Thank You, God!

"I can no other answer make but thanks,

And thanks, and ever thanks..."

--Sebastian, Twelfth Night, Act 3, scene 3
Shakespeare

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“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.” 
Meister Eckhart


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"How blessed are some people, whose lives have no fears, no dreads; to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly, and brings nothing but sweet dreams."

Bram Stoker

"Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration."

Charles Dickens

"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."

Mark Twain

"Behold I do not give lectures or a little charity, When I give I give myself."

Walt Whitman

"To love someone means to see him as God intended him."

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Please read Asia's story here...

"It is a bit embarrassing to have been concerned with the human problem all one's life and find at the end that one has no more to offer by way of advice than 'try to be a little kinder.'"

Aldous Huxley

"Each one of them is Jesus in disguise."

Mother Teresa

All images via

Wishing a blessed Thanksgiving to you and yours.

I have been so lovingly and infinitely blessed!

I thank God for each and every one of you!

Please keep those who are less fortunate in your prayers and hearts as well.

xo

Andie

McGillicuddy

Many of my blog friends know the depth of love and esteem I have for the fuzzy members of our family.  No, not Handsome Husband on his days off when he doesn't shave!  Though I love him beyond words, this post is about one of my beloved quadruped buddies, McGillicuddy!

We found each other while Gracie, Handsome Husband and I were on a family walk in our old neighborhood, about five years ago.

He was very thin and frightened beyond words.

So much has changed!

Here is the little guy, resting in his bed in the Library!

McGillicuddy's second favorite place to be is up!  Up on the tables, up on the railing, up on the armoires...

Since I brought this swag home he has been contemplating how he can get up on it.

Speaking of McGillicuddy, he is an orange tabby.

Please note how he matches the woodwork in the house!

Here he is last Christmas, after he opened his gifts from Santa!

We have to be especially vigilant with him, as he is camouflaged by the floor and has been known to escape out the front door without notice!

He has the sweetest demeanor and will be the first to greet you when you come to visit!

Last year, when the refrigerator repair guy came, he had to lay on the floor to get a better perspective.  McGillicuddy promptly crawled onto the man's side and fell asleep on him as he worked!

He has fallen from these railings to the loft a few times.  It hasn't deterred him from getting back up there!  OH!  How my heart skips a beat when I see him up there!  They are 15 feet from the floor!

As much as I love the color orange on McGillicuddy, I abhor that color in the woodwork.  This Winter we will finally be painting the railings and trim!

The floors stay for now.

In the meantime, we keep a watchful eye on McGillicuddy so he cannot sneak out, using the floor color as cover.

My neighbors must think we have an odd tradition...walking out the front door backwards, bent over, loudly repeating phrases like "Ah!  Ah! Ah! McGillicuddy!"

xo

Andie

Three Cheers For Chairs! Chair a Go-Go! Chair O Rama!

More Chairs!

Yay!

Fifteen dollars each.

That's why!

+

Schumacher /Waverly La Belle Campagne toile in Wedgewood.

=

Comfy breakfast table chairs!

Like these...

via

via

via

Because I don't have 5,792 other projects to work on...

xo

Andie

Musical Chairs!

 Here are the chairs, listed in chronological order, that have spent time in my Dining Room in the last week.

This may look familiar.  These chairs have been in this room since we moved in.  Lovely but they are cheap reproductions from Home Decorators Collection.  Compared to the antiques in the house they looked, well, cheap.

I hand painted them.  They were a dark mahogany when we bought them.

This set came next.  They are also reproductions, and as such, are larger than Louis XVI chairs typically are.  Too big for the table.

Next!

These actually came before the last set but I am too lazy to delete the photo and move things around.

Cane chairs + Handsome Husband = rubble

Look at those legs, though.  I really liked those chairs!

I also lied about the whole "chronological order" thing.

Next!

Here we go!

I do love the rose brocade but it does not work in the Dining Room.

This is where you come in!

I am posting the details in the Dining Room and I hope you can help me choose a color combination for the taffeta drapes and the toile upholstery.

*grins and bats eyelashes*

Jenny's Cabinet, in Annie Sloan Old White.

View out into the hall...

Buffet in Annie Sloan Old White and Dark Wax.

This is the table in the Dining Room...lots of beautiful detail!

The rug is a rich salmon color with many shades of blue.

