The winner is....

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Robin~Bittersweet Punkin is the winner of my Cottage Charm Giveaway!  Thanks to all of 452 of you who entered!  I cannot believe 452 people entered my giveaway!!!  This was so much fun that I plan to have another one in June to celebrate my 3 year blogiversary! 

Oh, what a fun day!

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The HGTV crew was here today.  Actually it was just Dan...A one-man show but boy did he know what he was doing!  He's just a few years older than my son.  I was so impressed with his professionalism at such a young age!  Here I am (awful picture) in front of the camera. I was still very nervous at this point.  I started to relax a little as we got into it more.

Here's Dan setting everything up.  Below are some photos of my apartment with all the great lights set up.  (click on the photos to enlarge)


I had so much fun doing this and I am so happy that I went outside of my comfort level in order to experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!  It was such a great day and I will never forget it.   Lauren came home from school just in time to see the last part of the filming.  I think she really enjoyed seeing it.  She told me she would never be able to what I did which really surprises me because she is a lot more outgoing and social than I am!  She had the opportunity to be on camera with me but declined from the beginning.  

I ended up not setting the table because I was told there would be video of me looking at my laptop at the HGTV Rate my Space site so I thought I should leave the table clear.  We ended up shooting it with me sitting in a chair in the living room.

The show will air sometime in the fall.  That is a long wait, but I'm sure it will be here before we know it!  

Busy, Busy, Busy!

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I probably won't be posting anything for the rest of the week.  I have so much to do and I'm sick on top of it.  Friday at work I started feeling really bad but I was working on the ongoing big project and couldn't leave until later in the afternoon.  I came home and had a fever and chills for two days.  Now I have a bad cold! Bad timing!  Cold medicine is really helping though.  I'm so busy at work I can't take any time off so I'm spending my evenings getting my apartment ready for Friday.  

I got a email yesterday from another producer of a new show that was interested in using my home.  He had come across my blog and was looking for romantic style decorating.  I don't think it was for HGTV because he didn't mention that.  It ended up not working out because he needed someone in the LA area and I'm in Northern California in the San Francisco Bay Area.  It just goes to show, you never know who's reading your blog! 

Getting ready for HGTV!

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As most of you are aware, HGTV is coming on Friday to shoot video of my amoire as an inspiration piece for a new HGTV show called "Rate My Space".  They will probably just be showing my armoire but being the type of person I am (prepared, perfectionist, obsessive, anal retentive, crazy, etc.) I thought I should make the dining room table look pretty just in case the camera sways in that direction.  Which table setting do you like better?  Please vote below.

Backyard Blooms

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This is now my favorite rose! It's a climbing rose called "Eden". I just planted it this year after seeing some gorgeous photos of this rose. It's so old-fashioned and romantic! It's scent is very light. As you can see in the photo below, it's still very small. I can hardly wait until it starts climbing the arbor.My hydrangeas are starting to bloom too!
This one below is called "Endless Summer" and is supposed to continue to bloom throughout summer. Usually hydrangeas only bloom once and when the flowers die back that's it until the next year.
My gardenia's are blooming and filling my patio with a beautiful fragrance. Although today all I can smell is smoke. There is a huge wild fire that started yesterday on the mountain close to my home. The wind shifted during the night and I woke up this morning to the smell of smoke! It's so smokey that the sun is not even shining through it. Once I got to work I couldn't believe the difference. The sun is out and you can barely smell it. What a difference 13 miles makes! I feel bad for Lauren, she has asthma and the smoke was really heavy at her school.
These delphiniums were doing great until the wind whipped up yesterday (which also was horrible for the wild fire) and broke one of the two stalks I had.

Here is the view of the delphinium from inside my apartment. you can see the delphinium stalks on each side of the plaque on the fence.

And here is my tomato plant. I took this photo last weekend and I can't believe how much it has grown since then. Mmmm....I can just taste those tomato sandwiches!



I hope you all have a great weekend!

Thrift Store Chintz!

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I found this Royal Winton Chintz teapot at the thrift store for $5.99. When I got up to the cash register I found out it was on sale and I only paid $4.10! It's not a pattern or color I would usually be interested in but I knew it was worth a lot more so when I came home I looked on eBay. There was one up for bid and a few days later I checked back and it sold for $67.00. The shape on that was was a little rounder and didn't have the little flared bottom like mine but it was the same pattern. Mine is also chipped on the spout but I don't plan on selling it anyway.
It joined my other chintz in my little wall cabinet my dad made. See...not all my furniture is painted white! My mom thinks I should paint this. I have no problem painting antique pieces of furniture but it's a whole different story when it's something my dad made for me! He sold some of these painted white but way back in the early 90s when he made this for me I requested this color. What do you think? Should I paint it?


Yeah for DAVID COOK! LOVE HIM!

