JSI MOJE SLUNCE...

You Are My Sunshine (in Czech - above sink)

I have just about finished straightening out the kitchen, although there is still a short list to do.  I can now go in and find counter space to fix something and get to the sink to wash dishes (no I am the dishwasher).  And I can admire my kitchen.  So here are some pictures and some stories:

all 3 drawers in my kitchen
with corks for knobs

top cabinets above the sink
with cork wreaths and knobs

above the refrigerator

I have been saving corks as long as I can remember.  I was surprised as to how many I used up but still had enough to fill my wine glass.  I'll move the "fish lips" stein and Margarita glass when I figure out the living room but for now it'll do.

I really wasn't sure about leaving this shelf black but with the wall decor and appliances it seemed to work out.  What  do you think?  The boxes were bought a few years back with the Paris store fronts on them.  One has clothe napkins, the other dish towels.


I used to have a bunch of wicker baskets that hung on my wall in the dining room.  Whenever I needed a bread basket, I'd take one down put a clothe napkin in and pass the bread!  When done, it went back on the wall.  So one in this picture, another on the other side of the window.  The picture to the left is a copy of a watercolor my sister got in Prague and to the right, 4 postcards of street lights in Prague.  The gold rimmed green bowls were my great grandmother's.

The straw bag.... a gift from my sister.  I think from her trip to Thailand.... holds store plastic bags... and my little inside palm tree.

I was looking at a picture of a crown and was wondering about decorating the tips of the pickets and where a nail would be with flat gems.  What do you think?

The top plate was made by my son in school.  The next two plates were my French Great- Grandmother's but made in Czechoslovakia.  The man praying over his simple meal is something another Grandmother had in her kitchen.  The photograph, "Grace" was taken in 1918, by Eric Enstrom of a Bovey, Minnesota resident, Charles Wilden.  He was a poor shoe scrapper salesman.  In 2002, "Grace" was designated as the official state photograph... There are Czech coins, a kitchen witch and two Babushka dolls from Prague. In the corner there are a couple of toys from Prague too.  I'll try to remember to get a closer picture.

For more information and the history of "Grace" go to:
http://www.gracebyenstrom.com/history.html

I was going to put a shelf on both sides of the fan but had these boxes and used them.  Holds salt and pepper and timer.
The store front plagues worked above the stove.

And this is my son's stool.  It is over 32 years old.  I wanted all the scuffs but you couldn't read the words or see the pictures.  I took a bright yellow and mixed with a lot of water, painted it on so it went in the grooves and wiped the paint off right away.   Cute again.

BEFORE



AFTER











I don't want to totally bore you with every picture I took but I will have more pictures on my Facebook page, Journey's End at the Beach.  I hope you'll stop by and "like" it.

This week's wrap up...

I can't believe it's Friday already!!  And it's March 2nd!!!  Why does time go faster the older I get??

I still have a list of things to complete in the kitchen but I am finally to a point where I can straighten up and take a much needed break!  Some things will get done sooner than later, but I have other things to do that have gotten neglected...

I don't know about you but I found myself thinking I was having too many ideas and too many things to do.  Well, I was reminded by Laura Simms that it is NOT "too many ideas" and to re-frame it as, simply:

1. Remind myself that these are just opportunities; better than having no ideas at all!
2. Make a list... write them all down and add to;
3. Set priorities: urgent, exciting and/or will make me money;  I'm not at the 'money' phase yet, but have let a couple of urgent-ish things slip while painting a bird!
4. Take action and let the list chill.  It will be there when I am ready to take the next action.

I am new at all this and Laura has "Roadmap to Action" planners that I am in the process of implementing and it is helping.  You can check it out at: http://createasfolk.com/

I will be trying to work smarter and more consistently on my posts, pictures and updates.  Meanwhile, I hope you have a great weekend.

Once upon a time there was Prague...

I am so excited!  It is almost done and the only reason it isn't is because I am tired and an aching puppy!!  I am drinking allot more coffee and taking allot more breaks but it's almost done... and I am loving it and so very pleased every step of the way and the closer to done I get.

Sun shiny and bright!

I spend allot of time in my living room and can't help but smile when I look straight ahead at the kitchen.  It is just so sunny, bright and yellow... sun shiny days, thoughts and songs just fill my head.  Although it has been just about 6 years since my sister and I went to Prague, I can step right back there in the kitchen and in my mind.  I hope she has as pleasant memories as I do.