Inspiration:

Louis toile chair (actually a dollhouse miniature)!

I will paint the brocade chairs Annie Sloan Old White with Dark Wax.

Do I want blue toile or grey?  

Blue drapes or orange?

Help me choose a color combination?! 

I actually received the orange drapes from Overstock.com and they are not that orange.  I wanted orange.  The color is more copper, like an old penny.  That's why I chose the blue toile to go with it.  The blue will make the orange pop.

The Robin's Egg Blue Taffeta drapes are on their way.

Help!

xo

Andie

p.s. Thank you for the well wishes regarding the recent tornado and horrific aftermath we experienced in the Midwest.  My heart breaks for all those affected.  I have never seen anything like this!

The damage incurred by the tornado and high winds is beyond my ability to comprehend.  Sheer horror.  Just utter mayhem.

On a lighter note, the churches who are taking donations have told me that they have more than they need at this time.

People have been helping from every angle, from donating food, clothing, blankets and boxes to helping people clean up the streets and neighborhoods.  There are good people in the world.  Grace and I have had the pleasure to meet many kind souls on this journey.

Please keep them all in your prayers.

Prayers For Illinois Tornado Victims

Gracie and I are leaving to go to try to help the victims in nearby cities, Coal City and Diamond, Illinois.  Please keep them in your prayers.

xo

Andie

Seriously, Andie, Why Do You Do This to Yourself?

I'm talking to myself.
It isn't pretty.

Here's why...

Five feet tall, over 300 pounds.

There is also this...

Nine feet tall, five feet wide and over 300 pounds.

Very good deals, both.  The first on Craigslist and the second on a Craigslist-esque site called bookoo.

Handsome Husband wants to know why too.

"Why do you have such an affection for things you can't move?" he asks.

"It gets windy here",  I tell him.

It really does get windy here, you guys.

We live in a corn field.

Back to my lament:

Why do I do this to myself?

HOW am I going to move them?

Anyone?

xo,

Andie

Hey! That's Not What You're Supposed to Be Doing!

It all began with the secretary.

 I think so, anyway.  

I was supposed to be finishing up.

I painted it again.  This time Annie Sloan French Linen. 

I walked into the house after taking the dogs for their daily sashay and I looked at the Library, just to the right of the entrance

.

That's when it happened!

Something was not right.

The Library table. 

 Too big for the room, I decided.  I pushed and pulled it out into the entryway, took photos and placed an ad on Craigslist.

Then I took the Breakfast Room table and dragged it to the Library.

Then, of course,  I needed a Breakfast Room table.

I applied Dark Wax to two of the drawers of the secretary, as well as the front of the desk part thingy that folds out.  It does look better antiqued, I decided.

Since the secretary now has a Gustavian feel to it, I decided to study Tara Shaw's designs.  Armed with images of her work I headed to Craigslist.

I found the above table less than five miles from my home for TEN DOLLARS!

I bought grey paint at the Home Depot on the way home.  

I'm trying something different.  No Annie Sloan this time!

I am still painting it, hence the tarp.  I bet you thought the tarp was there because we are messy eaters?!

Well, that too.

The chandelier needs to be lowered.

*nods to self*

This is the original Craigslist posting.

The Breakfast Room table didn't really work in the Library so I dragged it back through the house and into the Sunroom.

Then, of course, I rearranged the Sunroom.

I sold the iron Campaign bed that was in there.  Then I dragged a French settee from the Music room...you get the story.

I also removed the lace curtain balloon panels.

They are on Craigslist if you want them!

It's a sunny day here and the room is all windows...yet it's dark.  Go figure!?

The arborvitaes and the fruit trees in the backyard will soon be tall enough to block the neighbors homes.

I cannot find a window treatment I like so I will try to be patient.

Then I dragged the ginormous, heavy library table back into the Library and removed the post from Craigslist.  

*sigh*

I like it here again!  The bed crown fits perfectly!

...rearranged the Library furniture...

I decided I need to paint the bibliotheque grey.

 Instead of the table being centered in the room, it is in the window.  The daybed is under the chandelier.  This forms such a lovely conversation area!

With the table in the center of the room, you could not see the people sitting on either side.

See?  

Much better.

For comparison, go here.

I finally chose drapes for the Library!  

Aren't they beautiful?  I just ordered them from Half Price Drapes!

