...mission impossible..."the island" episode

...

do, do, de, dooo,

 do,do

do, do, de, doo,

do, do

do, dee, do

ba, da

(okay, okay, enough of that!!)

((do you know the theme song to "mission impossible??))

(((then sing it in your brain to humor me, as you read this post))

lol!!

the one good thing about moving from nest to nest is,

you may be fortunate

 to have a few lovely kitchens along the way

some of them are the big, gourmet type

and

some of them are small

and cozy like...

like say ~

the one we have here.

it is one of the smallest i've ever been challenged with

i like to bake,

so i needed a little more counter space...

oh!

what to do?

the other feat was,

the color of the walls...

now normally,

i would have painted them

but as i knew we would only be leasing this home for a short while,

 i opted to stretch my design self

and work with it!

i spied this fabulous,

 canvas cathedral church print at Marshall's

and knew it was perfect for my space...

loved the blue-green wash the frame had,

and the cathedral stamping

was in a complimenting tone for the wall color!

a week later,

i turned up this wooden candle holder cross

in the same tone...

what are the "odds" of that??

wink, wink

i added a soy candle

and draped a delicate rosary around the wire cup...

and moved on to the island ~

i searched

and searched

and searched!

but nothing really stood out for me.

so i pondered awhile...

the movers had damaged a few of our furniture pieces

(i know, i know, DON'T even get me started my dears!!)

one of those pieces was my daughters dresser.

it was about to hit the goodwill doors

when poof!!

i had a vision!

i wish i had taken a before picture

but just imagine two more drawers in this

oh ~

and it was a sour cream color...

hhhmmm...

yes,

perhaps i could made this work

in fact,

i know i can!!

so out came the annie sloan chalk paint.

i gave it a base coat of french linen

and

then a top coat of  my perfect white

(which is 2 parts white to 1 part old white)

and you know the drill after that

sand.

sand.

wax.

and then oh and ah!!

lol!!

you know i gotta have my details,

so this grey, freshwater pearl rosary hangs off of my dish-towel bar

(hubby cut down an actual towel bar to fit the island) 

behind this door is my kitchenaid stand mixer.

it didn't fit on the counter as the cupboards were to low.

the arched door is perfect to slide it in or out of!

on the front of the door,  

i painted on a grain sack stripe

and then hand painted this fleur de lis...

love, Love, LOVE how it turned out

next,

the drawers!

the first drawer,

houses our silverware and knife board.

and not to worry

as we didn't waste the two other drawers we removed

no sir ree!!

we took off the front board, and cut the 2nd drawer in half

then added a pretty handle

so we could use it for baggies, foil, wraps, etc.

 only the very bottom of the 3rd drawer was used to make a sliding,

pull out shelf for dish towels and sparkling water

(gotta have my fizz!!)

my favorite part is the top

oohhhh do i swoon over this top!!!

i order a sheet of zinc counter top

and glued it around the top board piece

waxed it

and

ta-da!!

a fabulous make over

in a french nordic style:)

let's see that again...

did i mention

 how much i LOVE my re purposed kitchen island

specific to my needs??!!!!

what do you think?

~

sharing this with:

common ground's: vintage inspiration

french country cottage's: feathered nest friday

romantic home's: show and tell friday

the charm of home's: home sweet home

ivy and elephant's: what's it wednesday

rooted in thyme's: simple sweet fridays

 

here's to mission impossible re purposing!!

...things of fairy dust, decorating and silver linings

...hello dear readers

sometimes in life,

i find it useful,

to carry a few shiny bits of magic around with me

for those occasional moments,

that sneak up and try to steal my joy away!

aaahhh ~

yah no!

"NOT today!!"

i say, as i toss a bit of fairy dust in the air!

this is my mantel

~ i put up a grey linen/vintage bit of irish lace backdrop

because,

long pause......

deep breath

(and even then, i hesitate to tell you)

but

this is just our temp abode!!

(yes, we are seeking a house ~ STILL!)

so needless to say,

if i had my druthers

(does anyone say this anymore??!)

 my wall colors would be more along this line...

as we are only here until july-ish,

i have no extra energy to paint it!

(what's that you say??)

((you think i'm a nomad??!!))

