My Blog Spot

There's a fun party going on called, "where do you blog" over at Centsational Girl. I thought I'd join in even though most of you have seen the built in nook when I did the reveal.  PLUS, I'm also starting a blog roll, more on that at the end so stick around.

This is the little sitting area off to the side.  The kids use it to pile in and look over each other shoulders when they are all on the computer.  I curl up here and hubby and I look at ideas for our next project!  We haven't decided if we are going to put shelves in the "built in in a built in" yet there on the side.  I often have a tall pitcher of fresh flowers in it but these are from the wedding we just went to.

I actually blog over there on the left. Hey, there's whimages now up on the screen, such a coincidence!  The floor still needs to be poly'd but we haven't gotten to that yet.

I'm shipping this FABULOUS FAN off to Melanie....although it's going to be hard to part with!  Don't forget, there are other vintage goodies in the store over there on the right in the side bar.

Another photo of the left.  That bucket on the right is so cool.  It's from about 1870 and is an incredible enameled ebony brown color.  It holds dog toys, ;-)  If you want to see other photos of the built in nook, you can search it over there on the right or here is a link to the REVEAL. 

So THIS is where I blog.  It's in the family room, so not always a quiet place but I usually blog VERY early in the a.m. or VERY late in the p.m. so it's my special time!

The Wedding and The Falsies

Here are a few photos from the wedding we attended on Friday.  I didn't get permission yet to show you the others I took, so that will have to be another day.  Her bouquet was so lovely and the gorgeous scent of the gardenias permeated the air wherever the bride wandered!  The setting was gorgeous and that's the Susquehanna River in the background.  Not too far from here it meets the renowned Cheasapeake Bay, the pride of Maryland. 

The soothing music of a lovely string trio greeted the guests as they arrived.  The Bride opened her window in the Bridal suite and the music floated in! PERFECT!

I had this vision of this photo in my head and called my friend at work last week  and mentioned it to her.  She loved it and she made the sign.  I think it turned out so sweet!  They didn't even know I was taking the photo...my friend was lacing her daughters corset.  Such a lovely memory!

Okay, speaking of all this pretty...you HAVE to try Maybelline's new mascara, THE FALSIES!

This stuff ROCKS!  I have VERY curly lashes so length is a problem for me. Needless to say I'm always trying out different lengthening mascaras and I did HAVE a PRIOR favorite.  BUT now I'm completely SOLD on this stuff!  I'm serious, try it and let me know what you think!  I'm curious if it's JUST ME.

Going to the Chapel...

As I mentioned early in the week, the daughter of a friend of ours, is getting married tomorrow. It's a lovely setting of a mansion house set upon many acres of farmland along the Susquehanna River. It's down a very wooded road and the long drive way is sort of hidden along a sharp bend in the road. It's easy to miss the drive way, so I thought of the idea of putting a sign (like I've seen on a few wedding sites) to show the way. The bride and her mom were excited! I went by my favorite antique shope early this morning before my 2nd shot this afternoon (more on that later) and asked Bob if he had a piece of wood I could use. ( I picked up a few goodies with my birthday money but that's another post!) I already had this piece of wood in mind, I was hoping he would let me have it!  If you've never checked out the photos of Bob's shop, you simply MUST grab a cup of coffee or tea and have a look!  The sign is cool because it's sort of white washed and it's actually a raised panel and the outside edge is more white in person like a painted frame of white. Bob didn't think that we'd be able to do it because the board is warped and WAS split. Oh he of little faith! A chuck of wood and some screws on the back and it's no longer split and we already have had it screwed on the wooden stake and it looked so pretty! Handy dandy husband has MUCH better handwriting than I do so he sketched out the arrow and letters and I was going to paint them. Then HE offered to paint them! YAY! ;-) I think it turned out so sweet and quaint! I'll take a shot of it tomorrow on the driveway at the wedding. I LOVE WEDDINGS!

