Winter Wonderland

We arrived at our family mountain house today to celebrate Christmas and ring in the new year with my parents, my brothers and their families.  We entered a snow covered wonderland and were greeted by Bambi's family!  The snow has melted for two days but you can tell there is still 8-10 inches still on the ground.

The view of Seven Mile Ridge from the porch of Hatcher Haven.

Wishing everyone a blessed New Year!

Lori

I'm dreaming of a dreamy master bedroom!

I took the photo of the master bedroom in our new home when we were looking at the house.  The furnishings are the prior owners.

There is another window near the foot of the bed on the wall to the right.  

I've bought a few new pieces of furniture for our bedroom.  One is the bed below.

A four poster bed which is actually a platform bed with storage.  I took this picture at the shop where I purchased it and it's now in storage.  I can hardly wait to see it all put together!!

So... the look I'm going for...mmmm

So many great choices!

Thanks to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for these gorgeous shots of The Southern Living Idea House in Senoia, Georgia

Thanks to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for these gorgeous shots of The Southern Living Idea House in Senoia, Georgia

OK... REALLY like this!  You can't see it the photos of our room but there is a brick wall opposite the bed.  A seating area with great art may be nice there.  And the secretary... I've been searching for one forever!

Go check out more photos of this house on Susan's blog.

I've been thinking about striped walls.  Is our bedroom the place to do that?  It looks nice here.

I love this room.  I can see crawling into this bed every night.   What is the draw?  Pillows? Dresser by the bed with the tassel?  Canopy?  Perhaps all of the above!

I love the black bed.  I'm tempted to paint the one we bought.  I think it would be beautiful.  Of course the wood is beautiful too and will go nicely with the other pieces I have planned in the room.  

Another example of black bedroom furniture.  Maybe I should paint it all???  Tempting.... :-) 

Enjoying Christmas Decorations in Blogland!

Since we are in the midst of moving this year, we voted as a family to keep our Christmas decorating to a minimum.  I'm not dreaming of a White Christmas (although we may actually have one this year!)  I'm dreaming of how I'll decorate our new home next Christmas!!  So here are some of my favoraite ideas I've seen on other blogs!


Let's start with Lori at My Heart With Pleasure Fills!  I  just love her simple ideas.  Take a look!

A simple wreath, the addition of garland to make it fuller and then gluing ornaments and other sparkling goodies!  Gorgeous!

She hung jingle bells from the mirror by tartan plaid ribbon and then tied live greenery with a ribbon bow and secured it atop the ribons.  So cute!

A cute simple touch of whimsy!

  Check out other great ideas at My Heart With Pleasure Fills! 

As always I found some great ideas from Kim at

 Savvy Southern Style

I just painted a frame exactly like this for the new house.  I love this idea!

Another cute and simple idea!

A great idea for using a silver tray and a little more sanitary than having guests share a towel during cold season!
Great ideas Kim!

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

I found a new blog to add to my favorites... www.warrengrovegarden.blogspot.com.  What a beautiful home.  With a house full of men, I don't know that it would work in my world so I'll just have to go visit Carolyn's! 

www.warrengrovegarden.blogspot.com

That's all for now.  I'll be dreaming (and blogging) more later but for now... more boxes to pack!

Thanks for stopping by!

Lori

Living Room Ideas

We're packing to move to our new home the first of January.  For someone who helps others with their home decor on a regular basis, it's tough to know where to start with my own.  The following pictures were taken when we were house hunting.  I'll have a clean slate to work with.

Challenge # 1 ...Where to put the television.  I'd like to create a seating area around the fireplace so we're thinking about putting the television above the opening on the right and putting the components in that space. 

The back of the room has a nice bay window overlooking the screened porch and a door to the porch.  The door to the right of that leads to the master bedroom.

The opposite end of the room is on the front of the house.  There are three windows.  I plan to use the draperies that my Mom and I made for our current home.  I'm short one set but purchased the fabric to make another set. Hopefully Mom will be able to help me again.  I'm not sure I can remember how we made them!  I have thick black curtain rods that I can on these windows and an long one to match that will work on the bay window.   

The bay window is shallow so no window seat here!  I think it will be a nice place for a few plants.
I think my piano will end up in front of this window because this area will be seen from the entry hall.

Now on to another room... Come along!
Lori

A little treasure update!

Did you think I had stopped treasure hunting?  No my friends!  Still at it!  Here are a few of the latest finds.

A handcrafted basket.  $3.20

An original watercolor by J. Malone.  $15



A stained glass piece I painted from an old barrister bookcase door.  $0!

A great little lamp and 5 cut glass coffee mugs.

A (formerly) gold framed mirror I turned into a chalk board.



A lace bedskirt for a twin bed that goes on all four sides.  Perhaps the perfect touch for my porch daybed swing??  $3.20


I'm looking forward to moving into our new home and finding a place for all the goodies I've found.
Thanks for stopping by!


Lori

Letting go of the old and embracing the new!

