What makes me Smile…

February 29, 2016July 3, 2016 ~ amykins100 ~ 72 Comments

There is something in my kitchen that makes me smile each morning…

Beside my Princess in the basket…

Something I have been collecting for a while, much to the amusement of my mother, who used it daily during her childhood…

Vintage enamelware…preferably Red and White but I am not picky…

Just the sight of it makes clean-up a joy…most of the time.

It even brings beauty to the awkward corner of the counter only assessable by step-stool…slight exaggeration…embrace the challenges of life!

It inspires another attempt toward the perfect sourdough bread…my husband says that I have already achieved this goal but he never says no to a fresh loaf.

I don’t know if it is the sweet,rugged beauty of the actual pieces or the simple, wholesome era they represent…all I know is my heart beats faster when I spot a that flash of enamel…and I will always find a place for it in my home

Let’s Party…

Something to Talk About@Karen Up On the Hill

Show and Share@Coastal Charm

Inspire Me Monday@Sand and Sisal

No Place Like Home@Rose Chinz Cottage

Tuesday at Our House@Our Home Away from Home

Tweak it Tuesday@Cozy Little House

Inspire Me Tuesday@A Stroll Thru Life

The Scoop@Stonegable blog

Thrifty and Vintage Finds@Dagmar’s Housey

Talk of the Town@Knick of Time

Wow Us Wednesday@Savvy Southern Style

Inspire Me Wednesday@Adventures of Mel

Work it Wednesday@The Turquoise House

Share your Cup Thursday@Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

Share Your Style@Essence of Home

Thoughts of Home@Poofing Your Pillows

Make it Pretty Monday@The Dedicated House

Home Sweet Home@The Charm of Home

Shabbilicious@Shabby Art Boutique

Friday Features@Oh My Heartsie Girl

Feather Nest Friday@French Country Cottage

Share it One More Time@Shabby Fru Fru

Sundays at Home@Thoughts from Alice

Busy Monday@Pinch of Joy

Amaze Me Monday@Dwellings

Home and Garden Thursday@A Delightsome Life

Let’s Talk Vintage@Bella Rosa Antiques

Digging it/Dishing it@Rustic and Refined

Thursday Favorites@Katherine’s Corner

Tuesday with a Twist

BTTCG

Share it

Welcome Home Wednesday

Moonlight and Mason Jars

Finding Silver Pennies

Inspiration Monday

Crazy About Quilts

February 21, 2016July 10, 2016 ~ amykins100 ~ 104 Comments

OK, I am ready to admit it. I have a problem with a certain soft item…

I must have them all over the house…

Yes! I am crazy about quilts. There is something about them…all of them…pristine ones from a long stored hope chest…

Well loved ones that have kept babies warm and served as forts for active little boys for generations…

But I ask you, who could resist the colorful charm…or the ability to literally touch the past?

Perhaps you can even touch generations back on your own family tree…

A treasured past to pass down to our future…

Let’s Party…

Inspire Me Tuesday@AStroll Thru Life

Tuesday at our Home@Our Home away from Home

Something to Talk About@Karen’s up on the Hill

No Place Like Home@Rose Chinz Cottage

Tweak it Tuesday@Cozy Little House

Thrifty and Vintage Finds@Dagmar’s Home

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Talk of the Town@My Salvaged Treasure

