water you waiting for?

August 30, 2019

Unless you are obsessed with details like I am, you probably haven’t been searching for the perfect garden hose! I like every detail in my environment to be beautiful – even if it is just something I use to water my garden!

I was a little surprised when I started shopping around locally, that beautiful garden accessories aren’t that abundant! I find it surprising because there are so many people interested in gardening – particularly in my home state of Connecticut!

If you follow my blog, you know I am really into what I call a ‘virgin’ garden – I love all flowers that are white! So, it would make sense that I would be on the hunt for a beautiful white hose, right? Well, when I didn’t find a beautiful hose at any of the garden stores I visited, I ended up purchasing a hose and a hose holder the exact color of my house. It worked out well because the hose just kind of blends in with the house.

Since the purchase, I have been able to locate a couple gorgeous white hoses and I thought I would share them today on Friday field trip just in case anyone else out there is on the hunt for a really beautiful garden hose!!

I am sharing my two favorites! The first is from one of my favorite stores – Terrain! If you go to their online store, there are a bunch of beautiful color hoses to choose from…my favorite, of course, is the white one! Look how gorgeous it is!

The second hose I found is from Garden Glory. They have some really over the top garden accessories (even leopard!) – check out their website when you have a chance (look at that diamond ring bird feeder!). This is their white garden hose:

One of these hoses would really go well with my white bleeding hearts, lily of the valley, moon flowers, white forsythia…

If you want one, there are pretty garden hoses out there! It will take me until the current hose wears out to save up for a white one!

Have a fabulous weekend! I hope you get some time off for Labor Day! I will be working in the garden! ;)

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Note: The photos of the white hoses are taken from the respective stores’ website.

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it is still summer people!

August 27, 2019

I know the school supplies are just about wiped out at Target. But, listen folks – summer is not over! Why does the start of school have to be the end of summer?

I went to my favorite home and garden store on Sunday and all the signs pointed to fall…it was very disheartening!

I really don’t like seeing pumpkin spice everything when it is still August!

I have until September 23rd to celebrate my favorite season and I will squeeze every single moment out of it until then! I hope you are enjoying summer as much as I am…there is plenty of time to appreciate fall after the 23rd!

Have a wonderful week!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things…like a beautiful summer day in September, Jackie

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plenty of eat

August 23, 2019

What do you think of my new metal eat sign? I thought it was perfect for my kitchen! The colors, size, and texture are super!

It certainly makes a statement – don’t you think?

There is another reason I am sharing this photo with you besides showing you my sign…this photo gives a hint of the next furniture redo project I am working on. It is in Annie Sloan charcoal gray and I can’t wait to finish so I can give you the full reveal!

Have a wonderful weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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vintage dresser before & after

August 20, 2019

Do you remember the vintage dresser I was refinishing? I finally took a few photos of the ‘after’ to share with you. It is an old mahogany piece – I’m sure you’ve seen similar pieces.

Most of the furniture I refinish is for others, but this piece is staying with me!

Here are the steps I took to transform the piece:

Stripped the finish off the top
Sanded the top with fine grade sandpaper
Stained the top (in ebony) – I used 2 coats
Sealed the top – I used 4 coats
Painted a sealer over the rest of the dresser (to prevent the stain from bleeding through the light color paint)
Painted the dresser in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White – 2 coats
Waxed with Annie Sloan clear wax (all but the top)
Lightly distressed
Waxed with second coat of Annie Sloan wax in clear (all but the top)

I retained the original hardware without altering it since I love the dark color in combination with the ebony stain on the top of the piece.

Isn’t it beautiful!? I love it. I ended up styling my entire bedroom around this piece.

I put a buffalo plaid duvet on the bed and combined a couple of my favorite motifs (with my collections – old books and bird nests) to style this vintage dresser. The crowning jewel was to add a mirror. I thought the mirror that originally went with the piece was too ‘matchy matchy’ for my taste. I originally thought I would just go without a mirror, but I soon found out I really liked having a mirror in the bedroom, so I set out to find a vintage looking piece.

I didn’t really expect to find anything I liked to fit my budget until Ballard Designs had a 40% off sale with free shipping and I was able to purchase the perfect piece!