Decorating with Shells

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The shells that were in my tiered dish on my dining room table are now in my French beverage dispenser. Can you tell I thrive on change! See the picture frame above, I bought that at Marshalls months ago and I still haven't replaced the photo that came in it. The other day Lauren walked by it, stooped down for a closer look and said "WHO IS THAT?" I just started laughing and said "I don't know!"

I Found More!

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Remember the teapot and other things I found in this pattern?  Well, I was in Marshalls again last week (I practically live there) and found these dessert plates for only $2.99 each...$2.99!  They had 8 and I bought them all!  I just love this pattern!  It's called "Antique Reflections by J. Godinger & Company"

Last night I went to another Marshalls and found one more in the clearance aisle for $2.00!  Of course I bought it...just in case one of mine breaks~I'll have an extra. There are also trays, candy dishes, pitchers, and more but I think I have what I need want can afford for now.

Sunday I was cleaning house and decided to take a break to play.  I set the table just for fun to see what they would look like.  I still like to play house. When I was done, I put all my "toys" away so we could actually use the dining room table. I have them displayed in my hutch so I can still enjoy them!  ~and then I got back to cleaning house!

HGTV Update:  They have moved the taping out 1 more day so it looks like it will be on Friday, May 30th now.  I'm fine with that because the longer they push it out the more time I have to get prepared (both mentally and home-wise).  I decided to wait until after the taping to wallpaper the bathroom.  I asked them if they will be taping any other parts of my home and they said probably not, so I would rather wait and not rush decorating the bathroom.  To me, decorating is not just about getting the job done but enjoying the process along the way.  

Prom Night

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Lauren is just a freshman but got asked to the Junior Prom. The big night was this past Saturday. A big group of kids met at her date's home before they left which is where I took these photos. I took a lot of photos and didn't have one that turned out very well! His mom was taking pictures and you can see that Lauren was looking at her and he was looking at me! I like the candid one below...
Lauren is almost 5'9" and she was wearing 4" heels! This is the first time she's really ever worn high heels and I was so worried she was going to fall, but luckily she didn't! She called me at 9:30 to tell me she was having so much fun...she'll never know how much that phone call meant to me!

This is so me!

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I found this on the Ralph Lauren website!  I love it!  Blue and white and plates on the wall....it's so me!  I've always loved Ralph Lauren everything!  My daughter, Lauren, was named because of my love of the Ralph Lauren style!   

Thanks so much to all of you for your tips on wallpapering and rewiring my electrical plug! Wow you guys are amazing. I think I may try to wallpaper the bathroom!   A special thanks to Kelly at Rose Vine Cottage...you were right, the plug on the nightlight twists all the way around so I don't have to rewire after all!  I would have never noticed that!  If you haven't checked out Kelly's blog you should.  She has great style...I love her cottage!   My little nightlight chandelier looks so much better now that it's not hanging upside down!  

Don't forget to enter my giveaway if you haven't already done so.  Wow, I can't believe I already have over 200 people entered!  We've got a great party going on so please join in!   This has been so much fun I think I'll be doing a another giveaway next month for my 3 year blog anniversary...I can't believe I started this blog almost 3 years ago.  I started out VERY  slowly but now I love posting every day.  I've thought about deleting those early posts because they were so bad but I'm leaving them there to remind me how far I've come. Blogging has been a big learning experience for me. 

It's been soooo hot here!  It's almost 11:00pm and it's finally cooling down a bit...it 78 degrees! It got up to 99 degrees today which was a record high for the day.  Luckily today was the hottest day and it's supposed to start slowly cooling down tomorrow. 

The Bathroom Project

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I've had this wallpaper for months and now I'm wondering if I can get it up before the HGTV crew comes. I would jump in and do it but the problem is I don't know how to wallpaper! I didn't know how to rewire a chandelier and I taught myself that so I don't know why I'm letting this wallpaper thing intimidate me. Well, that's a lie, I do know why. Back in the 80s I tried to add a wallpaper border to my bathroom. Everything was going along fine and when I was about 3/4 of the way around the room the border starting falling off the wall and before I could get off the ladder it was all on the floor! Now, that I'm older and wiser I think the problem was that I was wallpapering it onto a glossy painted wall!

I saw this rug on sale and Bed, Bath and Beyond and bought it not knowing for sure if it was the right blue to match the wallpaper. I lucked out...it matches perfectly and it was 1/2 off!

See the little night light that looks like a crystal chandelier? I bought that at TJ Maxx for $5.99. When I got it home I remembered that whoever did the electrical in my apartment put ALL the plugs in upside down! It' won't plug in the way it's supposed to, I have to turn it upside down...it just doesn't look right upside down! I guess I need to learn how to change out electrical plugs next! Believe it or not that sounds easier than wallpapering to me!

