Cleaning House

I'm cleaning my house, because I'm going to show you a "before and during" of my dining room tomorrow. Make sure to stop by and say hi!

Tissue Holders

Isn't this beautiful? Not! What was the thinking behind these bright brass tissue holders? Or for that matter, bright brass in general? Believe it or not, our house was built in 2003, not the 1990's. This past weekend I did a mini powder room make-over. Along with painting and re-accessorizing, I wanted to replace this fixture. This tissue-holder is recessed into the wall, so I had to find another holder that recesses into the wall. Guess what? The only tissue holder that I could find at our local home improvement center was bright chrome. A little better than the bright brass, but not what I wanted. Not wanting to learn how to drywall and turn an easy make-over into a large drywall project, I did the next best thing. I went to the spray-paint aisle, and...
using spray primer and a hammered texture finish spray paint, my tissue holder got a little make-over! Isn't this so much better? I'll have to see how the paint holds up, but for now, it will work just fine until we get around to remodeling the powder room in a few years.

Here are some whimsical choices I could have made if I didn't have to deal with a hole in the wall:

See no evil...

Butlers...

Frogs...

Gnomes...

For the busy family...

Blue guy...


And, for your listening pleasure... the icarta toilet paper holder with ipod docking station and 4 speakers .

All images from Bathroomfurnituredirect, Comforthouse, and X-tremegeek.


Did I really write a post on toilet paper holders? I guess I did!

Green

Green, the color of Spring. Looks like we'll have to wait. 6 more weeks of Winter! Happy Groundhog Day everyone!

Off the subject, I bought these bananas 5 days ago. Are bananas supposed to be that green?

Stand With Me

Now in Etsy shop.

Peeking In

I feel like this bear. I love looking at everyone's blogs. Every blog has a different personality, reflecting the personality of its' owner. I love how people show me the things they love, whether it's in their homes, in a magazine or elsewhere. I especially love before and afters of little projects or huge home renovations and redecorations. Thank you for letting me in.

Since everyone has been so kind to let me into their home, I will let you into mine. Next week I will start posting some "befores and durings", and some possible "afters". I don't know if I really will ever have an "after", as I am always redecorating. It feels good knowing that I am in company with so many others out there!
I took this photo as my mother in law was driving the car. She stopped in the middle of the road so I could quickly jump out and take a snapshot. This piece is called "I See What You Mean" by artist Lawrence Argent. It is a 40 foot, 10,000 pound bear peering into the Colorado Convention Center. It is so whimsical. I love it.

Orchard Haze

This original painting is one I've posted previously on my blog. Here's the inspiration behind it: In college I knew a family who had a very small apple orchard. This older couple asked a few of us if we could help pick some of their apples and make some homemade apple juice with them. In turn, they treated us to the apple juice and homemade apple pie. I still remember that day; it was a nice autumn day, and the sun was bright. The light was filtering through the trees, like in the movies. I remember thinking I felt as if I were in another world, or in another era. It was one of the simple days; a day I don't think I'll ever forget. Orchard Haze is now on Etsy.

Beach Vacation

We just booked our beach cottage, and purchased airline tickets for our summer vacation! With it being so cold today, I am looking forward to the white sandy beaches of Florida's panhandle. The last time I was there, I lived in Panama City Beach for a summer with a group of other college students. This time, we are going with 2, maybe 3 other families to Carillon Beach, just minutes from Seaside and Rosemary Beach. Can't wait!
I am not much of a laying out in the sun kinda gal, so I am ready to explore the area! If anyone has any names of good places to shop, places to eat, things to do, please leave a comment! Are there any showhome tours nearby?

Copper Kettles

We didn't have much planned for this past Saturday, so we decided to visit the Miller Coors brewery in Golden, Co for a free tour. We're not really beer drinkers, but the tour is actually interesting. I should know, I worked there as a tour guide many, many, many summers ago during college. The kids actually enjoyed it too, as they learned about the ingredients, and saw each step of the beer making process. And, with free soda at the end of the tour, they did not complain! I won't bore you with the details of the brewing process, but here are a couple of pictures of the copper kettles used in brewing: Isn't the copper pretty?

Rose Gate

Our house is only 5 years old. The first things I planted after the grass went in our yard were roses. I love them. They are so easy to grow; they are the one thing that I don't kill in our landscape due to lack of maintenance.

Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island has glorious rose gardens. The entire place, in fact, takes my breath away. There is so much inspiration for painters there. I see how Monet drew so much inspiration from his own garden. Here is one painting I did that reflects one of the rose "rooms".



This one below is available on Etsy.

Here is the photo I took for inspiration:

Here is another variation I did of the above about a year ago. It is in warmer tones:

Cherry Blossoms

Yesterday was a 70 degree day. Today is predicted to be even a little warmer. January in Colorado from years of experience is usually mild. Usually that means there will be a blizzard here in the next few weeks. I'm exaggerting, of course, kinda.... In the meantime, I dream of Spring that will come sometime in the next few months - of looking out my laundry room window to see the cherry blossoms on my little cherry tree. I painted the above a few weeks ago when it was cold out. You probably recognize it, I posted it here on my blog right after it was done. It is called "Reach". Aren't we always reaching for something? Reaching for a goal, as these blossoms reach toward the sun? It is now on Etsy.