Saturday, February 26, 2011

Please Cast Your Vote!

I am having some difficulty deciding which of these Craigslist beds I should purchase for my guest room.  Since most, if not all, of you have similar tastes I am asking for you to cast your vote for your favorite bed, please!?
The photo quality is somewhat poor (like all my posts LOL!)
May I have a drumroll please?


                                                                       ONE... $225





TWO...$325




THREE...$300




FOUR...$100




I think number four is my favorite but I am torn!  I would paint the bed grey, (of course) to give it a more Gustavian look.
What do YOU think, friends?




Thursday, February 24, 2011

New Leash On Life Friday! Meet Nicholas!

We all know a house is just not a home without the patter of little paws!  Today's angel was chosen at random at Petfinder.com from thousands and thousands of pets who need us!  They are dying for you to make up your mind and your heart!

Meet Nicholas..."Nicholas is a unique male classic tabby. His fur color and markings resemble that of wild feline ancestors. He is a shy boy, but very loving once you befriend him. He was brought in as a stray in March of 2007 and was born in September 2005. He is up to date on shots and neutered."  He can be found in Middleburg, Florida at the Safe Animal Shelter.
Nicholas 8780
Safe Animal Shelter
Middleburg, FL
904-276-7233 

info@safeanimalshelter.com


***
Please take a moment to visit the petfinder site.  There are pets in every corner of this country waiting for YOU!  If you cannot take in a pet please consider a donation (or more) that will help these pets live a little longer as they wait for the right person to come along!  FORWARD this post to your family and friends.  These animals need us. They NEED us! 
Please let me know I am not alone.
One thing, can you do just one thing to help?


THESE ARE A FEW OF THE ITEMS THAT SHELTERS COULD ALWAYS USE:



With Love and Hope,

Andie

Wisting Away...

Spring is nearly afoot!  I have been dreaming about it all winter!  We planted the boxwoods and the tulips in our front formal garden on the day before the first snow in our Chicago suburb!  As I placed the final bulb with my frozen fingers I lamented the end of the gardening season.
In our brand new suburban neighborhood there is nary a tree to be seen!  Built on what was formerly a corn field, the clay under our feet had become hardpan.  All summer we toiled to dig garden plots in that soil!  It made our measly 1/4 acre lot seem much bigger! We finally hired a giant man from Craigslist to finish our work.  He was the strongest, biggest human being I have ever seen close up!
Two feet deep on either side of the house we removed soil and replaced it with tons and tons and tons of composted soil.  I filled those beds with hundreds of perennials.  The side gardens will be somewhat informal.   Three foot deep lavender beds in a six foot circle in the front yard filled with stones (gathered by the neighborhood children at 10 cents each), gravel and sand so my lavender wouldn't get wet feet! When I first dug the "lavender pit" my neighbors asked if I was building a pond.  It rained for two days and none of the water drained from that pit!  I built a drain.
I moved concrete garden ornaments like chess pieces.  My neighbors, again, wondering what I was up to!  Ten O'clock at night and Andie is moving a 200lb cherub just a smidge to the left...then to the right...then to the other side of the yard.  Yes.  I am THAT neighbor.
Well, with Spring comes exciting new challenges!  I am so excited!  We will finish the formal gardens the chess garden, add a reflecting pond, begin the espaliered fruit trees and the pleached alleys!
I have chosen pea gravel (off white, not brown) for the walkways and the patio.  All of our neighbors have cement brick patios and walkways (heck, everyone in Illinois does, I think)!  I want something more timeless and classic...
We are only allowed to have a four foot fence and it has to be plastic.  *groan*  I have decided on NO fence and pleached borders!  Pllllt!  Take that, neighborhood association!  Ha!  It could be worse, some neighborhoods we looked at required that we submit, in writing, our garden plans (including flowers) a month in advance for association approval.  Nazis!
Oh!  We are planting rose bushes around my FREE Craigslist pavillion.  Gracie gets to choose them.  For every 100 recyclables she puts in our recycle bin she gets to choose one rose bush for our rose garden!


Craigslist pavillion, soon to be surrounded by roses!

I cannot wait to sit on that (Craigslist) bench, surrounded by the heavenly scent of flowers!


I am currenly researching the methods by which to construct a reflecting pool for this lovely spitter...

Something like this, but long and narrow...


Like this, but smaller...


I have chosen the fruit trees I intend to espalier on the side of the garage.
Some inspiration...




A pleached alley  on the right side of the house will lend privacy while looking fabulous!  Much better than a plastic fence, I say!

And for the left yard...one row only, though...

Pea gravel pathway...


Formal inspiration...

Informal side yard...


The Chess Garden...
Painting by Dimitri Glazyrin

I am making my own wire topiaries to be covered in ivy and placed in small iron garden urns...

Is anyone else as excited as I am?  Are you doing something new in your yard this year?

I just read the forecast.  NINE MORE INCHES OF SNOW?
Oh well!  More sledding!



















Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Flummoxed...A Little Help?

