A Stunning Red and Pink Bedroom

Stunning. STUNNING. Stunning!!!! I adore this room with the bright pink and red. The lamps are gorgeous. The chairs are adorable. The furniture looks like something from the 60s, and I should know because I had a bedroom dresser, bed and night stands very similar to these. But what they did to this room is absolutely magnificent in my book. Freshened it up with paint to come into the 21st century.

What a cake! I have no clue if those are real roses but I suspect they are.

I definitely have a few birdcages and birdhouses around my house. This one is really cute though.

What a cute Easter dinner setting.

These would be cute party favors.

The chandelier caught my eye first but I do like the room.

I've found this store on the internet but cannot figure out how to order something from them. Go visit Green Gate and see what I'm talking about. Darling stuff.

Pretty living room near an ocean.

Aren't these little mini cupcakes adorable? What a cute idea, instead of a big cake.

Another lovely idea for place settings.

For you lovers of blue.

Isn't this cute how they've done the eggs here? Just glue on scraps of fabric.

Another gorgeously decorated cake.

And more luscious goodies to eat.

All white and silver table setting.

I did this to the back of my small china cabinet. Simply put decorative sheets of book scrapping paper and it changes the whole appearance to a touch of the dramatic.

Serene place to have for feminine endeavors.

This caught my eye because my daughter had this wallpaper in one of her bathrooms a few years ago. She accented it with blue and it was lovely.

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Rule #10:
Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
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Random Thoughts 6/22/12

Random Thoughts:

My son's friend was married to a Russian woman briefly several years ago. I think it was one of those mail-order bride situations. Her parents came over to visit them in Southern California, first visit ever, and they were stymied by all the food and food items available as well as the orchards. They couldn't believe the orchards in Southern California didn't have fences around them. (Now, we're talking S. Cal here, where most people have a few trees in their backyards even.) Anyway, they were aghast at the plethora of orchards. They said in Russia all the orchards had fences around them and if you tried to pick the fruit, you'd be shot as there were sentries posted. How awful that must be. They even "sneaked" into an orchard and pulled a few oranges off to eat while visiting. So if you ever think about living in the eastern European countries, think of what you'd be missing.
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My hubs' brother and his family lived in Italy for several years. Their apartment came with walls. That's it. No cabinets, floors, sinks, toilets, etc. You got walls. When they moved into the apartment, a window was broken. It took months to get another one. You don't just walk into Home Depot and get one. You wait and wait and wait. I think they were happy to go to Belgium after that. ;-) But I haven't heard the Belgium stories either.
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Living in actual cowboy country I made this observation: Cowboys don't whistle at women; they nod when passing. Yep, they sure do. Cowboys are the last true American men, in my opinion.
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A couple of weeks ago, I read about a woman on American Idol who didn't win. (Having had no television for over 25 years, we have never seen AI.) But her reaction was: I have absolutely nothing. Seriously, how ungrateful can a young person be? What does it say about our society when a very young woman laments that she has nothing?! She lives in the best country on the face of the earth. She has some talent or she wouldn't have been a contestant on a television show. She has the ability to set her own fate. She could get a job!! She's alive and breathing. I'm sure she has food provided to her by her mummy and dada. In the photo accompanying this story, she had on a very pretty dress. What does she mean she has nothing? How tragic she must be.
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The above young woman sounds like a few other people I know who have upgraded basic stupidity to disability level.
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Now on to some beauty:

What the woman who lives in this home did to her sofa is fantastic. Just adorable. Of course, I love that style.

More white slipcovers in this cute living room.

How clever to display your roses and carnations in a button jar.

I’d love to have a bathroom with a shower that didn’t need a door or shower curtain. This color is beautiful also.

Tiny office but it’s enough. Very clever and so attractive you don’t have to hide it. Looks to be a closet turned into an office.

More lovely blossoms surrounding this entrance to several apartments.

Another unique birdhouse. I plan on getting some more done in the next several weeks.

Another clever and innovative homeowner using a basket to hold towels. Look at the sprigs of evergreens in her toilet tissue.

Pretty porch done on the cheap it looks like. Cute and cozy.

And yet another pretty sun porch to laze around on.