It's so hot here. We are in the middle of a heat wave and it's supposed to be 100 degrees today! The carpet cleaner is coming Saturday which means I need to start cleaning all the tissues and papers and who knows what else Beau has taken under our beds and shredded. It looks like an explosion went off under there. Our upstairs bedrooms get so hot so the thought of cleaning out under the bed in 100 degree weather does not sound fun!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway if you haven't already!

UPDATE: Per Laura's request...click here to see where I purchased the wallpaper.

Cottage Charm Giveaway!

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Yesterday I realized that today will be my 400th post so I decided to have a giveaway to celebrate. I went to Marshalls and bought some things that I thought you may like. Actually I bought things I liked and hoped you may like them too. Then I saw that Kim from The Twice Remembered Cottage ~ One Woman's Cottage Life is having the Second Annual Cottage Charm Giveaway and I decided to join in! Above are the items you can win just by leaving a comment. There are 5 items: a small white pitcher, a blue and white plate, rose petal soap, a soy candle, a starfish from my shell collection. Everyone can enter but if you live outside the U.S. I will not be able to send this due to shipping costs but I will send you a decorating magazine (perhaps there is one that you want and can't get in your country?) I will then draw a second name for the items above. The drawing will be on Saturday, May 31st. You have until then to leave a comment and if you don't have a blog, please make sure you include your email address. Even if you've never left a comment before this, you can still enter!

Grout Issues

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So what do you think about him? You know...Mr Infomercial, Billy Mays! I like him because any man that's into cleaning is a man for me! Besides, he has so much enthusiasm! I was in Bed, Bath and Beyond (another store I love) and saw this Grout Aid hanging there with Billy's smiling face and threw it in the cart. I don't want my home showing up on national TV with dirty grout! So below is the "before picture" with the dirty grout. I tried everything to get this white, including bleach, nothing worked...
until this little marker! It's like white-out for your grout. It was actually fun to do...instant gratification! This was my downstairs powder room, I ran upstairs and did the other bathroom too.
My tile looks like new now! I love it. (btw, this was NOT a paid advertisement) Thanks Billy...You Rock!

Lauren's Dresser

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I finally painted Lauren's dresser! It's amazing how much better her whole room looks now just by adding this. Before this she had a tall chest of drawers that looked like white laminate. This looks so much better! This "before" picture below is from the add on Craigslist. When I took the mirror off the the frame to paint it there was a date stamped on the back which said July 31, 196? I couldn't read the last number it was either 66 or 68. It's nice to know when this set was made. I actually thought it was older. It hard to see in the photos but the drawers are bowed out which is what I LOVED about this piece. I just have the mirror resting against the wall (not a smart thing to do in earthquake country) until I get it hung up. The lamp was black and I painted it white this weekend. I even added some scented drawer liners in a beautiful green color for her!
Next project for her room is to find something to put her TV on so it's not on top of the dresser! I also want to paint her room. We picked out the green color below (second from top). Her bedding is from Bed, Bath and Beyond. Here's what it looks like (we don't have the plaid pillows because I'm not a huge fan of plaid). She picked out the bedding but I think you can probably tell it's not really my taste. I'm surprised thought that now that it's coming together I'm liking it more. I may try to tackle the paint job this week after work. One of her walls is painted red now so I think I better prime that first. Has anyone ever painted over a red wall before? If so, do I need to prime it?

Once I get the whole room done, I'll show you. It may not be until June though!

Happy Mother's Day!

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I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day! 

I bought this vase at the flea market last weekend.  Something about it made me think about my mom.  When I was explaining it to her over the phone she told me she has one just like it! No wonder it made me think of her!  It's really pretty...the glass kind of bubbles out of the metal frame.  It's really deep, I had to add the papery fabric that the flowers came wrapped in to the bottom.  

Relax...

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Tonight I sat down with a glass of wine and a new magazine and just had a relaxing evening!   I know what you're thinking...how can I be so relaxed when the HGTV crew will be here to film on Tuesday morning? Well they changed their mind!  Can you believe that!  I had the okay from my boss to take a long lunch hour on Friday to meet the carpet cleaner which I had to call back tonight and cancel!  I had a kennel booked for Beau so he wouldn't bite the camera man's ankles~ I still need to call them and cancel!  I was so stressed out for nothing.  But the good news is that I have 3 full weeks to get prepared!  Yay!  The producer emailed me and said they won't be coming until May 29th or 30th!  A huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders!  I am so happy!!!  Now maybe I can get Lauren's dresser painted this weekend.  I know I've been saying that for the last 3 or 4 weeks but I really want to do it this weekend and just get it finished!  

Thank you all so much for ALL those wonderful comments (and emails) on my last post!  You guys are the greatest!  I'm really not sure if I could do this without all your support.  Your kind words about my apartment has given me so much more confidence!  Thank you so much!

