Decorating with a Split Personality

Honestly, I do believe that is what I have!  Can you relate?  Part of me just loves the glitzy glamorous shine of bling, and then there's the part of me loves the traditional timeless look of warn rustic dull edges, and then there is the casual side of me that is all about being true to being nautical.  That's quite a contradiction isn't it?  Let me show you what I'm talking about.

Here's a few pieces I've recently bought from work and several of my other favorite shopping haunts.

I bought both sizes since they were on clearance and 60% off of that.

I've been admiring these sparkly blinged out frames for awhile now.

Stein Mart also has these.  Can you believe they are acrylic?  I bought them full price because I know they will not last until a sale.  I love the way the light reflects off the bubbles!

The shine on these eggs found at Marshalls certainly caught my eye too.

I love everything with sequins!

Still debating about this with the eggs.  Hmm???

Then there are pieces like these below that I purchased on our recent trip to Asheville, North Carolina.  We stopped in at this FABULOUS antique store called Antique Tobacco Barn.  OMG!  I didn't take any photos inside because I was too shy to ask, so you will have to go to the website to see what I'm talking about.  Seriously, check it out y'all!  Open a second tab and copy paste this link and then come back and tell me your first response.  OMG! Right?

I was in 7th Heaven yall!  This place is filled to the brim with all sorts of goodies.  We found it on the first night of our arrival and they were just closing so we only had a peek.  Then we tried to go back the next day and they were closed due to the threat of snow. Uh!  Finally, on the day we were leaving Asheville, my husband took me by there again and they were open.  It was so cold inside that day but we lingered long enough for me come home with these two items. 

Now this piece I think I can imagine how to use it.  I'm not sure if I want to paint it or not?   I've seen lot's of these out there in blogland.  I'll be checking out some of your posts to get more ideas. 

But this one?  What to do?  I just couldn't resist it though.  I love, love, love, the shoe placement thingy on the top.  Why?  IDK!  Really! 

Then there's the nautical side of me.  It keeps showing up in bit's and pieces around the house.

I've recently been trying to keep it all contained to one area of the house in this corner.

This sign stole my heart immediately.  I can certainly attest, it's so true!!!

Then this little beauty also jumped in my hand at Marshalls on the same day the eggs did.  Yes, I actually use my split personality while shopping.  LOL!

Now here's the question?  What to do? What to do?  How in the world do I work some of these items into my decor?  I haven't a clue.  But I am decorating with a "what you love" mindset.  I'm not sure this is such a good way to go about things though.  I am seeing big contrasts lately and not sure how I'm going to bring it all together, but I keep trying. 

What about you?  Do you ever feel like you have a split personality in home decor?  Maybe, it's just me!  He he!  Well, thanks so much for stopping by if you did.  Leave me a note if you feel like it too because I really do enjoy hearing from you.  Have a great day friends!

Mary

P.S.  If you know how to get the left side of my of my blog to stop jumping, I'd really love to know.  Thanks!

It's Raining Mermaids!

Wow!  The rain sure has been coming down around here quite a bit lately.

Today looks to be no exception.  Just look how these puddles have started to form across my front yard.

My back deck looks like a shimmering sea,...of wood that is.

More puddles out back are creating mini ponds around the yard and are beckoning for a dip. I'd better keep my eye's closely on the girls lest they swim away even though they just arrived.

Even our big backyard pond is overflowing with rain water.  Well, not really but we are having to pump it down almost daily.  All this rain on a rare weekend off normally would have me swimming in misery.  However, it made for several great days of catching up on projects and shopping.

And look at what has arrived to swim around in our ponds!  This sweet little Mermaid was found at Ross on a lunch break last week.

One look at her and I knew she would be coming home with me.  This beautiful little thing has been longing to go outside.  I think she's settled down now though after meeting her new friend.

That's right!  I  actually caught another one!

Can you believe that I also found this gorgeous creature at Ross this weekend?  Since it was so cold and rainy I decided to pop in to the other store that is closer to my home.  Boy am I glad I did!

Isn't she just devine?  I sure think so!  There was also a third style that did not make it home...yet. LOL!  I'm pretty sure it's going to be a mermaid kind of summer around here.

Oh my she has stolen my heart this lovely siren!

I've also been collecting pretty new ceramic pots to use around the pool this summer. It seems a bit early to be thinking of summer time decor but I have a feeling if I wait it will not be around.  The way things are selling out I am sure I am not the only one who cannot wait for this winter to be over.  You know me, I am dreaming of summer and of swimming with Mermaids.  How about you? Are you ready for the a change in the seasons?  

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  Be sure and check out many more goodies at;

Tabletop Tuesday

Rain or shine, I hope you a great day!

Chartreuse in the Bedroom?

Would you?  Could you?  Why yes I would and in fact I did! 

Warning: What I am about to share with you may be quite a shock to those of you who are in favor of the more muted tones in decorating.  However, it has been our experience at work that lot's and lot's of people are craving color these days.  So now you know it's not just me.  LOL!  They are not craving just any old colors either, but all those bright and bold colors!  Colors like bright orange, green, yellow, hot pink and turquoise are flying off our shelves.  Since I seem to have been ahead of the trend on these bright bold colors I have decided I will share my bedroom with you once again.  

Well, to be honest I also wanted to show off our new (to us) bedroom furniture and linens.   I am so excited that I feel like I have finally gotten the bedding right for this room. 

