HAPPILY EVER AFTER

HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Saturday, September 24, 2011

MC'S NEW FRIENDS

TWO NEW FRIENDS ......

These past two weeks......in between MC's busy life of Committee meetings, walking 5 miles twice a week and creating curtain rods for little ole me .......

He found the time......actually his escape ...... and created...



MC OUT ON THE TOWN


CHEF MC

It won't be long before we will have to plan an extension to the Bucket List House!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

SOME FAMILY BRAGGING........

WOW...

Claire, my niece, is once more on the BIG SCREEN !!!

Claire has worked on the recently released movie.....DRIVE......

I asked Claire if her name is included in the film's credits ...........Her reply:

" IT IS....."

The movie has received fabulous reviews.......A NOT TO MISS......

MC and I will be "Going To The Movies" as soon as possible. What a thrill to see
CLAIRE WIHNYK on THE BIG SCREEN.



GO GIRL......SEE YOU AT THE OSCARS !!!!!!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

DID YOU THINK I FORGOT THE MASTER BEDROOM ???

THE MASTER BEDROOM......

Most homeowners, as I have learned, leave the Master Bedroom for their last project. I guess I am no different.

I haven't shown any pictures of this room in the Bucket List House. The main reason, it has never been finished!!!

The room has finally been dressed! It's not perfect, but it's as good as it will get for a while!!! ....... DID YOU ALL CATCH THAT REMARK??? (WHEN HAVE I EVER BEEN FINISHED?)

Before I procede, I must explain....ALL our clothes are in the walk-in closet. We don't own a dresser or a chest.....That leaves tons of wall space! That can be a blessing and/or a negative.....more furniture to purchase!!!

When we lived in Charlotte, we were fortunate to be close to the fabulous furniture markets in High Point and Hickory, North Carolina. We purchased a number of pieces...... my excuse.............once in a life time opportunity to buy GREAT deals!!!

Two of my best buys.......this mirrored table....and the "SEXY SALLY CHAIR"



They have been in the Great Room, the Master Bedroom and the Guest Room. Presently, they are "My" desk and chair in the Master Bedroom.

I love them. I love the fact the "desk" has broken glass on the corners. Adds "character"!!!!...also made the price 90% off retail!!!



Both of these, were great buys at the Mitchel Gold + Bob Williams Outlet store in Hickory. And both...........were stuffed in the back seat of our Acura Sedan!! It's unbelievable what we can jam into that car!!!

This past week I have been "playing" with the drapery panels. I moved the ultra suede blue/gray panels Erica made into the Master Bedroom. I have a reason.....I am hoping....I said HOPING...to find fabric that MC and I can iron-on as a border to the bottoms of the white drapery panels . (IRON-ON BECAUSE I DON'T SEW!) That being the case, the white panels are now back in the Great Room. In the next week or so, MC and I will venture out and look for some fabric to use as a border on the panels that are in the Great Room and the Dining Room.

I have to admit... THAT RUG... started all this!!!! Once that was on the floor in the foyer, the dynamics of the space CHANGED......INSTANTLY!!! Out went the pale blue/grays and back came some black!

All my projects cause a domino affect!!! One thing leads to another.....When MC was working on the frame for Erica's Christening dress it dawned on me that he was certainly capable of making small mini drapery rods for the drapery panels. We have the kitchen and great room panels hanging from gold wooden poles .....the rest on regular curtain rods. The wooden poles were quite costly! He agreed that it would be a challenge and fun! AND MUCH LESS THAN BUYING addition wooden poles... This week he has designed all sorts of devices to use to make these mini rods WORK!!!







NOW WAIT TO YOU SEE THE FINAL PIECE OF THE SPACE.......

MC hung the JEWEL ......The Final Chandelier.....






MASTER BEDROOM


Stay tuned.......
We might find the fabric for the drapery panels soon ?????

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

MC ON DISPLAY



MC HAS MADE THE BIG TIME!!!
.......HIS WORK IS NOW ON DISPLAY!!!!!!
A MILESTONE.......

FOR ALL THOSE WHO LIVE IN SUN CITY PEACHTREE HIS WORK IS ON DISPLAY IN THE AMENITY CENTER'S DISPLAY WINDOW.



I AM SO, SO PROUD OF HIM

Saturday, September 10, 2011

HONORING THE ARTIST'S REQUEST

OR .......HOW TO IMPROVE PERFECTION

As all our neighbors realize by now.......when our garage door is UP....they KNOW MC is at work. Some, as they are walking their dogs, will stop and ask: "MC ....what are you making now?" This was the case yesterday.....
MC has been at work all this week building an extremely ingenious creation !!! When it came time to start the paint spraying.....the door had to go up due to the fumes.

The reason for this creation was to fulfill a promise we made to Erica!!!

Last weekend, Erica was so disappointed at the finished form of the Christening Dress piece she did for us last year . She saw it for the first time "hanging" in the Bucket List House. To her dismay, she was very upset because the frame the canvas was on was warped. It made the piece look crooked!!! Every time she saw it ......she said: "That's awful....IT HAS TO BE FIXED". She actually wanted us to take it down until she could figure out a way to redo it.





I had learned to accept the off center appearance as part of the Originality of her design!!! She didn't buy this view!


We talked about how to fix it all weekend. We assured her we could come up with a solution.

AND WE DID.........

We had two or three ideas, before coming up with the most ingenious solution.

