Mirror Mirror on the Wall

Hubby and I walked through an antique store over the past weekend.  This place is almost like a flea market too in that everything there is sectioned into groupings by different vendors (except the vendor's aren't actually there).  I guess a lot of it is considered vintage and not an antique but either way it's interesting.

 I came across this mirror and was smitten right away. 

 

I asked the sale's clerks if they knew anything about it but all they could offer was that it may be from the 50's or 60's.  Some parts of it seem new and some old.  Perhaps it is a contrived piece?

 If you were to judge this piece from behind it makes me think it's even older than they thought but no matter what it's age I just liked it and for $25 I decided to go for it.

 The nail (left) that helps attaches the top piece looks very old. 

This week I was visiting several blogs and ran across two posts that had mirrors of a similar nature.

This was from Chateau Chic from a Post called "My Obsession With Mirrors"

What intrigued me about this mirror is seeing it painted and chippy- it takes on a whole different personality doesn't it!

Then I came across this mirror from the Ivy and Elephants post called "Looking for Love"

I have to admit I didn't have a plan for where my mirror was going to go but at this point I'm going to try it in our bedroom.  I never show our bedroom because it's barely 12' x 12'  and with a king sized bed in there isn't much left to the room!   I have some ugly curtains to remove and it needs an updated painting.  We shall see if someday I am brave enough to show it!

 

Paris for Valentines Day!

 Doesn't the idea of being in Paris sound so romantic for Valentine's Day?

Indulge yourself with me and lets pretend we're there!

 Entrer Cafe Chez Liz

 First you will notice la pâte exquise!

 La tour Eiffel dressed with a bed of roses

Snow flakes et amour

Le champagne Veuve Cliequot Brut

Time for le dîner

Evening has arrivé ...

La Tour Eiffel is lighted

 

 Dining for deux!

Wishing you a loving Valentine's Day

  Je te aime

 

Notes: I used a battery operated puck light placed in the top of a 

glass candle votive for the light (I covered the top with a circle of wax paper because it was a bit bright).  

I dressed the Eiffel Tower with vines of ivy (which is actually a jewelry tree). 

Satin hearts from Michael's with satin ribbon tacked on.

I used a translator from Google- hopefully I didn't make any big mistakes!

 Joining

Between Naps on the Porch

for

Tablescape Thursday

Ivy and Elephants

for

What's It Wednesday

Plate Rack Tweaking

About a month ago I decided to make a change with the wall area by the kitchen dining table. 

When I first got this plate rack I had it mounted a bit off center because I wanted a larger space to the left for things like the flag picture.  

 Then I switched up and used a metal tin wall pocket and varied the items on the wall from time to time.

 I still love the wall pocket but right now I haven't figured out how to use it in this area. This conversation will make more sense when you see the pictures a little ways down.

 As you can see there was a fair amount of wall patching done.  A new coat of paint was applied and then I was ready to start putting it back together.  We centered the plate rack and lowered it a little bit.

I put out a question about an idea I had for this wall and asked for some thoughts from friends on Facebook.  I had an initial idea of using some of those crown molding ledges.  Sometimes they call them a floating shelf because you can't see the hardware. I imagined them going on either side, but the idea didn't seem to go anywhere.

My friend Linda from Life and Linda made the suggestion to try some sconces.  Initially I resisted the idea because I felt it was going to formalize the space but I kept it under consideration.  Finally one day an idea struck.

In order to keep a casual farm style look I imagined a very simple forged metal sconce.   I went looking for it on the internet and this was as close as I came.   The picture quality was so poor I really wasn't sure what it would look like so I was apprehensive about ordering it.  I decided to shop around my own area and see if I might fine something before I ordered anything.  I hate to return things especially when shipping is so expensive these days.

I stopped in at a small furniture store and found a pair of sconces.  They were a bit shorter than I had been visualizing but they had the simple forged metal look that I had in mind.  I think they call this flat strap meta.  There was a store wide sale going on and when he said they were $39 each but half off I couldn't resist!.

I put flameless candles inside the candle sleeve that have the timer and remote option.

As you can see I emptied the big blue vase.   I plan to re-paint the walls to a creamy white which is funny because that's what they were before I changed the color two times!

A little ambiance for the evening hours- those timers are the best!

I like the neatness of this look but I kept feeling like there should be something else just below each sconce.

These little cow plaques were by the clock- I thought I'd see how they'd look under the sconces.  I could paint them a dark bronze to create a uniform look, lighten them up or just leave them alone.  Remember too that I want to paint the walls the creamy white (and the door) so the plaques will have more contrast to them against the creamy white (the current wall color seems to absorb them a bit)

Scroll between the picture above (without the plaques) and below (with the plaques) and tell me which one you like better and also whether you would change the color of the plaques.

The best thing that came out of this is that I like how the sconces dress up the plate rack- kind of like putting on a pair of earrings with your little black dress!

This is my favorite shot- it offers the best perspective.

I'll be joining 

Between Naps on the Porch 

for

Metamorphosis Monday

Our Home Away From Home
for
Tuesday's at our Home
I was featured
 

Ivy and Elephants
for
What's it Wednesday

Randomness and Superbowl Sunday

On Superbowl Sunday we had brunch in town and then we went over to the Grand Traverse Resort to visit the Home Expo.  It's a gathering of contractors that pay to have booths and demonstrate new things that are available and get their name out there. 

 I was going to take pictures once we got into the area but I felt too conspicuous so all I took was the entryway to the Governors Hall where they held it.  That's their advertisement for the show and as you see they tied football into it.  There were businesses & restaurants that closed at 3 yesterday to let people go home to watch.  It's almost a national holiday!

The first summer when we had just moved into this house I awoke to see a few of these guys grazing in our front yard!   Yep...they look real big in your front yard!  My home is way off the the left just the other side of the woods that you can barely see.   Thankfully that hasn't been a regular event! 

Why are there Buffalo in Northern Michigan?   It's because the Oleson family has been raising buffalo for years and sells the meat at their grocery stores.  Buffalo meat is lower in cholesterol so they promote it with that as a bonus.  The herd moves around from hill to hill in the spring and summer to graze but at this time of year they rely on being fed hay (which is stocked up in the barn down the hill) and I imagine some other grain.  They don't mind the cold as you might think- they are pretty hearty.  This is just a small bunch of them that were close to the road so I snapped a picture with my cell phone. 

 Before we left for brunch I started a meal in the slow cooker.  I browned up some floured chicken- added in chicken stock, potatoes, carrots, onion and I threw in some green pepper (to see if I'd like it) into my slow cooker.  It was OK but I'll stick to celery next time.

We aren't too exciting around here- I didn't even make any snack food for the game, but I was pretty much alone anyway.  Dan was puttering in his work shop most of the time- he isn't what you'd call a sports fan.  He did show up for half time which was "different"!  I'm a bit of a fair weather fan- I wait for the big events to watch.  What an exhausting game- so many highs and lows!

Every time I go out to the garage I see my Annabelle Hydrangeas that I dried late last summer.  They're literally hanging around (right by my car) waiting for me to do something with them.  I'm dreaming about spring and Easter already and I hope to put them to use by then.  It's a favorite time of the year!