Good Night John-Boy (A Quest to Create a Relaxing Retreat)

Hi everyone!

Any of you remember the tv show "The Waltons?" If you do, you know the show always ended at night and one by one the family would say goonight to one another until the last light was turned off. It was a comforting ritual, knowing everyone was snug in their beds, safe and sound.

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I've been thinking about the Walton's  night time ritual and about my own bedtime routine. We built our home thirteen years ago and frankly, I have never been thrilled with the decor - and I have made many paint, bedding, furniture and accessory changes in that time. So, I am planning an overhaul this year and hope to finally get it right. I am fortunate that I love my bedroom furniture which means this will just be a cosmetic change.  

I have found some beautiful inspiration online. In this room, I am seriously crushing on the green wallcolor and simple window treatments. 

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Oh my! Love the green again and the black toile. I already have a Pottery Barn toile quilt and shame - 're-using that would be a big moneymaker.

Confessions of a Plate Addict (Be sure to check out this blog - Debbie has a beautiful home!)

I do like my quilts and this one has been on my radar for awhile. I would say the dust ruffle is a big no for me,  which is okay, as I don't use one with my bed.

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Another quilt I am always drawn to...but there's that crazy dust ruffle again. What's up with that? 

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I adore these shams and duvets from Parachute. Done in a very high end and luxurious fabric, they would give a quiet and simple farmhouse look to our master.

Parachute.com and Duvet Set

I am thinking a few niceties need to be added - like a great sound system!

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And a soothing, relaxing and sleep-inducing pillow mist would be a luxurious touch as well.

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I have some other large home projects to do before I tackle my master redo, but I am determined to come up with a plan for a beautiful, peaceful retreat. I hope to get to this before the end of summer.

Here is a picture of our room a few years ago. It's okay, but definitely not a homerun.

This picture was taken in early February of a different area of the room.. The decor has changed from above. Again, it's ok. But just ok. It's too much - too much stuff, too much color, TOO MUCH! 

I will keep you posted on my quest for a master bedroom I can love. I know I am not even close to a plan. I just know I will be practicing restraint and keeping it simple.

I am looking forward to ending our days feeling safe, secure and loved.

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Goodnight John Boy.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jane

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Marshalls and My Saturday

Hi Everyone!

It isn't very often that I willingly get up at 5:30 on a Saturday morning, but yesterday was one of those exceptions.  I was invited to an event that was highlighting TJ Maxx/Marshalls customer rewards program.  You can learn all of the details at TJX Access, but the short story of it all is that when you shop at any of their affiliate stores and show them your Access card you qualify for special benefits, events and deals. (It's all about the deals!) It is just a rewards card and is not a credit card.

Anyway, back to Saturday!  The event started at 7:30 and the nearest Marshalls to me is thirty minutes away. Once I loaded up on coffee, showered and made myself presentable, I was off to see what I could see. (And shoot! My car needed gas! That's what I get for putting it off.)

When I arrived, I was given a complimentary shopping bag. (I was hoping there were some surprises inside - I'm greedy that way - but no such luck!)

I was greeted by a cute little breakfast buffet.  I grabbed a water bottle and hit the ground running!

Since this was an invitation only event, there weren't many people in the store.  But there were lots of employees bringing out rack upon rack of new clothes and fun displays of home decor. The store was overflowing with great displays and loads of new merch.

I'm ready for summer - this display makes me long for warm days and flip flops.

The pops of orange in this display, along with those gorgeous oversized lanterns,  had my heart skipping a few beats.

I fell in love with these beautiful ceramic pieces.  The vibrant and cheery colors really got me.

Orange and white - such a pretty color combination for spring and summer.  Check out those orange and hot pink chairs!  They wouldn't work in my house, but I think they are so fun.

There were several pieces I could have (should have?) brought home with me, but what I really needed was a few wardrobe pieces.  I had a shower to attend later in the day and I hoped to pick up a fine gauge sweater to wear to it and that would also carry me through spring.

I found this cute black and white three quarter length sleeve sweater. I think it was a steal at $16.99!

I also picked up a white and navy cardigan.  It is a tee shirt material and very lightweight.I will be putting it to use on our upcoming vacation, and I think it will be a wardrobe workhorse this spring and summer.  Not bad for under twenty dollars.

Lastly, I found a case for sunglasses.  I am forever throwing them in my purse and always end up with dirty and/or scratched lenses.  I also picked up a cute pair of coral and navy animal print Steve Madden sunglasses.  These were my deal of the day at $9.99 - similar Steve Madden styles are around $40.00 elsewhere.

It was  a super fun morning spent in one of my favorite stores and I so appreciated the invite to see what their Access events are about.  I would definitely go again!  Be sure to check out their program here; it's free and definitely worth your while.

Thanks for stopping by,
Jane

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S'Mores & Margaritas

Hi everyone!

