Pink Saturday August 30

It's that time of week once again. Yahoo for Pink Saturday! A glorious day when we get to wallow in pink and show our pink pride :0). Pink Saturday so graciously hosted by our Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. Be sure to pay her a visit and see who else is proudly prancing in pink.

These are the new seat cushions for my dining set...
While I prefer the mottled reds, there are shades of pink too. I love Waverly fabrics and prints.
And the reverse...
There really isn't that much pink in my home as I prefer reds but I figure this side will be facing down so they won't clash with the rest of the color scheme, but I have to say that this side of the cushion reminds of an old-fashioned ice cream parlour. How sweet that would be.

The pink outside/summer dishware
Some of my favorite issues with bits of pink here & there...An old print that hangs on my wall. Shades of pink through out. I know the "style" is a bit dated but I love this verse...I hope some of you can share your ideas on how I can update it's look. I've got some, but I'd like some opinions too. Thanks!
Splashes of Pink in "Lamplight Lane". This was the gift hubby gave me on our wedding day.
(please don't mind the dust, blush*)
Thanks for stopping by and saying "HI!". I'm glad you were so kind as to spend a bit of your day with me. Have a perfectly pink Saturday and a glorious weekend.
Hugs!

Pink Ladies Pledge...THINK PINK !!!

Simple Changes, Big Effect

Living in a household with as many bodies as we have, our couches sure do take a beating. When we originally bought the sofa and love seat, I wanted to be sure to pick a color that wouldn't show the dirt, so I went with a deep forest green...no one told me it would fade! LOL. So while, they look just horrible and smooshed, the frames are actually still quite strong and sturdy, plus having kids in the home and three canines, I just cannot justify splurging on something like a brand new set. So, my choices were either have them re-stuffed and reupholstered or slip cover them. Well the expense at having them redone is almost as big as buying a new set so the decision was obvious at that point. SLIPCOVERS IT IS! I have to say, it's a simple change that has had a big effect. I feel like I actually have a new set and I love that I can take the covers off at any time and wash/refresh them.

Before:
This is my sad looking sofa. Granted I didn't puff up the pillows or set the cushions back into place. As you can see, Cookie thinks the whole thing is her bed.
After:
What a difference. This is actually the love seat, placed at an "L" from the sofa. I'm still fussing a bit with the slipcover, getting them into place and what not, but I think they look pretty darn good. I like that they are "lighter" and "fresher". I live in a rather cozy home, so the lighter colors really seem to make it feel more "airy".

Monday, Monday...

Usually my favorite day of the week, but I have to say I am finding it a bit difficult to get back into any kind of routine. Our vacation was relaxing and we had a good time, and all I can think about it is when we'll have the opportunity to go again. I love the central coast. The weather was PERFECT. The day temperatures ranged from the high 60s to the low 70s and it was breezy. Spending summer time on the coast is like a little bit of Heaven.
We visited various seaside towns and just concentrated on enjoying ourselves, our surroundings and each other (of course!) We stopped at a vineyard and did some wine tasting and came home with three new bottles of wine. Yummy! We also stopped in a town called Nipomo and ate at a restaurant called Jocko's. It wasn't fancy and is a hole in the wall but it was recommended to us by my hubby's boss and let me tell you...I've never had a better steak. I ordered the filet mignon and it was soooo tender and the size of it? Well I'm just sorry I didn't take a picture of it for you to see. It was HUGE!. We will definitely stop there again on a future trip.
Here are a few of the pictures I took. I hope you enjoy them.

We're on our way! The hills glow with their golden glow of Summer. In the Spring, these hills are lush and green. This is the James Dean Memorial Highway. This intersection is where the tragic crash occurred.

Another picture of the garden where we stayed.

