Rivah Kitchen Re-Do Completed

Yes it has been quite some time since I have been onto my blog - BUT I  have been visiting yours!!!  Time has come and gone and I have been so busy - SO ...let me show you what I have been up to -----

As I have said in a few other posts my husband has acquired his family cottage that has been in his family since 1953 - Well, it has been the same all these years and I felt it was time to make some changes and make it more of a summer/Rivah cottage.  I decided to start in the kitchen..We didn't want to rip out and start from the walls so I just 'spruced' it up some..Hope you enjoy the pictures and let me know what you think..

Here are the before pictures - kitchen is very dark, please excuse the mess I just wanted to get some pictures - I always forget to take the 'befores'

AND now for the NEW kitchen -

 I did a back splash using some floor tiles that I had left from a bathroom I redid at our home..they are the octagon tile..I also painted the counter-tops a dark gray.. I used CounterTop paint by Rust-oleum  It really went on great and I think looks so much better than the black --

I painted the walls a soft, sea glass blue - and white on all the cabinets and ceiling...what a difference a coat of paint can make!!!

Some old items that have been in the cottage --- I think forever!!







The old farmhouse sink is great ---needs some work though - I'm thinking one day I'll replace it with one of the new farmhouse sinks..Love those!!!

One last view in the evening - I had brought this Tiffany light with me from my house in Tennessee and knew one day I would find the perfect spot...



So now it is onto the bathroom...

See you soon!!!








I'm going to a couple parties this morning - come on over and check out what everyone else is doing:
A Soft Place to Land / DIY Day

Toot Your Horn Tuesday at Silly Little Sparrow

I love Beads

WOW --- We have been road warriors the last week - with my husband's job we had to 'tour' the state of Florida - it's quite a large state :-)...Very beautiful in so many places, but we were on a very short time-frame so no time to stop and look around - So I dreamed of all those fabulous shops, flea markets etc from a distance..sniff, sniff!!!!!

Well - tonight we had a chance to stop early and I had the opportunity to do some shopping at a bead store that happens to be close to our motel !!! Thought I'd show you what I saw AND what I bought...

I LOVE BEADS....

This store has rows and rows of beautiful beads...Making jewelry is just another one of my favorite things to do!!!!!   I'm always looking for pink beads - I can never find many that I really like...

WELL tonight I did find some I loved.. Check these out!!!!

They don't show quite the color they are - but they really are fabulous - Can't wait to get home and put them all together into something wonderful - I hope!!!!
 Hope you will come back to check it out....

Well tomorrow it is back on the road - will hopefully find time to post something fun we get to do in Florida..

have a great week....
BEad the Best you can BEad
corny huh - oh well I tried!!!

Tribute to our Labs - Jake and Dunker

I was over seeing Kim at Savvy Southern Style and she was heading over to Hey Harriet for Shadow Shot Sunday..



I love to take pictures but I'm not really great at it..So after looking at Kim and Harriets 'shots' I decided to look at my photographs through different eyes.  It was fun to look for those shadows and I found some I'd like to share with you - but a bit of history first ...


We had two labs - Jake and Dunker!  In Febuary 2010 we had to put Jake down - he was 15 years old - he was a good ole dog..had a heart so big he would always welcome everyone with permission to pet him - endlessly!!!  In February of 2009 we decided to get a puppy; we felt that maybe Jake would be around long enough to teach the puppy some manners!!!  Into our family came Dunker - he is a joy, a pain (as puppies are) but we have fallen head over heals in love with him...Jake did teach him some very good manners. but at times Dunker forgets, but we continue to work with him so he will end up being a great dog just like Jake.    SO  in memory of Jake and in honor of Dunker here are some pictures I hope you enjoy....

This was the first meeting - 

This is a close up of Jake - not a great photo of him but again we're looking for shadows.

Dunker became very dependent on Jake in the beginning - he kept very close to him!

Jake was alwyas so good about letting Dunker hang all over him - very patient

This is Dunker alone on the big bed - he does love to sleep in the sun!

Laying FLAT...probably a bit hot after a good workout!

And as dogs do - Dunker grew!!!

Hope you enjoyed the shadows - don't forget to go over to Harriets and check out what others have done!

Let's Slip Cover Mom

Well NOT literally 'Slip Cover Mom'......hehehehehehehe...

I'm a little late to the Slip Cover Party over at Pink and Poka Dot but had to head over there to see what eveyone had done.  I also went over to visit Angie at Thread Needle Studio she has some slip covers to show you too.

My son works for a furniture manufacturer and gets some great furniture, but some of the time it is not upholstered - SO when he got a couch and chair he called and asked me to come and slip cover them. We did them together as he talked with the seamstress on the 'floor' and they showed him how they do it...My son did all the measuring - he is a engineer - and I cut and sewed the pieces..It was very easy once we got going and I think they turned out wonderfully...

We actually took the fabric and used both sides - so the couch is actually darker than the chair.. I also made the pillow from some fabric I had gotten from his work...I have so much fun going there to look at fabrics etc..

Happy Slip Covering!!!

We've been on VACATION in Florida

I haven't posted recently since we had a GET AWAY...

Don't you just love a get away????  We rented a house with friends and headed to Florida .

This looked like a fun place to hang out - but it was very windy and cold that day - we are going back later in the month - maybe then it will be nice!!!

Since it was so chilly we sat around this fire for awhile --- those were brick blocks - isn't that a great idea for putting around a pit at home??/....ummmmmm

Last but not least - here are some pools in the complex that we are in...We'll be using these later in the month..

OK - now it is time to get back to work - so I can leave again :-)...

But right now I am heading over to see Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for Outside Wednesday  - come with me and let's see if Spring is on the way!!!!

Easter On Parade - Tablescape

Since Easter is just around the corner and I wanted to head over to Tablescape Thursday  at  Between Naps On The Porch   I decided to share an Easter tablescape..Come on over and check out the beautiful tables...

The table I am sharing with you today is from Easter 2008 - I love Easter time - the colors are so fun and it is starting to feel like Spring...

 

We don't usually have a big crowd for Easter, as some of our children live out of town and some of the other local ones have other places they need to go...This Easter we had 2 adult children and 4 grandchildren join us..You can see where the grandchildren will sit :-)

they have toys and of course candy for the holiday!!!  ummm chocolate must be in there somewhere!!!

Of course we can't forget the fabulous flowers for the wonderful season - so let's do colored roses ..ahhhh don't you just love all the colors roses you can now buy?

The most fun from this year was..

the small plant containers around the flowers?

that is actually pudding with crushed Oreo cookies on top to look like dirt and then a 'fake' flower inserted..

We told my 7 (at the time) year old grandson that he could eat dirt TODAY only..he said no way - well his Dad picked up a pot and started eating it - WOW what a reaction we got from Dylan (grandson!!)..it was so funny, but then he could hardly wait to try it..

To this day he always asks if I am going to make the 'dirt' dessert and YES I always do for EASTER only..it's now a fun tradition..

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!

Old Chair Re-do

I am excited to be part of the First Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm -   I hope you will come by and see what everyone has to show..

At our Rivah house I want to be very thrifty and reuse all the fixtures and furniture that has been there for 'centuries'!!!  So to begin I re-did some old chairs that needed an update..I don't have a before picture, but I'm sure you an imagine - they were just plain wood chairs - I know these type of chairs have a certain name, but I can't remember what it is - maybe some of you can!?!

 

I had fun painting it - there are two of them and just the beginning of  what has to be done at the Rivah house ...I have so much to do ..notice the floors - hummm..they certainly need to be done!!!!  I love the distressed look, but even these may need a bit of an update!!