Bittersweet and the little soap company

Windfresh bedroom

The clean un-cluttered wind fresh bedroom. I've mentioned many times how I prefer minimal things just sitting. Even items I use every day seem better served if reserved to a certain spot behind closed doors.

Now the process of going through, sorting and arranging perfume bottles, makeup, scarves, jewelry and clothes.

The content feng shui feelings I get from the clean-up,  priceless! Honestly after a big job like this the mood is always contentment and happiness and a feeling of well being. You know the feeling. 

I have two drawers reserved for scarves! I love wearing scarves. It will be a simple joyful pleasure to have a designated spot for them. So that when I get dressed I can easily pick and choose from one spot rather than, well at the moment I can't tell you how many scarves spots I have!

Lennis helped me clean the windows and I paste waxed the wood floors. Quite a job, but the results are worth it. As a kid I remember my mom pasting waxing our wooden floors. Then she buffed them to a high sheen with the electric buffer she had. I wish I had one of those today! Would make the job much easier.

So funny how over time the methods and contraptions for aiding clean-up have progressed. Sometime I prefer the old over the new.

I remember purchasing one of those new micro-fiber dust pickup brooms when they first came out. It seems every time you turned around you were having to purchase more of the cloths. I also remember my mom seeing me use it and saying, "you fell for that?" I did in fact, but in no time at all went back using my old trust worthy washable yellow dust mop! It felt good to clean my home in the same method that my mom did. Is there such thing as soulful cleaning? I think so. 

Anyway I don't know if she reads every day but I have a certain bloggy great friend that's planning to visit and stay a few days this fall. We've been corresponding back and forth for 5 years or so. We both started blogging about the same time and I felt a kindred spirit connection almost immediately. I'm already envisioning that moment when she gets off the plane and we meet. Smiles and tender feelings and maybe even a few tears will surely surround my sweet friends arrival! 

Enjoy caring and sharing spring days.

I'm headed to the garden. What we need is lots of plants!

Jill 00

Windfresh and new

Yesterday I wiped out the painting in the bedroom! An all day job and two coats later, happy. I painted the walls and ceiling the same color that I recently chose for our bathroom. Kind of an ecru I'd call it. The paint color is called windfresh by Sh. Williams.  Love the color and the way the room opens up with the light and airy walls. 

I'm kind of old-fashioned with my method of painting. I use a brush rather than a roller. It requires a bit more time to paint with a brush, but a roller seems to be messy and spotty and just a pain. So much easier to have two painting tools, a brush and paint. I also believe a brush offers better coverage. I actually like to paint and the reason for that is simple. I love seeing the transformation and change a color brings to a room.

I really like the new paints with primer built in. The paint seems to cover better as it should I guess, but it also seems to be a higher quality over the others. I guess they don't call it "super paint" for nothing!

I'll be trimming today and adding a fresh coat of creamy to the furniture in the room. Then comes the process of de-cluttering my drawers and sorting and discarding old makeup and cleaning out the dressing table. I need to sort through my jewelry too.  I'm going to paste wax the wood floors and tidy up the closet. Have a designated spot for scarfs. I really need that! I love wearing scarfs.

My favorite possession, an old iron and brass bed that I've had for many years. I love old beds!

Then the fun part... Placing the furniture and adding accessories. Not too many accessories, I like it simple.  Ever since I had the shop downtown I began yearning for less than more in my decorating. I like clean lines and un-cluttered corners. Kind of a staging act look but for the benefit of my family over prospective home buyers.

It's also safe zone time for planting. Even though I've planted quite a few plants I have yet to sow most of my seed collection. The larkspur and baby's breath for drying.

 My aunt sent me a packet of straw flowers. She is so sweet. She read on one of my posts that I was having a difficult time finding the seeds and ordered them from here.    You may remember me discussing Monticello on past posts. If you're ever on the hunt for a certain variety of seed, you shall most certainly find it here! I would love to visit sometime and tour their lovely gardens. How exciting to know too, the flowers and plants are ones that Lewis and Clark discovered upon their travels and returned to Mr. Jefferson.

