In love with the beach...

For me, there is no other experience that matches time at the beach.  It doesn't matter, sometimes, how much time...just some time.  Sometimes, the river will do, but for the most part the ocean is the place for me to be.

Breathing changes the closer to the water's edge you get.  Feeling the sun and ocean mist rejuvenates the skin. The smells and taste of saltiness. The sounds of the surf, even before seeing it, tells you the ocean's mood.  Clearing the mind of the daily nonsense, this time becomes a total spiritual experience.

Dig your feet in the sand and let the water cool your toes as you escape into the beauty of God’s seaside creations, and hear His voice more clearly than perhaps anywhere else.

The above quote is from the website about Devotions for the Beach.  To see a sample, click here.   You can also read and purchase on Amazon.

I also found Breakfast on the Beach here.   I am always looking at books too.  Both these devotional books are for and about the beach, whether you are there at the time or not. 

look inside

Have a great day!

Nothing like visual inspiration!

Wellington Tropical Bedroom

OK... I finally found my inspiration for my bedroom!!  This is it (almost) exactly it and the those are the colors.

Time to get to work again! UP-DATED!

Good Afternoon!

I truly just want to take a nap or something!

I did some running around yesterday and it took every bit of control not to stop in to the SPCA Thrift Store!  But I stopped at ACE Hardware in Titusville and purchased more shells (6 bags) to finish the front area.  I picked some other things that I will show you later.  I went to the Dollar Tree and got a pail and shovel and sandcastle molds too to add to the front.

This morning my dog knocked the chair into the table outside and my heron fell into pieces!  I was a calm unhappy person.  I'm going to try to E-6000 glue it back together!  My pelican's beak is being glued with E-6000 now; I hope it holds.

But it is so darn HOT and STILL!  So once again I was staring at the picture outside and deciding what I want to do.  After this post, I'll go in and out and try to do a little at a time.  But what I know I want to do is in this picture:

I have to add more plastic to the right and I think the right side needs more shells than the left too.  I'm thinking a message in the bottle but want to add things slowly, not to over crowd it.

Little by little, it will get done! 

UP-DATED!
 

The shells are down!   I put more plastic down where it was needed and around the the snake plant.  I put all 6 bags down and I am in love with it.  I still have 1 bag of shells that I might use as a filler... we'll see how it goes.  This is what it looks like now, while we are having a serious thunder storm.

 Nothing like living in Florida and having the shells to prove it, too! 

I think it makes such a difference!

I stopped here because of a thunder storm. I want to re-paint the chair, hit the sand castle with my sand spray paint, and I have a pail and shovel to add shells to. And there's some clean up needed around the blocks...and weed killer needed.

Well, that's my journey to my beach front.  I hope you  like it too.

I love this paint!

I love this paint!  I keep looking for anything I might be able to spray! It comes in other colors but this one looks like beach sand!

cap color!

I recently used it for these remakes:

I first used it on the bottom shelf of this table.

It was the perfect background for the shells on this drawer.

Worked well on the plastic jar lid for a shell top.

I also want to spray and piece of cement to see if it sticks and makes it look like a pile of sand; spray some bottles and add shells for flowers... who knows.

What would you use it for?

Landscaping with sea shells...

I am so darn excited, I can't contain myself!!   I asked my local  ACE Hardware Titusville if they would consider selling bags of sea shells for landscaping and they said YES!!!  They are hoping for delivery today (on Tuesday, July 17, 2012.)

ACE Hardware Titusville's photo 

My first project is the front of my home.  I have wanted to do this forever.  The only reason I haven't done it yet is:

• I now have difficulty walking the beach to collect shells;
• Our local beach does not have the same shelling as Sanibel and Captiva;
• Purchasing available bags of shells are too small and would be costly;
• And if I went the other way, it was just too much shell for me to manage at one time.

I learned the hard way years ago when I had a load of stone dropped for my driveway, so having shells delivered was completely out of the question!  Thirty pound bags are good enough for me!

