April 27th Southern Storm System

Mother Nature has been in a sour mood Down South.  Thankful for all those who came through the storms safely and prayers to those who suffered damage or are missing loved ones.  The storms that occurred throughout the day on April 27th were the worst in history for our part of the country.  The devastation is widespread and as always seems too much to comprehend the power of a rampaging storm with one neighborhood left untouched while another is ravaged.  Our family, friends and neighbors did not sustain damage, other than the nuisance of some power outages and downed trees.  Others were not as fortunate and I ask that you turn your thoughts and prayers their way.

I took this picture of one of the storms moving into our valley from the West, just after mid-day.  The Weather people referred to this storm as Round 2.   As you can see, it looks like a funnel cloud moving over the gap between the mountains.   I had gone out to run an errand and was returning home, hoping to outrun the storm.  I got home just as the heavy rains hit.

Remember to enjoy each day as the gift it is.  Don't take a single moment for granted.

Walk In, Find It and Catalog It

I enjoy shopping for wonderful jewelry for my home.  After a stressful week, there is nothing better than dropping into Home Goods and browsing through their shelves to find something that fits with my decor.  Some shopping hauls are more fruitful than others, but I can usually find at least one treasure to bring home to live with me.  I asked the sales lady when the best days to find new merchandise would be and she said that the trucks deliver on Monday and Wednesdays, so depending upon timing the new merchandise hits the shelves that day or the following.  I live about 50 minutes from my Home Goods store, so during the week doesn't really work for me, so I suppose I'll have to continue to catch the items that I can on my normal weekend runs. 

I have no method to my madness, other than a general sense of what I like and of course, the colors that I need.  I love the white dishes and serveware and can usually find something that I just must have.  I also love the reds and greens and I even have some blue items, although I don't have the color blue in any of my decor.  If it's gorgeous, if it's the right price and if it speaks to me, then it usually comes home with me.  Is that a shopping plan or what?  How do you shop...is there a method to your madness?

I like to 'catalog' my purchases, so that I know when and where I bought an item and how much I paid for it.  The easiest way that I have found to do this is to line my purchaces up when I get home and take an overall photo of he group, as well as some individual close up shots....I then take a picture of my receipt and sometimes will add handwritten notes to show the item matched up with the appropriate price.  I like to do this because it appeals to my OCD collecting personality. 

Do you catalog your purchases for items, collections etc as you find them? What is your approach?

More Kitchen Renovation

I'm enjoying a beautiful morning here at the Jammi Homestead...the sun is shining and the air is filled with the crispness of early Spring.  That of course, is outside the house, where I am not.  My beautiful morning consists of starting the workday by gazing at my bank of monitors and getting ready for a day of reporting comparisons - which can actually be fun, except that after an hour of peering at the screens, my eyes are begging to be punched out.  Soon, I'll hear my contractor hammering away and the crack of 2x4s falling.  The smell of sheetrock dust will again be in the air.  Sheetrock dust, in case you don't know is like sin, it clings to everything and it goes everywhere, no matter how hard you try to contain it...it is impossible. 

But........

My kitchen is begining to take shape and is becoming the better space that I always knew it could be.  What started out as a mini kitchen remodel, has become a medium kitchen remodel and is consuming more money than having Cousin Eddie in the house.  The decision to knock out the pantry and the hall closets to add some square footage to the 'eat in' area was a good one.  I'll give you a sneak peek.  The area to the mid right of the picture is where the hall closets were.  Notice the beautiful heat/air connections for the upstairs unit....that was one of those additonal hidden and unknown costs that continue to beat my budget to death...I use the term budget very loosely, as it was blown quite some time ago.

A view of the two closet doorways opening from the hall into the kitchen.  Removing these two closets and a smaller pantry area, opens up the kitchen which was one of my major goals.   These two doors will become one opening and as a bonus will lighten up my dark hall. 

Wiring is on agenda for today. 

Beauty And The Beast

I love beautiful things.  I think that what most of us are seeking in our lives is to be able to find the beautiful moment, recognize it and enjoy it.  For as long as I can remember, I have been in love with beautiful homes and I find that I classify that beauty in so many differant ways and on so many differant levels... from the grand, curving sweep of an antebellum staircase to the clean lines and feel of a crisp white napkin.  My breath can be taken away with a gorgeous silver tea service but, just as much with a simple stack of books.  I love visiting my favorite blogs and experiencing the intrigue of scrolling down the screen to display the next picture and seeing the beauty that you create everyday and are generous enough to share.

I constantly strive to create and maintain my own, beautiful home.  Sometimes I feel successful and others, I feel that I have no idea what I am doing.  Sometimes I look around and have one of those 'what was I thinking' moments.  We have currently put our noses to the grindstone and gotten down to business with our 'mini'  kitchen remodel.  Since I had to rethink a full remodel and buildout this year, I have been thinking about how to make my small galley kitchen work for me another year without breaking the bank.  I am wrestling with decisions of what not to change because I want to keep the budget on the low end and making sure that when I spend money, it will be something I can reuse.  I  am second guessing things, lying awake for long periods when I should be sleeping and constantly sketching ideas.  I will be glad when we are finished.  As I think about saying that, I have to chuckle because I'm already dreaming of the next project and feeling the anticipation.  Is that a sickness?  Am I a glutton for punishment?  Or, am I ever the optimist in search of that elusive beauty?

So that you can feel my pain, I will leave you with this gorgeous picture of the current state of my kitchen.  When we removed the upper cabinets, we enjoyed the country blue wallpaper again from 1986.  No sizing on the walls means we will need to skim coat where it was removed.  It's the unexpected that keeps a remodeler on their toes.

