{almost} a new headboard and enjoying the sunshine

Our master bedroom has been a work-in-progress for about a year now. I'm always amazed at people who can put a room completely together within weeks or even a couple of months. How does one choose paint colors, flooring, curtains, blinds, furniture, lamps, wall art and bedding that quickly?! Not to mention the expense.

 First came painting the walls a light gray, then old carpeting ripped out and hardwood flooring put in. Along came a new mattress and curtains. Next order of business was a new headboard, but easier said than done. I knew I either wanted an upholstered headboard or something creative, such as reclaimed wood or a vintage iron piece. The search in stores and online began, but no luck until recently.

 I finally found a headboard I liked and at a decent price, too. I ordered it from amazon and was thrilled to see it set up in our bedroom. (Obviously, Zippo didn't care.)

I like the classic look, how the color (taupe) picks up the same in the rug, and how the texture and slightly curved top bring a little softness to the room. 

However, this pretty piece has to go back. The metal legs that extend from the headboard have slots in them that are supposed to line up with the slots in the bed frame so they can be attached to each other. Our new mattress is very deep ~ and so the slots don't match up. This headboard is actually supposed to be raised up a little, as you can probably tell from this angled photo. For now, the headboard is merely propped up against the wall with the bed pushed against it so it doesn't move. We have to package the headboard back up and return it to amazon. So disappointing.

 On a cheerier note, the sun came out today, which meant more time in the yard pulling weeds, raking, sweeping, cleaning patio furniture, and taking time to appreciate the beauty of spring.

The lilacs are this close to bursting open! Funny thing is, when they do, the flowers are so light-colored, they're almost white. 

The afternoon sun radiates through the back window and across my desk, where the cats love to lie in the sunbeam and watch me through the window.

 "Be like a flower and turn your face to the sun"
~ Kahlil Gibran

Sharing with Art and Sand - Share Your Cup
and At Home With Jemma - Thoughts of Home on Thursday.

sunlight streams in

 My view out the front door this morning...the sky finally had some blue to it (instead of all gray) and the sun was trying to break up the clouds.

And it was warm! Well, for this time of year in a northern climate, anyway. It got up to 50 degrees F -  twenty degrees higher than normal. Brian and I enjoyed a walk around the neighborhood wearing hoodies instead of heavy winter coats, hats and gloves. I kept the kitchen window open most of the day. Felt so good to have fresh air in the house once again.

I love the way the late fall and winter sun streams into the room that used to be my son, Phil's room - which is now my girly room. I was thinking today how I'd like to replace that red chair with either a daybed or love seat, but that would require more rearranging. I'd have to find another place for the butler's table - and space is limited in my small house. You see, the red chair looks cozy and comfortable, but it's not. It's too worn and squishy. It feels okay at first, but then you realize your back hurts because there's no support. So we never sit in here. It's a good spot for the cats to nap though. They don't mind squishy. ;-)

I keep most of my cookbooks in here, novels, journals, art and scrapbooking supplies, yoga materials, plants, a bulletin board and personal tchotchkes. I honestly don't spend a lot of time in here. I do yoga in here and sometimes paperwork or light crafting at the desk, but that's about it. Oh - Brian hung the bird picture above the red chair for me today. I found it at an antique shop for just $6 a couple of months ago. I had some other stuff on that wall that I ended up taking down, so I had to patch up nail holes and touch-up paint in areas. I forgot to take a close-up photo of the bird picture today while I was photographing the room, so I'll have to show it to you in a future post.

Going around the room...

On this side, here's our family photo (taken on Phil's 21st birthday, two months before he passed away), Phil's memory shelf, plants, bookcase and yoga mats.

To the right is the closet. I took the doors off so that I can keep my stacking bins of scrapbooking and art materials in there and have easy access to them. It's also the closet where I keep all of my hoodies and cardigans. This house doesn't have any walk-in closets; just small standard-sized closets. With Brian and I sharing the master bedroom closet, I get this extra closet for some of my clothes and Brian uses the closet in Tim's room/the guest for his overflow.

Wishing you unexpected sunshine...have a happy weekend!

gloomy out, sunny in

 This is what our weather has been like every day for days on end: gray, damp

and gloomy. No snow. Doesn't look like we'll have a white Christmas here in

northern Illinois. I took a walk yesterday morning and snapped this photo by my 

house. It's untouched. I wanted to show you all just how dark it is here during

the day. I'm sending a SOS to those of you in sunny climates.

