Be My Guest

 

The plan:

Convert youngest son's former bedroom to a guest room.

When the thought was in it's infancy I envisioned a room void of clutter with a fresh coat of paint.  

With my son's remaining belongings boxed up and stored in the attic, I went to work clearing cobwebs and giving the vacuum cleaner a good work out.  

 

Next up it was time to choose a paint color.

These walls were currently sporting the builder's paint job from 16 years ago.  Definitely past time for a fresh coat of paint.

I never thought I would be one for paint colors in the beige tones, but after painting our office last year a light(ish) beige, I find they are growing on me.  This time I really surprised myself by also choosing a deeper shade than I normally do.

My thought was that the deeper color would accentuate the white trim in the room.

Beyond the paint color I wasn't quite sure where I was headed with this project.

One day, while looking at bedding on the internet, I stumbled across this.  Thinking the beige just might work with the paint choice and the blue might tie in with the rest of the house, I placed an order thinking if it didn't work out I would just return it.  Shipping was free and it could be returned to the local store.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained as the saying goes.

 

Upon arrival, it was quickly decided that the bedding was going to work out just fine.

Once the room was painted, the furniture polished and the carpet scrubbed, it was time to hunt down a few accessories. 

Armed with one of the pillow shams, I headed for the local HomeGoods shop to see what I could find.  A lamp seemed like a good idea to add a bit of ambiance to the room.  The blue glass in this one is so pretty and it looked like it might be a match so in the cart it went.

After a few accessory hunting trips I learned that this shade of blue isn't the easiest to match.  When I saw this metal piece at HomeGoods I thought it might be the answer for hanging over the bed.  I like how it picks up the color and pattern in the bedding while adding a bit of textural interest. 

I wasn't having much luck finding pictures for the walls.

If the blue was a match, the picture usually had a beachy theme.  I have nothing against beachy themes except that wasn't what I was going after.

I brought the bird canvas home from PierOne and was pleasantly surprised with how well it worked.

 

 

A few more things found at Tuesday Morning.  You never know what you might find there, but the prices are very reasonable.  The blue vase is shaped like a pomegranate and was on the clearance table.

The rattan tray has a dual purpose.  Although the finish on the dresser top looks pretty good in the photo, it's a whole different story in real life.  Nothing, short of a refinishing job, could help it.  So, I did the next best thing... a bit of camouflaging with those accessories.  Ha!  When the guests arrive I plan to set out a dish of candy there.

 

 I once heard that every room should have a surprise element or bit of whimsy.  With that in mind I couldn't resist placing this sign across from the bed.  At first glance it probably seems a bit rude.

However, since the lake is right across the street, it's really just an invitation to relax and enjoy the lake.  Which is something I hope to do plenty of when our first guests arrive in a few short weeks.

Sweet Summertime Moments

 

Since it had been a year since Jaxson's last visit to the lake we weren't sure how receptive he would be to the idea.

Things started off on the right foot when he willingly donned his beach ensemble and happily trotted down to the lake with us.

 Safe in mommy's arms he enjoyed a little swim off the end of the dock.

So far, so good.

 Once in the boat he instantly decided he'd like to be the driver.

Grandpa tooted the horn once and that was all it took for him to find the pleasure in tooting it over and over all by himself.

 Thinking we'd better get moving before the neighbors started filing noise complaints, he agreed to be grandpa's assistant at the wheel.

All in all things went very well.

We cruised.  We anchored.  We swam and we even drove across the lake to eat dinner at a lakeside restaurant.

Making our way back home the sun was quickly setting. 

 As we made our away across the lake it got darker and darker.

Glad I wasn't at the wheel or we'd still be trying to find our way back as it all looks the same out there to me at night.

I did find comfort in the crescent moon and the little star that guided our way.

Having no idea if he was still awake, I took a flash photo and discovered that although his eyelids were getting heavy, he was still a happy camper.

Once home he was sound asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Hopefully dreaming sweet dreams of his big day on the lake.

Summer Mornings

 

I'm not sure I could pick just one favorite in the summer fruit category.  Although if, for some reason, it became necessary to do so I might just have to go with a sweet summer peach.  

The first visit to the local peach stand yielded a deliciously fragrant supply of these tasty gems.

They also came along right about when I was perusing a particularly lovely cookbook that I had just found at the thrift shop.

 Thinking the granola recipe sounded interesting with a mix of pumpkin seeds and pecans along with a spice blend containing cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, I set to work preparing a batch.

 

While it was baking, I began to think of how good it was going to be with my peaches and our favorite summer berries too.

 Ah, yes.

Sure enough our new favorite summer breakfast has become yogurt topped with a generous scoop of granola and an even more generous scoop of whatever summer fruit happens to be on hand.

 

While putting together this post I became curious about that Dr. Gaymont featured on my vintage yogourt bottle.

I guess we have him to thank for the introduction of yogurt into the American diet. In fact, it looks like he deserves credit for many of our dairy products.   See more here.

 One thing I know for sure, the choices in the yogurt section of the grocery store are almost overwhelming.  I tend to stick with plain or vanilla Greek yogurt.  How about you... do you have a favorite yogurt flavor? 

Because it's still July, I'm posting my favorite firework photo.

I thought about doing a post for the Fourth of July, but never got around to it.  I've thought about doing a lot of things lately, but don't seem to be getting around to them.  :-D.  I'm blaming it on the heat.