Provencal bathroom on its way

My desire to bring a little bit of Provence to my generic, boy-dominated bathroom, took a big leap Monday night with the painting of the walls from plain white, to rich Ralph Lauren Chamois:


I LOVE IT!!! It is rich, warm and cozy, and versatile. If paired with white towels and accessories, it's bright and summery; if adorned with decorative pumpkins, it's totally fall - right now we have medium blue towels in there and it looks good, neither color overpowers the other. I have my eye on something like this for the cabinet door:


and many other little improvements that I can make since at this point, we're not ripping everything out. It will still be the boys' bathroom, but with a little more style. Right now I am pulling some lavender from my backyard to make the bathroom smell wonderful!

Pocket full of sunshine!

I love, love, LOVE, the new color on my bathroom walls!

After about 2 months of deliberation and considering about every shade on the color spectrum, I decided warmth and coziness would best be represented by a sunny, warm yellow. I found the perfect shade: Ralph Lauren Chamois. However, the Ralph Lauren price wasn't so perfect, so the Behr people at Home Depot mixed up a similar shade and off we were.

The result was everything I'd expected. Warm, glowy, inviting. Want a peek?


I have more changes in mind to the bathroom.

For now, I shall leave you with this shot of my hibiscus photo against the lovely wall.

This and that . . .

Since a major renovation is not on the cards - or in the budget - we have decided to redo a few things in our house that may be small enough compared to a total overhaul, but nevertheless will impact our daily lives for the better. Or so we hope!

First, we got a divine mirror for our dining room, which is rather dark, and the difference is striking. Pictures soon, but for now I shall leave you with this rather drab photo of our house bathroom (as opposed to the master bathroom)


There you have it, a plain and ordinary bathroom. The nasty white walls are the Original Color - underneath it there is only primer. My plans include a warm and bright shade to make everyone who walks in feel cozy, not to mention a shade that's more flattering to my poor barely-awakened face than stark white. I've found it, we had it custom mixed at Home Depot and I LOVE IT!!!

After that, we're leaving the cabinets and fixtures as they are, but I think the walls will make a big difference, and I will buy some lovely new towels. We've had the same old towels for the last 8 years and it's time for a small splurge!

Look at what was waiting for me . . .

when we got back from Disneyland!


Yes, we visited the Magic Kingdom for one week, it was us four and the grandparents, so it was a great old party. We had a wonderful time and came back to a blooming garden!

That gigantor zucchini and the beautiful yellow squash will become a gratin for dinner tonight. All you do it slice them in 1/4 inch-thick slices, salt and pepper them, then spray Pam on a casserole dish and arrange in layers - rounds of squash, grated cheese (I'll use 4-cheese Mexican blend), and bread crumbs. I will probably have enough for 3 sets of layers, ending with the cheese layer, then bake for 20-25 minutes at 350. YUM YUM YUM!

Check this out!

http://lolabboutique.blogspot.com/2009/09/three-hundred.html

Kasey from Lolabboutique is having a huge giveaway - go check it out!!!!

Changing the look of our boring, blah, bathroom

Our guest bathroom is quite small. And kinda dingy, to be honest. My darling husband found out 2 weeks ago that the paint on the walls was the Original Paint. A dirty, shiny white that flatters no one who has to look at themselves on the cabinet mirror at 7am. Since frugality is my middle name - actually, it's Sara, but you get my drift - and knowing that our boys have a couple of years left of splashing all over the wood floor during their baths, we figured a full remodel was not in the cards. Or in the budget.

However, a gallon of paint could definitely be used to transform this:


into something a bit cozier and brighter, where you don't feel like you've walked into a pediatric bathroom at the local hospital. The shower curtain might be there for a while, though, so my Versailles-type dream bathroom isn't gonna happen any time soon, but still, I think some changes might be doable!

Worth a hill of beans

Hi, I'm CityGirl and I have a confession to make.

I owe my bean plants an apology.

I have to admit that I have been thinking of them as unproductive, lazy, even wondered if they were defective.

I know, how terrible, right?

Because they have sure shown me this week.

And they have earned themselves a spot in next year's garden.


They have been providing our family the tenderest, sweetest, yummiest green beans we have ever eaten.

And believe me, we eat a lot of green beans.

Usually the canned kind, unless we go to Buca di Beppo's and eat them there.

Come to think of it, they probably have the canned kind, too.


My oldest started eating them raw because they were just sooooo appealing!

Honestly, this is the kid that snubs his nose at just about everything I offer him so this is a big time score.

Love, love, LOVE this!

Not for my front door, silly - for the door to my veggie garden!!!

http://customvinyldecor.blogspot.com/2009/09/entry-door-vinyl-giveaway.html

I would love to have a little Welcome sign on there!