Recycled Christmas

image from google images

Now here's a tree I could be happy with on the Green front. Just save all those beer bottles and stack 'em high to make a festive account of the past year. I bet this would be gorgeous at night with lights coming from inside the bottles. And when the holiday season is over just pull 'em all down and throw them in the recycle bin. How great is that?

Wishing all my blog family the best of the holiday season. May you be happy, healthy, and know that you are loved.

Advent - the Punk Rock way.

(click on image for redirect to site)

Now this is my kind of advent calendar. Too bad I only discovered it now and not Dec 1st. There's always next year for the first 17 days.

Today's song.

Merry Christmas to all those that long for the good 'ol days of our wasted youth. Oi!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yes, it is that one day a year that I will participate in shameless self promotion. It is ALL ABOUT ME today.

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39 and holding for the next 10 years.

Too Excited To Be A Perfectionist !!!

Sorry for the sloppiness of this post - all photos are from Home Companion. I could not figure out how to get them singled out.
The Dec/Jan issue of Home Companion has an article about the interior of Amy Butlers home in Grainville, Ohio. And guess who did the styling on it - MONIQUE KEEGAN !!! When I saw the shot of the bike with the industrial table against the wall I knew it had to be her. Silly me didn't read the header on the magazine article that stated that Monique was the stylist. The only reason I knew it was her was because I went back and reread the comments on the post that I previously did on her own home. Whoa was I shocked - Monique commented on my little blog about the upcoming article.

You can tell that this is a fabulous collaboration between Monique and Amy Butler - good friends are they. Sorry the photos are so small, you will need to go to the Home Companion site to see them in their full glory.

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But better than the Home Companion article is the fact that Monique has her website for Enjoy Co. up and it is CHOCKED FULL OF PHOTOS !!! Go now - quickly!!!! You will be amazed.

ENJOY CO

I'm tellin' ya' - this girls got it going on. I wonder if she would take me on as a virtual intern. Hey - I'm a hard worker and a fast learner.

Must See!

You absolutely must go see Australia - in a large screen theater.

I am by no means a sappy, love story kinda gal and this flick has only 3 scenes that had gratuitous Harlequin novel yuck in it. The aerial shots will take your breath away and it's got plenty of shoot 'em up scenes in it for the boys. So it's not a chick flick in my opinion. It is the cinematography and set design that is so incredibly fabulous.

I'm Pissed Off!!!

Why is it that all the good magazines go under?????

It's in black and white.

Dream Designer

I do not subscribe to Country Living but after finding this slide show on their website I may have to add them to my monthly list. These are shots of the interior of a 1924 Tudor home in Granville, Ohio that was reno'ed by Monique Keegan and her husband. It took them three years to make the changes - no

small feat when dealing with 4400 square feet.

I am in L O V E with the "vintage-industrial, modern country approach to decorating" Monique took throughout the home. It seems that guests to the home have enjoyed her designs so much that she has started her own design firm - Enjoy Co. THIS is a girl after my own heart - vintage French mail bins for storage. What a workspace. I love all of the laboratory glassware and industrial metal that she uses in most of the rooms. This is true vintage - no reproductions here folks. If I lived in her neighborhood I'd have to stalk her and make her my new best friend. Storage. Storage. Storage.

Now why can't I find things like this???

Is it just me or does anyone else feel the need for the next Antiques Week to happen NOW ?????

Craigslist Score !!!

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So I was doin' my frequent Craigslist crawl to see the junk people are trying to sell these days. Look what I found ... keep in mind the lighting on these pictures pretty much stinks.It's a bakers prep table - galvanized stainless and maple wood top - listed for $100.00!

Hey, I could use this in the garage for a work table/potting table. Emailed the guy for the dimensions to see if it would fit in the nook that I was thinking of putting it in. When he emailed me back he asked what I was wanting to use it for. He had another table he was going to put up for sale and wanted to know if I would prefer it.
It was this beauty for $125.00. Again, galvanized stainless and maple! Check this out - flour bins!!!! Soon to be used for potting soil of course.
Prefer it ??? - forget that - I want them both!

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These pieces are now sitting in my garage waiting for me to clean out the area that will be their new home. A good scrub, sanding the top and putting a few coats of linseed oil and they will be like new.

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$225.00 for both tables ..... IKEA couldn't even beat that!

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REUSE - RECYCLE - RE PURPOSE

I Got This!

Halleuiah!

YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BITCH

... or whine unless you VOTE !!!!

Vote to make a change for your children's world if not your own.

It's your obligation as a citizen of the United States of America.

Strange But True

So how's this for spooky? This beautiful creature showed up on my back patio early yesterday morning. She stayed all day and was the absolute most friendliest cat I have ever met. She allowed the 3 year old hug her to death and pull on her hair. She hopped up in my lap when I went outside to enjoy a cup of coffee and plan my day. She was very healthy and very vocal. She took a midday nap in the chair that was in the sun. She was extremely comfortable with us.

The furry children of the house weren't too sure about her. They stood guard but no hisses were exchanged and she looked at them with nothing but love. As the sun set I decide that I would have to ask around to see if she belonged to anyone and if not I would take her to the vet to see if she was chipped. When the girls and I got home from Trick or Treating I went out back to check on her. She greeted me with quite a mouthful of meows, I petted and played with her, and than she walked off the patio into the darkness of the night. She was not on the patio this morning.

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A Black Cat appears on Halloween, stays all day, and is gone the next day.

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Things that make you go Hmmm...

This is Mable, the house spider. She is fixing her web for All Hallows Eve.

This is the front of Mable's house.

These are the two little girls that live in Mable's house with their huge pumpkins.

This is one of the pumpkins after their mommy carved it.

This is the front of Mable's house as it's getting dark. The photo's are not hazy - it's the {fake} fog rolling in.
Mable's front door - waiting for the first Trick or Treater.

Ah, what do we have here? A garden fairy and a witch it seems. Oh wait, that's the daddy that lives in Mable's house.

Ah yes, the handsome daddy and the two little adorable girls that live in Mable's house.
How cute are these two?

Hope you all had a happy and safe Halloween!

BOO! to You

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Road Trip Travels: Mustang Island & Fulton

It's been SO LONG since I've been to the beach, and my babies have never experienced the ocean. I could NOT wait to share this wonderful part of Mother Nature with them. We arrived at the hotel on Mustang Island at 1:30am the day after we left Warrenton so no one got to see the ocean that night. We knew she'd be there the next morning though.

Those of you that live next to the ocean don't get how lucky you are. There is no power in the world like the ocean - it is Mother Nature at her finest. Something you can be around and have absolutely no control over and love every minute of it.

When I woke up the next am and heard the sound of the waves I could not get downstairs fast enough to put my toes in the sand and taste the salt in my mouth. I had to force myself and my babies to actually put some clothes on and not go frolic in the sand in our PJ's. God - I love the ocean!

The next day we drove up to Fulton to see the Fulton House - fabulous!

This is the front yard of the Fulton House - standing since the 19th century - can you imagine? It has survived many hurricanes.

Wonderful balustrades on the stairs in the front hall. Makes me rethink my own staircase issues.

The Library or Men's Study - fabulous furniture.

Beautiful plaster work in the dining room.

Onion Skin toilet paper in the bathroom - bet that wasn't Charmin Soft.

Master Bedroom - a gorgeous bed that makes you want to sink in.

Guest bedroom - LOVE the linen sheets and bed cover - lot's of inspiration here.