Things I am loving Thursday and house updates!

Good morning, hope everyone is having a good week, hard to believe we are practically in October! Don't know about where you are, but around here, its been raining cats and dogs. Humidity off the charts, NOT a good hair day lately! My hats have been seeing lots of use. My week has been busy and overwhelming. Lots of decisions still being made, and now that we are at last starting to tackle the decorating end, I REALLY feel overwhelmed! There has been non stop work going on over at the house but I don't feel the pictures of this weeks progress will fully reflect that so I am just enclosing less than the usual amount of pictures as well as a few things I am loving this week, next week promises to be a full mega packed post of things as many things are happening next week! We are still aiming to move in by late October, so we are forging ahead fast and furious! Here we go.......
HOUSE UPDATES. Though there has been a lot going on this week, the pictures might not fairly show the progress being made. Come next week however, there are going to be big changes on the horizon. For one the countertops start getting put in, the biggest though is that the limestone..yes that LONG awaited limestone for the front entrance that we have been waiting on for many months is coming!!! Due here on Tuesday and cannot wait! You can be sure I will be snapping away. So this round might appear a little light, I dont' want to bore you with more repetitious pictures so just trying to capture whats new.....

Awaiting counterops coming in next week, and cannot wait to lift the covering on the floor!

Refrigerator/freezer handles...woo hoo!

This is the display cabinet that is between the kitchen and butlers

Breakfast room done!

TV unit above fireplace in family room done!

Vestibule leading from family room to dining room

Beautiful herringbone floors upstairs

Sons vanity done and countertop in place!

New finish for my bathroom cabinetry, think we are almost there, this is whiter, has less yellow

We are still tweaking it.....

Bathroom starting to shape up.....

The reeding detail under the chair rail

A little peek at the stair rail, the only part that's not covered.....

The curved wall detailing is completed, waiting for paint (and not to worry that's a temporary sconce)

TOPIARIES. Long been a fan of them, always have a few in the house and outside by my front door. There is no limit as to what you can do with a topiary....you are only limited by your imagination as you will see here with some most unusual ones. I love green on black, don't you? This first picture is so pretty, of this trio of topiaries on a black metal tray. Here are a few that I found particularly inspiring....

A topiary gazebo? WOW!

The Beatles? Imagine!

The circus has come to town.......

A GREAT BAKING ITEM. A baker I am not, but you hardly have to be a genius to figure out how to make a banana bread or pumpkin bread, and one of these warm out of the oven is pretty hard to beat on a cool crisp fall day. The only thing that could make it any better is to have it look amazingly beautiful and thanks to this nifty and beautiful loaf pan I found from Crate and Barrel of all places, I will oohing and ahhing everyone! I have yet to use it but plan to next week as a trial run and then will make something for the Thanksgiving holidays. Isn't it neat?

DARKER GROUT ON SUBWAYS. Now that I decided I am going with Calacutta Gold subways for the backsplash in kitchen and butlers pantry,  I have been toying with the idea of giving it that old world touch by going darker with the grout. True, light grout gives it a fresh, clean feel which compliments the white marble beautifully but the darker grout gives it a certain presence, makes it feel instantly older and allows it to stand out a little more. I am going to experiment, but wondering what your thoughts are on using a darker grout with a lighter stone or tile? Here are some examples to show you.....

A MUCH ANTICIPATED BOOK COMING OUT. I LOVE Phoebe Howard, her style is very much like my own and I have yet to see a room of hers that I haven't just drooled over. So needless to say, I am SUPER excited about her new book coming out spring of 2012. I will be one of the first to line up to get this book....I just know its going to be chock full of amazing interiors and inspiration.  The cover is the ultimate tease to what I can only guess is one heck of a great design book! Are you a Phoebe fan?

CREATING LITTLE VIGNETTES. Oh how I miss doing this! I must be getting really desperate because my poor little overworked to the bone blue and whites are doing serious overtime! I am constantly changing out with seasonal flowers and greenery. I love them but  cannot wait to unpack all my things so I can start "playing". In the meantime, I played around with the little I do have.....

AN AWESOME GIVEAWAY. Down to the last two days to be eligible for this amazing French table!! Here is the lowdown.....

This giveaway is AMAZING with a capital A! Thanks to the generosity of

Safavieh Home 

It is for a stunning painted black French end table with an antiqued wood top! How beautiful is this? I cannot think of any room that wouldn't look simply incredible with this wonderful side table!!

So...how to win this amazing giveaway? Simple!Safaviehs Facebook. 

FIRST.......Click here for their website and then here for theirFacebook page. Good luck and thank you Safavieh!

TO BE CLEAR......

 YOU MUST LEAVE A FACEBOOK COMMENT FOR SAFAVIEH TO BE ELIGIBLE. ONLY THOSE WHO LEAVE A COMMENT ON THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE SAYING THEY CAME FROM THE ENCHANTED HOME WILL BE ENTERED IN THE DRAWING.

So...how about you? Whats exciting you this week? Would love to know! Don't forget to enter the giveaway from Safavieh by heading to their Facebook page, click here.

Enjoy your day!