Had a little free time on my hands today (not a common occurrence lately) and I decided to refresh the paint on our mantel. The massive pinecone garland Isabella, my mom and I made for Christmas last year had scratched the wall and top shelf a bit so I took some leftover paint and wood putty and gave everything a fresh coat. (I also played around with some new trim we’re adding this weekend, hence the tape). As it always happens, one little project sparks another and so I took advantage that my brush was wet and tackled something else that’s been bugging me for a while. I gave our terra-cotta pots and saucers some age and patina!

Don’t you just love those four little words? Me too!! Especially when they represent triumph over indecision and procrastination. You see, after weeks of deliberations I’ve finally made up my mind and ordered new hardware for our living room French doors!! Big day! I’m so excited because as minor & insignificant as the choice of door knobs and hinges may seem (although I know many of you are just as design-obsessed as I am, if not more, and know the importance of the right hardware & finish in setting the mood in a space 🙂 ) figuring this out and making a decision is huge for me. It means I’m one step closer to figuring out our living room puzzle which is inextricably linked to our library/family room puzzle as the rooms are connected and most of the times open to each other. I’ve made other decisions in the meantime, decisions that are being scheduled right now, and hopefully executed within the next couple of weeks, more about that later, but this detail has been driving me batty and am so glad to have it behind me. I can’t believe it took me two months to decide!! “Should I get these cast iron ones?”

So my birthday is just around the corner and I couldn’t be happier or more grateful for the many blessings in my life. When it comes to birthday gifts, my approach to receiving has always been of humble appreciation. That someone cared enough to go out of their way and get me a present matters more than the actual thing I got. (Although flowers, jewelry, chocolates, a bottle of my favorite perfume… are all winning combinations my darling husband and daughter have successfully used in the past, hahah. Thank you!) This year however I’ve adopted a more pragmatic approach to receiving gifts and I’m trying something different. No more jewelry, no more chocolates. Instead, I made a short list and what I badly want/need right now is a cordless 60V chain saw! ( If nothing else, a 40V would be fine to! That, and a beautiful oil on canvas I’ve been looking at for months now, in the display of a local art gallery 🙂 )