Once Upon a Sofa

Hello, all,

Well, that was weird. I wrote a post Monday and clicked on publish, but apparently it didn't. Oops! Never mind. I have been continuing to try to clean and organize both in here, the dining room, and in the living room all week. There was a ratty old piece of drop cloth on the couch and some decidedly ho-hum throws and pillows. Time for an upgrade! Even though it's still only February, it's getting warmer which makes thoughts of sunshine and bright colors dance in my head. Here is one result of that:

No, not Flossie. She's a permanent fixture when there is any change and thus reason to snoop.

This might be really a big table cloth, but it's very heavy, sturdy fabric, so should be all right as couch enhancer.

A few replacement cushions, since the others definitely didn't go. The two in front are from last summer and the one in back is a crocheted sham. That's the latest effort. Now (sob!) back to cleaning and organizing, iow, The Neverending Mess!

Take it easy!

Michele

Lights, flowers. . . Mo' BoHo

Hello, everyone,

I hope you had a nice weekend. Ours was lovely, especially since the weather cooperated and was beautiful. This inspired us to attend an event at Casa Ramirez, Amor Eterno - the Heart Show. It was great. Here's a link with more information:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Casa-Ramirez-FOLKART-Gallery/76060185584 There was champagne and chocolate cake which only improved the outing. While there I purchased some paper flowers since real ones are a no no at our place. After leaving the gallery, we stopped at a yard sale and found yet another piece to add to my ongoing BoHo display. 

The aqua tray was $1.00 at the yard sale and the crepe paper flowers .75 cents each. Friday I found the string lights, which use batteries. That's fortunate, since there is no plug on that wall or the adjacent one. I'd BOLO for a tray at thrift shops but hadn't found anything that would work and am way too stingy to pay $29.99 for the ones Target has right now. This display makes me smile, which encourages me to spread the BoHo love around the rest of the house, so stay tuned! 

Have a good week,

Michele

A Little Friday Project

Hello, everyone, and a happy soon-to-be weekend to you all!

I am still working on more BoHo decor. Here's something put together this afternoon in between errands and laundry. It began with this:

a square frame from Ikea, .90 cents at the Sand Dollar. What to fill it with? Shop your house floated through my head. What could be more BoHo or colorful than tie dye? 

This little bag had a gift in it many years ago, but it's small, so not really used much now.

Could you stretch it out flat and put it in the frame? Why not?

It's hanging from the red strings meant to go over your shoulder as a purse, threaded through the sawtooth hanger on the back of the frame. It's not going to stay on the cross wall, obviously, but that was the easiest place to take the photo from. I kind of like that it's giving the bag that was hanging on a peg rack out of sight in the closet a chance to shine. Believe me, as damp and dreary as the weather has been lately here, anything bright and cheerful is a winner. What do you do to jump start life in a less than thrilling part of the year?

Have a great weekend!

Michele

Have a heart

Hi, folks,

Here's a little more Valentine's Day decor at our house.

Using the gorgeous big red platter that was a gift from my friend Tricia. It's sitting on a heart patterned piece of cloth and holds two dishes of candy and a red glass votive.

This shadow box with a glass lid has some special cards saved over the years on display.

And lastly, my trusty wreath at the front door.

May your week be sweet as hearts and flowers!

Michele

Living in the Present

Hello, all,

I am blessed to have a  good friend with a birthday in late December, while my own is at the beginning of January. We try to get together early in the year to celebrate. Since personalized gifts are nice, here is what Laura's is:

She is a tea drinker, so there are two boxes of flavored teas and a holder for the bag. Another favorite of hers is shortbread, so:

here is some of that to go with the tea. It is in a box from Harrods department store in London, but the cookies were bought locally. 

Then I turned here. Multiple verses of scripture were copied, then printed out. You can buy Scripture Tea in stores, but it seemed better to pick the verses myself for a friend.

A little bone china holder to put a used bag in once it's steeped. 

Tea with Bible passages.

 And here is the bag, ready to take tomorrow when we meet for lunch.

If you are interested in a similar project, learn from my experience. Make sure the tea bags you buy have strings and tags on them already, because otherwise, it's way more of a hassle than you want to fool with, trust me. You could also do Novel Tea, with the first lines of famous books for someone who is a reader, or any number of other types of quotations. Quirky words for Scrabble would be fun, too. 

That's my project du jour. Now back to my regularly scheduled round of chores, cat wrangling and the like. 

Take it easy!

Michele

Let's go Bo Ho

Hello, everyone,

Lately there has been a lot of interest in Bohemian Chic decorating in the world of blogs. Since it's all about color, there was no chance I wouldn't jump on the bandwagon, so here's what's been accumulated so far.

A pewter frame embedded with stones showing off some yoyos. Both were already in my accessory/craft stash.

A wild, multi-colored paper mache dish from a recent trip to Sand Dollar, under $1.

A small tumbler that was a gift from my oldest daughter not long ago.

One tiny frame with a picture of a modern quilt inside.

A wild flowered tin, quite large from a trip with Mr. B to Goodwill on Saturday.

A turquoise frame, also from Sand Dollar recently.

Yellow ditto. The paper in the frame reminds me of the 60s.

The tablecloth is one I've had for years. Or maybe it's supposed to be a scarf. The pattern seems to fit right in with the motif, though.

The dish in use. The hearts pick up colors in the background.

A vignette of all the elements. These will probably be dispersed to various locations through the house, as the seasons change and inspiration appears. I like this trend and will have no trouble embracing it wholeheartedly. No doubt all the white/neutral lovers don't see the appeal, but really, how can you go wrong with bright and cheerful?

Have a good one!

Michele

Groundhog? What groundhog?

Hi there. I'm not worried about groundhogs and what they report, although the concerns of those in the Midwest and Northeast are understandable. We're enjoying the lull before the onslaught of summer here in Texas and a bit bemused that it is already the second month of this year. Time speeding up is supposed to be a sign you're getting really O-L-D, right? 

Never mind if it's true. The distraction of Valentine's Day can go a long way to help ignore those thoughts. Here's the start of my decorating for 2015.

The little red cubby from Christmas stayed out to be refilled with tributes to February 14.

A Mary Engelbreit illustration framed in red and a couple of little hearts.

A little bird with a heart and a red plate that says "Cutie Pie". The bird is from Target last year and suffered damage to its tail section from marauding cats, I am sad to report. These are all in the library.

Meanwhile, back in the dining room: a few seasonal additions to the terrarium. The polka-dotted tray was made by middle daughter Mary for me. It has hearts on the inside. A beautiful Godiva box from a thrift shop and a heart pick in a succulent round out the vignette.

A little lovebirds picture hanging from a knob on the hutch. That's all that's been done so far but there is still a bit more to put out, so stay tuned. It's really nice this holiday occurs when it does, don't you think, in the middle of a month that's often dreary and over burdened with bad weather? It's a welcome bright spot, so let's hear it for all things sweet and cheery!

Michele