ACE Hardware Titusville's photo

When I first moved in, the front was just plain:  sand and weeds.  I found that fence post while cleaning up and scraps of  wood to make the directional post and had the wood gull for the top.  I found kids beach pails made great flower pots for my beach decor.  I have hated that black chippy hitch since I moved in and been trying since to come up with an idea (that works) to camouflage it.

I tried dressing it up with plants and tried to grow something that I could hind it with but the man that was taking care of my yard would hit everything with the weed whacker as soon as something would grow.  I decided to add block to the front and this is where the shells came to mind... but I did mulch instead.

I tried painting the hitch but that wasn't enough for me.  But added more of this and that and remade my directional pole. 

I was originally going to use this fencing for a head board in my bedroom but decided to see if one section was enough to go around the front and hitch and it was!  I want to paint the trailer exterior in the fall and trying to come up with an idea of colors and want to paint the skirt before I use tie wraps to secure the fence to the skirt. 


The front has totally over grown with weeds!  There are some vines and Morning Glories that I  want to try to get around the fence and hitch... and try again to kill some fire ants.  So it is finally time to get out there and go to town, figuratively and literally!

Do you want more ideas?  Check out this link What would you do with a 30# bag of sea shells?

Searching for my Ocean Style

 I've been looking through Ocean Styles dot com and Pinterest and even my closet.  I came across a quilt I love that I rarely used.  I put it away in hopes one day I would get around to doing my bedroom and it would look like it belonged.  I completely forgot about it.  I bought it before moving to Florida, choosing to do my bed room tropical.

I drooled over lamps, window murals, bedding, throws and toss pillows and just played to get it together.  I only have one window in the bedroom with an air conditioner in it 99% of the time.  So what I was thinking was to use this Tropical Window mural,  one on each side of the bed.

 I love these lamps but wondering it they are too beachy for the tropical window... maybe I'll have to make my own window... or swap out with my living room lamps.

Living Room lamps - could use bamboo around the base

and use in bed room.

the lamps are here

use these in the living room

When I looked at tropical bedrooms, I decided my furniture could stay as it is, although I have to come up with an idea for my thrift night table.

matching dresser and chest

very pale yellow but love the bamboo handles

reversible quilt

4 pink tab top panels

 Although you see peach/coral shades, the pink light-weight tab top panels pull the pink from some flowers and/or centers.  I was thinking of the whole wall of curtain hung from bamboo poles.  I am leaning towards coral painted walls.


I originally thought of the dune fence over my bed as a headboard look, but going tropical, I'm going to use bamboo privacy screening instead:

72x180 $25 at Lowe's

My ceilings are only 7 feet high and this is 6 feet high, so I'm thinking of painting the ceiling and a foot down a sky color.


My must haves from Ocean Style are:

1. Glass Float String Lights (here) 
2. Sealites Seashell String Lights (here)
3. Advice from the Ocean (here) and Sun Pillows
4. 10 Beach Bottle Cap Ornaments (here) not just for Christmas!
5. How to Be a Beach Woman Poster (here) to frame. 

and definitely: 

1. The Starfish Lamp (here)
2. and the Nautilus Lamp (here)

Oh the decisions are crazy!  But in order to get the looks that I want, I can shop my house and still shop better choices from Ocean Styles, pulling everything together.


I'll post my Idea Boards when I get the pictures together... meanwhile, think ocean breezes.

Just a quick post - from inspiration to reality

I am in love with Pinterest... as many of you may be.  You can check out my boards here .


While looking around today and not finding what I was looking for, I did come across something I did like:

Beach Themed Living Room

And from there, I went here: Using Inspiration Photos to Create your Home's Best Look
That's how I get lost; one click to another; read; click and so on.  Without repeating the whole article, I hope you'll read it if you find lots of inspiration but get stuck on how to implement it.

