Spring vignettes

Just wanted to share the spring vignettes I created, yesterday,  my day off.  Gosh I needed that, feeling recharged and refreshed.

 

 Hydrangea, green and pink, my fave

Lulu, the bust Mr. Java gave me for Christmas, is now dressed in her summer best with a shell necklace and crown that I created just for her.

 A closer look 

 

More collections, creations and books

 More of my shell collection

 

 Green plants in turquoise and terracotta pots with the perfect patina, bohemian scarf and more shells

 

Rustic, nature, and angelic treasures-love

 

Indoor pics with flash, not my fave but you get the idea. Just wanted to share my day of blissful decorating with you.

xo-jj

It’s my time

This image takes my breath away. It’s spring at it’s best and I borrowed it from the wedding pros on wordpress.

It’s Tuesday and I have the whole day to be whatever I choose, free, relaxed, inspired, or whatever else comes to pass. This is the first time in a long time with the whole day to devote to whatever I want.

I think I’ll begin my day with a deep breath or cool spring air… it smells like melted frost and newly emerging grass. I see green shoots poking their heads up through the forest floor. I hear busy birds chattering away as they gather material for their feathered nests. A splash down in the pond by a large Canadian goose breaks my concentration. It’s lovely and it’s mine to enjoy…

Enjoy your day!

xo-jj

Got a vintage itch I can’t scratch

I didn’t win the dress. The auction ended with it going for over $87.00, I couldn’t dig that deep. It was gorgeous but I wasn’t even sure it would fit. sigh…

 This time of year always puts me in the mood to go junktiquing, (sp???) I have a few haunts that I like to peruse for treasures.

 I don’t really have the time or the money to persue this hobby right now but if I did I’d be on the look out for something like this…

or maybe something like this…

I suddenly have the itch to paint all my wood furniture in a shabby chic kind of  way. But then there’s Mr. Java who hates shabby chic. I can see his head shaking right now, no, no, no.

 

A couple of years ago I talked him into helping me do this to an old dresser that I’d picked up at a garage sale. Not his style but I like it’s cottage charm. It stays in my office, which is very whimsical, well actually it’s a whimsical mess right now It needs an over-haul and a good cleaning.

That’s all for now back to real life. Take care and enjoy your weekend.

xo-jj

Things that inspire me, today

So feminine and  fabulous in a boho kind of way. As you know I love boho.  This dress is drop dead gorgeous and I must confess that I put a bid on it. Not sure it will fit me  but I think I could hang it on my closet door and be inspired,  no words except love , love!

Vintage fashion is so classy and inspiring.

Once again I’m in love with this look, the crisp white accented by those dramatic black beads. Found this image at junebug weddings, fabulous!

This little number from posh24 is so flirty and fun, let’s do lunch!

Drum roll, please, the most inspiring thing of the day is…

My little princess babies.  Ahhhh, okay I’m ready to start my day!

BTW the company, Stella & Dot, is launching a new jewelry line for little girls, it’s available April 26th.

 Won’t my baby girls look amazing in these? I can’t wait!

Oh and wish me luck on the bid for the dress.

xo-jj

Kitschy cool and cottage chic

image borrowed from telegraph.co.uk

This room is calling my name. This combo of cottage cute and collectable treasures speaks to me. I have always wanted a little cottage to decorate in a colorful shabby chic/country charm way. I would love a little cottage by the lake or ocean (even better) just so I could decorate in a  cottagey way. I’m in love!

this image borrowed from farm4.flickr.static

This room doesn’t say cottage but I can’t get over the fifties charm, so cool. My grandmother had the very same table with chairs in  chili pepper red. I could eat here.

image borrowed from web.mawebcenters.com

Oh what can I say… the rich color of the wooden planks, the slip covered furniture, the little pink frig, mint green table and that chandelier, Once again, I’m in love.

image borrowed from img4.myhomeideas.com

Love, love this cottage clean look, breakfast anyone? This room stirs up a hearty appetite for pancakes, eggs and sausage, mmm.

