The Comforts of Home

Country Home Giveaway

2012-01-29T19:56:00.000-05:00

So, it seems I am not the only one with cabin fever, based on the comments in my last post.

Let's shake things up a little with a giveaway. Nothing cures cabin fever better that the postman bringing goodies to your door, right?

Remember Country Home magazine? One of my favorites. I happen to have 12 older issues dating from 2000 to 2008.

Would you like to have them?

I just flipped through them this weekend and they are still filled with amazing articles and photos that hold up to today.

No hoops to jump through here. Just leave a comment saying you would like to be entered in the giveaway. I will pick a winner using a random generator on Groundhog Day, Feb 2nd.

Good Luck!

Cabin Fever

2012-01-27T14:29:00.002-05:00

I have cabin fever....

I am stuck in a rut....

I need a change of scenery, but can't go anywhere at this time...

So let's take a virtual vacation, shall we?

How about a trip to the beach? This one is in Naples, Florida. I took these photos a few years ago.

Can you hear the sounds of the waves gently cascading onto the shore?

Can you feel the sand between your toes?

Can you smell the salt air?

Sigh. Isn't that better?

Welcome Home,

Penny

This n That

2012-01-24T13:20:00.003-05:00

Just a little post about This n That....

Today the sun is shining for the first time in several days. I took this picture in my master bath today.

I have been working in the studio on a little table for my booth. Here is a before picture. I should have it done tomorrow.

While it was raining I also took some me time and flipped though some of my favorite decorating books.

What do you do in the winter when it is raining?

Welcome Home,

Penny

Silver

2012-01-20T14:12:00.000-05:00

After I left my booth at Needful Things yesterday, I hit a couple of thrift stores looking for some goodies to fix up and put in the booth.

Well I didn't find anything for the booth, but I did find this pretty, petite silver box at Habitat ReStore for only $3.00.

I am going to keep an eye out for for a few more in different sizes and shapes to create a grouping.

Tonight, I am making homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. A good Friday night supper, don't you think?

This weekend, we are going to some friends house for dinner and I will spend time in my studio.

What are your weekend plans?

Welcome Home,

Penny

Home Tour Part 5

2012-01-18T10:40:00.000-05:00

This is the last video of the home tour. We begin this one heading down the back steps.

When the weather is nicer, I will do another tour of the outside if anyone is interested. I hope you enjoyed touring my home.

P.S. Want to see the latest Flea Market Makeover? Click here.

Welcome Home,

Penny

Home Tour Part 4

2012-01-17T10:59:00.001-05:00

On with the home tour! Today we are starting where we ended in the last video. Walking out of the green toile guest bedroom, back out into the loft area.

Welcome to my Home,

Penny

Home Tour Part 3

2012-01-15T18:48:00.001-05:00

Yesterdays video ended with me in the kitchen getting ready to walk into the dining room. The tour continues standing in the kitchen walking towards the dining room.
Welcome To My Home,
Penny

Home Tour Part 2

2012-01-14T13:21:00.001-05:00

So, if you saw yesterday's video, I took you through our foyer, past the living room, into the great room, master bath and master bedroom. When the tour ended I had just walked out of the master bedroom back into the great room. That is where this video begins.

This one ends before we head into the dining room. I will continue with the next video tomorrow.

A couple of you said you can't view this on your iPad. I am sorry, but I don't know how to correct the problem.

Thank you for all of your kind comments on my home and your funny ones about my voice!

Welcome To My Home,

Penny

Home Tour Part 1

2012-01-13T16:39:00.002-05:00

A few of you have asked for a home tour, so I thought since I cleaned the house yesterday, now would be a good time.

I have to do this in segments, so I will do one a day for the next few days. I tried to upload a version of the whole house and it was too large to upload.

So today, you see the living room, great room, master bedroom and bath.
Linking to:
No Minimalist Here - Open House

Welcome To My Home,

Penny

Where Is Winter?

2012-01-11T18:37:00.002-05:00

I have a couple of questions.....

First.

Where is winter?

These geese seem to think they are at Miami Beach..though I took this picture last week in NC.

Do you have winter in your area?

Second.

Can you leave a comment on my post? I have had a few people email me and say they couldn't leave a comment. If you can't could you email me and let me know? My email is in my profile.

Thanks!!

Linking With:
The Tablescaper - Seasonal Sunday

Another 2012 Project and the Booth Reveal

2012-01-10T14:02:00.002-05:00

Another project for 2012 here at The Comforts of Home is this clock in the picture below.

I want to make it look more like an old Swedish Mora clock, so I plan on painting it similar to the one in the picture below

Source: Traditional Home

I love the old chippy grey look of it.

On To The Booth Reveal...

So, I spent the last week setting the booth up at Needful Things Antique Mall in Hendersonville, NC. Mr. Comforts of Home built some corner walls and hung some rods, so that I could hang drop cloth curtains to define my space.

Some of you are familiar with my other blog, Flea Market Makeovers, that I started last May. The reason I started that blog was to show tutorials and makeovers of flea market finds. I planned on opening up a booth to sell my repurposed "finds".

If you want to see how the booth looks, head on over to Flea Market Makeovers, just click HERE.

Welcome Home,

Penny

2012 Project

2012-01-09T16:53:00.001-05:00

I haven't really started a project list this year. I have been remodeling and recreating for the past two and a half years on this home and most of the projects have been completed.

One thing that I have wanted to do for SEVERAL years is to paint this armoire. I couldn't find a recent picture of it. This one is two years old.

Currently it is in our master bedroom and the flat screen TV is inside it.

Eventually we will hang the TV on the wall, and this piece can be repurposed.

I have a couple of ideas. One is as a bar.

This one is from Country Living. I love the old mirrors in the doors.

The other idea, is just as a storage cabinet, and I love this painted look.

It looks like a big project and I am not sure when I will get to it, but when I do, I will share it with you.

Tomorrow I hope to post pictures of my booth in the antique mall.

Welcome Home,

Penny

Sunshine...

2012-01-07T13:33:00.001-05:00

...and dust

I have been spending most of my time this last week setting up my booth at Needful Things Antiques. Tomorrow I should have the "walls" up and be able to show you how it all came together.

Today, I need to dust :-)

What are you doing?

Linking to:
My Little Home & Garden Sunlit Sunday

Welcome Home,

Penny

Sneak Peek

2012-01-05T09:14:00.000-05:00

I started moving into my booth at Needful Things Antiques yesterday! I will be spending the next week moving in and setting up. Here is a peek.

I have to put up some curtains to define my space yet. Then I can start arranging the pieces so they don't look like little soldiers all in a row. I have a corner booth, which means at the moment two full sides are open. I need to deal with that in some way.

Once I get it all figured out, I will show you the finished look. Still have lots more furniture and things to load into the space.

Welcome Home,

Penny

My Plans

2012-01-03T09:18:00.001-05:00

Some of you asked in the last post what my plans were for 2012. What will I do with all of those marvelous seconds, minutes and hours?

Well, I plan on being very adventurous. I plan on taking chances. Shaking things up a little. As the year unfolds, I will tell you about my new adventures.