Their 5 Step approach:

1. Break down each imagine...what draws you in.
2. Now that you know what you like, create a mood board.
3. Go shopping with your board; bring real fabrics and paint samples.
4. Put your spin on it...
5. Don't be afraid  to edit.

When I was re-doing my kitchen on Long Island, it was basically from scratch and I wanted to bring in things and the feel of Prague.  I carried around paint samples, cabinet piece for color, paint samples, napkins, curtain valance, tile... each time I added something to the kitchen I added it to my collection so when shopping, I could easily see if it would match.  Even when I thought so, I'd take it home and lay the things out (in the kitchen light) and see if it still matched... Don't take the tags off or throw away packages until you are absolutely sure.  And even then hold on till you have lived with it a while.  One of those recycle shopping bags are good for carrying these things around and easy to grab to go out the door, (many times I left it in the car for shopping).


I painted that kitchen yellow, walls and ceiling and never got over how happy and bright that kitchen was.  I had to paint this kitchen yellow too.  This time, the ceiling and walls and cabinets are a pale yellow, while the cabinet doors are a brighter yellow.  And I am trying to work around things that I have and "put my spin on it".  See my kitchen ideas.

What I am doing now with my living room is burning that Living Room into my brain and putting my spin on it BEFORE going shopping, and will edit as I put it together.  I'm not sure why exactly but I am working in sections.  (Maybe it has something to do with clutter I create due to lack of room and my disability to move what needs to be moved.)  Right now, I have 3 walls painted a brighter aqua color...the ceiling will be the same pale yellow as the kitchen ( they run into each other).  I keep playing (in my head) with the 4th wall.  There is a break-thru on the wall between the living room and kitchen; so I go over whether to just paint the wall the aqua or the lower half aqua and the top yellow or all yellow.  I'll figure it out, meanwhile, I'll keep working on painting wall accessories from black to white (frames, shelves).

Stay tuned as I go along on this journey.
~pat

Sightseeing in my own town...

Downtown, NYC

I find it amazing how much you neglect when you are born and raised in one place and all the things you missed and miss once you've moved.  My sister has lived in Manhattan since she graduated college.  One particular evening, we were walking from her apartment on West Street to the South Street Seaport. I think she knows it  the streets BETTER than the back of her hand!  As we walked and zig and zagged, I was completely taken by the architecture of lower Manhattan and the ages of some of the buildings.  I was so sorry I wasn't carrying my camera and playing tourist.  At that time, I walked the NYC pace which is not slow enough anyway.  (These days I have no choice but to walk slow. 

This is something I didn't do as much, if at all, before I moved to Florida.  But, not on a schedule, no where to be by a certain time, living on beach time, gives me the opportunity to just drive leisurely along and stop when something grabs my attention.  There are still places I want to check out more closely and take pictures, so there's always more to come. 


In the meantime, as much as I can't stand moving, I became okay about the move to Titusville. I was going to be right THERE when shuttles launched!  No more driving an hour to see it and more than hour back (traffic is unbelievable).  I had just moved in and was out trying to find the insurance office and went right past it and wound up on this road under construction and found a spot to pull over.  To my amazement, I was across the river from Kennedy Space Center and was staring at the Vehicle Assembly Building!

It excites me to drive down there.  I find the drive invigorating...

To get there, I still drive east over the railroad tracks where an old train station has been converted for businesses but the inside of the insurance company is still in old decor.  It's funny but you hear the swinging doors and expect an old cowboy to come by, spurs a clicking...do spurs click or do they clack??  anyway...

Instead of turning south to the historic part of town, I continue east and over the Indian River on the new Max Brewer Bridge.  On the other side, to the left and to the right there are cars and trucks pulled over on the side, fishing and sail surfing and para-sailing... I've always said some day I am just going to hang out here and watch.

