Sweet Summer Apron

Here is a fun apron I just made.

I think it is too fun and it really made me want ICE CREAM the whole time I was making it. It is a fun new fabric designed by my friend Wendy Bentley. She is so talented. I hope you like the apron and it is available in my Etsy Shop.

You can check out Wendy's blog here.

http://wendybentleydesign.blogspot.com/

Vacations, swimming pools and walking into our favorite Ice Cream Soda Shop smelling the sweet air of ice cream and hot fudge. Those were the nostalgic days of summer and they are here again in this fun collection called Sweet Summer.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope everyone has a safe and dry weekend away from Hurricane Irene.

Beautiful Flowers

Just wanted to share some beautiful flowers from around where I live. It is almost the end of August and these flowers are still going strong. They are all over town. Love them! Wish the petunias in my yard looked half as good as these. Too bad we can't have them all year long.

Have A Great Weekend

Go do something fun!

Would You-Could You Have a Pink Kitchen

I was at my favorite Antique Mall the other day and I eyed this fun pink refrigerator and I thought to myself: could I live in a pink kitchen? Probably not. The price on this was right though. $175.00.

It had been painted pink and they did a good job at it. This was not the original color. It was originally white.

That's right on sale $175.00

The inside was blue. Love the butter door.

The refrigerator was on but when I opened it up nothing cold to drink. I guess I was too late.

http://www.ohiovalleyantiques.com/

So could you have a pink kitchen?

Here are a few I spied.

I think I would eat way too much ice cream.

Although I love the look and I do love pink, I would  feel like I was living in a sea of Pepto-Bismol.

My daughters though would have LOVED to have THIS KITCHEN when they were younger.!!

They would've made dinner every night I am sure of it!

What a Great Getaway

This has been around for awhile but I wanted to share these photos with you about a little retreat in the Catskills.

 Sandy Foster has turned a cabin on her property into her own little getaway. This is all the very impressive because she renovated the 9-by-14-foot cottage, an old hunting cabin, herself. The cost of renovating and furnishing it: $3,000.

You can read the whole New York Times article here http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/24/garden/24cottage.html?pagewanted=1

Or visit her blog

 http://myshabbystreamsidestudio.blogspot.com/

to see more of her beautiful photos.

Charming in the summertime

Enchanting at Christmas

Kitchen Makeover in Progress

I want to welcome you into my kitchen.  This might be long but I want to explain her roots.  Bear with me. I started to make over my 1988 kitchen. My home is 110 years old and it has seen several makeovers in it's time. First I don't think there was pluming because there was an outhouse (which is gone now) and a well. (Gone also) My concrete patio tells me where it was every winter by the big round spot where snow melts first in a perfect big circle every time, every year. I is really cool though.

My husband bought this house in 1978 because of the big rooms and high ceilings. He was thinking parties!!!

When I married him in 1987 I was thinking let's move. He said I will fix her up. Well we did. What we got were Oak cabinets, Almond counter tops, almond appliances and a white linoleum floor. It was beautiful. It was also 1987. I had one of the biggest kitchens out of all my friends. 16x16. I was in heaven. Soooo new. Sooo pretty. Well alot has changed, 4 kids and many of their friends in and out. dark oak cabinets had to go (somebody turn the lights on please) Worn out floor.(Don't trip on the seam coming up.) And  then the death of the beautiful Kenmore almond side by side refrigerator with ice maker and water dispenser. (Thank you God for taking her to refrigerator heaven.)Take a look at a corner of my kitchen earlier this year.

Not bad but she was like a women in desperate need of needing her roots retouched.

So I looked around for inspiration. Found so many beautiful kitchens but hubby didn't think any thing was wrong with it the way it was. But I will paint, the cabinets are good oak cabinets. Solid wood. I picked out a color. Didn't want stark white. Found Linen white by Benjamin Moore. Washed them down real good.Primed them up. And I applied the paint with a brush and immediately went over them with a good sponge roller. Not one brush mark is visible.  If I could have the kitchen of my dreams it would go a little like this in the pictures below

Pretty much on a grand scale but oh I love it

LOVE the molding and the plate rack!

I see a bridal shower going on here.

A little bit more realistic

I want subway tile

Beautiful in any room

I'm moving in

The following kitchen is what really inspired me to go ahead and get the paint and get at it. Please visit http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/ to see all the details of her amazing kitchen remodel. What I love about Jennifers kitchen is while it is on the small side and it is not grand. It is comfortable, you want to be there. I really like her finishing touches. What makes white on white so beautiful is you really notice all the decorating thats going on and this makes it more than just a room but the heart of the home.

This is my kitchen corner with the painted cabinets and pulls put on.

Kenmore is now gone but Frigidaire is here. Love this refrigerator.

Remember the before?

Which way is better?  With the lights on or off?

Theres more to show later. Are you coming back to see?

Enjoy your day. Pam