It Makes Me Smile

If you are on Instagram, you know about the variety of daily hashtags you can join.

This morning, the tags #makesmesmilethursday and #myowndrumdecor , got me thinking about how I decorate and what about my decor makes me smile.

You might wonder what it is about this shot of my bathroom door that

makes me smile - our painter is finished, our walls are a pristine white and I love the original 1920's glass knobs on our doors.

The mantel makes me smile, not just because Steve hung a recent painting, 

but because Cindy of Consider It All Joy came to visit in August and she brought me the cute ceramic pumpkins that are finally on display.

People have asked where my primary colors are and I told Cindy I blame her.

The windows in this photo are what make me smile - they were custom made to exactly match the 1928 windows (that are now a headboard) and we love them.

The vignette doesn't just make me smile, it makes me laugh, because who has this many 2's? - definitely decorating to "my own drum".

In August I posted this picture on Instagram and it didn't just make me smile, 

Steve loved the photograph and just finished his rendition of my photo.

Last week I bought a bouquet of orange flowers at the grocery store and I'm still smiling because 1 little $5 bouquet filled not one,

not two,

not three,

but four containers of flowers.

While setting our bedroom back to rights after painting, I came up with a silly night stand for my side of the bed - a striped wooden box turned upside down holds a bunch of my favorite books and it definitely falls into the "my own drum" and "makes me smile" category.

What is making you smile these days?

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A Great Bundle of Little Things

Oliver Wendell Holmes knew what he was talking about

when it came to his philosophy of life.

Flowers in the garden were among the little things in my life this week.

We rode past this sweet little garden on our bicycles and I made Steve turn back with me to snap a photo.

Steve has been moving old paintings around the house to make room for new pieces.

The aqua tints of the painting called for a change on this wall of the guest room and it all makes me quite happy.

Another little thing this week was Steve hanging a new painting over the mantel.

I'll wait a month to show you how it looks on the mantel because one of the best little things this week was that we made arrangements for the last 3 rooms in the house to be painted white.

In a post, Change . . . Always Change, I showed Steve working on a new plein air painting in the garden.

Steve diligently painted the tall skinny painting at my request for a specific wall in the living room.

Like the painting of the boats, I won't show off this painting on the wall until it hangs against a crisp white background.

All these little things add up to a wonderful week

and I hope you had a great bundle of little things in your life this week.

Fortunately . . . Unfortunately

If you are familiar with the childrens' book, Fortunately Unfortunately by Remy Charlip, you will understand my life lately.

There has been a series of good things,

bad things,

good things . . .

Fortunately, we will be having some family members stay with us off and on over the next few months . . .

Unfortunately, that means I have to dissolve my creative space . . .

Fortunately, I can move it back to the garage . . .

Unfortunately, I am not finished with organizing the space . . .

Fortunately, we had a painter in to update the room and he painted the entry and dining room at the same time . . .

Unfortunately, the fumes from the paint triggered an asthmatic reaction in me so not a lot of work got done while I struggled with breathing . . .

Fortunately, I am on meds, feeling better, and got out of the house to visit a few of my favorite shops yesterday.

And, fortunately, I found a bunch of fun things.

Light blue tapers and a small olive green candle finished off a new mantel display with Steve's latest painting, Sentinels.

I didn't need the #2 jar, but it looks right at home with my glass bottle display in the entry way.

I didn't get around to planting the sweet peas so they are just grouped with some roses on the patio table and hopefully I will get to the planting today.

I have no idea what the big yellow dried flowers are, but I like the touch of color they add to the olive bucket display.

The patina on the blue ball is wonderful, but  I think I need to go back and pick up the red and green balls today.

The zinc hearts, numbers and Days of the Week clothes pins will end up in the Advent Calendar I am planning in my head - can't believe I am thinking about Christmas.

And, fortunately, I was able to turn lemons into lemonade to use my down time with asthma

to create 3 books on Shutterfly for Steve & me, KC & boyfriend and JP & girlfriend.

Fortunately, the rest of the living room is coming together and

the garage is organized enough that I was able to make a couple of banners for friends.

And now, I am headed to the beach because fortunately, it is a gorgeous day.

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