The first adventure I am going on, is opening a booth at an antique mall in Hendersonville, NC. The antique mall is called Needful Things. I should be moving in the the next week or so. I am just waiting for the current tenant to remove the rest of their stuff.

Winter Mantel

I do love a good adventure, don't you?
Linking with:
No Minimalist Here Open House

366 Days

2011-12-31T13:52:00.001-05:00

Stretched out before you are 366 (yes, it is leap year!) Brand Spankin' New Days.

What will you do with them?

Plant a Garden?

Eat More Whole Foods?

Tackle A New Project?

Move To A New Home?

Learn a New Skill?

Go To A Concert?

Travel To A Foreign Land?

Tell me, what are your plans for 2012? I would love to hear about them....

Happy New Year!

Penny

A Look Back at 2011's Projects

2011-12-27T23:13:00.002-05:00

Last January, I posted about some decorating and building projects we hoped to complete during 2011.

But, if you remember, I had just had rotator cuff surgery and I was not going to be able to do very much for 3-5 months. I made a "Project List" on my side bar. It is still up, if you want to see what the list looked like. I will take it down next week.

Here is a look of some before and afters of my 2011 projects.

Kitchen Counter Stools

Before

After

Kitchen Table and Chairs Redo

Before

After

Install Water Fountain in Back Yard

After

The Pergola

Before

After

Master Bath Curtains
Before

After

Sewing Master Bedroom Curtains

Before

After

Paint Armoire in Loft

Before

After

Painting Loft Table

During

After

Whole Loft Area Before

After

Art on Loft Wall

There are some items on the project list that did not get accomplished. Their are some, that I decided not to do. Looking back made me realize how much I DID get accomplished and I am pretty proud of Mr. Comforts and myself.

I am looking forward to 2012 and a new list of "to do's". I have some great plans for this year and I will share them all with you.

Wishing you a healthy, happy, peaceful, prosperous New Year!

Linking with:
From My Front Porch to Yours.
Southern Hospitality Blog - Top Projects 2011
Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesday

Happy New Year

Penny

Country Living and More

2011-12-26T13:06:00.000-05:00

Do you still subscribe to magazines? Which ones? I am taking a poll on my side bar and I would love to know your answer.

Taking the poll is anonymous.

If you would like to elaborate in the comments below, that would be wonderful. What do you look for in a magazine? Decorating advice, recipes, gardening, craft projects? Other reasons?

Welcome Home,

Penny

My Wish For You

2011-12-22T13:21:00.000-05:00

From My Home To Yours....

Wishing you joy in your home and peace in your world at Christmas time and always.

I will be taking a blog break until after Christmas. See you in a few days.

Merry Christmas,

Penny

Christmas Cards

2011-12-20T10:49:00.000-05:00

Where do you display your Christmas cards?

We display ours in a little vintage metal sleigh. When I grew up, I remember my mom stretching string from the top of the tree to the wall (I think it was there to keep the tree from being knocked over). Then she would place the cards over the string.

So what do you do with the Christmas cards you receive?

p.s. another new makeover on my other blog, Flea Market Makeovers...

Peek...

Welcome Home,

Penny

Something New In The Studio

2011-12-18T13:18:00.000-05:00

There is a new project that was completed in my studio this week.

Here is a peek...

Want to get a better look? You can see the before and after at my other blog, Flea Market Makeovers.

Holiday Table

2011-12-17T14:38:00.001-05:00

We are having friends over for spaghetti and meatballs tonight. The sauce has been simmering all day and the house smells wonderful!

I decided to set the kitchen table for dinner instead of the formal dining table. After all we are having spaghetti dinner with good friends and a casual atmosphere is what I am looking for.

The white with red striped linen runners are from a small boutique in Savannah. The wicker chargers are from World Market. The checked napkins are from a local store called Rabbit and Company. The red and white bird plates are from Pier One. The red goblets are from Target.

I have had the iron birds for over 10 years. They originally were a chippy white, which looked perfect when I was going through my shabby chic phase. Now that I decorate in the Country French style, they have been sprayed a bronze color and dry brushed with a little black paint to mimic patina.

I love setting the table during the holidays, don't you?
Linking to:
A Stroll Through Life Table Top Tuesday

Welcome Home,

Penny

Christmas Baking

2011-12-16T15:56:00.001-05:00

It's cold and rainy out today. A perfect day to be in the kitchen baking up some Christmas goodies.

I made some Biscotti. Now, if you have only had store bought biscotti and think you don't like it because it is hard as a rock, you will change your mind when you have homemade.

It is crisp, but not hard. Perfect with coffee, latte or wine!

You can find my recipe here.

Welcome Home,

Penny

Gone Away is The Blue Bird

2011-12-15T08:45:00.001-05:00

You know the lyrics in the song, Winter Wonderland, that says, "Gone away is the bluebird, here to stay is the new bird"?

picture taken in my back yard 12/14/11

I guess this little guy didn't get the message :-)

What is it like in your Winter Wonderland? Do you have snow?

Welcome Home,

Penny

Dream Home

2011-12-13T16:11:00.000-05:00

Did you ever see a picture or painting of a place, and just know it was your dream home?

My sister-in-law sent this Christmas card to us (thank you K). I would love to live here....

The barn converted into a house and painted RED! The little shop to have as a studio and a place to sell my pieces. The mountain behind the home. The pond with the dock.

Yes, my dream home. How about you? Would you love to live here too?

Welcome Home,

Penny

Evergreens

2011-12-12T14:05:00.000-05:00

Earlier today I was browsing through blog land and stop to visit Liz at Savvy Seasons.

She had created the most wonderful arrangement using fresh greens. You can see her pretty arrangement here.

I must confess, I copied her :-). Liz used her arrangement in her kitchen. I am using mine in my dining room.

Thanks for the great idea Liz!

When we get closer to Christmas, I will weave fresh evergreens through my chandelier, like I did last year, here.

Welcome Home,

Penny

Ornaments

2011-12-11T09:47:00.003-05:00

I have seen some beautiful Christmas trees in blog land this year! I have tried to get a good picture of my simple tree, but the lighting never seems right.

So I thought I would show some close up shots of some of my ornaments. Come on in!

We have been collecting glass ornaments for years. When ever we travel, we try to bring one home.

"Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree,

Your gay green dress delights me!"

Linking up to:
French Country Cottage

Welcome Home,

Penny

A Little More Christmas

2011-12-07T15:07:00.000-05:00

I bought a new ornament when we went to the Biltmore House the other day. Want to see it?

Every French Country home has to have a little animal print in it's decor, don't you think?

Besides, it coordinates with my animal print chair.

I also added some fresh greens to the top of my mirror above my entry table.

See the candy canes in the vintage Santa mug?

They are from one of my sisters. She knows I can't get the brand of candy canes I like here, so she mailed me a box. I love my sisters...

Do you like candy canes?

Welcome Home,

Penny

This is Another Fine Mess.....

2011-12-06T17:00:00.008-05:00

OK, being totally honest here.

I have been trying to take this....

And turn it into something elegant like this...

