Random Sunday musings and a hello.......

Happy Sunday morning.......



OK, I don't know about you but there is a dark side to Black Friday! Have you seen the madness and chaos raging in every mall and store across America? It is just me or do you also feel this has gotten so carried away, that the meaning and real joy to be found in this holiday season has long been lost with the mass consumerism being first and foremost on most peoples minds. I blame  the retailers more than anyone else and think this chaos has to stop. Was not one death during that  stampede a few years back not enough to prove this point? Would love to know your thoughts and if you became part of the shopping frenzy. I did not even consider it, for starters I am severely claustrophobic and secondly, there is nothing out there that is worth the haggling and fighting with fellow shoppers or having to deal with the crazy parking lot trials and tribulations...NOTHING!
Moving on.... a few questions answered that have been asked several times...
1. Where is our door hardware from? We ordered it from Omnia Industries, who makes beautiful hardware, very nice solid brass, great quality
2. What fabric was the stripe on my old houses foyer? That was a Scalamandre gold stripe silk though I am nearly certain they don't make it anymore because an acquaintance tired to find it also and couldn't.
3. Who made the sconces for the library powder room that I featured last week? There were two, the bird sconces are from Decorative Crafts and the other which almost looked like Venetian glass with   antique brass was from Currey and Company.
4. Where are our floors from? They are reclaimed limestone and are from Paris Ceramics
5. Will I continue blogging when I move in? Of course, the fun is just beginning! You are stuck with me now and will be subjected to every decision I make about decorating and helping me spruce things up around the holidays...yep I am here to stay!

And now my random musings.....
Congratulations to fellow blogger Lucianne of Home Bunch for her little bundle of joy...welcome Matthew!
Saw this wreath and want to try to copy it....isn't it pretty? I am in love with the juxtaposition of the rustic beauty and  sophisticated elegance of this  stunning wreath, gorgeous for any front door!

What do you think about these pillows and bench? I ordered the pillows and am considering this bench, am totally in love with it (from French Market) I am a sucker for anything with birds or pheasants and think these will look wonderful in my family room.....

Madly in love with this picture, mostly for the colors and that aged patina, isn't it spectacular?

I picked up these gorgeous hardware pieces from Anthropologie, (they always surprise me with unexpected finds) and fell in love with them, they are way too oversized for my bathroom which is where I originally was thinking it could work, but holding onto them just in case they could work for my closet..what do you think?

I watched AGAIN one of my all time favorite movies this weekend, Somethings gotta give. I swear I have seen it at least half a dozen times and watch it like there it is just the very first time. Do movies have that effect on you? From the music to the setting in the Hamptons to the perfect beach house...it is everything I look for and enjoy in a movie!  Anything Nancy Meyers does always appeals to me and I have always said if I had a Freaky Friday experience, that is who I would want to change places with, could have so much fun coming up with all kinds of great ideas for "Nancy's kind of movies"!

My niece had a baby on Thanksgiving day, we are so excited! She is coming back from the hospital tonight. Unfortunately I had to miss her shower, as it was given by a relative who lives in NYC on the 30th floor and I do not, under ANY circumstance take elevators. So I dropped off her gift earlier and took a few pics because I had such fun putting it together, and thought it came so sweet, what doesn't look adorable in pale pink meant for a new little baby! I filled it with all kinds of beautiful clothes, a stuffed animal, a few receiving blankets, and a little pillow in this super comfy cozy Moses basket. I had gotten one when my youngest was born and got so much use out of it.

I love this shot, I had gone to the house as the sun was setting yesterday, when the last guy was finishing up, and the sky was such a deep dark gray blue as it was getting dark it almost looked like some kind of special effect, took a picture with my Iphone. The sky looks like magical doesn't it?

And finally to end this post with a bit of humor thrown in..have you seen this video about the Uggs "vaccine"? It is pretty funny....and something that whether you are a fan or not, is sure to give you a good laugh!

So that's a wrap for me. Hope you are having a wonderful and relaxing weekend. The weather here has been spectacular! Enjoying it while its so mild, as I know it won't last long. Until tomorrow....have a fabulous day! 

Things I am loving Fridays and house updates!!

Good morning!! Hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful, healthy and happy Thanksgiving holiday! So who else was reaching for their pants with the elastic waist this morning? I was and likely will be for the next few days, I cannot lie.  But it was sooooo worth every bite, every calorie and every minute spent eating my most favorite meal of the year with my beloved family. It was truly a relaxing day, spent doing nothing but reminiscing, playing a few board games, watching a favorite movie and of course we had to oblige my father and watch a little football!! Hoping yours was equally relaxing and wonderful. So lets get started with this weeks house updates and things I  am loving.

