ever so thankful

{photo: country living}

i have been a little bit MIA lately....so busy with so many things. 

but wanted to take a minute and let all my readers know that i am truly thankful for YOU!

still so surprised that so many of you come back here, to my wee blog, to see what i have to say {or of late, nothing to say because i can't seem to manage all 10 irons in the fire}.

happy thanksgiving to all you!  may you enjoy time with family and friends...and eat dessert first!

farmhouse friday

{farmhouse friday: drool worthy houses that i fall in love with}

enjoy!

pack your bags.  today we enjoy this lovely farmhouse in france.

cheers!  to the week end.



focus? i can't relate

for the life of me if i don't have 10 irons in the fire...

things just don't feel right.

i am such a starter not a finisher (oh eventually i finish...just takes me awhile sometimes).

so this week, week of a million things going on....should be focusing on this huge sale for saturday... i get a whim to rearrange my entry.   what ??? 

i have actually been thinking about moving the massive clock from the basement to the entry.  so i did.  just like that.  right in the middle of my crazy week.  right in the middle of a project i was working on.

 i have had a long mirror in the entry for EVER, so when i put the clock there i liked it but didnt' love it.

i missed the sparkle and reflection of the mirror. 

so a light bulb went off.  i remembered that i had a round mirror in my booth that had not sold.  went and got it, put it behind the clock and now i LOVE it! 

i mean what are the chances that mirror would actually be the right size?  love when things happen like that. 

i'm on the hunt now for some kind of a small lamp for the entry table.  i removed two tall buffet lamps and now am missing the light.  one project leads to another.  it's no wonder i can't focus.

oh, and just so you know that i DO in fact eventually finish a project here is a photo of my complete painted living room. 

and after viewing this room in these photos, i can't say that i love it.  probably come spring, i'll be painting it cream again. 

sheesh...no wonder i can't focus...my mind just doesn't stop.

in the kitchen

yes, it is 4pm and i just made myself a vanilla latte.

it's been a long 9 days.  you see,  the heat element in my latte machine crapped out.

mind you, i am up to 4 shots of espresso in my morning latte.

so...
i tried my french press.
i tried really strong brewed coffee.
heck, i even tried drinking coffee all day long.

but nothing compared to my morning addiction.

today the doorbell rang.  when i heard the sound of the big brown truck driving away, i knew exactly what was waiting on my front step.

aaahhh.  i love this machine a latte!  if you are in the market for a dual latte and brewed coffee machine i would highly recommend this one.  the reviews, for some reason, aren't great on it.  but i have no bad comments to make about it. {i am not being paid, or compensated in any way by putting this post out today} so stop screaming and thinking that you might be getting a new mack daddy coffee maker.  i wish i had one to give away to one of my awesome readers...but not today.  anywho, DeLonghi rules in our house. 

my heating element did go out in my last one.  but i had that thing for two years and used it everyday.  that is approximately 730 lattes!  wow...just realized what a deal this machine is.  730 lattes at a coffee shop would have cost me approximately $2,920....on lattes for two years!  makes spending the $97 (+ $20 rebate) on this new machine look like a huge bargain. 

and because i am linking up to white wednesday over at faded charm here is some more white...in my kitchen:

 these small white bowls are a staple in my kitchen.  i love when i discover one at a garage sale or thrift store.  we use them for everything.  i would like to have stacks of them.



 i am also working on a stack of white platters. 

i just love white dishes.  oh, that's obvious?  well i guess it is.  so simple, so pretty and they go with any table scape you create for any time of the year. 

big big show this saturday if you're in the kansas city area.  the cure of ars gift gallery is taking place.  the past two nights i have been up until the wee hours getting everything tagged and packed up.  i always freak that i won't have enough merchandise.  i have more than enough...wow!  fun stuff....vintage, just old, chippy, silver, sparkly, and a last batch of trays {more on that later}. 

perfect timing on the latte machine today.  looks like i'll need it to get all my work done.

i am such a procrastinator!!  are you?  leave me a comment.  i'll be posting photos of my space at the show...eventually.

farmhouse friday

would love to see a front view of this farmhouse.

loving the awnings on the windows.

