It's Finally Done!

Well for those of you who follow my blog, you know that we had some serious damage from the ice storm a few months ago. It was not fun living through the construction, especially trying to run a home based business with clients who I normally meet here in our home, which I absolutely could not do, and the other thing I really missed was entertaining our friends and family. But now it is finally all done and I could place my pretties back, although I did move things around a bit. A new rug in the entry, with a lamp added to the table as well, I love it.In our office I moved some things around as well. I brought up a mirror from the basement to put behind my desk with some sconces I had up in the attic that have not seen daylight for the past 5 years, and we also brought up the piano. The room is a lot cozier and I love listening to Charley and the girls play the piano each night. So life once again, it back to normal, I had a great meeting with a new bride last week and was able to book her wedding, so all is well again in our happy little home.

Thank you for all of your good thoughts and kind emails while we went through this process, it meant the world to me!
Love,
Sanya

Out of Sight, Out of Mind...

I learned something very interesting about my kids a couple of weeks ago that I thought I would pass along to the rest of you. You see, I am a "fruit in the fridge" kind of gal. I love a crisp cold apple as well as a nice cold juicy orange, so that is where I have always put our fruit as soon as I came home from the market. Well a couple of weeks ago we had a ton of food for some reason which didn't leave me any room in the fridge for the fruit, so I just placed it all into bowls on the kitchen counter. I was shocked that within 3 days it was all gone. Apples, bananas, pears, the oranges, all of it! They went for the fruit in front of their faces instead of going into the pantry for a salty, perhaps, less healthy snack, and I found that all their little friends that are always over followed suite. And you know what else? We adults ate more of it too.



I guess the point to this post, is break out your pretty bowls and fill them with some delicious fruit and nuts and maybe the same thing will happen in your home.

XO~
Sanya

Is It Just Me???

I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel like I am constantly fighting a never ending battle to get our girls to put their things away where they belong, and quite frankly, they just seem too old now not to be able to do it themselves & do it properly while they are at it! Below is a photo of the desk in our kitchen where the girls do homework, crafts, draw, work on the computer, etc. and I am sure that many of you may just pass out from the sight, but I am secretly hoping that I am not alone in this struggle. And dealing with this mess while our home is in the state that it is from the construction....
like this photo below with two rooms combined into one, I am feeling a bit unnerved at any mess, even if it is a pair of shoes that haven't been put away, or a folder that belongs in a backpack or Barbie's that didn't make it back upstairs.

I feel like a new person now that I bit the bullet and cleaned up the mess myself. I will tell you honestly that I am going to iron fist the girls with a serious guilt trip talking to when they get home as well as bit of fear thrown it for good measure. All 3 girls always just love how pretty everything looks when it is clean and organized, but then they can't seem to bring themselves to put the markers, pencils, scrap paper, coloring books, etc. back where they belong, no matter how many containers I put on the desk for them, so I am not sure what the answer is!

In the mean time, I think I will just enjoy this space for the way it is for today, because I know that for today, it will be clean, pretty, and organized, and who knows what tomorrow will bring!

Sending you clutter free wishes,
Sanya

A Belated Valentine

A Happy Belated Valentine's Day to all. I was very grateful to be be busy with lots of Valentine's day flower orders this year. One of my favorites is in the photo below....

But I have been receiving some very thoughtful and loving emails wondering where in the world I am and if all is okay. Well, thankfully I am here, at home, although it is quite torn apart. We had some serious damage to our home from the ice storm last month and it will be quite a long process to get it all taken care of. In the mean time, we have furniture in rooms that they don't belong in (note the mess in the backdrop of the photo above), and Valerie displaced from her bedroom.....I KNOW it could be SO much worse, but it is still a lot to deal with and looking at the damage day in and day out gets a bit overwhelming. Below are some photos of the process. They don't even begin to show all of the damage...

Entry & living room/my workspace...

Living room ceiling & staircase

Valerie Jane's room...yes, that is the sky you see through that hole! It is hard to believe that something so small could create SO MUCH damage!

Needless to say, we are counting our blessings, and are extremely thankful for home owners insurance, and great contractors! I am telling myself each day that patience is a virtue and that all will go back in place soon enough, it is so small in the big scheme of things. Fortunately this does not seem to be phasing our girls, they are rolling with the punches and are as happy as ever. They are all working me now to change bedrooms and redecorate.....One day at a time!

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day & I hope you know that you are always near and dear to my heart!

Love & Blessings,

Sanya

Pretty Papers....

My friend and one time babysitter Alli will be getting married on March 21 st this year and I have the honor of creating all of the flowers for her wedding. Our two younger daughters will be flower girls and Victoria, a junior bridesmaid. Alli loves all things pink as well as antiques and has even started her own antique and decorating business, so when we were all planning her shower I knew that store bought invitations would not do! I created the ones above, and I truly believe when she gets hers in the mail tomorrow, she will be thrilled. The invitations are so gorgeous that I decided that I have to sell them as stationary on my website, so hopefully they will be up for sale either tonight or tomorrow....it's all up to Charley ♥ I think you will just LOVE them as much as I do!

As a side note, today is my big brother Tom's birthday, so I could not help mentioning it! I admire him so much as a brother and person and as an American I appreciate the 27 years of service he has given our great nation so far! Happy Birthday Colonel Ruby! I love you!