Hello everybody

Hello everybody!

My friend Robyn kindly asked me to guest blogging.

She's recovering from a hard surgery so I'm very happy to be here and wish her a fast recovering.

She's a strong girl and I admire her very much for her courage.

You are in my heart girl!!

I first met Robyn a short time ago, just a few months.

We both started blogging recently and met via Dreamy Whites.

We shared a feeling and wrote some mails.

She asked me today to entertain you, so I thought what could I write about

and decided to tell you something about myself.

My name is Zaira

I write on a blog called

Little Emma English Home

I'm a 33 years old girl with many thoughts and dreams.

I'm Italian, I live in a small sleeping town south Milan,

but  I constantly dream that someday I will be able to pack my things

and run away to some other exciting place

like Paris

or London

I love travelling and discovering new places. There's so

much to see and learn, I'm never fed up. In summer

I satisfy this thirst for life by travelling.

I choose a place and for 3 weeks I'm 

"The girl with a luggage"

I never sleep in the same place for more than one night.

Each day a different sky, each night the same exciting feeling that tomorrow

will be a new adventure.

I'm lucky enough to share those precious moments with my

wonderful friends

Friendship is to me the greatest thing in life.

It's so amazing to find people who care for you more than a family,

those are the persons you choose and

when they choose you too it's a huge blessing.

They never make you feel lonely

I have a passion for books

My secret ambition is to become a famous writer

and live upon words

I like to name things with their proper name.

Maybe, that's why I'm a person who speaks clearly

and people don't usually like it.....

I'm not a flattering person, I live for the Truth.

I'm a sincere girl, maybe too much.

I'm also a strong and independent girl but

 I'm still waiting for the right man who has

the key to my heart

Sometimes I sit and look behind me at my past

But I usually prefer to look ahead and wait for

my personal fairytale

{all pictures from This is glamorous, Home, The bottom of ironinhg basket}

But this is a new chapter and a new.....post!

Thank you again dear Robyn for hosting me in your blog

A great hug for you and your lovely readers.

Zaira xx

I'm ALIVE! I'm now officially ROBOTIC ROBYN! AKA: Spinal Fusion Revision Surgery

Hey, did you miss me? Huh? Maybe a little? Come ON don't crush an ill woman's ego, okay? How about I tell you ALL ABOUT the exciting stuff going on in our home THEN I'll tell you about the surgery junk. That way you don't have to slop through guts, blood and gore to get to some decorating fun stuff. (I promise, it won't be gory...at least I don't think).

I have to share this photo of Cosmo's sweet white paws (they are a bit dirty right now and grass stained but that's okay). I was spending some time laying on the floor instead of the bed or the couch or sitting in a chair. You know, just a change of scenery. I had someone hand me my camera so I could get some shots in because even with all this titanium in my back, my shutter finger is working nicely, thankyouverymuch. Both Macy and Cosmo were so sweet keeping their Momma company there on the floor.

Years back, Matt and I noticed this fun piece of "furniture" in his grandparents garage. We ooohhhhhed and aaahhhed over it while his grandparents looked at us as if we had two heads. It was just a hand made tool box made from scraps of wood and crates, how could we think it was so cool? Fast forward to before my surgery, Matt's Nana wanted to clean out some of the junk from the basement/garage. Of course THIS piece called our name! It needs some sanding maybe a little refinishing only on the top, a board for it to sit on and then maybe some bun feet. Are you seeing it? Are you loving it? Unfortunately the RED KNOB is having to go bye bye but the rest will stay and I plan to mix them up and have all the other drawers EACH have a DIFFERENT knob. You know, for funks sake. This baby needs a tad funkification! Can't wait to show you when it's done, of course remember I'm not moving anywhere near top speed so you'll (me TOO) have to be patient!  Hey, and does it remind you a bit of this piece? delicious, yet expensive PB goodness

Okay, about the built in I've mentioned a few times. Well, she's on her way to GLORY! Matt's been working his cutie buttotie off on it and it's coming along soooooo nicely. That left side is a little desk and the right side is going to be a bench (that lifts for storage) that will be covered with a fun washable slipcover. On the right wall there will be INDENTED shelving. WE plan to have it all painted white with lovely trim and crown moulding and under cabinet lights. AND a FUNKY pendant light hanging on the reading nook side. SQUEEEEEL! I'm so excited about this project, and sooo happy my man is handy and handsome! I'd show you more pictures to give you more dimension but I want it to be a surprise!

