Brassy Gold

Thank you for your sweet comments about our 4th of July pictures. I had several nice blog comments, as well as Facebook messages, and I really appreciate your kind words. And yes, I have lost a few pounds chasing this healthy toddler up and down our many sets of stairs. I loved that some of you noticed!  : ) Smiles all around!

And since my blog picks up a couple hundred readers a day, I wanted to share with you a contest a childhood friend of mine has entered.

Ashley is a few years younger than I am, but we "grew up" together while stationed at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. Our families lived on base in the same neighborhood for many years during my elementary years. We moved away first {in a military family, someone is always the first to go} when I was in the 6th grade and were restationed in Augusta, Georgia, but our families have remained close. Ashley has always had a passion for music and after graduating from college has really put her effort into singing. She has a CD out and has worked with some big name stars in Nashville. If you have the time, click on this link to vote for her in an upcoming contest she has entered. You will have to create an account {it is quick and painless, I promise!}, but I'd love to see her make it "big!" Isn't she a cute girl? 

We have just been trucking along here in Michigan, enjoying our 80 degree weather.

One day after work while I cooked dinner, David and Harbor built a parking garage. Parking garages are Harbor's new "thing." He talks about them all the time and I'm pretty positive it is from the library in Arkansas, where we parked in one and rode the elevator. He is "boy" through and through and I am really enjoying being home with him, taking life a bit slower. Staying home with Harbor has been such a nice change of pace. I love teaching, but it was demanding, hectic, and stressful at times. Being home is such a sweeter pace.  : )

With my beautiful friend and former 5th grade team teacher, Judith, set to fly into Detroit in just a few days, we have wrapped up numerous home projects, including the chevron wall. It is such a fun place to eat dinner mow! David, being the perfectionist, made sure every square inch passed inspection and we are both pretty proud of his larger than life abstract.

I had several inquiries as to the house we used for our 4th of July pictures. While it is not our house, it is a pretty run-of-the-mill house for our historic neighborhood. For fun, I took a few pictures of the houses on our street. The historic section here is a couple miles long with a few hundred homes stacked together, all quaint and unique. I need to do a walking-tour with Harbor one morning and really show you a few beauties that I admire every day.

And look! Here is our house, standing pretty with her new flag! As our postman remarked {our mailbox is practically on our porch}, "I have never seen a flag like that! Who are the Razorbacks?", I certainly felt like we were "shaking things up" in this quiet Mayberry-esque district.

Some of the houses had the most patriotic 4th of July pretties flying out and about. 

This is our neighbor two houses to the left..

and down and across the street.....

down the street about ten houses...

across from us... {I fondly call this the Father of the Bride house}

down the street and around the corner {This is the house we used for our pictures. Please and thank you for not kicking us off the porch!} 

And at the end of our street..

I really should do a walking tour and show you some others right around us on our street. Charmers!

I have several projects I want to show you {finished Chevron, a branch tutorial, another wreath tutorial, etc...} but I thought I'd show you our foyer light. This light is original to the house, evident by the wiring. After I was determined to buy a new fixture, I just kept noticing that behind those glass plates, the body of the chandelier had a great bell curve. Since it was free to me, and I love that it has a story, I felt pity on him and his brassy gold attitude.

I gave him a good cleaning and sanding, removed and taped off the light bulb wicks, and zip locked the cords up inside of him. I threw the glass plates away. After a good sanding, I used what was left from the fireplace paint and gave him a nice and easy spritz. David hung him on a hook so that the bottom would be painted as evenly as the sides and top.

Is it my dream fixture? Negative. But honestly, we have already done the whole "Let's buy a few acres and build our dream home from the ground up and hand pick every tile, stone, trim, carpet, fixture, and sink" thing.

For us, choosing this house was all about the "story" of it all. It sure looks pretty hanging in my foyer and I can still boast that this home has original features to 1928. I kind of like that. And that pretty bell shape makes me want to invite the neighbors over {for Velveeta queso, not cucumber sandwiches}.

Do you have anything you can save from the trash?  : )