The problem is, I have never, ever reupholstered anything. Or, sure I have ripped fabric off the seats of kitchen chairs and stapled new fabric back on. That is easy.

With this piece, once the fabric was removed (and there were a billion, trillion staples), it felt like there might be a broken spring. So I turned it upside down and removed the dust cover from the bottom to find out (hoping I would recognize a broken spring if I saw one :-) ).

Thank goodness, the springs are fine. But, do you see the hard, wood brace in the center of the seat? The foam that was under that (to create a cushion) had disintegrated. So, I had to remove that mess. I bought a new piece of foam to replace it today.

I have decided to put this project aside until after Christmas. Don't you think that is a good idea?

Welcome Home,

Penny

Boxwood Wreaths

2011-12-05T18:48:00.001-05:00

Simple....

Linking to:
Savvy Southern Style - WOW

Welcome Home,

Penny

Mantel

2011-12-04T18:57:00.000-05:00

I'm participating in the Christmas Mantel party hosted by, From My Front Porch To Yours.

I use gold mercury glass instead of the silver. It works better in my home. The brass pheasants look as happy with the Christmas decorations as they did with the fall decorations, so they stayed.

Sugar fruit, faux garland, pearl beads garland, and a few golden trees, round out the mantel.

Welcome Home,

Penny

Sparkle and Glitter

2011-12-02T08:57:00.000-05:00

Last month, mini pumpkins and fall leaves. This month pine branches and glittery ornaments.

Today...

Last month....

Simple, easy decorating. My favorite kind.

Welcome Home,

Penny

Christmas Fluffing

2011-12-01T11:25:00.000-05:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....every where you go...

Is it looking like Christmas at your house?

Welcome Home,

Penny

The Loft

2011-11-30T11:10:00.010-05:00

The loft has been put back together after the painting of the hutch and round table. Here is how it looks today.

This is what it looked like before...

All of the furniture pieces remained, as well as the lamps, curtains and bird cage. All I did was paint the hutch and table. Added some art to the walls (I will show you what I did at the bottom of this post), and made some new blue toile pillows.

Here is the Bee table.

Edited to add this second picture of the bee table. The bee looks off center in the first picture, but it is actually centered on the table.

For the "art" on the wall, I painted an old black frame, white and then stained it with dark wax. The actual "art" is a piece of toile fabric, that I literally duct taped onto cardboard.

I did like the red and black, but the red and blue seem less heavy. I would like to add a Persian rug in reds and blues in the area too, someday.

I think I will enjoy this change.

Linking to:
No Minimalist Here ~ Open House Party
Savvy Southern Style~WOW
Restored It Wednesday
Kristens Creations~Share Your Creation
Redoux~Friday Redoux

Welcome Home,

Penny

Let It Snow...

2011-11-29T15:34:00.001-05:00

I have been trying to get some pictures of my indoor Christmas decorating so far, but it has been dark and gloomy in the house. Yesterday it rained all day. Today it is snowing, which is pretty, but doesn't help with the picture taking.

So, the best I could do, was get a little close up of part of my mantel. A sneak peek...because Pamela from My Front Porch To Yours, is having a Holiday Mantel Linky Party on December 5th, and I will show my entire mantel then.

Welcome Home,

Penny

Night Visions

2011-11-28T09:06:00.003-05:00

As promised, a night picture of the front entry.

If you missed it, the daylight version is in the previous post.

It is raining here this morning. So no more Christmas pictures - too dark in the house. We might get a little snow tomorrow. I am working on the loft area still, and pulling staples from the French settee still....
Linking this to:
At The Picket Fence ~Doors and Porches Party
Southern Fried Gal ~ Door Party

Welcome Home,

Penny

A Christmas Welcome

2011-11-27T15:53:00.001-05:00

I spent the afternoon today hanging the garland around the front door and lighting the trees and wreath.

I am going to try to get a picture tonight with the candles in the lanterns lit. They are the battery operated kind, but they look so real!

Welcome Home,

Penny

Let The Decorating Begin!

2011-11-26T13:41:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

When do you start your Christmas decorating? We start the day after Thanksgiving. I have never been one to go out on Black Friday, so that is when we start decorating the tree.

A few years ago, I found this pretty mailbox ornament. I love that is says, Welcome Home, on it. That is how I usually sign all of my blog posts!

Welcome Home,

Penny

Blue and Red Toiles

2011-11-23T11:46:00.000-05:00

Thank you all for the sweet birthday wishes yesterday!

I have sewed a couple of pillows for the loft area to tie in the red toile with the newly Louis Blue table and hutch.

So here is another sneak peek of the loft area.

I won't be posting tomorrow. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Welcome Home,

Penny

Happy Birthday To ??

2011-11-22T00:05:00.001-05:00

Today is my birthday! I am creeping quickly into my 6th decade. I am 58 today.

Where did the time go?

1953

1959

1967

1979

(and yes you are seeing correctly, I am really styling in my white terry cloth short shorts!)

1985

2000

Today

Today, I am going to the spa for a facial and a massage. Then Mr. Comforts of Home is cooking lobster tails for dinner....

Thanks for walking down memory lane with me!

Welcome Home,

Penny

A Bee It Is

2011-11-21T16:22:00.000-05:00

Thank you all for you suggestions on what to do with the table. Mr. Comforts is pretty pleased with himself, since most of you agreed with him :-).

Here is a little sneak peak.

Welcome Home,

Penny

Louis Blue Table

2011-11-19T13:03:00.000-05:00

The table is finished. It is painted the same Louis Blue as the hutch, and has a gold leaf edge.

Well, sort of....Mr Comforts of Home thinks there should be something in the center....like a French Bee, or a Fleur de Lis. I like it as is.

Let's take a poll. Do you think it should have a bee in the center? A fleur de lis? Or leave it as is?

Once we decide then I will put the whole loft back in order with a few more changes and show you the hutch, table, chairs etc all together.

On another note, my staple remover finally arrived, so I can start working on the French settee now!

Welcome Home,

Penny

Table Project

2011-11-16T15:29:00.000-05:00

Today it is raining outside and very gloomy. I am inside painting the round table that was in my loft. One of the projects I put on my sidebar in January to accomplish this year.

I am getting a little close to the end of the year....I think a few of those unfinished projects will get moved to next year....and a couple will just get scraped because I changed my mind.

What are you doing today?
Welcome Home,
Penny

From Basic Black To French Ooh La La

2011-11-13T13:58:00.015-05:00

This project was a long time coming! It actually took only a few hours to paint and wax the hutch, but three weeks to wait for the dark wax to come in.

Here is the finished hutch.

And here was my inspiration piece.

Most of you remember it when it looked like this, below in black.

And a few of you who have been around for a long time might remember the post I did on it here in 2008 at my previous house. I painted it black, removing glass doors and replacing the glass with chicken wire. It look like this...

I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and both the AS Soft Wax in clear and dark for the first time. The paint went on easily and dried fast. I only had to use one coat to cover the original black paint.

Here is a picture with the top half of the hutch having the dark wax applied and the bottom of the hutch has not yet been waxed.

I purposely added more dark wax to the outside parts of the hutch and less on the door and drawer panels, to give some contrast.