Mine, mine, mine ! Pelicans diving for fish.
Elephant Seals sunning themselves. Cambria
A "rude" gesture perhaps? I think he wants me to leave him alone. (LOL)
Boats on the water...Avila BeachSan Simeon
Highway 1, my very favorite highway. Traveling south from Big Sur
And the fog rolls in...
These clouds seem to mimic the motion of the waves belowSunshine on the water.
Have a great day!

Pink Saturday

Hi Everybody!
I'm back and just in time for this weeks Pink Saturday. Yay! Pink Saturday is so graciously hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. Be sure to pay her a visit and check out all the great gals flashing a bit of pink.

This week I've a few photos I took while on vacation. I hope you enjoy them.

This is part of the garden of the home in which we stayed. I'm sure you see the flashes of pink flowers...Another spot in the garden. What a wonderful place to just sit and relax...sigh*...Ah, more splashes of pink.I loved this shop. I had to quickly fire off a few shots because the proprietor was giving me some funny looks. Isn't this china pretty?I love geraniums. Especially pink ones!
We stopped in a little "Danish Town" and this is the front of the bakery. The smells wafting through the air were making my mouth water.
Well I thank you kindly for stopping by and spending some time with me. Be sure to leave me a comment, say hello and let me know you were here.
I hope you have a fabulously pink day and a wonderful weekend!

The Pink Ladies Pledge "Think Pink"

Time for some R & R...

Hi everybody!
Just popping in to say I'll be MIA this week. Hubby and I are going on a mini vacation. We have some friends, wonderful people, that offered us their vacation home for this week and of course we said Y-E-S !!! It's on the coast and I've shared it before and it's my favorite place (second only to Disneyland) and you can imagine my excitement when I peeked online to see that the temperatures there are ranging from the low to mid 60s for the week! Yahoo! I definitely will not miss the heat and humidity we've been experiencing. So, I hope everyone has a wonderful week and I'll see you soon. (pics of my fave place. I've posted them before)

Come on, take a walk with me.




This pic comes for the city's website. I didn't see who took the pics, but it is not my image. We've walked along these steps and shores and it's the most wonderful place. I love the coast.

Hail Hail Pink Saturday...

Once again it's time to come together and indulge ourselves in Pink. Lavish and bathe ourselves in Pink. Inhale & exhale in Pink. Immerse and enjoy ourselves (you got it) in Pink.
Beverly, of How Sweet the Sound, is, as always, our ever gracious host. Be sure to pay her a visit and check out all our lovely Pink Ladies.

Ripe, sweet, California grapes...straight from the vine...seriously. All nestled in my pink malemine bowl. Have one!

This little Rose pitcher I found at one of the local thrift stores. It was to sweet to pass by. I've shared it before, but I thought I'd share it for Pink Saturday. It fits well.
This sweet little mouse is proudly wearing a pink party hat. It's a bit hard to tell but the flowers are pink and blue. This beauty sat atop all my children's birthday cakes as they celebrated their first birthdays and while I know this will be hard to believe, this candle is the candle I lit for my now 23 year old daughter on her first birthday and each child thereafter has celebrated their first birthday with the lighting of this candle. It's extra special to us since it was my mother who found and bought this little ceramic candle holder. Thanks mom.
I always rack my brain trying to think of where oh where I may have some pink in this house...Ta Daa! My pink wine glasses! I love looking at this book. It's got pictures of some great "Painted Ladies" located all across the nation. A side note. See that beauty on the front? While I know she is not pink herself, she is truly special. She has been completely refurbished from top to bottom, after much research it was concluded that this was her original color AND she is located but 20mins from me. I have been inside and it is gorgeous and a bit surreal to walk through the front doors and feel as if you've traveled back through time. This is the Hail House and it was moved to it's permanent location in Heritage Park...an outside museum with other Victorian homes & structures that have been saved and are being or have been restored. I love it there.

A Pretty, Pink, Painted Lady...
Thank you for dropping by and spending a bit of your day with me. I do appreciate you and the time you take to say "hi" and leave me a comment. May your day be great and filled with pink

The Pink Ladies pledge...THINK PINK!