Some of you may remember a few years ago when we upgraded from a queen size mattress to a king.  We bought a really nice mattress and therefore did not have the money to spend on a new bed at the time.  I had found a headboard and painted it (read all about that here) and that was great for awhile but my heart longed for my previous four poster bed.

Recently, when I found a new bed and was ready to purchase the Mr. stopped me and said he had a coworker that wanted to sell his entire bedroom set for what I was prepared to pay for the new bed. 

After finding out it was a rice bed I had to take a look.  How could you not fall in love with the details?  It also didn't hurt that the set also included two nightstands in addition to the dresser with mirror, chest and bed.  We had been thinking we would just use the bed and nightstands since it matched our old dresser and chest but after getting it home I decided I'd rather just go all matchy matchy and use the whole set.

Little did I realize that this bed was going to be sooooo very TALL.  I keep a step up under the bed that I slide out to get in at night.  Seriously!  With the height of the bed combined with the height of our mattress, I had quite a delimma with the linens not being large enough to hang properly.

To solve this problem I ended up purchasing a King size bedspread that is 118 x 120.  Now that's BIG folks!   Most King comforters and quilts usually run somewhere between 102/104 to 86/90 at best.  There is quite a variance among manufacturers.  That size barely draped over the edge of my mattress.  In order to get the coverlet look, I had to go with a bedspread.  I debated on this for the longest time because it was so hard to find what I wanted for what I wanted to pay.

My decision was made after finding this beautiful quilted 100% cotton bedspread at Belks.  It's called Ariel by PHI.  As soon as it went on sale I decided it would be perfect.  Even on sale it was more then I wanted to spend but I know I will have this for a long, long time.

Why?  Because the white bedspread is the only thing that coordinates well with our cornice boards.  I inherited these from my in-laws and am so very attached to this fabric.

I just love it!  I have thought many times about recovering these but just cannot do it!  I just love the pattern of this fabric.  These cornice boards are the very reason I painted this room the color it is.  Have you ever had something influence your decorating so much?

I also added a pale yellow quilt to layer on my bed that coordinates with the paler yellow in my cornice boards.  I bought this quilt from work, Stein Mart.  It is also 100% cotton and the pattern is Venice Squares.  It's just the right shade too!

I just recently added these small mirrors behind my lamps.  I am not sure if I am liking these here or not.  I thought they kinda had a tropical look to the frame.  I think I'll live with it for awhile and see.  What do you think, too much?

And to show you that my room is really not as bright as it shows in the first pictures here it is with the lights off.  At one time I had a lighter more sagey green that was just too drab during the day and made the room feel too cold to me.

I like this color because it always feels so warm and inviting even with the lights off.

Thank you so much for stopping by today.  It was great to finally have a little time off to catch up with y'all.  So the question is, how about you?  Could you do bright colors in your bedroom?  If so, what colors makes your heart sing?  I'd love to know!

Have a great weekend!

In the Conservatory at Biltmore

Recently, I blogged about our trip to the Biltmore Mansion in Asheville, N.C. just a few weeks ago.  As I promised I am back to share a little more of that trip with you now.  Here we were outside of the beautiful Biltmore Mansion about to make our way inside.

I like to wonder about what kinds of gatherings they may have had here in the main courtyard.  I would have liked to be able to share more photos of the home with you but unfortunately they have a thing about taking photos inside the home.  So, as you have guessed there are none from inside that I can share with you.

I snapped this photo as we were leaving the house after having a wonderful leisure afternoon of touring the home.  It was cold and icy outside that day but, OH, so worth it!  In January, not only are the rates lower for admittance but the crowds are significantly lower too.  The shuttle bus driver from the parking lot said they went from 10,000 people a day in December to 400 a day in January.  Wow!  I have been to Biltmore before with one of my sons on a school trip and it was extremely busy, rushed, and quite a different experience.  This was sooooo much nicer!

Here's a wall on the opposite end of the courtyard filled with sculptures.  Do you see the turtles in the arches on the bottom?  While touring the house I learned that the Lady of the house loved and owned several different types of animals, including turtles.   I also learned that the Vanderbilt legacy is one of a family filled with love that were quite fun and entertaining. I was amazed to read that they were scheduled to be on the Titanic's disastrous voyage but changed plans at the last minute to take her sister ship home to New York instead.  Sadly, some of their acquaintances did not change and were lost to them.  Can you imagine?  I just enjoyed hearing everything about their lives!  How very grand!  

Our next stop after the house was the conservatory where many rare exotic plants and orchids are grown.  I was too cold and worried about slipping on the ice to get outside pictures so you will just have to enjoy the view form inside, okay?

If you are a garden lover like me you would adore this place.

There were three maybe four greenhouses, I can't remember.  I do remember there was one listed as cold and one as hot though.  LOL!  

The orchids were blooming and I was over joyed to see them!

I wonder how much time the Vanderbuilts spent wandering around here.  I would have to visit this part of the estate daily for sure.  Wouldn't you?

The leaves on this plant were humongous!  

I loved seeing the gorgeous plants spilling out of birdcages.

It was truly a wonder land of comfort in the midst of a cold and dreary day!  There is also a store below to shop for all sorts of garden goodies.  After leaving the conservatory we went to the winery  for another tour and then the village for lunch.  It was such a fantastic day stepping back in time. 

Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the tour.  If you get the chance ever you really should visit the Biltmore in Asheville.  It's quite magical!

Have a great week friends!