Happy Sprung Ahead Monday!

I did it again!  Yes, again.  After my post of springing ahead and how I was looking forward to it, I set my clocks BACK!  I did this once before about 10 or more years ago.  I had woke up in a panic and rushed to work.  When I got to the parking lot, I started to coast....where is everyone?  After a while, I realized I was there 2 hours early.  So yesterday I didn't have to be anywhere but I did set the clocks back instead of ahead...and yes, I know "spring ahead, fall back"!

I went dumpster diving a couple of weeks ago and found a chair...it's not sturdy enough for sitting on but I thought I would just paint, decorate and put a flower pot on it...I'd love some suggestions if you have any.

I hope you'll post any ideas.  Meanwhile, I am going out to clean up the patio and yard.  Have a great day!

via Pinterest

SPRING AHEAD!!

I am so excited and so looking forward to springing ahead!  Something happens to me when we fall back.  I think I just fall down and can't get up!  It has been this way for years.  I remember driving to work in the dark and getting home after dark and not seeing much of day light except through a window.  I'd drag myself out of bed in the morning and couldn't wait to get back in bed after dark.  I'm no longer working out side the house but now I think I am worse because I really don't have a schedule.  On top of it, I am going through an insomnia phase. 


Once the time changes and the days get longer, I seem to wake up earlier and enjoy my coffee outside.  That is the time to be outside before the heat of the day.  I can do a few things on the patio and/or around the yard before the temperature and humidity get unbearable.   At the end of the day, when it's still light, when the sun is over in the west, it's great to bar-b-q and enjoy a glass of wine on the patio and just relax in a breeze as the sun sets.  I can now take my wireless laptop out for when I can't drag myself away and get back to reading some great books calling me.  On my journey for enjoying my home and life, I am going to work on this as part of my day. 

But I have to confess.  I am missing the north for some plants blooming, even though everything is blooming here.  I miss daffodils, tulips, crocus, and mostly the sea of yellow forthysia.  I started going through different gardening sites looking for flowers that may look like them but able to grow in Zone 9 instead of Zone 6 and without having to dug up and put in the freezer... I am more of a perennial person right now.  I have spent so much money on "potted" plants that wither and die during our dry season or our rainy season without any rain that I want to re-plant and plant in the ground those things that are natural to the area and will thrive in the conditions.  I guess, I am learning over again what will grow and how.  I like going through the different sites to find what I like such as:  Spring Hill Nursery Zone 9  .

Completely-Coastal  has a great post for DIY coastal garden ideas.  The wonderful thing about so much of the inspiration I get is you don't have to live on the water but anywhere to use and enjoy a coastal living.  She also has a great post Completely-Coastal outdoor garden decor with succulents.

I just love the idea of the above picture for my front.  I'm thinking the succulents would hold up during raining and dry seasons, which they have and I have them already.  Some rocks, which I am thinking... there's a pile of busted cement by the dumpsters that I could paint to look like "faux" stones!  I'd like to get some crushed shells as a base but might have to settle for pea stones or river rock...I've got the shells and just need a gazing ball. And this:  Completely-Coastal garden mix.  (up-dated)

There are many ideas out there, it's just a matter of looking and then doing!  I am so energized just waiting for the time change and back into the sun-up, sun-down routine! 


Hope you have a great week end!

The Story of Keep Calm and Carry On

Fox Hollow Cottage: Sprinkles of Spring in the Kitchen

Fox Hollow Cottage: Sprinkles of Spring in the Kitchen:

I stopped by Shannon's blog and saw what she did on her break through between the kitchen.  I am so inspired!!  Somewhere I read about using your china just because... well I decided to pull out more of my great-grandmother's dishes and wine glasses and display them on that counter with my bamboo plant and some Easter decorations.  I have to go through the box and see what else is there but now I have a reason to unpack that box and somewhere to put them.  And I just might start to use them!

Remember to shop YOUR house!  I have moved furniture around from one room to the other and everything else in between.  My living room, bathroom, bedroom and patio are and will be beach themed, so it is easy enough to move things around as necessary.  I recently moved my lit palm tree to the patio with all my large shells.  I now have to remember to shop my shed!  My list grows but my energy doesn't.

It's actually a nice day today; 72 degrees and windy.  I'm out to run some errands.  Catch you later.