Here's the surgery part so feel free to turn around now.  I'm going to come back later and tell you all about it 'cause now I'm too tired and I need to lay down....I'll be back!


Okay, I'm back....
Ready for the guts and gore?  Just kidding!  This time I happen to have had my surgery at a Catholic hospital.  I'm Catholic so that kinda went together well.  Before my surgery a Priest walks in (this almost sounds like the beginning of a bad joke) to give me communion and do the sacrament of anointing the sick.  He had a pretty strong Slavic accent, so my father asked him where his accent was from.  He said Poland! Well, I'm half Polish (the good, pretty half my Dad says) and my father is 100%  My Dad started speaking to the Father in Polish and they had a seemingly sweet little conversation.  Up until this point I only thought my Dad could speak Polish words that Polish sailors typically use not ones you speak to a Priest.  He proves me wrong.  Again.  It was very pleasant to have had that time with the Father and it definitely sent me off to surgery with a lighter heart.  Before I was whisked away, I got hugs and kisses all around from my father, my father in law and Matt.  Double from Matt for good luck.  Then it was off to the OR.  Then I suddenly woke up in recovery, which is always incredibly pleasant.  Your eyes feel like they are made of lead and when you muster the strength to open them they decide not to focus.  The nurses mentioned that I had to have a transfusion in surgery.   As I'm the only one in recovery, the nursers are chit chatting about decorating.  Finally I yelled over to them and asked if they could wheel me closer so I could get in on the conversation!  LOL  I told them about www.houzz.com  and they all wrote it down.   A bit later the anesthesia started wearing off and I did NOT feel like chatting then!  They moved me to my room, continually monitoring my BP because it wanted to stay LOW.  Then Matt and my Dad and his Dad showed up for a mini visit.  Of course they gave me the morphine self pump which sounds awesome in theory when in reality it actually sucks.  Think about it, you can administer your own morphine every 6 minutes, after several doses of that you drift off to dream land where you are NOT self medicating.  So when you wake up you've got a grizzly bear of pain laying on your body and you can't shake the sucker off until you pump that little pumping thing about 20 times, then you doze off and repeat.  Fun.  Unfortunately, the next day my blood pressure continued to go down eventually the last time they took it it was 53/40.  Which I'm assuming isn't great because she immediately called my surgeon and over the next 7 hours gave me 2 MEGA transfusions.  I hope the blood came from a nice person. I'm just sayin'.  Anyway, several nights in the hospital later, I'm home and trying to rest.  So don't expect much blogging from me ;-)  Although I have asked a few more girls to help out but everyone is so busy so we'll have to see.


Prognosis:  After the surgery the Dr. came out and told my family that he definitely finished some "unfinished business".  He felt VERY confident that I will do much better now.  The next day when he spoke with me, he actually seemed a bit sad and disappointed in my past surgeon.  Saying that he could still visualize in his head my spine and believed that there was no way that my past surgeon closed me up knowing that I was NOT DECOMPRESSED.  All I know is that I may now have an 11 inch scar but I have feeling coming back in my left leg that I have not had for almost the past 2 years.  Thank you Lord.


I want to thank you from the VERY bottom of my heart for you prayers, well wishes, happy thoughts, healing vibes, cards, baked goodies, and complete dinners.  We appreciate every SINGLE thing.  I really believe that your positive energy has lifted me up and sped my healing!


blogspot.com/">linking to Southern Hospitality

Vintage Window Makeover from Guest Blogger, My Cottage Charm

First let me say I am very honored that Robyn asked me to be a guest blogger for her while she's re-cooping from her surgery, can't wait to dig right in and get started and I'm so glad to hear she's doing ok!

