My Visit with Layla Plus New Wall Color

Good morning, everyone! I'm sitting here in the dining room looking out the window and while it looks so cold and dreary outside, I've got a toasty fire going, a candle lit, music on, and it just couldn't be more perfect inside. {Well, maybe if my house were clean it could be just a little more perfect...} I'm also enjoying three - three - bouquets of roses that Mr. You Know Who gave me throughout the week. How'd I get to be so blessed? The pink roses above were the first bouquet. They are like little summer stowaways, just tagging along with Fall, refusing to be replaced by mums and marigolds.

As long as we're talking about being blessed, a few weeks ago I had the privilege of having Layla of The Lettered Cottage as a guest here for a couple of days. What a delight she is! I've known Layla for a few years now and we've met in person a few times, but this was the first time she visited Twice Remembered. I was super duper nervous because we live in a fixer and our home is certainly not 'company ready' at this point, but you know, in the grand scheme of things, it's not things but people that matter...so I just got over myself and we both had a blast! The timing could not have been more perfect because hubs was out of town AND the kiddos were visiting a relative for the week....so it was just us girls here to goof off and have fun! {In my excitement, I completely forgot to take photos but Layla wanted a few pics of my signs so we snapped the one below...and she generously let me borrow it for this blog post. Thanks, Layla!}


One thing, among myriads of things, that I appreciate about Layla is that you get what you see with her. If you've read her blog, you can feel just how sweet, compassionate, funny, and down to earth she comes across. And she is exactly the same in person... She didn't give our unfinished projects here a second thought - even though she had to sleep in my daughters' very undecorated and unremodeled shell of a bedroom... and even though I don't have curtains or any kind of window covering in much of the house...and even though it took me forever to get ready whenever we went out because before she got here, I shoved a bunch of clothes into the closet in a massive pile and couldn't find anything...and even though I threw a whole lot of junk into the already junky studio - which she got to see, along with my even junkier garage and upstairs storage space. I think it's not just any person that you could feel comfortable showing your life as it really is - with all the ugly, messy parts included. Yes, I am certainly blessed to know someone like Layla and to have the opportunity to visit with her as I have. I just love her!


When Layla was here, it won't surprise you to know that there was lots of talk about projects and decorating. I had just finished putting a new coat of paint on the walls of the kitchen and living room. If you remember, I had planned on painting Twice Remembered ALL WHITE, with the exception of the red cabinets. Ultimately, though, the rest of the family wanted some color and I decided upon a cheery blue / robin's egg blueish color. Here is a sneak peek of the shade we went with and it is called "Blanket" {CI246 by Valspar found at Lowes}. Let me tell you, this color GLOWS! No kidding! In fact, I was kind of freaking out about it for a few days because it really changes with the light. In most parts of the house I loved it but certain spots at certain times of the day, it translated to more of a minty color. By the time Layla got here, I was thinking that I was just going to have to change it. Layla and I talked and talked about it, and I even tried another similar color sample, but it was much darker than what I had in mind. I wanted BRIGHT and HAPPY! I really did love the glow afterall and now that it has been up a while, I'm so glad I didn't paint over it right away. By the way, the nook you see is by our front door and was once a tiny coat closet. We ripped it out because I wanted a little spot like this for flowers and keys. I can never find my keys, though, so having a spot for flowers at least is lovely. :)




We're still working on painting - the story of our lives - but I can't wait to show you what the blue looks like in the kitchen! Based on what you see in the photos above, what do you think? Not that it is an option anymore with my families campaign against all white walls, but if you had to choose between this color {happy, cheery, and bright} or white {soft, relaxing, subdued}, what would you have chosen?

{I love the random little chalk drawing 'Love' person in the last photo. Not sure which of my kiddos drew it, but it sure makes me smile!}

Enjoy your day...and I hope you find some time to waste today!

Cocooned

For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is let it rain. -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

It is such a dark, rainy day here in Middle Tennessee...and it's so delicious. I don't think I slept a wink last night partly due to thunderstorms {and partly due to someone's snoring}, so today I'm going to relax and enjoy the peaceful rhythm of the rain. Maybe at some point I'll get the urge to clean off my dining table {crafts!}... but then again, maybe not. I have to use my 'cocoon' time wisely on days such as this. I don't want to waste a minute!

Hubs has been in recovery after having all four of his wisdom teeth removed so we haven't done any remodeling work lately, but I have a couple of cottage tidbits to share with you. First, I'm so excited to tell you about our new sofa! I really wanted to wait until next year to replace our eleven year old Broyhill...after we finished remodeling the living room. This year we will be putting up our wood plank tongue and groove ceiling like we installed in our kitchen, and I really didn't want to have to work around new furniture. But our old sofa was dead - just dead! It was very uncomfortable to sit on plus it was looking very tired and ratty. So when I found this sofa on Craigslist, we snatched it up! It's very heavy and well built, extremely comfortable, and ten feet long! Hopefully the days of my children complaining about 'nowhere to sit' are long gone now. Now the sofa just needs some pillows, but maybe I *will* wait until we finish up the dirty work in the living room before investing in those.


