Living Life and Random Thoughts 10/1/2013

Reminder to visit Pinterest. I now have over 11,700 photos on my pinterest and 9,400 followers. Visit there to see all the glorious images. I doubt you'll be disappointed.
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If you wait until you have enough money to decorate and make your home your own it will never happen. If you wait to buy everything new you are missing the point. It is the old, the new, the made, the hand-me-down, the collected, the worn (but loved) things in your home that make it your own. Quote from Alexandra Stoddard. My sentiments exactly. It's how I decorate, but live my life also.
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One of my favorite kitchens. I don't like or need a formal dining room, but this beautiful dining area off the kitchen would be perfect in my eyes. Plus I love the mix of white with light cabinetry. My perfect kitchen would be pink and white however. While my walls are pink, the cabinets are ash—light, not dark, but I'm still going to paint them—or have them painted I should say—at some point. Maybe just the top ones and leave the bottom ones the wood look, giving hubby a say in the process. ;-) A friend of mine has dark cabinets and wouldn't dream of painting them. I told her she thinks like a man! I see nothing sacrosanct about cabinets that a coat of paint wouldn't make them look better. I don't particularly like the wood look on most things.

The ceiling looks like this could be a loft somewhere in the city, but I love the openness of the shower. I wouldn't like to look at the grungy pipes and ceiling however.

Yeah, yeah, I'm having a fit for chocolate about now. This does look yummy.

Lovin' what the owner did to this little bottle. Absolutely stunning!

I've looked around the import stores for some good lemonade in pretty bottles. However, while I buy it simply for the cute bottles, the lemonades are usually not very good. And the sparkling lemonade goes flat pretty quickly. At least I have the pretty bottles left to decorate.

This room has a segreto finish on it. Segreto finishes are done by artists and can be very expensive. I've done some in an old house we had in California, but it's very labor intensive. I wouldn't try it now as my arms couldn't hold up.

Beautiful peonies.

I love the layout of this room. It's perfect for conversations with friends and not for watching television. I think the television takes priority in most homes and conversation is becoming a lost art. Not in my home however.

You couldn't miss this restaurant if you tried! Love the bright red exterior.

Another lovely bouquet of roses and little wildflowers.

I simply cannot get enough of flowers. They soothe my heart and soul.

And this! I wish I had the recipe. It looks so yummy with caramel drizzled over it. I may try to duplicate it when I'm not dieting. Right now though...NOPE.

These are soaps. Aren't they gorgeous?

I found an old laundry hamper like this at a garage sale about 10 years ago for a dollar or so and bought it. I stripped off the liner and made a frou-frou one and sold it on eBay. I'll never do it again. It was such a hassle mailing it to the buyer, plus it was a LOT of work to duplicate it. It was, however, darling.

I'm partial to magnets. I love these sweet ones. I have some on our fridge to hold a calender and messages but they're beautiful and not what most people hang on their refrigerators. I told you: everything in my home is lovely, even my magnets. :-)

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Linking up with Pink Saturday.

Some Thoughts Today 9/26/2013

I realize I've not been posting a lot lately but a lot of things are requiring my mostly undivided attention. Blogging served a very high priority in my life a while back, not so much now. But I'm not giving it up so keep watching for new posts.

Now, Pinterest is holding my attention and I love posting there. It's fast, easy and I don't tell stories about my daily life. ;-) Anyway, for those interested in viewing the 11,600+ photos on my pinterest and the 9,300+ followers who deem the images worthy enough, you might like to view them also. There are only the gorgeous images I've collected from the internet. All beautiful and "eye candy." I don't think I'll ever be able to get them all on this blog, but putting them on there is so easy. Visit it and see what I'm talking about. You can just sit back and dream while viewing them. I do!
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I had a friend several years ago who was a psychologist. She invited hubby and me over to her house for dinner one night. Now, her house is entirely different from mine. Actually, she had a lovely condominium and it was furnished rather starkly. And we all know I do not do "starkly" in my decorating. Her home was lovely though.

We were over there to also watch a video conference of our Church since we don't have a television and usually watch it the day after when we can view it on one of our computers. Her television was on a plant shelf so we had to look up...to the ceiling. My neck ached so badly from watching it I never would go back to watch television with her ever again.