   Enjoy caring and sharing spring days.

Warmly,

Jill 00

spring color

This beauty is planted directly outside our stairway window. I can open the window and touch the red bud trees vibrant flowering branches. I can't think of a more pleasant back drop as you walk up the hardwood stairs. The red bud blooms are especially bright and vivid during this early spring.

The tree has a soulful story behind it ....

Twenty some years ago they began putting in a new street along side our home. Our elderly neighbors had the tree planted in an area that was going to be dug up and the tree would be destroyed. Our neighbors, Howard and Dorothy asked if we could save the tree and plant in our yard. I was skeptical thinking the tree was way to large to transplant and live. Low and behold the tree thrived in its new home. I always thought the reason it survived was because when we planted it we placed the tree in the exact same direction it was in Howard and Dorothy's yard. So if you're planting a transplant tree from the forest make sure you take note of the direction and layout of the tree when in its original habitat so too lower the shock level.  

It was a joy every time I saw Howard & Dorothy drive the tree. They have since moved to a retirement home and occasionally continue to visit and Howard always comments, I sure didn't think that tree would make it.

I have two other tree stories to share with you later.

A swash of powder blue has been added to the bathroom.  I made another sink skirt in my favorite fabric. I can't get enough of this pattern! So much that you may remember Bittersweet trimming their linen tea towels in the textile. I also can't get enough of the ruffle attachment. I've written past posts about the ruffle attachment. Where to purchase, etc.  If you're interested you can type ruffles in the search box. The post should come up.  

My latest fascination with textiles and gadgets...

Drawstring bags!

I love how when you pull the string the bag closes! Drawstring bags are super easy to make and great to have around. I couldn't resist hanging mine on the back of the bathroom door right next to the new sink skirt.

 
May Day hostess gift idees coming up next.

Enjoy caring and sharing spring days.

Warmly,

Jill 00 (two hugs are better than none)

The little bathroom that could...

Love, love the sea salt hue on the dresser. I'm also fond of little wooden knobs in their natural state. Always have liked those. You can stain them or paint them if you prefer, but I like them just the way they are. Inexpensive too. If you're on the search for new cabinet knobs you can't go wrong with these.

I also have this thing for wicker. Ditto on the always have. White fluffy towels evoke a spa like atmosphere. Of course the reveal would not be complete without a few bars of Bittersweet in a handy glass jar.

I used my ruffler to make the linen sink skirt. The skirt used to be a curtain but I transformed it into a sink skirt. It was the perfect length and size and I love the French linen.

I re-grouted the tub tiles and now they look shiny new. I ran out of grout half way in the job! Don't you hate that. Not necessarily a good thing either when you're applying grout. It's kind of like hair dye. Wait to long and there's no going back. So a trip to the home improvement store was out of the question.

I searched the Interenet for a method of cleaning the grout. There were more than several. I tried more than a few of them. Peroxide and baking soda, vinegar, alcohol, scrubbing bubbles, even my trusty tool, an eraser. None of the methods met my satisfaction. One of the cleaning recomendations suggested renting a special tool that digs into the grout. You have to remember those tiles have been there for almost 25 years!

I pondered awhile and thought why can't we paint them? I grabbed a tube of acrylic craft paint and one of those foam brushes and began the tedious task of covering the small grout lines with the paint. The job really wasn't tedious. In fact, quite easy and quick. I applied small amounts of paint to the foam brush by applying it with my finger and then tipped the brush like a pencil and applied the paint.

The results were phenonminal! Yes, I'm using the big P word! Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy indeed!

I still need to clean the access area where I grouted. A final wipe down to remove the grout residue.

Those ruffle shades... and pom-pom curtains...

A happy medium of cottage. 

New sconces, towel rack,toilet paper hardware and robe hook. All in brushed nickel. Wood knobs. All at Lowe's.