I was so excited to receive this beautiful painting as a gift from a talented artist friend of mine. Isn't she just dreamy? Oh, I just love her! She's so fairy like and beautiful and I often find myself just staring at her. I'd like to have this painting framed in a distressed, white wooden frame and I know just the wall I want to put her on!


The next photo really is nothing new, but you may find it amusing. Every time we leave the house for a few hours, our Ruby {Doxie Dog} just looks for ways to be naughty. Usually she searches the house for food, but whatever she can find, she brings to this rug by the front door and tears into it. In the past we've found animal crackers, mints, lollipops, and... well, you get the point. Last week, she found the bag of bird seed and I think she broke her record for biggest mess ever!


I hope you all are having a lovely February... spring is just around the corner! Have a wonderful day, especially if you are cocooned inside while the rain falls. I think I'm just going to sit here a while...


...and enjoy it!

She Walks in Beauty

A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Thank you all *so* much for your sweet anniversary wishes in yesterday's entry...and your comments on the {silly} little love note I wrote when I was practically a baby of 17! It makes us laugh to this day! Hubs will be whisking me away to a quiet little cabin on a pond this weekend where I'm sure we will share many more laughs over those early years!


Oh my... Isn't the lady in the photo on my mantel so beautiful?! She was actress Maude Fealy {1881-1971} and I found her photo here at Graphics Fairy. One of my hobbies is printing out old photos that intrigue me, and when I saw this, I knew I had to have it on display in our home. I had it printed at a photo center in an 8 X 10 size. Later I will find a better frame for her but this is one I happened to have on hand.

I think these two would be lovely framed, too. *sigh* Such dreamy photos! Maude Fealy was born in Memphis, Tn and was a stage and film actress. She first acted in silent films, and then later films with sound.


Her mother was an actress, too, so needless to say, acting became a part of Maude's life at a very early age.


I'm sure she turned a few heads in her time, don't you think?!


Well, there are some fine pictures for you to enjoy, but as Goethe said, you will also need a little music so I would love to share with you my classical music playlist. Some days like today when it's cold and overcast but so snug and comfortable inside, it's nice to be able to 'relax' even while you're up doing chores or working on projects. Though my taste in music is *very* diverse, there is something about classical music that really soothes my soul. The playlist will never be complete but will keep growing. Enjoy!

I hope you all are having a charming week so far. Oh, I hear many of you are in for the biggest winter storm in decades! I worry for you and want you to stay safe and warm. Please keep me posted as to how you are doing. I don't think we here in Tennessee are going to be affected by it, but still, I have an uneasy feeling for everyone else. Take care!

I'll say my good-bye's for now with a poem...{a fine picture, a little music, a little poetry...our day is complete!} Good day, all!

She Walks In Beauty

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair'd the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

- Lord Byron

Little by Little

Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained. - Marie Curie

Did everyone have a beautiful weekend? I know I did! It was filled with a wedding and a fun pizza night here with friends. And as I'm sure you know, there's nothing quite like company coming to motivate you to spend part of your weekend thoroughly cleaning your house!

Last week's Muffin Bakin' Day went really well thanks to the help of my littlest baker ZoZo, who was home on Snow Day #4.


We were able to make five different kinds: blueberry, apple cinnamon, peanut butter banana, peanut butter banana with chocolate chips, and plain old chocolate chip. {The chocolate chip varieties will be reserved for afternoon snacks though I'm sure my children would happily eat them for breakfast if I let them!}


I will share some muffin recipes a little later on, but for now, do you see in the photo below the mirror that was once above our living room fireplace? Oh, things are in strange places all over the house at any given moment for various reasons- often because, well, I'm a bit scatterbrained and not terribly organized...


...but in this case, we've been working on our living room mantel. It was quite wimpy before so we removed and replaced the mantel. Instead of tearing out the old mantel 'legs' {the vertical parts of the fireplace surround}, we just bulked them up by adding more trim work.




My favorite part is the rope moulding which I think ties in nicely with the rope moulding we added to our kitchen cabinets.


We still have tons of caulking and painting to do, but when it's all finished, I'll be sure to share with you! Can you believe it? Little by little, we're getting there!

Basic Farmhouse / Cottage Style Trim and Beadboard Tutorial

Happy Monday morning, everyone! I hope you had a beautiful fall weekend! I don't know about you, but we had to turn the heat on for the first time this morning. The weather is delicious!