I applied gold rub and buff to the original bronze handles and pulls to lighten them up.

I really enjoyed working with the chalk paint. I am looking forward to my next painting project. Once I finish up some other projects in my loft area, I will show you how it looks in place.

I am still waiting for the staple puller to arrive in the mail, so I can finish working on the settee.

I'm linking to:

The House in The Roses ~ Show off Your Cottage

Between Naps On The Porch ~ Met Monday

Boogie Board Cottage ~ Master Piece Monday

Be Colorful - Motivated Monday

Coastal Charm ~ Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Passionately Artistic

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Restore Interiors ~ Restored It Wed.

Savvy Southern Style - WOW

DIY By Design ~ Fall into Design

Kristens Creations ~ Share Your Creation

Perfectly Imperfect- All Things Furniture

Welcome Home,

Penny

Guess What I Am Doing This Weekend?

2011-11-12T11:30:00.000-05:00

The Dark Wax is here....

Reality Shot

2011-11-10T09:11:00.000-05:00

Today I am linking up with Claudia at Mockingbird Hill Cottage for Reality Shot Thursday.

As you know, I have a couple of projects I have been working on that have stalled, due to waiting for waxes and tools to arrive. I have been working on these projects in my loft area.

Normally the loft looks like this....

But since, I am painting the big black hutch Louis Blue, and it was in the loft area, that is where I am working. I am also working on recovering the French settee in the same area.

So for the last two weeks as my projects stalled, this is what the loft area looks like.

The good news is that the dark wax I have been waiting for is coming in today and I am going to pick it up. So this weekend, I should have the hutch finished! Woohoo!!

Welcome Home,

Penny

Roses and Transferware

2011-11-09T11:21:00.001-05:00

Since I am not going to be creating as many mosaic pieces as I have in the past, I thought it was time to get rid of some of the vintage china I have collected over the years.

I am creating little groupings and selling them in my Etsy store. I will be adding more groupings as the next few days pass.

If you are interested...you can go to my ETSY store from my side bar.

Welcome Home,

Penny

Fall Landscape

2011-11-07T10:49:00.000-05:00

So how was your weekend? Great I hope!

I thought I would show you one of my favorite paintings. I love landscapes. This one was done by a local artist here in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We have had this for about 6 years.

It has been over a fireplace mantel in the past, but at this house it is in the dining room over a small cabinet.

Speaking of cabinets. Kim at Savvy Southern Style has this same style cabinet and just did a fabulous makeover on it! Check it out, HERE.

A little update on the French cabinet makeover I showed you a few posts back. I still don't have the dark wax to finish the piece, but the good news is that it has been shipped to the stockist finally and I should have it by Wednesday.

Another update....the special staple remover tool for the makeover on the French settee has not arrived yet either, but it has been shipped. So, my two major projects are still on hold.

I am off to buy the fabric for the settee...I am keeping my choice a secret until it is done. Thanks for all of your help and advice on what fabric to choose!

Welcome Home,

Penny

Red

2011-11-04T16:05:00.000-04:00

I have seen a few blog post lately about painted doors. Inside doors and outside doors.

My front door is RED. You might remember two years ago when we bought this house, doing a post on the painting of my front door, here.

I was just wondering....what color is your front door?

Welcome Home,

Penny

All Good Things Must Come To An End

2011-11-03T09:02:00.002-04:00

We had our first below freezing temperatures earlier this week. So I picked the last of the peppers in the garden.

Just what do you do with 30 peppers? Well I sauteed them, along with some onions and put them in small bags and placed them in the freezer.

I will use them this winter on homemade pizzas, Italian sausage sandwiches, in soups and pasta dishes, omelette's, fritatta's and more.

In the middle of winter, when I am dreaming of my potager looking like this....

Instead of how it looks today, like this....

That patch of green in one of the raised beds are peas. They are just starting to get pea pods, so we have been covering them every night....Hopefully we will have fresh peas in a week. Then that will be the end of the garden for 2011.

Welcome Home,

Penny

2011-11-01T16:42:00.000-04:00

Happy November everyone! I love this time of year. Pumpkin Patches.....

Colorful gourds...

One last trip to the Apple Orchard...

I love that one of the apples still has a leaf on it!

What do you like about November?

Welcome Home,

Penny

What Should I Do?

2011-10-31T13:22:00.000-04:00

While I am waiting for the dark stain to come in so I can finish my hutch, I started working on the French Settee.

Since I have never done an upholstery job of this size before, I am carefully removing each piece of fabric and gimp to use as a pattern when I put it back together. In the picture above you can see the front of the back has the fabric removed.

I started removing the one gazillion, billion staples with a screw driver and pliers. It was taking forever. I thought there must be a "tool" for this, and guess what? There is!! So I ordered it and am waiting for it to come in.

Now, I have two projects on hold :-)

In the meantime, I have been looking for inspiration on what fabric to use on the settee.

Should I use a linen like material?

or a toile?

How about a check?

I love the look of the patterned fabrics, but the neutral linen type fabric would go with everything...

If you were doing this, what would you do?

Oh! I am taking tons of pictures of this, because a few of you have asked for a tutorial. So when it is finished, I show you step by step how I did it.

Welcome Home,

Penny

A Change

2011-10-29T12:59:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to let you all know there are some changes going on at Lavender Hill Studio. I am closing my Lavender Hill Studio website as of October 31.

I will still be creating, but selling my creations at ETSY for now and hopefully at a booth in the future. I have my ETSY store on my sidebar. You can read more about it on my Flea Market Makeovers blog.

Welcome Home,

Penny

Waiting...

2011-10-27T15:40:00.000-04:00

I have the armoire all painted and I am waiting for my local Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Stockist to get her Dark Wax in stock. She told me today it would be next Thursday, before it comes in.

Sneak Peek...

In the mean time, I might start working on this....

Can you believe I found this amazing gem at a resale shop? Well, it is not exactly a gem....more like a diamond in the rough, right now.

I am going to recover it, and paint the fake looking gold and red frame. I am just not sure what color to paint it or what type of fabric to use.

Welcome Home,

Penny

Working on The Armoire

2011-10-25T12:29:00.000-04:00

I started working on the armoire yesterday. I emptied it, and removed the red toile backing. I added the appliques.

I started painting it this morning. I should have the first coat of Louis Blue ASCP on by the end of the day.

I am going to be adding layers of old white, gold highlights and clear and dark wax before it is over.

In the mean time, I have posted the latest makeover on my Flea Market Makeovers blog. Click on the link on my side bar to see it!

Welcome Home,

Penny

Better Late Than Never

2011-10-23T10:40:00.000-04:00

Saturday, I went to a place called The Pink House.

I had never been there before. It is about a half hour from my house. It is a cute vintage cottage filled with painted furniture, vintage china and more.

I had fun wandering through all of the rooms.

One of the owners, Sherry and I spent quite a while talking. I went to the Pink House for a very special purpose.

Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint.

I was very late jumping on this bandwagon. I am probably the last person in blog land that paints furniture, to try Chalk Paint. My reason for holding out, was the price PLUS shipping.

So I waited and waited and waited until there was a Annie Sloan Stockist here.

