Double Ruffles

I could barely contain myself as I tore open the box that arrived in the mail a couple weeks ago.

Shellagh's beautiful handwriting on a sweet tag was the first thing my eyes landed on.

A smile crossed my face as I read her note and I sent her a silent, happy hug in my heart.

Beneath the tag, wrapped in crisp, white tissue paper was my Christmas present that I ordered from her.

I lifted the luscious frayed edged ruffles out of the box,

walked over to the kitchen table

shook the heavy, Belgian-like linen,

and let it drop onto the tabletop.

The double ruffles landed in a beautiful pile of creamy white

like thick whipped cream.

I lifted them again and spread them across the table,

watching the ruffles slide over the edge and down to the floor.

  

*sigh*

Call me crazy, but it was beautiful thing to see.  :)

 

I spent a couple hours photographing different vignettes

while the late morning sunshine streamed into the kitchen through the French doors.

The autumn light was perfect.

 

Playing with different photo editing effects...

I plan on using this sweet rosette trim on a lampshade soon.

Someday, I would like a small, vintage wooden baker's rack on the back wall where the birdcage is.

   

My favorite photo from this shoot.

Yesterday, I was anxious to create a simple Thanksgiving tablescape for dinner with my mother, father, and brother
while The Husband made his famous pumpkin pies.

Yes, I am blessed with a husband who loves doing the majority of the cooking and baking around here.  :)

While the pies filled our house with a delicious aroma,
I took an old crocheted throw and layered it over the linen, and topped that with a vintage linen tablecloth with wide jacquard bands of pink.

Matching napkins,
 my mother's antique silverware,
glass candle holders,
etched glassware, 
rustic rattan chargers,
and pink roses
completed the shabby chic look.

I loved the look of my French desk chair at the table.

(Note to self: Add Rachel Ashwell's 'Darcy' chairs to Wish List.)

(Yep. Writing RA 'Darcy' chairs on my list right now...)

I pray that everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving day overflowing with the love of family!

~  Grateful Blessings  ~

Thank you, Shellagh ♥

for sharing your gift of sewing,

for being so patient when I describe a vision to you,

and for being such a wonderful west coast friend.

Be sure to visit Shellagh's beautiful Etsy shop to see more of her breathtaking linens!




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Prayer Rug & Paisley Love

Last Sunday, Michelle and I met up once again for a day of treasure hunting under a hot and sunny August sky.

Allegan Antique Market never fails to delight my senses and stretch my imagination to it's limits. With blog inspiration bouncing around in our heads, and hands itching to nab some good deals, we set off down the numerous rows of vendors.

Michelle was searching for beachy decor for her darling cottage by the lake,

 and I had my shabby chic-bohemian radar set on high.

It wasn't long before we were making a trip back to our cars to unload our weary arms.

Wait....just wait....til you see what I brought home.

I think this was my favorite trip so far this year because of what ended up in the back my SUV. Treasures that my heart has been aching for...waiting for...searching for.

This was my first purchase of the day.

Yeah...I know you're drooling.

I was, too.

It didn't take me but 2 minutes to decide to dance away with this little French beauty.

She was neat as a pin, clean as a whistle, and I didn't have to touch her with a paint brush at all.

Total perfection.

The finish was just perfect and the shabby chic fabric pristine.

I love the mix of feminine with the rustic plank-top desk in my office.

This is where I do all of my paperwork

while gazing out the window into the rose filled flowerbed surrounding the new

white arbor. 

Glass lamp:  Meijer's

Ok, I see you're drooling again.

I assume it's over my new vintage Turkish prayer rug?

Oh, yeahhhh, baby......

I saw this gorgeous thing crumpled up on an old church pew. 

I almost walked by it.

Horrors!

But I noticed it out of the corner of my eye and once again,

poor Michelle was nearly toppled as I dodged around her and flung myself through a group of hot, sweaty people to get to it.

"How much?", I breathlessly asked.

"Forty", said he.

WHAT??!!

I had just reluctantly passed up another prayer rug up from a different vendor who was asking three times that much!

Currency flew in the air like autumn leaves as I pulled out my cash to pay the man before he realized what he had actually said.  I didn't even try to chew him down, afraid that he'd change his mind.