My biggest bargain in the room was the bedside wall lamp. Every one I liked had a price tag over $100. And I had all but given up on the idea of including a lamp in my room until I came across the perfect one for $19.99 at IKEA! Score!

The dresser ends up being my favorite piece of furniture! I hope you enjoyed seeing how I transformed this old dresser! Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

P.S. Click here to see how I refinished the mahogany side table that matched this dresser.

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everywhere you look…

August 16, 2019

No trip to San Francisco, no matter how short, would be complete without a stop at the famous Painted Ladies. These are a row of colorful Victorian houses located at 710–720 Steiner Street, across from Alamo Square park.

So, of course, on my first trip to San Francisco, one of the stops on a 9 mile walk around the city included Alamo Square park to snap a couple shots of the famous ladies!

I am sharing my glimpse of these gals here for today’s Friday field trip.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

P.S. The title of this post, if you don’t recognize it, is taken from the Full House theme song ;)

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conservatory of flowers

August 13, 2019

My recent trip to San Francisco included many miles of walking. One day, while walking through the world-renowned Golden Gate Park, it was a pleasant surprise to happen upon The Conservatory of Flowers – a Victorian-era glass greenhouse with more than 2,000 species of plants & flowers.

A national, state and local landmark built in 1879; the Conservatory of Flowers was the first formal structure erected in Golden Gate Park and remains an icon at its entrance.

The Conservatory has five distinct galleries, each focusing on highlighting a different ecosystem, ranging from a tropical rainforest to the cloud forests perched on top of mountains.

I am sharing a few photos taken at the Conservatory with you here today. If you find yourself visiting San Francisco, be sure to put the Conservatory of Flowers on your list of places to visit! Even if plants are not your ‘thing,’ the glass greenhouse and surrounding grounds are worth visiting!

Have a fabulous week. Thanks for stopping by.

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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ring my bell

August 9, 2019

If you follow my blog, you know by now how much I enjoy details! I used one of my California photos with an Angier quote to include in today’s post just to emphasize this thought!

The reason I mention it is because the smallest of details made my day and I want to share for today’s Friday field trip!

What small detail? A new doorbell!

Yes, I got excited about a new doorbell!

If you look at the old one:

You can see it is nothing to get excited about! I knew I needed to replace it with something I could enjoy looking at!

So, I did just that!

Now I really love my doorbell! What do you think? Cute?

I hope today’s post will inspire you to change one little detail this weekend that will put a big smile on your face!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend, Jackie

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help from my friends

August 6, 2019

I cannot let Sunday’s holiday go by without some type of recognition. What was the holiday? The first Sunday in August is National Friendship Day.

I definitely could not have gotten through the last year without my friends. (Some of these friends also happen to be family members – you know who you are!)

Friendship Day is a fabulous time to recognize all my very special friends. Tonight I enjoyed a casual evening outdoors with two of these very special friends – a great way to honor the day.

I owe such a debt of gratitude to everyone who has been helping me through this challenging time. Please know how very much I appreciate you!

Use this post as an inspiration to get in touch with a friend you may not have spoken to in a while…maybe a childhood or high school friend.

In my book, National Friendship Day is every day! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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alcatraz

August 2, 2019

One of the places I did not expect to go when I started thinking in advance about my recent California trip was a tour of Alcatraz! However, my son set up a tour and I was enthusiastic to check it out!

One and a quarter miles offshore from San Francisco, this small island was once a fort, a military prison, and a maximum-security federal penitentiary (closed in 1963). It is also the site of the first lighthouse on the West Coast.

Alcatraz Island is a designated national historic landmark and the National Park Service does an excellent job of preserving the island. It also provides tourists a very well organized ferry ride out to the island with a great self-guided tour once on the island.

I have never seen any prison in my lifetime so it was a little creepy to tour a vacated federal penitentiary, but so very interesting!

I spoke with a guard who was working on the island at the time the penitentiary closed and he told me his family never even locked the doors of their home while living on the island! Learning that the island housed prisoners who continually caused trouble at other federal prisons (including the notorious Al Capone), I think I would locked my door if I was an island resident!

What a great historic tour!

This was the library – I wish the books were still there!

I hope you enjoy seeing some of the photos I took while on Alcatraz Island today on Friday field trip!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fabulous weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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pleasure in simple things

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