Then she and her hubby had a "sandbox" in the traditional Japanese style in her home. He told me to take the miniature rake and make any design I wanted. Well, I'm not into those sort of things and being kind of shy about doing such things, I felt very intimidated. I made a few strokes and that was it. I just wasn't comfortable. We've lost touch but I did get a wonderful recipe from her for a salad dressing. I doubt I would pick up the rake again and make a fool of myself though. Very nice people however.
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I'm always watching hubby's speed when he's driving my car as it doesn't have radar in it as his truck does. I bought that for him so it would be a reminder to watch his speed. He always goes over the posted speed by about 3 MPH and sometimes more, mostly just forgetfulness on his part. Plus he doesn't have cruise control in his truck either. But he's gotten 4 or 5 tickets in the past 5 or 6 years and I haven't had one in many, many years. I go the posted limits but will occasionally catch myself.

So on the way to Southern California recently I reminded him to watch his speed. He said, "I'm not speeding." He was going over the limit, but I simply said, "Tell that to the cop that stops you and see how far it gets you." He was silent. I think he probably was thinking of throwing me out the door at that point! I can smell that territorial bloom of testosterone. ;-) But I did shut my mouth up at that point.  It doesn't take me long to figure out when to stop. Sigh.
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Oh, one more thing: I've lost 32 pounds on my diet in the last 2 months. I'm beyond thrilled!
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Love this little sign. Wish I could fine out where it came from and I'd buy it!

Another room I love.

This is a sink in a bathroom. Designer sinks are becoming very popular with a lot of homeowners.

A lovely garden vignette.

And a gorgeous turquoise pool in Asia, I believe. I can't remember where some of the places are that I find in photos. Forgive me!

A comfy French chair.

A lovely small pendant probably handmade by an artisan. This metal working is becoming very popular among Etsy sellers and home crafts people. I don't need another thing to do so I'm not even pursuing it. ;-)

Another gorgeous vintage table surrounded with more modern French chairs.

The one thing I do love is to redecorate old lamps I have found at thrift stores. However, there is only so much room in this house for lamps and I think I need to give it up until I get tired of the lamps I have now. Then I might refurbish them again. It never ends in this house!

I love these curtains. Exquisite lace with a silk ribbon threaded though for a thoroughly unique look.

Our peonies did beautifully this year.

A clever little window dressing for privacy from peekers but still allows a lot of sun to shine through. Of course, you know I love the colors.

Put a pink flower in a stunning bowl and what do you get? A gorgeous vignette for a photo shoot!

Truly, what more could you want in a beautiful relaxing room like this?

This is in another country and it's a beautiful kitchen. They mostly have open cabinets, no doors. I love the look but think of the dust. I prefer doors on my cabinets in the kitchen.

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Linking up with Pink Saturday.

Just Random Comments 9/16/2013

I now have 11,425 pins on my Pinterest and almost 9,200 followers. I invite you to visit it and see all the glorious and gorgeous photos/images pinned there. I don't think you'll be disappointed at all.
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I don't wear T-shirts with logos on them. I don't need to advertise or draw attention to this chest. And as hubby has said, "Men are hard-wired."
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The speed in which a woman says "nothing" when asked what's wrong is inversely proportional to the severity of the coming storm. (Personal experience!)
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I'm a very reserved person in just about any public situation. I'm definitely assertive but reserved also. In my experience women are more so than men. Men? I've found that you put 2 men who are strangers in a room with a case of beer, 2 bags of chips and ESPN and they bond faster than crazy glue. These past 2 weeks in Southern California with our son and his boys testified to that bonding. Although, there was no beer involved, Diet Dr. Pepper, Pepsi and any kind of salty, spicy chip works just as well. ;-)
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I love the looks of this home—the stone facade, the roof, the lushness of the flowers and the windows and the stone fence surrounding it. Just my kind of place.

Such a deliciously simple pillow but just adorable.

I was looking on the David Austin site for roses but found many other sites with his roses. I love his above all else. They certainly do well for us in this hot climate.

It's pink and adorable. Need I say more?

I also love the looks of this dining room.

We've eaten at similar-looking places in Mexico. It is a real treat to eat out and watch the ocean.

I thought this was a very clever way to dress a trailer or caravan.

A David Austin rose. They're so fragrant.

Just some adorable little do-dads make into magnets for a refrigerator.