Ruffle shade and pom-pom curtain. Purchased at Country Curtains

French Linen. Here

Wicker lamp, mirror, round rug. Home Goods Store

Paint. Dresser, Sh. Williams, Sea Salt. Walls. Sh. Williams, Wind fresh White

Medicine cabinet without the glass door. Original 1920 framing. We replaced the gold hinges with nickel and I'm waiting for the paint to dry before putting it back on.

Enjoy caring and sharing spring days.

Warmly,

Jill 00 (two hugs are better than one)

 

 

bursting with spring

My white lilacs are blooming! Violet ones are almost ready to pop! I'm partial to the white ones. Years ago I dug the plants up from an old rural abandon farm. The home had fallen and the property had been neglected. I can still remember how soulfully sweet it felt to ponder thoughts of how the farm looked before. The layout of the existing flowers and shrubs gave witness to how pretty it once was.  

Most of the trees, bushes, flowers in our yard came from old farms. Iris, peonies, old-fashioned spirea, lily of the valley, red bud trees, surprise lily's, tiger lily's, all transplanted from vintage stock. Make sure you ask permission before digging. Always a good thing to do. Often, the owner lives close by on a adjacent farm.

I prefer the old species of plants over the ones today. Not only is it soul satisfying to re-plant what once was, it's more than a thrill to monitor the heirlooms as they begin to spread out and take root in your garden.

Last week I began to get caught up somewhat with Bittersweet manufacturing. I wrapped a couple hundred soap bars and made fresh batches of the product I was out of.

Ready to move on to home projects...

I'm finally starting the bathroom upgrades. I painted the ceiling and trim yesterday and now ready to do the walls. We have a large dresser that sits in the bathroom. It houses are towels and toiletry essentials. I'm painting it sea salt. The color is soothing and soft and easy on the eye. I cleaned out the medicine cabinet and placed small wicker baskets to store some of our everyday needful items, tooth brush, paste, etc. Lennis took the mirrored door off to replace the old hinges with a  brushed nickle one to match our new towel racks, door hooks and light fixtures.

I'm fussy when it comes to the smallest of details. I believe it's the little things that get noticed the most. It's amazing how new hardware and light fixtures can transform old into new again!

While I'm on the subject of old, new again...

We tiled the bathroom some twenty years ago. The tile is still in wonderful condition and I like it. However the grout has shown some wear. An easy solution, re-grout the existing tile in white. When I'm finished, the tile will look as though it was just done. Easy to do too! The job requires few tools, a sponge, grout and dry rag. Here's a handy tip too. Sometime you can clean the grout with an eraser. Simply rub the eraser over the grout to remove dirt. A tip I learned years ago.

I promise to share some photo's of the completed room.

Also, May Day idees floating... A few I'd like to share later this week. The seed matchbooks and the crepe paper hostess cones.

Enjoy a caring and sharing spring.

Warmly,

Jill 00 (two hugs are better than one)

 

 

Upstairs ~ Downstairs

Still working on the kitchen mini-makeover. Moving toward the dining room. Not much needed to do in that room. I'm going to re-cover our dining room chairs and paint a table, but that's about it.

I chose this fabric for the chairs.

I have a dark brown wall in the dining room which I love and I think the pale gray and shots of black will coordinate well together. I'm using exhisting blue gray pillows as accent color on the bench that sits at the table.

I'm sure that fabric is called Queen Anne's lace.

Then there's my office. A small area off our kitchen with a little window to the side of this vintage hoosier, aka, desk.

My recent de-clutter project and always work in process since it's usually filled with soap packaging, files and a dark chocolate half eaten candy bar. Those old pictures are of my dad, grandma and grandfather all taken in my grandmother Lola's café.

While out and about searching for that fabric yesterday I spotted some beautiful French paper that I'm going to use to wrap the new French Basket line of savon.

Currently out of marula body crème, face crème and French clay mask. Will be adding that to my Bittersweet list of to-do today!

Enjoy caring and sharing days.