Well, it was a snowy day in my neck of the woods. I didn't let the white stuff stop me from thinking of warm summer nights and our plans to add on to our outdoor living area this year.  Two summer's ago we completely redid our patio and also added a spacious pavilion. You can read about that in my post, 2013 Patio Reveal.

Here are a few pictures of our backyard:

Pretty isn't it? The one thing we didn't change was our fire pit area.

It has served us well over the years, but once we added the paviliion, if we had a fire it could not be seen from the patio. Thus, we didn't have many fires. 

Fast forward to 2015. Our bank account has recovered and we are ready to add on to our patio and add a new seating area and firepit that will be visible to the entire space.

Now we just need to decide on a fire pit design.

This one is simple and pretty.

Extreme Exteriors

This fireplace is stunning, but a little grand (in looks and budget!) for our simply styled farmhouse.

I love this one, but I am looking for something more curvy.

 Extreme Exteriors

This is one of my favorites! The whole patio is stunning.

Extreme Exteriors

Another gorgeous fireplace. Again, probably too grand for our house.

Extreme Exteriors

All of these pictures were from projects done by our contractor. They are creative geniuses who come up with amazing solutions! We are so happy with the work they have done for us. We are looking forward to seeing what they design for our new addition. We have a meeting with them tomorrow night.

So despite the snow on the ground, I'm think s'mores and margaritas!

Thanks for stopping by,

Jane

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Tears of a Clown (The Tale of My Living Room Curtains)

Hi Everyone!

I shared with you awhile back that Mr. Bluebird and I had ordered two recliners for our living room.  As you know, I am not a recliner fan, but my doctor said it was something I needed to have.  We found a style and fabric we liked, placed our order and waited for their arrival.

Well, arrival day was last Saturday.  I love them!  The fabric is just what I envisioned and they look perfect with the other fabrics that are already in the room.  With one exception.  One big, can't ignore it exception.  My curtain panels.  Oh. my. gosh.

My living room looks like a clown threw up in it.

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I do love my patterns, but adding in the new recliners with their bold floral really tipped things over the edge. Even for me!  Ready to see?  Shield  your eyes folks.....

Oh my word! Too much.  The chairs, the curtains, the lampshade......aaaagghhhh! Calgon, take me away!!!

Pardon the crummy picture, but the opposite side of the room is my settee.  I love how that fabric goes with the curtains.....

And below, I love them with the chair and our sofa (not shown) is in the same plaid fabric.

Sadly, I am in search of some new panels for this room. I may even do away with curtains altogether and keep the simplicity of the matchstick blinds. Just for grins, I pulled out some ivory sheers I had stashed away. Just to see how a lighter color would look. Better than the heavy, floral drapery!  I am leaning heavily toward taking down the rods, etc. and going with the just the blinds.  What say you?

This summer will bring a lighter paint color to this room and the kitchen adjacent (I will be retiring my Pottery Barn curtains in the kitchen as well - they aren't working with these xyz chairs either!) I also plan on changing out the yellow lampshade with a simple burlap one that I have in another room.  

Hopefully, with a little tweaking I will restore peace to this room and I can put my feet up (doctor's orders, you know!) in my new chair!

Thanks for stopping by,

Jane

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And the Winner Is...................

Congratulations to Cindy from Dwellings, The Heart of Your Home!  You are the lucky winner of my third blogiversary giveaway.

Many thanks to all of you who participated! Cindy, please check your email for details.

Jane

3rd Blogiversary Giveaway!

Hi Everyone!

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Well, it's been three years since Bluebird 1959 went "live."  I can't believe how fast the time has gone.  I have made so many new friends and been blessed with so many opportunities through my humble little blog.  Thank you so much to those who have been with me from the beginning, to those who have offered advice and encouragement along the way and those who are recent visitors - I cherish you all.

As a thank you gift to a lucky blog fan old or new, I am offering a special FREE giveaway!

Many of you liked the pillow I wrote about here.  So....I've decided to put one in the giveaway box, along with a cute ceramic bunny egg cup, some yummy Dove chocolate Blueberries and a package of Burt's Bees Cotton Blossom wax melts.

And with no further ado, I present to you my Blogiversary giveaway!

How to enter:

You will receive an entry for each of these:

1. Follow Bluebird 1959 on Google Friend Connect and leave a comment that you are a GFC follower
    
2. Like Bluebird 1959 on Facebook and leave a comment that you are a FB follower

3. If you follow on GFC and Like me on FB, leave a third comment that you follow on both FB & GFC for a bonus entry.

You can begin entering on the official giveaway page starting at 12:00 a.m. March 12th. Drawing will be by Random Number Generator on March 16th.  There will be one prize box containing: Flower pillow, Dove candy, bunny egg cup and Burt's Bees Soy Wax Melts.  Winner will be announced on this blog.  

