Mirror Mirror On the Wall....Who Is The Winner Of My Giveaway After All????

Congratulations to Shannon of Carbajal Fun, she has won the gorgeous canvas original painted by my sister Melanie in honor of my 40th Birthday that just doesn't seem to want to end!!!  ( At least I don't want it to!!)  Thanks to everyone who entered and shared such sweet sentiments for my birthday, it means so much to me! 

And don't think that I forgot to share photos of my newly painted master bedroom with you!  They are coming up next! (Actually this photo is another sneak peak! )

My Oh No The Big 4-0 Giveaway!!!

Ok, let's just say I know how to milk a birthday!  I have been talking about my special day all week!  I am only in my first week of my 40's but I feel great about my new decade.  Something liberating about being a woman of my age now.  I love it!!!  I feel like I have a fresh new start, a new life of some sorts!!! 
I sure thank you all for the sweet wishes, I sure feel loved! 
I have been blogging for almost 5 years now, I remember my first conversation about blogging was over lunch with my new friends who I was adopting with.  At the time it was kind of a new thing, so many family members and friends followed our every step as we followed our hearts to China and back.  I started this blog a few years afterwards because so many of my posts on my family blog were pertaining to things that I was doing around our house, finally I gave myself a place to journal about my decorating passion and my ever evolving home improvements.  A place to journal about all of the "feathers in my nest". 
I love reading blogs about cooking, cleaining, organizing, family life and of course decorating.  I have gained so many wonderful tidbits of knowledge through reading blogs.  As a stay at home mom I feel like I have a group of girlfriends who are always checking in on me and who can appreciate all of the things that I love.  Kindred spirits if you will. 

My adoption bloggy friends will always have a very special place in my heart, they are family to me.  But my decorating blog friends  are like best buds, you ooooh and aaaahhhh over things just like I do, you are squealing in delight just like I would when you see something that is just "blog worthy" and you just understand why I change my furniture like a 100 times a year, it is just me, and you love me just the way I am !!!  So to thank you for your friendships I am giving away a beauty!!! I know many of you follow my sister's blog and love her artwork, well, as a good big sister would do, I forced her into giving me something from her collection to offer to my friends in honor of my big 40th!!!  She gave in much easier than she did when we were little!!!  Just look at what I have behind curtain number 1 ladies!!!! 

This sweet little canvas original painting by her!!!  We both love the water so much, it is a part of our DNA I am sure!  I loved this little piece when I saw it in her studio a few weeks ago and it can now be YOURS!!! Please leave me a comment between now and Tuesday   and you can be entered to win this one of a kind by my little sister Melanie at Pretties and Posies.  Just my way of saying thank you for being my friends, for loving me just the way I am. Even if I am 40!!!   Good luck ladies!!!!

My Grand 40th!!!!

Mark and I before our dinner at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island celebrating my 40th birthday!  The hotel photographer snapped these of us before our fancy dinner.  Men must wear suits on the grounds after 6 pm and ladies must wear dresses.  It was so nice to see everyone all gussied up!

It is such a magical place, such a step back in time, no cars, only bicycles and horse drawn carriages are allowed on the island.  The Grand Hotel is very old, so much so that  the movie Somewhere in Time was filmed here.  I was treated like a queen,  my mom and sister (and her family) surprised me with a night at the Grand, and a whole new wardrobe from J.Crew to wear along with  this cute little black ruffled  cocktail dress. It was  my dream come true, a night away with my prince charming at this gorgeous, super romantic getaway, I have been wanting to do this for years.  As a little girl my grandmother took my whole family for several days and I remember it fondly. My most vivid memory was the gorgeous dining room with the Jamaican waiters dressed in their jackets with tails.  I was so glad that some things were just as I remembered.

This is the Grand Hotel in all its glory. It boasts the  longest porch in the world, lined with white rocking chairs,  we spent some good quality time rocking away while overlooking the Straits of Mackinac. We had a huge surprise when we arrived and realized that they had upgraded us to a named suite.  The Tiffany Suite!  I literally made Mark go back downstairs and make sure we were supposed to have this $650 a night room!!!  Sure enough it was!!! We were so blessed!!

The room was so gorgeous, everything at the Grand is decorated by Carleton Varney.  Our room had a signature canopy from Tiffany's in New York.  It was called the Honeymoon Canopy.  Ohh. la la!!

We even took a dip in the pool originally built for an  Ester Williams movie. This is when we wished the kids had been there with us....well we thought that for a minute or so and then got over it!! Just kidding! 

We then came back to our room and got ready for our most delicious dinner, the dining at the Grand is an experience in itself, this was our quaint little table by the window.  Mark presented me with a charm for my Trollbead bracelet as dinner was served, I loved it!!

The parlor of the Grand is magnificent!  Here I am cheesing it up!!! This is what 40 looks like on me!!!

