this sweet candle made

with vintage french sheet music

and a darling little religious medallion

which is also available in my etsy store

but that's not all....

these cute little Jeanne d' Arc danish pins

I purchased from Ruth at the beautiful life

her store is really wonderful....go see....

and this vintage hemp towel from France

from a fabulous french sale I went to recently....

by Amy @ Charlotte's Brocante

fun stuff ~ huh?

ok...so to enter...

leave me a comment &

become a Ticking and Toile follower!

if you would like 3 entries

grab my "new" button

{it's on the top rightside of my sidebar}

and mention the giveaway on your sidebar!

the winner will be chosen randomly

on April 1st......

Now...down to business.....and

what

you

have

been

waiting

for.....






the before pic.....

{sorry I had to.....:) }

lovely old carpeted nastiness....

remember the tongue & groove fir flooring
I got free off craigslist??

and
 do you remember how Mr. Ticking & Toile
worked so hard into the night
and practically went deaf sanding???
so I could hurry up & finish....

{now you know that's not really in MY character, right? }

{click here for a reminder....}

then I varnished while the kids were
back in school......

so we were pretty thrilled with the result, but
pretty much
 ho-hum plain ~

well

here's

 the


















 after................

I would have been done sooner....but I woke up today...

and realized.....

"I need MORE pillows on the bed...."

so I spent the morning making 3 more....

yep...a glutton for punishment here...

I made a total of 6 pillows,

3 in white linen, 2 in flax linen

and 1 with a fun quilted fabric.

{I think I'm finally getting the hang of it....ruffles that is...}

here's the dust ruffle I was telling you about....

I took the easy way out & cut up my old one

and used it as a pattern...

I wanted it to be flowy and romantic....

~*~

and the cute little bench I painted

"ballet slipper pink" by Martha Stewart

on the recommendation of

Janet at The Decorating Diaries

{she actually MADE her bench....it's so cute}

I love this pink....it's so soft....I mean...

I loooooooove this pink......

In the end....I think I painted a total of 6 frames....

 most started out gold, then painted cream,

and finally white.....

once I decided on "Comet Dust"

light grey walls...white was by far the prettiest

next to it.....

{which I also looooove! it's so pretty....}

this was kinda fun....I copied some antique

french music sheets and used them for the background

and

hung up treasures from

 Charlotte's Brocante sale...

I fell in love with these cute cute little clips...

I found this chippy shutter at Monticello....and the

bench too actually.

those are my sweet baby girls....

back when they were little and played dress up...

{you see the bump on Allie's forehead?? quite a goose-egg

from a tumble on the sidewalk.....just in time for pictures...:)}

 tulips on the dresser...

{ok you got me....the tulips are fake....I cheated....but they

look pretty cute, no?}

This little chair sits in the corner for

Mr. T & T to sit on to tie his shoes...

I will be recovering it pretty soon...

I want to do the hemp cloth w/ tacks...

love that look!

I've had this chair since my first daughter, Madisen,

was born...

she took some crayons to it when she was about 1....

......about that time I decided

 slipcovers were a 'good thing'....... :)

I thought a slipcovered headboard would be perfect

for our room

 I made the headboard out of plywood

& foam batting

figuring out the shape was the hardest part...

the rest wasn't too bad

{I used this picture as my inspiration

for the headboard & bed...}

{I know the pic is from Country Living but

I can't remember who's home it is....love her style though!}

I made the slipcover with white cotton denim....

I wanted it to be sturdier than linen.

my favorite annual

'ranaculus' on the side table...

here's the awesome mirror I found at

Goodwill for $24.99......

it was brick red.....:{

{ok please ignore the apparatus hanging from the ceiling.....that was going to

be a ceiling fan....but I'm holding out for a chandelier......don't ya think??}

well I think this has been

just about

the longest post in history....

Thanks so much for all your comments

and encouragement!

I really could not have done this without

all of your fabulous creativity, ideas

and pressure (lol) :)

This whole blogging adventure has been

so fun & meeting all of you has truly been

a JOY~

xoxo,

Shellagh

~crazy Monday....~

Hello there Bloggy Friends!

Let me tell you...

I am getting sooooo close......

to being finished with our bedroom makeover.....

sconces get delivered tomorrow....

....yippee...

I cannot wait!!!

I hope Mr. T & T is ready to crawl up in the attic....

to do some serious wiring....

up there w/ the spiders & insulation...blek...

I spent the day yesterday doing this....

dropping off kids to school..

going to Lowe' to get paint & ceiling fan...

coming home to paint...cutting in 1/2 the room....

getting on computer to check in w/ all you fabulous girls...

checking craigslist...{kiss of death}

just in case...there's something....

AND...

there was....

free

 boxwood...

uh oh...

{I feel project ADD coming on...somebody get me my meds...}.

in

downtown Portland...

hmmmmm.....

..........what to do...what to do...

called the guy to tell him I couldn't come till tomorrow...cuz...

.......I'm focusing.....

but he wouldn't wait....

so off I ran with my gardening gloves in one hand...

Sadie in the other...

wondering the whole time just how insane I am.....

so I picked up 30 free boxwoods for our front yard...

threw them in the flower bed & went back to painting....

 I went with a pale grey recommended by

 Tracey at French Larkspur

I'm sure you all remember this post of hers?

her daughter Caighton's room...

swoon...

click here

to check it out...totally amazing...

ok...where was I?  oh yes...

back to painting...

I managed to stay focused until I was forced into the shower at {ahem} 4:30...

...that's pm....

{but I finished....yay! even moved the furniture back...:) }

then grabbed my 'band booster club president' hat

and ran off to a band concert/fund raiser

for my sweet Kenzie who plays the clarinet....

came home at 8:40pm

fed the crew....noodles w/ parmesan...

...so glad they love that...so easy...

and painted frames for my room....

remember the fabulous mirror I told you about, awhile back, from Goodwill?

can you imagine a crazy ornate detailed mirror painted brick red?

...gasp....

now it's white....and ready to go on my pale grey wall....yum city.

dropped in bed at 9:45....

today is a new day...brand new & fresh

ready for being filled up....

with fun stuff...

have you been enjoying these pictures?

they are from the stylist Tricia Foley

isn't she awesome?

click here to view her work

I knew you would like it...

now, the big news....well not that big...

but news...

I'm having my first giveaway ever....

coming VERY soon....

the picture above is a small clue of what will be included....

so check back .....

have a fabulous day!

Shellagh