My "French Country" chairs are done!

I am so happy that this task is finally behind me! My dining room chairs are done and I couldn't be happier with the way they turned out. I bought my dining room suite and matching hutch at an auction a few years back, but the upholstery was, shall I say, quite hideous! The set is light in color as you can see, but the chairs were upholstered in black, gold and red stripes. I'm not sure how that went with the hand painted floral sprays, but that is how they were and I was bound and determined to reupholster them myself. The seats were professionally done and the job looked amazing...but the fabric just didn't cut it!

I searched around and found some fabric last year, but decided I didn't like it after all so I was on the hunt for new fabric! I am going toward more of a French and French Country style in my home, especially in my kitchen/dining/family room, so I decided that this was a great moment to seize the opportunity and "French" up my chairs a little. One day while I was wandering down the aisles of Joann Fabrics, I came across this absolutely heavenly fabric by Waverly called "Saison de Printemps" or Season of Spring. I just love it as it's decorated with beautiful ovals with roses and scrolls, chickens and roosters and flower baskets with flowing bows. It was a little pricey at $30 per yard, but all of their decorator fabric just happened to be on sale at 50% off. Bingo! I purchased three yards and off I went. By the way, I also happened to notice in the new JCPenney catalog that I just received they have curtain panels and valances to match this fabric. Hmmm...

It was abit hard with the way the designs were placed to not waste a tremendous amount of fabric so I opted for a random look on the four chairs that are in the middle of the table and I had placed one of the larger ovals on both of the captains chairs on each end. I also have two barstools that sit on the other side of the counter so those I covered with a lovely, large rooster in the center. It was a nightmare getting all of the old piping, etc. off and when it was finally done I spent about 12 hours doing these seats, but it was definitely worth the backache and the sore arm from stapling and hammering in the staples! I love the way they look now and it gave me confidence to get going on a pretty little chair for my bedroom that I've had sitting in my garage for quite some time. It was a job well done and much easier than I thought! If I can do it, anyone can! Until next time, ~Stacy~ xo

Hot Cottage Collectibles Book

This spring I was absolutely delighted when I was contacted by Dianne Zweig to be a contributor to this lovely new book, Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes. This is Dianne's second book and hopefully it will be as well received as her first book, Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s. I see many of my friends are included such as my dear friend Jo from Vintage Rose Collection, Sanya from In The Pink Antiques and Cherie from Bella Rose Design just to name a few. I have no idea how many of my photographs were selected nor do I know what this book looks like inside yet so I'm pretty excited to see how it all turned out. I'm very honored to be asked to contribute to such an exciting project! To preorder your copy go to amazon.com. It is being published now and will be available sometime in October. I hope you enjoy it! Until next time, ~Stacy~ xo

Marie...

I must admit it...I am a serious Marie Antoinette fan. The whole story of this wispy girl from Austria who was to become the Queen of France is utterly fascinating. It makes one wonder what it was actually like to experience life from her standpoint. When the movie starring Kirsten Dunst was made, it was a fictional look into what her life might have been like. The absolute decadence in this film is amazing. It is probably over the top, but from what I have read in biographies about this Queen and her husband, it may have been closer to the truth than not. Such a feast for the senses...the costumes are lavish with incredible detailing and designs...the palace decor is out of this world. Everthing about this film oozes opulence!

It has been a dream of mine to visit France and perhaps I will one day. My darling niece Shelby recently returned from an 11 day visit to France. I haven't had a chance to speak with her about it yet, but I know that her trip included visiting the Palace of Versailles and Marie Antoinette's little holiday house away from the Palace, the Petit Trianon. Boy, what luck to be able to go to France with your Grade 9 French class as an end of the school year trip!

Once in awhile I wish that I had a costume from this movie. Wouldn't that be something! I would put it on for the entire day and do all of my daily routine wearing it!, well, except for maybe going to the gym! (*_*) I would sweep the floors, make dinner, go out and get my mail, maybe even go down to the grocery store in it. Okay, maybe not! People would think that I was mad...not that I have ever cared about that! It's a nice thing to dream about though isn't it...living in another time and place, although I'm not too fond of the head being chopped off part. Come to think of it, I think I'll just settle for watching the movie... Until next time, ~Stacy~ xo

Happy July 4th!

This morning I am up early, well...early for me! I have to get things going on the stove for the potato salad I am making for this evening. The family is coming over and we are have a BBQ and then we'll be shooting off fireworks. July 4th is always sort of a different day for me. Americans celebrate their independence all across the country and it's such a wonderful thing. I get caught up in it all and feel happy to live in such a fabulous country. Here's the tricky part...I am Canadian and I am actually very proud of my British heritage and being part of the British Commonwealth. Having a Queen is still very important to me. I guess it all depends on where you grew up and what you are used to. Without getting too political, sometimes I do wonder about independence from the Commonwealth. Really, in Canada, the Queen is pretty much just a figurehead these days, but we all still adore her. Most of us anyway! Just don't get me started on Prince Charles...that's a topic for another day! I hope you all have a wonderful day whatever you are doing! Happy 4th! ~Stacy~ xo

Just For Me...

A strong wind blew in today and look what it left...a rose petal carpet just for me! As my Mom would say "you can't get more shabby than that"! And I agree....

Until next time,

~Stacy~

A Little Glimpse At My Garden...

Hello Everyone ~ how do you like this pretty "Bella" sign? I found it at an antique mall awhile back, and while it is not old, I still love how it looks outside my front door. I was wandering around my front yard today and took a few snaps of my flowers that are pretty much in full bloom now. My front yard is filled with roses, hollyhocks and other cottage style flowers. Enjoy!




My lovely roses and hollyhocks!

Some close up shots of my pretty pink roses.

My Simplicity rose hedge in pink and yellow

from Jackson & Perkins.

One of my favorite statues.

A pretty concrete wicker basket that I picked up

at an auction one summer.

Love the little cherubs on the side!

Another charming statue.

I hope you enjoyed my flowers! Until next time... ~Stacy~ xo

New Beautiful Books Just Listed!

Hello Everyone ~ Well, yes...it has been a long time since I have blogged. I actually sneaked off to see my Mom and family back home in Canada for the month of May. Needless to say, it has been very hard for me to get back into the swing of things...by the swing of things, I mean, WORK! So yesterday I spent the day taking photographs and doing up listings for a nice batch of beautiful decorating books. They have just been listed in our Beautiful Books Boutique so be sure to have a look. Also, lots of new treasures will be coming up soon so stay tuned! Until next time, ~Stacy~ xo