I bought Louis Blue and Old White.

With a little help from the Chalk Paint and these appliques...

I am going to turn this armoire.....

Into something like this one that I showed you a little while ago. My inspiration....

I am starting it this week.

What are your projects for this coming week?

Welcome Home,

Penny

Weekend Happenings

2011-10-22T19:30:00.000-04:00

I am having a great fall weekend! Yesterday, I met with one of my favorite bloggers for lunch. She lives in Georgia and we have been blog buddies for a while. Last October she came to my blog brunch, and we met in person.

So, who did I have lunch with? None other than Kim from Savvy Southern Style.

If you know Kim, then you know that we both love Country French Decorating. We had a great time. We talked about decorating, antiquing and blogging. Our husbands were with us too. They met last year at my blogger brunch, so they spent some time catching up as well. Kim was on a mission to go antiquing and I had dinner guests coming, so our lunch ended. It was great seeing her again!

Today, I went to a place for a specific reason....I will post on that next.

Hope your weekend is going well.

Welcome Home,

Penny

Postcards From Paris

2011-10-19T23:29:00.000-04:00

I went shopping with my friend the other Penny from Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen. We drove to Greenville, SC about an hour from home. First we went to a couple of antique malls. Then Penny mentioned a store she thought I would like in downtown Greenville, SC.

Postcard from Paris is a wonderful store filled with antiques from France as well as an interior design store. The lovely lady working on the main level of the store was kind enough to take a picture of Penny and me sitting on a lovely French settee.

I wanted to take every thing home from this store. Here are some pictures I took, so you can see what I mean.

It is a wonderful store. If you are ever in the Greenville, SC area and love French furnishings, stop in!

Penny and I went to a few other antique stores and I bought a french style chair and footstool that I need to paint and recover. Blog post coming soon on those pieces.

Welcome Home,

Penny

Dreaming of Italy

2011-10-18T16:00:00.000-04:00

Assisi, 2008

I was really fortunate to go to Italy 3 years ago. It was so beautiful there and I have always had a dream of going back one day.

I believe, if you talk small steps towards your dreams, they will become reality. I would love to go to Italy and stay for a few months. I know, that is a HUGE dream.

I am taking small steps. This is what is on my night stand right now....

I figure, if I read these at night before falling asleep, I am one step closer to my "dream" coming true.

Venice, 2008

What are your dreams? Are you taking steps (no matter how small) to make them come true?

Welcome Home,

Penny

Fall In The Garden

2011-10-16T16:52:00.000-04:00

I spent this wonderful fall afternoon in my garden.

Here in Asheville, NC the weather allows your summer garden to stretch into fall. Late summer I planted a fall crop of yellow beans and peas.

You can see in the picture below, my yellow beans are starting to produce..teeny tiny beans. They should be ready to harvest in a week or two.

The peas in the picture below have started flowering, but I haven't seen a pod yet.

I still have left over from the summer, cherry tomatoes...

Peppers....

Leeks and herbs...

And butternut squash.

Today was 81 degrees, which is unusually warm for here. It should be in the low 70's in the day time.

But the evenings are getting chilly and I can see potato leek soup and roasted butternut squash dinners coming up this week!

Are you able to grow a fall garden where you live?

Welcome Home,

Penny

A Dreamy Evening

2011-10-14T09:35:00.002-04:00

Last night was the Once Upon A Dream, A Prairie Fairy Tale Event, opening night. It was a dreamy evening for the attendees.

I was a vendor at the event. A lot of you wanted me to let you know how I did. This was the first time I ever did a vendor night. I have never done art shows or craft fairs either. I usually just sell my mosaics on my website. So this was a fun challenge for me.

I didn't sell everything, but I sold some...the rest of the pieces will be added to my website over the weekend for sale.

Here are some pictures from the evening.

Suzanne's table.

Natasha's table.

The views from the venue.

The table settings..

Jenn Hayslip, the event hostess...

Tiffany, Jenn, Me and Natasha...

Some of the gals outfits were amazing!

Jeanne and Me...

After all of the hard work, I am taking the rest of the weekend off to enjoy the fall colors. See you all on Monday!

Almost Overnight

2011-10-10T10:03:00.000-04:00

How does fall arrive in your neck of the woods?

It seems that it happens here almost overnight!

View from my front porch....

View from my back porch...

The colors are beautiful this year.

I am still working in my studio...the vendor night is Thursday! I am almost ready for it. Then life goes back to normal and I am going to paint my armoire that I talked about here...

Welcome Home,

Penny

The Flat Princess

2011-10-07T14:49:00.003-04:00

A few weeks back Darla from Bay Side To Mountain had a visit from the Flat Princess. From what I can tell the Flat Princess started out in Australia from a blog that is still up but not being maintained. You can read a little about her adventures here, here, here, here, and here. When the Flat Princess was ready to travel on, I volunteered to be her hostess.

Since we really don't know everywhere she has traveled, Darla made a tag for her and signed her name as well as the previous Flat Princess host. I will add my name before I pass her on.

While visiting me here in North Carolina, The Flat Princess has been rather bored. She has spent most of her time in my studio...

Then she helped me do a little fall decorating...

Next she played with the rooster amongst the rosemary plants...

She checked out my fall crop of yellow beans and showed me the flowers blooming!

And because our weather has been so beautiful lately, she sat under the pergola for a while.

The Flat Princess is ready to move on to another adventure. The first person that lets me know in their comment that they would like to have The Flat Princess visit them, I will ship her to.

edited to add: Vee from A Haven For Vee will be hosting the Flat Princess....Thanks Vee!

Welcome Home,

Penny

A Beautiful Thing

2011-10-05T15:45:00.001-04:00

A week or so ago, I was fortunate enough to win a giveaway here in blog land.

Eileen at The Pink Home was celebrating the opening of her Etsy store and the giveaway was for some beautiful note cards she creates. I was one of the winners and I chose Lavender Loveliness.

Thank you Eileen, they are stunning!

Now, I don't know about you, but if I needed some note cards, I would much rather purchase something original from one of the many talented women that we know in blog land, than at a drugstore...

So, if you are looking for some special note cards and much more, go visit Eileen...

Welcome Home,

Penny

Meet Amelie and Armand and the Fairy Hobmother

2011-10-04T10:11:00.005-04:00

In my last post I showed you pictures of my fall mantel. There have been some new additions since then.

Meet Amelie

and Armand

What? You don't give your pheasants French names?

I know I am going to have fun decorating with these through out the year, all over the house.