And so many of you said to make sure I tell you when it will be aired...Are you kidding me?  Of course I will tell you!  I'll not only tell you as soon as I find out, I'll remind you when it gets closer, and I'll remind you the day before and the day of!  If it weren't for you visiting my blog and giving me words of encouragement I would have never put my rooms on the HGTV Rate my Space website and none of this would be happening to me!  So thank you! Have a great weekend! 

HGTV...HERE I COME!

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I JUST GOT AN EMAIL FROM THE PRODUCER! THEY ARE COMING ON TUESDAY TO FILM....YIKES! I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO AND THE TIMING COULD NOT BE ANY WORSE BECAUSE I'M WORKING ON A HUGE PROJECT AT WORK! I JUST CALLED THE CARPET CLEANERS AND LEFT A MESSAGE...I SURE HOPE I CAN GET MY CARPETS CLEANED FRIDAY! I'M SO STRESSED, EXCITED, SCARED, HAPPY, WORRIED....

update:  I should have mentioned that I will be on a new show based on the HGTV Rate my Space website.  They take a room from there that wasn't rated very well and make it over.  The homeowner gets to pick inspiration from other homes on the website.  Someone chose my armoire as their inspiration...who knows maybe she even reads my blog...I don't know.  I put my blog address on some of my rooms I have posted there and I know some of you have found me that way.  Angelo from 24-Hour Design is going to be the host of this new show which is starting to air in June!  

Here is a link to my place on RMS.

Small

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Last night when I was watching American Idol, I realized I didn't have anything prepared for my blog today. There are times when I feel like I have nothing to share but I still feel the need to post every day. I feel like if you all come to visit here I should at least have something for you! I feel like I've showed you just about everything I have, except for Lauren's room and the bathrooms which all are still not finished. Lauren's room has been 3 different color themes since we moved here 4 years ago. Anyway...I realized that maybe I haven't posted a photo (at least for awhile) of my apartment from this view. This is standing on the back step of my patio. You can really see how small my place is in this photo. There are some areas that are cut off of the living room...the armoire (with the TV) is on the left and the sofa is on the right. When you come in the front door (which is straight ahead) you can either go into the kitchen or the very tiny bathroom. My apartment is less than 1000 square feet....teeny tiny but cozy.

Wouldn't hard-wood floors look great in here? My landlord has been adding wood laminate flooring to the other units when the tenants leave rather than replacing the carpet. I told her I would even consider paying a little more on my rent if she put them in my unit!

Too Pretty to Resist!

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Last Friday a coworker and I went over to Marshalls on our lunch hour. I found this teapot and when I turned it over to look at the price I could not believe it ~ $7.99. You can click on the photo to enlarge it and see the beautiful detail around the top. Then I found a matching plate with handles...$6.99. Then two mugs $2.99 each! They even have more pieces but I'll get those another time. I just love everything about these...it's probably a good thing they don't have a full set of dishes in this pattern because I wouldn't be able to resist!

Tablescapes and My Video Experience

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Well, I got the word late Friday that I had to do a videotape this past weekend and Fed Ex it to HGTV today! (if you don't know what I'm talking about read last Wed. & Thurs. post if you haven't) So, needless to say, I didn't get much done on Lauren's dresser but I did start it!
I had to take a video tape of me walking around my apartment showing them different things. I decided to set the dining room table and make it look pretty. I found this beautiful vintage lace table square at the flea market on Saturday for only $10.
I found the old picture frame at the thrift store last week for only $2.99. I put it under my tiered dish and put shells all around. I even added starfish on top of the soup bowls (Lauren thought that part of it was a little weird.) I liked it though.
I love the look of the elegance of the crystal and lace mixed with the earthiness of the shells.
Here's a close up of the table cloth! I had purchased other things from this vendor in the past and always seek her out because she has such great prices.

I like the way the table turned out but I wasn't pleased with my video tape at all. I hated the way I looked on camera! Boy the camera adds like 50 lbs! Even my apartment didn't video tape well. It's probably good I wasn't thrilled with it...I won't be disappointed if they decide not to use me. I would back out of it if I could but when I give someone my word, my commitment...I stick to it!

Thank you Cottage Magpie!

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I would like to thank Angela for featuring me (and my yellow walls) on her beautiful blog "Cottage Magpie"!  Please go by and see her series she's doing on color!  

Happy Friday!

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Pretty in Pink (from my Flickr Favorites), originally uploaded by Romantic Home.

Here are some beautiful photos I found on Flickr. I guess I'm in a pink mood today!

Tomorrow is the Flea Market. I can hardly wait! I'm going early so I come home and paint Lauren's dresser! Enough procrastinating!

Have a great weekend!