Don't Worry...Bee Happy

Bees seem to be buzzing around everywhere in home decor this spring.  How can you resist their bright yellow color and who doesn't love those beehive shapes that we see in so many things?  Well, I'm not one to overlook a good thing, so I invited a couple of the little buzzies into my home for another spring display. 

Large white platters make great places to start your display of smaller items...the benefits, other than looking gorgeous is that you don't have to find a place to store the platter and when it is time to dust the furniture, you can pick up the entire arrangement and move it out of the way.

Brown paper packaging shreds make wonderful dirt for daisies.

This type dirt provides easy clean-up.

My Chalkboard platter is always so versatile and provides bright lettering from my Chalk Ink markers. 

Hope you all have a Bee-u-ti-ful day!

Joining the following parties...please click on the links to drop by and give them a visit.

Tabletop Tuesday

Anything Related

Wow Us Wednesday

Whassup Wednesday

When I Die, I Want To Come Back As A Cloche

Joining Marty's Spring Cloche Party.  Please click here to visit her and see all the beautiful offerings from other Clocher's in Blog Land. 

Spring is in the air and cloches are popping up on tabletops and counters everywhere.  Cloche Farmers are expecting a bumper crop of the little beauties this year and that means lots of eye candy for your viewing enjoyment.  Home decor conditions have been favorable and this Cloche Farmer is previewing some of her offerings with you today. 

The Easter Bunny hopped by and left some eggs to be protected until the big day.  Safely enclosed in glass on a little bunny tied plate, these little eggs are resting nicely.

A little springtime in the Entryway.  Come on in for a visit.

A silver tray is a great home for a teeny cloche.

Cut glass perfection.

In the kitchen we find nature's cloche, the beehive....inside a glass cloche. 

This silver beehive is for upscale bees only...others need not apply.  This residence is located in a glassed community..so much better than those gated communities.  Bo the Bee is the Doorman and he takes his job very seriously.   Don't make the mistake of being deceived by his cuteness...he is one tough customer.

My newest cloche is tall enough to hold a stack of coffee cups. 

Cups festooned with little gerber daisies.  Ah Spring, I know you are near.

Thanks for joining me on the Spring cloche tour.  I hope you have as much fun playing with your curved cuties as I do.  Till next time...

Starbucks Offer - Free Starbucks Petite

Starbucks is celebrating Tribute Days on March 10 through March 12.  If you visit Starbucks between 2 and 5pm on these days, you will receive a free Starbucks Petite (8 to choose from and each under 200 calories) when you order any beverage. 

A Touch Of Spring

I need to lighten my decor and start to bring in the spring.  I reworked the vignette on my barrister bookcase, using some bright colors to lighten up the dark corner.  Nothing like a sunshine bright group of lemons to add some brightness.  After putting this together, I was delightfully surprised at how well the yellow and red work together with some touches of green.  I love my red pottery pears...they weigh a ton and could easily be used as paper weights, they are just so darn cute.

I wanted my pineapple to sit atop my pitcher on a bed of green, so I used a tall candleholder to sit inside my pitcher.  The greenery hides the candleholder and the gap around the pitcher.   Whoops, I see the candleholder peeking out a bit between the vine....just close your right eye when you look at the photo closely.

I picked up some of my favorite magazines and enjoyed paging through them this weekend. I so LOVE flipping through a magazine filled with beautiful pictures and helpful articles. The visuals are my favorites. Seeing a beautiful home or ways to make a home beautiful, warm and inviting always brings a smile to my lips. If I was able to time travel or project myself to a differant place on demand, I would always be popping into someones home.....I would try to avoid any whoops moments and not overly affect someone privacy..but pop in and look around, I would definetly do.

I'm a big fan of the Hoffman series of Celebrate magazines.  The Spring issue is out and has some really cute ideas.  Peeps were used for some of the cutest food and decors...peeps, who would have thunk it.  I love the cake with the peeps on top...pure Genius.  Yellow Peeps saySpring!!

If you color your own Easter Eggs, there are some great tips on getting beautiful egg results. 

I'm joining the following parties this week.  Please be sure and click the links and give these ladies a visit...you will be glad you did.

Met Monday
Amaze Me Monday
Tabletop Tuesday
Rednesday

Crazy Weather

We were under tornado watch on Tuesday and lost power for about three hours.  The rain hit suddenly around 2pm and within five minutes, my front lawn looked like this....the rain was coming down so hard that it looked like a dense fog had rolled in. 

The weather is always a little crazy this time of year.  Today it is sunny and quite mild outside, light jacket weather.   My husband has been chafing at the bit to get the tractor out and 'play'.  I know that he does hard work when clearing some of the land and doing clean-up but I swear, I think that it is mostly playing to him as he always finds any opportunity to jump on the Deere...and he usually has a big smile on his face.  He has already taken advantage of a couple sunny days we have had, to putter around.  If Tractoring makes him happy, it puts a smile on my face too.

March is 'Marching' Right In

Wow, it's March and Spring is just around the corner....I guess I need to change my Blog Header to something more 'Season' friendly....meaning, hopefully the snow is over for now.  The snow has been great and I have enjoyed the beauty and serenity of a snowy landscape, which doesn't happen often in Tennessee.

Work has been pretty busy as we have moved into the new year and hopefully will continue to fall into a more normal rhythm.  The Grandbabes have been frequent guests, as always and we are enjoying watching them grow.  Wii is a big favorite in our home and we have been trying out some new games, although the Sports Resort remains the overall favorite.  I love watching the GBs play as they get their whole bodies into the action.  It's amazing the differant ways they can contort their bodies and they can keep going and going long after we have fallen into jelly on the couch.  I hope you are all enjoying this 'trapped inside time' with your families.

Our Wii Games:

What is your family favorite Wii game?