living while in limbo

When Mr. T got the offer to come to Florida, he was so excited about it he pretty much packed up our entire house even though I wouldn't be moving for at least 4 months.

When we left Florida and came back here to our beloved cottage, we knew it wasn't going to be permanent as the owners of the cottage (our family) have plans to either sell it next year or move back themselves so we were hesitant to unpack most of the boxes just to have to pack them back up again in a few months.

Today, with a little too much time on my hands, I decided I'd had enough of living in boxes (and without my cool stuff) so I unpacked a few favorite things that I've missed since December.

First up - my turtles. I love turtles, they stand for wisdom and longevity and they're just plain cute. I don't collect turtles (I hesitate to collect anything because it gets out of hand so quickly) but I will admit to having more than one.

My dad was given this  mask years ago in Hawaii as a thank you for his work there. He named it Charley after all the Charley's Taxis around town (a company that still exists) and I instantly fell in love. I will have Charley with me in the nursing home. I'm so happy to have him back on the wall in our family room, I have missed you, Charley old buddy! Doesn't he look happy to see me again too?

A newer acquisition is this shabby chic chalkboard that we found at the San Juan Bautista Antique Fair last year. One day I'll actually get some chalk and write something on it. For now all it needs to do is hang around and look pretty.

There are a few more things that I haven't uncovered yet but while I was rummaging around in the box-filled living room, I decided to make a little change in there too.

I have wanted to replace the cushion on the wicker couch for a couple of years now. This is the cushion that came with my wicker set when I bought it 25 years a long time ago. It fit perfectly with my Victorian-style living room back then but times and tastes change.

There's nothing wrong with it except it is a little outdated and I really wanted a new color but I haven't been in a position to buy anything when all the new stuff comes out each spring. Maybe that was for the best because I got the exact color I wanted at an end of the season clearance sale this week. Yay me!

Notice all the boxes? Yeah, that's a small taste of what I've been living with since the beginning of the year. 

I liked the cushions but it still wasn't exactly the look I was going for so I decided to show the other side of the quilt.

Ok, better but still not quite right.

Yes, that's it! It's time to rediscover the lovely wicker that I fell in love with in the first place. I love all that white with the pop of the aqua cushions. 

Perfect!

At this point I don't know if we'll live here for for one month or six or more. Who cares if I have to pack it all back up again? I've decided to actually live here and not just exist in limbo while waiting to see what's around the next bend in the road.

finished project

The vintage cabinet jewelry organizer is finished, don't you just love it?

This is how Charlie feels about my painting

I think it's beautiful just like that but, of course, it needs to fulfill its destiny, right?

This part of our bedroom now feels complete. 

Thanks for stopping by!

new project

I just spent the last 3 weeks doing a full-time temp job and I had to dress like a grownup every single day. Wow, that was hard. So this is the picture I took on Saturday morning rejoicing in the fact that I finally got to be me again - lace, jeans and a hat. What a relief.

I'm sure the whole grownup/job thing will happen again soon (I'm not fond of temping but there doesn't seem to be much interest in my resume these days) but for now I have a few days free to hang out at home and that means it's time for a new painting project.

I got a pair of these awesome cabinet doors at Camp Vintage this year. I plan on repurposing them into jewelry organizers. At first I thought I wouldn't paint them at all because I love that mint green color but I have a couple of different ideas now.

Over the weekend I asked Mr. T to help me move this table over to the patio so that I could set up a nice workspace with plenty of room.

I've got all my supplies together and can't wait to get started!

Charlie, on the other hand, would prefer it if I would stop moving around and just hang out on the couch with her.

it's Camp Vintage time

It's that time of year again - time for the Camp Vintage antique show!

Camp Vintage debuted in September of 2013. It was also the first time I ever attended a vintage show so I wasn't quite sure what to expect but what I found blew my socks off...if I had been wearing socks...which I probably wasn't.

Love is not too strong a word for the emotion I felt when I entered my first Camp Vintage. I felt like I had come home. All the booths had something I wanted - an old window here, a rusted wagon there, a bunch of shutters, old luggage, a door from an old truck - big freakin' sigh of pure ecstasy!

Mr. T, however, wasn't as enthralled. All the words you and I love about shabby chic - chippy, peely, vintage, rusted, distressed - are words that mean only one thing to him. O.L.D.

But now he's watched me take several old, broken down pieces of furniture and, with a little paint and love, turn them into something beautiful for our home so for this year's Camp Vintage, he was actually looking forward to finding something fun to take home and junkify it.

There was so much going on at this spring's Camp Vintage, I actually forgot to take pictures. I think that's a good thing. I mean, I was having a great time and had several things that were under consideration to buy but it kind of sucks now when I have to put together a blog post.

