5 Years!

 In January of 2012, I posted my first blog post with this pic as the header.

I've been looking back at blog posts over the last 5 years - boy have I learned a lot.

The quality of my photos has improved just a bit from the first pic I posted -

lighting is crucial!

The sofa is the same except for new slipcovers,

but gone are the yellow walls.

I do miss the checkerboard floor in the entry although it was difficult to keep clean.

This cupboard with the top and bottom reunited is a much more practical piece for the entry.

This was the top of the cupboard before I fell in love (through blogging) with white.

The bottom portion had been with my daughter, but she returned it and now the cupboard is an important piece for storage.

I do love red, but it can overwhelm a space

so now red is merely an accent color.

The pie safe in the earlier entry pic is still in use - after 3 different paint colors!

The garden has definitely changed over the years

and that is all due to retirement - TIME to play!

My color palette has softened over the years,

but color still abounds.

So what's next for Art and Sand?

There will be changes on this wall in the dining room - the plans are with the handyman!

I will continue to drive Steve nuts with constant changes

both in the house and the garden.

I am doing less and less crafts

although I have a few more stenciling projects lined up.

Lately, my creative energy is used in trying to improve my photography.

And I will continue to learn from all my blogging friends.

And to those of you who have been with me since the beginning, thank you for following on the journey.

Comparing and early mantel pic with a recent winter mantel makes me question why anyone  kept reading!

Thanks for stopping in to see what's happening at our "little cottage by the sea".

In Living Color

I shared this photo on Instagram the other day and it got me thinking about my increasing use of white.

The dining room is looking more white than colorful.

as are the entry

and the guest room.

I post one pic on Instagram each day and when I scrolled back through my gallery I expected to see lots of white.

But contrary to my expectations, I see that my life is still full of color.

Red,

green

and blue still abound.

Despite the fact that I truly am using more white

in my vignettes,

there is always color tucked in.

I love white, but in the end, I'm a color girl.

I am not who I said I was . . .

From the time I began blogging, I have identified myself as a "color" girl.

Today, I realize that I am no longer who I said I was.

I put on an orientation today for 325 fifth graders at my middle school.

And, I am EXHAUSTED.

325 fifth graders, 155 seventh and eighth graders leading them on tours and playing games, 3 nights burning the midnight oil preparing for the event finally took its toll on my old body.

I came home and PLOPPED.

Sitting on the sofa and staring ahead of me made me realize something.

I am not just a color girl.

Looking straight ahead of me to the entry showed me yellow walls, white trim, white curtains and pillows, and a white shelf.

Blue dishes, a bit of yellow and a dab of red provide accent, but basically, the view is white.

Sitting on my white sofa, and looking across the room, I saw my white chair, white cabinet and white sewing machine base.

Colorful books, a floral pillow and a red striped candle provide accent on the table.

Colorful quilts provide contrast from the white on the cabinet.

Last weekend I painted a hallway cabinet white.

In January, I painted a little cabinet and some shelves in the kitchen white.

My spring mantel is white.

Oh my gosh, I can actually join Blissful Whites Wednesday.

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You can find me partying at

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