The following images are my shots of the kitschy cottage, by-the-sea, that I called home for one week.

 

This was my breezy living room looking onto a shell covered path to the beach, loved it!

 The perfect little dining nook with a view of the palm trees and screened in porch, complete with tiny geckos soaking up the sun.

 The guest bedroom was so darn cute, it’s a shame we didn’t have anyone to fill it.

I’m feeling a little cottage envy today, perhaps it’s because I’m off to work to help my customers pick out the perfect furniture and acessories for their cottage… sigh

Enjoy your day

xo-jj

I love the journey

This is the little chapel by the sea on Captiva. There is something so serene about this place- I love it.

My travels south started out with traffic jams and a grumpy hubby who said we are never taking our vacation by car again-back to the sky next year. The drive was my idea. It had been a long time since I traveled afar by car, we always fly to our destinations but I had this romantic idea of the open road and little kitschy places tucked away off the beaten path just waiting to be discovered by me.

You know that dream of mine… hopping in a hippie van and traveling the us with my camera and a journal, documenting every ounce of cool and kitschy I can find.

The cool and the kitschy were not along the expressway and I didn’t take many pics, didn’t even write one sentence in my journal. I’m not sure why, it just didn’t happen.

The ride home was a little different. We were forced to get off the beaten path when the expressway was nearly closed down due to the insane amount of people heading north after spring break and the snow birds heading back to Michigan. This was a good thing!

Although I didn’t get a chance to take any pictures or jot things down in my journal, (hubby was driving like a mad man in an attempt to get out of Florida and get away from the people he claimed didn’t know how to drive, I was hanging on for dear life) I did see some things that were amazing and kind of surreal. I saw tiny shacks and mini log cabins that looked like something out of the 1930’s. They were full of life, clothes hanging on the line, junk scattered across the yard, children playing  out front and one with an alligator hook hanging over the pond, baited and ready to catch sunday’s dinner. It was hard to believe we were still in Florida or the U.S. for that matter.

Since I didn’t get a chance to take pics at rapid speed,( hubby wasn’t stopping for anything at that point) I borrowed this image of a Florida shack from sxc.hu.

We passed tiny houses that looked like they hadn’t been changed or updated in 80 years or more. Just as I felt like we had entered a time warp, we would pass a modern gas station or car dealership, out in the middle of nowhere. It was interesting and kind of amazing too. This was the old Florida drive I remember taking as a child, very rural and charming. I guess one could feel sad when looking at the dilapidated places along the road but it just wasn’t like that. They were full of life and seemed to be a lifestyle that was lived on purpose, simpler and uncomplicated, or so it seemed, maybe this was just my romantic side believing that these people had chosen a life that imitated a simpler and happier time for them . I can’t believe how much lives differ from one area to another.

This trip was restful and refreshing but it stirred up that wander-lust inside me. I’m just itching to hop that hippie bus to destinations unknown, journal in hand, camera ready.

xo-jj

A sexy balcony and my deepest thoughts

I thought I was in Paris but it was just a sexy balcony in Nashville Tn.

I just returned from vacation, a quiet reprieve, a tiny ripple in the stillness of my life. It felt good but it also made me think a little about everything. Here’s what I know for sure…

You must go with the rhythm of life-let it flow.

Except the stillness in your life-it’s a starting point, your resting place- enjoy it.

equilibrium in your life is everything, learn to say no and when to say yes.

You probably already have everything you’re looking for-dig deeper.

If you could string as many moments of joy as closely together as possible then your life would be almost perfect.

love yourself

I had a great time on vacation. I didn’t find all the answers or solve the world’s problems but I did come home with fond memories and a glowing tan. I guess I can’t ask for too much more than that.

My little bungalow by the beach.

Enjoy your day… xo-jj