Shut The Barn Door! & It's Spring!

       I had something very exciting happen to me last month! Have you ever found something exactly like you had pictured in your mind for the longest time? That is what happened to me. When I first bought this white door for the corner of my living room, I loved it, but also had pictured something more rustic, something with more texture and warmth, something that was a bit more shack than fancy. I love the mix of rustic and elegance together. An old barn door would be perfect. Where was I going to find a barn door? I checked craigslist and a few antiques stores, but found nothing. Then I gave up the search for a few months.

 

Last month while driving home that little voice inside me said, "Why don't you stop by The Painted Horse to see what they have in?"  They always say to listen to that little voice inside you, right? So I stopped, I looked around, and then went out the the carriage house. As I walked into the carriage house, my eyes wandered over to the back corner, it was then that angels started singing and a light shone down upon on it, a barn door! And not just any barn door, the PERFECT barn door! The old, worn, pale weathered tone, barn door that I had pictured in my mind, rusty old nails and all!  My kids thought I was crazy for being so excited over a barn door, but they were good sports to help hold it up between them on the short ride home.

I am not sure if I will eventually hang something on it, or not, but for now I am enjoying it's rustic simplicity.

I am so glad spring has finally arrived, here are a few spring touches I have around our home this year.

I added a nest of robin's eggs and a mossy pot of pansies to my terrarium.

 

Our weeping cherry is in bloom this week,it is always one of my favorites.

Our Bradford Pear tree is also in bloom.

So happy to have bubble blowing, barefoot days again!

Have a great day!

Kimberlee

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I am so happy to be back to blogging! My lap top bit the dust a couple weeks ago, it was dead. I was told it was gone for good, and I mourned it deeply. Thankfully, I am married to a computer genius who miraculously brought it back to life and managed to save all my pictures! I would be so lost without him, he saved the day for sure.

Things have been busy this past month. The kids and I made a trip with my mother, sister, and her children to one of our favorite places, Bid Cedar Lodge in Branson, MO. It is a really special place to us, and we always look forward to going and getting away from everyday life for a little bit.

         
What a perfect place to be on a rainy, cold, winters day!

Samantha started her ballet lessons. I just love watching all the little girls learn how to dance.

 Patriot and Samantha also started taking archery lessons. They both really enjoy it.

I started decorating for spring last month. I never last very long after Christmas before I start. I know that may be too early for some, but I have never really followed seasonal rules. I always just do what I feel like doing when it comes to decorating. Who made those rules up anyway? :) I could easily jump straight to spring when the Christmas goes away. Although, I do hold off the rabbits and eggs until closer to Easter.


For my birthday in Jan., I went birthday shopping and ended up buying some new stone accents. They aren't really stone, but they look it. I like mixing different textures into my vignettes, and I realized I would like to add some stone to my spring, another pretty natural element! I found these pieces at The White Rabbit. I wasn't sure where I was going to put them all, but they all found a place. Don't you love when that happens? That is how I shop, if you really, really, love it, there will be a good place for it.

The first piece I chose was this stone fruit, it found a home in the dining room.

You will have to act like you can't see the spot on the ceiling in the mirror, we had a leak in our roof from an unsealed pipe, and my husband fixed it, but we still haven't done the finish over it. And if you didn't notice the spot, then, forget I said anything. :)

The second piece I found was this bust, my kids refer to her as the creepy lady, but I think she is pretty. She resides on the fireplace mantle for now. We named her Caroline.

I also found this terrarium, and fell in love. I was needing something for the middle of the buffet and it was a perfect fit!

I decided to fill the inside with another stone piece, pheasant feathers, old sheet music, old books, a mirror, and small boxwood urn.

During our trip to Big Cedar Lodge, I came across this lamp at Kirklands, it was on a great sale, and I could not pass it up. Even though it barely fit into the car with everyone, I practically rode home with the shade on my lap, but it was worth it. I love this lamp, and the burlap shade!

I have some fun plans for today, after wanting to watch this show for almost a year, I am finally going to sit down and start season 1 of Downton Abbey! I have my English candle and tea ready. If you are also late to the party, you can watch season 1 on Netflix, and season 2 on Hulu Plus. I have season 3 recorded and saved on the DVR, but I am sure you can find it to watch elsewhere, if you do not have it recorded. We will see how far I can get this weekend.

Thank you for stopping by! I will return soon with more spring and Easter, have a great weekend!

Kimberlee


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~A New Year & A New Beginning~

Happy New Year! It was exactly one year ago that I had packed all my Christmas away, and decided to change everything in my home. For over ten years I had decorated in a primitive colonial style. I worked at a primitive shop, I had a job as a stylist for a primitive magazine, our home had been published in a couple country/primitive magazines, I had a primitive blog, and primitive friends. To change, and leave some of that behind seemed very scary at first. To sell things I had loved, and thought I would never part with, seemed unbelievable. Could I really do that? Was I making a big mistake I would regret? Was this just a phase I was going through? One year later, I am happy to say there are no regrets, I am so glad I followed my heart, and not all the fears in my head.

                     In the winter of 2011 I developed Interstitial Cystitis, (IC). For months I was stuck at home, in constant pain and misery. After lots of prayer, my own research, and taking my health into my own hands, I slowly got better. I am so very, very thankful to be living a pain free, normal life once again. I will have to share my journey with IC in another post. After being stuck at home for months, I was tired of the dark colors. I needed a change, but thought changing everything would be too daunting and expensive of a task at the time. After Christmas last year, I couldn't stand the thought of going through another winter in the darkness, the memories of my illness the previous winter were still very fresh in my mind. I didn't know how I was going to do it, I didn't have money to go out and just buy all new things for my home. So, I started selling, and to my surprise it all sold quickly.

With every brush stroke of  paint, I felt like I was also brushing away the bad memories and giving myself a light and bright new beginning. Isn't it amazing how emotional and therapeutic decorating and painting can be? It has been fun discovering what things speak to me, what style I want to be my own, I am still very much going through that process, and I love it.

What a difference a year can make. Here is our home Christmas 2011.

Christmas 2012

2012 was a good year, not only were we all in good health, we also made some very special and fun memories. We put the new floors and kitchen on hold to go on a big vacation instead. They are only this age once, so glad we went!

I am looking forward to seeing what 2013 will bring, I have so many projects  and goals planned for this year. Flooring, a kitchen redo, and hopefully a master bedroom makeover. I would also like to learn more about photography, and how to really use my camera. Before I get started on those though, I am working on a deep cleaning and organizing of our home. All month I have been going through all my cabinets, closets, and drawers, it feels good to clean out and feel fresh for the new year. I have also been thinking about exactly what I want to do with our kitchen. Here are a couple kitchen pins from pinterest that I absolutely love and find inspiring. I wish I knew the original source for both of them.

I will return soon with some new goodies I got for my birthday. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Kimberlee

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