So enjoy a couple of pictures of pretty flowers...cuz that's about all I've got from this year's show.

until I found exactly what I wanted to buy

I bought a couple of old cabinet doors with a really unique wicker design at the top that would be perfect for hanging earrings. I miss my jewelry organizing shutter back in Florida so it's time to make another one. I don't even have to do much painting with this, I love the minty green color and the 1940s styling. love.love.love.

Of course, it's been a couple of weeks since Camp Vintage and they're still sitting, untouched, in the living room but let's not think about that right now. Let's just keep looking at the pretty pictures and count the days till the next Camp Vintage in September.

fancy flea

Greetings from the Sunshine State!

Jasper's Cottage is all boxed up and in storage for a while as we settle in for some time in sunny Florida. Sunny and warm - just the way it's supposed to be.

Mr. French is busy working during the week but we've been trying to have new adventures on the weekends by visiting places we've never been before. Not too long ago we went to a fantastic vintage market called The Fancy Flea which is held a couple of times a year. I actually planned my arrival so that I wouldn't miss it this year and I'm so glad I did! 

Doesn't it look awesome? As you can see, it was full of all sorts of pretty treasures but the best part of the day was getting to meet up with a friend from the blogging world. I was so excited when she said she and her husband were driving up for the show. I don't know how we found each other in the crowd but it was great to meet in person and walk around together. She has great advice about how to navigate this DIY world that I'm so new at. Thanks, Victoria, for hanging out with us! I hope we can do it again sometime.

Being surrounded by so many beautiful things, it was hard to pick just a couple of treasures to tote home. Right away we saw a cute sign which was perfect for our French-inspired living room but after wandering around for a couple of hours, I hadn't found anything else that spoke to me until, there it was on a table in front of a booth I'd walked past at least 20-hundred times. How had I missed this diamond in the rough?

Isn't the sign cute? As for the shutter, I admit, it doesn't look like much now and I really didn't like the color but in my mind I instantly saw the perfect jewelry organizer for my dresser...once I got out the magic paintbrush and worked a little DIY magic, of course.

But that's a story for next time.

in the mood

I have a confession to make - I am so not in the mood for Christmas this year. 

I don't usually feel this way, last year I had the house fully decorated by Thanksgiving afternoon and I hated taking it all down in January.

I've always loved decorating the house for Christmas. As a kid I would help Dad put up the Christmas tree in the living room every year.

Yes, our tree was artificial but don't judge because it was the awesomest tree in the whole world. It was made out of green and white loops of some metallic material that, although not the least bit realistic, looked amazing - especially at night. The tree was set in a motorized, rotating base and covered with round, red ornaments. I used to sneak in there at night, filled with awe, while I watched  the tree slowly go around and around in front of our bay window. I loved that tree.

And then there was Christmas Eve, opening presents with the whole family. Yeah, we opened on Christmas Eve except for the stuff Santa brought the next morning. I don't know why, it was a tradition handed down by my father's family and none of us kids had any complaint about that.

The tree is long gone and the kids have all grown up (and have kids and grandkids of their own...eek) but at least there are plenty of pictures and old home movies to keep alive the spirit of Christmas past.

Christmas present, however, is another matter.

 Meet Lance. He's my suit of armor and I love him. He was a Christmas present from the man of the place several years ago although it took almost a decade before Lance and I were living in the same place.

Lance loves Christmas and has graciously agreed to be my "tree" this year. I may not be in the mood to pull out the tree and all the decorations but I'm always in the mood to play dress up with a suit of armor. Who wouldn't want to do that? 

Although I have to admit he looks a bit more like a scary character out of Lord of the Rings than Santa.

 

instagram me

Did you know that I'm on Instagram? Well I am...on Instagram. I am.

Sorry, I got caught up in a loop there. 

I'd love to have you follow me on Instagram though. I try to post at least one picture a day of something pretty. I do hope you'll join me over there.

painting...again

The other day I was rummaging around at work and I found a wooden coaster in the back of a rarely used cabinet. Of course my first thought was "I can paint this!"  Yep, I may only have one skill in the crafting world but I'm going to keep at it until my fingers fall off.

 That's the back of the coaster...forgot to take a picture before I started painting. You can see that it was just a basic, light-colored wood.

I painted 2 coats of light pink to serve as primer and undercoat. It was really pretty and I almost left it right there but I had another idea in mind.

I used a dry brush technique to paint a very, very light coat of Caribbean Blue so that a lot of the pink would show through. I got exactly the look I wanted, it kind of reminds me of faded blue jeans.

Since I'm new to this painting world, however, I do have a question. If I'm going to use it as a coaster, would it be best to paint some sort of clear coat on top to keep out moisture? Is there even such a thing?