Seeing Red

Boy oh boy, I am a slacker blogger!  Sorry folks, just a lot of livin' goin' on these days!! We have been working very hard around here now that the weather is nice, a few days last week were near 100 degrees so we decided to spend those days on the water....just too hot to do anything else!  We are in the process of finishing up our bathroom remodel, we ended up having a leak and needed to gut it to find the problem.  I am happy with it though!  I will post photos when it is finished,  my hubby needs to finish the trim but is laid up again with his back.  Poor guy!!!

 This is the coolest bathroom in the cafe, not ours!!

 Love the white marble with the dark wood floors and contemporary light fixtures

 This super cool piece of art is three dimensional

 I love how they mix the antique pieces with the modern, I think, I am becoming more of a modern woman in my older years. ha ha! I love the simplicity of it.

 See the pop of red I was talking about!!

 Industrial mixed with modern, still lovin' the pop of red with all the white and dark floors.

 They have the best bread!!! I loves me some good bread, I actually have taken it home in a doggy bag!!

 (below) these are the PB pillows that I picked up at the outlet for my family room club chairs ( in red of course!)

Anyhow,we have been in this house for 6 months now and have kept my beachy theme going strong.  I have been craving a bit of color in the house but didn 't want to make a huge committment in case I get sick of it, (which happens).  I found my inspiration in the cutest little cafe in a local hotel.  We went there the first time on Valentine's Day and fell in love with the decor, a little bit vintage, a little bit French, a bit modern, clean and white, yet warm and inviting.  I think the punch of red that is carried throughout the cafe caught my eye.  After our new wood floors were in I realized that I could easily add some red too, not a ruby red but a tomatoey red, not really bright.  After a trip to the PB Outlet I snagged a couple of red pillows and a few bunches of red apples ( I am not usually a fan of fake fruit but I like these so I broke my own rule).  I don't have any photos of the room just yet but I thought you would like to see my inspiration.  I am hoping to go there this weekend for my birthday!  Hint hint!!! I did not take any of these photos, I found them on the web.

I'm A Little Bit Country!!

We have been country before country was cool.  I remember Mark listening to country music the first time I ever rode in the car with him when I was 15, he was singing along and I thought, "who listens to country?"  Since that day 25 years ago we have attended many country music concerts, Alabama was our first one together ( and provided many good make out songs hee hee!!) We have seen Reba the night before her band died in a plane crash, we have stayed in Shenandoah's hotel rooms ( we knew their nephew), saw the Statler Brothers, yes we are THAT  country, Clint Black, Martina McBride, Faith and Tim, Rascal Flatts, Diamond Rio, The Judds (I actually touched Wynonna's hand!), Kenny Rogers, Collin Raye, and some others that I just can't think of at this hour!  So when our Spring Break trip drove us through Nashville a trip of the Country Music Hall of Fame was on our agenda!  I grew up in a family who loves bluegrass, I remember my Great Grandpa and his children sitting around playing and pickin when I was little.  Music has always been around me.  I even had an Aunt who was known as Michigan Magel, one of the first female DJ's. 

 They were featuring Tammy Wynette while we were there. 

 I thought you might like to take a walk back in time with me.  Can you guess whose dress this was?? Why Minnie Pearl's of course!

 I loved Roy Rogers and Dale Evan's boots!

 A few of the many platinum and gold records from Tammy. 

 Nothin says country like some glitzy rhinstones!  This was Tammy's too!

I loved this crystal bowl full of cotton that Tammy kept to remind her of her roots. 

  

 Why Patsy Cline of course!!!

 I loved the display from Hee Haw, remember watching it on Saturday night!  Here are Junior and Lulu's costumes.

 And who could forget Grandpa??? I was having fun with my new lens can you tell???

 Of course I had to include the group that was such a part of our young love life! 

 Hank William Jr.'s boots, I did not know that Hank Sr. was only 29 when he died, did you know that??

 Reba's blue suede dress.

 The man in black Johnny Cash's suit

 I just had to take a profile shot of Dolly's dress!! Hee hee!!

 Hank Jr's sunglasses and belt buckle

 George Strait seems to be a skinny minnie!!

 Loved this dress that Carrie Underwood wore to the Award show!

 Who wouldn't love to be the young lady who wore this dress?? I am talking about Taylor Swift of course!

 Myah was getting into the swing of things!

 On music row... singers trying to make it big!

  Such a neat place to visit if you ever get the chance.  We will definitely return again someday! 