Inspire Me Wednesday@Adventures with Mel

Work it Wednesday@The Turquoise Home

Share Your Cup Thursday@Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

Share your Style@The Essence of Home

Thoughts of Home@Poofing the Pillows

Vintage Charm Party@Charm Bracelet Diva

No Rules Weekend@Sincerely Paula

Shabbilicious Friday@Shabby Art Boutique

Home Sweet Home@The Charm of Home

Friday Favorites@Oh my Heartsie Girl

Feather Nest Friday@French Country Cottage

Friday Favorites@Home Sweet Home

Home Matters@Life with Lorelei

Share it One More Time@Shabby FuFu

Sundays At Home@Thoughts from Alice

Making your Home Sing Monday@Mom’s the word I Love to Hear

Amaze Me Monday@Dwelling:The Heart of Your Home

Busy Monday@Pinch of Joy

Show and Share@Coastal Charm

The Scoop@Stonegable blog

Make it Pretty Monday@The Inspired House

Home and Garden Thursday@A Delightsome Life

Let’s Talk Vintage@Bella Rosa Antiques

Digging it and Dishing it@Rustic and Refined

Welcome Home Wednesday@Suburban Simplicity

Five Star Fru Fru@A Tray of Bliss

V 
Y

Moonlight and Mason Jars@Cherished Bliss

Share it One More Time

Monday of Many Blessings

Finding Silver Pennies

A Winter Mantel

February 15, 2016August 3, 2016 ~ amykins100 ~ 23 Comments

There is a point every year that snow ceases to be charming and begins to be annoying…no wonder the Midshipman refer to this time as the “Dark Ages”. So when I woke to a winter “wonderland” I was not amused. Never the less it was a great weekend to celebrate Chinese New Year. The Princess partied in style and was quite taken with the cocktail umbrella that garnished her milk glass.

Hoping that a little change might lighten my mood, I turned some energy toward the fireplace and mantel in our front room. The fireplace is original to this 1920 four square home…although someone thought it wise to install a gas flame sometime in the late 1970’s …if only this home was truly mine (Oh the changes you would see)

Please excuse the presence of the television. Another “if only” moment for another time. Let’s concentrate on the good! Like my beautiful tobacco baskets. I love the texture and color. Gracing the mantel, my French baguette baking form holding ceramic pears from Thailand and three wooden spools found at a consignment shop.

A closer view of the fireplace. I love the original brick. On the hearth I placed an antique Swedish coal basket, a vintage fire bucket and extinguisher and antique milk bottles and carrier.

Flanking one side of the fireplace…my very favorite arts and crafts era chair…it was a bit of a splurge but the minute I saw it I had to have it. The old suitcases have been collected over time. The Victorian tea basket was an eBay find.

The other side of the mantel demonstrates what my creative hubby can do! We found this old radio case on the curb and with some time with his tools he converted it into a stylish way to hide that definitely not vintage DVR box. Below is an antique Korean lunchbox and on top are treasures from our global travels. So glad we have been blessed with so many experiences.

Let’s Party…

Thrifty and Vintage Finds@Dagmar’s House

Tuesday at our House@Our Home Away from Home

Inspire Me Tuesday@A Stroll Thru Life

Talk of the Town@Knick of time

Inspire Me Wednesday@Adventures of Mel

Work it Wednesday@The Turquoise House

Wow us Wednesday@Savvy Southern Style

Share your Cup Thursday@ Have a Daily Cup of Mrs Olson

Share your Style@Essence of Home

Thoughts of Home@ Poofing the Pillows

Vintage Charm Party@Charm Bracelet Diva

Shabbilicious Friday @Shabby Art Boutique

Home Sweet Home@The Charm of Home

Feather Nest Friday@ French Country Cottage

Friday Favorites@Simply Sweet Home

Share it one More Time @Vintage Paint and More

Making your Heart Sing Monday@Mom is the Word I Love to Hear

Busy Monday@Pinch of Joy

Amaze Me Monday@Dwellings the Heart Your Home

Something to Talk About@ Karen Upon the Hill

Show and Share@Coastal Charm

No Place Like Home@Rose Chinz Cottage

Inspire Me Monday@Sand and Sisal

Inspire Me Tuesday@A Stroll Thru life

The Scoop@Cedar Hill Farmhouse

Oh My Heartsie Girl Friday Features Linky Party

A Room for our Princess (Part 2)

February 9, 2016August 14, 2016 ~ amykins100 ~ 47 Comments

A little over a year ago we became a family of three…

Our hearts had waited a long time for our sweet girl to come home and we wanted to welcome her in style…on a budget of course. Shopping the house was my first step and many items that adorn her room used to adorn a totally different part of our house. Ebay and Flea market finds added the necessary shabby elements and I never miss an excuse to visit The Twisted Sisters in West Annapolis.

The Reading Nook

The Reading Nook is my favorite part of the room. The rocking chair was a thrift store find and the poodle blanket was my baby blanket, not an antique but definitely vintage. The rug was from a much earlier travel to China when I was still single. The antique baby gown was a lucky find buried in a box at flea market.

