What is going on around here...

Hello dear friends~

How was your weekend? I'm hoping it was a good one for each of you! :)

Okay, it seems I am always saying this...but here I go again...I have been a little MIA lately around these parts, and just wanted to say sorry for being such a bad blogger friend! I had to take an unexpected blogging break~ between summer activities, vacations, and home projects, it has been a little "looney tunes" lately! ;) I have always thought of summer as a time that is supposed to be relaxing, but reality, it really ramps up around here in about every way possible! :)

And did I mention home projects? ;) Yes, we have been working on things, really we have! ;)

Making one of these...

{in our master bedroom}

I just love the character and warmth even a faux fireplace adds to a room, don't you?

A faux fireplace has been on our to-do list for three years now, so it is very exciting to finally be doing this! :)

 

I have also been working on this:

Namely, painting our front porch! It really needed some attention, and I am trying to make our front porch a nice place to walk up to...

These photos are some of my inspiration...aren't they such gorgeous porches?





 Although our porch has been painted and sealed, I have to wait to put anything decorative on it until this coming weekend!

 

But I can't wait to add a little loveliness to the porch with flower pots, a cute porch bench {in progress} and door mat! I will be sure to show you it as soon as it is done!


 

{sigh}

 And now I have to confess...I have been redoing the plank wall in our bedroom!

Yes, redoing it! 

{blushing profusely now}

But for a few reasons, I was unhappy with how it looked...however, now all of new planks are up, and I am really happy with it! :)

{Photos are courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens, Country Living, and Pottery Barn.}

{I will have before and after pictures for everything soon, I promise!} And I will be by to say hello to you all and catch up on what you have been up to!


I hope you have a lovely night, and a great Monday!


Blessings,
 Jenni

The Cullen House

Hello dear friends!

{I hope this week finds you doing well!}

You will never guess where I was this past weekend...or maybe you will, since you probably read the title! ;)

My husband and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary, staying in Forks, Washington, situated in the Olympic Peninsula.

{Well, technically our anniversary on July 6, but this is the weekend we went away to celebrate it!}

Now for those of you who love the Twilight book series {or the movies} you will recognize Forks as the town the books were set in. I must confess, I had only read three pages of the first book prior to our visit, so when we got there I didn't even know that "Cullen" was Edward's last name!

The bed and breakfast we stayed in is lovingly referred to as The Cullen House, not because the home in the book was modeled after this home, but because it became quite apparent after the fact, that the two were a lot alike!

Twilight fans can tour the house for a small fee, and many come here for love of the books and movies...

I love {LOVE} the room we stayed in, called "Sunset". I am trying to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes this room so lovely, and how I can add a bit of this loveliness to our room at home! {You know, the one that is STILL not completed!} ;)

As you can see, the wallpaper is a burnt orange, which is different from the whites and grays in my own home...

But it was absolutely gorgeous in this room, with thick white molding around the windows and doors! The room felt like "home". :)

Just look at those old, paneled doors! {Sigh.}

As we neared Forks, we drove past Cresent Lake, one of the most beautiful lakes I've ever seen! This picture did not capture the beauty of it!

There are so many things to do in the Olympic Peninsula, too! About 40 minutes away from Forks is an actual rain forest that you can hike through~ the only rain forest in North America, actually.

It was beautiful!

And if you like the ocean, that is under an hour's drive away, too! We only saw it as we were driving past, but that's okay~ we plan on coming back here! :)

If you ever should visit Forks, we would highly recommend the Miller Tree Inn Bed and Breakfast, aka The Cullen House!

You can find out more about it here, as well as see pictures of the many rooms they have!

{I also want to say thank you to my friend Robin over at The Robin's Nest, for all of her great suggestions on "must-see places" around the area!} It was so helpful, as we really knew nothing about anything over that way! :)

Well, that's all for me tonight! I hope you each have a beautiful Thursday, and thank you so much for stopping by! :)

Blessings to you~

Jenni

{Sparrow}

Featuring Reloved Rubbish {and her new shop!}

Have you visited Amanda at Reloved Rubbish?