A beautiful village street in Europe somewhere.

Is it apparent my thoughts are on sweets right now? I tell you I could mug a shopper if I thought she had chocolate in her bags!

And aren't these cookies adorable?! Sigh...

While in San Diego, I saw these Coach loafers and had to buy them. I had to fight my son and his wife to pay for them myself. We were treated royally by them. Best time I've had for a long time.

What an adorable vignette with a Good Seasons bottle filled with pink water, roses and an embroidered dresser scarf or tablecloth.

I ordered these shoes a few days ago. They'll be delivered tomorrow. Aren't they adorable? I love loafers and these were rated highly. Being raised in the 40s, 50s and 60s by a mother who believed in Classic clothes and bought them exclusively for me, I've never lost the love of "Classic" styles in clothing.

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Blogger isn't working for me

Everything is back to normal now. I'll be posting later today or tomorrow. Got a fish fry hubs is dragging me to today! I love fish but can't eat anything fried or coated with anything during this diet. I'll probably eat baked salmon and cry at all the fish I'll not be able to eat. :-(

I'm not able to see any of my old posts on blogger and have had a hard time logging in for 2 days now. So, I'm still here, just can't do anything! Sorry. I'll be back when I figure out what's wrong. Anyone else having this problem? Connie

A Wonderful Week in Southern Caifornia

It's Sunday and we've had an exhaustive, wonderful weekend in San Diego. Let me tell you about it.

My son and daughter-in-law treated us to the weekend in San Diego. He and his family live near San Bernadino so it was a 2 hour drive down. When we lived here many years ago, the Pacific Coast Highway was the only way to get there. Now, there are freeways everywhere! We had a blast.

Saturday, we, our son, his wife and 3 boys—drove down and went to USMC Recruit Depot and to the post exchange for shopping. Son and his wife wouldn't let me or hubby spend a cent. Hubby and I were gifted with a free room, USMC merchandise from the post exchange (where only the high-end clothing, shoes, perfumes, cosmetics and purses are sold), designer perfumes, dinners, lunches, breakfasts, a day at the Hilton spa in downtown San Diego and massage (which was exquisite), the facial (which was exquisite) and some very pricey cosmetics at the Hilton Spa. The facial made me feel 10 years younger. My daughter-in-law is over 50 and has an amazingly beautiful, wrinkle-free face. I absolutely loved being pampered for a couple of hours. I'll remember the experience for a long time. I had to stop picking things up and admiring them or they'd pick it up and put it in the basket to purchase for us! I did spy a pair of Coach loafers and wouldn't let them see them so I could pay for them myself. They're darling, but I was getting too spoiled. It would be easy to get used to this life! :-) I even made our son raise the screens on his Mercedes to pretend we wouldn't be mobbed by any "celebrity seekers." LOL It was really a fun time. But truly, I miss my Idaho! I'm just a simple woman but I'm incredibly happy where I live now with my sweetheart.

I think the past 10 days we've cooked 2 meals at home. The rest we ate at restaurants the whole 10  days. What a treat to not have any of us tired out from cooking!! If I mentioned a restaurant, we went to that restaurant: Outback, Chilis, Olive Garden, Pacific Fish Co., whatever I wanted to eat, I got! The spa experience was as if we were being treated like royalty. Fantastic people being incredibly caring to us. We enjoyed the whole experience.  Both my kids are fantastic to us.

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I think this is an absolutely charming dining room. I especially love the chairs.

This one also.

Isn't this an amazing chandelier? I couldn't duplicate it if I wanted to.

Charming vignette in a garden.

A darling tiny screen house in a garden. Doesn't look too big but sure adds a lot of pizzazz to the yard.

This looks like a stone home in another country but I love the red roof with the light yellow front.

What a cute window treatment and chandelier for a vintage kitchen.

A beautiful tin tub of dried flowers, ribbon and tulle surrounding it.

Beautiful bedding and roses on top.

You know I'll always show you gorgeous bouquets of roses. Well, here are some.

I have some Christmas balls just like these.

One way to decorate an old galvanized bucket. This  homeowner outdid herself on this one!

An antique lace shop. I'll bet it would be fun shopping here.

And living in this old house is someone's dream I'm sure. ;-)

What a colorful living room. I'm not fond of orange but this is cute!

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