Warmly,

Jill 00 (two hugs are better than one)

Wallpaper Steps

This is a picture of our wood stairs that exit our kitchen and enter into the studio. The picture was taken looking up from the studio.  I've always been fond of the small steps ever since the first day I saw them some 23 years ago.  I believe my fondness comes from the way the steps were built to fit the structure of the house. They're not uniform in size like most steps.

Our home was built by an architect in 1921 and has unique architectural nooks and crannies throughout the home.

I've always wanted to pretty up the wood steps in some way. A colorful runner I thought would accent them nicely or maybe paint them with contrasting colors. Then while a recent search on Pinterest I saw this.

Cute don't you think?

The moment I saw this picture I knew.

You can read about how to wallpaper your steps here.

I went to my favorite paint store yesterday and chatted about how I was wanting to wallpaper the basement steps. He thought that was a cool idee. Then I began the task of searching through the wallpaper books. A bit overwhelming and indeed a task I believe, one I'm not fond of. So many books to look through. Then Brad, the SW guy suggested I use a border. I said, you know what a border would probably be the exact size I need and I won't have to cut. He agreed and reached into the bin of wallpaper borders and asked me. What about this one? You know what, I think I like that one Brad. How much is that border? He replied, ONE DOLLAR!

Don't you just love it when a home improvement plan fits perfect into your budget?

When I handed Brad $2, tax you know,  to pay for the border I said to him, Brad this feels so strange giving you only two bucks for this wallpaper. Truth is, it felt GREAT! It goes to show you too home improvement projects don't have to break the bank.

This is the first of some cosmetic changes that I have been pondering. I mentioned yesterday the changes I'd like to add to our bathroom and bedroom. Also included in that post was the mention of budgets. I always have a budget when I make home improvements. Sometimes we go over a bit, but most of the time we stay within the projected cost.

I'm always amazed how a little fresh paint splashed upon the walls and furniture can change my perspective.

Hardware can perform the same results.

I have a couple of dressers that are getting new hardware and fresh coats of paint.

Brad was kind enough to give me a couple of these. Choosing paint colors just became much easier!

By the way, if you ask you shall receive. The paint stores are more than willing to give you a paint swatch booklet if you ask.

My next project is to choose a contrasting paint color to paint the stairs. I believe there's a stash of the right color in the basement. If not I'm going to do some mixing. Then a coat or two, three of varnish over the wallpaper.

Cost of my stair project:  Drum roll please...

$1.64

How do like those apples?

I'll share the after shots with you of course.

Enjoy caring and sharing days.

Warmly,

Jill 00 (two hugs are better than one)

Decoration by nature

Do you change your home with the seasons? I tend to. In the spring and summer I bring in fresh flowers and change out the animal print and earth tone colored pillows with lighter softer ones. I'm always amazed how just a couple simple inexpensive changes can bring new life to a room.

If you've been reading Bittersweet for awhile then you already know how my decorating ideas are usually taken from nature.

A huge bowl of green apples, a gathering of pine cones or dried hydrangeas serve as one of my favorite focal points when decorating a room.

This is my winter fireplace mantle. Snow-berries, pine cones and a turtle shell Patrick found in the woods when he was a little boy. The turtle shell is a favorite. Some people might be freaked out by the empty shell, but I believe it's a rare and unique piece. It has special meaning too, since Patrick carried  it home that day from a hike in the woods. Botanical or butterfly prints are also a favorite of mine.

We each have our unique form of decorating a room that's what makes it special.

I believe it doesn't matter how you style a room. I also believe your space should reflect you. It doesn't matter if others don't like the look, as long you like it! After all it's your home. Your home should be considered an oasis. A place to relax and feel comfy in.  Whether that be a tiny space or a grand one.

Enjoy caring and sharing winter days.

Warmly,

Jill 00 (two hugs are better than one) 

home sweet home memories and tour

 
 Our homes current state is well let's just say intermission. We're awaiting the home repair crew to install a new roof, gutters and downspouts. Then hopefully, new exterior paint colors and the completion of the new cedar trim molding and windows.  
Then, the old 1921 home will be in pretty good shape for another 20 years or so.

