my guest room...

I now have a guest room in my home.

My little girl moved out to her first place

and I miss her.

While I am very happy for her and it really was time,

I miss her.

Gone are the bright pink walls and the Audrey Hepburn print from Ikea behind the door that was shut most days to hide the clutter (I don't miss that).  Also gone ~ all the extra accessories I had to choose from to complete my outfit each day!

I got busy on the makeover shortly after "moving day".

It helped to keep busy.

I gave the room a fresh coat of paint from the ceiling to the trim to the walls, using paint I already had.

Jim and Jake ripped up the carpet and, after a good cleaning, the hardwood floors look pretty good!

I found some lovely curtain panels at Marshalls.  I only bought one pair, with plans of using one panel on each window and swagging them...

.

I did not really love the swag look, so I have been hunting high and low in all the Marshalls, TJ Maxx and Homegoods stores near me for another pair.

No luck so far.

Do you have one of those stores near you?

I brought this dresser home from my space at the Wrentham Country Store and repainted it...

Then my friend (and fellow Shop Girl at the WCS) Jeannie stenciled it for me...

I love it, thank you Jeannie!

I topped it with a new lamp and shade from Walmart and one of my favorite treasures, an old french print that was my Mom's.

The room is far from done but I am in no rush.

My camping season starts in 9 days (so excited) and that usually means all projects around the house get put off until the Fall.

Our punch list of installing and painting a new closet door, installing new bamboo shades (to add texture to the room) as well as getting a new bed and all the other furniture for the space can wait.

The season of yard sales, flea markets and thrifting with my girlfriends on the weekends is here.

I am looking forward to hunt for the perfect or perfectly imperfect pieces but am also willing to wait until I find them.

I plan on making over this room on a very low budget and am looking forward to the challenge!

While it is wonderful to have a whole room, a blank canvas to create in, it has been a little bittersweet.

I miss you Jaclyn, but I am so proud of you for all that you have accomplished in this past year, a new job, your first place and a happy heart!

That makes my heart happy ~ I love you!

Thank you for stopping by today!

a walk in the park...

Yesterday, my daughter and I went for a walk through 

Borderland State Park.

From their website...

Borderland is one of the most historically significant tracts of publicly owned land in the Commonwealth. Created in the early 1900s by artist and suffragist Blanche Ames and her botanist husband Oakes, Borderland offers many of the same pleasures that the Ames family enjoyed: walking and horseback riding on woodland trails, fishing and canoeing in the ponds, or, in winter, ice-skating and sledding.

It was a lovely Spring day and as we walked and chatted we remembered it was Earth day and thought what better way to celebrate than to enjoy the beauty around us!

Again, from their website...

In 1906, Oakes Ames and his wife Blanche purchased land on the border of Sharon and Easton. The country estate they named “Borderland” remained in the family for 65 years. In 1971, two years after the death of Blanche Ames, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts acquired the estate and opened it as a state park. The family’s home, a three-storey stone mansion built in 1910, still stands. Its twenty rooms are furnished much as they were when the Ameses lived here; many of Blanche Ames’ paintings grace the walls. Their illustrious histories remain in the house which is open for scheduled tours

I have never toured the mansion but would love to some day.

They were working on the front of the mansion so I did not take any photos but just look at the wonderful old urns, imagine them back in the day full of gorgeous flowers...

We had a fun time together and am looking forward to doing it again!

You can see and learn more about this beautiful park on their website.

Thanks for visiting ~ have a great day!!

brimfield finds...

On Monday I showed you a few photos I took at Brimfield.

Today I want to share what I brought home...

This wonderful old table in turquoise...

Love the detail on the knob...

I put it in my booth on Tuesday and it sold that afternoon!

Next up is this sweet old stool in turquoise too...

I brought it to the shop as well and added it to our porch and garden display along with this wonderful old white step ladder...

I think I am having seller's regret...I just might have to bring it back home!

I also found this great old medicine cabinet...

Wondering if I should leave it in all it's chippy glory or give it a coat of the new Martha Stewart gray paint I just bought...

