Happier than a pig in mud

Well maybe not mud...

Behind our cat Junior, the jealous

 "Why should the dogs get to be in all the pictures?"

Abyssinian,

we find another cookie jar...

He's Percy the pig by Fitz and Floyd.

An Ozark find from

FitzandFloyd.com

circa 2005

Not a bit of mud on him,

but he's just as happy covered in

highly detailed vegetables

 Percy adds a splendid balance

to my springtime valance,

which incorperates pigs with

other farm critters in its composition.

One thing is certain,

Percy's cheery expression certainly

brightens the springtime season.

Elvis the poodle

After reading about the passing

of Wilf the PON on his blog here

I was inspired to blog

 about my little furry pal

Elvis...

Unlike Wilf he does not have a terminal

disease. 

He's just a happy little

12 year old Teacup poodle.

Back in the spring of 2000 my fiance, Sam

decided (without discussing it with me)

it was time to bring a dog into our lives.

She, being a fan of all minature things,

wanted a miniture dog.

When I came home from work that night

Sam, without saying a word

only a slight smerk on her face,

(she was trying to contain a big toothy grin)

took me by the hand back to our bedroom

to reveal

a pair of rolled up black socks

resting on my pillow?!?

Sam pulled me closer to discover the socks were actually

a very tiny black puppy.

She was worried I'd raise a fit

but I warmed to him instantly.

My only concern was for his safety

being so small in a family of big footed people!

We named him Elvis because of his

poodle pompador 

and the fact he was a Vegas dog.

Needless to say he has learned to be quick on his feet

to avoid be stepped on

and I have learned to look before stepping.

He is my constant comfy chair companion,

my shadow,

and my "self appointed" official food taster.

Elvis' favorite spot in the house

is on the arm of my La-Z-Boy.

Usually with his head resting on

the cool marble top table next to it

looking out the window.

Doesn't look very comfortable does it?

But you don't mind do you Elvis?

He was an only child, except for his cat friends,

till the day in 2009

when my wife, Sam brought home Cher...

"Not too sure about this"

But that's a post for another day.

Rest in peace Wilf and Digby.

Spring Valance Time

Another valance sewn to order

by my wife's friend, Eden.

I was super happy with it the instant I saw it!

This one captures spring in the country,

or maybe summer...but I put it up during spring.

I found the fabric at Wal-mart years ago.

Its pattern features cows, pigs,

chickens, barns, apple trees, pumpkin patches

daisies, and sunflowers.

The ruffle has a handkerchief pattern

to capture that country feel.

Eden made it into three separate sections,

the middle dip, and the two ends,

this makes it especially easy to hang up.

It sure brightens up the kitchen

after a long cold winter.

Another valance well done!

Thanks Eden!

A Sign of Oak Glen

I found this quaint little sign at

Ross the other day.

Isn't it sweet?

Have you ever been to

Oak Glen, California?

Sam and I have visited during their

fall apple festival,

and this little sign reminds us of there.

source

In Oak Glen the farms are packed full

with all varieties of apples,

"Pick Your Own" Orchards,

Warm apple Cider, Apple Butter,

oak tree village

and

 5 pound fresh baked apple pies

source

Riley's Farm has a...

source

 pick your own pumpkin patch, hayrides,

and a Barbecue dinner in the old packing shed.

They even have dinner shows throughout the year.

Their October "Living History Dinner" production

is The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

find out more here

Here's our pup Elvis enjoying Oak Glen

Some of the gift shops up there even carry

signs like the one from Ross,

Apple Annie's

as well as hand sewn quilts,

and fine art painted by local artists.

Parrish Pioneer Ranch

A Great Little Place To Visit.

but when we can't...

All we have to do is look up at the sign

and think about a simpler time.

Happy Easter

Hope Everyone is having a Happy and Safe Easter!

This year I found this stacked egg taper candle

at Cost Plus World Market.

It's just the thing for this little "Dipped Chicks" candle holder.

I'd say it even goes pretty well with the rest of the collection!

I Need A Little Easter, Right This Very Minute...

Just added a new collectible to the

Ozark Easter exhibit...

The Fitz and Floyd "A Good Egg"

egg shaped candy dish.
I won him on Ebay.

His little head is attached to a spring

so it wobbles with Easter glee when moved.
Isn't that Eggcellent?

Tuning an Old bathroom New with an Old look

My wife and I have been busy of late working on a

"Mod Mix Makeover" of our old 1998 builder's basic 
guest bathroom.

Here we see my prep work on a shelf project.
My wife Samantha, had already painted the
bathroom walls a light pink by the time I took this pic.

I didn't think to take any before pics,

believe me it was your basic white on white bathroom.
This was the condition of the facet.
Now that the kids are gone it's time to freshen up! 

We began a hunt for the perfect shower curtain
that would serve as inspiration for the rest of the room.
That alone took weeks and one return, after our hunt for matching accessories turned up squat.
One day I was in Target and noticed their
impressive collection of shower curtains
and brought Sam back to see.
 She immediately chose this bright retro design

 get one here
that began to stir our imaginations.
We decided to try a 50's Deco look.
She chose Behr light chiffon 120A-1 paint
to match the pink flowers.

Next we had great success at HomeGoods finding accessories

A teal crackle glass and polished silver set.
A touch of Art Deco and the gray crackle lines
mimic the branches in the shower curtain.

a little splurge with shabby chic curtain rings

also at Target.

We were just delighted to find these bird prints
at HomeGoods,
the colors are a pretty good match to the curtain.
 

A new facet with a Deco feel.

Sam found this green mercury glass vase at Joann Etc

and I found the floral stem at Michael's

get one here

We found this Allen+Roth light fixture at Lowes,

the cut glass shades go nicely with the curtain rings.

Can't seem to capture a good shot of it

Next I installed a polished nickle towel bar

from the Andrews collection by Allen+Roth at Lowes

The detailing is impressive.

We then purchased four glass Andrews shelves

to go over the toilet.

They make the layout easy with an exact spacing stencil

laid out on the back of the boxes.

Just remember....measure twice, drill once. 

I measured about four times.

Once the shelves went up, Sam had fun
arranging her knick-knacks

I surprised her with a flower frog

from the Victorian Trading Company here.

And some botanical rose scented bath salt

from the Midwest Bath Salt Company on Amazon.

here

I then installed an Andrews towel ring.

I found this little polished silver deco clock

at Target.

Here's Cher posing next to the new HomeGoods 

combo magazine rack and TP holder. 

This nifty little toilet tissue keeper

that Sam also found at HomeGoods is

something that any well appointed bathroom

can't be without.

So there you have it.

A "Mod Mix Makeover" for our

builder's basic bathroom.

I'm joining Nita's "Mod Mix Monday"

this week at Mod Vintage Life 

here

And

Susan's

at

Between Naps on the Pourch

here