{found in my files.  source unknown.}

count down

update:  for those of you jumping up and down wanting a set of these for yourself...you can order them from here: http://shop.tuesdaymorning.com/dsp_productDetail.asp?ssid=1&pid=7634

some of you might be counting the days down until christmas.  but this post isn't about that, i am still wearing flip flops and can't quite wrap my head around the thought of getting ready for christmas.  some of you know that i am a sheet snob.  as in i love my high thread count sheets.  and if you have them, you know exactly what i am talking about here.

 i was so excited the day i brought home my 1000 thread count set.  but i didn't love them.  they were a bit scratchy even and hot.  so i am on the count down....back to 600's.  and i am loving this set i bought a few months ago with the pretty detail on the edges. 

if you have a tuesday morning in your area, it's the best place to get high thread count sheets.  king size is usually just at 100 bucks. 

i'm linking up to white wednesday over at faded charm.  there are tons of great looking links over there today.  think i'll crawl into my high thread count sheets tonight and review most of them.  could be a late night!

what's your type?

i found a vintage underwood typewriter today!  such a cool piece of the past.

 
the ribbon needs replaced.  but other than that i think it might really work.  could you imagine typing on this?

 super heavy.  super cool.  super good fun find!

it will be for sale in my booth at some point.

farmhouse friday

with my obsession of wanting a farmhouse these days i thought i'd start this new friday series.  {well almost friday...just play along} i've got a busy friday and wanted to get this out.

just photos that i find out on the internet that i drool over.

enjoy!

{photo found here} good story too on farmhouse architecture.

B O O !

bet i scared you huh?  scared you with a post today!! 
has it really almost been a month since my last post?  just how do some of you
do this on a daily basis?  candy corn kudos to you!

and thank you to all of my readers {old & new} who come back to view my blog.  i'm sorry
that i don't always have something out here for you.
you get what you pay for though no?  hee hee!

and speaking of BOO!  this post is just about some of the halloween decorations
we put out this year.  kept it sweet, simple and just a wee bit spooky.

ahhh...and the 'every goblins favorite' halloween crackers.  i will be selling these in the Burlap JunKtion booth this weekend.  and speaking of i have a few things to wrap up for tomorrows opening.  better get to it.

thanks again for visiting....it means a lot to have so many readers out there!  Happy Halloween!!

partial update

in my previous post i asked 'what do sealskin and brazil have in common?'

every time my husband goes out of town, on business, i crank out a project.

this time he went to brazil.  and do you see that ever so dark grey on the skin of that cute seal?

well that is the new color that i painted, a feature wall, in my living room...it's called sealskin and it is oh so beautiful.

the black mantel is in the process of being painted white {don't you just love projects that snowball?!}.
i'll post final photos when i get it completed.

take a guess

want to take a guess at what sealskin and brazil have in common?

stay tuned....

vintage market

all set up again at vintage market south....check out photos of our booth here and our new paint color!

what's for dinner?

in a dinner rut?  try these yummy fish tacos with cucumber-avocado salsa.

fish of your choice {i used tilapia} grilled, or pan cooked,
tortillas and shredded lettuce.

for the salsa:
1 medium cucumber
2 medium firm-ripe avocados
1/2 red onion
juice of 2 limes
salt to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 jalapeno peppers

chop all of the above and combine in a bowl.  gently toss. serve within an hour of preparing.

these were so fresh, light and so good! 

quick herb wreath

an easy way to preserve the last bit of summer is to create an herb wreath.

i have been seeing these all over blogland lately.

these are so simple to make.

head out to your garden and clip some herbs.

tie them into small bundles.

i used an old frame {sans glass} as my base.

tie each bundle to the frame, overlapping as you go.



i love the wildness of this wreath.

and oh my...does it smell amazing!

poof :: halloween decor

i tend to prefer halloween decorations that aren't the typical orange and black. 

so when i found these cool amber bottles {at a thrift store} i grabbed them.

cool sticker labels from target and {poof} easy halloween decor.

i love them tossed into this urn by my front door. 