My mother's grandmother's family was from Czechoslovakia.   During World War II Czechoslovakia fell under Nazi control.  In the county of Bohemia, a concentration camp was established in Terzin.  We did go there, but cut it short, because it was sadder than words can explain.  The country side was still lovely.  Fields after fields, animals grazing, a peaceful life now is what you imagine.  Later, liberated by the Russians.  On 1 January 1993, the Czech Republic (Czechia) and the Slovak Republic (Slovakia) were simultaneously and peacefully founded. (wikipedia)

http://familyfun.go.com/printables/coloring-pages/fairy-tale-coloring-pages/fairy-tale-coloring-page-702640/

My idea of Prague is:  if you open up a fairy tale, probably a Disney book, open up those double shuttered windows and right in front of you is the grand castle and the kingdom...that was the view from our hotel sitting room window! Prague Castle!

Reds, orange, yellows, greens and blues colored this magic city.  The architecture was simply grand!  There is architecture from many periods of history, starting with Gothic, but everything just blends in and nothing looks out of place.  A Catholic nation, the churches are fitting for a church and abbey in the Sound of Music (but wrong country).

There is so much more I would love to share.  I would love to go back and I'd highly recommend it to everyone! 

An extra day to get things done! Happy Leap Year!

As I have told you before, the inspiration for my kitchen is a trip in 2005 to Prague with my sister.  Most of my pictures are on my computer that isn't working so I wanted to share some pictures I found (mostly on Pinterest or just searching).

John Lennon Peace Wall
(John had never been to Prague)  Chair Inspiration

Another shot of Lennon's Wall.

Musicans and Artists along the St. Charles Bridge

An arial view of the Charles Bridge

COLOR!



Coastal Mix - Ideas for Gardens and more

Coastal Mix - Ideas for Gardens and more

something to add to my To-do List!!

Finally making progress in the KTCHEN.

Yesterday I thought I was making progress but when I stood back admiring my accomplishments, I saw that I had not touched the bottom cabinets!  How could I have missed them?  They were there the whole time!  Needless to say I had a very restless night.  I was up and down till the wee hours of the morning.  I debated going back out to the kitchen and putting one coat of paint on them but instead made a list of what needed to be done, in the order I should do them.  I did accomplish allot today and managed to cross things off the list. 

• cabinet are painted
• wine cork wreaths are hung over the doors above the sink
• replaced the cabinet knobs with wine corks

I am so happy with it.  The yellow is so sun-shiny bright that I decided to stencil "You Are My Sunshine" above the kitchen sink.  Then I thought, since above the front window is "bakery" in Czech, why not do above the sink in Czech too!  Google has a great translator that even does sentences and I was able to find "It's 5 o'clock Somewhere" too.  I think I am going to stencil that on the cabinet above the refrigerator and accessorize with saved wine bottles and a large wine glass of corks.

I'm not sure if I'll leave the cross there but here is where I thought of accessorizing with wine bottles and corks; and It's 5 o'clock somewhere.

And the 2 cabinets above the sink.

I had seen corks used as knobs on Pinterest.  I thought I had an original idea.  But they were put in through the cork screw hole.  I did my flat so the designs could be seen; that the reason for collecting many of them.  These are just bunches of grapes on the drawers.

Tomorrow I just have to paint around the ceiling fan, touch up were the tape covered and missed paint... then I can finally move things around and put the kitchen back together again.  Yeah!!

Good night all!  <3

SNEAK PEAK!!

I thought I had come a long way with just a couple of spots that needed another coat of paint... I completely did NOT touch the bottom cabinets!  LOL  I really must be in a fog.  Anyway, I've been collecting corks forever and made two wreaths to hang over cabinet doors.  I put a sticky hook up-side down on the back of the door .   My kitchen is so sun-shiny bright that I am going to stencil "You are my Sunshine" in Czech above the sink.  Hope I get some where, if not done, tomorrow.

Good Night All!

Let's get started...