If you are interested in the trials and tribulations of my spine, read on. :+)

Today I had my 2nd caudal epidural steroid injection. I don't think I explained what that is. My understanding is that the caudal area is the sacrum which is basically the flat area above your tailbone but before your lumbar. It's the lovely little area at the very top of the center of your butt checks. The use a 7 inch needle and inject an a topical anesthetic like lidocaine and then inject 15 cc's of a steroid. The hope is that this will reduce my pain (by reducing inflammation) and I can have a bit more aggressive physical therapy. If the shots work, then the hope is by the time they wear off, I'll be in less pain and able to do more. Which would be fabulous! I had several wonderful and dear (MISSY) friends praying for me today to have less pain during the procedure. Their prayers were answered and I was blessed with a better procedure than last week! The next one is in 2 weeks. Thank you all.  I have such truly wonderful friends.

Vintage Pillows

Just like the rest of you, I'm positively giddy over the grain sack and vintage french inspired pillows seemingly flooding blog land and decor savvy homes everywhere. None of my "in person" friends, minus Julie, read blogs (LORDY, LORDY they don't know what they're missing!) except mine of course (HUGE wink!). So sometimes I think the world doesn't really know what's "going on". In my naivete, I assumed the rest of the world doesn't KNOW about some of the super cool decor items that we are finding "HOT". As you can imagine, thinking we're all privy to the great secrets of the decor universe, I was surprised yesterday to see these FABULOUS pillows in the Tuesday Morning flyer.

Monday morning is the beginning of Fall for me. I know it's not REALLY Fall.  It just feels like it because my kids go back to school then, which I'm meeting with emotions fluctuating between dread and full fledged glee. All of this means that come Tuesday morning you just MAY find me at Tuesday Morning!

CRUSHING ON...

LONG POST ALERT :-)

Where of WHERE does the time go!  I haven't blogged in almost a WEEK.  So sorry Ladies...I MISSED YOU!  I had that DANG first caudal epidural injection last Thursday.  Let's just say it wasn't as fun as I thought it might be!  I've got another one this Thursday but hopefully I'll have some residual numbness from last week.  That's all I'm sayin'!

Okay, enough of the WHINING (well there might be one little spell more...) On to the post.  Tomorrow is my birthday.  Yay me.  (here's the last little bit o'whine) It's that fun one that starts with a 4 and ends with an 0 MY GOODNESS I'M HOW OLD? I'm going to EMBRACE the 40 'cause it's gotta be GREAT!  
ON TO THE CRUSHES...
I'm going start with my first CRUSH...My handy husband, Matt!

1. The first crush is on my husband.  That's probably going to make my sister vomit in her mouth a little, since I said it. But oh well, she'll get over it.  Matt always makes sure I get to do something that I want to do for my b-day.  It usually involves antique-ing and yesterday was no different. This time we started our day a bit before sun-up and drove to PA.  After a super delicious belly bustin' breakfast at Willow Valley we drove on to Adamstown, with a bunch of unnecessary detours on the way.  Let me just say that, with no offence to the PA dept of transportation, but they sure have a convoluted route system up there! Our destination was Renningers Antique mall.  This place is HUGE, with 300 interior vendors and up to 400 exterior, when it's not raining, which it was.  We didn't spend much at all but it sure was fun.  We added some glass knobs from here to complete the cabinet from Matt's grandfather and found a vintage brass faucet to fit my outdoor cast iron SINK (NOT URINAL) .   I just LOVE how the different glass knobs look a bit like vintage white diamonds!  I really didn't have a whole lot on my list I was looking for.  I was hoping for some curly-que metal flower frogs, vintage alarm clocks or a wire locker basket.  Out of all those booths, I never saw ONE of ANY of them, isn't that weird? We ended the trip with a Sonic Slush and headed home.  While I took a nap (I'm not embarrassed to say that I LOVE a good nap!) Matt put crown molding up in our BEDROOM!  WHOO HOO!  Our bedroom is our next project...it's the only room in the house we've NEVER PAINTED!  The color here in the photo is NOT what we are using...that's the same color as our island, Behr's French Silver.  We went with a softer grey, Behr's Twilight Gray.  It's going to be so pretty with CRISP, bright WHITE crown~!  We are finally going to get it all together and use the ANNETTE TATUM duvet that I won from the wonderful blog DREAMY WHITES.   I just read on HOUZZ that yellow and grey are "SO last year!"...OH well! I'm still crushin' on it!...and I still big puffy heart Houzz!  I'm posting the above part of this post to WHITE WEDNESDAY...go over to the right and click on parties to check out other great white wonders!

