Thought for the day...

"Walk Slowly"

by Danna Faulds...

It only takes a reminder to breathe,
a moment to be still, and just like that,
something in me settles, softens, makes
space for imperfection. The harsh voice
of judgment drops to a whisper and I
remember again that life isn't a relay
race; that we will all cross the finish
line; that waking up to life is what we
were born for. As many times as I
forget, catch myself charging forward
without even knowing where I'm going,
that many times I can make the choice
to stop, to breathe, and be, and walk
slowly into the mystery.

Street of Dreams Home Tour

Well as you could see in my last post we definitely were NOT on a 

"Street of Dreams" Tour, in fact right now my house is anything but that with a major kitchen remodel going on! 

So just for fun, let's go on a little tour of the

 Paula Deen "Street of Dreams" home. 

My husband and I went on this tour last summer and I fell in love with this house! I loved the color scheme and the overall feel of the home; elegant but not in any way over done. 

Like any good blogger would do (when she remembers her camera) I took lots of photos and thought with all the mess and lack of "pretty" in my house right now, it would be fun to go on a little tour of the "Paula Deen" house to keep our spirits up...enjoy!

Right as you walked into the kitchen there was Paula peeking out of the pantry...hi Paula, lovely to see you! 

Such a nice lady and not "fake" in any way :0)

As you can see, the colors in this beautiful kitchen were inspired by one of Paula's favorite colors, Aqua...I know this piece of trivia, because she told me when I chatted with her from inside that pantry...OK, so that part was in my dreams, actually that little tidbit was in the brochure! 

To the right of this island (which was the size of Texas) was the built-in breakfast nook seating below...

I loved this little area, it was inviting and cozy and had a great view of the backyard which we'll head out to in a minute.

If you were sitting in the nook, which by the way, they wouldn't let me do...what's up with that! you could be part of the conversation with the cook but not be in the way...

below is the master suite bath...to die for beautiful! 

I could picture myself waking up to this every morning, the soft muted colors welcoming me...

into this beautiful spa tub!

where you could peacefully take on the day...

the when you returned home that evening from your "million dollar a day" job, you could step into your huge, beautiful drive-in walk-in shower before greeting your guests' that are visiting... 

one of which is staying in this room... 

Now that we're all settled in for the evening, its time for a little cocktail party out in the covered patio below...

looks like the party is in full swing and most of our guests' have arrived!

This room is really a lovely, beautiful space. It has an enormous built-in gas fireplace, a big flat screen TV above it and ample seating for guests' to mingle by the fire...

Or maybe watch a little of the "Paula Deen show" on the Food network out here...

Then as we linger into evening, we'll cozy up here for dinner by the fireplace with its wonderful stone work and high ceilings...

As the evening wares on, we'll sit at the outdoor table and reminisce about our

"The Street of Dreams" tour 

and look forward to our "other kitchen" being done...someday...soon...

Not the Street Of Dreams Home Tour

Hello again my favorite blogging friends! 

Thought I'd take you on a little "field trip" but as the title suggests' 

its not

 "The Street of Dreams" 

home tour!

Its my kitchen which is coming along, just got the cook range and that means soon my kitchen will eventually be a full functioning kitchen again...I think...  

Its been a tedious process to get to this point and my sweet Mr. La Bella Vie has done all the manual labor which will help our dream eventually become a reality. I do love this guy even when he's spying bikini clad babes, actually he said it was a barge, not a babe he was looking at! 

But I digress... 

Yep this is Mr. La Bella Vie at the beach house during one our few and far between lulls in life!

In the meantime, I am pretending like "I'm camping" because I'm living with this...it reminds me of the picnic tables at a camp ground when there's a big family gathering. Stuff all over the table and you can't find anything unless you go on a scavenger hunt for it...

And this is our "halfway room"...its actually my teeny-tiny little laundry room but its where we're now doing dishes, better than the upstairs tub I suppose. The hubs installed one of our old kitchen cabinets above the tub-sink which gives me a bit of storage in my "mini kitchen"...err...laundry room. 

Below is where I pretend I'm a Pioneer women when it comes to making and preparing meals...I use the terms "pretend" and "meals" lightly because all I can really do in here is plug in a coffee maker and slow-cooker and pretend I'm cooking, but hey whatever works right :O)  

Note to self:

"DO NOT GET THE LAUNDRY MIXED UP WITH THE MEAL" 

or you could end up serving 

"Cream of Dirty Sock soup" 

and never be the wiser!

So this concludes my 

"Not so much the Street of Dreams Tour"

and in the meantime, I think I'll go do the wash...

or maybe make a slow cooker full of 

"half-calf-decaf-no-whip-laundry-detergent" 

simmered for about six hours on the spin cycle...

Wait a minute, did I take a wrong turn...

I think this is the "doggies wash area" not the laundry room...

The Sunshine Ballet...

So today, just for grins, I thought I'd post something whimsical and fun. I'm tired of the kitchen pictures making my blog look messy and untidy. That's how I am, I was born this way and I can't help it...sort of a bit OCD'ish I guess but it's really bugging me that my blog hasn't been "pretty" for the last few posts'.

Actually, I'm just tired of the whole mess in the kitchen and I have to keep reminding myself it will be worth it in the long run. However in the meantime I can't stand "messy/dirty" for too long. I get sort of disoriented and have to switch gears and go into "my fantasy and imagine mode" in my mind to get through it...

Maybe that's why I love Pinterest so much.

 

I can go into the wonderful place of imagination and stay there for hours quietly playing, lost in my own little world until somebody comes to find me...or the dinner bell rings:O)

Anyway, back to my reason for this post today...

These past few weeks have been pretty overwhelming between my messy house, where I feel like I'm camping in the Twilight Zone and work where I feel like I'm "dancing as fast as I can"...so yesterday, I just decided to relax and play. 

Partially on Pinterest and partially at home with my new Nikon D5100 the sweet hubs gave me for Christmas...

Source

I actually went outside to capture photos of our March snow that blew in a few days ago...

But while I was standing in this very spot taking the picture above, I bumped into something behind me hanging from the eve...it was a "Wind-Spinner" my MIL gave me a few years ago. 

As I turned around to change positions, this is what I saw and this is what happened as I turned to see what was hitting me upside the head...

An opportunity presented itself and these pictures are a result of that perfect moment in time...

 She was gently dancing in the sun...

 En Pointe, spinning to the rhythm of the wind...

 To her own peaceful, beautiful ballet in the sun...

The message couldn't have clearer for me right then that I too was dancing in the 
Sunshine Ballet...

"The Destroyers" episode #4

Well as they say, it'll get worse before it gets better and that seems to be the case in episode four of "The Destroyers".

The only thing I keep thinking is...at least I'm not having to use the bathtub to wash dishes...

yet...

 But I am having to live out of boxes which means I can't find anything and when I do find whatever it was I was looking for, I find something else that I was looking for hours before!

All I can say is its a good thing my underwear have elastic in them or I'd lose those too!

But...there is light at the end of the tunnel...Halogen to be exact...

and things are moving along slow but sure!

No paint, no pretties but at least its moving in the right direction.

and the other thing they always say..."slow and steady wins the race" that and a very patient and talented husband!