Autumn kitchen.

  I took a week off work (and blogging) to act as girl Friday for my hubby

who had surgery a week ago.  I'd say he's well on the road to recovery

since he was able to put down his crutches to hold the kitchen chandelier

out of the way for the photo below.  It wasn't on his list of exercises,

but I think it falls under the category of occupational therapy.  :o)

I spiced up my shelves with a few seasonal accents.  The sweet pie bird was a gift

that I've yet to use for pie baking.  I've got a freezer full of apples, so this may be the year!

Yummy caramel and cinnamon flavored coffees fill the basket on my mug rack.
If you're trying to cut down on coffee consumption,
do not buy a Keurig!

I had my own list of things I hoped to accomplish this week,

 and finishing my Scandinavian inspired buffalo check fabric shades was one of them.

  They're made from a 102" long tablecloth, so there was more than enough fabric
 to make unlined shades for both windows.  They add warmth to the kitchen
 but still allow sunlight to filter through.

This window is 90" wide, so finding a curtain rod that didn't sag in the middle was a problem.

I bought inexpensive metal electrical conduit that's lightweight, but sturdy, and cut it to length.

  After I hung the shade, I ran a strip of double-face tape along foam pipe insulation and

rolled the shade around it for support and then tied it in place.

In keeping with the season, I found some Frankensteinish bolt thingies

to pop on the ends of the metal conduit.

Colors of the season.

Last fall I found the cookie dough pail in the perfect wood tone to join my
green ice cream maker on top of my pantry cabinet.  15 pounds of cookie dough.  Yum!

I bought the picture years ago at a friend's garage sale.  The print has buckled from
 water damage, but it's such a lovely image.  I'd love to walk along that lakeside path!

   I usually display the thrift store embroidered wine bottle cover with the yarn embroidery
 facing the wall, but the color is welcome this time of year.

  Green and orange have long been 2 of my favorite colors.

Harvest baskets.

A gloomy Halloween seems to be the norm for us.

Bite marks from a grandchild, or are there more sinister

forces present at 911?

My work station for this Halloween Eve.

I'm not normally the candy giver, but this year (unfortunately) the duty falls on my shoulders.
 All I have to say is brrrrrrrr!!!!

 

The infinity scarf was a quick waiting room project last week.  It looks much better hanging

on the hook than it does around my neck.  Apparently twisting and looping one of these things

 into a fashionable accessory is an art I've yet to master.

  The vintage Red Cross bag was just one item in a box full of vintage goodies

 sent to me by blog friend Linda (Itsy Bits & Pieces).  Thank you so much, Linda!

The time has come to turn our clocks back for Daylight Saving Time.
On Monday I'll be driving home from work in the dark.  Sigh.

It's very hard to motivate myself to go for a brisk walk in the cold dark night
after dinner.  I do believe with the cold rainy night that's forecast tonight,
 I'll have plenty of calories from candy bars to work off.  oink oink

Thanks for visiting and Happy Halloween!

Vickie

*I'm joining the parties at:
Tweak it Tuesday Cozy Little House
Make it Pretty Monday  The Dedicated House
Share your Style  The Essence of Home
Let's Talk Vintage  Bella Rosa Antiques

Old Mother Hubbard has chosen her cupboard.

So as not to keep you teetering on the edge of your seat  ;o)

I'm going to reveal my cabinet choice......and I may 

have some splainin' to do.

 I confess, I already had the cabinet in place before I published my last post.

I wasn't afraid of being swayed by popular opinion, because just like most of you,

I like what I like and ain't nobody changin' my mind.  Well, it's possible

I may have been swayed a tiny bit.

It wasn't that I disliked our white armoire, the problem was that it didn't function well 

in the room.  No matter where it was positioned, it partially blocked one of the windows,

and if you've read my blog at all, you know that natural light is of utmost importance to me.

The other problem was that I want seating arranged on the shorter walls of the room

for a more expansive view (when I'm not watching TV) rather than the closed-in

feeling of facing the fireplace wall.  It's hard to capture a feeling in photos,

but there you have it.  The armoire had to go.  In fact, it just left on its way
to a friend's lake cabin where it will be happy to spend the rest of its days
storing quilts and pillows.  So long old friend!

Drum roll please..........

My choice was the least popular of the 3......

What?!!

The craftsman cabinet below was exactly what I thought I wanted.

I printed the photo and held it at arm's length in front of me so it was the right size

on the wall (you've all done that, right?) and I instantly knew it wasn't for me.

I didn't like the busyness of the whole thing, and furthermore, my TV wouldn't look any better

behind the glass than it would out in the open.  As for the smaller free cabinet,

the TV would still be staring me in the face, so that was an easy elimination.

The rather primitive pie safe has a more calm feeling to it.

 The doors don't exactly shut and the drawers don't fit quite right, but

it's nothing a dozen or so shims won't fix.  If you live in an old house,

you may as well stock up on wood shims.  You'll be needing them.

