mr. quakers has returned

Mr. Quackers has found his way home again. He had the honor of visiting Canada by way of the sweet Monique of Blueberries in the Fields blog....and from there was sent to visit the sweetest family in England who's mom writes the blog Scented Sweetpeas. Scented Sweetpeas even sent him home with a custom made coat and darling suitcase with stamps of the countries he visited.

My son was so happy to see him return and to read the letters they sent back telling us of his wonderful adventures afar.

Now that Mr. Quakers is back home....he went off to school today to share his stories with the class...and of course he was dressed in the finest blue coat.

I wanted to thank you both from the bottom of my heart for doing this project with my son...he and I truly....truly appreciate it!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

your opinion please

I'm in need of some advice....so of course you guys were the first to come to mind when I wanted an honest opinion. We've been thinking of changing our countertops....no scratch that....I know we'll be changing our countertops. The reason....I really...really don't like the colors or the busyness of the granite we have on there now. Now...some of you may be like...what your gonna tear out perfectly good granite...and you'd sound just like the countertop place I called to ask them how much it would be to tear it out. Actually...the lady on the other end of the phone said in her 20 years of working there...she had never heard of anyone wanting to tear out granite...but I do. Some people may say...but it's in perfectly good condition...and it was expensive...and they'd be right...but it wouldn't have been what I would've choosen. I've tried to live with it...for almost 6 years now...and have come to the conclusion...that I will never like it...so it has to go.

Above is a photo of Rachel Ashwel's kitchen that was featured in her Shabby Chic Interiors book. The countertop that I've been dreaming about is a white marble similar to the one she has in her kitchen. I've done some research on marble countertops...and it seems that they are very hard to take care of....so here's where you come in. Do any of you have white marble countertops...and if so...how do they hold up. Although I'd love marble...I'm open to any other suggestions you may have for countertops...my only requirement...that they be white or very near white.

Here's a peek at my kitchen again....and I know that in the photo the granite doesn't look that bad...but trust me....it's kinda ugly. It has green, gray peach and black...not a pretty combo. I love that granite is natural and easy to maintain...but most of it is too loud for me...and I have yet to see one with no black.

So....let your opinions fly....I'd love to see what you guys have to say.

Thanks girls...you rock!

Ollie Update

Okay....can you believe Ollie's grown up this much in just 3 weeks.

Just look at that pose above....can you say goose model in the making. She even tilted her head like she was listening to me say..."okay stand still"...so cute!

By the end of our shoot.....she was tuckered out.

See....I told ya she grew a ton....only 3 weeks ago she fit in the little bowl...but if you check out the first photo again you can see she towers over the bowl now.

As soon as it warms up here...and she gets some big girl feathers....she'll be able to join the rest of the gang outside.

Have a wonderful and happy Easter!

urban plains.....meets cabbages & roses

Join me if you will....on a little trip back in time....when I told you guys about a little thing called....the Urban Plains Project. While Mary and I were busy working on makeovers in our homes....we had the most wonderful thing happen....an opportunity to work with Cabbages & Roses. To say I was excited and honored would be a huge understatment. I adore Cabbages & Roses style and loved the chance to bring a bit of the English Country Style into my home.

So here's the space I decided to make over....my entryway. Above is my front door.....

and here's a couple photos with my notes as to what I'll be doing. I'll be wallpapering, painting and....

doing a special wall treatment with fabric and adding some beadboard and mouldings too. I hope that when it's all done, walking into my home will be like your stepping into an english farmhouse....that's the hope anyway.

And here's the yumminess I get to work with....gorgeous Natural Hatley Wallpaper, Provence Toile and Natural Hatley fabric.

So there's the plan.

Now tune back in the first week of May to see mine and Mary's transformed spaces....

and should you need a little english country fix while you wait....just check out Cabbages & Roses blog and website for inspiration.

a farmhouse t.v. armoire

Look what hubby made me.....

We were wanting something a little more "our" style to house our flat screen t.v. and seems how most all tv cabinets you find for flat screen tv's are kinda modern looking....we knew it would have to be something custom made. I drew up what I had in mind (we were thinking we wanted it to look farmhousey and kinda like a large crate) it's pefectly sized at only 13" deep and 7 feet wide.

After only a couple hours.....this is what I had....I adore it! He did an awesome job. The materials cost around $70.00 and I already had the white and aqua paint....as for the accessories.....I had all that already too....except those beautiful green jars...I bought those from Maria's gorgeous shop Dreamy Whites....I was inspired by Maria to add little pops of color to an all white decor....and her jars did the job perfectly.

See the tole lamps on top of the cabinet....I l.o.v.e. those and have had them for a long time.... those babies will be with me always.

Happy Monday Girls!

meet ollie

See back there in the background....

the 2 geese....that's Genevieve and Annabelle....well sadly Genevieve passed away last fall. Annabelle adjusted well....she actually latched on to one of our chickens and followers her around everywhere. Now...while that may seem okay...Annabelle gets lonely when it's time to play in the water.....so.....

guess what....my hubby brought home this sweetie....

I'd like you to meet Ollie.

She or he is doing well...and being she's by herself....we carry her around with us....actually...right now as I type this....Ollie's in my robe pocket.

Okay....gotta go....I think I feel something warm running down my leg.

Have a wonderful Monday!