Just a quick note before our beadboard update: All of the blog sale packages were mailed out on Saturday with the exception of four - I ran out of bubble wrap and packaging supplies over the weekend but am all stocked up now. I'll package those up today and mail them out tomorrow. Thanks again for all the blog sale support...I never imagined that I would find new homes for so many of my items!

Slowly but surely, beadboard and trim work progress continues here. Many of you have asked "How does your beadboard look all painted white now?". {insert awkward pause with crickets chirping in the background} Hmmm, well, we haven't gotten to that part yet because we are having to do the work in phases - first the baseboards,

I thought I would walk you through the steps we are taking to achieve the farmhouse style trim I've dreamt of having for so long. It really is simple, simple, simple.

beadboard, and beadboard caps, then the finishing trim. Shoe moulding will come last. It has taken us a while to accumulate the trim work for the kitchen, dining area, living room, foyer, and hallway {and we aren't finished "accumulating" yet!}, so as we get it, we install it. And of course, all of that has to be done before painting can start in earnest. It is an exercise in patience, to say the least, but so is this entire remodel. :)

I thought I would walk you through the steps we are taking to achieve the farmhouse style trim I've dreamt of having for so long. It really is simple, simple, simple. You'll need the 6 different elements I mentioned above: baseboards {pine boards, almost 6 inches wide}, beadboard {we use real wood beadboard panels because I love it's texture and hardiness}, a beadboard cap {again, just the same wide pine trim that we used as a baseboard}, finishing trim that goes right under the beadboard cap, finishing trip that goes right on or above the beadboard cap, and finally, shoe moulding {we haven't gotten to the shoe moulding yet, so I have no photos of this step.}

First we installed the baseboard. Again, just simple wide pine boards. You can go even wider than what we used. You can see that our floors aren't even so this is why it is extremely important to use a level when installing your beadboard. Otherwise everything will look very wonky by the time you are finished. Don't worry about gaps. Those will be covered by shoe moulding and finishing trim.


Then we put up the beadboard panels. The beadboard panels are sold in 4'W x 8'L sheets. We simply cut them in half so that our beadboard was 4'. I wanted the beadboard to be taller, but it was cheaper to go with 4' beadboard panels and then just have wider baseboards and baseboard caps to achieve the height that I was looking for. This added almost another foot to the beadboard height.


The next step was to install the beadboard cap, the piece that sits right above the beadboard. The cap is exactly the same pine that we used for the baseboards, but you can choose narrower or wider pieces if you prefer.


Normally, we would work our way around the room, but with the living room, we had to skip the wall that our fireplace is on since we will be rebuilding the mantel. It will be taller and chunkier {like the new dining room mantel we built a few months back} and really would have to be done before any beadboard goes on that wall. So we moved on to the window wall, saving the fireplace wall for another time.



Now to fancy that flat beadboard cap up a bit with some finishing trim! We haven't gotten to most of the living room finishing trim yet but we have started on the hallway and foyer, and as of this weekend, have completed the finishing trim in the kitchen and dining room. As you can see from this photo, it is installed first right under the baseboard cap. This will cover any unsightly gaps between the beadboard and the cap, too. Try to choose finishing trim that has a nice contour so as to add some interest and to soften the chunkiness of the beadboard cap. You can also add this at the bottom right above the baseboard, but we didn't so as to save a little money.




Next, we added more finishing trim right on the face of the beadboard cap. Again, we chose a different trim that had a nice contour. These are a few photos of the work we did in the kitchen/dining area this weekend.





The last step would be the shoe moulding, which we will be a future project for us. But what did I tell you...Simple, simple, simple!

I will be up to my eyeballs in more puttying and sanding in the kitchen/dining room, followed by caulking before we can paint. For now, I'm putting that part of the kitchen remodel on hold for a few weeks while I work on my shop and building inventory. Yep, I kind of feel like I'm losing my mind with so much going on at once, but I've figured out that things may just never "settle down" and I'm just going to have to get use to living and working in my little cottage circus environment! How do you balance everything?

Thanks for dropping by today and have have a lovely week!

Perfect Cozy Reading Chairs from Goodwill

Last Sunday afternoon, I had a bit of a Goodwill craving {do you get those, too?} but I was so tuckered from all the weekend's activities, I wasn't sure if I was up to going. Hubs finally talked me into it and when I got there, of course, I pepped up a bit in anticipation of what I might find. We went in a door that I don't normally go through, the one closest to the home decor but furthest from the furniture. I did find a couple of home decor items and was quite pleased with my finds but as we were leaving to checkout out, I turned the corner and there, staring at me longingly, were two beautiful, perfect, cozy, comfy reading chairs...



Not a blemish, not a spot, not a rip, no odors, no tired cushions, wonderfully neutral and only....



$49 each! Not bad for a couple of American Signature reading chairs, eh?!