I am now on Canaveral National Seashore/Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and NASA property.  I'm on the north side of what you would know as Kennedy Space Center.  As I continue to drive, if there is anyone behind me, they are passing me.  I just love the drive and I'm constantly looking back and forth to see what I can see.  Usually a hawk or a vulture for sure.  I pass the Refuge Center.  It's a great place for a walk or just to get maps and information for walking and sighting and/or  a guided drive it yourself ride... that's pretty neat.

But as I get further east, I have to stop at a security booth and show my pass, or you could pay an entrance fee.  Soon we come to these little labeled pull over spots.

There's a sign that tells you about the area;
plants, animals...

This is the first parking lot.
There was a shuttle on both launch pads.

From the Indian River
cell phone

It was a very sad day for the finial launches and then again when Enterprise was loaded on top of the jet to fly to New York and Discovery to Washington, DC.

Photo Credit: NASA's Kennedy Space Center
Enterprise (left) and Discovery at KSC

Photo Credit:  NASA's KSC
Discovery's arrival to Washington, DC

Photo Credit:  NASA's KSC
Enterprise's arrival to New York

Bits and pieces of my journey...starting my living room

Well, when you have no computer for 5 days, besides just going with the flow with the withdrawals, you have to come up with something to do... something constructive. 

I started with my bedroom drawers and closet.  I threw out, bagged for donating and put away.  I did laundry; I shopped and did returns Monday.  I finished painting around the kitchen fan and painted the medallion the same color as the table top.

Then I went on to the living room:  The front door was panelled.  I washed it, primed it and painted two coats of Going My Way from ACE Hardware.  Then I decided to paint the wall behind the couch...after washing and priming, two coats of paint...and then the wall to the door. 

This was the plan with up-dates:
THIS  WAS  A SUMMER PROJECT:  It was almost 90 and going to be over 90 this week...with the air on when it is too hot for working outside.  As I've said, every thing has a story, especially my living room.  Where do I start?  My immediate family is all on Long Island, NY and I am here.  I love to get pictures and frame them but I am running out of wall space!  We now have 2 one year olds and 2 more babies on their way.  I need a plan!  For the most part, besides organizing better, this is my TO-DO LIST:

1. Paint walls and ceiling; sea foam walls, ( Going My Way, ACE Hardware) yellow ceiling (do accent wall in coral?)   >  maybe the far wall in yellow to help bounce some light!
2. Possibly, add molding around the windows, and paint (coral) and/or possibly do board and batten
3. Recover the back couch pillows
4. Recover toss pillows
5. Decide on black furniture: book shelves, couch table, small table...to paint or not to paint
6. The 2 sea grass trunks; keep both together or one as coffee table
7. Create a family photo wall
8. Create a NYC  and KSC (Kennedy Space Center) wall on each side of Captiva picture; add shelves under;  I was just trying to keep them the same amount of letters.
9. Decide on curtains.
10. Cut out rug in front of door and replace with tiles.
11. Get another book case for other side and balance.
12. decoupage the small trunk



  My living room is my hub.  It is my everything room right now.  I have a couch table which is doing duty as a desk.  A night table as a printer stand.  I have 2 sea grass chests that right now are pushed together as a very large coffee table.  I have a book case and a decorative open shelf.  A couch, what I want to re-cover the pillows with beach fabric.


15 feet long by 8 feet wide
3 feet x 4 feet by door to tile



So back to what I did accomplish.  At this point I have 3 walls painted. 

I started with the door



Then went to the wall that goes back to the door



I love the color and I love how it brightens up the room.  I took down the vertical blinds again and have yet to figure out what I'll do there and on the opposite window, but I like the blinds down... just not my style.

That's as far as I got.   I'll share as I go but I am hurting after I have not had much of a break.

I am liking the colors that just brighten up this space.  I want to be surrounded by family photos, especially the little ones that make me smile.  There are certain photos that take me to a place, usually by the water, that bring back memories and all my beachy finds.  And I want my books close by.  I want to walk into this space and feel the outside came in and comfortable enough to almost feel the sand under my feet.  And if you come in, I want you to feel just as comfortable and enjoy my vignette around the room.