randomness

this just excites me.
4 years ago i wouldn't have taken a second glance. because of the pinks and blues. thank goodness tastes change... and that mine have. i love it. the pattern mix. the colors. doesn't the couch look super comfy? (ok, i just noticed this... the stripes on the left cushion match up but don't match up on the right cushions. hmmmm. kinda bothers me. does it you?)

i only had time to glance at the pictures last night in the new lonny issue. it's on my list to read this weekend. along with this book. i'm halfway thru. very good so far.

in other news, this is our current back porch. until monday, when the concrete is poured. they tore out the old concrete patio yesterday. it involved a jack hammer and lots of noise.
steve designed the layout of this one. along with a roof over it. here's his drawing.
the beams and rafters will be cedar. shingle roof. wood underside. and the final element (which will end our run of 2010 home renovations...thank god) is replacing a large window in the dining room with french doors out to the new patio. i think i need a pretty chandelier to hang from under the roof. or maybe lanterns. this ensures that we can use our outdoor space even in the rain.

next week i'll post photos of my new office. here's a sneak peek.
i love my new space. mainly because it's finally totally enclosed and i can shut the doors and forget about work for the evenings and weekends. it's amazing how a physical barrier helps create a mental barrier.

and secondly, i love it because it's got one of these. does your office have one? if not, i highly recommend one. super cute and hours of entertainment.

and finally.... my last piece of news. this happened yesterday. it's one of a pair. i'll be on the hunt this weekend for something else for that space. (yes, i didn't fill the entire pot with dirt. i weighed it down with cinder blocks because we get extremely high winds here. )
have a great weekend!

the winner

image from here

this will be our new dining room chandelier. we just clicked 'submit order'.

it will be going above this table.
which we bought from here. when i called my local restoration hardware about 6 weeks ago to inquire about this table, the nice sales associate told me about an event that was happening at the shopping village in a few weeks. donate $25 to a cancer research foundation and receive 20% off of your purchases at participating stores. restoration hardware was participating. i waited. i participated. i donated and marched into rh to purchase this. (and i stopped in jcrew too, while i was there, cause, you know, i had that 20% off that, you know, i didn't want to waste.... and anthropologie.) anyway, we love the table.

back to the chandelier. it was a tough competition. i originally wanted this.
i thought the frilliness would be a nice juxtaposition to the rustic wood. steve hated it. i couldn't convince him otherwise.

steve countered with this.
and although i love the crystal shades (again, nice contrast to the rustic table) i thought the base bars were just too modern.

i moved onto these.
i love this. let me say again, i love this. i thought 2 of these over the table would be perfect. steve didn't. (but don't worry.... i'll work one into the house somewhere, someway.)

then i tried to sell him on this.
i loved the idea of 2 of these over the table. i thought these really suited the mood we were striving for, which is extremely informal. steve wasn't on board with these.

then we settled on this.until we went to order it and realized it was backordered until october. ugh.

this chandelier hunt was exhausting. seriously. we searched countless sites for countless hours until we were dizzy. we'd settle on one light only to find that it wasn't bright enough or too expensive or not large enough.

i involved my sister. i sent her the links to each choice, not telling her whose choice it was. her front runner was the capiz shell. second was the ultimate winner. i'm happy with our choice. i think it'll look great over the table.

oh, and the ultimate winner in the amazing chandelier race was originally .... steve's choice.

how do they know...

that pixel and i left the office to go answer the door??

creepy.

yippee!

finally! the sun is out.

image from here

it's been 8 days since i've seen a shadow. i was starting to turn into this.
i was getting cranky, depressed, and like him, didn't care about shaving. but, it's over now. i'm better. i'm smiling.

bedford springs

as i mentioned before, my sister kim, my mom and i recently spent a few days in central pennsylvania at bedford springs resort. the place is divine.

image from here

silly me, i didn't take my camera. i snapped these with my phone camera. the decor was beyond gorgeous. hopefully you'll get the gist. this is looking out to the lobby from the reception desk.

the lobby. done in corals and blues. several fireplaces, a player piano. afternoon tea and snack.

gorgeous art nouveau wallpaper everywhere. coral velvet chairs.the ultimate gallery wall at first entrance.
this fab little nook was right outside the elevator on our wing of the resort.
an indoor mineral springs pool was the central focus of the resort's spa wing. again, gorgeous wallpaper. marble tile floors. beautiful white molding. and more gallery walls.
this was the view down one hallway. mint paint.leading to hot salmon pink.
beautiful rugs everywhere.
the library.the crystal room, serving a breakfast buffet.

the door to our room was pale aqua. notice the molding. judge's paneling i believe it's called. i've added this to steve's honey-do list. i've got it earmarked for the recessed niche in our dining room. and perhaps some wallpapper above it. ok, honey??our room was similar to this one except painted a beautiful shade of blue.

image from here

even the on-the-property tavern restaurant had a fabulous restroom. look at that sink!

this was the hallway leading to the tavern restaurant. the chaise lounges looked out onto a firepit. the restaurant sold s'mores packages for some evening fun.
the service at the resort was beyond excellent. i didn't have cell phone service anywhere on the resort. the front desk provided me with a temporary brand new cell phone and instructions to forward my phone to that phone. complimentary.

kim and i took advantage of the spa. after our facials, we were free to use the mineral spring baths, where we exfoliated, rinsed, steamed, soaked, and cooled.

if you ever find yourself near central pennsylvania and in need of lodging, you must stay here. i can't recommend it enough.

our weekend

1.pixel's first slumber party! kandu on the left. pixel on the right. kandu spent friday night and saturday with us. they had a ball.
hubby was in heaven with his brittany pile-up. he wants pixel to have a sibling (other than the 2 cats that live upstairs) so he said this was a good trial run. hmmm....2. more demolition. saturday morning we both mentioned at the same time that we hate the fireplace. this was not the first time it's been mentioned. i've hated it since day one. it's flat. the tile is boring. the mantel is so narrow you can barely set anything on it.
hubby to the rescue. this was the fireplace at 5 pm. thanks honey. now we're picking out tile and a new mantel.
3. rain. rain. and more rain. which always makes me sleepy. and pixel. so lots of these.

when mom's away...

last week while i was out of town, i asked steve to send me a photo of pixel. i missed her. this is what i got in return. he thought it appropriate to put her on the kitchen counter for the pose. lord only knows what else went on while i was away....

one year!

i just realized... my one-year blog-iversary was may 21! 239 posts. it went by so quickly.

thank you to all who stop by and read. thank you to all who comment. i truly, truly appreciate it.

image via martha stewart

house envy

this house (click to enlarge) is in my sister's neighborhood. i love it. white painted brick. black door. black shutters. (i know... photo's not great but it's one of those drive-by snapshots.) there's a sunroom on the right. and a rotunda on the left, which isn't obvious here. half circular brick drive. there's an attached 2-car garage and a detached 2-car garage... perfect for pixelimpress. and best yet, it's across the street from the country club so steve and i could hoof it to a round of evening golf. speaking of steve.... he better not read this post after all the work he's done on our current house. we have no plans to move any time soon, but if we did....

and i'm back.

and working on putting all the pieces back together. of the house.
steve was beyond productive while i was gone. he moved my office from the dining room to the formal living room, which is now behind doors with new carpeting. i must still organize it. he removed the carpeting from the family room and put in hardwood. he opened up the passageway from the kitchen to the dining room and framed it. he's gone thru 3 tubes of bengay.
these are camera phone pictures of the library room at bedford springs resort in pennsylvania. i visited it last week with mom and sis. it was beyond beautiful and relaxing and peaceful.

now it's back to work.