EMMY FASHIONS WITH BASEBALL ON THE SIDE

I didn’t watch the Emmys last night because my Cardinals game was on ESPN.

Sadly, they lost to the Brewers

 in Milwaukee’s Miller (as in the local brewery) Park.

Wikipedia

In Milwaukee, the highlight of any game

has to be their hilarious sausage race,

with the Italian beef, the hot dog, the brat, etc.

How could you not love that?

* * * *

Also on the fun agenda —

since Milwaukee’s home to Harley-Davidson Motorcycles,

during each pitching change, some dude on a Harley circles the field.

Awesome!

I just love local stuff like that at the ballpark,

like this wonderful tradition in St. Louis:

The Budweiser Clydesdales circling the field
on Opening Day at Busch (as in the local brewery) Stadium
CBS Sports

I won’t lie — those Clydesdales give me major goosebumps!

I am crazy about the Clydesdales’ theme song (“Here Comes The King”), too!

* * * * *

But let’s talk about the Emmys.

Let’s talk about the Emmys red carpet!

Here’s my vote for Best Dressed of the night:

http://www.eonline.com

Rose Byrne’s (what show is she on?) dress!

 Its simplicity is so gorgeous,

with the fabric, the fit + color being beyond flattering!

Her hair + make up are perfect, too!

Sure, Joan gets ridiculed for her plastic surgery,
but c’mon. She must have a new doctor,
because I think she’s looking fantastic!
Her hair’s always great — pretty blazer + scarf, too.

DISCLAIMER: I didn’t get the designers’ names of these gowns.

My BAD!

I hope to do so tonight while watching the Fashion Police.

* * * *

Now let’s get back to those dresses, shall we?

Here are some of my other favorites:

Michelle Dockery’s (Downton Abbey) gown is so beautiful.

I love the hem of the skirt + the edgy halter bodice.

I wouldn’t have chosen those colors, but they’re striking on her.

Leslie Mann (dunno what show she’s on, either) is sporting

one of several sheer skirt gowns seen last night.

They intrigue me, + I liked this one the best.

I can’t decide if that bodice is too busy or if it’s just right.

Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie + The Sopranos)

is simply stunning in this simply designed gown.

The color is perfect for her!

Once again, I love her hair + make up, too.

Kerry Washington (star of ??? show)

is wearing a style I don’t normally love.

As you can tell, I’m more of a fan of a much more minimalist design.

The appliqued flowers on her sheer skirt are just so pretty, though,

+ I’m loving the juxtaposition of that edgy bodice

with the feminine skirt + fabric.  Perfect!

* * * *

What did you think?

Do you agree with my choices?

Will you, like me, be watching the Fashion Police Emmy special on E! tonight?

FALL MAKEOVER FOR OUR LIVING ROOM

News you might use: It’s the first day of Fall.

Our furnace is roaring.

I’m sporting flannel PJ bottoms, thick socks, a thermal top + a sweatshirt.

Meaning: I need to consume chili, anything pumpkin flavored

+ caramel apples by the dozens.

Plus I’ve got the nesting instinct like crazy

+ have been giddily adding an Autumnal vibe to our interiors.

Yesterday I blogged about our dining room re-do:

https://redbirdv.wordpress.com/2013/09/21/our-dining-room-gets-its-fall-on/

Today, it’s all about our living room,

which opens to the dining room through this graceful arch:

I love area rugs!
The kilim in the foreground
is from JC Penney, circa ’07.

Nobody loves this time of year more than I do . . .

. . . so, of course, I have a huge Rubbermaid tub o’ Fall + Halloween stuff,

somewhere down in our basement, a.k.a. ‘cellar hide-a-way’.

That just seems like a lot of work, though,

dragging all that up here + then putting it away later.

Plus, I can’t find it.

YESH, a huge, honking Rubbermaid storage container — LOST.

Think about that for a minute + try to envision such jam-packed squalor!

* * * *

Okay, now — quickly! — let’s think about something else, like pumpkins!

Much better!

So I’m just adding the feel of Fall,

using stuff I already have + maybe a spare pumpkin or two.

Luckily for me, all my reds + Beeswaxes (a.k.a. gold) work like magic.

All my yellow ware bowls
come in the perfect Fall shades!

I recently spent a happy a.m.,

rounding up all the yellow ware from my vast collection

+ distributing it throughout our living room.

* * * *

Meanwhile, I think there’s something about the patina of beat-up wood

that calls out: ‘FALL!’

We bought this table + used it for dining in the 80’s . . .

. . . after which its legs were chopped off,

making it the perfect, rustic coffee table.

That awesome wooden paddle is new to me —

I got it for a steal ($10!) at FourSided in Chicago this summer!

Foursided
on Clark Street in Andersonville

And raise your hand if you love striped Dash + Albert rugs as much as I do!

http://www.dashandalbert.com/

I bought this one, in the coveted ‘Kay colors’ of navy + Beeswax,

 way back in 2007 in Savannah (I love you!) Georgia:

That wooden box had been organizing my sewing supplies,

but I like it better out here, holding our remotes + ‘what-have-you’.

