Magic carpet ride.

We're getting our first taste of spring up north, and even though it's only 42
and overcast today, Delores Claiborne and I are hanging our sheets out to dry.

While they're drying I'm puttering around inside with a few new
acquisitions I've made over the winter.  The demijohn and oil painting
fit perfectly on the wood shelf over our fridge.  I never thought I'd have
anything pink in our kitchen, but I like it!

I've been trying to freshen things up in the living room, too.

The red rug is deteriorating and discoloring our wood floors,

so it's time to give it the old heave-ho.

Here's what I bought to replace it....

It's a gorgeous wool rug from World Market, but unfortunately it reads

as seafoam green in our living room.  You know how one new thing in a room
makes everything else look shabby?  Next to the rug, our sofa looks like it's on life support.

 And it is.

   27 sofa years= 108 human years.

All I need is a few candelabras, some cobwebs.......

New furniture is on the horizon, but I don't even know where to start.

The rug is expensive and if history repeats itself, I don't want to be
tied into a blue/green color scheme until I'm 85, so it's going back.

It is pretty.

Next, I ordered a neutral rug from Overstock at 75% off and free shipping.

What a deal!

Or is it?

If our living room looked like this......

this .......

or this.....

(All 3 living rooms via Pottery Barn.)

I'd keep it!  But at the moment, our living room looks nothing like this.
It's like putting lipstick on a pig.

I gave the rug a fair chance and left in on the floor for a few days

hoping it would grow on me.  It didn't.  It's just so.......

brown.

  And stinky.  And it sheds.
And my coffee spills when I drag the coffee table over its bumpy surface.
And I have no idea what sort of insects could be making a home in it.
(I've watched way too many episodes of Infested.)

I looked out the window and it's the exact color of 

our freeze dried lawn.  No likey.

With the outrageous cost of return shipping, I may as well

keep the darn thing and try to sell it on Facebook.  (Since I never

visit my Facebook Buy and Sell account I set up, this will require

the assistance of a visiting daughter.)

 Here's the rug cemetery on a bedroom floor.

  As long as you made the trek up here,
check out my new tall dark and handsome in the bathroom....

 I love it!

I'm past the dusty plaster repair and onto the paint phase.

Have you ever tried manhoovering a wood stepladder in a 2 x 2 room?

It's impossible.

I think I know what direction I'm headed with

the bathroom décor.  I just need to find the right rug.

Back to the living room.... 

In the end, this is how our living room will look until I either find a rug I like
or purchase new furniture.  I'm hoping the sun will even out the color variations on the floor,

but I'm not too concerned because there will be a rug covering them.....eventually.

This is the last you'll be seeing of this room for quite a while.

What have I learned from this rug buying fiasco?

1.  Ordering rugs online is risky business, and costly too.
2.  I need color in our home to combat all the gray gloomy months.
3.  Online companies should provide color samples of the rugs they offer.
4.  If a store has a good return policy and the rug fits in our car.....  :o).

5.  My arms will be ready for kayak season this year.  6 x 9 rugs are heavy!

In the past few days, my microwave handle broke ($90 for the plastic handle,
so instead I've glued it with E6000), my beloved black clock
 in the kitchen died (but I was able to temporarily resuscitate it),
and my one month old laptop made a visit to the computer hospital.

On the other hand, spring has arrived and that's a good thing.

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Vickie

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A little piece of history.

Swamp Thing (my straggly green wreath) has been replaced with tulips
 to brighten up this rainy day.  There's snow in the forecast later this week
and our flowers won't be blooming here for quite a while,
but I'm looking forward to green grass and leaves on the trees.





Speaking of green grass, isn't this a pretty setting? 

I wonder what it would look like in sepia tones with a wood frame around it?

Presto chango!

How would it look hanging above my sofa?

Hmmmm, I think I like it.

I've got a thousand nail holes above our sofa, yet I still haven't found "the look" I'm after.
Do you find it difficult to fill a large wall space, or is it just me?

Instead of a grouping, I actually want just one statement piece
 above the sofa.  This is the one spot in our house where a mirror won't do.  There's too much busyness on the opposite wall to reflect (dark brick fireplace, stained glass windows).
 I'd love a landscape painting and the large vintage photo gives me a preview

of how it would look.  An extra-large unframed canvas would be perfect.
  Round it out with a few small items like a new sofa,
 chairs and a rug and I'd be a happy camper.  :o)

Gasp! This is the one.  Perfect size and subject matter. If anybody has one
stashed under a bed, I'll be more than happy to take it off your hands.
source

I bought the vintage photo for a discount price at a local shop

because I want the large wood frame for a future project.

The label above was glued to the bottom corner when I found it,

so I did a little research

.

source 

Here's the grand opening of the national park in 1954.  I suppose the photo I own

was part of a promotional campaign for the park and found its way from Massachusetts

 to Minnesota's Iron Range via the nearby Minnesota Museum of Mining

or Ironworld Discovery Center.

 And now it's found its way to the wall over my sofa.

  I'm on a mission to collect photos of our home in its early days when it was

surrounded by cow pastures.  I know they exist because a former owner told me

her daughter has them in storage.  If possible, I'd like to enlarge

one and frame it (in the frame above) to hang in our upstairs hallway.

  It will also serve the purpose of covering holes from picture ledges I took down.

Holes waaaaaaay up high where I don't want to paint again.

Until I possess those photos of our old house.......

I'll enjoy this one.....

for now.

Thanks for visiting!

Vickie

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So long February, hello March!

Although March is officially my least favorite month of the year,

(cold weather, icy roads and sidewalks, and dirty melting snow)

this year I'm celebrating the turning of the calendar page.

Why?

Only 6 days left of The Whole 30!!!

I thought I'd celebrate making it this far with a selfie.

What?
   You were expecting a Marie Osmond before & after?  hehe

In my world, a selfie is a gift to ones self.  It's the easiest gift to buy
because I always know what I want.  :o)

I spotted these brackets in a box of junk at a local shop.  They aren't exactly square
and they're kinda falling apart, but I think they'd be perfect components
for a rustic shelf.

As you can see from the photos to follow,
I have a tendency to fill up any available wall space with a shelf.

 Dining room.

Dining room.

Guest bedroom.

 Guest bedroom.

 Guest bedroom.

 Master bedroom.

Front entryway.

Back entryway.

 Above the stove.

Above the kitchen window.

 Over the fridge.

Replacing a wall cabinet in the kitchen.

Guest bedroom.

Guest bedroom.

Guest bedroom.


I know I missed a few, but you get the picture.

So, I'm thinking of something like this......

......for my old brackets.  Simple wood planks across the brackets.
(source)


I do like the baskets above (as well as the floor, walls, and ceiling),
 but I already own something to display on the shelf...
when I get around to making it, that is.  You know my decorating MO.
  The cart before the horse.

This little cabin was in the out pile, but I decided to give it another chance.
I need to channel my inner Chip and Joanna Gaines for this fixer-upper.

The big door has been cut in half and window openings cut into each door.
  I'm still contemplating how to trim them out.

I spend a lot of time contemplating here at 911.

As you can see, it still needs lots of work,
but it's got a lot of charming details.  There are 2 windows on the opposite side.


Once again I have way too many irons in the fire and nothing is finished,
but just six more days and at least one mission
will be accomplished.

Until I make the shelf, my new old brackets
will be decorating a shelf.



Thanks for visiting!
Vickie

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