If so, then you are no stranger to her ability to turn furniture castoffs into pure beauty.

If not, well then, let me show you what I mean:

This armoire had wonderful style, but Amanda made it absolutely shine with chalk paint!

She found this sweet dresser on the cheap:

Turning it into this lovely:

And she brought out her paint and worked magic again on a set of chairs:

Isn't the chair gorgeous now? {And do you see that cute pillow? I love the contrast of it against the white of the chair!}

So if you didn't know it, you know it now: this girl knows her way around paint and furniture. So it makes perfect sense that she would...

...Open her very own shop, of course! Here is Amanda {pictured right} with her friend and co-owner Nancy, in front of their sweet new store, "Loot".

Isn't it so cute? But you need to peek inside, too!

I love the lights strung up inside, and how they have decorated the space!

Everything has been put together with such care and attention to detail...

Even down to their little garden area outside! Isn't it amazing? {I wish I could say my own patio looked this cute!}

Here is the front view of Loot...I love how they have placed the items in front of the store, and again how they have fresh flowers added to the mix! :)

All of this was a lot of work, but it has sure paid off! Loot looks like such a fantastic store, and I just wish I lived nearby so I could visit it in person! But for those of you lucky ducks who are local, here is the location:

Loot

3011 Main Street

Soquel, CA 95073



And if you are like me, and live to far away to visit her shop, don't worry! You can see all the lovely things she paints and sews at her beautiful blog! Be sure to stop in and say hello!

And a big congratulations to Amanda and Nancy on the opening of their gorgeous shop!

I hope you all have a wonderful night! Thanks so much for stopping by! :)

Blessings,
Jenni

The Weekend Score

Well, hello lovely friends! :) And how was your weekend? I am hoping it was a beautiful one for you, and that you are staying cool!

We actually had sun this weekend. And eighty degree weather today.

{Gasp.}

I could hardly believe it. And I wait with some suspicion to see whether the sun will indeed return tomorrow as they have forecasted.

{The weather forecasts here are often wrong...}

Now then. Enough about the weather in Seattle. ;)

I must share with you The Weekend Score. By this of course, I do not mean baseball. I mean garage sales!

How many of you LOVE, even live for, garage sales? I am sure if I could see all hands raised, it would be every single one of you. You're smart and money-savvy like that. :)

I must admit, the garage sales here haven't been so great in the past. I'm not really sure why. It is the same with the thrift stores in my area {about a half hour outside Seattle}.

But this year, it has been better. And I found a thrift store that I love! And my kids love all the wheelchairs they have. Way too much, actually. They like to push around in them in the store.

{I can only guess what other shoppers are thinking of us.}

Ahem. But I was telling you about The Weekend Score, wasn't I? Okay, back to that...

The children and I happened upon a little garage sale, and at first I didn't see anything. But the ladies running it were so nice, and we had fun talking for a while.

Then I noticed these:

{Seven dinner plates, two little bowls, and one small pitcher.}

Now it's true the silver edging is worn, but to me, that only makes me love it more! I love that they are old pieces with so much history.

And although I dearly love my grays and whites, and always will, this is my favorite shade of blue~ soft and romantic. Just perfect for a little cottage.

And of course after giving them a sudsy bath, I had to play house with them, setting them next to a jar of old flatware.




But the part of this story that touched my heart is when I asked what the owner wanted for this sweet china. {There was no price attached.}

She said she'd be happy with a dollar. At first I thought she must mean for each piece, but she meant one dollar for all of them! I insisted she take at least two dollars and that I should make her take more! :)

But I think she was just honestly thankful that someone thought they were a treasure and would treat them well. She and her husband have had them since they married many years ago, so I know they definitely hold some sentimental value for her. So wasn't that so sweet and kind of her?

And that, my friends, is my Weekend Score. :)

Did you find a treasure this weekend? I would love to hear!

Well then~ thank you so much for coming by, and I hope you have a beautiful Monday!