This awesome repro vintage basket’s warm color + texture
adds ‘Fall’, too!
I love its wire handles.

I mentioned previously that I thought my massive amount of red stuff

is a natural for this Autumnal atmosphere I’m craving.

Let’s have a look-see at some of it, shall we?  What do you think?

I wrote about this typewriter table re-do way back in February,

when I first started blogging!

https://redbirdv.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/typewriter-table-project/

Who doesn’t love
the Swiss Army blanket?

I made a pair of red ikat dot printed pillows
for our couch.

G.O. repurposed an old wooden surveyor’s tripod into that cool floor lamp.

Don’t you love that red striped lampshade from Pottery Barn, too?

Just yesterday
I whined about whether or not
this Cardinals pillow was ‘wrong’!

And now this!?
A STEELY DAN PILLOW!!??
Yes, I repurposed a tote into a pillow!

‘The Dan’ + Kay out cruising

Some times it’s just FUN, being me!

I love a house where you can walk in + TELL by the ‘stuff’ who lives there!

Speaking of which . . .

. . . one side of this vintage sign says ‘St. Louis’
+ the other reads ‘Rockford’
(Illinois) near where I used to live!

Which brings us to these — the ultimate in Cardinals memorabilia.

Frankly, I don’t really care if they’re ‘wrong’!

Seats from the most recent past Busch Stadium
(1966 – 2005)

And if that’s not enough good times,

 when one is me, one really has a lot of fun

with my + my beau’s initials, like here:

Typography. Vintage style. The color red.
All check check check!
When I saw these coasters
in the Sundance catalog,
I ordered an OK immediately!

Get it?

‘Ole’ or ‘O’ — G.O.’s nickname + K for Kay!?

HA! He’s not amused — AGAIN!?

Sadly, G.O. doesn’t really grasp the concept, or won’t,

but that’s okay — I have enough fun with it for the 2 of us!

I nearly swooned when I spied this vintage fruit crate
with the OK in the ‘Kay colors’ of red + navy!

Oopsie — on the glare at the window,

but please do notice those awesome Pottery Barn sconces I scored on eBay.

They were a splurge, I love them, + they’ll go with us to our new house!

So will this, my beloved vintage postal sorter:

As with my dining room art ledges of yesterday’s post,

these cubbies are jammed with my beloved stuff.

Note, please, all the yellow ware bowls that were previously in our kitchen.

I think I’m going to edit everything just a tad,

after which I’ll snap yet more photos + blog about it all.

Stay tuned!

Our Dining Room Gets Its FALL On!

 I recently came home with a carload of mums, kale, pansies + pumpkins,

+ next, I added FALL to our front porch!

It was such a huge morale boost that I opted to do something similar inside!

I started with our dining room:

This pair of black urns with the white pumpkins

were flanking our front door, just this morning!

Now they are looking swell inside, accessorizing our pine farmhouse table:

I have had this old Rockford, Illinois wooden box for years:

Why yes, I DO love red stripes!

KATHY + CINDEE oil painting by me, graduate school, 1978

Our bungalow doesn’t have a lot of wall space for large canvases like this,

so I’m using a vintage wooden easel to display my painting.

Here’s a similar look from Ellen Degeneres’ house:

Back to our house — here’s a close-up of that accent wall.

G.O. + I stenciled it together, + we love it!

That pretty wall color — Beeswax — is so warm,

+ it happens to match all the yellow ware that I love to collect.

Here are my tin quilt stencils, marching across the hallway door:

 

Don’t you love our art ledges?  I do.

G.O. made them with an old door casing from our house:

I like them because I can switch things out whenever I please.

G.O. likes them because we’re not driving 100’s of nails into our walls!

Right now, I’ve got a lot of fall stuff displayed with photos + artwork.

Yumm-O for our orange mercury glass votive cups:

Some old glass ware for some sparkle, inside a handmade basket:

Our dad caught this foul ball at a Cardinals game in the 50’s:

Next up: our living room gets its Autumnal make over!

Stay tuned!

FURNITURE FLIPPING FUN

The other day I found a cool blog about flipping furniture.

FURNITURE FLIPPIN’

Who knew?

http://www.furnitureflippin.com/

Here’s Stephanie, the blogger.

Isn’t she pretty?  And she’s funny, too!

Turns out the particular post I read

featured ReFabulous Interiors —  the business of a gal that I know!

Her name is Becky, + she’s just as nice as she is pretty:

Fun factoids:

1. Becky was a 7th grade art student of mine, the last year I taught!

2. Her mom, Dawn, used to shop in my old retail store,

the late, great Heart-in-Hand in Oregon, Illinois.

3. Dawn’s an avid Atlanta Braves fan,

+ her team + mine just might meet in the postseason this year!

Go Cardinals!

* * * * *

Oh, dear.  I digress, majorly.

Shall we get back to Becky + ReFabulous Interiors?

Let’s see some of the magic she works on plain Jane furniture:

Before

After

Go have a look-see at Becky’s website:

http://www.refabulousinteriors.com/

* * * *

Anyway, all these groovy projects had me feeling nostalgic

about all the chairs that I used to flip!

