METAMORPHOSIS MONDAY

Once again, it is Metamorphosis Monday hosted by Susan
at Between Naps on the Porch when everyone shows off their before and after pictures. Be sure to go by Susan's to check for a list of the participants.

This week I would like to show an update project on our 1980s house. We were beginning to have some problems with our ceiling light fixtures, and decided it was time to update. Of course, one thing led to another so we decided to change out all of the door knob sets to match the new light fixtures.

Here are the old 1980 brass door knobs.

And the new bronze ones.

The old brass ceiling fixtures.

And the new bronze-finished ones.

We replaced the ceiling-mount fixture over our meat block in the kitchen with a new three-light chandelier.

Individually, the change out didn't give us a lot of bang for our buck; but over all of the house, it was updated considerably. And we feel much safer with our new light fixtures!


Now, a metamorphosis of the best kind. I have posted before about my daughter's battle with the worst kind of brain cancer - a stage 4 glioblastoma. Some of you may remember this picture of her really bad hair day while she was still in ICU. At this point, they were giving this 33-year old mother of two young ones only 12-14 months to live.

This week she celebrates her three-year survival anniversary. She had a MRI last week, and it was all clear of the tumor once again.

I'm posting about this again because I know there are those of you that are dealing with some serious health issues. I want to let you know to keep praying and to keep your spirits up. There are miracles out there - maybe one with your or your loved ones name on it!!!!

JOURNEY TO OUR DREAM HOUSE

Nikki at Blah, Blah, Blah Blog has sent out a challenge to show your journey to your dream house. Our trip has taken 50 years and certainly didn't end up like I dreamt it would.

This is our first apartment. We had two rooms and a bath with no closets in a basement. It really was a dump, but what did we know? We were 19 year old newlyweds, college students, and the price was right - $45/month. I made new curtains and cleaned it up; we were happy.

After a few months, we moved up town (literally), and now had two rooms and a bath still in the basement but with three closets. I made more curtains, we nested here for two years.

Finally, we were out of college and moved to the BIG city. We now had a two bedroom apartment on the second floor. We could see the sun shine again!

We began to long for a yard; but couldn't afford to buy a house, so we moved to this two bedroom duplex. I made more curtains, but we obviously didn't do much yard work!

Our big dream to buy a house came about. We were 23 years old, and paid $15,000 for this cutie on a half acre in the middle of the city.

Graduate school beckoned, and we moved back to the college town. We bought this little house for $12,500.

Now adventure was calling. We moved to Montana to a new job sight unseen. There was nothing to rent or to buy, so we lived in a motel for 6 weeks until finding this house to rent.

The nesting urge was really strong, and we found this house to buy. We became a family of three here.

A new job and an opportunity to return to Colorado. With the job came this rent-free 1898 house that the city engineer had always lived in. We were thrilled - lots of charm, but it wasn't ours. We tried to buy it, but they wouldn't sell. We became a family of four in this beauty.

So, after two years in the old house on the hill, we built a new rancher with three bedrooms, two baths, and a family room with a gorgeous fireplace. I made more curtains, but we still longed for the old house on the hill.

Two more years have gone by, and they finally decided to sell the house to us. So, we moved back to this great house with wonderful porches. We did mountains of work, stripping 9 coats of paint off of the old woodwork. It was a great house for holiday celebrations with our extended family.

A job change required a move up the road 90 miles, so we bought this typical 1970's tri level with four bedrooms, three baths, and a huge family room. It was a great house to raise teenagers in.

Empty nest for us and the old-house bug bit again. We bought this 1904, five bedroom bungalow with a huge dining room. We put in tons of money, tons of work, and I made more curtains than ever. This was a fun house to decorate and entertain in. But after two hip replacements, all of the stairs got to me and it was time to downsize. This charmer of a house sold in a flash!

So in a hurry, we bought this four-bedroom rancher because we liked the neighborhood. We didn't expect it to be our 'forever' house; and we certainly didn't dream that we would grow to love it so. Since moving here 11 years ago, we have added hardwood floors, crown molding, screened in the porch, painted and painted, and made it our own. No more curtains as I finally have interior shutters all over the house. It's so easy to live in this house, and it has become our dream house that we never dreamt about.

Thanks for going on our journey with us.

