My Beach Life….

Do you see what I see? And no…it's not a star! It's the date on this Coastal Living magazine! 2002!  That's how long I keep my favorite magazines and refuse to throw them out! Just two weeks ago we went to our beach house to replace a few things…while cleaning out I found this copy of the Coastal Living that was the inspiration to how I decorated our home at the beach.

I've always told my friends that once I decorate I hardly ever change anything! I still loved looking at this issue and I still loved how it inspired me! 

It may be over a decade old….but good design never changes!

I will never forget falling in love with antique sailboats.

 I still treasure the ones that I've collected since reading this issue!

In fact, all of my collections of  seashells, boats and even starfish are still near and dear to my heart thanks to this issue of Coastal Living.

Starfish on the window sills! 

My heart skipped a beat at this picture….

Of course I added them to my own decor!

(and I'm adding a huge apology here for the really bad quality of my pictures in this post!)

And so began my love for anything "beachy". 

Seaweed fabrics, starfish to decorate with…you name it!

My insane love for 'Seaweed Transferware' has literally made me famous! 

Or infamous, I should say! 

And it's not something that I feel like I'm being prideful about…rather, it's quite the opposite! 

 It is simply breathtaking to me!
 I think the feelings of nostalgia it evokes in me is why I love it so.  It brings back another era…and for some reason I think it is probably more appreciated by those that grew up on the East Coast.
 Not sure why I think that...

For a girl that grew up going to the beach in the panhandle of Florida I am mesmerized by the East Coast. I love the whole nature of their beach culture and their love of anything weathered! 

The pieces I've collected are so precious to me! 

And it was a lot of fun to finally have the fabrics I had picked out turned into pillows, window treatments and even chair cushions. 

All in all it was a fun combination of a dream come true as well as being able to work in my antique pieces that I hold so dear to my heart. 
We still enjoy it to this day….another decade later! 

Even my vintage collection of "Bathing Beauties" from the early 1900's are there!

As special as it was to bring all of my beloved beach collections to that house it was also fun to begin to collect some new things!~ Like art that we love from a local artist Donna Burgess. Her work is wonderful! We have several originals as well as some beautiful prints. I definitely need to incorporate some of my artists work from my shop in the near future!

No matter what you collect it should be a reflection of what you love…and hopefully that will only enhance the home you are filling.

I love that we were able to incorporate the old with new. I love that we've always collected items from places we have visited…like these shell prints from St. John. Memories were made there and will someday be someone else's treasured antiques perhaps!

For now, I'm just glad that I still love the 2002 Coastal Living article that fueled the fire so to speak! And I'm glad that my love for antiques can still be appreciated no matter what home we find ourselves in! This antique painting above is the perfect example of combing the old with the new…to me at least!

 It hangs in my daughter's bedroom at the beach and will always remind me of the time I fell in love with sailboats and all things "beachy"

Have a great rest of your week!

Remember The Yellow Kitchen? Funny Thing Is…Now They Live There!

First things first is what I know Holly would say! It was "a walk in the park" that we were both after! 

Especially after me being sick, finishing up the decorating end of their move and stopping in at a few shops that I've been wanting to visit while in New Orleans! 

But knowing we could enjoy this incredible park that is just around the corner from Holly and Brad's house was really keeping me going! I love walking there!

And man if felt good! Jim ran while she and I walked….and talked! And made plans for lunch and dinner! Of course we had to fit that in!

We enjoyed the gorgeous moss covered trees, the incredible bronze statues in the park….

And then got a big kick out of this group walking their many dogs!

After a quick lunch at Stein's Deli, antique shopping and a trip to Lowe's for everything we could possibly need to hang curtains…we were set! We knew we could tackle the "Yellow Kitchen"!

Yellow Kitchen "Before"

We had a great time playing around with all of Holly's accessories and even tried "tucking" in some fabric to see what kind of window treatments will work the best! I knew it was bad though when Jim kept asking me…." Why doesn't she just trim them all to be the same length?" I swear to you on my life I had to keep reminding him they weren't "real" curtains! 

After a few hours of hanging, decorating, etc…it was time for a night on the town! I hate to admit that I had a "Ferris Bueller Moment!"

 And boy, was it fun! And the restaurant was to die for!!!! 
It's by FAR my new Favorite!!!

OK…enough silliness! Sometimes that's just what you need, though!

But back to the house! 
This was how the yard looked when we first spotted the house with them!

We all knew it was quite obvious that the house on the right had been re-done and was quite pretty!

And that the entire street was following that trend! Love these kind of neighborhoods! To me, it's just a seal on the deal letting you know that people love living here enough to stay and just "re-do" and "make it better" so to speak! And that beautiful painted brick house on the corner is home to one of the nicest couples you will ever meet! She's been a real help to Holly!

 So, we felt really good about this street for Holly and Brad!

Now, we feel great about it! After spending three nights with them, hanging pictures, architectural pieces, curtains, crosses, you name it…we feel REAL GOOD about it! And we met some of the nicest people that are their neighbors! 