And speaking of fall mantels....a few of you have asked where I got the large gourds I have on my mantel. They are real gourds. I purchased them on EBAY several years ago. When I received them, I washed and dried them, then stained them with Minwax stain and polished them with Minwax wax. You can find some like these on EBAY, just by searching the word "gourd".

~~~~~~~

Now on to some other news. I have seen the Fairy Hobmother bestow gifts to several bloggers over the last few months and I was lucky enough to be visited by the Fairy Hobmother recently and she gave me an Amazon Gift Certificate!

The Fairy Hobmother represents Appliances Online who sell dishwashers and other white goods. To have a chance to be visited by the Fairy Hobmother and be given a Gift Certificate simply leave a comment below. One of the lucky commenter's will be visited by the Fairy Hobmother soon.

Linking With:

Coastal Charm Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Savvy Southern Style WOW

Welcome Home,

Penny

Fall Table Setting

2011-10-02T11:16:00.001-04:00

There is something about fall....cool, crisp air, a fire in the fireplace....

It makes me want to spend a day in the kitchen cooking up something comforting and invite friends over for dinner. Tonight we had braised beef short ribs, mashed potatoes and roasted carrots. Dessert was a warm black cherry torte with vanilla ice cream.

Of course, along with the fall comfort dinner came a fall table setting.

I bought these cute mini individual bread boards through Vintage Home Designs on ETSY. A set of four all different. She also has a blog called Our Vintage Home Love. If you have a chance, hop on over and visit her.

The place mats, napkins and napkins rings are from World Market.

Linking to:

A Stroll Through Life Table Top Tuesday

Welcome Home,

Penny

Welcome October

2011-10-01T10:32:00.000-04:00

“There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October”
Nathaniel Hawthorne *Welcome Home,* *Penny*

This Better Be Good!

2011-09-28T17:05:00.001-04:00

This past January, I did a post on a Meyer Lemon tree that I had potted and brought inside for the winter. It was blossoming in January. If you want to see the post, you can click here.

Anyway, this is how the lemon tree looked in January.

Well, we had three lemons that developed from the blossoms. One fell off. Then in July, when the lemons should have been ripe but were still green, we picked one thinking that it might be a lime instead of a lemon. We cut it open...and nope - not a lime, definitely a lemon, and not ripe yet.

This is the one remaining lemon today. Almost 10 months after the first blossom...

It has finally turned yellow....

We are going to pick it in the next day or two.

After nurturing, watering, carrying it in and out and watering some more....THIS HAD BETTER BE ONE MIGHTY FINE LEMON...

Does anyone have a fantastic lemon recipe that only calls for one lemon?

Welcome Home,

Penny

Linking to:
No Minimalist Here Open House

Happy Autumn!

2011-09-23T08:21:00.002-04:00


“I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion” ~ Henry David Thoreau

Welcome Home,

Penny

French Cabinet

2011-09-21T14:40:00.000-04:00

I love this old French cabinet, don't you?

I love the French blue/grey color and the gold leafing. The dusty white washed look and the chippy paint.

I would like to try to paint this black cabinet below in a similar way.

I know it isn't nearly as glamorous but it does already have the chicken wire in the doors!

Speaking of the French blue/grey color. Come over to my Flea Market Makeovers blog and see the newest makeover! Click on the link at the top of my sidebar.

Welcome Home,

Penny

A Movable Feast

2011-09-18T10:45:00.002-04:00

Last night we went to a dinner at Biltmore Estates. The evening was called A Movable Feast.

The tables were set up outside on a knoll with stunning views of back of the Biltmore House on one side and the French Broad River valley and Pisgah mountain range on the other.

We were served a classic seven course Italian dinner honoring Biltmore's own wine harvest.

One fun part of the evening were the beautiful horses grazing in the pasture next to the table.

The sun set, the candles were lit and the evening was wonderful. In the picture below you can see the Biltmore house through my wine glass.

To get a feel of the evening, watch the video below. Soft guitar music, a gorgeous setting and wonderful food. Who could ask for more?

Welcome Home,

Penny

Bluebirds

2011-09-17T10:05:00.001-04:00

The other day, I added some large rocks to my watering fountain, so the birds could get a drink. They decided it was a better place to get a bath, than a drink....

Have a great last weekend of Summer!

Welcome Home,

Penny

Master Bedroom Curtain Reveal

2011-09-13T15:18:00.009-04:00

I finished the master bedroom curtains! I even made a couple of pillow shams to coordinate with the curtains. I still want to paint the little side table by the chair. I would love to replace or reupholster that chair someday. I started recreating the lampshade on the standing lamp behind the chair, but I need to get some red gimp to replace the top white gimp.

Here is a before photo without the curtains below...

And here it is after....

Another view before the curtains....

And here again is after...

It has made the room feel much more cozy.

Linking with:

Savvy Southern Style WOW

DIY by Design Sizzle Into Summer

No Minimalist Here Open House Party

Kristen's Creations Share Your Creations

2805 Potpourri

Welcome Home,

Penny

Back To Sewing

2011-09-12T01:00:00.006-04:00

Jenn from Sweet Eye Candy Creations, has gone home. If you want to see more of what we did while Jenn was here, click on the link. There are some wonderful pictures there! While she was here we managed to fit in a day of antiquing. I purchased some plates to break for my mosaics.

I had a wonderful time visiting with Jenn. Here we are on my back porch, just before going out antiquing.

So today, I am back to working on my master bedroom curtains. The reveal in a couple of days, along with a giveaway.

What are you doing today?

Welcome Home,

Penny

Clean Up On aisle Seven!

2011-09-08T09:33:00.000-04:00

I have more company coming this weekend. In fact, she arrives today. It is Jen from Sweet Eye Candy Creations. She is holding the Once Upon A Dream, A Prairie Fairy Tale Event here in Asheville next month. She is coming here to wrap up some final things and I invited her to stay at my house.

Therefore, "clean up" is in order. I have curtain makings in the kitchen eating area...

In the great room....

Well, actually everywhere!

Since this is the first time Jen will visit my house, I am picking up my curtain making messes and putting the job aside until her visit is over.

I have all of the panels finished. I just need to attach the toile top pieces and fringe. So see you all next week with the finished results and a GIVEAWAY!

Welcome Home,

Penny

One Down, 7 to Go...

2011-09-06T14:22:00.002-04:00

My company has gone and I have started working on my master bedroom curtains.

One panel down, seven more to go...

Or course, I had to put one up to see how it looked. I am loving it!

Welcome Home,

Penny

p.s. I just noticed that I have over 800 followers! So as soon as I get these curtains done, let's celebrate with a giveaway! It will probably be next week sometime.

Linking To:
Savvy Southern Style WOW
DIY by Design Sizzle Into Summer

An Inspiration

2011-09-04T23:43:00.001-04:00

Today I was featured on Karen's blog, A Scrapbook of Inspiration.

I am humbled and honored to be featured by Karen. She is a most creative, imaginative person. I am always in awe of her fabric creations, her photography and story telling. She has an ETSY shop filled with wonders.

She creates amazing designs on fabrics...

She has inspired and encouraged me to reach for the stars with her uplifting comments.

If you don't know Karen, please do yourself a favor and go visit her and be inspired too.

Thank you Karen.

Welcome Home,