Behr's French Silver

2. A friend of mine is getting married on Friday, so that has me thinking of all things wedding.  (BTW, I'm taking my camera, so I'll be back with some fun photos) Two sites have occupied too much of my time completely unnecessarily but with oh so much LOVE! The first is STYLE ME PRETTY and the other is GREEN WEDDING SHOES.  I mean with pics like this how could you NOT get lost!  Makes me want to get remarried!  To MATT of course! LOL  ...and have someone else pay for it too!   It makes me want to throw a party, there are photos and inspiration GALORE. You MUST TOTALLY check out the DIY section because there are so many ideas that can be used for OTHER celebrations. It's all just so yummy! Plus you can look for inspiration by COLOR , at Style Me Pretty,how super cool is that!  WHO doesn't LOVE a celebration and these websites are each one big one!

3.  Crush number 3 is another website that is FULL of inspiration!  It's Dandelion And Grey , I'm EVEN in love with the name!  She's a prop stylist plus all kinds of other stuff and the blog just ROCKS! She even has a recipe or two (definately trying the SANGRIA one from the other day!)

4. The last little ol' CRUSH is on this puffy, SWEET as PIE and goofy as a 3 dollar bill furry man...

How incredibly SWEET is he laying here with his favorite stuffed toy, Pooh?

FUN FINDS and SMELL-O-SCREEN

For the past few months, whenever I go hunting for FUN FINDS I look for these milk glass bubble bowls.  There is something about them that draws me in.  I love their skim milk color that you can almost see through.  The bubbles of white are just full of whimsy.  I've now amassed 4 of them!  YAY!  Then the other day, I came upon a little STACK of wee itsy bitsy bubble bowls.  THEY HAD TO COME HOME WITH ME!  I didn't know they made little ones too!  Apparently they are called berry bowls, at least that's what they were labeled.  I also found this super sweet covered milk glass butter dish.

Isn't she lovely too?  She would only hold about a half stick of butter, not nearly enough for ANY of the Paula Deen recipes I'm fond of but hey, she's CUTE! 

I must have recently sat on a four leaf clover because I was LUCKY and won a SCENTSY warmer from super sweet Layla and Kevin at THE LETTERED COTTAGE and Lisa Smedley of Scentsy .  I totally wish I had SMELL-O-SCREEN so you could get a whiff of CLEAN BREEZE, it's the scent I have in my warming unit.  It smells like your house in the spring when you leave all the windows open.  PERFECT!

I think I'm addicted to this thing!  You can pour out the hot wax back into it's container and re-use it, plus switch scents. Cool! 

In other fun finds, I want to share some blogs that I've been enjoying lately.  You probably already follow them, but just in case you are not...

FUNKY JUNK INTERIORS  She has this hilarious post about "you know you are a blogger when..."  I could totally relate!
OLD GREY MARE  Lovely photos and prose to go with them
URBAN FARM GIRL She's an upbeat chick with wonderful white wares and great ideas!
FADED PRAIRIE Photos that stop you in your tracks, ideas in abundance and a great little Etsy shop
TWIG She just gets me laughing, has great photos and her ideas ROCK!

Okay, there are some blogs to munch on.  If you haven't already saved them into your faves, then RUN and do it!  And if you have, well, um I guess we both have great taste! LOL

ONE last little tidbit.  It's definitely going to be one of those stories that isn't really funny 'cause "you had to be there" but I simply must share.  Last week, Callie, Cole and I were at Target getting some back to school supplies (basically giving away my arm and leg) and I decided to get a few towels if they had any on sale.  As we are looking at the towels, Callie holds up one of those RUG thingies that goes over your toilet lid.  She wanted to know what it was.  So I told her it fits over your toilet lid.  She looked at me kinda weird and then said, "Excuse me, I can't find the toilet, all I see is a rug covered seat in your bathroom."  Again, you had to be there but I got tickled over the whole idea of trying to camouflage what a toilet really is by "beautifying" it! 
Joining a couple fun parties...come along and join in the fun, check out the party link on the right!

