To Paint or Not to...(you get the picture)

A few things came home with me from Springfield. 

Things that needed a bit of loving care before I hauled them to my space at Ohio Valley.

Chalk paint and painted furniture were everywhere at the Vintage Marketplace and I had to ask myself, are we going too far with this painted thing?

Don't get me wrong. I was a faux finisher and decorative painter for years. 

As the trend for residential walls slowly faded, furniture just escalated.

Now most big time finishers take on commercial projects but us small beans people can revamp a kitchen or a well loved piece of furniture to update it for a home owner.

That said here are a few pieces that truly did need a bit of coverup to make them pretty again.

A poorly painted piece of provincial could not help but be improved with some Provence blue.

Seriously ugly before.

Cuter and much more in keeping with a modern vintage vibe after.

Sold in a day!

The mirror next to the newly pretty table had a shiny brass (not in the good and trendy way) frame.

A bit of French Linen and Old White dry brushing and some dark wax and she sold right away as well.

A closer look at old Mr. Brassy all face lifted.

I have a kitschy love affair with those gold plastic Syroco wall sconces. 

However I can assure you no one who shops my space has the same adoration.

Add some paint and a bit of distressing and off the shelf they fly.

 Also, Ms. ugly brown telly desk. Bring on the Antoinette and she is a sweet little drawing desk for a budding artist or a perfect place for coffee and your iPad...

I am also in love right now with Annie Sloan's Antoinette. 

Pink has always been a favorite color of mine and this soft powdery shade is just yummcious. 

 I even painted my front door pink. 

It is now a perfectly hued entry to Frippery Farmhouse.

More of that kitschy gold transformed to fit with any elegant room.

You see what I mean?

Not everything should be painted just because we can, but some things simply NEED paint.

One more case in point.

I have had these very nice italian prints in hideous fake marble? burl? tortoise?  

...something... frames, forever.

I see these at Goodwill all the time.

I have just begun to add some paint.

Holy Cannoli!

Better already and not even half done.

These sweet things are heading for my dining room.

What do you think of the painted furniture trends?

Brights vs. pastels?

White everything?

All good?

Just wondering...

Yours in a rainbow fog, P.

Beauty at any Age

I know flower metaphors have been used overmuch, but...

beauty and age have been on my mind.

Where better to find it than in the stages of flowering, 

from bud to full blossom 

and then overblown and 

faded to a rich patina at the edges?

Working over the last several months with a group of women all within ten or so years of my age plus or minus, there was much talk of aging.

Mostly about the change in appearance that happens with time.

I think that aspect of our society, that only youth has beauty, is a shame.

All of the celebs walking around with too youthful, slightly bizarre faces and bodies through modern medical techniques often seem sad to me.

I am not talking about the inner beauty that comes with age. 

The wisdom and layers of experience that create a deeply interesting individual

with much to share.

It is the fact that so many older women are compelled to try to look and dress like their daughters.

When did we lose the ability to age naturally and gracefully?

A woman can be lovely at any age.

Somehow beauty and sexiness have become entwined to the point that we believe 

we cannot have one without the other.

"Hotness" seems to be the only thing that matters

All young girls are beautiful and sexy.

That is their time to be fresh faced and attractive to young men.

We have all had our times in life to be what we were or are supposed to be at the appropriate age.

Each decade brings a new type of beauty.

Acceptance of age needs to be relearned.

We all want to look our best but half the fun of aging is to be your true self without all the baggage.

Look good and be a little eccentric.

Grace and style and a bit of wackiness is beautiful too.

I look forward to honing these traits to a fine edge.

Embrace your age whatever stage of life you are in.

We are all beautiful.

Yours in style and grace, P.

More Vintage Marketplace

Lot's of beautiful painted pieces at the show.

I bought 3 more colors of Annie Sloane paint.

I use it often but the cost is prohibitive.

So not always.

There were some amazing displays in the Vintage Marketplace tents.

More like shops than places at a show.

I was very inspired to get my paint on again after working in a cube all these past weeks.

Beautiful colors.

I am happy to see color again.

The whites and grays are lovely, and the beachy blues are soothing 

but I am also wanting yellow and pink and peach.

How about you.

Is color on your decorating radar?

Let's play in the Crayola 64 pack and see what jumps out!

Yours in living color, P.

Living for the Weekend

Not anymore!

Now that my temp job has ended for the year I have a bit of time to breathe.

No more living for the freedom of weekends.

To celebrate, hubs took a day from work on Friday and we hit the Springfield Antique show and Vintage Market Place.

Oh yeah!

If I could redo my kitchen this sink would be the centerpiece

Everyone loves cubbies.

The storage possibilities are endless.

Hold me back, I am shopping for my Ohio Valley Antique Mall space and the shows I will be doing, not for greedy little me.

A lot of restraint is necessary.

I met one of my idols, lovely Theresa, and her charming husband Craig, of Time Worn Interiors.

Their space was amazing but of course I was too busy ogling the goods 

and did not manage to get more photos.

I also met up with my vintage loving pal, Carrie, of Junque Magnet and Kathy and Terri of Nostalgia's Cottage, who both had fantastic spaces at the Vintage Marketplace.