Penny

Special Guests

2011-09-02T07:00:00.001-04:00

We have some wonderful friends coming for Labor Day Weekend.

The sewing of the master bedroom curtains has been put aside for a few days.

The pillows have been fluffed.

The chocolates have been placed in a vintage transferware teacup on the night stand.

Fresh flowers have been brought in.

I am off to great my guests. Have a wonderful weekend everyone! See you in a few days.

Welcome Home,

Penny

Toile and Ticking

2011-08-31T17:09:00.001-04:00

I love the combination of toile and ticking stripe. So, when I went looking for an affordable fabric to buy to make my bedroom curtains with, I looked for gold ticking stripe.

I already had the toile part covered (no pun intended). My quilt is a gold toile.

To make thinks a little more French Country and just a wee bit over the top, I am adding a gold and red rooster pattern toile as an attached valance along with a red and gold fringe. The red and gold rooster fabric is actually curtains that I had in my dining room of my other house. You can see them as curtains on this post, here. There are only 4 panels so there were not enough to use as curtains in my bedroom, plus they were too short. So they will be reworked into valances and more.

You can see there is already an accent pillow on my bed with the red and yellow rooster toile. I might add that rooster toile to the lampshades on either side of the bed. I think I might also make pillow shams with the gold ticking stripe.

Mr. Comforts of Home has hung the curtain rods. The ticking fabric arrived today. So tomorrow I sew!

Welcome Home,

Penny

Beach Boys!

2011-08-30T12:36:00.001-04:00

A few evenings ago we saw the Beach Boys in concert at the Biltmore. This time we had our picnic in the Italian Garden area of the estate.

The Italian Garden is filled with Koi ponds, lilies and beautiful marble statues. There are benches scattered through out and we sat on a bench for our picnic.

As the sun set slowly over the mountain tops, the seats began to fill up.

Then the Beach Boys came on stage and sang and played for two hours straight!

When they played Surfer Girl, Mike Love encouraged all of the audience to get out their cell phones and flip them open and use the lights from the phone the way we used to use Bic lighters.... I took a picture of the crowd behind us with the cell phones waving in the air.

It was a great concert. I am very fortunate to live 15 minutes from the Biltmore Estate and in these beautiful mountains.

Welcome Home,

Penny

Projects On My Side Bar

2011-08-28T19:41:00.001-04:00

Last January, when I was recovering from my rotator cuff surgery, I posted a list of decorating projects on my side bar that I wanted to get done this year.

I was limited to what I could do for the first 5 months, but Mr. Comforts of Home and I have managed to check some of the projects off the list.

The project for Mr. Comforts of Home this week, is to hang these curtain rods in our master bedroom.

My project this week is to make curtains. You see, the problem has been that our windows are not standard height.

So I can't go to Target, JC Penny, Lowe's, Home Goods, etc and get curtains that are a standard 84 inches. I have to have 108 inch curtains.

To buy the gold buffalo check curtains above from Country Curtains, would cost me $621.95 for 4 windows! I love these curtains. I actually used that same curtain in my previous home in the living room. See here.

Soooo I found some inexpensive fabric to make my curtains with. It is not the gold buffalo check, but I like what I have found. I will show you the fabric when it arrives this week.

What are you doing this week? Working on any projects?

Welcome Home,

Penny

Painted Porch Floor

2011-08-27T15:06:00.000-04:00

My friend BJ, from Sweet Nothings was sighing the other day on this post, because she had seen a beautiful painted WOOD porch floor that she loved, and her porch floor was CONCRETE. Here is the porch she was coveting the floor of....

from BJ's post of a Country Living picture

I told her I would do this blog post just for her, because several years ago when we lived in Florida I used concrete stain to paint my concrete porch floor.

Here is the concrete porch BEFORE I stained it. I apologize for the poor picture quality. I took photos of photos...these pictures are from 1999.

And here are the after pictures....

Following the manufacturers instructions we etched our concrete porch floor with muriatic acid (please follow the manufacturers instructions!!).

Then after the concrete was completely dry, I painted the whole porch a taupe color. Then I applied painters tape where I wanted the "grout" to be, and also where I wanted to paint an "area rug".

I then applied a coat of white paint over the whole porch - except the center where the "rug" was to be.

When the white paint was dry, I pulled up the painters tape to reveal the "grout".

Finally I stenciled a floral pattern around the "area rug" and free hand painted tassels onto the "rug". In the picture above you can even see an old crack in the concrete on the right had side.

It actually really look like tile when it was finished.

If you want to try this, just make sure you buy the correct stain/paint for your surface. Make sure you also prep the surface properly. Ask at the paint/stain store - if you tell then what you are painting, they should be able to direct you to the right products.

There you go BJ....now start staining/painting your concrete porch!

Welcome Home,

Penny

Bee Tease

2011-08-25T09:57:00.003-04:00

If you are really old like me, you might have heard your grandparents use the phrase "the bees knees" for something that was far out, cool, or awesome, or gnarly, or whatever word your generation would use.

Well this post is titled "Bee Tease", because I am only giving you a teaser photo.

If I have peaked your interest, head on over to my Flea Market Makeovers blog and see the latest makeover. I think you will really like this one.

Welcome Home,

Penny

Earthquakes, Harvest and Butterflies

2011-08-23T14:48:00.002-04:00

That's a strange title for my post isn't it?

Today here in North Carolina, we felt the earthquake that was centered in Virginia. It lasted about 7 seconds here...just long enough for me to run down the stairs out of my studio and outside. All the stacks and stacks of dishes on my studio shelves were rattling and shaking!

On to the "Harvest" part of the post...

I spent the morning in my veggie garden, planting a fall crop of peas, lettuce, spinach and yellow beans. Then I pulled some of my leeks...I think we are having potato leek soup tonight. Yummy!

While gardening, this sweet butterfly landed on my leg and decided to visit me for about a half hour before it flew away. Every time I put it down on a flower, it flew back to me! I guess it was trying to tell me to stop and enjoy nature....

p.s. new project finished on Flea Market Makeover...to see it click on the link on my sidebar :-)

Welcome Home,

Penny

Friends and Flowers

2011-08-20T13:43:00.001-04:00

Last year in October I held a blogger brunch and 16 bloggers from 4 different states showed up. We had a wonderful time. One of the bloggers was Rhondi from Rose Colored Glasses.

Rhondi and I have met a few times in person. She lives a couple of hours from me, so we have been able to develop a friendship beyond our blog.

Rhondi brought every one that attended the blog brunch some flower bulbs from her garden.

I planted them last fall, and today when I went outside, they were blooming.

Friendships and flowers....blooming.

Thank you again Rhondi. I think of you every time I see them.

edited to add: the flowers are called rain lily (zephyranthis).

Welcome Home,

Penny

Small Town Antiquing in The Mountains

2011-08-18T08:53:00.002-04:00

About 35 miles from my home is a small town in the Smoky Mountains called, Waynesville.

My friend Penny of Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen and I decided to go antiquing there. Every where you looked on the drive over you saw beautiful mountains. Here is Penny in the parking lot of the first antique mall we stopped at.