HOUSE UPDATES. Things are really moving and shaking at the house. The big news this week is the front door/entrance, it is really coming together and I am loving how its turning out. It makes such a huge difference now in the front facade of the house. When they are done with that, then we have to add the spires to the corners of the rooftop and facade wise we are pretty much done!   I was bummed, naturally that we were not there for Thanksgiving however I have come to grips with it and now concentrating on getting there by Christmas! So we are starting to slowly pack up a bit, and I do realize that even when we do move, hopefully in a few weeks,  we will still have plenty of work going on, but we should have the kitchen/breakfast room and family room completed as well as the kids bedrooms and a guest room. That is good enough for me. They will continue to work while we are living there and something tells that the work pace might just get stepped up a little with us underfoot! So below is this weeks happenings........

Front entrance is finally coming along!!

We are now waiting for the top half....

The right facade window is complete

They are working now on the inside of the tower

So nice to finally see it looking near completed!

Family room, floors sanded getting stained on Monday, then all we have to do is wait for mantle

Dining room floors just got sanded, now we are waiting for stain to be done on Monday

My closet in progress

I think an island is very functional but I keep going back and forth if I really want it, or just put a big oversized tufted ottoman there in its place

The doors waiting to be painted then they will be hung

Hubby's vanity is done!

Upstairs railing from landing

Door knobs

Stair hall, the coloring is a little off here, it looks orangey, it is not trust me

Laundry room

A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE. Nothing like pictures to "take you back". I,  six or seven years ago didn't put many pictures on my computer, at that point I was still getting them developed in my local stores,  wow that sounds so antiquated! But I did find a few, of my old house and wanted to share them with you. It was so much fun remembering it, and all of the great memories, I have there. I thought you might want to see these too.....so walk down memory lane with me!

I love this sideboard! My dining room all decked out for Christmas....

My dining room

A foyer console

The rear part of the foyer

Our living room, regrettably we started to furnish last so this was the least "decorated room" in the house, hence the lack of window treatements, and the owners ended up buying almost all the furniture! This was the living room in progress, right before we sold it.

Rear of the foyer

Looking from upstairs landing into my bedroom sitting room

Kitchen/breakfast room

Christmas was in the air!

ST. HELENA OLIVE OIL COMPANY. Have written about them before but got a few gifts recently from them for the "foodies" in my life. And I must say their products really are fabulous, fairly priced and tell me one person who doesn't want to get something from beautiful Napa Valley!! I also like that this small boutique operation is run by a small family, and has been for 15 years who has stayed true to their core mission of delivering high quality products and supporting the farm to table movement. Its also nice giving something you know they can't find anywhere else around here.This year they introduced an all natural bath/body care line as well. I like the simple organic looking packaging, do you? Click here to visit.

The Classic Vinaigrette, comes with balsamic, sea salt, olive oil  and peppercorns

Ultimate body care gift set

Pasta Pasta set

Oil herb dipping oil

Sea salt

CUSTOM WINE LABELS AS GIFTS. Oh boy.... I had fun with this company which I just found out about a few weeks ago. Have a wine lover in your life? How about giving them a favorite wine with their own custom label attached? Such a neat and creative idea, also great for parties! I also got the matching coasters. You can get creative with what you add on the text lines....This is a great company with endless possibilities for all kinds of labels, but I thought the  wine labels were particularly great. I am really into giving personalized gifts this year, so these were perfect for those that enjoy wine.  Click here to visit. 

For a good friend

Did this one for my sister

BEST FOLLOWERS. Yep, this is one thing I am REALLY loving this week more than ever!  I just want to say with regard to the "drama" of last week, I try to see the silver lining in everything and in that situation, it was the UNBELIEVABLE outpouring of support I received from fellow bloggers, readers and followers. Just this morning many days after I still got a few more emails.....I was overwhelmed by it frankly.  You made me realize how special blogging is and reminded me of what an amazing group of people make up this community. So, I just wanted to thank you once again. I consider myself to be very lucky to have you.

                                                 Nice and positive people only please!!

Wishing everyone a happy day....and would love to know if there is anything you are loving or have discovered that you want to share! Any great resources for gifts for the holidays? Is anyone taking advantage of the black Friday sales that you cannot help but notice and hear about? I mean, shopping at midnight is so out of my realm of possibilities....beyond the craziness of it, I am wiped out and ready for bed these days at 10 or 11 max, did anyone go midnight shopping? Wishing you a wonderful day.