The impetus for this is the crown.  

Why?

Well, because it's in the front window of the house and I am worried that it has a leg lamp vibe.  You know which one I am talking about?  From a Christmas Story?

Right.

I'd like to be a bit more subtle.

Just a bit.

So, to recap, I have not finished the secretary, nor will I do so today.  I am upholstering the new bench that I bought (on Craigslist) to go with the new table.

Probably not tomorrow, either.

I am painting the bibliotheque.

Saturday?

Maybe.

Am I the only one who flits around my home, rearranging everything like a crack-addled butterfly?

xo

Andie

Sharing with Courtney, at The French Country Cottage, Feathered Nest Friday

Meanwhile, In the Breakfast Room...

No.  The secretary is not finished.

  At this point, it may be more pragmatic to build a time machine, go back to February 2013 and disentangle myself from this particular obligation.  Or, at least, keep the original outer finish intact!

Alas!

 This has been, by far, the most disagreeable piece of furniture I have ever had the misfortune to own.

Not really.

Just being dramatic.

This is what she looked like when we got her home.  Beautiful, but very clearly her style was stuck in the 90's.  She was acid washed denim in a skinny jeans world. 

  

Grey is my answer to pretty much everything. Not this grey, though.  This grey is too brown.  Today, I will paint the exterior with Annie Sloan Old White and French Linen, then Clear Wax and a light coat of Dark Wax.

It is a dreary day in the Midwest today.  Even with a two story wall of windows it was too dark to photograph well.

Painting those cubby holes was an exercise in patience. I used Annie Sloan Duck Egg Blue. I have no idea how I am going to age the interior with the Dark Wax.

I'll figure it out.

Here is my inspiration:

I'm sure you all know Loi Thai from Tone on Tone!

Wish me luck!

I'm goin' in!

xo

Andie

Sharing with The Dedicated House, Anything Blue Friday

Impromptu Post

I don't normally blog two days in a row but when I do it's because I have a 30 pound cat on my lap who is reluctant to move.

I have an image stored in my computer that I was going to share another day, but the lovely Mabel has convinced me that there is no time like the present!

Without further ado...

I present the one time I heeded my blog friends advice!
(Um, kinda).

Ta Daaaa!

I removed the candlesticks and the wings just like you advised!

I also added the cherubs on each side of the chest to give the illusion that the chest was wider. No one told me to put them there.  It was pure Andie!  LOL!

Still haven't painted it.  Obviously.

The front door is three feet to the left of the chest and perpendicular to it.   The high railing thingamajig from the last post is to the right and, of course, above.  The ceilings are 18 feet high and there is not a shred of symmetry.

The chest and painting together constitute 11 feet of vertical wall space, just to give you an idea.

The library is across the hall from here.

I wanted to take more photos to share with you but sweet Mabel has me anchored to this spot.  She has been snoring for 15 minutes now.

I'll take more photographs soon!

Perhaps when I am permitted to stand up...and the blood begins to flow back into my legs...

Mabel in her usual napping spot on the reupholstered Louis XVI chairs.  She was literally starving to death when we met on the mean streets of Joliet.  I promised her she would sleep on velvet and feathers, that she would eat from from bowls of silver and crystal and she would never be hungry again.

She is such a beautiful little soul. Her nickname is Peekaboo, or simply Boo because she would peek around corners before she summoned the courage to enter a room when we first met! When she meows she sounds like a bird, her favorite hobby is stealing chairs and she is an avid snuggler!  Very snuggly indeed!  The snuggliest!

I have to go now, friends.  I can't feel my feet!

xo

Andie

p.s. Please refrain from making fat jokes about my Mabel.  I am the only one who is allowed to do that.

What Do You See?

A four foot tall, three piece, hand carved eagle?

Found on Craigslist for $40!

Or a pair of gilded angel's wings?

I found these while searching for "wall hanging".  I was looking for a tapestry.

I found one of those too!

At seven feet long it is big enough to cover the wonky railing in the 18 foot entry of our home!

This is the wonky railing before.  You cannot tell but the angle is not symmetrical!  

This angle is from the front door, looking up...

While perusing Craigslist always keep an open mind!

One man's wall hanging is another man's tapestry or even a pair of angel wings!

xo

Andie

Sharing with:

Cindy at Amaze Me Monday!