Lucy's Lounge at Tutti Chic

Mid-Winter White Inspiration........

I was surfing through flickr & saw this gorgeous white winter collage. Just thought I'd share~xo 

A Little Blog Break......

A little blog break coming up here to recuperate from knee surgery tomorrow (friday) at the crack of dawn. Seriously.... I have to be outta here by 5 am tomorrow morning! I'm okay about surgery this time since I've been thru it already( last year on the other knee.)  I have to tell you that the anxiety we feel is so much worse than the actual event! Piece of cake....but just in case I get nervous I am going to think of this image......

Laughter is truly the BEST medicine......
 

Fall Beautiful Fall....

Have a wonderful weekend my friends! xo

Fabulous Fall.....

Hope you are all enjoying Fall as much as I am friends! xo

A lot of lucyness & a smashed car....

Have you ever had a few weeks where absolutely everything goes wrong & the more you try to think positive the worse it gets?!LOL!! I always try to find the humor in most every situation because it seems to carry me thru the bumps in life. Two weeks ago I had the insane idea that maybe I should go BLONDE instead of my usual dark hair with highlights. I came home & loved it & was delighted that my husband loved it too! He's the one I'm trying to look good for right? The kids wanted my dark hair back & the grandkids said "I looked creepy!" I'm pretty Italian looking so just imagine my coloring with a head of blond locks!! What was I thinking??!! I don't even have a photo of me with the blonde. My mom said absolutely nothing when she saw me & you know how that goes...I  knew she hated it! Anyway, after torturing people with "should I go back to the darker me?" The consensus was "you are not a blond~your dark hair is your crowning glory" (a direct quote from a dear friend.) Tuesday was a bad day for me. Just one of those days where  everything seems to go wrong, so it fit right in with the past few weeks. I'm rather impulsive (wasn't lucy that way too?) I drove to a local beauty supply place & grabbed a bottle of dark medium brown thinking this will do the trick until I get to my hairdresser next week. I was afraid she would talk me out of it so I stupidly did it myself! Two words...BIG MISTAKE!!! Of course I put it all over my head & got busy with housework so it cooked for a good hour 1/2. I washed it & almost fainted when I looked in the mirror! I looked like this...........Jet Black!

Called my hairdresser & begged her not to be mad at me for doing this after she spent so long perfecting a pretty shade of blonde a few weeks ago on me. This was after I talked HER into turning me blond. UGHHH! Went today & got back my highlights after a lot of   teasing from everyone in the salon. So I'm a happy camper when I leave & totally back to normal (okay I'm never normal!) I get into my car that is less than a year old & SMASH right into the phone pole in the back(couldn't see it!) The whole trunk of my car is smashed in. I was nauseous it looked so bad! I debated lying to hubby about it but decided to come clean & tell him I didn't get hit, that I did this to myself! He was as he always is calm & practical in a tense situation. He is the calm to my storm always. We go out & meet my daughter for dinner  & are laughing about how I could possibly do the same thing I did 6 months ago again! (Yup, I backed into a car 6 months ago in our driveway & it was my daughters!) I leave early to take my grandaughter home & what do I do on the way out? I run over a giant rock hiding on the side of my car. I send gabby out to check on it & her eyes widen. "Grandpa is going to kill you this time!" she blurts out. How does one smash up both sides of a car in less than 3 hours I ask you???  How does one go from blonde to jet black in a few short weeks without her hair falling out??? I'm going to try & forget these past few weeks & watch a Lucy episode where I'll be in good company! Have I ever mentioned that my nickname around here is "LUCY?!" Hope all of you had a more sane couple of weeks than I had!LOL!!! xo

Before....

 After...

 I'm dreaming of a better next week! LOL! :)

Monday Inspiration....

It's been a while since blogging. Vacation & trying to get back in the swing have tied me up for a bit. That & some much needed spring cleaning plus meeting with garden clients have made the days fly! Getting much more streamlined & basic in my decorating (especially for the warmer months) have me replacing needlepoint rugs with sisal & coir & going white on white to look clean & crisp for the summer. I'm back at it again with changing all the bedding & rugs in my bedroom today to pale blues & crisp whites~My camera is taking photos very grainy so until I figure out the problem (just a simple switch on it I'm sure) I'll post photos of the summer re-do. For now these wonderful flickr snaps are my monday inspiration~enjoy! xo

Making Scents Of It All....

 

I am daydreaming about pink roses and their amazing scents~

How excited are we here that the clocks are going ahead an hour this weekend??!! YIPEEE is all I can say, especially after the last snow storm this weekend that once again buried us in the white stuff! I know I've been whining all winter long but come on...enough is enough already! LOL!  Thinking of my gardens under the snow got me thinking about the first blooms I want to inhale come the warmer weather. Here's a few....

I think the sweet smell of lilacs are what I most look forward to come spring~ 

  

Lily of the valley is intoxicating~

 Do you love the smell of this gorgeous plant? Doesn't everyone love lavender? :)

What are the blooms that you love inhale?  I tend to buy candles all winter long that have these heavenly scents especially my favorite.....

  Have a wonderful week! xo

     

Oh I Can Feel It Coming.........

It's in the air I can just feel it! The days are longer, the air is warmer & I am one happy camper! I finally got the itch to finish some projects around here & here is one I'm so happy to have finished. Cleaned up the fireplace for Spring & took down the winter firescreen & andirons. Finished adding hand painted touches to the antique firescreen I bought in the Fall  & up it went in front of the freshly cleaned hearth ! I've started to de-clutter rooms & change pillows, wash white cotton slipcovers & re-paint a few rooms. Spring fever..... definately!

This is what our antique piece used to look like-hard decision to paint or not to paint...in the long run painted an opaque cottage white & hand painted was a good decision~enjoy the longer days & WHOPEEE just found out we set the clocks ahead this weekend!!!! :) Have a great one!

Something to think about on a Monday....

My dear friend Jen sent me this yesterday & it was timed so perfectly. It was one of those days that I needed a kick in the butt! You''ve probably read it before as I have, but it's good to read over every so often If you're like me, & sometimes in my busy, crazy days forget for a second what's really important. Enjoy your Monday!! xo  p.s.Isn't the look in this wonderful picture one of pure contentment?

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck (written after she found out she was dying from cancer). I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day. I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage. I would have talked less and listened more. I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded. I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace. I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth. I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband. I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed. I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains. I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life. I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime. Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle. When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner." There would have been more "I love you's" And more "I'm sorry's." But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it ... Live it and never give it back. STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!!! Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what. Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have with those who do love us. Let's think about what God HAS blessed us with, and what we are doing each day to promote ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally. I hope you have a blessed day.

I'M SO HAPPY!

I am SO HAPPY with the design of my new BLOG & all the credit goes to Sara at Sadie Olive Check out her wonderful boutque as well! She is so sweet, professional & so talented! (she's gorgeous too!) She has totally captured the look & feel that I wanted. Thank You SARA! Thanks also to "the Blog Diva" Tara at Bella Pink Cafe  She has been after me for months to switch to typepad & to have a blog that is unique & chic! She hooked me up with Sara & now I'm a happy girl!

We are off to a wedding this Saturday & the day promises to be perfect for the sweet bride & her groom. She is my daughter Elizabeth's best friend & will no doubt look  GORGEOUS on her wedding day! I will post pictures of the day. Wishing Sue & Lucas all the health, happiness & love there is!

I don't have a wedding picture of Sue & Lucas yet but here's a sweet picture you will all love!