Help! I can't decide!!!

I've decided to re-do (somewhat) our bedroom. I purchased a gift box from Homegoods, gosh, a long time ago. I'm using it as my color inspiration and decorative direction. Those of you who watch HGTV's Color Splash with David Bromstad will know what I mean. This one has a street in France of a Flower shop... Mostly in blues, greens, browns, and ivory. I'm going for the romantic French country look. I love these boxes from Homegoods. I buy them all the time. First it was mostly hat boxes they carried, round, and stackable. Then, the selection just blossomed. They now have rectangle shapes that are also nesting type boxes, so they are stackable when you buy more than one. Or they are beautiful alone. Wonderful for storing so many things. They also have started making funky shapes like wine bottle boxes, suitcase style, file box style, and I believe I've even seen a "lunchbox" style. I usually pick one or two up when I find one that I like the pattern or style to use for my shop to make gift "baskets". I like using anything other than wicker. I think we ladies past the age of 40-something know what I mean. You collect a zillion and one wicker baskets... and can only find just so many things to use them for. I thought it would be nice to use these boxes for holding the gift items.... and it can be part of the gift as well.

Anyhow, here's the pic of my color inspiration box.

I should have taken a closer pic of just the box because it's so pretty, but I didn't think about that. My camera was forcing me to use settings that I was not used to and I was getting frustrated. But, the changes from "easy" and "auto" to actually using different settings changed the colors dramatically. The new settings I used show the colors more true. Easy and Auto are washed out quite a bit... especially when a flash gets involved. Easy and Auto are just settings on the dial.... makes me think of "Normal is just a setting on the dryer"... :)

I went to the local hardware store and grabbed as many paint swatches as I dared without fear they would tackle me on my way out the door. They sell Glidden paint, and now I'm having a hard time choosing my color for the walls and ceiling. First I wanted to do a soft medium toned green, not really interested in blue, but then I thought about a hue of brown. There are so many luscious colors out there, I'm even changing my mind about a blue.... but more of a turquoise hue... can you see my dilemma? Somewhere along the line I became this woman afraid of commitment :) But then I tell myself, it's only paint... and I can always change it. Besides, we are eventually going to renovate the bedrooms upstairs, so this is mostly a temporary fix to a really ugly room. But, if I wait for the "renovations" to take place upstairs, I'll be too old to care. Also, whatever we do to the room, I will reuse the drapes/curtains and bedding and pillows in the new room (if they aren't dry rotted by then... :)

These paint strips are the ones I've "narrowed my choices" to. You should see the stack I sorted these out of. This is showing the greens-blues. I'm fairly certain I won't use any blue. I'm so tired of blue. As an accent color is fine, but not interested in painting my whole room that color.

This is showing the blues/browns. Don't you think one of those medium browns would look scrumptious on the walls?

Yes, there is a piece of material in the middle of it all, but try as I might I cannot (no matter how I set the camera settings) get the true color and nature of the material, especially the greens. I purchased the whole bolt at JoAnn Fabrics. I had a 50% off coupon the entire amount that was left on the roll. What should have cost me well over $100 only cost a little over $50. I fell in love with the fabric. It's a floral almost like a damask, has flat color fabric and shiny fabric, and the colors of brown beige in the background, the horizontal lines are a very dark olive green, and the flowers are this amazing swirl of blues and greens. I will be making curtain swags and valances as well as decorative pillows and shams, and a cover for my dressing table bench seat.


Does anyone have any opinions? My husband says he doesn't care, you know how guys are. When I ask him what he means by "doesn't care", he says that he'll be fine with whatever I do because he trusts me to do a fantastic job. He knows that I will make it a comfortable room for him too, considering his personality to express in what I choose to do. Now there's a confidence booster! What a great guy I've got!

Have a great day. I welcome any advice or inspirations from you. Please don't hesitate to write me something of what you're thinking! Invite your friends to take a gander and share an opinion or two.

Hugs,
Penny Suzie

I'm so weary... did I use this before as a title? Oh, who cares. I can be weary twice, eh?

No pics, just me. Have you ever had a couple of those days where you just don't know... and you feel like certain other people just don't get it? I'm in a funk between yesterday and today. Work has been a little touchy this week, and I'm just not getting a good feeling. It's so weird. This is why; my husband has been going through some very difficult times at his place of employment for a long time. When he left this past Wednesday morning to go back to work, I remember feeling sad for him, spending some time in prayer for him, and thinking to myself that it must be difficult going to work day after day when things are just so wrong. I felt sympathy and my heart actually hurt for him and all the while, thinking in my head and heart, I'm so lucky to have a job that I go to and am marginally happy with. Later the same day, I went to work, and things were just so wrong. Ironic, one might say. If you read this, Honey, I love you with all of my heart...

No pics, just me,
Good night,
Penny Suzie

Sunday night, sitting on the couch with my Honey...

Today has been a relaxing kind of day for me. My time has been spent doing some laundry, picking flowers, and playing on my computer. I was trying to figure out how to do my playlist. I used to have one, but I deleted it... and I can't remember how I got the first one to work.

Here's a couple of shots of our last summer bouquet.


Good night, sleep tight...
Hugs,
Penny Sue

Today was a great day to make homemade soup... Mmm Mmmm Good!

Just sitting here sipping my Mocha Starbucks Doubleshot... Yummy!

Today was the first day I didn't have to go to work in 7 days straight. I enjoyed a nice sleep-in... finished watching a movie I'd started last night, and decided it was time to get making my soups. Yep, soups... plural. I prepared a roasted chicken yesterday for one of the soups so I was a step ahead of the game today. My first soup prepared was Navy Bean & Ham. This soup was one that my maternal grandmother used to make when I was a young girl. I have been thinking about this soup and how long it's been since I've had some. Doesn't it look scrumptious???

