Friday, September 30, 2011

~somewhere in france~

Is it really Friday already?



this week has just flown by!

we are still enjoying an amazing
fall....it was in the 80's yesterday
with a gentle breeze....ahhhhhh!


the weather is so perfect for going
to farms, outdoor markets & such...

yesterday I stopped in
at wonderful farm just up the
road from us.....
{which I'll be sharing with you next week...}
and picked up my corn stalks for
front porch decorating....
which I'm just getting started on....

~love this time of year!!~


it's an annual tradition around here
to go to the corn maze
and pick out some pumpkins...

and now that the girls {2 of them anyway...}
are a little older....
~gulp~
and in high school....
~ double gulp~
I'm sure they'll be getting all their
 friends together on a Friday night
 to run frantically through the
maze.......

ahhh the days of high school....when you get
an absolute JOLT
of energy at 9:00 on Friday nights.....
and why is it we as parents
are on the exact opposite end of the ol' energy
spectrum at that particular hour??? 

ah, it appears I'm off track....
haven't said a word about this amazing home....
where to start....um it's uh....well...amazing.
pretty much.  in a nutshell.


....what I really love about it is
the charming rustic floors.....
they almost look bare right?
I'm sure there's some kind
of sealant on them but
they just look amazing....


I am loving the natural furnishings
against the white backdrop....

and you see those vintage decoys
up there above the door??
I am in LoVe with those!
always wanted some....


and that door has the most amazing
patina....love it too....

ok...this bedroom....
the wood ceiling...
 the white walls...
the ruffles on the all white bedding....

~purrrrrrrr~


and a wall of books!
mmmmmm..........

and here we have more of that off-the-charts,
yummi-fied, de-lish-ess-ness, 2die4,
seriously-in-love with
 w  o  o  d.

weathered, & wornout  w  o  o  d.
yum.

love it.


do you notice there's no baseboards?
it seems to be quite common in Europe!?
makes remodeling easier for sure!

before I let you go....
thought I'd just share with you a new



this was a result of a custom order this last
week, and I love the way it turned out so much....thought
you might too!

It's perfect for holiday gatherings....it fits
right over a 6ft folding table....
... I'm thinking side table for Thanksgiving
or for a display table for all you junkers
out there.....


well enjoy your weekend girls!!


I'll see you next week with
and some creepy critters I'm making
to scurry about.....


aren't these awesome???
:)


xoxo,



Shellagh


P.S.

I don't know if any of you are having the same
issue with blogger & leaving comments.....
but I haven't been able to leave comments
on many blogs!

I'm so sorry!!!

P.S.S.
Ria from It's Me...
please leave me your email address....
thanks!


{images via art & decoration, except last one bhg.com}





Wednesday, September 28, 2011

~kitchens...european style~

Happy Wednesday friends!


Seriously, I can't believe it's
already hump day!!


all this fall like weather has
definitely gotten me in the
mood for cooking!

why is it, as soon as the weather
gets cool I get the urge to
 cook up a bunch of
homestyle meals????



in fact, I was feeling so nostalgic
a couple nights ago.....
I actually made my family,


shhhhhh......come close......



a little closer.....



can you hear me?

.......hamburger gravy......

oh and it gets better.....

ready?

are you still close?

.....served over toast......

wow...

~*~
disclaimer.....
for all of you "gravy over toast types"
my deepest apologies right now
and know that I love you just the
way you are!!

 anyhoo.....


Mr. T & T comes into the kitchen
and says, "what is......that??"
like seriously shocked....
you see, we've always been the
"clean protein with salad & veggies types"
{boy, you'd think I'd be skinny or something....} 


I mean, we never eat gravy anything...
except at Thanksgiving.....
but my mom used to feed us that
and I was just feeling like
"hey, let's give it a whirl...."
my girls were saying..."how about
biscuits instead of toast, mom?"....
"really mom?  on toast?"

I'm like, noooooo, you gotta eat it
the way I did! hee hee.....


so you're wondering.....did they eat it?
was it yummy?

well, of course!

do you know the fastest, easiest gravy recipe??
this is from an vintage {of course!} southern
cookbook.....brown the meat, whatever it is,
add 2 cans of evaporated milk & bring
to a gentle boil while stirring constantly.
If it still needs thickened, use the corn starch
in cold water method.
{mix a heaping TBSP of cornstarch with 1/4 cup water,
mix well, add to the gravy & stir}


but ya know~ all the home cookin' doesn't really
do much for the ol' figure....
but the running does....
it is helping.....apparently...
so says Mr. T & T anyway.
I can't tell that much~
 but if he can ~ great!


so after my last post on Monday
I went running in the cool wet weather~
it felt great!
and I ran...drumroll please.....................
33 minutes!
woo-hoo!!


oh is this kitchen just so fabulous?
love the cozy quaintness of it!


Hope you're all having a fabulous week!



xoxo,



Shellagh


{all images via pinterest}



Monday, September 26, 2011

~meet Zelda & Darnell~

Good morning bloggy friends!


Happy Monday
&
Hello rain!!!


it was soooo blustery here yesterday!
it's a good thing
the leaves haven't changed much yet because
the wind & rain definitely would have blown
them all off the trees!
I guess fall has officially arrived??