Outside of our room, we  were right on the porch level, at night they had removed all of the rocking chairs from outside of our windows for privacy!

We sat in the parlor after dinner and listened to the harpist. After this we went for a walk and came back inside for a champagne toast and a slow dance. 

We woke up to this view outside our window.

This was the first thing I saw when I woke up, this gorgeous canopy over our bed!

A  beautiful horse and carriage is the taxi to the docks

Mark and I rented a tandem bicycle and rode 8 miles around the island, it was beautiful and so much fun at the same time!

The scene on the main street

In following with the Tiffany's theme, Mark purchased a beautiful silver bead bracelet for me!

Here I am on my actual birthday, see my pretty bracelet on my left hand! I love it!!! He also surprised me with a huge Vera bag!!!

Me and my sweetie pies on my 40th! 

Thanks so much for the sweet birthday wishes, 40 feels great!

(my other computer is still sick, hopefully next week it will be better!  I will post more details from Mackinac after I can upload from the other computer)

40 is Grand!!!

Well, I woke up this morning officially a 40 year old! Turns out, it's not so bad!!!  We just got home from a dream come true getaway that I will have to share with you later, my computer has to visit the Dr. today so I have to wait to upload my photos.  I will give you a hint, it was Grand!!!!   Today we are spending the day together as a family and there is nothing in this world that I could want more.  I am so blessed .  I am really looking forward to my 40's, my 30's were not easy, glad to see them leave!!!!  So much has happened in the last 10 years, so many life changing events.  I am excited about this new decade of my life.  I am happy, healthy and so in love, what more could I ask for?!  I can't wait to see what this new chapter of my life holds!
Stay tuned, my next post will include something fabulous for you!!! All of these wonderful gifts that I have received have put me in a giving mood!!!!!

Aunt Penny and Uncle Ron- Can I Move In???

My Hubby's Aunt and Uncle have the most gorgeous home, I could literally move in and not change a thing!  They so graciously let me and my kiddos stop by unannounced for a quick visit.  Mind you this was our first trip past the county line in 8 weeks since Dayton's surgery and we were a little stir crazy.  We were willing to knock on just about anyone's door at this point! 

Meet Uncle Ron and Aunt Penny

This is their family room, so cozy and comfy and white!!!

I remember seeing this shelf at their home over 10 years ago and asking her where she purchased it, I bought the same one! 

She purchased the old pie safe from a friend years ago who said it was always in his way! 

I love how the new kitchen looks like it has been here forever!  So clean and fresh, loved the white marble countertops!

She even grows her own tiny little rosemary topiaries!

Loving the dining room, there is nothing like an old home with cool windows and window seats! 

and built in cabinets!

and a grand staircase!

Her "summer version" of the formal living room, she has black and white ticking striped slipcovers for the winter. 

When their boys were small they used to say Good Night Good House so she had this painted on the mantel. Such a special memory!

The tall chair was hers from her teens, she asked her mom to buy it for her from a neighbor's garage sale! 

Sweet comfy spot in the family room

She had the cabinet made for the tv!

It has some great bookcases for displaying all of their summer treasures!  You know I am loving this!

Ahhhhhh......

They have the most charming little foyer, all wallpapered in toile.

And then there is the outside of their home, just as beautiful as the inside!

She has some major gardening skills!

This is the neighbor's barn, how perfect

Just look at her hydranges!  I was having major hydranges envy!

Oh and let's just throw a gorgeous pool into the mix why don't we?!!!

So beautiful!

They live in a super cool neighborhood, gorgeous victorian homes nearby, she picked this up at one of their garage sales, Uncle Ron said it took 3 men and a boy to carry it!!

Isn't it just charming?!!!

Love all of her flower boxes!

Before I left she cut a beautful bouquet of these for me to take home, she is so lucky, she can cut hydranges any time she wants!!!

I remember the first time I went to their home it was several years ago, and their house just had this charm about it.  I fell in love with it way back then.  Aunt Penny had my kind of style before it was even in style.  She has great taste, a flair for finding great bargains and unlike me, has a green thumb.  I asked if I could please share some photos with you, keep in mind that I caught them off guard and they were preparing to leave on vacation , she said if she knew we were coming she would have "fluffed" the place up a bit, I told her we would not judge!  They raised two sons in this gorgeous home, Aunt Penny and Uncle Ron are newly retired, wouldn't this be a wonderful home to retire to?!!! I love her shades of whites, grays and occasional pops of black toile.  She said she has loved toile forever!  Classics never go out of style!  And you know I love how she has seashells scattered everywhere!  I seriously could live here and be happy as a lark! 

Thanks Uncle Ron and Aunt Penny for letting me and the kiddos stop by, wish I had brought my good lens with me (next time!)