I'm Melissa from My Cottage Charm and I've been married to my high school sweetheart for 25 wonderful years.  We have three beautiful boys that bring us joy everyday and make our lives VERY interesting, to say the least. :) I love to blog and have made so many amazing friends in such a short period of time. (and Robyn is at the top of the list!)  My blog is all about bringing the passion for decorating into reality by using inexpensive ideas and LOTS of paint to achieve the look and feel you LOVE.  (occasionally I do gush about my children and hubs, or give you a new recipe, I'm just like that!)  :-)  Here are a few things you can find on my blog:

      Cozy Cottage Kitchen    

 

Goodwill light makeover

  Laminate to Lovely armoire

You're more than welcome to come visit me anytime!

Now lets get to the makeover! 

My mom was going to throw away this old vintage window and asked me if I had any use for it.....

As you can see, it was in REALLY poor condition, but I decided to take on the job and make something great out of it!  It had quite a bit of rotted wood and issues around the panes of glass, even some missing panes.  First I cleaned out all the rotted wood areas and filled it with wood putty.  I let it dry and sanded it down smooth.   I removed the broken panes of glass and had some new panes cut.  I cleaned out all the old putty and put in the new pieces of glass with glazing points.  (those are little pointy pieces of metal that hold the new glass in place...easily picked up at Lowes or any hardware store)  I used some window putty to hold the new panes in place.  You just roll out a piece like a snake and put it around the panes of glass and use a putty knife, at an angle, to remove the rest.  (maybe you'll be blessed to find an old window with all the glass and you can skip all those steps!)

I decided I wanted to be able to hang coats along the top edge, so I purchased some glass door knobs.  I actually found these at Walmart....they were supposed to be used to change out existing door knobs, but I had other ideas for them! (you could use vintage ones if you have them) To attach them to the window, I used wood dowels the same size as the holes in the back, and then drilled that same size hole in the window and then glued the dowels in.......like this.....

After I got it all cleaned up etc, I gave it a good coat of crisp white paint! AND THEN...this is what I used it for!

I printed out my pictures in black and white and backed them with some black art paper, just so you don't see the wall color behind it.  You could have your pictures printed to the exact size of the panes, but my panes were bigger than what my printer would print out, so I just  backed them with the paper to make it easier. I just love how it turned out!  I have it hanging in my foyer and have a shelf underneath it with hooks.  I decided to use those hooks for coats and use the glass door knobs for something pretty.  I chose pretty over practicality.....surprise, surprise! :)  I still have one pane of glass to fill with a picture....I just can't seem to figure out which one I want, but it'll get there eventually!

I hope you've enjoyed looking over my window makeover, I know I've enjoyed putting this post together for you.  Again, I would like to thank Robyn for letting me visit with all you guys today and I hope she's recovering nicely and resting at home!

Love ya Robyn!

Blessings

MELISSA

Hello everyone! This is Julie, Robyn's neighbor and friend. I am so excited to be helping her out with her blog posting while she is recovering from her surgery. I talked to Matt (her hubby) this morning at the bus stop and he said she is on her way to recovery...the doctor had only really positive thoughts about the surgery and its success. She does however have some bed rest and down time ahead of her for a proper recovery! I am beyond happy about the news and am wishing her back to normal asap (along with many of her other friends and family).

O.K., so I do not blog regularly but I do read other blogs (including Robyn's) and visit many websites for inspiration, ideas and yes, recipes too! I am going to mention a few of my favorites and hopefully you can find some time this weekend to check them out. 

So if you have not visited The Pioneer Woman you need to. I know this is one of Robyn's faves too because she told me about it years ago. Ree is an amazing woman who lives on a huge ranch with 4 children and her husband (along with many pets too) with lots of stories to tell, beautiful photography and yummy recipes...she also has a cookbook out called The Pioneer Woman Cooks...a nice Mother's Day gift if you need to give a little hint to anyone?

Now, my sister lives across the country from me in Portland, Oregon. She just happens to have a fabulous shop called NOUN (a persons place for things). I so wish we lived closer or she lived here or that she would trust me to open an East Coast Noun but I am just dreaming. I want one of everything in there. I am not just saying it because she is my sister either...she just has a great eye. Now, it just happens that the wonderful Mrs. French from the blog Bliss knows my sister and wrote an awesome blog about her stores redo with tons of pics...so read here and get inspired!

