Tuesday 25 January 2011

This Little Gem Can Be Yours ...

As I'm sitting here, with the dismal views of rain, I find myself looking at pics of my parent's second home here in North Myrtle Beach.  It "takes me to a better place" as it reminds me of warmer temps and sunny days.  Seeing as most of you guys are dealing with the same kind of icky weather, I thought I'd share their humble abode with you, too!  The even better news is that this home is FOR SALE!  That's right folks ... if you, or anyone you know, has an extra $1,290,000 lying around, and would love a home at the beach, please let me know!

We all affectionately call this home "the creek house."  It sits on a deep water canal with spectacular views and some of the most beautiful sunsets you've ever seen!  You can't really see it in this picture, but it has a gorgeous green, tin roof, which helps to put you to sleep on a rainy day when the rains hits the roof (feel free to click on pics to enlarge):


Mom chose to decorate this house in pretty corals, various shades of green and touches of yellows, pinks and whites.  This is the great room on the second floor, which is the main living level of their home.  The most amazing views are right through those sliding glass doors:


One of the master bedrooms is in the background: 


We used to love to enjoy coffee in the morning and cocktails in the afternoon sitting right out here, while enjoying this view.  Close your eyes and listen closely, you can almost hear and feel the breeze blowing through your hair and ripping through the pages of your Star, People or Traditional Home magazine, can't you?  Careful, don't spill your Bahama Mama!


Here is one of two master bedrooms that is on the main level.


The kitchen has beautiful hardwoods and marble countertops.  The cabinets are a beautiful soft, glazed yellow. 


On the third floor is another great room where the kids usually hang out.  There is another balcony through the sliding doors ... I wish I had more pictures of the view to share.  On each side of the great room are bedrooms, each with a private bath.  Also, not pictured, is a large bonus room that could also be used as another bedroom:


One of the 3rd floor bedrooms:


Right down the street is a private wildlife reserve which serves for wonderful evening strolls:


Did I mention that their home is being sold furnished and has an elevator to conveniently bring in all of your flea market, Home Goods and Hobby Lobby purchases?  There is also a floating dock for your convenience AND they are including a boat, too, which currently sits parked in the *ginormous* garage!  All you need to bring is your bathing suit, sunscreen, toothbrush (and checkbook)!

Thanks for letting me share my parents' second home with you today.  As the temps get warmer, I'll take you over to their gorgeous home on the beach where they live full-time. 

For a few moments there, I almost forgot it's cold and raining outside!  Hope you felt a burst of sun and warmer temps, too!

Have a great day,

Becca

Monday 24 January 2011

My Happy Place!

Welcome to little man's play room a/k/a my "happy place!"  At any time when Jax isn't at pre-school, you can find him in here creating, playing games, watching Nick, Jr., singing karaoke, jamming on his light up drums, *reading* books and knocking out puzzle after puzzle. 

And, while I LURVE this room ... I want to update it just a bit as my kiddo is turning 5 next month! ((*Heavy sigh*)) It doesn't really have a theme in here ... sports mixed in with beachy scenes ... mixed in with superheroes, etc. SOOO, I'm going to be making a few simple changes in here ... make it a bit more big boy-ish?? But, before I do, I thought I'd show you around a bit (click on pics to enlarge):

Above the sofa is a red bookshelf and honey stained shelf (both from PB Kids) and my most FAVORITE piece of art *ever* is sandwiched in between. I created and ordered Jax's "Warhol-like" print from allpopart.com a few years ago. He was about 1 1/2 when this picture was taken.  I'm going to be very sad when it comes time to *retire* it from this spot ... however, I'll find another place for it.


Like in our great room, I recently added a shag rug in here, too!  It's so soft on little piggies (and, not to mention ... hides all kinds of crumbled up cheez-its, goldfish, play-doh, etc., quite well)!  lol.


His bookcases are from Land of Nod.  They've taken a lot of wear and tear over the past few years, but have held up wonderfully.  I'd really like to wall mount a larger TV in here for him.  We'll see.


Spiderman got his backpack on and is trying to escape, leaving all of the other superheros behind in their designated blue bin:


Behind every sports lamp is the green Hulk, don'tcha know?:


Scribbled on part of the molding around the closet is a chart of Jax's growth ... he sure did "sprout" from October to January, wow!  I'm almost 5'3", and he comes up to my chest already.  Yikes ... he's going to be taller than me before he's 7:


A leggo creation:


Oversized wall pencil from PB Kids: 


And, while the changes I plan on making are quite minimal, there is one thing that not be removed as it will apply to him for years to come.  LOL:


Before you go, it's only fair that I share a funny picture of Jax ... he found the wig from my husband's Halloween costume ("The Situation" from Jersey Shore) and loved dancing around in it!  LOL.  


Thanks for stopping by.  I'm off to mingle.  Come on over to these talented and fabulous blogs!

Elements Interiors/Whassup Wednesday

Southern in my Heart/Inspiration Friday

Becca


Tuesday 18 January 2011

A Shopping We Will Go ...

(*Yawn*) ... if it rains or continues to be cold and gloomy much longer, I am going to turn into a bear and hybernate for the remainder of winter!  Please wake me up when Spring arrives!

