Downton Obsessed...

I am not at all embarrassed to admit

that I am obsessed with 

Downton Abbey!

Downton Abbey is a television show

on PBS. 

It follows the lives of the aristocratic

 Crawley family and their servants. 

And it is set in the fictional Yorkshire 

country estate of Downton Abbey.

Not only is it a very good show, 

but the scenery and the costumes are

nothing but pure inspiration!  

  

This makes me want to run out and buy boots,

tweed and hats! I might have to take a bit of this

look and add it to my fall wardrobe 

(or in my case lack of fall wardrobe I do live in hot South Florida) 

 This is the kitchen....

Don't you just love the copper pots lining the back wall!

And don't even get me started on the long farmhouse table.

Look at the copper molds, how many of those have

you passed up while thrifting? 

 I may have to pick those up next time I see them.

 

The table is set so pretty with just greenery and candles....

oh and I guess lots of crystal, china and silver.

No problem i'll just substitute glass and silver plate,

I think I can manage the china.

Now if only I could find a few footmen to serve.... 

This is my favorite....don't laugh.....but I love

the bells that hang on the board in the servants quarters.

Mind you ,i'm certain that I wouldn't be 

the one ringing the bells back then,

more than likely I would have been 

one of the servants answering it.

But never the less I love the bells!

 

So pretty...the riding outfit on Lady Mary

 Not to mention the beautiful scenery!

Completely obsessed I tell you....we just love to watch this show!

Sweet husband too if you can believe it!

On another note....we are all decorated for Halloween..

and as soon as I can get my camera to work i'll share with 

you this years theme and pictures.

Hope you are all having a spooktacular October!!!!!

All the pretty horses

I don't know when or how

but i've fallen head over heels in

love with Horse Pictures!

I've never even been on a horse...

matter of fact one of my best friends has

a ranch and i'm even slightly afraid

to feed carrots to the horses...

But you put them on a canvas or in a frame

and i'm in LOVE

This is the newest lovely fellow to grace our

home...my girlfriend Sondra spied him

and he had to come home with us!

I just love the neutral colors in the print

...and he looks so serene!

These guys are in our master bedroom...

i'm trying to create a wall of horse pictures.

When we went to Charleston this summer

the girls and I had drinks at

The Thoroughbred Club inside

Charleston Place and they

have this fabulous wall of Horse Art

www.bookings.com

 

These are pictures I found online...
not the best but you can see what
i'm talking about..
Great Hotel and Bar by the way
if you're ever in the area!

www.annefitzsimmons.com

Here are a few other examples of

using horse art in decoration

I wouldn't mind if this handsome guy

came home with me...

 www.ballarddesigns.com


 www.ballarddesigns.com


Love this guy in the windowsill...
we actually found one similar in Charleston
he is sitting in my house right now..
but I can't seem to get a good picture.
Maybe one day when we aren't being
pelted by a tropical storm...

 www.kellyharmondesigns.com

 www.apartmenttherapy.com


And my favorite.....
LOVE this picture by
Heather Bullard
I just love everything
about it!

www.heatherbullard.typepad.com

Hope everyone is enjoying their Monday!

p.s

If you are in the line of Tropical Storm Isaac...

please stay safe and be cautious.

We are on day 2 and this storm is

huge and dumping lots of rain!

Back to School Teacher Gift

Well it's the night before the BIG day...

Back To School

Which is similar to a dirty word in our house...

we LOOOOVVVEEE the summer and

hate to see it end!

And this year is a big one!!!

One is starting the 6th grade

I can't even believe i'm saying that

we just started Kindergarten last year...

i'd swear to it!

But i'm not gonna cry,

instead i've wasted time today making

teacher gifts...for the little one anyways..

cause no way in you know what is

it even remotely cool to give a teacher

a gift in the 6th grade....

matter of fact everything is up for the

is it cool discussion lately...

lunchboxes....

shoes.....

backpack....

folders......

the way we walk....

well you get the idea....

there really hasn't been enough

crafting and/or wine to get me

through the trials of the last couple

of days getting ready for the big day!

But without further delay here's our attempt

at an elementary grade (very important) teacher gift!



While browsing pinterest I saw this and thought it was so cute....

Take a picture frame and place a piece of notebook paper inside...

attach a cute bow.....I like fall colored ribbon even if

it's 100 degrees here in our part of Florida!

