Thursday, November 20, 2008

Yawn



OK, I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel here.  I can't think of  single thing to write about, so I'm showing you the new curtains I put up in the dining room yesterday.

Aren't I amazing?  I hung curtains!

(That was sarcasm, in case you missed it.)

Actually, there's a bit of a story involved here.  When I was growing up, my mother had curtains made for this window.  I remember picking out the fabric with her.  We chose a large red toile.  She had an upholstered cornice box made for the window.  




Over the years, the toile faded.  I took the curtains down a number of years ago, but for some reason, I left the cornice box in place.  But it looked kind of odd without the accompanying curtains.

A few years ago, we bought this painted chest and placed it under the window.  (That doesn't really have anything to do with the story, but I just wanted to put this photo in here.)

A few months ago, I bought a pair of gold curtains to cover a chair I got from the thrift store.  Well, I never got around to covering the chair, and I decided to see if the curtains would work in the dining room.

 I bought a shower curtain in a coordinating fabric to recover the cornice board.  (It's a cheap way to get some nice fabric.)  Yesterday, I took down the cornice board and hung the curtains.  But I had second thoughts about that cornice board.   I guess I could say that I didn't want that heavy piece overpowering the window.  But actually, I was just too lazy to cover it and put it back up.  That thing was hard to take down.




So I went down the road to Country Curtains and bought a scalloped valance.  Wow, that was a whole lot easier than recovering the cornice box.   :)

Are you keeping score here?  That's now two things I have not recovered:  the chair and the cornice box.




It turns out that the valance echoes the tiebacks that came with the curtains, and they both go very well with the shade on my $2. lamp.

So that's the story of my dining room curtains.  Don't get too excited.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

My New Venture


My creation, originally uploaded by carroll.mary.

Yeah, right.

But wouldn't it be fun? Actually, I'm just having a bit more fun at Big Huge Labs. Now go have some fun of your own.

Before the holiday stress sinks in. :)

Monday, November 17, 2008

Making Book



Remember when I posted a photo mosaic last week?  I told you that I also like to make books on Blurb.  It's really fun, and highly addictive.




This is the first book I made.  It's a small collection of my favorite autumn photos.   




The Blurb software is extremely easy to use, and making a book is so much fun.




It would also be a terrific way to record a summer vacation, or a high school team's winning season, or your favorite recipes.  Right now I'm in the process of making a book of flower photographs.





So do you have any ideas for making a book?  I'd love to hear them.  :)

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Quiet



Just thought I'd give you a little taste of what the last few days have been like here in my part of New Jersey.  Quiet, soft, peaceful.  Reflective.  (To get a better feeling, click on the picture to enlarge.)

Wishing you a calm weekend.

Friday, November 14, 2008

The View


We had a really rainy day yesterday.  It's been wet and foggy here this morning, too.  I got some lovely foggy landscape pictures, but I can't help waiting for some sunny weather so that I can enjoy the view from this comfy sofa.  Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!  :)


To enter a really fun giveaway, stop by Erin's blog, The Good Life in Virginia.  She will be giving away a copy of her book about vintage textiles (love them!) and a little something extra.  All you have to do is leave a comment with your favorite funny holiday story.  

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Playing with Pictures



This is what I do when I ought to be vacuuming or doing the laundry or stripping wallpaper.   Or even writing my next blog post.  (Can you tell I've got a lot of things on my to-do list?)

I make a mosaic on Big Huge Labs.  Or make a book on Blurb. (More on that one another time.)  Try it.  It's great fun, and also highly addictive.  ;)

Happy Thursday!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

For our Veterans



My father landed on Omaha Beach a few days after D-Day.  My uncle was shot and wounded in Italy, and was a prisoner of war  for several years.  These men and many others like them, both men and women,  fought to preserve our freedom.  Please take a moment to remember our veterans today.