We're moving to a new house soon and I'm thinking through the furniture and trying to determine what will go where.  Some pieces just don't seem to fit.  And today I found some I thought might!

A medium size chest of drawers seems perfect for the foyer at the bend of the stairs.  On sale today 50% off!  Only $39.50! (I'm strutting around like the bargain hunting champion!)

A high rise night stand to go with our new bed (See below)  This was 50% off at $45.

The bed I had already purchase.  Sick I didn't get it for 50% off but I love it and think it will be awesome in our new place.  It's actually a platform bed with drawers underneath.  Very cool!

The piece de resistance!  This GORGEOUS Dresser!  LOVE IT!  50% off ... only $125!

Check out the curved front!

Now to find the pieces that I'll have to let go... mmm... better think on that awhile!  Happy hunting ladies!

Thanks for stopping by!

Lori

Joyful... a music video by.... me?

OK... maybe not professional quality but it was fun to put together.  Credit to Casting Crowns for such a beautiful version of "Joyful!"  These are photos Mike and I have taken, primarily at Hatcher Haven and surrounding areas.   Enjoy!

You may purchase this song at Amazon or on iTunes.

Giving thanks in the mountains.

We spent Thanksgiving at my parent's mountain home in Little Switzerland, North Carolina. It's about as close to heaven as you can get!  Below is a picture I took off the porch the first morning we were there.  The fog looks like a lake!   

We were leaving early Saturday and as we made a curve a donkey and two horses trotted out into the highway.  (Note the Christmas tree farm in the background.  They are everywhere in this area!)

The made their way into an open field and then up to the parking lot of a quaint stone church kicking up their heels with delight to be running free.  They eventually turned up a dead-end road.  We called some of the local folks to let them know we had 2 horses and a donkey on the loose!  It was a treat to see!

We were traveled on to neice's wedding in Waynesville, North Carolina.  The chapel of First Baptist Church is gorgeous!

The bride was even more beautiful! 

 Congratulations to Claire and John!

I was able to run through a couple of shops and galleries in downtown Waynesville.  It's such a great town!  If you have an opportunity to visit, I highly recommend a gallery/shop "Twigs and Leaves"

Twigs and Leaves specializes in remarkably fine crafts created by a host of mountain artisans - all with a theme of nature and the environment. 

Back in Little Switzerland, North Carolina, home of Hatcher Haven, our family mountain home, there are other good spots to check out as well.  Hearthside Homemades is a great little shop.    It's owned by Keith and Darlene Fletcher ...great folks!  They feature local and regional handcrafts including their own "These Blooming Dishes" they create by pressing wildflowers into clay and using a firing and glazing process that makes each piece a custom garden!  I have several pieces and love them!

I also found some good thrift, junk, antique and consignment shops in Spruce Pine, NC.  the closest "big" (?) city to Little Switzerland.  I'll try to shoot some pictures of my treasures for you.  Right now, I'm wiped out and I'm thanking God for a soft bed with an electric blanket and a pile of quilts to keep me warm.

Thanks to God for so many blessings!

My husband who tolerates my creative passions and the resulting clutter.  He's the love of my life and my best friend.  My sons who hold my heart.  I'm so proud of them.  And so, so many other people that I'm blessed to have in my life.  

May you be as blessed~

Lori

Wanted: Welcoming foyer with staircase

Next stop in the new house is a two story foyer with a staircase.  The foyer is a pretty good size  so I'm excited about doing something fun.  I want this area to give visitors a glimpse into our personalities.  I've got a cubby at the turn of the stairs and an open wall.  This is the only picture I took of the foyer when I was looking at the house.  To the right is an open wall.

So... in my dreams, I'd love see a beautiful secretary where the clock is currently sitting but since I don't have one I guess I'd better consider some other options!  

I've search "blogland" and found a foyer almost exactly the same layout and size.  I love this.  

Maybe I've found my answer?

I have a cabinet about this size.  I plan to paint it and add some interesting  hardware and I have lots of lamps to choose from.  Having the light on the right side corresponding the height of the stair rise is something I had not thought about. Nice touch!  I found a super cool lamp today at Goodwill that might be perfect for this spot!  

I think our foyer may be actually be a little more open than this.  I don't have a bench but I have been wanting one and have seen a few that may work.  I have a simple bench I can use until I get one like I'm thinking about.

I love Windsor chairs and this piece is AWESOME!! Add a cushion and some cute pillows.  Love it!

Here's another great look from a great blog I follow.
Go visit Kim at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com 

This is a great bench.  She also has another nice piece in this space.

From the look of the next photo, I think her foyer is almost exactly like our new place.  

I like everything she did but I do think I like the idea of a bench on the open wall and the table with lamps at the staircase.
(Post update:  I found this chest that I've bought and plan to use in the foyer.  I'm not sure if I'll paint it or leave it as is.)

I think I need to keep my eye open for a rug too. 

Any other suggestions?

Thanks for stopping by!

Lori