I had an idea about setting it in a box. I asked MC if he could make a frame in the form of a box? We could attach the canvas to the box from the inside, hiding the uneven form. He immediately understood my vision!!!!! In no time he had a plan.

........ and off to Lowes we went!!!

With three 8' strips of one style of lumber, and four 7' foot pieces of another, we headed home. He spent the remainder of the week building the "box", sanding it, and finally painting it!!!

He devised such a clever way to attach the canvas to the frame!!!







THE RESULT..........


PERFECT PERFECTION

An added benefit .......the frame has enhanced the overall appearance. It "brings out" the gold texture that Erica added to the dress!!!


ONCE MORE, MC .....HAS OUT DONE HIMSELF !!!!!


Wednesday, September 7, 2011

COVER GIRL.... MELANIE TURNER



FIRST VERANDA .......NOW....ATLANTA HOMES & LIFESTYLES



I jumped up and down when my September issue of Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles arrived !!!!

Melanie was on the COVER!!!!

The issue features the Atlanta Symphony Show House that Patti, Risa and I, toured last April. We met Melanie Turner, the Designer, in the room she did for the home....the Dining Room!!! She is as beautiful as her work!!!

It was my FAVORITE of all the many rooms!!! Apparently, the Editors of Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles agreed with me.

Now..... two prestigious Covers are among the many credits in her Portfolio!!

I featured her Veranda, September 2010 cover in a past blog....April 23, 2011 Melanie Turner ASID


OPPOSITE VIEW OF THE ROOM

The seating for the cocktail area is from her Custom Design Collection . What a fabulous addition to a Dining Room. I love the banquet seating at the table.....also a part of her Custom Design Collection.


........... LOVE THE BURSTS OF GOLD ON THE WALL.....

GO GIRL.....THIS IS JUST THE START OF A WONDERFUL LIFE !!!!!


Monday, September 5, 2011

SUCCESS

THE DESIGN TEAM ACHIEVED ULTIMATE

SUCCESS

Bright and early Saturday morning, we headed out to the LARGEST FABRIC WAREHOUSE any of us have ever been to. Erica was blown away!!!

The first item on the agenda was finding an area rug for the Foyer of the Bucket List House.

I "thought" I had a PLAN. If I learned anything this past weekend, I have learned that PLANS are made to be changed!!!!

My vision ......a blue/gray background with golds and yellows in a design. Didn't have a set design.....that was open!!!!

We entered the Rug Building.... IMMEDIATELY the three of us said:

THAT'S IT




IT'S NOT BLUE...........











The Design Team reached the unanimous agreement that BLUE/GRAY was NOT the way to go.........This was!!!!

Not only does it relate to the chandelier above it.......it carries the look all the way to the large clock on the kitchen wall!!!!!

First project done!!!!

Now on to fabrics for the outdoor furniture.

This took all of five minutes. Erica walked into the area where the outdoor fabric was and pointed to a bolt and said......."We have it!!"

To add to "Dear" Erica's work load, I asked her to make cushions for my kitchen chairs. She thought it was a great idea and would bring color into the area. Patti was the member of the Team that found the perfect fabric......BEST OF ALL...... it was in the remnant section.......So, so affordable. The remnant was just what was needed................

WE WERE FINISHED



We loaded up the car and headed for Senoia for a little lunch and fun shopping.

All in all a very successful day!!!!!!

SUNDAY WAS DEVOTED TO
IDEAS FOR THE HOLIDAY TOUR

I took out all of my decorations from previous years....spread them out on the floor..... and the TEAM marinated and marinated!!!!

We came up with a wonderful LOOK that I am going to use as inspiration !!!!! The tree will be adorned in a different form than I have ever done. I HOPE I can do it!!!!!

You didn't think MC was being left out of the LOOK did you????

He has been assigned lots and lots of gold spray painting........ .......

ADD a few bolts of ribbon ...

The Magic will appear!!!!

Saturday and Sunday evening MC prepared mouth watering dinners!!!
While we "played" he created his magic!!!!!!!


This morning, Patti and Erica loaded up the car with bolts of fabrics and a bunch of faded cushions!!!!

When I entered the Epiphany Suite.......on the writing desk ......was this


THE PERFECT ENDING TO A PERFECT WEEKEND


.....fabric warehouse....OHCO, Covington, Georgia

Friday, September 2, 2011

BOOKED

BUCKET LIST HOUSE
EPIPHANY SUITE
DOLCETTO
SUN CITY, GEORGIA






EPIPHANY SUITE
BOOKED
FOR THE
HOLIDAY


PATTI AND ERICA....... MY DESIGN TEAM, ARE ON THE ROAD... THEY SHOULD BE HERE AROUND MIDNIGHT.

THEY ARE COMING TO WORK!!!! WE HAVE A HUGE PROJECT!!! THE BUCKET LIST HOUSE IS ON THE HOLIDAY TOUR AT SUN CITY!!!

I have a plan....... The "Team" is coming so we can put it all together.
We will be getting up early to hit the road. Heading for a Fabric Warehouse and Boutiques..

Meanwhile the Epiphany Suite is ready for their arrival.





The Tour is December 4th. MC and I are driving to Garden City, N.Y. over the Thanksgiving Weekend. You guessed it.......THE HOUSE MUST BE READY BEFORE WE LEAVE ..........

THE PRESSURE IS ON..
.

ps............WE'RE CELEBRATING AN EARLY BIG BIRTHDAY OF PATTI'S.......