i'm also searching for skeleton heads and black ravens.  they seem to be in a shortage this year, or i'm just not looking in the right places.  i'll throw up some dead branches from the yard, hit the pumpkin patch for some cool white pumpkins and we'll be decorated.   might throw in some spiders and bats too...just love all the black.

i'll post more photos as i get it done.

thanks for viewing my blog!!  can't believe it was four years ago that i started it...time sure flies!

junking finds

it has been a good junking week this week. 

some fun finds and cooler weather.

a super cool vintage shipping crate, an old basket on wheels, tarnished silver champagne bucket,

an interesting old bolt container,

can not even wait to add some big old casters to this shipping crate and turn it into a coffee table.

perfect spot for storage too, not to mention just cool looking.

enjoy the Labor Day weekend....i will be working away on new projects and some much needed to be finished old projects. 

can you help?

i found this at a sale today and was wondering if anyone knew anything about it.

if you can reply with some history on the print or the artist that would be great.

i googled it, but didn't find much.   anyone?

enjoy the weekend!

passport to paris

there is a passport to paris theme at Vintage Market South this month!!

and the Burlap JunKtion booth is looking great.

 hope to see you there.

mona and moi

there she was.
sitting all pretty in a gold frame.
with a great price tag.
at an estate sale i went to today.

i bought her because we're having a french theme to part of our booth at Vintage Market this month.
{i know her artist was italian, but she seems french to me because i saw her at the louve}
i think she would look amazing in our booth.
but
she also looks good around my house.
i think i want to keep her.
is that weird?  to have a copy of the mona lisa in my home? 
i am sure the boys in my house will say to take her down because "she keeps looking at me".

maybe it's just the frame i like...who knows...i am keeping her!

{she may end up in my booth 'just for looks' with a NFS sign on her}

what is this?

i saw this at a thrift store today.
pondered what i could do with it, wasn't feeling creative so walked away and left it.

later this afternoon i was flipping through an old country home magazine.
right there, on the bottom shelf of a kitchen island was something very similar to this.  ideas starting floating through my head on ways i could us it.

back to the thrift store, fingers crossed that it was still there, and there it was!!  yeah!

originally i think it to be a commercial loaf pan.  but this thing is huge.  each pan measures approx. 15" x 5"  that seems so large for loaves of bread but maybe not.

does anyone know?

i'm not planning to use it to bake with, just thought it was cool, industrial and might be something i could use is M's new room design.  {note:  for those waiting on the baseball room redo....it's not going to happen.  we've been getting brick wallpaper samples and they all look really bad.  NOW he's decided that he doesn't necessarily want a baseball room, but just more of a grown up boy room.}

i think this boy has more than a bit of his mama in him. ;)

leave me a comment and let me know what you think this might be.

gettin' the ball rollin'

i have always wanted a house with a screen porch. 
for 5 years i have been entertaining mr. traybella with all my ideas for a screen porch.
i have folders full, books dog eared, and inspiration saved on my computer for such project.

i finally got the OK to get the ball rolling on this project. 

so all my ideas are getting sorted through.

and because i have been anticipating this project for so long,

it isn't just a back screen porch anymore...it has grown.

a back screen porch with a really cool fireplace. {i believe that the only reason the fireplace made it into the plan is because i promised mr. traybella that he could then hang a flat screen above the mantle}.  i am a girl who knows how to get what she wants.  sure honey, have the t.v. and for every football game please invite your drinking buddies over and i'll be sure to have lovely snacks at the ready  !!

this long overdue project has also grown into a front porch,

and an arbor out by the pool.  not to forget the new roof, shutters, and a new garage door.  oh and let's just bump out the garage while we're at it too.

all of these photos are just inspiration for my projects. 

we are meeting with architects to get all my ideas into drawings. 

and then we will see what the damage will be. 

and then we'll wait and save. 

but the ball is rollin' and if i can get what i see in my creative mind down on paper, then we'll be rollin' in a very exciting direction.

a reminder to mr. traybella {who sometimes reads my blog}...flat screen, drinks, friends and football!

it's as good as it gets! !