Take It Up

I have a two story foyer and this is my inspiration for how to fill some of the height...

Photo from Eddie Ross

The paint is drying so I'll be back to show you how it turned out.

Stealing again!

Long time, no post. There is lots going on around here but it has very little to do with the decor of the home. However, here is one great project that has happened....because my only job was supervision!

My master bedroom got painted (not the topic here) and I really wanted SOMETHING on the window...besides the dirty blinds I inherited in the purchase. So I copied. Off my lovely neighbor, Jenny. Again. Thanks goodness we have different floor plans! I'd hate to copy everything! Anywho...she has a great window treatment in her family room bay window that translated perfectly my bedroom.

As usual, no "before" pictures. The hubby's friend, a REAL carpenter, took on quick look at Jenny's treatment and recreated it for me. I did nothing...not even pick out the wood. The cornice consisted on 2x6's, crown molding and rope molding. Then a little wood filler for the nail holes and corners, sanding, priming and painting.

Love it!!

I simple used tension rods to hang curtains I had stored in the closet since we moved.

The paint color? Hard to tell without natural light but it is Hinting Blue from Sherwin Williams.

Now...what would you put in the bay? Chair? Lounge? What? Help!

Merry Christmas

The procrastinator in me won this time and I did not send out Christmas cards this year. Surprisingly, I really feel OK about it! If I had sent one out...this would have been the photo.

Merry Christmas!

Where Have I Been?

I was so touched the other day when the super talented Jen from Sanctuary Arts at Home left me a comment on my last post that is MONTHS old asking me where I've been. So sweet! Didn't realize anyone noticed I was gone!

Well...I've been in grad school. The first semester is over and I hope to squeeze some posts in before the next semester begins.

So here is where I have been too...

Soccer...lots of soccer! I have mentioned that I HATE soccer?

But when the kids are so darn cute in their uniforms, how could I resist?

Then hubby and I celebrated our 13th anniversary at the Cardinal's game. Yes. We are in the last row and it was FREEZING cold! Nothing but the best for his lady!

Halloween was great! Great weather, freinds and family and Super Heros everywhere!

You may recall that in May I ran my first 5K. Well I'm still running and in November my girls ran their first 5K. They ran the Girls on the Run 5K. If you are not familiar with the program, it is an awesome self-esteem building program for girls that using running. My girls are too young for the program but that didn't stop them! One of my proudest moments!

Then Thanksgiving rolled aroung and the hubby deep fried the turkey. As Rachel Ray would say, "YUMMO"!!

The sisters helped cook the feast and it was delicious! Lots of mom's recipes for the eating.

I think that's a good summary of where I have been. More posts to come!

Well Dressed

OK! I really have no time the write this post but I'm so excited about this that it must be done....advanced nursing theory can wait a little longer.

The kitchen is in the home stretch and has been for 6 months! The finishing touches take longer than anything. I needed curtains and knew I wanted toile. I LOVE TOILE! Easy right? NOT! I could only find toile with a base color of white and that meant too much white in my kitchen with new white cabinets. Then one day while surfing blogland, I found a post about the most lovely bedding (yes, bedding) with a blue back ground and toile scene. So off to Target and got the last one on clearance for $60. SCORE!

Problem....I don't sew.....at all! So I planned to a Nester mistreatment. Then stepped in my most lovely and talented neighbor that offered to help me do it properly. Jenny is the best! She first sent me to task ripping the whole thing apart. Here's the mess I was left with.

Don't you just love the fabric?!

So one afternoon we went to work. When I say we, I mean Jenny and I was her best cheerleader!


Then the sewing began. She swears it's easy but I'm not so sure...

What was suppose to take an afternoon took D.A.Y.S! Jenny did a great job and I really appreciate the time she put into it.

Here are the results and I love it!!!!!!



Check out the detail. Jenny took the time to use the cording I had cut off and made it look so professional.

Remember...this started out as bedding so there was only so much material to work with and no way of getting additional. So the middle treatment is yellow while the 2 sides are blue. I think it looks so great. Amazing what can be done when you are forced to use what you have.


Here are the panels by the bay window. I can't get them both in one picture so you don't get the full effect but it's fabulous!

She made bans for all the treatments and payed attention to the image that would be visible.

Check this out! She perfectly matched up the patterns where the yellow and blue materials meet. So awesome!
Thanks to Jenny for a job better than I could have imagined! She really took a lot of time and did a great job. No! You can't have her as your neighbor...I have trouble sharing!

SHE WON!

SO...no blogging this week like planned but WHO CARES!!! Melanie won the MR340 women's solo division with a time of 55 hours and 58 minutes!!! Yippee!!

I had no internet access except my iPhone. Why did I think I could get internet while sitting on the banks of the Missouri River? Completely delusional!

I would love to write more but I'm going to save it all for a time when I am less tired and can really try to share what the experience was like.

MR340-We Have Arrived!

The road trip to Kansas City was great despite the fact that I only had 2 hours of sleep at work the night before. I tried to nap but Mel seemed to veer off the road every time I closed my eyes. Coincidence? I think not! Rotten little sister!

We arrived and checked into the hotel and went directly to the boat ramp. What else would we do? There were already about 50 boats stationed around the ramp waiting for the next day.

Here is the view of KC from the boat ramp.

There she is...the Clark W. Griswold. Yep! That is the name of Mel's boat. Named for the lovable character from the movie National Lampoon Vacation. You gotta love it! Paying homage to the man that was always optimistic and confident despite the numerous blunders that occurred on his adventures. Let's hope Mel's adventures are filled with far less disasters! Oh! The paddle...it's named cousin Eddie!

The boat came off the truck and we began to ready it for the tomorrow. There really wasn't a lot to do yet but it felt good to be there and working toward her goal. Our cousin, Joe, came down to help and provide moral support! Thanks, Joe! We love you!

Here are the things that surprised the non-kayaking river support person...the people! Young, old, athletes and overweight, moms (that really looked like soccer moms) and hippies. What an eclectic group of people! And everyone was so kind and friendly, sharing tips and advice, battle stories and well-wishes.

So there they sit like soldiers waiting for battle. Remember, this is a race against the other competitors and a challenge for the mind and body.

Now we wait. Mel has checked in, attended the mandatory safety meeting and we will brief one last time before bed (and again in the morning)!

Remember her in your prayers for the next few days and I will try to update often.