I truly desired a vintage kitchen set for her room but, alas, I was unable to source one that was not a king’s ransom or a trip to urgent care waiting to happen. This one was the most vintage inspired I could find…and not made from plastic. The framed children’s prints are from a book published in 1917 titled “Tick Tock All Around the Clock “by Mary LaFetra Russell. I managed to rescue a very distressed copy for $1.00 and revive the beautiful illustrations with dollar store frames.

Another Twisted Sister find holds all manner of vintage goodies shopped from all over the house plus some treasured gifts from dear ones. The grey stripped canvas bins from target store toys neatly out of sight. Vintage Nursery Rhymes collected for years have new life in dollar store frames. Yes, that is Elmo peeking out at you. A keeping it real moment brought to you by my favorite two year old…

Let’s Party at…

Thrifty & Vintage Finds@Dagmar’s Home

Talk of the Town@My Salvaged Treasure

Treasure Hunt Thursday@From my Front Porch to Yours

Share Your Style@Essence of Home

Share your Cup Thursday@Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olsen

Thoughts of Home on Thursday@Poofing the Pillows

No Rules Weekend Blog@Sincerely Paula

Refresh your Room@Jennifer Rizzo

Feathered Nest Friday@French Country Cottage

Shabbilious Friday@Shabby Art Boutique

Sundays at Home@Thoughts from Alice

Share it One More Time@vintage paint and more

Amaze Me Monday@Dwellings:The Heart Of your Home

Making your Heart Sing Monday@Mom is the Word I Love to Hear

Show and Share Monday@Coastal Living

Busy Monday@Pinch of Joy

Inspire Me Monday@Sand and Sisal

The Scoop@Stone Gable

Tweak it Tuesday@Cozy little House

Friday Features

No Place Like Home

Tuesday at Our House

Inspire Me Tuesday

Make it Pretty Monday

Titus 2 Tuesday

Monday of Many Blessings

The Art of Homemaking

Moonlight and Mason Jars

Vintage Bliss

Work it Wednesday

Welcome Home Wednesday

Home Sweet Home

Tada Thursday

Morning Cup of Jo

Home Matters

Sweet Inspiration

Best of the Weekend

Vintage Chic

Sunday at Home

Share it One More Time

Finding Silver Pennies

Busy Monday

Digging It. Inspirational Monday

A Room for the Royal Princess (part 1)

February 2, 2016August 14, 2016 ~ amykins100 ~ 35 Comments

In our house, up the stairs, there is a Princess. A beautiful but fierce little Princess who loves school, dancing, her tricycle , all cats and noodles. She often asks for cupcakes in the morning… hoping I might change my mind on some random day. She brings joy and sparkle to our house in no small measure and her Baba and Mama are completely enchanted by her charm and stubborn determination.

A princess needs a room to reflect her royal status. I took up the challenge last year to create a room that would take her from young toddler to big girl on a budget. Using some repurposed furniture, treasures from my travels around the world , flea market and Etsy finds and a few small splurges from Target (shabby chic line!) and a few bigger splurges from my favorite shop in West Annapolis, Twisted Sisters (www.Twistedsince1976.com) I created the vintage toddler bedroom of my dreams. Let me give you the grand tour, don’t worry the Princess will not mind…

Welcome…

The bed is a repurposed queen bed from a set I bought in the ’90’s. A coat of paint and a little sanding gives it the perfect vintage look. The quilts and vintage baby gowns are flea market finds. The pillow shams are Target clearance rack shabby chic line finds

I fell in love with this miniature secretary at Twisted Sisters in West Annapolis. I filled it with vintage children’s books( ongoing collection). The Alice in wonderland tea set is from Hong Kong

I love this antique dresser. My husband bought it years ago and I was so happy to include some of his things in the room as well. The flower girl gown and basket in the shadow box were used by Grace’s Grandmother when she was two. I added some pink depression glass, a Home Goods French children’s rocker and a painting I bought outside of a gas station (no lie) during my broke bachelorette days. The book ladder was once white and the vintage Nursery Rhyme prints were collected over time and popped into spray painted dollar store frames.

Let’s Party…

Sundays at Home@thoughtsfromalice.com

Making Your Heart Sing Monday@momsthewordilovetohear.com

Amaze Me Monday @Dwelling the Heart of your House

Show and Share@Coastal Charm

Inspire Me Monday@Sand and Sisal

Friday Feaures