Check out Sandals and Daisies...

Angie over at Sandals and Daisies is celebrating! Celebrating her 50th post and the precious memory of Cooper...her kitty. Take a trip over to her blog, be part of the celebration and don't forget to enter her give away.

Onto the next project...

Today (or maybe tomorrow), I will begin the (insert sarcasm here) ever so wonderful task of removing shelf paper. I've been stalling, I admit it. I know it needs to be done so we can move ahead with the kitchen, but ohhh, I just don't want to do it. I've got three different kinds of shelf paper in various drawers & cabinets and it just doesn't want to budge. And I have to start packing up my cabinet contents before I can begin the peeling process. So wish me luck as I go from cabinet to cabinet, drawer to drawer and try to remove this ugly, sticky paper. Hmm, must make note to buy "goo be gone" so I can also remove any sticky residue that may remain. Here's my question...how on earth am I going to reach that very top shelf? I'll tell you now, I am afraid of heights and climbing up a ladder just doesn't appeal to me. My kitchen cabinets are tall...forty-seven inches tall, to be exact. I could probably get away with standing on the counter top but that doesn't sound appealing either. Don't worry, I may not want to climb up there, but I will. It's a job that must be done (shudder).

Since we're talking about kitchens right now, I thought I'd show you one of my inspiration photos. I love the way this kitchen looks. I've thought of adding molding to my existing cabinet doors (like this shows) but I'm not sure if it would look good with the scallop edges my cabinets have (see pic above, you can see a bit of the scallop & the flat face of the cabinet door). I do like the molding on top of the cabinets and have decided that it's a close match to my the crown molding in my livingroom and it might look pretty good here in my kitchen. We'd take it around the top of the cabinets and entire perimeter of the kitchen. All my cabinets are flush with the ceiling. What do you think?

A love affair with the little blue flower...

Coming home after school and smelling the scents of another meal cooked with mom's love was my fortune as a child...seeing her fuss around the meal she was preparing and hustle about the kitchen is a memory I can see in my minds eye with a gentle clarity. From the oven to the table...dinner was served.

Perhaps it's my memories that make this so special. Perhaps it's the beauty in it's simplicity. I'm always on the hunt for pieces that have gone missing, for pieces that had the misfortune of breaking(which is a rarity), and for pieces to add to my growing collection. It's not fancy, it's not worth thousands of dollars, but it's a must have for me and I use it almost daily. Hmm, I just had a realization:
My name is Rechelle, and I'm a Corningware-a-holic *sigh* I mean seriously. Who can't love Corningware?

It's versatility-from stove top or oven straight to the table.
It's practicality-cookware that can double as serving dishes PLUS it looks great!
and last but not least...
It's charm-aww, what a cute little blue cornflower And to think that wayyyy back in 1957 a lab mistake was all it took and the introduction of CORNINGWARE hit consumers the following year.
My favorite kind of collectible is one that I can use...and use them, I do.

Pink Saturday

Hail Hail Pink Saturday! Once again, Bev at How Sweet the Sound is hosting another fun Pink Saturday. Be sure to give her a visit and check out the list of other wonderful bloggers sharing their pinkness.
Now, on with the show!

Okay, I am so not a gardener and I've a "tan" thumb. Not quite brown and not quite green either. Some flowers live, some do not. I'm somewhere in between. Anyway, look at this beauty who poked it's way up and out of the earth. It comes up every year, blooms for about two weeks or so and then dies off. I don't know what it is, so I"m hoping one of you dear friends, will be able to enlighten me. This year it must have really worked to show itself. See that bush next to it? It's really crowding the flower and the flower grew in at an angle. I've decided I will have the gardeners trim back the bush so that next year this beauty will have a place all it's own. I have to admit. I do look forward to it's arrival.

