Friday, April 16, 2010

Friday's Favorite with Whistlestop Cafe

 It is Friday and time for another installment of "Friday's Favorite" with Sandi at Whistlestop Cafe!  I so love this little linky blog party Sandi has created because I am one to have a new favorite every other day, and this gives me a chance to showcase my so-called flavor of the week!

So, this week's favorites are in my kitchen, which, yes folks, I'm still tweaking.  Once I get that space figured out and completed, I'll post pictures of the whole room, but for now, I've added a couple things that I love!

First off, my friend Kate of Salvage Dior, whose style is simply chic and classy, uses twigs a lot in her decor.  She sticks twigs in urns and it looks so amazing!  I've been wanting to do some twig arrangements myself, but was unable to find the curly willow, so that little project went into the "maybe someday" part of my brain.  But, last week, I went to a ladies house to buy a stool and workbench I had seen on Craig's List, and what do you know, she also had this for sale....

Yep, that's right!  A solid ceramic urn with great detailing, already painted cream, and stuffed full of painted white curly willow and moss!  I didn't have to do any work except get it home!

My other current favorite is my new old industrial kitchen stools!  You may remember this post from back in February when I started tinkering around in my kitchen.  After living with the mismatched collection of factory stools, I decided that I might want to paint them white to unify the look.  The same gal who had the twiggy urn also had this industrial stool - already painted a crisp, clean white.


Once I got it home and put it up against that cherry stained breakfast bar, I knew instantly that white was the way to go!  All three stools have their fresh new look...

I feel really good about the end result!  I invite you to stop by Sandi's blog, Whistlestop Cafe, to visit with all the other Friday's Favorite participants!  Happy Friday!!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

~ master bedroom ~

I've never done a post touring my master bedroom.
There's a very specific reason for that...

It's because I have a vision in my head.  It's been swirling around 
my head for a long while now.
 
This vision includes dove gray walls.
And the current furniture painted creamy white.

And ruffly bed linens by Judy Hill.

And a chandi dripping with crystals.

And a pair of french (heck, french-inspired is fine with me) chairs for the sitting area.

The vision is very clear.....in my head.
But Mr. Sassafras doesn't really have the same vision.
Nope, he has no interest in painting walls.
or furniture.
or buying new furniture.
or chandeliers.
 
So, since this makeover will likely not happen anytime soon, I invite you
to tour the room as is.....with a few pink springy touches added here and there.


 

My mom made these bolster pillows probably ten years ago, when she still could sew.
She could make anything on her antique sewing machine that belonged to her grandma.
If I had an idea in mind and brought her the fabric, she would whip it up in no time.
The bolsters are made of vintage floral sheets, which I have a pretty sizable collection of.
We used double faced satin fabric to tie the ends.
One of my goals for 2010 is to learn to sew....just like my mom.


Cupid awake...

and Cupid asleep flank each side of the bed...


So, there you have it.

Our bedroom in all its dark wood, sage green wall glory!

It is definitely the next room on the never-ending project list.

And that's ok.

Because this girl needs projects.  

Projects complete me.

~ until next time ~
Polly

P.S.  Thanks for the well-wishes!  I did stay home most of the day.  It appears that this weird bug has decided to mutate into a full-fledged head cold which is manageable.  You are all so sweet!   

 


Tuesday, April 13, 2010

~tulips, pillows, and a pup-pup~

 a lazy morning at our house...
These sweet french inspired pillows came from Amy's Etsy shop Garden Adornments...just click here

They are soft and of impeccable quality! 

I'm thinking about staying home today and just puttering about the house as I feel up to it.  I've been a little under the weather, and I just don't have the energy to go running around today!  

Home sweet home....always makes me feel better!

Chat soon!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Make It For Monday with Cottage Instincts - Project Irish Pub

I am joining Cindy over at Cottage Instincts for her weekly Linky party "Make It For Monday"!  Cindy has an awesome blog that I thoroughly enjoy visiting every day, and I'm excited to finally have something to share during "Make It For Monday"!  You will definitely have to stop over to her blog to see what she's been up to, as well as all the other participants!

Our biggest project has been the completion of finishing our unfinished basement, and it's so close to being done.  There's still beer signs to collect and hang, a chandelier to be re-wired and hung, and a couple more vignettes to create.
When we bought this house, the basement was cinder block and cement floors.  My husband really wanted to turn our basement into an Irish pub, so after living here for a few years, we hired a company to come in and frame the walls, drywall, and wire all the electrical.  Mr. Sassafras built new steps, did all the drylocking prior to framing, painted the walls, installed the flooring, and built the bar. 
 
Please join me on a tour of "Project Irish Pub"!

This shot is at the top of stairs as you head down...
We had sage green California Berber installed.  The carpet lady told us we would regret choosing green.   But it is an Irish Pub after all!  The walls are a very soft mocha color.  We went with glossy white enamel trim knowing that the furniture would all be dark wood...

When you get to the bottom of the steps, you turn to the right, and here's the view.  It is a long, narrow space and we've packed it full of heirloom pieces, things we've found together, and all sorts of stuff my husband loves!
Here is the bar that Mickey built.  We used an old door as the bar front and the darkest wood stain we could find for all the trimwork.  The two lights were recycled from another room in the house.  I gave him the Guiness neon sign for Christmas.  We have several neon signs, but had not been able to find a Guiness one.  I was so excited to be able to give him this!  The Guiness bar stools were gifts from his mom and sister!  And the cute "pub open" sign was a gift from a dear friend!

I really like how this vignette turned out!  The table is so cool!  It is a german beer drinking table and was a gift from a family friend.  It was her grand-daddy's.  Can you see the little openings on each side of the table?  That is where the guys placed their steins while they played pinochle!  We just recently found the chairs at The Olde Shoe Factory Antique Mall.  The scale and patina was a perfect match to the table.

a tic-tac-toe game lovingly made by my husband's uncle who is close to 90 years old!

Just found the european license plate last week.  It fits perfectly with all the other black and white pieces in this grouping...

found these two leather chairs at The Olde Shoe Factory Antique Mall for $40 each!

This is such a great piece of folk art....and old airplane that was a gift from our mother-in-law.  I love it sitting on the coffee table!

Mickey got this when he was a teenager....a parking meter lamp!  Check out the old burlap shade!!

Here is a shot from the other end of the room....

And what pub wouldn't be complete without some vintage arcade games?  Mr. Sassafras is always looking to add to this collection, but these puppies are big and heavy!  We also have Golden Tee but it's still in the garage.  We need to recruit someone to help us get in downstairs!  Just for the record, I hold the high score on Ms. Pac-Man while Mickey's the king of Star Wars Pinball.  Yes, we are big kids!

 



We recently tried to add a vintage Burger Time game to the collection, but it was already sold by the time we got to it.  We're also on the lookout for vintage Ladybug and Galaga machines.  It's so fun to have something to look for!
And, I had to get one little touch of Paris into this room...
 

Well, all, thanks for visiting!  I hope I didn't bore you with all these photos!  But, we are so proud of our finally "almost complete" rec room!  I have a feeling this room will get a ton of use this summer when it's hot.  It stays so comfortable and cool down there! 

Don't forget to stop by Cottage Instincts!

Hope you have a great week ahead of you!