Is It Just Me???

I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel like I am constantly fighting a never ending battle to get our girls to put their things away where they belong, and quite frankly, they just seem too old now not to be able to do it themselves & do it properly while they are at it! Below is a photo of the desk in our kitchen where the girls do homework, crafts, draw, work on the computer, etc. and I am sure that many of you may just pass out from the sight, but I am secretly hoping that I am not alone in this struggle. And dealing with this mess while our home is in the state that it is from the construction....
like this photo below with two rooms combined into one, I am feeling a bit unnerved at any mess, even if it is a pair of shoes that haven't been put away, or a folder that belongs in a backpack or Barbie's that didn't make it back upstairs.

I feel like a new person now that I bit the bullet and cleaned up the mess myself. I will tell you honestly that I am going to iron fist the girls with a serious guilt trip talking to when they get home as well as bit of fear thrown it for good measure. All 3 girls always just love how pretty everything looks when it is clean and organized, but then they can't seem to bring themselves to put the markers, pencils, scrap paper, coloring books, etc. back where they belong, no matter how many containers I put on the desk for them, so I am not sure what the answer is!

In the mean time, I think I will just enjoy this space for the way it is for today, because I know that for today, it will be clean, pretty, and organized, and who knows what tomorrow will bring!

Sending you clutter free wishes,
Sanya

A Belated Valentine

A Happy Belated Valentine's Day to all. I was very grateful to be be busy with lots of Valentine's day flower orders this year. One of my favorites is in the photo below....

But I have been receiving some very thoughtful and loving emails wondering where in the world I am and if all is okay. Well, thankfully I am here, at home, although it is quite torn apart. We had some serious damage to our home from the ice storm last month and it will be quite a long process to get it all taken care of. In the mean time, we have furniture in rooms that they don't belong in (note the mess in the backdrop of the photo above), and Valerie displaced from her bedroom.....I KNOW it could be SO much worse, but it is still a lot to deal with and looking at the damage day in and day out gets a bit overwhelming. Below are some photos of the process. They don't even begin to show all of the damage...

Entry & living room/my workspace...

Living room ceiling & staircase

Valerie Jane's room...yes, that is the sky you see through that hole! It is hard to believe that something so small could create SO MUCH damage!

Needless to say, we are counting our blessings, and are extremely thankful for home owners insurance, and great contractors! I am telling myself each day that patience is a virtue and that all will go back in place soon enough, it is so small in the big scheme of things. Fortunately this does not seem to be phasing our girls, they are rolling with the punches and are as happy as ever. They are all working me now to change bedrooms and redecorate.....One day at a time!

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day & I hope you know that you are always near and dear to my heart!

Love & Blessings,

Sanya

Pretty Papers....

My friend and one time babysitter Alli will be getting married on March 21 st this year and I have the honor of creating all of the flowers for her wedding. Our two younger daughters will be flower girls and Victoria, a junior bridesmaid. Alli loves all things pink as well as antiques and has even started her own antique and decorating business, so when we were all planning her shower I knew that store bought invitations would not do! I created the ones above, and I truly believe when she gets hers in the mail tomorrow, she will be thrilled. The invitations are so gorgeous that I decided that I have to sell them as stationary on my website, so hopefully they will be up for sale either tonight or tomorrow....it's all up to Charley ♥ I think you will just LOVE them as much as I do!

As a side note, today is my big brother Tom's birthday, so I could not help mentioning it! I admire him so much as a brother and person and as an American I appreciate the 27 years of service he has given our great nation so far! Happy Birthday Colonel Ruby! I love you!

Seeing Things Clearly

I want to start by saying Happy New Year to everyone and to wish you a year of good health and happiness with all the love you can imagine. I truly believe that those three things give us true wealth in our lives, so it is what I genuinely wish for all of you.


As I was taking down the Christmas decorations in our home over the past two days, (with my moms help, thank you very much) I started to get excited about how I would rearrange all of my pretties (others without a sickness call them "accessories"). You see, every year when I take down our Christmas decor, I like to put things back in different places. I love the change and having fresh things to look at, even though I have had some of my pieces forever, seeing them somewhere else makes them feel new again. When everything was finally gone and put away and I started to take out my "pretties", I could not help but want a sense of simplicity, at least somewhere, and that is when it hit me. I took several of my glass pieces, old and new and put them on my linen chest in the dining room, and I really love it. It has that clean Swedish decor look, and for a while I am just going to leave it that way and enjoy the simplicity of it all......

Here's to seeing things clearly in '09!
With warmest blessings,
Sanya

Seasons Greetings

I know that it may seem that I have been quite remiss in keeping up with my blogging, but I have a few good excuses! I can thankfully say that I have been busy with holiday decorating, both corporate and residential, which I love! I helped to decorate the Crown Plaza Campbell House Hotel the week of Thanksgiving and just finished up this past Saturday, and the week before that I worked on St. John & Myers Antique & Period Jewelry Salon. The hotel was like nothing I had ever done before. It was a HUGE job and an amazing experience! I will take photos as soon as I have time, maybe next week, but I am not sure, the next 4 days will be filled with holiday decor as well, but I will try. I love sharing projects like that will all of you and hearing your feedback.
In the mean time, I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving. This was the first Thanksgiving in 11 years that it was just the 5 of us, no other extended family or friends. It was quiet and sweet and we spent the day (and a couple of others) decorating for Christmas. The girls were very excited and we had a lot of fun, so I thought I would share some photos of different vignettes in our home. I did all close up shots with the exception of the front door because I really wanted you to be able to see the details up close, so come on in.

I truly love using fresh greens whenever possible, and cedar is my favorite to work with. It smells so good and it stays very fresh and does not dry out. I also added some pine cones dusted with white paint and glitter for a snowy effect.This is our dining room table...I will leave the rest to your imagination... I attached these beaded wreaths to the slipcovers on our dining room chairs with different vintage brooches. It is an unexpected and elegant touch.

The dining room buffet above

The pink buffet in the family room was my favorite to decorate this year. It turned out so pretty, it makes me smile each time I walk by it.

The mantle and coffee table....

I hope you all enjoyed this "tour" I did not do the tree becuase the light was not very good today. I am not sure when I will have time to post again because of my schedule, by try to stop an take a peek, or sign up to follow the blog!

Wishing you all peace & love,

Sanya