One of my favorites!
Painted a pretty neutral color,
upholstered with canvas on to which I stenciled a Frenchie stripe

Here’s the chair that started my chair flipping “career”:

I loved the patina of the old, green paint!

Actually, this was one of a set of 4 dark green, metal folding chairs

that I found in an antiques shop in my hometown.

Those 4 chairs turned into my first numbered series —

+ our (meaning: G.O.’s) first attempt at upholstering with my stenciled fabric!

Poor G.O. — I have to find another photo op!

He’s actually very talented at upholstery!

* * * * *

Here are some of our other upholstered chair flips:

Frenchie café chair
with Frenchie striped upholstery.
This was done
during our upholstery tack era.

Woven Frenchie stripes this time,
on some wonderful vintage fabric,
with yet more upholstery tacks.

Still in our Frenchie phase.
I love this chair’s simple ladderback design
+ warm wood tones!

What a cute footstool,
with more of my stenciled fabric!

Now we’ve left France + are headed into Industrial Land:

Loved this stool
with its Swiss Army blanket upholstery
+ Swiss cross!

Another industrial stool,
this time with a red + white cross
+ an awesome vintage dish towel slipcover!

I am such a fan of slipcovering old chairs.

Here are some of my favorite flips, featuring slips!

Tan ticking stripe cotton chair pad
+ trim on the cute canvas slipcover.

I love the vintage floral fabric
that I used on this child’s rocker!

How sassy are these stadium seats?
I used genuine Army tent fabric, blue ticking stripe cotton
+ vintage buttons!

Well, that was fun!

I still have some chairs in storage,

awaiting their makeovers, including one just like this:

Thanks for viewing all my projects-from-the-past,

+ stay tuned to see if I’ve been inspired

to get back to chair flipping!

My Fun Fall Porch

Here’s some news you can use:

yesterday I enjoyed my first cup of Dunkin Donuts pumpkin spice coffee!

Bring on the caramel apples — it’s early fall!

Home Depot was selling small mums, pansies + ornamental kale

FOR 83 CENTS EACH!,

so I excitedly filled the back of my station wagon,

dashed home + got to work,  tricking out our front porch!

I happily arranged + rearranged to my heart’s content,

pausing occasionally to admire, of course,

+ worrying just a tad that our neighbors would think I’m crazy.

HA!  TOO LATE FOR THAT!

* * * * *

But I digress.  Back to my project.

At one point, I had both sides of our steps brimming with autumnal glory,

but midway, I opted to edit + do just one side.

Less is more, right?

My favorites: white pumpkins inside my pair of black urns (Home Depot).

Once I saw how awesome that looked,

I opted to continue incorporating garden pots from my semi-vast collection.

Well, THAT was fun!

I don’t do much fall decor inside the house,

but I am thinking of doing a little something this year (soon!)

 to boost my morale.

Once again, my plans are to shop from the house

+ use what I already own.

Stay tuned!

Green v.s. Gray + Some Dachshunds

Yesterdee’s (St. Louisspeak for “yesterday”) weather was beyond glorious . . .

. . . so Chloe the Dachshund + I seized the opportunity

for a bike ride around town!

Chloe is a large-ish, standard-size Dachshund,

while her predecessor, Susie, was a smaller mini.

When Chloe wouldn’t fit inside the late, great Susie’s handlebar basket . . .

. . . I searched + searched + found her this vintage awesomeness

at the antiques mall!

* * * *

Shall we take a moment to view a few photos of Susie?

A very young Susie with her friend, Max,
in the apartment I built above my old store!
Loving the pine floors!
Circa early 90’s.

Susie being Susie, digging for moles.
Look! It’s my old “ride” — a Dodge minivan!

Susie with her beloved brothers, Ben + Jon,
posing for yet another Christmas card,
back in our old apartment above the store!

Okay, so now I’m feeling a little ver klempt.

Thanks for going down Dachshund memory lane with me!

* * * *

But back to yesterdee’s ride.

Our first pit stop was at our Dutch colonial,

where I pondered over some siding color choices.

You can’t really see them that well in this photo,

but there are 2 grays just to the left of the window trim,

+ I green to the right.

There, that’s better.

I was all set to choose the lighter of the grays,

with lots of white trim + black doors . . .

. . . just like we used for our garage’s re-do!

Gray is so ME!

Here’s the thing:

At age 19 (in 1971), I painted my very first house gray with white trim.

Wish I could share a photo of it with me in cut-offs + a halter top

+ my Linda McCartney-esque shag haircut.  Darn.

* * * * *

Fast forward, + my second (1975) + 3rd (1985) houses were gray, too.

Look at my 80’s hair + how ahead of my time I was,

with my Benjamin Moore gray kitchen cabinets!

What I’m saying is: I LOVE GRAY!

* * *

But  I think I love being DIFFERENT, more!

You see, there are already 3 gray houses on our new block,

including right next door + just across the street!

* * *

Cue: Timbercrest green.

Maybe?

Yikes!  That green would definitely be out-of-the-box for me,

but if we were to start siding today,

I think I’d go for it!

Stay tuned!