The reason I started this blog was to learn, and boy oh boy I have gleaned so much from my fellow bloggers!
Once again, I call upon your vast knowledge of all things aesthetic!
Does anyone know what the style of these stools are?  Victorian?  English?  French?  They seem to be made of a metal other than iron.  Aluminum or steel, I think.  The total height is 42", height of seat is 25", seat depth and width is 14".   They are very diminutive, with narrow seating area.
*Edit*  I have done a smidge of research and these look to be in the Renaissance Revival Pattern...they are quite old so I don't understand the alternate metal.
*Second Edit*I did some further research and found new cast aluminum stools here:  Adam-Classic-Bar-Stool_p_2465.html  The elderly couple I purchased them from claimed they brought them from England in the 1940's.   I discovered that cast aluminum has been used since its advent in 1825!  At the time it was more valuable than gold!  Napoleon III was said to have reserved a set of aluminum dinner plates for his most honored guests!




Please forgive the mess!  This is the formal living room, currently being used as a staging area until we get our new home painted and finished.

Monday, February 21, 2011

By George!

In honor of  the anniversary of George Washington's Birthday on February 22, 1732...


"I can truly say I had rather be at Mount Vernon with a friend or two about me, than to be attended at the Seat of Government by the Officers of State and the Representatives of every Power in Europe".
George Washington, letter to David Stuart, June 15, 1790

Mount Vernon Exterior

Washington's Study

Dining Room

Dining Room Detail


Detail of the kitchen.  Look at those dishes!

Mount Vernon Greenhouse

His imposing figure as president embodied ideals of honesty, virtue, and patriotism.


Thank you for giving us this wonderful Republic, sir!  Thank you for your dedication to freedom and liberty.   We will honor your legacy for all the days of our lives.




Friday, February 18, 2011

New leash On Life Friday! Meet Louise!


The random zipcode I entered into the Petfinder.com search engine took me to Bonham, Texas. This little Beagle/Terrier mix is Louise!  She is currently sheltered at:
AOHTs (All Our Hearts Together) Rainbow Bridge
 I am 2-3 years of age. I am current on all vaccinations, wormed, deflead, and on heartworm preventative since I was 8 weeks. My mother weighs only 25 lbs. so I will not be big fur friend. My owner was going to shoot me, my mother and my sisters and brothers when this nice lady said she would take all of us and contacted a rescue organization. I am a Beagle/Terrier mix.
*******
Please remember, friends, that even if you cannot help directly you can forward this to people you may know who CAN help.  It doesn't take much time and can save a life!
We NEED your help!  We cannot save them without it!


With Love and Hope,


Andie

Thursday, February 17, 2011

In a Spot Over Leopard Chair...

I purchased a pair of fauteuils "foe-TURs" on Craigslist this week.  Though I love the shape and maybe even the leopard velvet I am not a fan of the natural wood color.
*Edit*I went ahead and painted it grey.  As Toad remarked, "it's only paint"!  I think I like it, though!  A few more washes of different tones of grey and nailhead trim and I think I am done!

I was thinking gold leaf, antique white or dove grey?  I may reupholster but not immediately.
These chairs are GINORMOUS!  The seat itself is over two feet long, as is the back!  I was actually surprised when I went to pick them up.  I have Louis XVI chairs in the eating area, next to the family room, where these chairs are, and I was afraid there would be too many oval backed Louies in the same space.  The eating area chairs are so diminuitive in comparison to these that I don't think it will end up looking like a Louis chair showroom after all!  I think they will comfortably seat four medium sized cats or one puggle (that's only because the cats are not Napoeon's biggest fans...yet!)  Can I digress, or what?
Once again, I humbly turn to the many talented Bloggers on High and ask your advice...

* I wanted to post examples of  the images I have in mind.  Apparently the idea exists only in my busy little head, as I cannot find a single solitary image to share!
I think I am leaning toward a weathered grey finish with the simple addition of nailhead trim.  This image from Christie's Auctions is similar to what I imagined...

Monday, February 14, 2011

Adventure! Intrigue! Craigslist!...?

Gracie, Napoleon and I are soon to be off on another Craigslist adventure!  We are headed four hours south to St. Louis, Missouri!

The gentleman who is selling this cradle promises to tell me the story behind it when I get there!  I can't wait!

Like I need another twin bed...!



Bonus!  Actually, the BEST part is that we get to meet Richard and his beagle girl, Sissy on our way back home!  Richard is the author of the blog entitled My Old Historic House.  He promised to take us on a tour of his lovely home and museum, the Elgin Cottrell House in Clarksville, Mo!  If you haven't met him yet, you should!  
Plus, I think Napoleon has a crush on Sissy!


I met a lovely couple this evening who came to my home to purchase a set of Napoleonic stools I had listed on Craigslist!  Kindred spirits!  They are just as excited about my finds as I am!  LOL!
Isn't it nice to meet like minded individuals?  My handsome husband doesn't exactly get hot under the collar about interior design, so it's nice to spend time with others who share my passion!

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