So, in ending, I have one more sight to share with you Saint Cupcake. I have a major sweet tooth (I am pretty sure Robyn does too). Anyhow, this great little bakery has the BEST cupcakes. Get this, you can order them and have them delivered to you or anyone else (hint: Mother's Day). My favorite is the toasted coconut and the pumpkin with cream cheese. Check it out...you will not be disappointed.

To all you moms out there...Have a great weekend! P.S. Robyn is suppose to come home Sunday...keep your fingers crossed!

Corned Beef and a Transfusion or two

Hello there, its Brandy(Robyn's sister) and I have just a tiny little update for you all. Robyn is still in a lot of pain but is managing to stay positive. I guess it had helped that our father has brought his infamous Corned Beef delivery. For those of you who are not aware, Dad brings this awesome Deli delight with all the fixins when ever one of us is sick or hospitalized. Its the one thing we look forward to when we are not well!
Robyn did have to have one blood transfusion during surgery yesterday due to a lot of blood loss. Another transfusion is on the horizon because she has low blood pressure. I don't know what to say except to please keep my wonderful sister in all of your thoughts and prayers. She is truly an amazing person and deserves for all of this to be over a quickly as possible.  I'll let you all know if I hear anything else.  God Bless and happiness,    Brandy

WELCOME Cassity from Remodelaholics, she's GUEST BLOGGING!

Cassity is such a sweet lady and if you haven't become addicted to her blog yet then what are you waiting for?  It's FABULOUS and she's awesome and FULL of ideas!  Thanks Cassity for guest blogging!
I am happy to be visiting here at Whimages.  Robyn was kind enough to let me show off her awesome kitchen a little while ago, so I am here to show off a little project I have recently finished.

By way of introduction,

My name is Cassity,

and I am a Remodelaholic...

(this picture is like H.O.T..... I couldn't stop myself!)

...well at least I have a blog called Remodelaholic.  

I am a wife, a mother and an Interior Designer by degree.  

My husband Justin is a Landscape Architect and a "honey do" list genius!


My daughter is the light of our lives.  She is often the reason and perfect excuse for


leaving my projects sitting around unfinished for as long as I want!

Halloween 2009 The Three Amigos

I love working on projects and the satisfaction it brings to see a job well done.  We do a lot of re-purpose, reuse, recycle projects and we try to make them as accessible as possible so that you too can make them.

We are remodeling our third house.  The thing is, we don't like to spend a lot of money to get the look we want... Can I get an Amen?   So, we are always trying new creative solutions.  Then, we share them with you, with complete tutorials to make it as easy to recreate as possible.

On my blog you will find:

Tutorials, Design Plans and Ideas, Remodeling Ideas, Before and After, Holiday Ideas,


Recipes (and a linky party just for recipes), Weekly Linky Parties (Fridays),


Guest House Tours (Mondays), Featured Guest Projects



Click on the image to see the post.


 


 


  


 


 
Today I am going to show you how to make faux roman shades.  I made these out of 1 twin sheet I bought on clearance for $2.00, old ribbon I have had for a while, left over Velcro and scrap wood from another project.  It only took a few hours.

Anyway, this project has been done before in the blog-o-sphere.  But I think that pretty much anyone who has made their own drapes has done this before including myself in this project back in 2005, before I even knew what a blog was... so there, I am not just a copy cat! Although I do love my cats, and my chickens.. and well you get the picture, moving on.
Here is a before:

The whole house has these 2" faux blinds, and they are brand new and perfectly functional so,

I decided to keep them, but I didn't necessarily want to look at them all the time.


( apparently that means I would rather stare at the blank brick wall that is my neighbor's house...)

After:




Here are the instructions if you would like to try it out. 


Collect your supplies:
fabric
Ribbon (if desired)
Heat bond adhesive strip
Velcro, adhesive backing
1 x 2 (x window width+) pine board
Measuring tape or ruler
Iron
(drill and screws or small "L" brackets)
This project can be sewn or not, it is up to you.
Measure your window, decide the width you would like and cut your 1 x 2 to the proper length.cut the fabric to width of finished blind plus at least 2 inches and the finished length plus at least 8 1/2+ inches.  (technically since theses blinds do not operate,
you don't have to have the full length and it would be fine)
Finish all four edges, by folding the top and two sides over 1/2 inch, 
then 1/2 inch again and either sew or heat bond the seam in place. 
On the bottom fold it over 1/2 inch and then 3 inches and sew or bond in place.
Now move on to the tutorial images.

