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Quite some time ago I started working on the guest room.  I painted a chest that I talked about in this post .  The lamp was  another post .  Then other things got in the way and the guest room was in a holding pattern.  But, I'm happy to report that I'm moving forward on that project again. I was given this day bed a few years ago. I didn't really care for the brassy trim on the arms and front legs. Nor did I want to keep the wood natural. So I prepared to paint it all. I was able to remove the metal trim, which made painting it possible. I did prime the pieces first, and then painted them a darker bronze tone. The wooden parts of the bed I painted in two colors of green.  I set the bed up in the guest room with the plan to finish the bedding and then blog about it. I brought home a couple rugs from Home Goods to try in the room. This is the one I ended up keeping.  I wanted to include this shot as it shows the ceiling I painted wh

This week I was looking for books for a project and I chose to search the bins at the Goodwill Outlet Store where they sell the books for 15 cents per inch. (more on that project in a future post) Once that mission was accomplished, I decided to make one more stop before returning home.  The Clubhouse Shop was close by and it never hurts to pop in and look around.  Weeeell, it was my lucky day.  They were having a backroom clearance on items that were not worthy of the general sale floor.  I first spotted this watercolor of Alberto. And then, tilted the opposite direction, I found Violet. I was immediately drawn to them and their sticker price of $15 each. I inquired about them and was told to ignore the price on the sticker....wait for it.....they would $5 each. Needless to say, the water damaged mat boards did not slow me down in making it to the checkout counter. They are original watercolors by Shirley Voda.  Both had labels on the back from when they were dis

Do you find it hard to come up with new ideas for gift giving?  If you know the person well, and have some idea of their interests and hobbies, it puts you a little ahead of the game.  But even then it is difficult to come up with fresh ideas each time a birthday rolls around. My daughter relieves me of that responsibility.  She has a birthday this week and she gave me ample notice of what she would like to receive. She is a huge proponent of children's literacy and has a double Master's degree in Elementary Education Administration, and Communication with an emphasis in Reading.  She spent several years working in Elementary Education.  Now as a mother of a three year old, and another son who will turn two this week, she uses her skills to develop these young minds and inspire them to love to read, or, be read to as is the case for now. She also started a literacy blog two plus years ago.  It is called Growing Book By Book, and is her way of offering ideas and