Twenty years ago this summer, back when the Internet was fairly new to all of us, I joined a "listserv" for fans of Anne of Green Gables and the author L.M. Montgomery. I was a big Anne fan and it seemed like it would be fun to talk to others like me. We called ourselves the Kindred Spirits.
Best thing I ever did! That group of people have become some of my very dearest friends. I think the novelty of it all bound us together. Imagine receiving email from 100 strangers every day talking about subjects that your very own friends and family would never understand or were tired of hearing about.
Pretty quickly we started holding Kindred Teas when we found that some of us lived near each other and we found that we enjoyed each other in person as much as we did online.
One of these friends is Moonbeam (not her real name ) and she and I have stayed close even though we've only seen each other in person a couple of times. She lives in Georgia and was thrilled to hear I was moving to Florida. One day in May she emailed and said she was going to a conference just 3 hours away from me and she wanted to drive down to spend a day together. Plans were quickly made to go out to lunch and I was delighted to spend time with my friend.
Then it all went kerfuffle. An obligation reared its head and I had to tell Moonbeam that I wasn't going to be free that day after all. I was crushed.
But do you know what Moonbeam did? She drove down anyway, really early in the morning just so that we could spend 30 minutes together.
When someone goes to all that trouble to let you know you're important to them, you have to put on a spread.
I just love this mixing bowl so I use any excuse to whip up something from scratch.
ok, not exactly from scratch
I also freshly baked some croissants. Ignore the box, I don't know how that got in there.
add in a little freshly squeezed Tropical Blend V-8 juice and, voila, you have breakfast!
oh yeah, I even broke out the extra special pretty paper towels for napkins. Nothing's too good for Moonbeam!
lace tablecloth, soft music playing in the background, basket of baked goodies - perfectly Kindred breakfast
Moonbeam arrived right on time and we settled in for a nice cozy chat. She ended up staying an hour because there was so much to talk about and we didn't want to say goodbye.
she brought presents! Moonbeam knows exactly how much my darling Jasper meant to me and how much I still miss him so she knew these would brighten my day.
I'm so glad Moonbeam made the drive down to spend a little time with me especially since it might be a very long time before we see each other again.
But that's tomorrow's story...
May was my first full month in Florida and I feel like I packed a lot in there. In addition to my painting projects during the week I also spent time adding a few fun decorative touches to the house and Mr. T and I had a lot of fun on the weekends.
Sometimes it felt like we tried to experience a whole Florida lifetime in just one month. We were on the go from early Saturday morning until late Sunday night traveling all over our area discovering new parks, flea markets, shops and towns. We even found a church we love and made a new Sunday morning routine.
So. Much. Fun.
May, you were quite a month. I am never going to forget you.
Do you love thrift stores?
I never used to visit them but now I can't pass one by; it's my favorite thing to do these days. Not only is it a bit like a treasure hunt, you never know what you're going to find, but I love going up to the checkout counter and seeing the final, low total. I mean, what could be better than getting a bunch of great stuff for a low price?
In California we had a wonderful Goodwill in our little town and I found several treasures there, all sorts of fun painting projects for the future. On a trip a few months before moving away I found a metal hanging basket that I instantly fell in love with...except for the color.
It's not a bad color but I just imagined it could be even prettier with a little paint.
But I'd never painted metal before and somehow that intimidated me so it just sat around and sat around while I ignored it, occasionally feeling guilty that I hadn't gotten started yet.
So when it was time to move I threw it into a box and shipped it straight to Florida because I figured I would have more free time there, at least at the beginning.
Basking in the success of my jewelry organizer, I felt confident to tackle this so I decided to start with a coat of white paint inside and out just to cover up the green.
I really liked the way it turned out, there was such a neat texture with just one coat of paint. I considered leaving it this color and then I, briefly, thought about painting it blue (I had a lot of blue paint left over) but I decided to throw caution to the wind and go wild. What could be wilder than soft lavender...am I right?
There was just one problem with this plan.
I've been using really inexpensive line of paint and the color selection wasn't extensive so the only paint I could find was a deep, dark purple which was not what I wanted at all.
I was hesitant to mix my own color because I was afraid I wouldn't make enough to finish and then wouldn't be able to ever match the color again but I gave myself a little pep talk and off I went to mix up the perfect shade of lavender.
I think it turned out perfectly, I just love the soft pastel shade. After all my worrying about having to color match, I ended up mixing enough the first time especially since I chose to only use one coat of paint so that a little of the white shows through.
I still think it needs something around the top, maybe some lace, so it's a work in progress but other things have demanded my attention so it's hanging up on the wall of my bedroom just like this and likely to stay that way for a while - perfect as it is.
Welcome to a brand new month - Happy June! I've got to admit that my May was a bit of a roller coaster - some good, some bad, some terrific, some...well, bad. But the month is over now and it's time to look toward the future.
I have a bunch of blog posts planned for this week because there's lots to talk about but I need to do it in order so hang on, it's going to be a thrill ride!
Remember that shutter that I bought at the Fancy Flea in late April? I had great plans for using it as a jewelry organizer but first I needed to make a few changes to make it more "me" so it became my first Florida project.
Before I could begin painting I had to set up a workspace. I drug an old, broken table out of the garage. This was a leftover from when we rented out our house to vacationers. See how nicely they took care of it? This was a beautiful painted table for the entry hallway but one day it became a crash site and it's been relegated to the garage ever since. I'm quite handy with repairs, see how I fixed it? Ok, it's not pretty but it worked!
hey look, I painted the shutter blue. Didn't see that color coming, did you?
I do have other colors of paint (as you'll see in my next project) but blue was what I really wanted for this project plus I was missing my blue benches in California.
It took 2 coats of white primer to hide all the dark burgundy (and keep it from bleeding through) and that part seemed to take forever but finally I got to start with the blue.
The great thing about having a dedicated craft space (rather than using the dining room table the way I did in California) is that I could take my time and leave everything out while I waited for the paint to dry completely.
Oh who am I kidding, it's not like we ever ate at the dining room table in California but it sounded good, didn't it? I'll bet I had you fooled for at least a minute or two.
And voila - the finished product!
I am thrilled with the way it turned out, exactly as I pictured it on that hot April day at Fancy Flea. Not having much experience with painting or crafting in the past, it's a real victory for me to be able to say that. Plus it really helps to keep my necklaces and earrings in order rather than having them all jumbled together in a basket.
yay me!
I had so much fun, I couldn't wait for my next project. More on that tomorrow.
jonni
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.
