Thursday, March 28, 2013

lots of tweaking going on

 What a beautiful day we finally had here. The sun was shining brightly
and temps were in the high 40's. May not seem like a big deal to a lot of you,
but these were the warmest temperatures we've seen here in a long time.
The snow pile in my tiny front yard is finally diminishing.


 When I walked into the back yard and looked at my lilac bush, I was so
surprised - and excited - to see new buds forming already!


I had windows open to let in fresh air and started on my spring cleaning.
I also played with some new vignettes, including this little centerpiece 
on the kitchen table.


 My gallery wall is finally complete! 


I added these two trays to another wall in my kitchen, but I'm not digging it. You know
how you put something together - a wall hanging or vignette and you just know when
it's right? Well, if you have to stand there and stare at it and think, "Does this look
good?" And you keep going back to look at it because you're not sure,
then then the logical answer is that it's not working.
 

Yep, I think there's too much going on here.
Trays will be coming down tomorrow!
 

 I found this cute, spring-colored pillow at Target the other day.
I realized when I got home and put the pillow on my bed, that the colors were
almost the same as the quilt I had in the office. So I folded the quilt and
put it at the end of the bed. And I'm keeping it real here ~ you can see in
this picture that I need new blue pillowcases. Those faded marks are from
one night when I borrowed my son's prescription acne gel to put on a couple
of i'm-too-old-for-this-crap pimples that had sprung up. Little did I know that
this product would rub off my face onto the pillowcase and "bleach" it.


This shelf in its former life was cream-colored with a pink flower.
It got a new paint job today, though I think I may distress it a little with
sandpaper. I have this hanging on my bathroom wall.
 

I did some tweaking in the living room too, but I'll wait until next week
to show you that room, as I'm waiting until the new curtains that I got
at IKEA are back from the tailor. They're being hemmed and I can pick
them up on Saturday. I can't wait - I think they'll really add a lot of needed
softness and warmth to the living room.

 

19 comments:

  1. Hi Melanie! It has been so long since I visited you. I will be reading old posts in the coming days. I need to catch up with you again. Your house is looking very serene and welcoming. I love the quilt on your bed.

    We are supposed to be getting a little snow up in the woods at Cranberry Cottage. We leave this morning to enjoy Easter there. It is very cold here with a biting hard wind. Glad to hear your weather might finally start to turn to spring.

    Have a very Happy Easter weekend!

    Hugs from Holland ~
    Heidi

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    1. Heidi, I've missed you! I'm glad you're getting caught up. That quilt on my bed is very old - and very special to me. It belongs to an elderly gentleman at our church that's been a lifelong family friend, even of my parents. It was his quilt when he was a little boy. He slept under it at his aunt's house. :-) Hope you have a wonderful time at the Cottage!

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  2. I am loving the gallery wall in your dining area! It's very simple and sweet and perfectly balanced. I think the trays added to the other gallery look fine, but I know how we "know" when something isn't working. You'll know after you pass by it enough.

    The quilt and pillow do go well with each other and the shelf looks fantastic!

    Hope you have a great day and can't wait to see those curtains! :)

    XO,
    Jane

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    1. I'm glad you like the gallery wall, Jane. Thanks for the compliment. The trays on the wall came down the next day!

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  3. It's always fun to change things up. Makes our homes seem fresh again. Your gallery wall turned out great! And I'm liking those trays on your kitchen wall. Maybe move the little shelf underneath instead? Of course, if you're like me, there may not be another good place for it. :-)
    Happy Easter,
    Mary Alice

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    1. I like the trays too, Mary Alice, but they just didn't look "right" where I had them. I put the yellow one on the end of my cabinet wall by the sink, and the red one went in the back of my china cabinet as a back drop.

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  4. I know what you mean by knowing when something feels right. Often my husband will tell that something looks great and I'll say there's something off it just doesn't feel right (and he'll look at me like I'm crazy). Then I'll move things around and he'll be amazed that it looks better LOL!

    The quilt and pillow do have the same colors - very pretty. Your gallery wall looks great. I like the trays that you hung. My first thought is that the little picture and the little shelf need to be moved - not sure where. But I'm sure you'll come up with something fantastic!

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    1. I guess it's a good thing that we just have that natural knack for placement! I agree that the little shelf and the little picture maybe are simply too little for that wall! I'm going to be playing around with this area in the near future.

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  5. Your gallery wall is great.Love your trays.

    Judy

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  6. You've been a busy girl, Melanie! Everything looks so pretty. I especially like the wall groupings. The tole-trays look so nice in your kitchen. Happy Easter and thanks for sharing these pictures with us!

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    1. I'm liking the wall grouping, too - thanks, Lynn. I moved the tole trays though. :-)

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  7. Love your gallery wall. Things are walls are tricky, aren't they? They can get cluttery feeling rather easily. I'm always wrestling with that, too.

    xo
    Claudia

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    1. You are right, Claudia. I wrestle between the not-enough and the too-much!

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  8. I love all your tweaking, Melaine! Great job!

    XO,

    Sheila

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  9. Busy you are . . . cleaning, tweaking and testing the waters . . . I too have to "try things out" until it is just "the look" I am going for. Good luck to you Melanie! Look forward to seeing the LR too!

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    1. I'm always busy cleaning and tweaking stuff, but that's what I love to do. I just put up a new post today (April 1) with my living room. Thanks for stopping by, Lynne!

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  10. What a sweet shelf. I love the color. The quilt and pillow are very sweet too.

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