This homeowner likes exactly what I do also. Lots of cushy seat pillows and roses everywhere I can find a spot to put them.

This is a miniature garden. I’ve never done one but they are cute if you like tiny things.

Another clever idea for a laundry room. I don’t think I could stand doing laundry in a dreary room or area. I did mine just like the rest of my home—pink with roses border and pictures hanging in there.

Another tiny fairy garden. Cute!

I like the wallpaper and the curtains best. But the whole room is lovely.

Somebody’s eye candy in their studio. ;-)

A crown someone made. Why don’t you make one to put around your living room or wherever you choose. I have one in my bedroom on a shelf, but I am going to bring it out into my living room so everyone can see it.

Cakes we love to look at and not even eat. This whole setting is just adorable.

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Gorgeous "Dream" Homes #1

I don't peruse blogs a heck of a lot because I just don't have time. (This is Conniespeak for I lose all track of time and can spend hours looking and not get anything done I need to!) I use Google Reader for my favorites and look at them quickly through that medium and if it looks interesting that day, I click on the blog and go there to leave a comment or view the whole thing. Why do I do it like this? Because it saves time with all the ads on Blogger now. Time for all them to come up can be several minutes in some cases. (AdBlock definitely helps though getting around all the ads though!) Anyway, that's how I do it. And if you haven't heard of AdBlock, it's just to the right below the photos of me on my sidebar, and tells you where to get it.

Anyway, I read a lot about women dreaming about their dream house or buying a house waiting for their Dream House to come along. I haven't yet met anyone who has actually found their dream house. That's why it's called Dream House—you dream about having it, but most women never, ever have their dream house. I don't and never will. What I do have is a seven year old, 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 3 car garage, family room, living room house that is sufficient for my needs...and hubby's needs also. My mortgage is about $440 a month but I pay a lot extra so we can pay it off sooner. That's my dream house. Not a Mercedes, pool, fancy large house. We live quite comfortably, just the two of us. Small yard for hubs to mow and not kill himself doing in the heat of this desert summer. I truly don't lust for some of the homes I'm going to show you below and in another post soon.

Why do we think we need more than we do? Hollywood-types and some very wealthy live in 12,000 square foot homes but don't actually live in them. They flaunt them. That's not my style. I do NOT begrudge the rich anything. I find simple things make me happier than large homes to clean or with which to try and impress others. I'm debt-free except for my house. Why would someone want a million-dollar-plus home? A modest home can serve your needs quite well. Trust me, we've been through the cycle of having a house to flaunt and this is much better. I was so glad to get rid of the big home I cried when we finally did—and those were truly tears of joy.

A friend of our daughter's built a two-million dollar, 20,000 square foot home up in the wilds of Oregon (Isn't Oregon wild everywhere though?) several years ago when he made a fortune selling off his company stock and making millions off it. When our daughter visited with them recently, she said the house is filthy. Absolutely filthy. She and her husband couldn't stand to be in it. It was totally gauche. They didn't even worry about keeping it clean or even the upkeep on it. They couldn't! She said she'll never go back there again. The house is just in a shambles.

The rich and/or famous aren't any better than you; they just have more house to clean and more money, but they have more struggles than you, just look at the papers and magazines. I rest my case. Frankly, I'd rather have the struggles I do have; they're familiar to me. I truly mean this from my heart.


But if you insist on lusting, here are a few that might suit you.

Waterfalls are notoriously noisy.

Of course, this is small, but could be someone's dream home and not cost you millions to acquire it.

Having had a pool in our last house I can assure you they require a lot of upkeep, i.e. MONEY.

Older homes also require a lot of money sometimes. It isn't worth it to me.

A beautiful home.

A mite more modest, but I'm sure it's someone's dream home.

Unusual but lovely with that front circular porch.

I'd want more privacy than this house affords.

Somewhere near the sea, I'd bet.

I just had to show you these two exquisite lamps—floor...

and table.

Hanging roses lanterns.

And of course, the requisite eye candy. ;-)

More kitchen than I'd want to clean.

Love the color in here though.

And especially this pink color!

So, love what you have and be happy you have it. That's my bottom line!

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