Taking a blogging break this week.

I am going to take a little blog break.  I am heading down to Florida to help my mom move into a senior apartment.

She was on a waiting list for 6 months and got called that they have an apartment ready for her.

I am going down to help her make this transition from living in her home to living in a one bedroom senior apartment.

My mom has been widowed for about 5 years and these have been tough financial years for her.

Her husband lost his battle with Alzheimers Disease about 5 years ago.  They were snow birds for many years and had a home in Michigan and then a small home for the winters in Florida.

My mom cared for her hubby at home until his Alzheimers got to the point that they had to move him into an Alzheimer's facility.  In order to have good care for him and have him in a good place my mom had to sell their home in Michigan after they went through all of their savings to help pay for his care.

It is so sad when seniors get a horrible disease like Alzheimer's and have to go through their life savings and sell their home to get good care.

After my mom's husband died she moved to the small Florida home with my 98 year old grandmother to live.  After my grandmother passed a few years ago and my mom no longer had my grandmother's social security along with her's to keep up with the expenses of a  house it became increasingly harder for her financially to keep up her home and all the costs that go along with owning a home.

Terry and I have been financially helping her out with expenses over this past year but it has become a burden on us too.  So the decision was made to have her move into more affordable senior living.  Her home is up for sale and we are praying it will sell quickly.

In the meantime Terry and I are heading down to help her move into her new place and hopefully help her make this transition a little easier.

I will decorate and make this place as sweet and homey as I can so she will enjoy and feel comfy in her new apartment.

This has been really hard on her to make this transition but she also knows in her heart this is the best thing all the way around.

So I will be off blog land this week as I help my mom.  At least it will be warmer weather in Florida than here in Chicago.  Just wish I was going to stick my toes in the sand but instead will be painting, shopping for decor and hanging curtains and unpacking boxes.  I am praying I can work some magic on this tiny apartment to make it warm and cozy for her and her sweet dog Buttons.

Hoping for safe travels and a good and easy move for my mom.  Prayers please that my mom will have an easy transition as this part of her journey heads in a new direction.  It is hard at 82 to make these kind of  life transitions.

Talk to you all when I return next weekend.

Please check in on Saturday I have a new Spotlight scheduled to go up with another fabulous blogger for you to get to know on a personal level.

Thank you to all of you that will leave me a comment, prayer for my mom and best wishes.  I normally love to answer all of your comments with an email back from me, but with being off Blogland I will say thank you now.  Your prayers and sweet visits along with sweet and caring comments are so appreciated and I thank you all.

Have a wonderful week.

Kris

:)

Lucky Junk's One Year Anniversary

Happy Sunday

Just wanted to post about going to Lucky Junk's 1st Anniversary Party/Open House on Saturday.

This is the lovely and talented couple Janet and Bill that own Lucky Junk.  Yesterday was their first Anniversary for the shop to be open.
How excited I was for both of them.  This shop makes my my heart beat just a little faster with each visit.
Janet and Bill are the sweetest and most talented lucky junk picken couple ever!! They find the best stuff to sell in their sweet shop.
I am so happy for them to be celebrating their first year since opening their shop.

This is Bill's great Lucky Junkin Truck!  When Bill found this sweet awesome truck down south on a junkin trip it was previously owned by a guy named Bill.  Meant to be he found this treasure to call his own.

When you walked in the Shop's front door Janet had this cute little raffle ticket station set up.  You wrote what makes you feel lucky on the tag and then put your name and number on the back for later drawing.  Such a cute idea to hang them on this old mattress spring.

Janet had some yummy snacks and drinks for the celebration.

I added some fresh flowers to this vintage milk carrier and milk bottles to give as a first Anniversary gift to Janet and Bill.  Loved that I could gift her with a vintage piece  from my own collection of Lucky Junk.

I took a few shots of the shop.  Just got busy talking and mingling so I did not get a whole lot.  Here are a few.

Is this not just the cutest sign?!!

Looooove!  This would make for a great coffee table or at the end of a bed for linen storage.  Awesome!!!

It was fun for Terry and I to spend time at Lucky Junk today to help Janet and Bill celebrate this wonderful accomplishment.
This shop was "Junk Love" for me at first sight.  I am so happy they hit this milestone of 1 year open.
Congrats to both Janet and Bill on the first year anniversary of Lucky Junk.  Wishing them many more.

I did treat myself to this cute angel ivy topiary to put on the window ledge over my kitchen sink.  Sorry when I thought to take the picture for this post it was night time in the kitchen.

So sweet.  Now I just have to keep it alive until summer when I can put it outside!

Ok, you are probably wondering why I am showing you a picture of my dishwasher at the end of this post.  Well..... stay tuned this is going to get a face lift.  Sad :( that my dishwasher is getting a facelift before me!