Happy President's Day!  Happy Monday!
So, let's get started... it's a new year for me, a new day... I'm tired of looking at a partially re-done kitchen and excited, too, of how it's coming along.  I can't tell you how tired of white walls I am.  I know beachy and shabby chic is white but I want color, color, color!  Here's the only BEFORE picture I could find:

And the occasional visitor:

Although I have lived here for a while, it has only become MINE recently... and it was just very recently that I actually realized it is MINE!!!  So now it makes sense to do what I want, do what I can, enjoy what I do and have, and move forward again.

Everything has a story...Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my birthday and having been on a journey of some 56 years, I am finally at the destination where I am supposed to be.  I am happy and thankful.  Oh trust me, the journey is not over and has had lots of detours but I thought today would be a good launching point to move on to my next commitment to me.  Today is the official launch of my blog and companion Facebook page.

I am re-doing my home and my blog will take you along with me.  Everything has a story and each room has a story behind it as well as colors, themes, accessories, etc.  So as I go along, I will share the stories with you.

I live on the Space Coast  of Florida.  Just for the record, there is nothing like seeing a Shuttle launch from your yard.  Now rockets will have to do, but it is something that just never gets old.

So let me start with the PRESENT (no pun intended) and I will fill in the blanks as I go along.  I am currently working on the kitchen (still) because I totally got side tracked over the holidays, although I've been working on other things not so big, inside and out... working on hand painting a kitchen chair now and here we are...in the kitchen.

The kitchen story is my "Once upon a time..." In 2005, I took my first trip out of the country.  I went to Prague, Czech Republic, with my sister for the weekend.  She has traveled the world quite extensively and is a wonderful travel guide.  It was a great experience together and Prague is simply magical and very much like a fairy tale.

While we were there, I bought a painting and that has been my theme ever since. The thing about it is you can't just plug in Prague Decor and come up with ideas or product.  Because the painting is a street bistro on cobblestone streets, I found that the French Bistro Cafe theme worked.



Prague Painting - Kitchen Inspiration


So this is the To-do List:

• Paint ceiling and walls yellow
• Paint cabinet doors brighter yellow
• Replace cabinet knobs with wine cork
• Add 2 shelves under cabinets, even with stove fan, with decorative (Gothic) brackets
• Paint Baker's rack
• Paint Gothic shelves
• Make cork wreaths
• Look for coordinating crock for utensils
• Clear out all other things
• Make or buy a top for stove (measure to cover all 4 burners)
• Paint chair
• Use area rug in living room or outside
• Fix floor
• Decide on what to do with floor
• Fix or replace stove/oven
• Paint refrigorator Black Board paint (look for French Stencils)

I sketched out how I basically wanted the chair painted.  Lettering on the back Praha (Prague) and Czech it out and the umbrella is because it became a joke that I followed my sister's umbrella in the rain and could spot her in a crowd.  On the seat I want to do something that translates into the (John) Lennon Peace Wall.  Other than that I just wanted it yellow to match the kitchen and other bright colors seen in the painting and all over Prague.

Happy Valentine's Day!

COMING SOON!!

Look back next week as I embark on a new phase of my journey...it is not the end!

while playing with maps

While figuring out what maps to use in the bathroom I decided to use these 3 maps for the back of my book case...

Covering small dresser with maps

Catch up before the year closes...

Busy Gift Making

Busy making gifts; the hardest part is waiitng for the glue (mod podge) to dry!!  Some days are still more humid than others so it is taking forever and I am not always the most patient person on the block.

I am enjoying this one.  He has a butterfly on his shoulder!  This is still a work in progress.  I wanted to crackle the paint but I learned that you can't crackle over metallic paint.  I wound up with an umber, bronze and white acrylic paints.  Then sanded to distress it, then added the picture with mod podge, let it dry and coat the whole thing 2 times with a foam brush.  When it was dry, I used a regular paint brush with mod podge just on him, using regular brush strokes as if I were painting.  When that dried, I cut a new sponge into small wedges, dipped in umber and dabbed around the picture edges and wood.  I did this a couple of times to get the look I wanted.
THIS IS WHAT I STILL WANT TO DO:  I am in the process of sanding around the picture edge and will dab again with umber paint.  I am trying to get a look that the picture and wood are one.  To finish, I will coat again with a last coat of mod podge, put in a box and mail off to his Mom for Christmas... so ssshhhh don't tell!

This is scrapbook paper on stretched canvas and an actual photo on top.  I need to fix some spots of the overlap but stepping back for now.   shhhhh another secret gift!

and doing lets of tiles.