Beach Memories ~ My Bath Room

This is MY beach!  This has been as far as you can walk. 
If you look in the distance, there is a shuttle on the launch pad.

I have yet to live more than a half hour away from an ocean, with a brief year in Orlando, Florida, on a lake.  Cocoa Beach is Orlando's beach.  I grew up and lived my life on the south shore of Long Island, New York, and could walk most of the time to a beach.

Bar on the pier
at Cocoa Beach

Besides the local town beaches there were a few favorites with great memories.  I don't know why I remember, but I do.  I used to go to Hot Dog Beach, which is on Dune Road in Hampton Bays, NY, with my Grandmother. (It is now Tiana Beach.) She was a swimmer in her day and by today's standards she would have been an Olympic swimmer.  She loved the beach.  For a while as I grow up I thought maybe I just called it Hot Dog Beach because we got hot dogs for lunch and ice cream too.  It was a fun time to build sand castles with Gramma.

Hot Dog Beach, NY

And of course the Hampton's are now known
for ABC's "Revenge"!

My Dad's mom lived in Port Washington, NY.  It's located on the north shore of Long Island.  If you drove through the gates into Sands Point, you could get a good look of the New York skyline.  Sands Point is know for the 1920's Gold Coast Era (Great Gatsby).  Every summer the Park would close for a town family beach party.  All kinds of food and drink, music and races and just general beachy fun!

Beach at Sands Point

When I was young, we were in Sayville visiting my aunt, uncle and cousins.  It was winter and we were out in the snow when my cousin decided he could walk on water!  He fell through the ice on the Great South Bay and somehow I managed to carry his limp-ish body back.  He was fine.

Great South Bay

There is Jones Beach.  My cousin and I decided to take the bus there.  We had bus fare for there and back, but we spent the "back" money at the refreshment stand.  We decided to walk back until this car pulled over and offered a ride.  Like two inexperienced young girls, we accepted.  Dumb move.  We got into the back seat of a two door car, with two older boys blasting heavier rock than we listened to.  One pulled out a pretty large knife and started keeping the beat and drumming the knife on the dash board.  That was it.  After we got over the draw bridge we started yelling to pull over, let us out!!  We finally got out and started walking.  With that another car pulled over.  The window came down and a woman told us, in no uncertain terms, to get in.  Just as we did, those boys came back.  She wound up driving us back to our grandmother's house (because we were too afraid to go back to her house).  The woman had seen us walking and then getting out of the car when she was dropping her daughter and friends at the beach and came back for us.  As I remember it, she told us all the reasons why we should never do that again...I never did!  I did get one heck of a sun burn that day.

Dunes at Jones Beach
(taken by my aunt)

Then there's North Captiva Island, Florida.  This is where I knew and decided I was moving back to Florida.  It was 2005 and I spent my sister and her husband's 25th wedding anniversary with them and their family there for a week right on the beach.  It was absolutely peaceful and beautiful.  Sunrise and sunset was beautiful but the very best was at those times the dolphins and their babies were at the beach eating and playing.  Of course we went to Sanibel too and learned the Sanibel Shuffle!  We carried on (the airplane) more shells home then luggage.

via North Captiva Island FB page

My poster size North Captiva photo in living room.

Beach Memories is actually the name of the bath accessories by Croscill, that I bought when I knew I was moving.  I have some beach pictures in there, but I realized I have more of the dogs in the bathroom.  I'll have to work on that.

BEFORE



PICKED UP THIS TABLE FOR $1.00
BUT EVERYTHING LOOKED MESSY.

after-ish

 

right side

left side



and the top...with my NASA ash tray.

the "Beach Memories" have
photos of children on the beach.

Nate Berkus Candle Stick filled
with shells.

a North Captiva photo
taken by my brother-in-law

I love the bathroom however after posting some of these pictures, I've decided to print some and frame for the "memories".  Hope you enjoyed.  Have a great day! ~ pat

Shark Bite at Playalinda Beach

WFTV Raw Video

A kite surfer was bit by a shark at Playalinda Beach on Sunday. As he says at the end, he was very lucky it wasn't worse. This is MY beach and the first time I've heard of a bite here. I understand sharks swim in the ocean but like I said, first bite I've heard of here.

Emerald Cove: If I had a Beach House....

Emerald Cove: If I had a Beach House....

Sit down and relax! Hop into Michelle's dream for a while. It's wonderful!!

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!