Write a cute message with a dry erase marker...
your child's name goes where I placed the star,
sweet husband would FREAK if I posted our
baby's name all over the world wide web!

When you're all done you have a cute, thoughtful,

quick and inexpensive back to school gift!

Don't forget to send the dry erase marker with the gift....

Oh...and cross your fingers they don't smudge
it all off and get it on their clothes on the way to class.
Just to be safe don't dress them in white that day!
Or place it in a pretty bag...which would have
been a good idea...i'm just to tired at this point
black shirts for everyone tomorrow!

Hope everyone has a great day back to school....

and if those days have passed you or if they

haven't happened to you yet...

then I hope you enjoy your peaceful morning!

And please say a pray for us moms dealing

with 6th graders having meltdown over

uncool lunchboxes.....

just kidding....

well kinda

Breezy Summer Porch

This summer has been crazy busy!

But this weekend we finally

had a bit of down time....

so sweet husband and I

tackled the front porch!

A bit of scrubbing....

a new fern plant...

and a few billowing

white curtains...

just what was needed for a

breezy summer porch makeover

White bargain Ikea curtains...
$6.00 for a pair!

Can you believe sweet husband found this
fern for me at Publix for $9.99??

Hope you all are having a fun and breezy summer!

Angel Oak

Happy Summer Vacation

everyone!!!

The kids and I are so happy

that school is out and summer is here!

We just returned from

Kiawah and Charleston, South Carolina

One of the most beautiful things

we saw while away was the

Angel Oak

It's located on Johns Island

and it is estimated to be

over 1,500 years old!

 And it is said to be one of the oldest living

organisms east of the Mississippi!

If you are traveling anywhere near

here over the summer...try and stop by

it's definitely awe inspiring!



Hydrangea Happiness

Did you do something today that made you happy?

Well I certainly hope so!!!

 My daughter and I stayed inside and watched movies together..

and then when sweet husband came home from work

we all went out to find a thrift store that I find on

this really cool website my girlfriend Ann found....

The Thrift Shopper

you just enter your zip code and state and it gives you

thrift stores in your area!

Now I consider myself to be up on all the local thrift stores...

however...there was a new one I passed every day and I

had no idea it was there!

So we went on the hunt!

And I found this really cute silver trophy bowl...

for only $3.00!



After that we went grocery shopping

now normally that's a big chore..

but I needed a few things from Whole Foods...

and I LLLLLOOOOVVVVVEEEE

their fresh flower area!

So I treated myself to these beautiful

Vintage Blue Hydrangeas...

and wouldn't you know they fit perfectly in

the new silver bowl!

It's made me completely

heart skipping a beat happy...

not sure if it's because I had a great day with my 

family, or I found a great find, maybe it's the beautiful flowers,

or the fact that just looking at them reminds me of

my good friend Ann who started this whole adventure

because she took a moment out of her day to

think of me and sent the website to me....

and I in turn ended up buying her favorite flower

purely by accident and it fit into the bowl I found

because of her.....

I guess what i'm trying to say here is....

when you do something or say something

you may never fully grasp the

effect you may have on someone....

good or bad....

but if your words are kind...

....your intentions true....

and you do it with love in your heart...

odds are good that you

will make someone else

         heart skipping a beat happy!        




I truly hope you did something today that made you happy
and that you only had kind words for those around you!
While it might not always be easy...don't we really owe it
to those around us...and especially to ourselves!

Thanks Ann for thinking of me today...
it made a difference in my day!

I was going to resale this....WAS being the word!

Well I was able to sneak another

piece of furniture by sweet husband...

kinda...sorta....

he just shook his head

like... here she goes again

Two weekends ago I ran by a church garage sale

and saw this beauty...and I walked away!

Because do I really need another dresser?

However I just couldn't stop thinking

about this poor dresser

being all alone and not having a home.

It was in really rough shape...so I thought...well

maybe I can clean it up, paint it and resale it....

find it a good home where it will be loved!

I mean really...it was only $20.00...so no big risk right!?



Yep...it found a home alright...

in my living room!

And i'm not even going to paint it...

I cleaned it, waxed it and polished it up...

and I love it!

Can you believe I was thinking of painting it?

So glad I didn't!!

I just need to find replacement handles..

but even without them I love this piece!

Oh....and i've put the shelves back in the dining area

and stripped the paint off the top of the table

I bet sweet husband cringes every evening

when he goes to open the front door...

he probably never knows

what he will find!







Hope you all are having a great week...