 








Any questions? ... Bueller? ... Bueller?

What do you think?

Thanks Robyn for letting me guest post!

I'll be back but for now, here's some goodies!

As you may know, I'm having a spinal fusion revision tomorrow (well it will be tomorrow in about 20 minutes). I've written about it extensively, probably too much so for many! ;-) I won't bore you with the silly details yet again. I figured while you were gone, I couldn't have you sitting here looking around the blog twiddling your thumbs, so I've got some FRIENDS who are planning on entertaining you in my absence. PLUS, if you are wondering, I'm sure now and then some one will post about me. I'll be in the hospital several days and won't be back on here for a bit. However, I've got some goodies up my sleeve! You are going to recognize a couple of the guest bloggers plus meet some of my "real" life friends. I'll apologize now and say that I CAN NOT be responsible for any or all shenanigans my real life friends and sister may pull. I have NOTHING to do with it. Handing over the key to the blog to a couple of these girls is making me more nervous then a lone hen in a coop full of roosters!

The only hint you are going to get about the guest bloggers is tomorrow begins with a super sweet and fun lady who's blog begins with the word remodel and ends with holic.

I also thought it would be fun to share some quick and fun links with you that I've enjoyed just in case you haven't seen them! ;-)

LINKY LOVE:
Dreamy Whites
Eddie Ross
The Lettered Cottage If you don't know about this one...RUN here NOW
Zaira's Little Emma English Home
Restyled Home
AWKWARD family photos...can't help myself, have to show you this
Southern Hospitality
Heather Bullard
White Flower Farm House   check out the blog too!
Bliss
Funky Junk
A Beach Cottage
Miss Mustard Seed
Urban Farm Girl
Vintage Simple
Between Naps On The Porch
Twig
Willow Decor   I have a huge crush on her kitchen and butlers pantry
DIY SHOW OFF
Lola B's I HEART this blog
The Nester
Tatertots and Jello

There's more but I don't want to embarrass myself plus, I'm ALSO doing this so when I'm hanging out on my little hospital vacay, I can't still find some of my favorite sites on my husbands ITouch! SNeaky, sneaky!

Nesting

 When I'm stressed I usually get so much more accomplished and now is not any different than any other stressful time. My friend said she thinks I'm "NESTING" to get ready for the surgery on Wednesday. VERY late last night I got out of bed and disassembled the doggie neddlepoint (which I might add had the worst "professional" framing job I've ever seen, maybe 'cause it's old) and spray painted the second coat on the frame. This morning in my desperation to do projects aka: the nesting behavior, I couldn't find a sanding block so I got this old nasty sponge out of the trash and used that! I put it back together with out the glass because I thought it looked more natural. (I actually accidentally got over spray on the glass...shhhh)

Then I tackled the little pages from the "champion dog book"that I got from my friend BOB. I used a paper cutter and cut a sweet little bull dog out (I'm a sucker for any smushed face dog, well any dog) and put it in one of those little black frames that were 2 for $5.00. I HEART it. I big PUFFY HEART how it looks! So glad I have an extra 'cause I'm definately going to use one in the built in reading spot/desk that Mr. Handsome Whimages is building (with his nervous energy).

BTW, I used this fancy handy dandy tool from Ikea to undo both frames. If you look hard you might be able to find this same tool.

I'd LOVE to have this little collection in my new bedroom in a sweet little spot where I could put that gorgeous golden Yellow chair from Nana. I'm envisioning a lovely tiny area with the chair and a baby chandelier hung from the ceiling with the little doggie grouping on the wall. This would all be in our NEW "ANNETTE TATUM" bedroom. It won't happen because 1. our room is tiny and 2. I have tooo much to do between now and Wed. and 3. I don't have the $$$ for a tiny baby chandelier! A girl can dream, right? I DO think it would look lovely with the SILVER painted walls. Now my under 5 dollar wall art collage is DONE! Of course it's not on the wall, but that's for another day!   (CLICK older posts to see all of yesterdays Goodwill GOODNESS!)

Linking to: http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/

 tatertots and jello  Funky Junk Interiors