kitchen dilemma...

Hi girls, as you may already know I have been trying to frenchify my home and not so much shabby roses anymore.
WELL.....!!!!   just when I thought I had it all sorted out what did I find at spotlight..
                                                                                                                           
            
                    only the cutest kitchen curtains I'd ever seen in my whole entire life!!

where were these curtains when I needed them! and please excuse the dishes in the sink and teatowel on the door knob.. this wasn't staged.

to try them out I had to use a rod from lisa's bedroom for the bottom half. Luckily I had a hook on one end of the window and a scrolly shelf on the other side... just perfect to see what they'd look like.

I knew if I got these I would be throwing a spanner in the works but these just pulled at my heartstrings and begged me to take them home. So after making sure I could return them, along they came.

I could oh ..so.. go.. retro right now with pink mixing bowls and drinking straws that I happened to see at Susans (the shop) just earlier that day!

Talk about a headache. I can't decide what to do. So for now they are packed away till I figure it out. The colours are a bit bright so if I keep them I plan to wash them a few times to get a softer, more faded look.

My dilemma is that my kitchen would not go with the adjoining dining room, not unless I put everything back that I had removed. Luckily I still have it all if I decide to go that way. I wish I could stick to one style of decorating throughout my whole house..but I can't, it's just too hard!

I realise now that I love a bit of colour...

As much as I drool over nordic style or all white colour themes out there in bloggy land, I know it's not for me...

and to be totally honest with myself ..removing most of the colour I had in my dining room is now starting to bore me..

but moving on to something else,

my first raspberries for this season...! I was so excited to get so many. I only planted 2 stems last year.. not much to blog about but look how they have multiplied..

and ofcourse I've done my Christmas decorating too and will post some pics of that soon!

take care,

Maryann

new curtains...

Hi girls, this pretty bunch of roses sitting on my kitchen window is what greets me every morning.. I only planted it last year near my vegie patch and it's doing really well..yes, I do love spring!

I managed to hang my curtains up.. and have to say I'm pretty happy with them!

they are sort of a sheer open weave linen with a very faint beige checked pattern on them .. exactly what i was looking for..

at night the pattern stands out more. They have sort of a shabby french feel which I'm lovin' and I scored them from Big W if anyone is interested here in Aussie land.

I also changed a few things around on my sideboard and stuck to a white and silver theme with just a few touches of pink..

my hutch is still simplified from before and I'm liking the look too.. i think I might keep it this way. As you can see I have a lot less roses but I still need my fix of pink here and there.

 bye for now,

take care,

Maryann xxx 

thank God it's spring!

Hi girls, I know it's been a while since I posted but about 7 weeks ago my dad went into hospital with pneumonia. He spent 2 weeks in intensive care and another 4 with other complications. I can't tell you it's been nothing short of a roller coaster ride with days of improvements and days of setbacks. He'll be 77 come next month and due to the fact he already has liver cirrhosis, where his liver is only 50% functional, things were pretty much touch and go at times. I spent most of those 6 wks at the hospital going nearly every day, bar a couple, to be there by his side and be available to see the doctors. It was an hours drive there and back and come the end of the day I used to be pretty exhausted. He is on the mend now, or as good as it gets for someone in his condition, and is at home, with the physio guy coming out every second day to give him some therapy to get him walking properly again.

The only thing that used to put a smile on my face through all of this was my garden, the glimpses I would get before I left my house and after when I came home. It was the beginning of spring and I had colour everywhere. I wish I had time to take some photos then as some flowers have come and gone, but I managed to take some now. It's cloudy and a little rainy today and thank God for that as we need the rain or my garden does that's for sure!

At present I'm doing some much needed spring cleaning and yesterday purchased some new ready made curtains from BIG W from all places, for my dining and family rooms. Funnily enough these are EXACTLY what I had envisaged in  my mind. Anyhow..better go clean those windows and blinds first!...will show you once they're up. I just hope they'll look good.... take care girls, Maryann

more vintage finds...

Hi again girls, thought you might like to see what else I grabbed from the swap meet. Apart from the sideboard and mirror I showed you in my last post, I also picked up these.. and I do seem to have a silver thing going on this time..

this is a keeper.. I love the pink inlay and will look good on my dressing table (once I finish it!)

I came across this pair of lanterns and when I purchased them I hadn't planned to keep them. They  are more meant to go in a hallway but I think they'll look really good in my family room. Now all I have to do is get Fred to go in the roof, which he hates!

I just love this silver and glass dressing table set. Aren't the brushes adorable!

I just had to get this pretty pink angel with pink frosted wings... she now sits in lisa's bedroom.

$1 bangle for me..will go nicely with a top I have!

I definately have a thing for cherubs... lol!

Now i'm not into orange or grass green but this jug set just caught my eye.. the colours are more vibrant than in the pics and it's in as new condition.. love the little painted dots at the top of the jug. This will be going on ebay once I get round to it...

I also picked up this vintage scooter to put in the yard.. another to add to my collection of bikes and tricyles.

Not a bad day. I could have picked up so much more but the prices they wanted were not far from shop prices so I really had to search for a bargain. Still I enjoyed the hunt and came home with a few great finds!
HAVE A GREAT DAY!...  Maryann ... and if you're thinking what the hell is happening .. 3 posts in 3 days.. I know, I  can't believe it either!!

changes in my hallway..

Hi there girls, I've been on the look out for a while now for a nice chest of drawers or sideboard to place in my hallway. Here is what I had before....(just temporarily)



They were  a set of 2 low drawers that were given to me but a couple of weeks ago I went to a swap meet with Fred and guess what..  I found  a nice sideboard with 9 drawers, 3 of which are hidden behind the 2 centre doors.

This was not what I originally had in mind as I was after something more ornate and with 'legs' but when I saw this I liked it. It has plenty of storage and I really like the floral pattern on the centre doors and on the top drawers.

I won't be painting this piece (I don't think) as I quite like the mix of timber with painted pieces. I also found this mirror which I absolutely love..

it has a lovely chippy, rusty patina on it which I will be leaving as is but this again was not what I originally had in mind. I had visioned something more french provincial looking but when I tried this cute mirror above the sideboard I loved it. They are so different in styles but look soo good together!  I love the mix of pink,  golden timber and pale gold.

I also had originally planned to put a whole heap of family photos on the wall above the sideboard but I don't think that will be happening either as I quite like the mirror making a statement on its own.
Maybe a pair of sconces instead would look good, we'll see. Anyway as you can see I have lots of photos sitting on the sideboard all in pretty frames. I am a real sucker for a pretty frame,whether new or old, some still need photos to be put inside them!

So much for sticking to 'my vision', but I really like the look of how it all worked out in the end and if I ever do come across that sideboard I had originally wanted, this one will go nicely in bedroom!

take care, Maryann