Thanks so much and good luck to you! Win or lose, I hope you will continue on this blog journey with me.

Jane

Blogiversary Giveaway

Hi everyone!

It has been nearly three years since I started out on my little blogging journey. Where has the time gone?

To celebrate and as a thank you to all of you, I will be launching a free and fun giveaway on March 12! Entry is easy.

You will receive an entry for each of these:

1. Follow Bluebird 1959 on Google Friend Connect and leave a comment that you are a GFC follower
   
2. Like Bluebird 1959 on Facebook and leave a comment that you are a FB follower

3. If you follow on GFC and Like me on FB, leave a third comment for a bonus entry.

You can begin entering on the official giveaway page starting at 12:00 a.m. March 12th. Drawing will be by Rafflecopter on March 16th.

Hope you will stop by!

Jane

Entry Hall Re-Do

Grace at HomeHi everyone!

I have been enlisting Mr.Bluebird' s help in sprucing up our front entry hall. It has taken a few weeks to complete all of the steps, even though it was a very small project. 

This is your view as you move through our foyer. Our den is to the left and the little hall leads to our kitchen. The hallway is small with two doors on the right - one to a closet and one to the basement.

Below is a view from the kitchen - the den is on your right from this vantage point.

I've never really done much with this area. The size, the doors, the doorbell and the thermostat make decorating difficult to say the least. But lately I've been brainstorming on what I could do with this space.

One night I was browsing Amazon.com (for the first time - but not the last). I found four farm house style prints for the whopping sum of $8.50 with free shipping. The set includes a rooster, sheep, pig and cow. This was my inspiration! I also picked up four frames. They were black, but I painted them cream.

Mr. Bluebird helped install some metal label holders on the frames and installed an assortment of fun drawer pulls onto a 1x2 board.

The board was new. I distressed it, painted it with random swishes of cream and orange chalk paint. Then I finished it with dark wax. Mr. Bluebird added the knobs.

I added the metal label holders to the frame to customize the plain style. After printing numbers that are meaningful to our family, I swiped some dark wax onto the paper to give it an aged appearance. Love this detail!

Mr. Bluebird thought he was so clever taking my picture! Pictures of yours truly are few and far between on my blog, but I will indulge him just this once!

And there you have it: my fun new "art installation." All for a total of $50!

I've made a list of supplies and sources for those who might be interested.

Supply List:

1 X 2 Aspen Board   $3.50
12 X 12 Frame (4)   $17.00
Label Holders          $  5.00
Drawer Pulls            $16.00
Set of 4 Prints          $   8.50
Twine
Cream craft paint, orange chalk paint, and dark paste wax
Project Total:  $50.00

Be sure to visit me here and help me celebrate my blogiversary and  join in my giveaway!

Thanks for stopping by,
Jane



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Tale of Two Recliners

Hi Everyone!

A few weeks ago, my doctor recommended I buy a recliner to use when I am not standing,working or tap dancing (well, ok, I don't tap dance, but you get the idea).  Although I am not a recliner fan, it was strongly suggested, so recliner shopping I went.  Mr. Bluebird loves his wing back recliner -  and since his was starting to show some age  - we decided to buy a pair of them.  (As if one recliner wasn't bad enough!  You know how some of you feel about ceiling fans? That's sort of how I feel about recliners.  Times ten.)

But I am an obedient patient and with Mr. Bluebird in tow, we hit up a few furniture stores and finally found a style we both liked. It was kind of a Goldilocks adventure - too big, too small, etc. This is a picture of the recliner that we finally  picked out and also the fabric.

A closeup shows just a hint of blue on the chocolate brown background.  The fabric name is Veronica Mocha.  Although I don't use much blue in my decor, I'm really kind of liking this little bit.

I was happy to find fabric swatches for our existing furniture at the store and was able to see them together.  Below is a fabric swatch of a little settee/loveseat that is in our room.

 

The plaid is the fabric of our sofa and club chair.

I know all the neutral folks out there might think this is mega mega MEGA pattern overload, lol!  But first of all, it has me written all over it and I really think it is going to work in my room.  Secondly, I just know it's going to work! (I know that my "firstly" and my "secondly" basically state the same thing, but that's all I've got!)  I had set out to buy a sensible, neutral pair of recliners but I.just.couldn't.do.it. 

I am anxiously awaiting the call that my chairs are in and they will be delivered.  It will probably be several weeks or even a month.  I am hoping it will be worth the wait!

Before I go, I will tell you that I am eventually planning on sharing why my doctor forced urged me to get a recliner as I think my story might be helpful to some of you.  I am not quite ready to go there with you all, but I will.

I thought I would share some artwork changes in the area where the recliners are going, but this post has gone on and on and ON, so I will save that for another time.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jane

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