keeping the rug, lilacs, cats and warm weather

Thanks for all your comments about my new kitchen rug! After living with it for a few days, it grew on me and I decided to keep it.

A few of you commented that the rug was too small. That the chairs needed to stay on the rug when they were pulled out. I've heard that decorating rule for dining room rugs. And I can see why that makes sense and why it would look better. However, I can't do that in my kitchen. And here's why. This rug is 5'x7'. The next size in rugs is 6'x9'. There's no room either way for a bigger rug. Any longer - and the rug would stick out past the doorway of the kitchen/living room.

On the other end, the rug would extend too close to the cabinets and door that goes into the garage. We use this door a lot since our cars are parked in the garage. You can see that there's just a small space to walk into the house from the garage. I certainly wouldn't want dirty shoes on a kitchen rug - especially a rug that can't be washed! Shoes come off on that little red rug by the door as soon as we walk into the house.

Then there's the width. Any wider, and the rug would go over the vent and into the wall.

There's not enough room on the other side either. That's the main walkway through the kitchen. I don't want a rug going almost to the fridge and cabinets.

So, this is what we're stuck with. I honestly don't mind the smallness of the rug. I think it denotes our little eating area just fine. After all, this is not a "dining room".

In other news, it was a fabulous 76 degrees today! I went into the backyard to check on the lilac bush, and sure enough, the buds are starting to open. :-)

Clementine was in all her glory, sleeping in the open window. I'm sure you noticed the bird feeder is empty. I need to clean it and take it down. I'm done feeding the birds for the winter. All the seed is doing now is attracting big, noisy crows and a naughty woodpecker who is now pecking at my house! Though we can't figure out what he's "drilling" at: our house is all aluminum and vinyl. I've stood outside looking around, hoping to catch Woody in action, but no such luck. You can also tell from the photo that I desperately need to start on spring yard cleanup. That boxwood wreath is from Christmas and the branches on the bench below are winterberries. They once had beautiful red berries on them that looked so pretty against the snow.

Spring yard cleanup is going to have to wait though. Rain is now moving in again and looks like it'll be here throughout the entire week. Plus the temps are dropping into the 40's and 50's. Today's weather was just a teaser!

Some of you know I'm not crafty. About all I can handle is a can of spray paint. So with today's nice weather, I went into my stash of spray paint in the garage (I think I have just about every possible color) and decided to paint this metal tray white. Previously, it was gold. And before that - aqua. I don't even remember what color it originally was when I bought it! I'd been looking for a white tray for the coffee table for awhile and couldn't find one I liked. This was definitely a much more affordable option anyway.

And I suppose I can now put the winter throw and pillow covers away until October and unpack the spring ones. (That's Monkey - Clementine's "baby" - snoozing on the couch.)

Have a great weekend!

transforming a tray for the winter season and some holiday talk

 I found this blue metal tray at the end of summer at Michaels for a few dollars.

I loved the bright color and it matched the other bright blue decor I had going on

in the living room. I used it on the coffee table for awhile - stacked magazines in 

it - then the tray was banished to the basement for the fall.

Since I've been incorporating gold accents into my decor now since fall, and gold

also being a lovely color for Christmas decor, I decided to spray-paint the tray

 gold and resurrect it from the basement. So, here's the tray before:

 And, the tray after:

I am not getting ready for Christmas just yet - I'm one of those who believe the

holidays should be celebrated one at a time - so Thanksgiving is definitely

first. We'll be having dinner at my mom's house on Thanksgiving so Mom is

making the turkey, but I'm the designated veggie person. I've been looking at

some vegetable recipes in magazines, blogs, and Pinterest and have come up

with a few that sound really good. Anyway, last night Brian and I window-shopped

around what me and Penny affectionately call the "Fancy Pants Mall" and I must

say that some of the Christmas displays were really pretty. This tree is in 

Pottery Barn - interesting, but in reality, who would really put these gigantic

woodland creatures in their Christmas tree? Each to their own, I suppose.

Maybe if you lived in a big log cabin house with soaring wood ceilings.

Crate and Barrel was more my style. Always has been. Even as an older teen,

when I worked at Marshall Fields (now Macy's, much to this Chicagoan's chagrin)

in a mall, I would go to Crate and Barrel on my lunch break and look at all the

beautiful home furnishings and decor and daydream about what my house would

 be like someday. I still have some wooden Christmas ornaments that I bought back

 in the early 80's before I was married. Crate and Barrel still has a nice assortment

 of unique ornaments; some were as little as $2.50.

Typical man - "You go ahead and look around, honey - I'll relax right here on

this comfy couch."

Hope everyone is having a great weekend...it is so cold here today! Going 

down to 8 degrees F tonight. So thankful for my warm home.