He watched me warily as with heart pounding, I thrust my money at him,
heard the Hallelujah chorus in my head,
and grinned stupidly at him like The Joker.

I wanted to wrap myself up in it and dance my way back to the car yelling,
"Look what I found!  Look what I found!!"
But I knew that Michelle would probably desert me for someone who wasn't quite as dingy.

Be still my beating heart.....  :)

Gorgeous deep blues and pinks, and beautifully faded and worn in all the right places.

This beautiful addition to our old farmhouse was even more special when I showed it to The Husband.

He stood there, mouth agape.

He said, "You've GOT to be kidding....."

My heart sank.  Oh no....I thought for sure that he would love the deep, rich colors or just poo-poo it as another one of my fanatical purchases.

"What's wrong...?", I asked tentatively.

He answered by telling me, "You're not going to believe this, but we used to have a rug just like this in the farmhouse I grew up in. I would pull it over next to the floor register on cold winter days and play on it with my metal trucks."

 I could see his eyes were almost on the verge of filling with tears as he continued to stare at the rug ~ sweet memories swirling in his mind.
My heart melted and I smiled.

Hours later, I actually found him sitting on it giving Maizie a tummy rub...

Oh, how I love that man.

♥

The framed oil paintings you see on the shelf above Maizie's crate
were painted by my mom and dad decades ago.
Dad painted the one on the left.  Mom's is on the right.
Mom loved Dad's sweet lilacs so much that she wanted to try her own hand at it,
so Dad coached her while she painted her own version.
I can still remember them sitting at the kitchen table working on it together.  :)

Large wooden rosary:  me

I draped a vintage lace netting curtain that I discovered at a favorite vendor's booth

over the French door.

It's a sheerer version of what I previously had there.

Another sweet treasure was this canvas rose painting.

I adored the simplicity and the colors.

It's resting against a vintage mirror (I brought home last month from the antique market)
on top of the bookcases in my office.

Yes, that's the same chandy from last month's antique market sitting there on the bookcase.

I hadn't quite decided where to hang it yet, so i plunked it up there so I could wax the floors one day.  Loved it so much up there, that's where she's staying for now.

I did purchase another larger chandy for the center of the living room which I'll show you later.
Yep....two chandies in two months.
Call me obsessed.

My last purchase of the day was this large piece of cotton/linen paisley fabric.

Light and airy and very bohemian.

Do you notice the color that's softly floating back into Heaven's Walk?

Maybe it's the autumnal feeling evenings, or maybe it's the fact that some of our maple trees are turning color and dropping their leaves already,

but I'm embracing the deep, rich warmth these colors are adding to this old farmhouse.

I love the contrast of creamy white and silvery blue linen,

and the deep pinks and purples of my weekly dose of fresh roses

against the darker accents.

I threw the faded paisley fabric over the tri-fold screen in the corner of the living room.

Now, the hunt begins for more prayer rugs.
I want to see them scattered all over these glorious old wood floors
here at Heaven's Walk ~

and now I know The Husband would love to see that, too.  :)

Ruffled linen throw and pillow slip: Ticking & Toile

[If any of you see any for a decent price, would you let me know?]

~  Blessings ~

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Romantic Ruffled Bedskirt

I ordered a five tiered ruffled bed skirt for my king size bed from Wayfair this past winter because I loved the romantic look of it.  They were sold out of white. I hoped that the "ivory" color wasn't too yellowy like I've quickly  learned that ivory can be.

Well....much to my dismay, it was.

So, I hauled out my trusty lavender scented bleach and bleached the dickens out of it.

(Like for 15 hours).

Then used White Brite to remove any remaining yellowy tinge.

Oh...just wonderful.

It turned a pretty shade of yellowy cream with alien green thrown in for good measure.

So, I bleached it again.

For another 15 hours ~

and used the whitener for about 8 hours.

It ended up being a tolerable shade of creamy white,

so I threw it on the bed thinking that The Husband and I were the only ones that had to look at it.

This photo doesn't show the sickly shade it truly was.

 

You guessed it.

By this summer, I was sick to death of it.

The "too many ruffles" that my eyes now saw, consistently looked wrinkled and scrunched up ~ which in my book ~ isn't romantic at all.

Nobody wants to look wrinkled and scrunched up in bed, do they?