I love the legs. Just the right height for me to see my hiding dust bunnies! When we replace our {now 10 year old Broyhill) sofa, it will definitely have legs similar to these. Goodness- what the children can cram under our low to the ground sofa now!



I want to buy or have made for our new-to-us chairs some pretty French down-filled pillows because they feel a bit naked right now. *sigh* The perfect chairs for cuddling up with some Jane Austen or...Diary of a Wimpy Kid, depending on who sits in them. ;) That will teach me to never even think about passing up a trip to Goodwill!



This weekend hubs will be working on adding more beadboard to the living room. You can see in the photo below that we left off in the foyer area. Our goal is to do the wall behind the chairs and the wall behind the sofa. The fireplace wall will have to wait because we will be rebuilding the mantel to make it look similar to the farmhouse style mantel we built in the dining room. It's kind of big project and we aren't ready to go ripping down the old fireplace just yet! This weekend we will also be adding some finishing trim to the beadboard in the kitchen, everything but the shoe moulding. Inching our way closer to the completion of that space, thank goodness!



Do you have any favorite Goodwill/thrift store finds? I'd love to hear about them!

Photos of Beadboard Progress and Important News Coming Tomorrow

Good morning, everyone! I hope this beautiful spring day finds you doing well. Somehow between our vacation and the family dinner we hosted this past weekend, hubs was able to install more beadboard in our main living areas. For this phase of the remodel, we are concentrating on beadboarding the kitchen, dining area, hallway, foyer, and living room. Though we still have the foyer and living room to go, I'd like to share with you the areas that we've covered so far. Please keep in mind that all of our beadboard and trim will be sanded, primed, and painted white.

I should note that I have lost *both* my memory card reader and my

Our hallway is starting to remind me of an old hotel...

memory card for my good camera. I think I put them somewhere when we were getting the house ready for company, but I don't know where. So I used my daughter's little point and shoot for these photos. I wish they were better!

We've gone through and added some smaller accent trim pieces at the top of the beadboard under the wide pine boards. For the top of the pine board, we will be adding more accent trim. Here is a mock up of the top piece I am considering, but I want to look at some more to see if I can find something with a more interesting contour. This one is ok and is cost effective, but more curve would be nice. However, this flatter piece will make hanging framed art over the beadboard easier - a curvier piece would jut out further. {Please ignore all the white splotches on the walls...we are prepping them for fresh paint!}




Here are a couple of progress shots of our hallway. I cannot convey just how thrilled I am to finally have beadboard in this area! The beadboard, along with the wide door trim and solid wood doors just really make the space. I'm looking forward to adding the pine ceiling and crown moulding now...and a light! Our hallway is starting to remind me of an old hotel, and I'm thinking about painting pretty numbers on the trim above each door, from 1 to 6.




Here you"ll notice our little piece of mock up accent trim. What a difference a little trim can make!


See my drop cloth curtains? The curtains in this spot are a necessity - we close them when we let our cockatiels, Sunny and Ginger, out of their cage for smooches and cuddles and playtime - which happens more than once daily. They like the kitchen, but I don't allow them in there. :)



I am loving having a faux fireplace in the dining room...even in it's incomplete state! It completely changes the feel of the space. The beadboard wraps around the fireplace wall and window wall...


around the divider wall between the kitchen and dining area and back to the cabinets...{that's Ruby and her stuffed animal duck sunning on the rug there:)}


and finally past the other end of the cabinets to the back door. From the back door, we will continue to wrap the beadboard around the corner and into the rest of the living room. We have another farmhouse style fireplace mantel to build in there first! {See the chalkboard? Apparently my teen thinks the hyacinths stink. Hmmpphh!}



Here are a few more shots of the dining fireplace. We have just a little bit accent trim to add around the opening. Hubs didn't have time to get to it before he left on a business trip this week.




Can you believe I found my first bell shaped cloche the other day at Goodwill for $1.25? Love it!


{Gratuitous dining room shots}




I'm still mulling over what I'm going to do with the inside of the fireplace, but on our trip, I found this antique Victorian cast iron fireplace surround that I will definitely be incorporating. I'm thinking of doing the rest in brick and for inside of the antique surround, inserting a piece of decorative tin painted black. OR, brick the cast iron opening and using decorative tin for the rest. What do you think?


Finally, here is a shot of the foyer area that I cannot wait to beadboard. We knocked out a tiny coat closet in that area to open it up and I'm looking forward to putting a table on that back wall {the cabinet that is currently serving as our TV stand, actually...you can kind of see it in one of the hallway shots above}. It will be perfect to hold beautiful flower arrangements - and it's a nice sunny spot to boot!


Please come back and see me tomorrow as I have a few very important announcements regarding blog changes here at Twice Remembered. I'll see you then!