Isn't she LOVELY? AKA: EXTREME MAKEOVER, dress form edition!

Awhile back I showed you the vintage dress form I found at Goodwill.  She looked pretty sad and obviously had been neglected. Peyton and I imagined she was once a lovely and sophisticated dress form who got her pink slip when plastic (GASP...OH THE HORROR!) mannequins took the retail stores by storm.  We named her Delilah and brought her home. Peyton and I knew that we could consult with Mr. Rustoleum and give her an extreme makeover.  After a good wipe down then a healthy dose of Febreeze, she was ready for two cans of heirloom white.

Even after 2 cans, she's still not WHITE, I guess the fabric soaked up a lot of the paint.  She's now a lovely shade of grey with green undertones. It looks like Restoration Hardware's Silver Sage!  YAY!  What a happy accident.

I made a few fabric and ribbon rosettes to adorn her shoulder.  She's going to live in one of the girls rooms and hold their necklaces and earrings!  Look at that before photo...she's come a long way, BABY! If you are curious about how I made the chalkboard go HERE

I also found a few more butter pats for the Whimsy...found store while I was thrifting this weekend.  They are a lovely lovely trio!  The roses are so sweet and delicate. I think I might put the first photo in the store too, 'cause I'm in love with the light and shadow play from the early morning light.

BEFORE

 < -------BEFORE

I've linked Ms. Delilah to a couple blog parties...they are over there on the right under PARTY TIME, go check out every ones goodies!

These little charmers are so sweet and pretty...PERFECT to hold your rings and earrings at night...or a nice PAT OF BUTTER!

WHITE GOODIES!

All of the summer blooms are putting me in such a happy mood.  WHO can not be happy with fresh flowers in the house!  BUT, this HEAT is slooowing us down.  It just zaps your energy like a sponge.  We have several projects that are on hold while we've been lazing around doing a whole lotta nuthin'!  Tomorrow I'm MAKING myself work on my mannequin project. I know she's going to be SO pretty, I can't wait!  I HAVE had time to do a bit of flea marketing. So not only am I adding to my collection and my store, but also my WAIST LINE because it's SO DAGGUM HOT, that I usually end up buying an ice cream on the way home!  EKK!  I scored the vases above plus some other great goodies at 3 different places!  It was kind of weird that some of vases have a sister pattern to match, not a perfect match but close, like fraternal twins! I can't wait to get a couple blooms at the grocery (yes, I OFTEN buy my flowers there!) and use a few of my milk glass vases for a little vignette.

IN OTHER NEWS:  This is about my back, if you are a frequent reader than you know I've been having a bit of trouble the past two years with my back. 

I went for my 3 month post op today with my surgeon.  He suggested I have several epidural injections for my pain. Because my surgery was the 3rd one in the exact area, he didn't think it was too unusual that I am still in this amount of pain.  My father says I've always been a PAIN so maybe this is Karma!  LOL I'm not really looking forward to that.  Read this or the end of THIS and you'll know why.
EDIT:   I want you all to know how much your love and support mean to me.  Waking up this morning to so many sweet comments just made my day!  I do not put a lot about my back on here because I definitely do NOT want to be a Debbie Downer and I think a positive attitude (I try to keep it!) makes a huge difference in your life.  So... THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!

I'm linking these little white beauties to WHITE WEDNESDAY at FADED CHARM

WHIMAGES...THE STORE, GRAND OPENING SPECIAL!!

SO PRETTY!

Since I put out the welcome mat at my little stores (here , and here ) over there on the right this week, I thought it ONLY appropriate that I have a GRAND OPENING SPECIAL!  Here's the DEETS...With ANY purchase from either store, you get a FREE 5 x 7 of your choice included with your purchase!  I'm going to offer this THROUGH THE WHOLE MONTH OF AUGUST 'cause it's my birthday month! YAY! 