Sally

TABLESCAPE THURSDAY

It is once again time to play with our dishes as it is Tablescape Thursday hosted by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch. Be sure to stop by Susan's blog for a list of participants with all of their beautiful tablescapes!

I've done a simple pre-Easter tablescape for lunch with the grandkids. What is better for lunch than home-made macaroni and cheese, fruit salad, and chocolate candy for dessert!!

I've pulled out some of my vintage Easter decorations including an Easter basket from the 1950s, a paper-mache bunny, and a large paper-mache egg candy container from Western Germany.

Here is the candy container open with it's pretty toile lining and scalloped border.

I've set the table with glasses from The Dollar Tree, my Mikasa Italian Countryside white dishes, and some brown & white transferware salad plates from Marshalls.

I gathered up some old tin toys from around the house to use for all of the chocolate candy at each individual place setting. First, a toy wheel barrow.

A small sand pail.

A miniature tin basket.

And, a toy farm wagon.

I made the tablecloth from a twin sheet from Wal-mart ($3) with an added border of leftover striped quilting fabric. The napkins are also leftover quilting fabric.

I know the grandkids will enjoy it - especially all of the chocolate. After they get all hyper from the candy, I'll take them home to their parents. That's what Grandmothers do!!!

BLUE MONDAY

Sally at Smiling Sally is once again hosting Blue Monday. Check out her blog for a plethora of Blue Loveliness!!!


In an effort to spruce up things around here, I have been trying to work on our bedroom. I made a new dust ruffle and some pillows; and also purchased a new summer-weight matelasse spread in a yummy shade of blue.

I discovered that by ordering a full-sized bedspread instead of a king-sized coverlet, it fit our king-sized bed generously and was less money.

I love the raised paisley pattern!

Thanks for stopping by,
Sally

SPRINGTIME IN THE ROCKIES & LOOK WHAT I FOUND!!!

It is "Springtime in the Rockies", and here in Colorado not much is blooming yet. But, check out the color of that sky when the sun was coming up this morning. We awoke with new snow on the ground and glorious sunshine.

The only thing blooming in our yard is our pear tree. It is hard to tell the white puffy blossoms from the snow!

The only green in the yard is from the willow tree. But, I think, Mother Nature is telling us Spring is on the way.

A friend and I went out this morning in the sun and snow to do a little junk hunting, and look what I found. See that name at the bottom of this tin candy box - yes it says, "Salmagundi". I didn't buy it even though I really wanted to. It seemed a little pricey; but after I got home, I couldn't stand it and had to go back to get it.

I did a little research first on the picture thinking that it was from the Art Nouveau period and had the look of the artist, Mucha. And it is from a picture entitled, "Zodiac le Plume" by Alphonse Mucha.

In checking out the Whitman Candy Company, I discovered that in 1924 they introduced a special line of art boxes, including Salmagundi. They state that they considered it an exotic Art Nouveau design from the mysterious east. I'm not sure Mucha ever worked in the east, but the woman depicted is rather mysterious.

The box shows some wear, but I still think it is beautiful and it did have my name written all over it!!!!

Thanks for stopping by,
Sally

TOILE PARTY

There is a new party in town - a Toile Party, organized and hosted by
The Pretty Organized Palace. Everyone was invited to show pictures of their favorite Toile de Juoy fabric used in their home. Be sure to check out The Pretty Organized Palace for a list of participants and all of the homes decorated with toile fabric.

The border on this quilted, patchwork pillow is one of my all time favorite toiles. Two meters of this fabric was purchased from a French vendor several years ago. I have used it in numerous quilting projects, and there is not much of it left. When it is gone, I will miss it as it is the most luscious shade of red!

My favorite toiles often include multi-colors rather than the more familiar two-tone toiles. This pattern called 'Bosporus' has been around for quite a while, but I never tire of seeing it.

One of the charms of toile, I think, is the depiction of bucolic, pastoral scenes. 'Bosporus' is certainly indicative of that typical rural life from long ago.

After finding this 'Bosporus' fabric a couple of months ago on a clearance table, I bought enough to make the dust ruffle for our king-sized bed.

Now be sure to go by prettyorganizedpalace.blogspot.com to check out a variety of toile and learn more about this charming fabric.

Thanks for stopping by,
Sally