Lucy's Lounge at Tutti Chic

Decisions....decisions....

I Love french  & scandanavian decorating. I love the way the background pallet is so neutral & soothing & the way furniture & artwork look against these soothing hues. I especially love the color gray. From what I read it's the BIG neutral for 2010. I love the soft grays & have been thinking that my family room with it's high ceilings would be the perfect backdrop for this wonderful neutral. I think it will give the room a fresh feel & all the white slipcovered furniture, wood tones & architectural salvage pieces we have will look fabulous against it. Have any of you experimented with gray? If so I'd love some info on paint chips. So far, it's dove gray by benjamin moore. I know there are grays that can have blue, green, brown & even lilac undertones in them. Like white...I think it's going to be a bit hard to pick out a chip with all the undertones. Here are some pretty photos I found by searching the net....
 

LOVE this backdrop in gray~

I think you can see by these gorgeous photos that it will be difficult coming up with the perfect gray. There are just so many hues! It will be a challenge so please let me know if you have a favorite gray! I'll post photos of the family room once I decide & once it's painted~ :) xoxo

 

Baby Love........

We are going to be grandparents again in march with the birth of a little girl!  Of course I'll be helping out with the baby if my daughter decides she wants to go back to work. Now that we have two whole bedrooms freed up, I'm thinking of re-doing one of them just for our new little grandaughter, to make her feel right at home when she is here. Indulge me a bit while I post some gorgeous baby rooms....

Love the pink & brown for bedding!

 All the rooms I love seem to be for twins! You get the idea~just take a crib away! Love this!

 To white? I think it's stunning but impractical....

Oops! Getting ahead of myself...the baby isn't even born yet & I'm fast forwarding to little girl's room! Loooove this...filing this one for future consideration!

 
What do you think about black & white?

  This is enchanting isn't it? I'm going to make this my next painting project! Now I just have to find a cradle....babies use this for what a few months? It's been a while I don't remember! Whatever I decide it will be a guest nursery filled with love for baby Gianna.... xo
 
   
 
   

   
 
   

A MUST SEE.....Fifi T.V!

If you haven't already been to fabulous fifi's blog to catch a clip of fifi t.v. you've been missing out! Take a moment & click on the screen to see fifi & co. strolling in lavender fields or getting together to enjoy a delicious fifi made meal! Leave a comment  on her blog & let her know what you think of her clip~

Enjoy some fall & halloween snaps I dug out of the tutti chic archives~

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
  
  
 

My Slice Of Beach Heaven....

 

It's kind of small, has no cellar for storage & can be lots of work(when everyone & their grandmother comes down!:) ) but it's my little slice of heaven near the beach! It's the destination that hubby & I look forward to at the end of a busy work week & the place we never  want to come home from. I snapped a few photos last week of our sweet, adorable cottage in Rhode Island & thought I'd share. Hubby wants to tear it down & build a new home. I want to keep the basic cottage & add on. His thoughts are more practical since we don't have a lot of room to store things & he hates the idea of no cellar & the fact that it can get a little damp in humid weather. It's something we are going back & forth on right now. We both agree however, that it's getting way to small & our family will only grow when kids get married & more grandkids come. Right now I'm just enjoying the summer & doodling at the beach of the addition I envision off the back next year! I think my saintly husband knows I will probably win this one! LOL! Have a wonderful week~xo

 

front gardens~

 

 

Could it be the salt air that makes flowers grow so much better down here?

 Our hydrangeas are so much purpley/blue down here than at home!

 Lola watches over the front garden beds~We love it .............

by........  

 

Shameless Plug, White Toast & Easter Blessings....

Please indulge me a bit for being SO excited about my debut in my favorite decorating magazine! My backyard gardens were featured in the latest edition of Romantic Country & I am so very thrilled to be there among all the other talented homes & gardens featured in this gorgeous edition! Huge thanks to fifi & company for making the shoot so much fun & for Dan Mayers making my gardens really come to life on the pages of  this beautiful magazine! I have never looked at magazine photos the same way since watching Dan & his assistant Chitzu work at taking just the right shots with lighting, staging etc. I so am honored to be included in this edition!

 

  

Okay...the white toast thingy.... Had the stomach bug from hell this past week. For the past two months I've been trying to shed the post knee surgery weight I gained & eliminated all white flour & sugar. I'm happy to say the weight fell off & in two months time I am down 20lbs & back into my small sizes once again (I gained 15 lbs after surgery) I am now so into whole grains & lean protein that I think it will just stick for life now (hopefully.) Okay..so the stomach bug hits & I can't even eat for the whole day after & when I do all I can think of is white toast (preferably wonder bread) with a smidge of butter & a giant gob of strawberry jam. It's all I want to eat & if I remember correctly...it's what our moms gave us whenever we were to sick to eat , along with a nice hot cup of tea. The thing I have sworn off of had become the one thing I wanted to feel better. I indulged & felt 90% better & even had a few servings throughout the day. I don't know if the memories of childhood & moms cures got to me or if the white toast was really a magical elixir. All I know is that I feel better & won't feel guilty if I indulge in a little white toast from now on!

From my home to yours....Have a wonderful & blessed Easter Holiday with family & friends! xo

 

Instead of an Easter bouquet~I leave you with an Easter bush! One of my favorites!

French & Fabulous Front Doors....