When we moved in this home 23 years ago it was in pretty bad shape. It had been neglected over the years and was in need of more than several major repairs and items including a new air-conditioner, new roof, driveway, landscaping, new appliances, furnace, windows,  new kitchen cabinets, countertop, sink, need I go on?

You're probably thinking, and I cans surely see how, why didn't you just purchase a new home with all that stuff new?

That's an easy question for me to answer.

The first moment I walked into this home I fell in love. The stack of real estate cards on the fireplace mantle had little effect on detouring my admiration for this cottage home. If anything it made me nervous to think someone else would get it!   I can still remember the first time I walked through its front door. It seemed easy and  automatic to look past  the imperfections and I saw only the beauty of what was to come.

The 8 inch crown molding, the walnut banister, the brick edged walkway, the original front door with its brass knocker and hardware, the glass doorknobs on every door, the small pantry in the kitchen, the old fashioned louver shutters in the dining room.

So now some 23 years later, time repeats itself. That's what happens when you live in a home for along time. Any home new or old for that matter.   

 
Sweet memories hold strong as I reminisce about planting the pink peonies or the 12 inch white pines that stand over 60 feet tall now. The mock orange and lilacs that line the south side of our home and when you open the windows during spring time their sweet fragrance flows into the house.

 
The many partys and nights of entertaining ring in happy thoughts as I recall each one. Remember when this home hosted a trio birthday party for Lennis, Debbie and Julie?  

 
The little bedroom with the attic like walls lined with my family pictures, sweet too.

 

 
The studio that's just a few steps down from the kitchen. My hangout spot! Except when I'm making soap in the kitchen.
The rock pathway and wide brick stoops and the gardeners shed Lennis built.

 
 
I guess that's why our memories are so sweet. With hard work and determination we've molded this old home into our very own home sweet home. A home with flaws and imperfections but perfect in every shape and form to us.

Enjoy caring and sharing days.

Happily,

Jill 00 (two hugs are better than one)  

 

My office, my life...

 
This old hoosier cabinet has functioned as my office for many years. It sits right off the kitchen which is convenient for mixing a cup of tea or preparing dinner while in between work.

I have worked at home now for 14 years. Before that I was a bank manager and marketing director. Both jobs allowed me to roam outside and do my own thing which also allowed me to be happy.

I've also worked in many offices performing various duties when I was younger. I quickly determined that I was not a sit at an office desk kind of girl and always went after jobs that allowed me to not be in one place too long. 

It's kind of ironic, those thoughts because now I spend an enormous amount of time on the pc working.

Through my many job experiences I learned a number of skills. Some of which were never part of my job title but I was always eager to learn as much as I could at each job. No job too big, no job too small. I learned many skills with that way of thinking. I even learned how to drive a fork lift!

I guess work for me was always kind of like school. I became bored quite easily and was always looking for more excitement than just reading from a book. Why read from a book when you can experience it for real? That's always been my thinking.

That's why working at home has been so pleasurable. I can start one project, move on to another, then another, and not get bored.  I guess that's why after awhile at a job I was always looking for new things to learn otherwise I quickly lost interest.

I've always been a firm believer in doing what makes you happy and feel everyone has a fair shot.

I once worked at a small cafe as a cook when I was young. I was the only cook therefore I had the opportunity to do my own thing. I had no experience other than cooking at home and had never cooked on a grill before. I loved it! After the first day I was whipping up all kind of food. On one side of the grill, eggs on the other hamburgers. The job payed hardly anything, but I remember the happiness I felt while mixing biscuits and grilling hamburgers was priceless.

 I believe living life should make you happy. Each person experiences hurdles and obstacles that will attempt to stand in your way of achieving your measure of happiness, but through determination and passion you can overcome them.

Enjoy caring and sharing days.

Jill 00