Cue the crickets!!! Kitchen update..finally

The project that just won't end... our kitchen.  After looking at these photos, I see so much more that needs to be finished! (frown!) But it am not a Debbie Downer so I am basking in delight from having the new hardwood floors put in yesterday!  What a nightmare getting these, but so worth it!!! We were on a roll, the cupboards went in fairly quickly, had to wait for the counter tops,  then the wait for flooring came, set us back a month and a half.  Oh and lets not forget the fact that we had to get all new appliances at the last minute, had to move the old ones back into the old house.  Fun times! 

So we chose stainless appliances and hopefully one day this upcoming weekend we can use them!  We are really getting sick of eating out!  Five months people!!! 

My sweet hubby did a wonderful job with the subway tile backsplash, love it!!!

 Love my stool found at Meijers for $17!  This is the area leading into my mom in law's wing of the house.  (past the doorway) We still need to paint after a few drywall repairs and new lighting was installed in the ceiling.  Toe kicks are on the agenda for the weekend!

 We also have lights to go inside the cabinets that need to be installed. 

 Trim around the dishwasher too!!

I am loving all of the changes taking place, no matter how long they take, I like to see progress!  Sorry for the lack of posting, we have been super busy around here!  I now have  a 16 and 6 year old, Dayton went to prom, is now going to be an 11th grader in the fall and has a sweet little girlfriend.  He also played baseball and no injuries to report for the first time!  Thankfully! Oh and is getting his license next week.  Myah is going to be a first grader, played tball with her cousins, is in the gardening club, and got her ears pierced and bangs!  Life is good for her!  We are all adjusting well to our new environment and love being near our family.  Mom has been struggling lately with her breathing and has been in and out of the hospital, which makes my moving here all the more validated.  It is so much easier to help when you don't have a 2 hr drive in between you!!! I will be back with more updates I promise, I just have been swamped lately.  Our addition starts soon and I can hardly wait to expand into our new spaces!  I am really wanting to fuss with the kitchen things aren't how I want them to be exactly but for now it is a functioning space and I can fuss later!

I'll Be Watching!!!

I will be one of the billion people getting up at 4 am to watch William marry his Kate!  I am a huge lover of all things royal so I am over the moon excited!  I can't wait to see all the pagentry!!!!

Kitchen Remodel Part II

We have been working so hard around here lately, we ended up waiting 4 weeks for our counter top to be made and delivered.  On Monday 3 men arrived with my beautiful Corian counter top and I have never been so happy to have a functioning kitchen in all my life. While waiting, we took a vacation to the Emerald Coast, our favorite getaway! 

Armed with a new camera and lenses I was ready to take tons of photos.  Truth is, I just relaxed and rested up, it has been such a long cold, snowy, winter around here, it felt just wonderful to soak up the sunshine and take long walks on the beach. I am sure you want to see photos of the kitchen progress so here you go, we still have alot to do but I can at least use my appliances, counters and sink. 

 We have some trim  and filler pieces to set in place now that the sink is in. 

 I can finally make a meal in my LeCruset pot that my sister gave me for Christmas! I love the crock holding my utensils.  My Grandma  once brought me fresh morrel mushrooms in this years ago.  Yummy!

 Subway tile and dark wood floors are on the agenda, along with finishing the trim on the cupboards.  I purchased the new faucet with my gift card that I received from Lowe's!

 I also was able to purchase the cool light above the sink on clearance for $15! Don't pay attention to the dirty windows!

 Loving my island!  I put oil on the butcher block yesterday and it helped to darken the wood a bit.

 The gaps are where the filler pieces are going. 

 The dining room is ready for some great meals to come out of the kitchen!!!

 Oh, and my Dayton has made the baseball team, I never dreamed my son would be sporting my colors!! He actually hit for the first time in a year last night, my whole family was there, I love living back at home. Today the physical therapist cleared him from his shoulder break.  Thank Goodness!!!

 And just cause I love them so much I had to show you my sweetie pies!  Oh how we love the beach!!!

I am starting to feel short around them!!!  At least I have Myah still little for a few more years!! Dayton will be 16 in a few weeks, I just cannot believe how fast the years are flying by!!

Sorry for the delay in posts, I have been so busy with life and remodeling, I wanted to post when I finally had something to show!  Oh and while we were on vacation my mom called me to tell me that they found Mr.Cole's remains... 2 doors down from her on the lake.  His body had traveled 3miles down the lake, 2 months had gone by that he was in the icy waters.... this weekend we are attending his memorial.  Thank you so much for your prayers for this special family.  May he rest in peace.