...on the note of nothing noteworthy...

This bed is haunting me.

I'm thinking...

PINK. Thoughts?

Old City Lanterns

This tab to Old City Lanterns has been open in one Safari window or another for almost a week. I finally decided that I could just bookmark it, but since things get lost among my bookmarks like they get lost on my desktop I thought I should play it safe and write about them.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Beautiful, hand-made, copper. The artisan offers several finishes including raw copper (I love aged copper, hello front porch). Go check 'em out. Happy Monday. And something to make you feel more confident about the state of your Monday...

It's Friiiiday (you know what I'm singing in my head, you are too)

My morning went something like this:

3 cups of coffee
1 episode of Andy Griffith Show
1 cat running at breakneck speeds playing with his Q-tip
1 very sick puppy
a couple* hours catching up on blogs
3 muggy-slaps-in-the-face by the outdoor world as I took sick puppy out
1 phone call to "doc" (aka daddy) about sick puppy
1 realization that I am at least partially pathetic as I cancelled all my plans so puppy would not have to be sick in his kennel...but mostly I'm just a dedicated puppy-mom. Surely someone understands.

Still reeling about how cool I must be to have found this ahhhmazing Vervain fabric for our future powder room window:

Hand-painted silk, silver metallic. Enough said. 

I really love this West Elm quilt for the lakehouse:

I also love this:

I think I should do laundry. Talk to y'all lata.

Textures from West Elm

Vacation Destination Down Under :: Pretty Beach House

Pretty Beach House pretty much says it all....

Two years ago today...

...I was eating breakfast, about to have my makeup done for our wedding...what an awesome day.

Happy 2nd Anniversary, Nate!

D.I.Y.F.

I've been trying to find a return rod for the shower curtain in the basement bathroom at the lake for a reasonable price. All the economical ones were u.g.l.y. (you ain't got no alibi...elementary school, anyone?) The only one that I really liked was custom made, iron...and $$ (for a shower curtain at our lakehouse). 

 Everything this company made was really, very pretty...

As I was browsing though BlackHawk Hardware this afternoon, looking for toilet paper holder, hooks and curtain rods, I wandered onto the plumbing aisle and decided then and there that I would just make them all. Remember the lamps that Julia Roberts makes in Runaway Bride? I like her.

With the help of some men who knew what they were doing I got all the parts to make the return rod and toilet paper holder:

the rod:

3/4" x 60" galvanized steel pipe

(2) 3/4" 90 degree galvanized elbows

(2) 3/4" galvanized floor flange

(2) 3/4"x 2" galvanized nipple

the t.p. holder:
3/8" galvanized floor flange
3/8" 90 degree galvanized elbow
3/8" x 2" galvanized nipple
3/8" x 6" galvanized nipple

(I had first grabbed the black iron pieces but was informed that the "black" was oil based and would never stop rubbing off (as they gestured to my blackened hands). They said to use the galvanized pieces, wipe them down with rubbing alcohol and paint them whatever color I wanted. )

DIY TP Holder (using the 3/8" parts)
So simple no words are required ... four-handed furry friends are helpful

 I'm going to have to get ol' muscles in here to finish screwing the parts together...tada!

DIY Return Rod

In the supply list I have written down (2) 3/4"x 2" galvanized nipples. In the pictures I have used 3" nipples, but when it was assembled the rod stuck out almost 5 inches...too far. I plan on replacing the 3" nipples with 1" or 2" nipples so that the entire rod only sticks out about 3 inches from the wall (screwing them all the way together will also help...come home, Muscles).

Price for return rod parts: $52.93

3/4" x 60" galvanized steel pipe - $27.99

(2) 3/4" 90 degree galvanized elbows - $5.98

(2) 3/4" galvanized floor flange - $13.98

(2) 3/4"x 3" galvanized nipple - $4.98 (will go down when I exchange for shorter length)

Price for T.P. holder parts: $16.46

3/8" galvanized floor flange - $4.99

3/8" 90 degree galvanized elbow - $1.99

3/8" x 2" galvanized nipple - $4.99

3/8" x 6" galvanized nipple - $4.49

To see everything thats been happening over at the lake house until now click here. 

The South is a Steam Room

...and it is getting hard to breathe. I am not exaggerating when I say that you could see steam in the air yesterday morning. Walking outside has become punishment and I even love hot weather. Naturally, my mind keeps drifting back to cooler Vermont nights and ultimately fall here in the South and eventually to Lake Keowee in the fall. The image below is not Lake Keowee...

 Two words: lakehouse firepit. Work weekend anyone?

 This next one would belong to Martha...

 Of course, some of these blow the term "pit" out of the water, but so beautiful.

images via Houzz

So what do you think?

Vermont, New Hampshire...is New England a state?

We started our week of vacation on Lake Champlain in Vermont with Nate's extended family...

...his family has been vacationing in this same spot for 50 years...needless to say, they have it down to a science. Day One, the men-folk got their hands dirty moving a whole bunch of heavy metal from here...

to here....

 ...this is starting to look familiar, two men working, six men (and one girl) supervising...

....to there. Whew.

  Every year they have to put the docks in around Memorial Day and pull them out in the fall because the lake freezes solid! I had no idea. During man-fest Uncle  Randy cut off the tip of his finger...anyone else get a picture?

While Uncle Randy went to try and salvage his finger tip the rest of the men continued with the heavy lifting and repaired damage done by the spring flooding (which is why the docks went in July 4 weekend instead of Memorial Day). At this point you might be thinking to yourself, "There sure are lots of people up there at that lakehouse in Vermont." You would be correct. But don't even try to count because even I don't know how many family members were there.

When the work was finished the playing began and Grandma H presided over the frivolities...

There was cornhole, beer, can jam, beer, bonfires, cheese-dreams, beer and swimming:

I stink at cornhole...and throwing frisbees. Nate was the only person that "wanted" me on his team. We also watched fireworks...

...and competed to hold this little guy...

and slept...

We watched the sun set every evening...

...and finished every night with a bonfire, s'mores, talking and beer... and games of golf (a card game at which I also happen to stink...no wonder I hate competitive sports).

And now, no more words (ok, a few). You can probably figure out the rest of it yourself. Part 2 will include words about New Hampshire.