And, the couple that lives next door ( their landlords!) just had the yard re-sodded….I hope that is a word! And it's made such a big difference! I witnessed so many sweet neighbors being excited about a house that's been empty for 13 years and had nothing but weeds growing up in every direction! Keep in mind this is swamp land…weeds grow quickly! I also witnessed the relationships that are being built in just this short time of Holly and Brad living in New Orleans!

Holly has definitely put her loving touch on this home and I'm so proud of her! The two of them together have transformed this house into a true home! She made the burlap wreath herself!

( love the old timey mailbox!) yes, the mailman…actually mail woman walks and hand delivers their mail!

As you walk into their foyer you are greeted with their cute "N" that we bought them as a souvenir from first store they had in Jackson, MS! Wow, they've moved a lot! And of course, there is the mirror that I've handed down to all of my kids at some point! It was a gift from Jim's parents and the table is from Jim's grandparents beautiful home! 

Original Great Room

Then, you step into their "Great Room"! And a great room it is! We had a GREAT time in it every day, I can assure you! Love the way the furniture worked as well as the curtains! One must understand that ALL of their things have been in storage for 2 1/2 years! They've been moved around into corporate housing with Chick Fil A so for all of their "things" to "work" is a big deal to them! And to me! I couldn't be happier for them! I love seeing my favorite Old World Weaver's fabric on my loveseat that they are borrowing! It adds a lot to the mix! As well as the black leather chair and ottoman!

And that pine trunk that I bought so many years ago as one of my first antique purchases! It's hard to not ask for some of this back, I must admit! But I'm very glad it's working for them!

I must confess at this point that I "snuck" a purchase in for their house while buying for my shop from a wonderful picker I have in New Orleans! I think it fit's the spot perfectly and Holly was really wanting a tall basket there!

I guess I was tired and was taking a little bit of a break and talking to one of my best friends and Holly took the next few pics! Oh well, even the best of us get tuckered out after a full day of eating, shopping and decorating!

This cute sunroom is right off their great room…they don't have much furniture out there but it still works!

And Murphy is enjoying my old Cowtan and Tout pillows from my own sunroom many years ago!

Not sure why the lighting is so different in these two pictures but I wanted you to see their cute dining area…they are getting chairs for Christmas from us so for now, they are borrowing my bamboo folding chairs. Also, that twig console is working quite well for their "side board"! That used to be on our screened in porch in the house we had 17 years ago! Also, I love the fact that their curtains from their very first apartment worked so well here! It was sight to behold watching Jim and Brad hang them..but they did it!

And my mother's old armoire that she had in the house I grew up in…it was probably one of her very first purchases once my dad was in practice as a Gastroenterologist here in Birmingham. It may not be what a young couple desires these days…but it's sentimental and as I told Holly…it is WONDERFUL storage! She is very glad she has it!

Original Dining Area

And being that Holly has always loved my hand stitched "motto's" that I collect…I felt the need to let her use the two that have been on the floor in my pantry for about five years…I thought I probably wouldn't miss them and she loves them so much!

Then we move on down the hallway to the guest room and their beautiful bedroom! And what is really great is that this bed in their guest room was my sister's bed growing up! We just aren't reminding her of this quite yet! Love the way all of Holly's bedding worked in the room since she's had it from her college apartment! ( I will confess that I bought the cute black out curtains for them…if I'm going to stay there...I need my beauty sleep!)

Guest Room Before

But the best part of the house in my opinion is their beautiful Master bedroom! Holly picked this fabric out and loved it for their first apartment…the bed was our wedding gift to them…I cannot tell you how happy I was that it all worked so well!
 (Like I said earlier…it's all been in storage for 2 1/2 years!)

As well as this pen and ink that belonged to Jim's grandfather…it has a lot of sentimental value to us and I'm just glad they love it!

And I truly love their cute bathroom! I'm so glad the tile is a pretty shade of blue and works so well with all of their things!

 The very last thing that Holly and I hung while Jim and Brad were sweating it out over hanging a really big shelf that I forgot to photograph were these two beautiful hand crafted crosses that were two of her favorite wedding gifts! She let me hang them where I wanted and that was right in the hallway by their beautiful bedroom…so they could see them every day as well as guests be able to see them from the main room in the house!

 I think it all turned out pretty darn spectacular myself! You gotta love a first home! There is truly nothing like it! As glad as I was to get back to our two separate bathrooms in Birmingham…it was sort of fun sharing that itty bitty guest bath! You just better not drop the soap! There is no room to turn around..trust me!

Itty Bitty Bathroom

Thank you all so much for taking the time to look at the transformation of Holly and Brad's Yellow Kitchen as well as their precious first home! I hate to take too much time on my own family here but it is what it is! If you have any ideas or suggestions for things we've overlooked…we would love to hear them! Hope you all have a wonderful week!

~ I must do a quick P.S. here…I now understand exactly how my dear friends, Sharon, Jean Anne, Brenda, Sandy and Lisa Ann feel! They all have precious mom's that come into town and I feel like I've known them all of my life! I want to be that way for my daughter…no matter where she lives~