In the Beginning...

Here's an article about buying a fixer upper that I was interviewed for. Though it certainly wasn't intentional, it appears as though I was the driving force behind the purchase and restoration of our old farmhouse. We laugh because truth be told my husband is responsible for most of the reno and upkeep of our home- and he's barely mentioned!! The ideas are often mine (and he's pretty patient with me, because I have a lot of them, I have to admit!) BUT, the real work is all him. Anyway, it's an older article from the Boston Globe, but I thought it'd be fun to share!
http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2009/03/29/is_now_the_time_to_tackle_a_fixer_upper/

Sooo, I've been away. But, I have a good reason for not blogging. We spent most of December in France without Internet- gahhh!!!), and I've spent most of January shoveling snow. But, here it is Sat am and I thought it would be a nice chance to get back into it.

My mother-in-law recently bought a house in the small village where my husband's family lives and since we were the first to use it, we had the good fortune of getting to buy furniture for it. I at least was happy! However, I did find it's not easy to make even a real true French country house look like, well, a French country house on an Ikea budget! But I tried. Anyway, it's a work in progress for sure!! It's got to be the kind of house that gets filled up over time, so that there are layers and layers of different found objects, furniture and sentimental things.

And, anyway who cares? We had such an amazing time visiting family and celebrating. Every night was like a big party, but no evening was more memorable than Christmas Eve in the barn at Les Landes (though some came close, I have to say!). I've posted some pics below, but think 38 adults, 20 kids, countless bottles of wine, French country charm galore, laughter, and dancing til 4:00 am. Oh yeah!

celebrating my daughter's birthday with a bouche de noel

masked beauties

Christmas Eve- table for err..38?

the gang's all here!


Papo Roger's barn cleans up real pretty, like!

unmasked beauties


beautiful hostesses




family fun

tres belles



LOVE, love, love this picture of Papy Guy!

the gang's all here (again)!

ok, this is a random pic, but it's my favorite purchase- comfy chair from Maisons du Monde and pillow cover I bought on Etsy (that look tres French)!

More on burlap...

Here are the curtains I made during my burlap crazed week! They were all no-sew and took no time at all....

For these small valences I fired up my glue gun and just glued up a hem on the bottom and the two sides (to make neater edges). Then I made a rod pocket for each by folding over the top and securing the fabric together with glue. I bought felt embellishments at the craft store and glued those on too- a very simple, very quick and very cheap way to finish off a window!




For these cafe curtains I bought stitch witchery (which you can find in any fabric store), measured the length and width I wanted, pinned it down and ironed a hem. Then I folded over the top of the fabric to form a pocket for the rods, placed the stitch witchery between the fabric where I wanted it and ironed. Then I added a ribbon border at the bottom - I used blanket binding which made it very easy. Done!

Sack O' Potatoes? I think not!

Everywhere I look people are using burlap..to cover pillows, windows, walls and even showers! Yesterday I was browsing at one of my favorite guilty pleasure stores (Nest, in Dedham) and tucked all throughout the place there were cute something or others made of burlap. And, in my never ending online quest for fun, inexpensive stuff to fill my house with I kept running across pretty burlap things! So yes, I've jumped on that bandwagon. It just looks cool and it fits with the relaxed, casual way I keep house. Not to mention the fact that it's wicked cheap and super easy to work with. So, I went to the fabric store and bought a few yards of the dark brown variety (for just $11!!!) plus some stitch witchery, more glue sticks for my glue gun and some cheap tension rods. And -voila! - after only a few short hours I had a new set of curtains for my living room, and a valance for one of the windows in the barn (just 4 more to go!). Plus, I've got a drum shade and pillow cover in the works too! I'll post a how-to and photos of my finished work (after I add my felt flowers, which is part two of my crafting whirlwind!!), but for now here are some of the photos that inspired the burlap crafting frenzy!

This drum shade is a DIY project just asking to be made

(though I'm sure mine won't look half as good as the one found here from A Lifes Design). And by the way, I love EVERYTHING about this room!

I love the contrast between the burlap and the linen chair

Country Living

Soooo cute table runner from Sweet Cottage Dreams

This curtain from A Simple Yarn

is what got me thinking...

Yes! Burlap for a wedding, why not?

Photo thanks to Heather Espana, via Ruffled

The Pumpkin Patch

I have been woefully neglectful of this blog! But if you check out my work blog (Bella Style) you will understand why! Late summer and early fall went by in a blur of wedding work.. weekend after weekend, flowers upon flowers upon flowers created and delivered north, south east and west! Good thing I love my job! But I also love my family and am happy that busy season has come to an end. We kicked off our fall fun with a trip to beautiful Harvard, MA. We were in search of the perfect pumpkin and I have to say we came back with a few beautiful ones! The kids also had fun eating carmel apples and apple cider donuts, nd Marc and I savored the hot, hot coffee and the smell of burning leaves...ah, the Good Life!

Waiting for the tractor is half the fun!

caramel cure for a loose tooth

my little pumpkin

the boys liked the tractor

nice one!

It's done! It's done! For now..

So, the kids room and upstairs bathroom are FINALLY done, and that means that all of the projects that we set out to do when we bought our house are now complete. That's not to say we don't have a vision for change in the future, but for now we're content and happy in our quirky, comfortable house. I'm including a few before pics (I won't bore you with more because you can get a feel for the state of things from the ones I'm sharing) and then below a few pics of the finished product. Next post, back to dreaming and living vicariously through magazine layouts and style blogs!

the back of the house- BEFORE

Breakfast Room/Den- BEFORE

Attic- BEFORE

back yard- AFTER

new patio, stairs and shingles

upstairs playroom/guestroom..and my son!

breakfast room- AFTER

new sliders to outside, new floor, new paint

upstairs bath (previously a weird, tiny bedroom)

new everything (except the floor!)

stairs to attic

new walls, new stair risers.. new stickers!

attic- AFTER

new everything (except the floor!)

another view of the attic bedroom

Beachside Bliss

Ok, here's the thing. Rationally, I know that we're absolutely, totally, completely NOT in the market for a beach house. But dreams aren't rational and a girl can always dream can't she? Anyway, so I was looking at potential beach houses (because, well you never know......) and I came across this one. It's in Fairhaven, on West Island and it is absolutely, totally, completely PERFECT. It looks like something out of Coastal Living magazine and the kicker is- it comes fully furnished!! Did you hear me say OMG? OMG!!!!! The decor makes me swooooon. The sad thing is it really isn't THAT expensive- just a BIT out of reach for a family NOT in the market for a beach house. And, given that it is my absolute DREAM vacation house I just had to share....

the totally adorable exterior

yes, I did say it comes FULLY furnished-

all this lovely furniture could be yours (or, mine!!)!!

don't you just want to crawl into this bed and listen

to the ocean waves and island breezes?

perfect for the kiddies!

cooking in here would be a dream!

really, isn't this just the perfect place to curl up with a

good book after a long day at the beach?

I am totally in looooooove.

TOTALLY in love...