 Kathy is becoming quite the junk celebrity, just check out the website!  

Home to a lovely warm evening on the deck.

The kids had some friends over and we had a little cookout celebration.

My sweet baby girl turned 21 this past week.

 When did all those years pass?

The mother's lament.

Now we enjoy our time together as friends as well.

Sadie and I have the same sense of humor and we laugh together until the mascara runs right off!

Happy birthday my little peach.

Hubs got to put his feet up too as son Joe and his sweet girlfriend Brandi did the grilling.

My son has decided to dethrone dad as the grilling king.

Hubs is graciously conceding, for now at least.

Saturday morning, back to Springfield.

I would have loved to haul these letters home.

These too, but buying for resale, the price just wasn't right.

What happened to that disposable income, hahaha?

Let's not forget the FOLK barn.

Very creative stuff.

Of course as usual too much drooling not enough pics.

I will share more of the show sights, as well as what I did bring home, in a later post.

I have to get to cleaning and painting my finds!

Yours in the thrill of the hunt, P.

Evanescence

Time has gotten away from me.

The days fly so swiftly we barely notice their passage.

Moments so ephemeral we can barely grasp them.

Gone.

All the wishing that time will stop and let us catch up is just that...a wish...

whispered on the wind and off it flies.

We must make a conscious effort to live in the moment.

Time will not wait for us.

Let us make the most of it when we can.

My temp job is over and I have my life back for a bit.

I intend to make the most of these free bits of time.

I have hopes and plans.

As a friend's dear mother used to say

"Wishin' ain't gettin'."

Let's make our dreams happen.

Join me.

Yours in making the most of our days, P.

Spring Swan Song

Can you smell them?

This is what I will miss the most. 

I am heading to Columbus for Artiscape. 

My lilacs will be wilted by the time this weekend ends.

Such is life, as grandma Florence said.

I will be reunited with my girl Sandy and lot's of wonderfully creative women.

What's not to love?

My lilacs will bloom again next year and life will be bathed in green and yellow 

and all the colors of the rainbow for summer soon.

Bye bye my loves.

I will see you again next spring.

What is your favorite flower of spring?

Each day is an opportunity to begin, P.

Hubby Made That

My oh so talented hubby made  this

pretty window for a friend's daughter.

It will go in a reading nook in her home.

I really don't want to let it go.

But I will because they

may have a lovely window but I still have him!

Hee hee, hand's off girl's,

this artist is mine!

Are you mourning the passing of spring?

It is way too early to let her go here in Ohio,

although she has almost gone already!

Enjoy whatever weather you have in your world,

it is all beautiful in it's own way.

Begin again, P.

A Fresh Perspective

Sometimes we become so tightly entwined in our passions that we 

can't see the whole picture.

Too focussed on the detail to realize there is a pattern to our lives that we are missing.

Taking a few steps back to get a better perspective is necessary when we find ourselves getting too close to really get clear look at where we are going.

There is much to do at Frippery Farmhouse, inside and out.

There is living to be done as well as work.

It all takes time.

If only there were more of it.

That said, there is not, so it is time to use what little there is to do the work of earning a living and keeping a home and garden

and treasuring time with friends and family.

Blogging is time consuming and there is not a lot of extra time here.

I have realized I can step back and nothing awful will happen.

I can pick and choose what to share.

This blog isn't going anywhere.

No obsessing over how many days it has been since my last post.

Instead those days are being used to make a home and a life.

I still find inspiration from you, my friends and kindred spirits.

I love your adventures, creations, homes and gardens, images...

I will always find time to visit you and get some fresh ideas.

I am going to spend more time doing...

more time utilizing all of that inspiration...

less time talking about it.

I have a bedroom reno that has gone on far too long, a garden in desperate need of help,

a job that will require ten hour days this coming week,

a house to keep...

Just like all of you I need to find a better balance between necessity and passion.

A little peace and time to reflect.

Time to begin a few things and create a bit and care for Frippery Farmhouse.

Have a lovely and thoughtful Holy week and a beautiful Easter.

See you soon.

Begin anew each day, P.

A Naughty Neglectful Blogger

I am swamped...

No time.

Tasks and and work and chores are tugging me this way and that.

My poor space at Ohio Valley needs some major attention.

It is in a sorry state.

I simply must cover that pegboard.

I have some big ideas if I could only find

THE TIME.

Feeling like I can't keep up.

The need to create something is pulling at me too.

But when...?

I first must clear a path to the studio.

Don't even mention the bedroom reno...

still not complete.

Oh and the garden is calling since our crazy week of 87 degree weather pushed everything...including the weeds...into early bloom.

Of course this all needs to be accomplished when I come home from work.

Ah, but what joy would life hold if we had nothing to do?

Right?

Begin again each day, P.

Dreaming of Sunshine?

Daylight saving time is almost here.

I adore that extra hour of sunshine in the evening.

It means the warm weather isn't far behind.

I am doing a bit of summertime dreaming.

I am dreaming of an afternoon on the shady porch lost in a really good book.

Warm days and cool water.

Getting the garden into shape and feeling the moist earth in my hands.

All the pleasures a sunny day can bring.

What are your warm weather dreams?

Begin to dream, P.