WHERE I BLOG

I've been tagged by Catherine who has the absolutely beautiful blog Simply Natural to participate in a game. The idea is to show everyone the place where you blog.

I have a laptop so I actually blog in many places, but most of the time it's in the room below, which you can also read more about here....




And I'm usually curled up on the couch with a blanket on my lap...like this...see I'm doing it right now.

And I have this guy on one side of me watching tv...

(I couldn't get him to hold still for a picture...thus the bluriness)

And this little girl on the other side of me trying to convince me to play fetch....she's very convincing.

Now I'm supposed to tag five others. Once you are tagged, post a picture of where you blog. Feel free to tell us a little about your space, or explain certain items in more detail. Or not. Tag five other bloggers to show them their blogs.

I'm totally chickening out and just tagging two bloggers...I hope the world doesn't come to an end:

Mimi Charmante ....beautiful photographs!

The Twin's Mama ...she's so thrifty it's inspiring.

AN AMERICAN GIRL IN ITALY

My friend Elizabeth has been asking me to do a post on a trip I took last year to Italy. So here goes.

I went to Europe for the first time last year on a business trip. That meant an all expenses paid trip to Italy. I fully realize that never happens to people (well...not most people), so I enjoyed every single moment of it. I worked my tail off and was so exhausted I was falling asleep in random places, like on benches at St. Peters Basillica, but it was absolutely worth it. We were in Milan for a week and then drove down to Rome for a few days.

We were incredibly groggy after arriving in Milan, but we still wanted to get out a see a few things before meetings started the next day. So we had our car (yes, we had a driver...are you hating me yet?) take us to the Duomo.

This is the Duomo. Un.be.lievable!

And here's what I saw when I turned to my right.

Yep, that's Andrea Bocelli doing a soundcheck for a performance he was giving the next night. Like seriously!

Milan's amazing if you like to shop at fancy schmancy clothing stores. Personally, I can't bear the thought of parting with $500 of my hard earned money for a piece of clothing so I mostly window shopped. Look at how fancy this McDonald's is though. Am I the only person that's fascinated by things like this?

We also went to the opera at La Scala one night and saw Tosca (hating me yet?). I found these photos on Google, because I wasn't about to stuff a camera into my clutch. It was bad enough that I had my Blackberry with me. And I totally wish I'd taken a photo of myself all dolled up because I looked smokin'...and I never say that.

Here's a quick view of Florence. We stopped there for lunch on our way to Rome, but were literally only there for about an hour. It's mind blowingly beautiful.

And then Rome. I LOVED Rome. I'm fascinated by history anyway, but it blows your mind to be in a place that you've read about, seen movies about, and has a rich history going back thousands of years. Some people might think the Roman Forum is boring because it's basically a bunch of stone ruins. I was enthralled with the realization that Julius Caesar had walked in the exact spot I was walking. I saw Augustus Ceasar's house! And look at the frescos below. Amazing (I know I'm saying that a lot, but can you blame me?).

And the food! I didn't have a bad meal there. Even at the gas station. I was also surprised that the portions were relatively small compared with Italian food in America. You may have several courses in Italy, but they're all small and just the right amount. Here are some random photos of food, cafes, and me eating...and then more of me eating :).

And then I returned to real life. Oklahoma's kind of like Italy....not! Ciao!

MY FAVORITE OIL RUBBED BRONZE SPRAY PAINT

NOTE: Unfortunately Rustoleum in an act of shear madness has

discontinued this spray paint. You can read about a better paint option here.

I didn't love oil rubbed bronze until I moved into the cottage. I usually veered towards silver or brushed nickel, but this house already had some oil rubbed bronze light fixtures that I quite liked and the house had a warmer feel overall that I thought I ought to stay true to.

So when I wanted to save money by painting bathroom fixtures instead of buying new ones I went on a search for the best paint. This is what I found:

It's almost black, but a little warmer. It has some sheen, but not too much. It's also very durable. What more could you ask for?

OOPS! I guess the potty training never ends. Even when they're 14.

THE WICKED WITCH OF DOMESTICITY

I’m sure you’ve all heard of the Wicked Witch of the West and her sister (I think it was) the Wicked Witch of the East, but have you heard of the Wicked Witch of Domesticity? Her name is Perfection, and she’s one evil witch. She doesn’t try to make you slumber in a field of poppies, she tries to torment you daily with lists of unfinished projects, and “I wish I had’s” and “If only this were different’s”. She tries to rob you of peace, contentment, and pride for your many accomplishments.

Flickr - Dolls and Fashion (it's amazing what you can find on Flickr)

She was hanging out at my house this morning…with her green face, her smart little outfit, and her glistening manicure…ok, let’s just say she has a manicure. First, we overslept. Then I got the carpool schedule wrong and made everyone late to school. Then I obsessed and obsessed about my bathroom redo, thinking “If I could have any bathroom in the world, what would it look like?”, and then I turned myself inside and out to try to figure out how to make it into that room. Like seriously, is it remotely healthy to consider transforming my bathroom into the Taj Majal? Let’s get real.

You mess up carpool?...the kids still get to school and will likely grow up to be well functioning adults despite your faux paux. You cooked mac n’ cheese out of the box last night?....you still fed your children and they know that you love them. You can’t afford to create the room of your dreams?....your efforts create a home of love, self control, and beauty.

The Good Witch of Let's-Get-RealFlickr - Dolls and Fashion

Let each of us make a pact to banish the Wicked Witch of Domesticity from our homes, call on the Good Witch of Let’s-Get-Real (pictured above) from time to time, and always remember:

Flickr - idg

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!
(Oh, you had to know it was coming…)

I'M DOING MY HAPPY DANCE/MIRROR MAKEOVERS

"Why am I doing my happy dance?" you ask?...Because my huge bathroom mirror is NOT glued to the wall. "Is that all?" you say? Yes...but for me that's plenty of reason to do a jig, because it means I:

A) Get to replace the huge mirror with two cute oval mirrors (kind of like this):

B) If I can safely remove it and transport it, I can put it up in my son's bathroom and frame it out in there. Seriously, his mirror is sooo much bigger than mine. I swear it's like 8 feet long. Like Yao Ming could lay on top of the bathroom counter and see his whole body.




But let's say my mirror had been glued to the wall. What would I have done? Framed it out of course.

I'm sure you've seen mirrors framed with standard molding before like these:

Rate My Space - NewSquaredID

Rate My Space - TxBlondieGrl05

They're very pretty, and make the mirror look so much better. But what about going a step further? Like adding crown molding to the top to make it look a little more classic and custom.

Cottage Living

Better Homes and Gardens

Or adding flat molding or wood to make one mirror look like two:

Rate My Space - Caamano

Or three:

Coastal Living

Other options could include using vintage tin tiles (you can buy them on Ebay), or even the new pressed tin sheets they sell at Lowes and Home Depot. You could paint them any color you want and cut them to frame the mirror.

Kind of like this:




Or what about vintage pieces of distressed or reclaimed wood?



With a little imagination the possibilities are limitless!