~*~

I'm so excited to introduce you to
Zelda!!

finally got her all finished
and just loving her!!



and her scary black cat
Darnell


I know I confessed to you all last week
approximately just how long
I've had this pattern.....sitting on a shelf....
in fact I think I thought about throwing it
away about a gazillion times.......


but this is proof that it pays {on a rare
occassion} to hang onto stuff 'til
"someday when I have time"  :) 


so you wanna see the process???
I've got lots of pictures so
hang tight!

is downloaded & printed
and comes with a little grid to put together



there's about a million pieces to print, so
make sure you've got plenty of ink you don't
mind using!

the graph is all labeled so you can see where to put
each piece A1, A2 etc....


I got smart after doing the big one &
got my kiddos involved!



they love helping me do this kind of stuff!
in fact after we were done, Kenzie (the one
in the floral top) said ....
"Momma, it's gonna look like a huge
halloween bomb went off by the time
we're done decorating....and I'm gonna help you!!"
{seriously, bestill my beating heart....music to my ears....what a sweetie!}


Once the pattern is all cut out,
the directions recommend using spray adhesive
to glue it to the plywood, but
I found outlining the pattern on the plywood
worked better than sawing
all around the edge of the paper.....
{the paper would get all bunched up under the saw
and it just made it annoying & difficult!}


use your trusty ol' jigsaw to cut her out
....you might need more
than one blade (I broke one in the process)



then once you get her all cut out


grab yourself a spare kiddo
and some black paint
and paint her up real quick!


I didn't even bother sanding at all
in fact, I just barely wiped off all the sawdust.....

easy peasy lemon squeezy!

ah, Mr. T & T was so darn sweet
on Saturday!!!
he did tons of gardening, cutting down,
yanking out & digging out all sorts
and manner of various overgrown
vegetation Mrs. T & T has had no time for....

and he still wanted to help me
with Zelda & Darnell!!


I was basically glee-ful!
completely thrilled at such generosity! ;)
.....no seriously, I was!!

can you tell he was soooooooo
excited to get his picture taken?

I mean who wouldn't after working in the
yard all day, all hot & sweaty
and feeling nasty........
right?? hee hee hee



so what do you think of her?
you like??

I do!  And you know what?
it wasn't really that hard at all!!
and the total cost of the project was
less than $20
$12 for 1/2 inch plywood from Home Depot
and $2.50 for the insulation pole to stick
her in the ground
and less than $3 for the insulation clamps
and I already had paint on hand!

for complete details & directions go
will give you the supply list, templates etc...
{but I wouldn't spend the extra on the 3/4 in
plywood....the 1/2 inch worked just fine!}





well girls, I'm off for my run....
*update*
30 minutes running.....no walking....
yep......crazy huh.......?
we'll see how it goes in the rain....
haven't done that yet....
sure it'll be awesome! ;)


have an awesome week!!


xoxo,


Shellagh

Friday, September 23, 2011

~a little french inspiration~

It's Friday!
My favorite day of the week!


So full of promise for the weekend.....

It's a bright sunny day here~
but I did notice some low fog
on the fields this morning,
while driving my kids to seminary
{very early....I might add....ouch!}
mother nature's just setting the stage
for fall & halloween :)


the tips of some leaves
are just starting to turn.....
but by mid-afternoon it will be 80.
not too shabby, eh?


we are so fortunate to have beautiful
"indian" summers here....
I think it's just a little bonus
 for suffering through
our very wet springs!


I'm heading out this morning...doing a little
"shoppe" shopping
and then home to make some sense
out of my completely out of control
overgrown, everything is humongous back garden....
wish me luck....;)


what do you have planned?
friends?
family?
cleaning?
gardening?
thrifting?
yard sale-ing?
crafting?
all of the above?
or
???


whatever it is.....

enjoy!



xoxo,



Shellagh



{all images via pinterest}


Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Hello bloggy friends!


It's hump day already!
2 more days til the weekend ~ whoo-hoo! :)
don't  you love the anticipation of the weekend?


I really love this darling french home....
greys, whites, creams oh my!


did you notice the little doggy chair?
how cute is that????
I don't know about you ~ but I am
currently obsessed with grey furniture,
moldings, and doors.....
of course I am because we just redid all of ours
white! ha ha ha! ;)


I just love the way grey looks against white walls ~
yum.

Little sidenote here ~
been working on a little halloween project


yep ~ if you follow me on facebook
you might already know that I've been
working away on this.....and I've been
diligently taking pictures so I'll be
showing you all just as soon as I'm done!
{come by and Like me!! I'm moving up in the world....
from 5 friends to 34! yippee!!}

*anyhoo*
where was I?
oh yes....drooling over this amazing
french farmhouse......
{but I was just so excited to share my project with you ~
especially since I've been wanting to do it & have had the
pattern for, um, well, let's just
say a good 4 or 5 2 -3 years......}


oh you see the plank walls back there?
I just saw an   a  w  e  s  o  m  e  
idea for that.......
recycled pallet boxes!!
I see those everywhere!
don't ya think that could work??
I am thinking...yes!


now this picture (above) I'll admit is a bit
heavy on the fabric factor.  I'm thinking
either the slipcovers or tablecloth, but both
on this table, seems a little too much.
Kinda cute the way they have the slipcovers
secured with the rope/twine/? though!


k, this room....love it....
love love love it.


oh, behold the grey door....ooooh love that
dark tone.....


by the way....am I the only person
left without a mannequin?
I'm thinking so.....and I'm thinking
I really need one now.....Oh, I'm sure
it's a   n e e d   and not a want right? ;)
and isn't that day bed just amazing?


 ~sigh~

beautiful home ~ hope you enjoyed it!


Talk soon!



xoxoxo,


Shellagh




{all pics campagne decor, with the exception of witch pic which
is from Martha Stewart)
Blog Widget by LinkWithin