patience and perseverance

We have toiled day after day for the past 6 weeks, and now, as our reward, we live in a house with a "For Sale" sign in the front yard.

~Ground floor ~

Foyer:

From foyer into living room:

Dining room:

Kitchen:

~ Upstairs ~

Mistress' bedroom (no "Master" here!)

Guest room:

Office:

Upstairs bath:

all photos: mine

"Great difficulties may be surmounted by patience and perseverance." - Abigail Adams

http://confessionsofasineater.blogspot.com/

washed in black

We went to the garden center this morning and bought two big red mums, which I potted up in the huge black urns that flank the (black) front door. I love black in the garden, and in the house.

I remember my mother telling me about painting a breakfast nook black when she was newly married (1950?) - she'd seen a black room in a magazine or something, and thought it was so swank. Always a DIYer, she set about creating her own bit of sophisticated swish. Once the project was finished she discovered that no light bulb was bright enough to illuminate the nook - "that black just sucked up all the light." Much to her chagrin, she had to admit defeat and re-paint. But hats off to her for trying!

photos: 1 & 3) livingetc.com, 2) beautifulpaper.typepad.com,

4, 6-9) apartmenttherapy.com 5) decorology.blogspot.com

10) gardening.savvy-cafe.com

"All the pictures have been washed in black, tattooed everything..." - Pearl Jam

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the elimination of nonessentials

Soon, this work will be done, and I will be able to relax...

photos: 1) hairbyborga.com, 2) countryliving.com, 3) mercerislandhomes.org,

4) veranda.com, 5) flickr.com/photos/kassel1 6) jobonga.com

The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials. ~Lin Yutang

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now for October eves!

I mark the passage of time in tiny ways: cicadas, then crickets...goldenrod, ironweed, and joe-pye weed...counting down the drift into fall. Autumn-born, this is my favorite season, "my" season, so all heralds of its arrival are eagerly anticipated, intently awaited, and joyfully welcomed.

The sight of pumpkins on porches is, for me, literally giggle-inducing. I usually decorate the house from sidewalk to alley with my collection of pumpkins, skeletons, and witches. I'll have to go easy this year. (De-personalize! Remember, you're not selling your home, you're selling the buyer's next home!) Still, one little pumpkin surely won't hurt...

photos: 1) layoutsparks.com, 2) astorybooklife.com, 3-5 ) countryliving.com,

6)velvetstrawberries.typepad.com

Listen! the wind is rising,

and the air is wild with leaves,

We have had our summer evenings,

now for October eves!

-by Humbert Wolfe

http://confessionsofasineater.blogspot.com/

Tread softly...

The new carpeting was installed yesterday, and even though wall-to-wall plush is not my flooring of choice, it does have its merits - warmth, quiet, and comfort to name a few. And in this case, its truly winning attribute is that it was relatively inexpensive, and installation was quick (and done by someone else, hallelujah!) Now we just have to keep the dogs off it until we move.

These floors are much more inspiring than my milky-tea colored sea of carefully orchestrated neutrality. Which one is your favorite?

photos: 1) orangebeautiful.com, 2) archiexpo.com, 3) mybutlerdesign.com,

4) thedesignfiles.net, 5) designspongeonline.com, 6) designmyway.blogspot.com,

7) zedomax.com, 8) allaboutyou.com, 9) anicursor.com,

10) interiorsbyfrancesca.net

"Tread softly, because you tread on my dreams." - William Butler Yeats

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