I found a wonderful vintage wedding photo...

Just look at her bouquet...

I also picked up this great old mantel mirror...

It was my deal of the day!  Just look at the detail...

I will be giving this a coat of white and am thinking of switching it out with one I already have in my den.  We shall see.

This next treasure is a definite keeper...

I have always wanted to start a collection of vintage seltzer bottles...

Now I have!

I am joining Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday.

Thank you for hosting Debra!

It is a big weekend here for my family.

My daughter Jaclyn is graduating from UMass/Dartmouth on Sunday!!

We are so proud of her!

We have had a week of rain...but I think the sun might just shine down on us on by Sunday!

Thank you for stopping by and enjoy your weekend!

happy 21st birthday jaclyn...

At midnight last night my little princess turned 21... It is still hard to believe and while it is such a big day I can not help but feel a little sad. Sometimes I miss these days... As I mentioned before, this birthday countdown was crazier than when she was little waiting for her first birthday party... Or her fourth which had a western theme... She is ready to celebrate... I picked up the bouquet of roses at the supermarket. I had a white bunch in my hand but my Jaclyn loves color... She also loves Hoops and Yo Yo... I wanted to get a picture before she went out but, of course she was rushing at the last minute and I did not. Here is a picture of her and one of her college roommates, Danielle shortly after they moved in this year... I have been enjoying making Etsy treasuries lately and I made one all about Jac for her birthday. I picked this item from SoulsBliss (thank you for the photo) because it reminded me of her when she was little walking around in her Grammy's red high heels... It was so much fun browsing for items that described just a little bit of her personality. You can see the whole treasury here. Well, Happy Birthday Jaclyn, you are a beautiful young woman both inside and out. I love you and wish you every happiness life holds. The champagne is chilling!

season of change...

Hello and Happy Monday! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend! It was a beautiful one here but it went by way too fast. Another heat wave has moved in on us here in New England. Our town does not start school until September 7th but high school sports are in full swing with practices well underway with some upcoming scrimmages. It will be so hot this afternoon for my son's soccer practice. He has a scrimmage tomorrow night and I can not wait to see him play again... Our campground is getting quieter with each passing day. A lot of towns start school this week. I took a walk around my little neighborhood on "the hill" and took a few photos of my friends campsites. They look so pretty and peaceful ~ just waiting for their next arrival...
All of my neighbors do such a wonderful job setting up camp each season, taking pride in their site and making it look so nice...

Planting flowers for unexpected pops of color... Personalizing their site and adding things to remind them of their summers growing up like the beautiful sound of an old fashioned screen door opening and closing... It is so nice that everyone keeps their site looking pretty because... The places we gather on my site are quieter now too...

But this weekend the laughter will be back with good times and great friends to celebrate the Labor Day holiday weekend. Thank goodness I have something to look forward to because I have a busy week ahead. Remember my post back in May about the princess suite? Jaclyn was coming home for the summer and I knew her room would not look so sweet for a while. That seems like yesterday! My girl worked so hard this summer waitressing, bartending and doing an internship as well. I did not get to spend much time with her but I know she had a great summer. The next few days we will spend packing all her "stuff" back up to move back to school for her senior year! I feel the tears welling up as I type. My little girl will be graduating college next year!!! I thought I just put her on the kindergarten bus... She will be turning 21 in just a few short weeks... This photo was from our 2009 Disney trip. I did not even see her enough to take a new photo of her this summer! She only made it to our campground once. It was a season of change for me this summer ~ both good and bad. It was good, actually great that Jim and I were able to go on vacation to Aruba without the kids but it was also bad, actually more sad that Jac has outgrown the campground and was home. At least I have a few more years until Jake wants to stay home too. While our nest will soon be half full, I do miss this... I miss having my whole family together ~ all together and smiling! Hmmm, another Disney photo ~ I think I just might be getting the bug again! Well, thanks for visiting today ~ I should probably get busy packing. Although you know I will do a bit of blog hopping first!