To Update You Before I Run Away

I'm running away to West Texas this weekend to bask in the peace and love of quiet isolation with my husband sans kids. We're really excited that we'll be able to converse without interruptions and mostly just lounge about. I can hardly wait.

I promised that I would bring you up to date on my recent endeavors so please forgive me if there is no rhyme or reason to this blog. It may be kind of like cleaning out the fridge and calling it dinner.

This is a kitchen island I am currently destroying, I mean transforming. It's going to be antiqued red and black when I'm finished. Mostly black, with just some sexy metallic red peeking through.

Get a load of this dramatic powder room. Isn't that just a special potty? What I like about this bathroom is that the homeowner rediscovered that painting in a guest bedroom or somewhere she never saw it because it was hidden by a door. My clients mother redecorated her bedroom when she was a girl and bought this painting at that time, 30 years ago or so. If I had seen that painting and used it for inspiration it couldn't have been a better match. There's a lot of gold on the walls that you can't really see.

Here's the sexy sink in the powder room. I wish my camera took better pictures of my walls. Trust me that they look better than this. It's a combination of Faux Effects Lusterstone and Faux Stone Pull-off.

OK, this is my top pick for cool powder rooms. First, how could it not be with that absolutely fabulous light fixture? And then, see the very subtle stencil applied in metallic silver ever so often around the room? I may have shown you this before, but I just love it. And it wasn't even my idea, by the way. That's why I'm raving about how cool it is. The subtle use of stencils is one of my current obsessions.

Here's an artsy shot of the light fixture over my dining room table. Too bad my finger found its way into the picture. This was free because it used to be shiny brass and ugly. Not any more. I would like to get some really wild chandelier shades. If you know where I should look, do tell.

And finally, here's a shot of my dear husband leading our sweet little Caroline to the car after my cousin Neal's wedding. Is that not the most beautiful picture? She's got her little bean bag puppy in one hand and her Daddy's hand in the other. We got there somewhat late and had to sit on the back row, where she flirted with her little friend Cade the entire ceremony.

Just to be fair, I'd better show you how beautiful Mary and Catherine looked that day:

Catherine is all about doing what will "make my hair grow long." Sometimes it's taking a bath, sometimes drinking water. It's a big motivating factor because even though she was born with more hair than her sister, it took her hair longer to get going. Once Caroline's bald head kicked into gear it grew really fast, into blonde ringlets. Catherine's hair really getting long, isn't it? Her hair reminds me of my grandmother's which was dark and curly to show off her really light skin. Catherine's middle name is Mae, after my grandmother, so that's just one of the reasons we think her "really long hair" is special.

Mary and her beautiful cousin Elyse. Mary's on the left. They were best little cousin friends when they were babies. However I just noticed they're not babies anymore.