2018 Goals

January is nearly over so I decided I had better write my "2018 Projects" post before February arrives - I like writing my goals on the blog because it holds me accountable.

Last year I wanted to have plate racks built for the dining room and despite it taking 7 months, it happened.

 The racks make so much difference in the dining room

 and I have fun styling them in different colors throughout the year.

Another goal was to make new covers for the chaises in the garden - this fabric wore thin from the sun.

Just like the old covers, the new covers were made from an old duvet and cost me nothing.

They are so easy to make that I ended up making a second set in plain white to use for the patriotic holidays.

About 8 years ago we had the front porch covered in stone and for several years repeating the stone on the back porch has been on my list of goals.

As you can see, it hasn't happened - maybe this is the year.

So what's up for 2018?

A new window seat cushion cover to replace the red and blue striped one I made in 2013.

I made this cover out of an old quilt, but I only had enough fabric to velcro it on and it was always slipping.

The fabrics in this stack of pillows shared on Instagram by pure_michigan_gal is my inspiration and I just need to make the time for the hunt.

I love the old door in our guest room and have fun changing it with the seasons or holidays,

but when I saw this picture on Instagram from Dreamy Whites Lifestyle, I decided I wanted to paint the other side a color so I can switch them around.

I'm torn between Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Louis Blue or Provence - I think Provence will win out because I actually have a sampler can of it on hand.

Also on my list is fixing this "fail".

I absolutely loved this little table in green and yellow, but didn't like the colors in our bedroom and so I painted it.

I actually painted over the white right away, but it doesn't have the pizazz that the two tone table had.

These are the colors of the bed pillows now so I think I'll leave the legs blue and use teal or aqua for the drawer, table top and shelf.

How about you, is there a list waiting to be checked off?

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A Happy Rug

In November, I was contacted by a representative of Sukhi, purveyors of handmade rugs, asking if I was interested in a collaboration.

I have been asked about collaborations before and in only two other cases have I accepted because I didn't think the other products were a good fit for my blog or my decorating style.

Scrolling through the Sukhi website evoked memories of my time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Jamaica when I taught school dropouts ranging from 15 to 70 years old.

Watching the video (click here) of the Sukhi team in Nepal made me wish that I had developed a similar program to help my students.

I liked what I saw and read about the company so I agreed to the collaboration and I was asked to choose my 3 favorites.

My first choice was a Berber pattern called Aicha which is made in Morroco.

My second choice was another Morrocan Berber rug in the Khadija pattern.

My third choice, and my very favorite, was a felt ball rug from Nepal in the color Jass.

In December, I was contacted to say that Sukhi would be sending me the Jass in a 80 x 100cm rug and that it would take about 4 weeks for it to be ready.

Over the last few weeks, this sweet lady was working her fingers to the bone to create my rug. 

I love that I was given her name, found her picture on the Sukhi website and was able to send an email to thank her for her hard work - got a response the same day that almost no one sends an email and that it would be translated and shared with Ram Maya Lama.

If you have visited my blog before, I am sure you are not surprised that I wanted the rug in red - it's so soft and feels great beneath bare feet.

 I am impressed with the quality of the felt balls and the sewing of the balls together - my hands would not survive the sewing of even 10 balls together.

I really would love to keep the rug in the entry because it pops against my white walls, floor and cabinet, but the clearance of the door doesn't allow it so the rug found a home in the guest room.

If you are in the market for a new rug, please check out Sukhi - not only would you get a beautiful hand made rug, but you would be helping a woman in a third world country improve her life and that of her family.

Lulu definitely thinks getting a Sukhi rug is a good idea.

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Off to a Good Start

It's been ages since I wrote a blog post, but I do have a good excuse.

Our family went to Kauai for Christmas 

and with 4 computers, 4 iPads and 6 iPhones competing for the weak internet connection, I was not on my computer for 8 days.

Added to that, my computer started making odd sounds as soon as we got home.

While waiting to see if the noises went away, I slowly started decorating the house after Christmas.

Colorful flowers

and greenery 

seem to be a recurring theme for January.

 I'm still struggling with ideas for the "post Christmas" decor

so I'm grateful for Trader Joe's

and my local nursery for helping me out.

The flowers have given me ideas for the rest of the house.

By the way, the noises on the computer didn't go away so I had to buy a new computer.

And now I am back reading blogs and actually writing a blog post.

I'm off to a good start.