Blessings,

Jenni

{Sparrow}

Vintage Mason Jars {And unique ways to use them}

Hi sweet friends!

{I hope you are enjoying your week so far!}

I must apologize for being a little MIA of late~ we just returned this weekend from a road trip to Yellowstone and back. {More on this later.} Now I will be catching up on all of your gorgeous blogs!

Well now...

I have mason jars on the brain lately...Now that it's summer, I have taken them all out and displayed them in my kitchen and hall bathroom. For some reason, mason jars just say summer to me!

It's no secret that vintage canning jars have come a long way since our Grandma’s preserves. Now I love jam just as much as the next girl, but most all the jars that catch my eye have nothing to do with canning.

Love for these glass treasures is nothing new: from decorating magazines to flea markets to Blogland itself, these aqua beauties have held center stage for a long time.


My own love affair with them began several years ago, when my family stumbled upon the most lovely garage sale while on vacation. {Yes, much to my husband’s chagrin, we stop for garage sales, even on vacation…} There, to my absolute delight, was a box full of the aqua jars, some with their original metal caps, others without. Fifteen dollars for the box seemed a bit steep to me at the time, but I didn’t even negotiate. I knew those jars were precious, and every last one of them came home with me. I just had to find room for them in a minivan full of luggage and vacation gear. ;)




Vintage mason jars- no matter whether clear or aqua- are eye catching just as they are- even just one simple jar can make a statement.




But if you are inclined to create new uses for old items, you may want to take a look at these ideas:


Canning jars filled with antique silverware look lovely on this farmhouse table over at French Farmhouse 425:




I love the contrast of glass and tarnished silver.




{Side note: Would you believe Rachel’s husband made this farmhouse table for her from the recycled wood of an old fence? This table is swoon-worthy!}


And have you seen these?


{Senseless Sophistication}


I know, my jaw dropped to the floor when I first saw them, too.
;)

Emily from Senseless Sophistication created these amazing aqua jar pendant lights to replace the ones that hung in their kitchen. Isn’t that genius?

Tina from Rubies’ Place used a glass jar to make this whimsical hanging candle.


{Rubies’ Place}

The lavender adds such a sweet touch to the jar, and I love how she used twine to hang it up!


Now if you don’t have a place to hang one of these lovely jars, it doesn’t mean you can’t have a little sand and candle light! Whether in clear or aqua glass, candles shine brilliantly.


{The above jar with candle was inspired, of course, by Tina's hanging jar candle!}


No sand on hand? No worries. Just slip a votive into a jar and it’s also beautiful!


{Martha Stewart.com}


Vintage canning jars {or even new ones!} are also a nice change from the traditional vase, so the next time you bring home fresh flowers from the market, maybe reach for one of these instead.






{Me playing copycat again, with silverware in a mason jar.}

So whether you like your vintage canning jars sweet and simple or prefer repurposing them, they are sure to please!

A big thank you to Rachel, Emily, and Tina for the privilege of featuring them!

Thank you all so much for stopping by & I hope you have a beautiful day! :)

Blessings,

Jenni

{Sparrow}

Thanks!

Thanks for all the advice ladies, regarding Pinterest. I enjoyed reading each of your comments and I gotta admit, I am very intrigued. Should I ever figure out how it all works, I'll let you know. Blessings to you all!

~belle

What do you think of Pinterest?

Ever heard of Pinterest?  I am thinking this might just interest me down the road.  See, I used to keep pages from Southern Living or other home decorating magazines of recipes or creative decorating ideas that interested me, but well that added up to a lot of paper in a box. Lets just say, my best laid plans to be super organized and have all my "interests" placed neatly in a three ring binder just didn't happen. 

No, instead, all these neat "ideas" ended up stuffed in a shoe box that grew into a big box and that, just a couple days ago, ended up in the recycle bin.  So I was thinking, how much easier might it be to have my own Pinterest page.  

Gotta say I like the idea.  A lot.  So...what do you think of Pinterest?
Belle
simply . living . life