The cabinet isn't centered under the window, and shockingly, it doesn't even bother me!

There were, however, a few things that needed to be addressed right off the bat.

First, I cut 6 inches off each leg.  Height problem solved.

No need to worry about mice climbing the now short stubby legs to snack on

pies I don't bake!

I just tipped the cupboard on its side and used a hand saw to cut through

the legs which cut like buttah.  Easy!  I thought about leaving the front legs

3/8" longer to allow for the dip in our floors, but that seemed wrong,

so they're all the same length.  Shims please!

Next, I covered the 1980's fruitwood stain and poly with a few coats of paint.

Photo taken after 2 coats of paint at 10 PM.  Yawn.  Time to quit.

In case you hadn't noticed, the door panels and side panels had been replaced with plywood,
and it had been hastily refinished at some point and stained an orangey brown,

so I had no guilt about painting it.  If I can tone down the orange, I may keep the top

as is, but I can always change my mind later.  Painting alone helped easy my

buyer's remorse that kept me awake the first night after I bought it.  Is it my forever cabinet?

I don't know, but until the perfect one comes along, it'll do just fine.

In the end, my room may not be picture perfect, but it's got a cozy feeling it didn't have before.
I'll post photos later when the painting is complete.....and the cable and electrical cords
are hidden.....and the new door latches are in place......

Just one more thing before I sign off.  Did you know that Etsy will email photos of items

they think you might be interested in once you sign up for an Etsy account?  Here's

what they suggested I might like to purchase next......

he he

No doubt they assigned this little feller to me after the 

cow clock debacle.  I guess I could start a collection of one-eared what-nots.....

and buy the pink cabinet to display them in!

Thanks for playing along and sharing your thoughts.

Vickie

*I'm joining the parties at:
Tweak it Tuesday Cozy Little House
Share Your Style  The Essence of Home

Eeny meeny miny moe.

I've always had a difficult time making decisions,

but my problem seems to be escalating as I get older.

For example....

Here's my latest window treatment in the works.

You have no idea how many fabrics I tried before I decided on this one!

Lace, ticking, painted grain sack, drop cloth........

Two weeks ago, we finally removed Too Big Armoire from our living room.

I plunked the big dinosaur of a TV onto the dry sink borrowed from the dining room

 and called it a day.  I really thought I could live with this for a while.  Silly me.

My stereo speakers joined in the loveliness.

After only one day of UGLY staring me in the face, I hoisted the ancient TV

all by myself and lugged it out to the garage.  I've since joined the 21st century and I

now own a small flat screen TV.  Although it's small and lightweight,

it's still an eyesore to me, so I tried to think of ways to camouflage the thing.

I couldn't come up with a practical solution, but a vintage cabinet I saw

at a local shop came to mind.  I paid the shop a visit to see if it was still there.

It was.

#1 Pretty in Pink

It's exactly what I envisioned for the room.  Two cabinets, one for each side

of the fireplace would be better, but one would do.  It's only 11" deep, so it 

would look custom built for the room, and my small TV would easily fit inside.

This is the most expensive choice and transporting it would present a problem.

There was another option.

#2 Pine a' la Mode

This pie safe has been altered somewhat, hence the low price.

It's a little taller than I'd like and would reach the window sill, 

so no treasures could be displayed on top.  But it would not only hide my TV,

there would be plenty of storage for afghans, laptop, stereo, etc.

It would easily fit into either of our vehicles.

To add to my confusion, daughter number one offered up one of the pair of cabinets

I painted for them a few years ago that's momentarily sitting empty at their house.

#3 Sweet Petite

Here it sits in the exact spot where I'd be placing the cabinet of choice.

My TV would fit between the top of the cabinet and the window

and it's already bought and paid for and nicely restored, too.

Time is of the essence for the first 2 because they're marked 40% off

and they're going to sell quickly.

I've made my decision.....I think.......I'm pretty sure........

but I'd like you to guess which one it is,

and tell me which one you'd choose.

2 centuries years ago.

Excuse the historic colonial era photo.

April 2014

Transitional phase.

Armoire gone.  Piano gone.  Chair moved.

TV cabinet would be placed under the window on the left.

2 months ago.

The arrangement looks far less awkward here than it does in real life.  I'm sure it breaks every
 feng shui rule, whatever they may be.  The armoire is gone and both chairs have been relocated
 to the opposite side of the room out of camera range.  The sisal rug was a trial run 

and my old red rug is back.  The love seat now sits adjacent to the couch on the window wall
 and my curtains (not shown here) are hemmed.  Woo hoo!  Mission complete.

  The wicker coffee table also got the heave-ho, but we'll talk about that some other time.

  Remember, my word for 2015 is focus.  So let's stay focused, girls, and choose a TV cabinet!

 Eeny meeny miny me,

which should I choose, one two or three?

Thanks for stopping by to cast your spell vote!

Vickie

*I'm joining the party at:
Let's Talk Vintage  Bella Rosa Antiques