My Christmas Table Setting Project

This was a centerpiece at a wedding we went to recently and I thought it was a very cool idea.  I told my darling husband that I would really like to have a candle-holder like this up at the lake and he was delighted because, it seems, it's pretty easy to make.  Get a log, drill a hole and insert a candle.  Of course, it has to have holly or poinsettias to compliment it but that part I can do.  We have a couple of trees he would like to trim so that works out well but I think he could make it work with some wood that we used to buy at the grocery store for our (old) wood-burning fireplace.  I got this idea from a California Ranch Wedding that we went to recently. It was a keeper idea. 

Longing For The Lake...

Lake Love

Morning From The Deck

The lake didn't look this great last weekend because it was pouring all day Sunday.  Good thing Paul and Dave got in their golf game the day before.  Last week was a fun weekend with friends and it was a nice reprieve from the "To-Do" list we have going on up there.  It really seemed strange to sit on my comfy couch with a glass of wine and just chat with Lisa.  We did that sort of thing over the summer but the past few weeks have been one long painting party.  And the Big Guy goes non-stop.  Then he spends the next 5 days bent over at about a 45 degree angle.  Seriously, he walks that way for about 4 days and gradually gets more upright as the week goes on.  Sigh.  But he loves it.  The Lake House is his dream come true (notice I capitalized Lake House).

It's Off To Work We Go...

Wow, Big Guy!  Don't step back!  There he is paining yet another room.  This time it's the guest bath - it's only half way done so I had to go down to the store and buy some more today to bring to the lake...he's going to groan, I'm sure.  The thing is...I always start out painting by myself but Dave is such a perfectionist that he can't stand to see me doing the cutting in and he has to take over that part of it and then, before I know it, he's doing the whole thing!  

Well, we still have quite a few more rooms to do and winter is our painting time because the weather isn't so great.  By the time we're done, we'll be sick of the colors and will want to change again.  So - every time we do this, I wonder:  how old is too old to do this sort of stuff??/ 

Stone Steps...It Was Worth The Work.

Here's our attempt at major landscaping / hardscape by ourselves.  We needed steps to the pergola (made by the Big Guy and his devoted brother) with lots of instruction and advice by the local lumber supply store).

We picked out the stones (too many tons to even count)...  and then....

...had to configure how to place them...

and, now look at this...

They are awesome steps!  Accomplished by the Big guy along with a hardworking, talented 20-something guy named Monte and an amazing little Bobcat.

  

We still need some plantings, of course, but we're trying to keep with the natural landscape of native grasses

and wildflowers.  The slope behind me, where the photo was taken,  is a favorite spot for deer.  They take naps there when we're not around and like to snack on the vegetation... so we're taking our time to experiment in finding species that won't become their main meal the first week they're planted. 

Ta Da !

The guest room is done, done, done!  Well, almost - I still need to add some accessories...maybe a few framed items above the bed or...whatever... I'm still thinking.  


I am sooo happy with my "frugal-finds" for this room.  It took some leg work but, really, it wasn't that hard.  The duvet cover shams and comforter were purchased at the HomeGoods store:  homegoods.com for a total of $120.  I could have gotten the same thing in an all-in-one comforter set ( bed-in-a-bag) for a lot less ($80.) but since this was a guest room, I wanted to be able to easily wash a duvet cover for my guests and not have everyone sharing germs.  Not cool.  Oh - and the bedskirt was purchased online for about $40.


The end tables came from a home consignment store in our area that actually sells a few new things - they were $120 each.


The lamps are from Target.  Yes - Target.  target.com.  It's a great place for lamps because they are so reasonable - and they work - unlike some lamps I've scooped up before at some out of the way places.  The Target lamps have "mix and match" shades and all together, I think they were about $40. a piece. 


Here's a cute little slipper chair from Target.  I ordered this online after I saw it in the store and it was about $150.  It's not really comfy - I don't think my guests will cozy up with a book but it's a decent place to park your bum when your're putting on socks or waiting for your better half to finish up in the bathroom.  The pillows (there's a second one on the bed) came form HomeGoods and they are beautiful, brown Ralph Lauren corduroy.  They look like a million bucks but were $20 each.  


The paint is Kentucky Haze by Benjamin Moore.  It's a nice, cool and soothing color - just love it.  (about $100 for the room)

I get such a charge out of spending as little as possible on this stuff and still having a pretty nice room come out of it.  

I really needed to get this room in shape because we're in that retirement mode like so many of our friends who also haven't been able to replace their former jobs and we're all going around visiting one another.  
Instead of "stay-cations", we've been doing "friends-house-cations".  No hotel rooms, new scenery, and we try to do cheap dinners.  The challenge that's been thrown out is to come supplied with a new kind of inexpensive but really good bottle of wine.  We've discovered a couple of very nice ones:  KlinkerBrick Zinfandel  KlinckerBrickWinery.com and Cline Ancient Vine Zinfandel ClineCellars.com  Yumm!!! (make sure you get the "ancient" vine kind.)


Friends are coming in mid-November so now we'll be ready for them.  So, all together I spent about $730.  OK, not cheap for those in a real crunch but I think it's do-able for some and certainly less extravagant than what more than a few of us would have plunked on our credit card a couple of years ago!  And I'm pleased with the way it turned out.  Now I have to keep reminding my darling guy how much money he has saved.. haha!

A Newly Painted Room...Just Feels Good

I loooove to paint!  Well, not the process of painting, really, but I really just love the feeling of having a newly painted room.  And the feeling of accomplishment too. It's energizing! We bought a house along a lake about a year ago and it may be our permanent retirement home - not sure yet - but it's been our all-consuming project.  The painting was put on hold for the summer months so we could enjoy the place with family but the paint buckets are calling our names again!

My favorite paints are Benjamin Moore - I use them all the time.  BenjaminMoore.com They cover really well and designers (like myself) use them more than any other brands. Pottery Barn has its own selection of Benjamin Moore paint colors and they are frequently featured in magazines (look in the back of a decorating magazine, in the resources section,  and you will likely find the Benjamin Moore paint color listed by page).  Traditional Home magazine www.traditionalhome.com usually lists paint colors for their layouts.

The color in the picture of our guest room is Kentucky Haze:

We usually do the painting ourselves - I thought I retired from that job too until I started getting bids from painting contractors - whoa!  But you can get creative about asking for help if you can't do it yourself:

1.  Ask your kids to do a room for you and then put on a nice dinner for them and their friends.

2.  Or, if they have kids, make a deal with them to take the grandchildren for a weekend so mom and dad can have a romantic getaway in exchange for the paining job.  (Or a romantic dinner if you can't take the children for an overnight).

3. You could also pay your kids to paint a room - with the economy the way it is, they might really like that approach.

4.  UH...well you could always ask for having a room painted as a Christmas present.  How many robes and slippers can you handle anyway?

Just think about how great that room will look when it's painted and how nice it will make you feel.