During this stretch of icky weather we've had lately, I've been shopping!  However, admittedly, my favorite stops have been a bit disappointing as they're all doing inventory and s-l-o-w-l-y restocking with Spring goodies. 

Here are snippets of a few fun things I've found:

A collection of natural decorative balls ... the textures are fabulous:


A beautiful cream/glazed rooster:


A fun, french clock that I splashed with green, metallic paint:


Spring daisies promising me that warmer temps are around the corner:


Vinyl labels that I embellished with my chalkboard paint:


A beautiful wood and wrought iron piece:


Potpourri that has sea shells mixed in with beautiful reds, golds and creams pieces!


And, lastly, a beautiful brown and gold container:


I'm off to "tweak" so that I may share where I placed my fun, new finds!  And, while I'm playing, I'll join my fun and super talented friend, Kara, for Whassup Wednesday.

Have a great day and stay warm,

Becca

Tuesday 11 January 2011

Ladle love...

I have immense love for traditional kitchenware and utensils. The collection of ladles seems to be growing:-)
Part 3: Ladles & Spoons...

My grandmother's antique brass ladles...

93/366: Part 2: ladles & spoons

Wooden ladles...

84/366: Part 1: ladles & spoons...

Regular stainless steel ladles, there are so many shapes and sizes for various uses...

ladle

Small wooden spoons...

What kitchen thing do you love collecting?

Monday 10 January 2011

Mantle Tweaking

Okay, when I posted my great room yesterday, I was not "feeling" the mantle.  I attempted to tweak it a bit, but would love to layer it more.  Here's the start (feel free to enlarge by clicking on pic):


I love how Liz over at Savvy Seasons by Liz added a few birds to her mantle.  That inspired me to bring a few of my birds out, too!  Thanks, Liz! 


This cute birdhouse sat on my buffet during the Fall ... I thought I might bring it back for now:


I snatched these birds up from Michael's last Fall when they were on clearance.


Over on the right, I brought back my winter bird plate (from Home Goods):


The florals are made up of berries, greenery and feathers:


Love the battery operated candles that I forgot to turn on:


And, of course, this silly little nut is my BEST accessory ever.  We had fun today since his school was closed.


I'm joining Beth's winter mantle party at her blog, Stories of A to Z.  Come on over and join the fun.

Enjoy your day,

Becca

Sunday 9 January 2011

I'll Miss You, Red ...

Happy Sunday. What's your weather doing?  We are preparing for a bit of winter weather here in Myrtle Beach.  Seeing as we don't even have a snow plow, per se, any snow or ice will, undoubtedly, shut our entire area down!

I've been meaning to share the new look our great room has.  Last Fall, I decided it was time to trade out our red sofa.  I loved it, but, again, we'd had it for awhile, and I just really wanted to lighten it up a bit.  Too, I thought it'd be nice to have the option of being able to add other colors in that might not work with the red.  Plus, we wanted to add a loveseat for additional seating.

Here is BEFORE (feel free to click on pics to enlarge):


And, here is AFTER:  


We found a wonderful sofa and love seat at a "pre-Labor Day" sale at La-Z-Boy.  I chose the fabric, and they were delivered four weeks later.  We're really pleased with their neutral color, and how well they work with our accent chairs.  You may notice that the love seat isn't pictured.  Well, surprise, suprise, I've already moved it to another spot.  lol

You might also notice the rug is different, as well.  I found a fun, shag rug at Lowe's for a great price.  I love throwing a little bit of contemporary in.

On the sofa are a few fun pillows from PB and World Market:


The coffee table (also from Pottery Barn) is quite a bit smaller than the other one, and I love the drawers where I can hide the remote, coasters, etc.

I found this handsome horse at Home Goods:


I also retired the window panels to the sitting room. BEFORE:


And, AFTER:  I went with the 108" panels in Classic Linin from PB.  I'm pretty pleased with them.  And, now they match the ones in the breakfast area.  We also added the bamboo shades, as well.


On over to the mantle ... here is what it looks like today.  And, while I'm not exactly crazy about this arrangement, it will do for now.



And, here is the vignette on the buffet table in the great room, as well (still tweaking):



As I mentioned, I've already moved the love seat which was sitting perpendicular to the new sofa, to a new spot.  I'll show you where I dropped it next time you stop by.

I'm off to work on my header, which is in desperate need of a "new do"!   Thanks again for stopping by.  I'm sure I'll crash a few parties at the following wonderful blogs.  Come and join the parties:

Have a great day,

Becca

Thursday 6 January 2011

Hotel du Parc~ A heritage villa

Hotel du Parc ~ A heritage villa, is where we spent our Christmas Eve in Pondicherry.
Built in the 17th century Heritage Villa Selvom, which has served as the residence to many French governors now is Hotel du Parc.
Beautiful pale yellow and pastel turquoise has been used to bring in the feel of Provence, South France.
Loved the blend of colonial style and contemporary look in the villa...
The dining area with the view of the huge Mango tree that forms a canopy outside in the courtyard...
The deck in the night...
Elegant rooms with antique furniture...Silk drapes and porcelain lamps add a touch of elegance...

The best part about this lovely villa is that it is located at walking distance from the Aurobindo Ashram!

P.S. All the images are from Hotel du Parc's website, my battery died just on the eve of Christmas:-(