  Every Spring I get the itch to re-paint my two front doors. It's a right of passage into the mild Spring weather we all enjoy & it sort of breathes new life onto the front of our home. I am always so inspired by the colors & hues of Provence. Thanks to flickr we all have access to such gorgeous photos. I am so inspired by these beautiful colors~I hope you are too!

 

 

 

SO....it's off to the paint store today to pick out a new color for the front doors. My husband says that the doors will implode someday because of all the coats of paint over the years! LOL! Have a wonderful Monday! xo

The Simple Things....

 

Hope all of You had a wonderful holiday & are looking forward to 2009!!! As I was cleaning & putting away Christmas stuff I noticed that my eye always goes to certain things I have around the house that I have collected. I enjoy these things so much & thought I would share a few snaps with you all! Have a great week & HAPPY NEW  YEAR!  XO

 

  

  If you have a copy of the most recent Romantic Country magazine look on page 35 & you will see a charming shabby bread box perched right on the counter in this gorgeous kitchen. It's a duplicate to the one I am selling in the tuttichic boutique! My friend Roberta from the fabulous enchanted treasures boutique made me aware of this (I missed it!)I must have looked right past the counter, because I never saw it until Roberta said something! For those of you who don't have a copy, I will take a snap of the magazine page tomorrow(lighting so much better) & post it here under mine! :)

 

Up To The Attic....

It's that time already! I can't believe we are a month away from Christmas can you? This weekend will be a busy one pulling out all the Christmas Decorations down from the attic. My poor husband doesn't even have a clue what's in store for him on Saturday! LOL! Wondering if you are all doing the same? If you have a minute please take time to visit Jo~Anne Coletti's beautiful blog & see what's in store in the Christmas edition of  Dovetails  magazine. Joanne is a contributing writer to this fabulous magazine & the article she has featured looks amazing! Have a great weekend! x0

 

 

Slowly but surely....

Getting back into the swing of things slowly after 5 weeks post-op on the knee. I thought it would be a snap & I'd be running on the treadmill in no time but the knee is coming slowly & with physical therapy 3 times a week, you would think it would heal faster. VERY HARD trying to be patient & baby it. Catching up on Fall cleaning around the house though. Slipcovers have come off & popped into the wash. Rooms moved around for the new colder season that's upon us. I even have my own little t.v. room where I can escape when my hubby is watching something that bores m e! LOL! I have my own little slice of heaven in the living room with my t.v. hidden in a favorite armoire, a stack of decorating mags, good books, & the always present m&m's. The fireplace is nearby & a cozy nest it will be! Never ended up taking the knitting class I wanted to take , but my mom can teach me (it's been so long I forgot what my grandmother taught me years ago!)Catching up with old friends for lunch & taking in chic flicks with friends when hubby has been away golfing. I love this time of year~it makes me want to dig in & nest & enjoy my home. Always a project to work on or some cooking & baking to do. It's my favorite time of the year to cook, light a candle, put on a cd & just chill while the leaves swirl around outside. I've missed blogging & reading favorite blogs but needed to take the time away from the computer for a bit. You  know I'll be catching up on favorite blogs all week! Take a peek at my newly re-arranged t.v. space~what do you think?! I'll post pics of my comfy down filled chairs tomorrow! xo

 Cozy fireplace ready to be lit very soon~

 Two Cozy over-stuffed chairs that are a few of the things to get comfy on in my new t.v.space. Does anyone even use a living room anymore? I would actually call this a second family room! The pretty shabby sweet coffee table in front of the chairs has now been replaced with the ottomon down below! now I can put my sore knee up & ice it while relaxing!LOL! :) 

   

 Isn't this a great tassel? I bought it at a favorite store near our beach house but you can get them here....Kelly Paulk Tassels Take a peek & see all her whimsical tassels~I love them all!xo

See You in A Few Weeks!

Blogging this summer has been few & far between & for the next few weeks I won't be blogging at all! It's all good though...I'm getting the house & gardens ready for a photo shoot with a favorite magazine & a favorite magazine editor! Can you guess which one it is? LOL! I am so excited & at the same time a nervous wreck! When I found out how long the shoot sometimes lasts I almost fainted~sometimes 12 hours! YIKES! My friend Peggy's home will be the following day & a favorite french antiques shop near my beach house will be the day after that! Should be fun & we are all looking forward to it & meeting the fabulous ----! Have you guessed yet? I will post on how it went & how much fun it was to meet the glamorous mystery woman coming to put her magical touches on our homes! Bye bye for now~be back soon with all the details! P.S. RUN don't walk to the nearest Lowes if you LOVE roses! I hit a clearance sale on roses like no other! Climbers, carpet roses, old english Jackson Perkins , you name it & the prices  were so low I couldn't believe the tags! I bought 6 different bushes for 35.00 dollars total! Some of the bushes were a mere 1.88! Here is a picture of the bunch just unloaded from the car. I would call first to see if your local Lowes is having this clearance before I run down there though. If so it is so worth the trip. I got caught in a torrential downpour with tornado warnings out (never experienced that here before!) But, it was SO worth it~I bought some real beauties all in fabulous condition! Let me know if any of you are as lucky as I was.

Bought this old trough at an antiques shop I frequent & was offered double for it when I left by another customer! LOL! "So sorry,but this is a keeper" I politely replied.

Put lots of lantana with rosemary , blue salvia & licorice in this chippy, aged trough~Love the weathered beauty of it! See you all in a while! xoxo