I took a break and went outside with the doggies... when the sun made its guest appearance this afternoon. The girls sniffed around the ground, romped and rolled and chased leaves blowing in the wind. We are supposed to have a killing frost either tonight or tomorrow night. Last night it was in the 50's... but tonight it's already diving into the 30's. I went out and picked the last of my peppers... and the roses that were on my rose bush just off the back porch. I brought the roses inside and put in a vase to enjoy for at least a few more days. I didn't have the heart to leave them out to freeze.

Little Miss Smidgen thought they smelled good too.

After my break, I came back to my kitchen and started soup number 2. Chicken Noodle! I'll let the pic speak for itself. ;)

My gal pals hanging in the kitchen, hoping Mama would drop something on the floor. They got some chicken, and Smidgen seems to like carrots.



Of course, I don't think there is anything Smidgen won't eat. Last night before I went to bed, I'd gotten out my earplugs, had to leave the room, and came back, yep, you guessed it, earplugs gone. Smidgen ate them just that fast. She's so small, I'm afraid the earplugs might clog her up. Time will tell.

Update: 10/12/09 - Earplugs have cleared. She swallowed them whole! Amazing!

What's that bright light outside... ?

I've got to be to work at 2 pm today. I've been enjoying a leisurely morning with my dogs, snuggling on the couch, and writing in my blog right now. The sun is shining, there isn't a cloud in the sky, and the sky is the most gorgeous color blue, and it's crisp and clear and cool. I love it! Yesterday we had horrible winds. I'm hoping that it didn't destroy our leaves on the trees, as we're coming up on our peak season over the next two weeks. I'll have to get some pics before the leaves are all gone. There are some beautiful reds this year... especially right in my own back yard. My favorite tree in all the world is right outside my back door. And our new slate patio looks so pretty with a carpet of red crunchy leaves scattered around. I just adore it!

I'm sitting here listening to Amy Grant's "Behind The Eyes" CD while typing away. I've enjoyed growing up with Amy's music since I was introduced to it while in college. She is so very real and true. I purchased her book through a christian book distributor for $3.95 last week, and I read it in two days. "Mosaic... Pieces of My Life So Far". I just gobbled it up. It was a biography. It was written in 2007. I have yet to see her in concert. I have not ever had the opportunity. Someday... I hope.

Can anyone guess what these jeans are going to transform into? If you think you can guess, let me know. Otherwise, I'll show you when I'm done. But guessing could be fun... and give me some more creative ideas... ;)

I thought I might post a couple of new pics of Smidgen. She's grown a little bigger, but not much. The one pic is of her next to a woman's size 6 sneaker, just to put things into perspective. She's just a precious poochie. Hope you enjoy.


Me thinks if she gets caught in a head wind she might end up in Kansas! :)

Hugs all around,
Penny Sue

I can't believe it's October already? Did we have summer?

Good Day everyone,

It's been a forever since I've posted anything. Life has been pretty busy with my part time job, the hubby's projects, my projects, the house, the yard, the gardens, the this and the that. But it's been a pretty good month for September. Usually I become rather melancholy during the fall season. It used to be my absolute favorite season of the year. I loved going for long drives in my car, just me and my camera, and taking tons of pictures of the gorgeous blue of the sky (unlike any other time of the year) as well as all our beautiful foliage. However, in the past 11 years, it has also been a smacking reminder of my Mom's journey to heaven. It's a bittersweet memory by now... I don't feel quite so fully incapacitated as I did those first few years. However, I do find myself connecting this season and all its beauty and glory to my Mom's passing. I suppose that will never cease. I suppose it will become less painful as more years pass along. In all honesty, I don't ever want to "not" remember, you know what I mean? But, my mother's life, as I have been taught in the past few years, should never be defined by her death. I find myself remembering many happy, fun, laughter-filled memories. This is the way I really want to remember her. As I grow older, I also learn more about who my mother really was. It comes with a perspective that you gain only as an aging adult looking over the life of a loved one who's passed on... and a better understanding of who that person was. Who my mom was to me when she passed away 11 years ago is not the same mom she is to me today. I hope that makes sense to someone out there.

I've three days left to finish our tax paperwork. My husband is going to contact someone different than whom we usually use. Hopefully all will work out. I swear, I gain more gray hair from taxes than any other "trauma" in my life... :)

As for the shop... well, it's slow going, but it's going. The photo below is one of the two major things which needed moving in order to change the layout of the "gift shop" part of the building. This beautiful corner hutch is one of the first pieces of furniture which my brother-in-law, Tom, made. He no longer wanted it, and it came to visit at our house. There was only one corner in our entire house in which it fit. When we opened the shop and were pressed to find display pieces in the beginning, we decided to move it out there. It's not for sale. I would never sell it. But I've had so many offers from people interested in purchasing it. And let me tell you, it's cavernous! I never truly realised how much "stuff" this thing would hold until I had to empty it out to bring it from the house to the shop. Stuff that I had accumulated over the years seemed to find a comfortable home inside of it. Now, it's all packed away, awaiting a different option, whatever that may be. This hutch now resides in the opposite front corner of my shop.

This is the second piece that was moved to a new location. It's my "check-out" station. This used to be in the opposite side of the front room (basically the two pieces swapped sides). However, because that space was narrower than the other portion of the shop, I realised clients were not really "shopping" in this portion of the store. So, I stuck myself in the far corner, out of the flow of movement, and hopefully gaining that space back as a place to display items which people will feel comfortable looking at. Hope this works. I don't know how many times my dear hubs will be willing to move these hunk-a-hunkas.

The rest 'tis a mess. But, I'm working on that, when I can.

Hugs all around,
Penny Sue