I knew that I had a couple SSC duvet covers that I had successfully bleached to creamy white perfection that were just sitting in the willow trunk in the guest room.

Hmmmm.....I wonder......?

I called upon my favorite West coast seamstress/buddy/beloved blog sister for help.

 Shellagh at Ticking & Toile Linens was patient with my frustrated whining

and agreed to create a bed skirt from the duvets.

It arrived the other day.

I eagerly ripped open the box.

I think I heard angels singing.

And bells ringing.

Yeah.

There were bells ringing

(like on Christmas morning).

I placed the lovliness in the dryer with a damp towel and a couple Gain dryer sheets

(my favorite)

and let it rock and roll for about 20 minutes to get the wrinkles out

and then wrapped myself in those creamy ruffles, and pranced up the stairs to the bedroom.

I was going to manhandle this king size bed myself

because I wanted that bedskirt on in the worst way.

I HAD to see those ruffles in all their glory ~

and The Husband wasn't around so I could supervise him to help.

This is how you do it solo, girls:

1. Grab pillows and sheets and throw in hallway.

2. Stand on one side of bed and take a deep breath while grabbing side of mattress and heaving upwards.

3. Fall back against wall while mattress thumps back on bed.

4. Repeat #2.

5. Take deep breath and grunt loudly as mattress bends in middle and moves one measly inch.

6. Repeat #2.

7. Go around to opposite side of bed and try pulling mattress toward you.

8.  Repeat #2.

9. Stand there and say naughty words under your breath while trying to catch your breath.

10. Repeat #2 while simultaneously grunting loudly like a caveman woman and pushing
(glad that there is no one there to hear you).

11. Watch as mattress miraculously lifts.

12.  Quickly step up on box spring and push up with all your might.

13. Do NOT look at arm fat swinging like an apron in the wind.

14. Look up to see ceiling fan 1" from your head.

15.  Duck.

16. Get angry at arm fat and as adrenalin spikes, throw bed against wall.

17. Make sure bed does not fall on top of you and squash you and your arm fat.

(THAT would not be pretty.)

18. Step off bed and realize......mattress is now blocking doorway AND
beautiful new bedskirt is in the guestroom across the hallway!

(sugarjets!)

19. Try to burn off swinging arm fat and position yourself at end of mattress and push.

20.  Squeeze through opening in doorway and retrieve beautiful bed skirt waiting for you in guest room.

21. Squeeze back into bedroom and watch as beautiful bed skirt gently floats down upon the box spring - marveling at the delicious double ruffles flowing and draping onto the floor.

22.  Spread out beautiful ruffles on floor and look up to be greeted by wet nose and furry face.

23. Kiss furry face and place her back on floor.

24.  Turn to grab camera to photograph ruffles and realize camera is on hallway floor.

(sugarjets!)

25.  Squeeze back through opening and retrieve camera.

26. Realize that you could'ave waited to take photos.  

Duh.

27. Grab one end of mattress and slide it slowly toward bed

making sure cute furry face is not on box spring.

(Do NOT want to squash cute furry face.)

28.  Let wobbeling mattress fall back on box spring with a crash

as you take out the lamp on the side table.

29. Make note to pick up new lamp at store this week. 

(Smart move, cave woman.)

30. Scootch (yes, that's my word and I'm sticking with it) mattress across box spring inch by inch until repositioned.

31. Dance around bed as you tuck in clean linens (smelling deliciously of Gain) while sweet furry face helps by patting out wrinkles.

32. Lay on floor like contortionist and take photos of beautiful ruffles while cute little furry face (who somehow made her way back on bed) looks over the side at you and rolls around on freshly made bed ~
as deliriously happy with the new beautiful ruffles beneath her as you are.

(A bath in the ruffles sounds quite nice...

and a little more sprawling, of course.)

33.  Continue to contort on floor to photograph beautiful romantic ruffles..

(*sigh!*)

(*big sigh*...)

until Husband's voice behind you warily says,   

 "What...in...the...world..are...you...doing down there...???"

And that's how it's done...

solo.

 ~ Blessings ~

[Want another laugh today?  Check out Suzan's blog.

But be sure you're sitting down.

And don't forget to visit Shellagh's beautiful blog and linen shop!]

 

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