I've shared this toleware tray before, but it has quickly become one of my favorite finds. I love the flowers and look at the bright pink rose right>>>>THERE!My favorite hat/storage box. Living in a rather cozy home, I have to be creative with how I store some of my things. Well, nothing is better then a good sized hat box. This is one of my faves. I just can't help but love the roses. How about you?Ah, here we have one of my most cherished items. This is my bonnet. I can even remember my momma putting it on my head and tying the ribbons under my chin. I was about two years old when I wore it. Isn't it sweet? I know the color is faded and it's a bit worn, but it's so precious to me ,as is the memory that goes along with it.
I didn't have anything to put it upon to get a good shot, and I thought "Ha! A bottle of vino, would be keeno. It works, lol!
One of my favorite scents. I love Bath and Body Works! What's your favorite scent?
A pink cloth covered jewelery box I keep in my bathroom. I don't know if you can tell, but there are clear beads sewn on top to give it a bit of "pizazz". I keep it my bathroom as I've an awful habit of taking off my earrings and just leaving them where they lay. I've lost to many earrings to count. I thought this would be a good way to help myself not lose so many. Hey, one can hope.

Thanks for stopping by and spending a bit of your day with me. I hope the rest of your weekend is Uniquely Pinkly Wonderful.

The Pink Ladies Pledge-THINK PINK

My best "bargain". My best "find"

Carolyn at Cranberry Crossings has shared what her favorite "bargain" was and wanted to know about others. I decided I'd post mine too and add my best "find" also.

This vanity was a present from my hubby. He found it at a yard sale and snatched it up for $40The decorations underneath the nativity...FREE! All of them. Some were things given to me by one of my neighbors. She was cleaning out her stuff as she was going in a more formal and sophisticated direction for her Christmas decorating. The other decorations were gifts from my Bunco group. The lady who hosts the Bunco for the month, supplies the dinner and the rest of us bring her a gift of her choice. That year I was hosting for the month of December and asked everyone to bring me Christmas Decor. There's more, but not in this particular picture.As for "finds". My family and I took a family vacation to Arizona and of course no visit to Arizona should be made without a stop at the Grand Canyon. It's absolutely breath taking. Words cannot describe the absolute awe I felt upon my first view of this magnificent creation.Now here is probably my greatest find (LOL). Her name is Daisy. She is a standard Poodle, although in this picture she is not sporting her froo froo "do". On a rather beautiful winter's day, January 30th, my hubby and I decided to take our youngest child to the park for some fun before we had to pick up the rest of the kids from school. We were playing in the sand when this young dog came bounding upon us (literally). She was so friendly, jumping and playing. I thought for sure she belonged to someone. No one claimed her. Then I noticed how her collar was to tight and how thin she appeared. I didn't have the heart to just leave her at the park, so we brought her with us when we went to pick up the kids. We stopped at our vet's office and luckily this girl had a microchip. The registered owner was called and he claimed to have given her up to the county shelter just before Christmas. He claimed she was destructive, hyper, never listened, always got out of her yard and freaked out when it rained. I didn't have the heart to take her back to a shelter and made the decision to bring her home and I would put up flyers to see if someone would claim her, because if she was given to the shelter in December and running the streets in January that would mean someone adopted her...right? I also contacted the shelter and discovered to my dismay that this gal was never relinquished to them. They also had the information of the registered owner. I was just saddened to think this little girl had been running the street for over a month's time. That explained the to thin body and the to tight collar. Well per our county laws, if no one claims the dog in 10 days time, the finder of the dog is able to officially adopt. Well, needless to say we fell in love with this girl and made her ours. She is the sweetest thing! Yes, she was unruly and hyper, but all she needed was guidance, love and a patient hand. We gave all those things and more. She has blended well with our other dogs and runs happily in her "pack". She has learned her commands as well as "shake and play dead". She is quick to pick up tricks and is so eager to please. She has been a great "find" and wonderful addition to our already big family.