(((yes,

yes my dears,

it IS beginning to appear as such)))

HA!!

but on this journey to my most authentic self,

it is simply a must

A MUST!

i tell you,

to remain open to the twists and turns in life

for i have found,

those turns do have a purpose...

so i adorn my spaces,

for however long,

as best as i can...

with things that i find beauty in,

and fill in the rest with as much love as i am able

i recently read somewhere

something that struck a cord with me

 and made me throw my head back in laughter...

would you like to hear?!

well then,

here.

it.

is.

be the kind of woman

that when your feet hit the floor each morning

the devil says:
"Oh Crap, She's up!"

i know right?

~ AWESOME ~

i read this as the kind of woman i want to be!

which in no means is as a negative woman

but instead,

a woman that is strong in her soul

that knows that with those glorious rainbows

that also,

the storms will come

but

she can deal with it graciously and she won't fall over!!

i believe that at the end of every challenging road,

there stands a silver lining...

if you give up,

you will never see it!

but if you keep on,

you may see a glimpse of heaven...

my heart is broken in many places

and i wouldn't trade it in for a new one if i had too!!

would you?!

i have earned those cracks

and it is my hope

that through those cracks,

you can see a lovely light within me...

and perhaps, my whimsy:)

sharing this post with

Faded Charm's: White Wednesday

here's to silver linings!

...swoon worthy...

...hello loves!

as promised,

today i am sharing things i'm crushin' on at the moment

two,

to be exact

most of you probably know how i feel about dru's hand spun art yarns

found in her etsy shop ~ petit bones ~

but if you don't know,

let me just tell ya' as simple as i can

i.

adore.

them.

in fact,

if you were to ask dru,

she may say that i have a slight obsession

about her beautiful hand spun yarns!!

lol!!

but,

i can't help it,

they are that beautiful

one spin, is NOT enough!!

~ swoon ~

just wait until you see the start of my new collection

~ sea spins ~

oh. my. goodness are they fabulous

but that's for another post

today,

it's about ~ her nest ~

and perhaps,

you may spy in my nest...

this most lovely neck adornment by diane

from her etsy shop ~ sacred heart design ~

is it not gorgeous???!

oh yah,

i'm crushin' hard on these...

put them together and

voila!

instant glam!

wouldn't you agree?

i asked diane if she were going to make a few more...

as i have a few more nests to adorn

ha!!

she assured me that new ones would be arriving soon:)

i admire them so...

sharing this with:

common ground's: vintage inspiration

french country cottage's: feathered nest friday

romantic home's: show and tell friday

here's to beautiful ~ nests!

...easter brunch

hello dear ones!

i hope you all had a most lovely

and blessed easter!

 

 

upon my return to ohio,

it has been a whirlwind flurry of action

and i have almost caught my breath!!

NOT!

 

regardless,

i look forward to easter every year

preparing for a most holy day,

anticipating my menu for my favorite meal

~ brunch ~

 

i wanted light and ethereal this year

...like meringue

ha!!

which, as it just so happens,

is what i served for "dessert"

after champagne sauce, eggs benedict! 

yep!

little meringue nests

 filled with vanilla greek yogurt,

topped with fresh blackberries...

fabulous

so anyway,

i wanted a lovely tablecloth

light and airy like

so i sewed up this see-thru ruffled beauty

and added luscious smelling lilacs to the sides...

the scent was glorious!

 

simple elegance

 

 

i have a thing for wild violets,

so i scattered a few all around the table

as one can never have too many spring flowers

can they?!

...here is my centerpiece

 

 

a beautiful "optimist aquiesse" candle (LOVE these),

lilacs and a stained glass cross...

a few lace eggs i enjoyed creating,

dangling from these linen flowered, white washed branches...

 

 

i couldn't resist these pearl white, glass eggs that i spied at home goods

i hung them by a few sea silk ribbons at my windows...

 

they had bling on the top of them

and you must know by now that i am part crow

oohhhh, sparkle, shine, sparkle

LOL!!

 

it was a lovely day spent with family,

celebrating our King!

priceless!

~

on thursday,

i will be sharing a few of my favorite things at the moment:)

see you then!

sharing this post with

Faded Charm's: White Wednesday

 

here's to a blessed easter!