So stay tuned.... Have a wonderful rest of the week end.
The sun is shining and the temps are mild it is all good!
Kris
:)

Saturday Spotlight: Life Behind the Blogger

 Saturday Spotlight: Life Behind the Blogger is a feature done each Saturday that introduces you to a blogger you may already know or a new blogger for you to get to know. This feature gives you a peak into the personal life of the blogger.  Getting to know the special person behind the beautiful blog.

There is so much talent and inspiration in blogland so enjoy getting to know these talented bloggers each Saturday.

Bliss from Bliss-Ranch.com
January 17th

This week I am introducing you to a midwest blogger.  Bliss from Bliss-Ranch.com.  She is California raised but has settled and carved out a life on a Ranch in Minnesota.  So sit back and get to know Bliss.  Bliss and her hubby's DIY talents will amaze you.  Enjoy.

Hello to Junk Chic Cottage and Must Love Junk readers.  I'm Bliss and I have that DIY thing going on over at Bliss-Ranch.com.

When I was invited over here to share about my life I was flattered, and I do love to write, so I was excited.  Then I sat down to type.

About myself.

Hmmm.... I'm not near as excited now!

There are a lot of folks who make my blogging life fulfilling, which also crosses over into my day to day life, but I'm suppose to let you into a bit of the private side of the goings on at the ranch.

Barn Wood Coffee table made from Old Alberts Barn Door

Raised in Southern California till I was 21, it's like this.... you can take the girl outta California but you can't take California outta the girl.

No matter how far you move her and how much rural you put around her.

Pine Wood Half Moon Bay Box

I wouldn't trade my rather quiet country life here in Minnesota, but if I was ever to move to the city I'll tell 'ya my heart would lead me to the California coast.

Headboard Turned Mudroom Bench

So what do you want to know?  That I'm married to the most wonderful man in the world?  Everyone says that, right?

Well I am.

First of all, that he puts up with me is amazing in and of itself (and probably everyone who knows me would say that) but he is crazy talented and over time some of it might have rubbed off on me.  He never learned the word can't especially when it comes to building things.

Brawn has his hand in just about everything I make on the blog.  Without him most projects wouldn't get done.

Mud Pie Station

We have referred to ourselves as the brains and the "Brawn" of the operation for most of our married life, and finally the name stuck.  At least for him.  But if you would rather call me Brains than Bliss, have at it.

Our life has always consisted of DIY, building, and making the things that we wanted ourselves, that's nothing new to me, the only thing new is that now I blog about it.

We have six kids, which is really where my passion lies, but my blog isn't about my life as a mom, it's about the edges of that and making where we live a place we all want to be.

Mudroom Bins Under Coat Cubbies

The ranch is plopped down in the middle of 25 acres, about 1/4 mile off the road in the trees - so no one can see me painting outside in my jammies - and about 3 miles from town.

Looking out the driveway toward the lake

It's a playground every season if you like the outdoors.

Bean Bag Toss Yard Art

We don't have any typical ranch animals, not that Brawn or one of the kids hasn't pondered that, but we do have chickens and ducks, which as near as I can tell, other than eggs, are worthless to have around since all I do is worry about them as if they were dogs and cats.

And all they do is leave duck "stuff" everywhere.

Nothing says welcome to our porch like "stuff" letting guests know a duck or two was just there.

The Crapping Quackers

 I wonder elsewhere how many UPS men are chased by ducks when they try to deliver a package?

The oldest offspring has blessed us with a couple of grandkids - yeah they pretty much have us wrapped around their fingers.  Young minds keep our minds young.

Pink Play Kitchen made from a nightstand

There is always something going on around here, and most of the time I enjoy the chaos because it usually involves laughter and food.

Vintage Radio Turned into a Bar

Among my friends I'm an open book, but on the blog I don't often chat about my day to day life.  Suffice it to say life is pretty good even when it doesn't go quite the way I'd like.

I'm kind of a wise azz and find humor in just about anything, and I'm known to say a swear word or two.

If I had to sum myself up I'd say I'm not near as nice as some people believe, but not as bad as others think.

Dining Room Chairs with a Vintage Grain Sack Look

Stopping in here at Junk Chic Cottage is a nice change of pace for me from painting and putting projects together, and I appreciate the invitation.  If you ever want to see what I'm up too....... everyone is welcome to stop in at the ranch.

Thank you Bliss for sharing your self with all of us.  Please hop over to meet Bliss and see her lovely blog.  She does some of the best DIY re loves I have ever seen in blogland.  I was so excited she said yes to Spotlight and wanted to share herself and blog with all of us.

Have a wonderful week end.