Look at the beautiful mountains and blue skies in the background!

While shopping in Waynesville, we saw some great pieces. Like this big old dough bowl. Imagine this filled with gourds and pumpkins this fall.

And this amazing armoire...

Another great thing about antiquing in a small town in the mountains is the quirkiness and quaintness.

First the quirky...

and here is the quaint...

What did I buy? A couple of plates to use in my mosaics...Though I would have loved that dough bowl, it was a bit too pricey for me.

If you are ever in the Asheville area and want to spend a day antiquing with me....just email me!

Welcome Home,

Penny

Italian String Lights

2011-08-17T09:03:00.001-04:00

When we were in Italy a few years ago, I noticed that many of the trattoria's had lights strung around the outdoor dining areas.

Not the little twinkle Christmas style lights you usually see here, but strings of lights with clear glass round bulbs. I knew that is exactly what I wanted for my pergola.

Mr. Comforts of Home even installed a dimmer switch on the lights so they could be bright enough for eating dinner, then dimmed for a romantic feel. You can see the dimmer box in the picture above. It is located on the outside of a back beam and can not be seen while in the pergola.

I love how the lights look. It brings back wonderful memories of Italy.

edited to add....the lights came from K-Mart, I have also seen them at Target.

Welcome Home,

Penny

Stamping Away

2011-08-15T14:51:00.001-04:00

Remember on this post a while back, when I asked if anyone knew where to get a custom stamp made?

Well, thank you all for your suggestions. I followed a few of the leads you provided and found Baby Jewels.

I know a few of you were interested in getting a stamp made. I wanted to let you know that I highly recommend Cat at Baby Jewels. She created my custom stamp, in record time and it is exactly what I was looking for. If you contact her, tell her I sent you! I am not getting paid for this review and I purchased the stamp, it was not a gift for a review. Just my honest to goodness opinion :-).

Did you notice the piece of furniture that the stamped tag is laying on? That is my newest Flea Market Makeover. Click the link on my side bar....or here...to see it.

Edited to add...I did not have any graphic art to send Cat at Baby Jewels. I just told her I wanted some lavender included in the stamp. She found some and designed the stamp.

Welcome Home,

Penny

Summer Dinner Under The Pergola

2011-08-14T12:41:00.000-04:00

Saturday was a lovely summer day. The heat of the past weeks had subsided and there was a gentle breeze in the air. I was thankful for the cooler weather, because we were having company for dinner and we wanted to cook outside and spend the evening dining under the pergola.

Dinner was Spanish themed, so the menu called for Gazpacho, Paella and Crema Catalana. I started in the morning making the dessert (I love my cookbook stand!).

Once our company arrived, we began with Manchego cheese, Marcona Almonds, Spanish Olives and the Gazpacho (sprinkled with fresh tomato, croutons and chopped hard boiled egg).

Then Mr. Comforts of Home started the Paella on the grill, beginning with browning the Chorizo sausage.

As our guests, Penny and David, from Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen, patiently waited...

The Paella, slowly built up bit by bit, starting with the sofrito of tomatoes, onions, garlic and sweet red bell pepper.

Next came the broth, saffron and rice...

Looking good already!!

Finally, the Chorizo was added back in, along with the lobster tails, shrimp, white fish and mussels. Peas were scattered across the top. The rice formed a crusty bottom called a Socarrat - just perfect!

The dessert I had made earlier in the day, Crema Catalana, is similar to Creme Brulee', but not quite as firm. I had bought a "chef's torch" to caramelize the sugar on top, but it didn't work. So luckily, amongst much laughter, Mr. Comforts of Home brought in his torch from the workshop and it did a beautiful job!

After dinner, it cooled off enough that we were able to sit by the fire pit and enjoy an almost full moon.

This was the first time we tried cooking Paella outside on a grill. Normally we cook it on our stove top. Thank you David and Penny, for letting us experiment on you!

If you want the recipes for this meal, including the Gazpacho, Paella and Creme Catalana, click the "Recipe" tab under my header.

Welcome Home,

Penny

Design Gives Back

2011-08-12T09:04:00.001-04:00

You may have heard about the up-coming MiracleMakeover Video Reveal Party. Design Gives Back will be sharing the story of a little boy who is probably a lot like your son, grandson or nephew; he loves cars, trucks and trains. Charlie enjoys riding his bicycle, too. But, he is different than most eight year-olds in two ways: he has brain tumors and he leads a toy drive to help kids in chemotherapy to have happier holidays. "Charlie Santa" was founded by our hero when he was just five and in his first round of chemo. This is one of the reasons he was chosen to be an ambassador for kids with Neurofibromatosis Type1, and a recipient of a Miracle Makeover.

How can you help? It is simple. Leave comments on the link posts below Aug 12-18 and Design Gives Back donates money on your behalf.

HOW TO COMMENT AT MIRACLE MAKEOVER BLOG HOSTS:

Go to the links below and leave a comment too... you can earn up to a $5 donation from Design Gives Back for Kids With Cancer & another MiracleMakeover tm just by leaving comments!

One comment from you left at Design Gives Back and at the four blogs linked below:

A $5 Donation on your behalf from Design Gives Back to Help Others!

Pink Saturday @ at How Sweet the Sound/ Beverly

Spiritual Sunday @ Spiritual Sunday /Charlotte & Ginger

Country Wings in Phoenix @ Country Wings in Phoenix/Sherry

Metamorphosis Monday comments on Monday Only

For complete information go to Design Gives Back, here.

Comments are off on this post. Please visit the blog links above to leave comments.

Antiquing

2011-08-11T08:43:00.000-04:00

Rouen, France

I am off today, antiquing with a friend in a nearby town.

Rouen, France

What are you doing today? Want to meet later here and chat about you day?

Welcome Home,

Penny

The Comforts of Home

Country Home Giveaway

Cabin Fever

This n That

Silver

Home Tour Part 5

Home Tour Part 4

Home Tour Part 3

Home Tour Part 2

Home Tour Part 1

Where Is Winter?

Another 2012 Project and the Booth Reveal

2012 Project

Sunshine...

Sneak Peek

My Plans

366 Days

A Look Back at 2011's Projects

Country Living and More

My Wish For You

Christmas Cards

Something New In The Studio

Holiday Table

Christmas Baking

Gone Away is The Blue Bird

Dream Home

Evergreens

Ornaments

A Little More Christmas

This is Another Fine Mess.....

Boxwood Wreaths

Mantel

Sparkle and Glitter

Christmas Fluffing

The Loft

Let It Snow...

Night Visions

A Christmas Welcome

Let The Decorating Begin!

Blue and Red Toiles

Happy Birthday To ??

A Bee It Is

Louis Blue Table

Table Project

From Basic Black To French Ooh La La

Guess What I Am Doing This Weekend?

Reality Shot

Roses and Transferware

Fall Landscape

Red

All Good Things Must Come To An End

What Should I Do?

A Change

Waiting...

Working on The Armoire

Better Late Than Never

Weekend Happenings

Postcards From Paris

Dreaming of Italy

Fall In The Garden

A Dreamy Evening

Almost Overnight

The Flat Princess

A Beautiful Thing

Meet Amelie and Armand and the Fairy Hobmother

Fall Table Setting

Welcome October

“There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October”

This Better Be Good!

Happy Autumn!

“I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion” ~ Henry David Thoreau

French Cabinet

A Movable Feast

Bluebirds

Master Bedroom Curtain Reveal

Back To Sewing

Clean Up On aisle Seven!

One Down, 7 to Go...

An Inspiration

Special Guests