I've added some FUN vintage goodies to WHIMSY...FOUND and there is more to come throughout the month plus I'll be adding additional prints to WHIMAGES...THE IMAGES also! So check back often.

These rainbow hued butter pats are just so yummy!  I'm in LOVE with them! Callie has already snagged a VIBRANT VIOLET one for her nightstand.  She puts her rings on there at bed time! Her room is on the shabby chic side and the little punch of color looks so awesome.

Every decor blog and magazine seems to be mentioning FAUX BOIS these days.  When I came across this sweet little faux bois bowl I almost squeeled!  It's 35 years old (judging by the stamp on the bottom), just shows you that WHAT'S OLD IS NEW AGAIN!

I'm linking up to the "store" link party at REMODELAHOLIC! check out everyones goodies!

Keys to the Kingdom. Err...I mean store!

 I did it! I finally did it! I've got the keys to door of WHIMAGES...THE STORE! I've talked about it for months and finally I just did it! Instead of opening an Etsy store, I figured I'd start smaller and do the store right HERE on the blog. I think because I'm totally not recovered from that pesky 4th back surgery, it will be easier to manage here on my own. If it works okay and my spine decides to cooperate in a couple months then I might branch out to Etsy. But for NOW, the store is over there to the right. I have photo prints for sale and also VINTAGE goodies that I've come across and I just don't have room for or it might be something I already have and I want to share a double with you. Both little stores will be getting new additions all the time! ESPECIALLY the Whimages...found! I'm always finding vintage goodies that I know you'll LOVE!

If you see something you are interested in or have any questions, just pop me an email at robynlbedsaul@gmail.com and I'll be happy to help!

Check back later because I have more fun goodies for Whimages...found that I haven't uploaded yet!

Flea Market Finds and Other Odds and Ends

This morning, Matt and I were sitting under the pergola having our morning cup of coffee, enjoying the sunrise. Yes, we are freaks and get up really early. Even on Sunday. We noticed that our exterior light had decided to disintigrate. Nice. I remembered that the flea market that I went to had a BIG lighting section so we decided to check it out. Later, when humans wake up and open their stores we ventured out. We came home with this little number for $33.00. YES you read that correct! I'm guessing all the lights there are discontinued models or something but most of them were by Hinkley. Check out the price on this THIS ONE that is most similar. So we think we got a deal! I love love love the seeded glass. If I could try one weird artsy hobby, it would be glass blowing!


I worked on the little "stores" for Whimages this weekend so they'll be ready to open in a day or two! YAY! They will be over on the right. Here's just a couple of the goodies I've accumulated that I'm planning on putting in there. Come on back in a day or two and check it out!
I also noticed today that I won something on the THE LETTERED COTTAGE! YAY!!! I am so excited! I LOVE clean smells and I am so happy to have won a SCENTSY WARMER and SCENT! How cool is that! Layla, Kevin and Lisa

(the Scentsy rep) are so sweet! I can't wait to get it and tell you all about it! Plus that's one of my FAVORITE BLOGS EVER!

I also won a blog award today from sweet ALILILLY . She's a new blog friend and we both are obsessed with the Black Dagger Brotherhood books by J.R. Ward. She's a sweetheart so check out her blog sometime! About these books...THEY ARE HOT!

The rules of this award are simple:

Thank the person for the award


Sum up your blogging philosophy, motivation, and experience using five (5) words.

Pass it on to 10 other blogs which you feel have real substance.

 
Let's see, I thanked ALILILLY already so I have to sum up my blog. Hmmm.  This is hard because I don't know how much substance I really have!  ;-)  Here goes... Fun, Family, Photos, DIY, LOVE

I'd love to pass the award onto all the blogs I read because I just love them ALL!  I know everyone is busy so I'll notify everyone over on my whimsical wanderings and let them know they won just so they know I heart them!

Because I feel so thrifty I joined this party  at Southern Hospitality