 So if we don't have sunshine outside, we find it in little ways indoors, right?

 One of my best friends babysits her granddaughter on Saturdays. My friend invited me

 over this past Saturday and I got to play with this little darling and get my baby fix.

 Look at those big, beautiful eyes! She seriously is one of the sweetest babies I have
 ever encountered. She will go to anyone...lets me hold her, feed her a  bottle, diaper her 

(though that was comical...it's been about 16 years since I've diapered a baby and my

 friend had to help me!), play with her ~ and she doesn't even "know" me. 

I maybe see her once every six weeks or so. She is always so smiley and content.

Another bit of happiness...I'm in the middle of reading this phenomenal book. I think

it might be my favorite book of 2014. Hard to put down, though I'm trying to savor it

because I don't want it to end!

 

Best of all, my Bearded Boy came home from school yesterday! I made a lovely dinner:

Crockpot Italian Pork Chops and roasted potatoes and carrots. I'm normally not a fan

of pork chops, but I will eat one made this way. The meat just falls off the bones and is

so flavorful. Brian and Tim went back for seconds and kept claiming how delicious

the chops were. So easy to make, too. After dinner, we hung out downstairs in the family

room, watching Christmas programs on TV and drinking Moscow Mules. 

 And more little bits of cheer...the last of my Christmas decor around my house.

This table is at the end of the hallway. The family photo is from Thanksgiving 2008.

The last one where it was all four of us. (For those of you who don't know, my oldest

son, Philip - in the blue coat in the photo - passed away in September 2009.) The

frame was given to me by a dear friend from Boston. We started out as pen pals

way back when our boys were babies...before we had computers in our homes

and email and social media were the way of life.

I found this little bunny in a Hallmark store years ago. I had to buy it since the scarf said

Joy Phil - though Phil never was particularly amused by it. I have it sitting on top of the

bookcase under his memory shelf. 

A few Santa Claus tchotchkes on a wooden cigar box - all Goodwill finds - 

in Tim's room.

 

The only Christmas decorations I put in the main bath were the few angels that

I've collected over the years. The wooden angel by the "t" in the bath sign is hand

carved and from a European country, though I can't remember which one. I used to

belong to a woman's group called, "Circle of Gems". One Christmas we had to bring

something from our home that had special meaning to us, but that we were willing

to part with as a gift to another woman in the group. The angel was one of the gifts

 that was brought to the Christmas party and laid out on the table. It immediately caught

my eye and I hoped no one else would choose it. No one did! It was meant to come

home with me.

Thanks for visiting...and don't forget to send me some sunshine!

 

plan b ~ life

 Life doesn't always go as planned.

When the phone rang at almost midnight on Monday, I knew it was bad news.

No one calls that late unless something is wrong.

In this case, it was the news that one of my sisters-in-law had passed away.

Granted, she had been very ill the past few years with complications from diabetes.

But still.

 My sister-in-law was a very private person and didn't want a wake or any kind of

memorial service, so of course, we are respecting her wishes.

So, I had to cancel my plans with meeting Jane from Blondie's Journal and 

Penny from At Home in English Valley this week. Of course, they were very

understanding. We will meet another time.

It's been quiet here, just puttering around the house, running a few needed errands,

and dealing with the stress of making plans for cremation with Brian's family.

Keeping busy ~ even just puttering, rearranging, and creating ~ is good for the

soul. I took some pretty dishes and glued them to simple candlesticks. You could

use these in so many ways: in the bathroom to hold soap or cotton balls; by the

kitchen sink to hold a sponge; in a display on the kitchen table to hold candles;

or, in this case, on a dresser top to hold jewelry.

A simple rearranging ~ took the crocheted aqua garland (bought from
 Claudia of Mockingbird Hill Cottage's etsy shop) that I had hanging

across the ladder bookcase in the living room, and moved it to the dresser

in my office. Love it here!

I need to get out of the house now and get some fresh air and sunshine ~

yay for sunshine! After a few cloudy days and sad news, it's good to see the sun.

I'm heading up to TJ Maxx to see if I can find a rug for the front entrance,

a small blue pillow for a chair, and possibly some art work for both the bathrooms.

Linking the plated jewelry holders over at Cozy Little House.