Kris

:)

Dining Room Reveal

Happy New Week.  I have my dining room reveal for you today.  After I took down all my Christmas decor I took it a step further and took everything out of the dining room!!!

So now with some fresh paint and a new decor look I will show you the new dining room. 

This was my dining room before.  Basically cream and whites throughout.  See that old chippy cabinet door with the candle chandelier hanging on it.  You will see what Terry made that into later in this post.

Here is a wide shot of the after.  I painted the walls  Stone White.  It is white with a hint of grey.  I also added back my creams and whites and a lot of my architectural pieces I love.

The best part of this re love of this room is that the only money I spent was on the paint and having my curtains made for this room.  Everything else I had already.  More about the curtain seamstress later.

I think the best way to tour this new dining room is to go by sections.  This is the back corner of my dining room that I put my reading chair.  The beautiful curtains were made for me by Karen Harmon at Designer Stitching.  If you do not sew like me and need any sewing please check her out on her Etsy shop.  She is very reasonable and quick.  Karen is a sewing angel.
I got the fabric from Ikea to cover my chairs and I  sent some to Karen to make these panels for me.  Karen also made me a gorgeous bedspread that I will show soon.

Remember these old porch posts that I framed the coffee bar with well.......

They now adorn my dining room window as a chippy header.

Hung my chippy white cage with love birds in front of this window.  They look like they are looking out to the garden in the back.

Moved this old vintage mannequin I found at my fave store Vintage in Morris  awhile back.  Hung a chippy window behind her.  She adds a little vintage whimsy to this room.

I put my chippy mantel back up on this wall where I use to have the coffee bar and shelves.  Hung my old vintage angel on an old chippy window for the top of the mantel.

I love the simplicity and beauty my angel gives to the mantel area.

This is my other corner of the back dining room.  This area is still a work in progress.  I did hang back up my old door and the birdhouses.  I am still tweaking this corner.

Kept my old blue skates out from my Christmas decor.  Love the pop of light blue  color the skates add for some winter decor.

It keeps that corner of the dining room light and brings in my love of the garden that is outside the french doors of this room.

  Here are the french doors that go out to our back deck and where all my flowers are in the summer months.  I love that I have this vintage garden sign to hang over the french doors going out to my garden area.  As most of you know I love to incorporate old vintage pieces of furniture and architectural pieces in my garden decor.  

Terry made me this old bench out of that old chippy cabinet door in the above before dining room picture.  The old legs he had in the shed.  Love that man and his use of tools lol!  

I painted my chalkboard hanger white that was made out of an old headboard and rehung it back up over the bench.

More little love birds in this wreath on the door going out to the flower garden and deck area.

I love my flowers and deck in the summer months so it was fun to add the vintage garden pieces to my dining room decor.   Right now those french doors lead to snow and freezing cold!!!!

Remember the cabinet I inherited from Terry's Nana.  This is the piece re loved with some new paint and a new cabinet door.  I was really close with Terry's grandmother so I treasure this piece and all the memories.

Here is the cabinet open with some of my vintage clocks and iron stone and some old silverware pieces.  The door we made out of an old church window I had. The door that was on this piece was cracked and the glass broken out.   So I was so excited when we saw this church window would fit where the old cabinet door once hung.

I have some of my Madonna collection and old rosaries up on the top of this cabinet.  The rosary on the half Madonna is actually Terry's grandmother's too.  Nana gave me that rosary before my daughter Jen got married.  She said just in case it might rain on Jen's special day you hang the rosary in the window and the sun will come out.  I just loved this women and all her fun rituals she would share.  Guess what it was sunny and beautiful on the day my daughter got married!!!!

Remember those old french doors I had out in the garden this summer with plants hanging on them.  I decided to bring those wonderful doors inside for the dining room.  So happy when Terry told me he could make them fit.  Again love that man and his tools!!!

They hinged up nicely to the old side light windows I had already hanging in this space between the kitchen and dining room.

Whew!!!! last area.  Are you still with me and not on picture over load lol!  This is where my mantel use to be and now I have this old picket fence and old rusty garden bench here.

So there you have it.  My new Vintage Garden/ Nordic French Cottage dining room.  

I found this rug at Home Depot for $80 for a 9X12 size.   I am going to give it a try.  I was thinking more of a gray rug but I have not been able to find anything that looks good with the cottage/chippy style in here.   So since this was was pretty reasonable I thought I would give it a try.    It looks white but it is really is a cream.

Thanks for hanging in there with my loooong post on the dining room reveal.
Have a wonderful start to the new week.
Kris
:)

Parties:
Make it Pretty Monday
Wow us Wednesday
Show and Share
Inspire Me Tuesday
What's It Wednesday
Treasure Hunt Thursday
Shabbilicious Friday
Show and Tell Friday
Feathered Nest Friday