White & Bright

I've been MIA the last several days because I began a new job during the day and I've been painting each night. These two combined leave little time for blogging...

Here is a sneak peak of our White & Bright kitchen. We are working like crazy to get all the walls & woodwork painted by Saturday - so that we can sand our wood floor.

This is a picture of the ceiling and wall with primer. Tonight I will be painting the finish coats on the walls & ceiling and will post more pics to show you.

Painting everything white is a little foreign to me. I'm a girl who loves color and paints her rooms accordingly. But, I'm sticking to my guns and everything will be white - cabinets included.

I know - not much to see yet. Check back soon to see more.

Miss You,

KayteeJane

My feminine side of decorating...

I'm lucky to have a husband who lets me do pretty much whatever I want in the way of decorating the house. He doesn't complain at all about what is on display.

My decorating tends to be a little feminine in nature. I like flowers and bright colors.

Recently I painted our master bedroom a pretty shade of blue.

I haven't finished decorating the room entirely, but here are some pics of some little displays I am loving right now.

This is my nightstand. It is really an old dresser that I am now using next to my bed. It is a little tall to be a nightstand, but I like it's vintage style. The mirror on the top of the dresser is one that I scored at an estate sale a few weeks back. Little clocks, a wooden box, a pottery lamp and some old baby pics fill it out. That is a wool felted purse hanging from one of the drawers.

For the past year or so I've been buying these little clocks at estate sales.

I like their little faces.

A pottery planter holds a box of Kleenex.

This old hat sits on my dresser.

I bought her several years ago in an antique store while on vacation on The Outer Banks of North Carolina.

I never cut the tag off - a la Minnie Pearl. The hat is navy blue with a red satin rose.

Another collection I have recently started - vintage clothing.

This lace trimmed cotton blouse buttons up the back.

I pinned a velted rose on it. It hangs on a metal quilt rack.

Remember that dress form I mentioned a few posts back?

Well here it is in my bedroom sporting a pink, yelow & blue crinolin. Not sure what to put on the top yet.

Moving downstairs...

A few books out in honor of President's Day.

My favorite president is Abraham Lincoln. I'm not alone on that. According to poll takers, he is America's favorite president by far. I love that he was a man of faith, honesty & courage.

My very kind Mother-in-Law brought me a bouquet of daffodils the other day...for no reason. They are almost done by now, but they still smell wonderful. A sweet promise of Spring.

Thanks for visiting today and taking a peek into my (feminine) world.

Love,

KayteeJane

Mr. Darcy

No matter how many books I read,

Pride & Predjudice always remains my favorite.

At this time of year I proudly display my copy on the mantle with some other vintage books.

Oh Mr. Darcy...I never grow tired of you.

Love,

KayteeJane

Heart Shaped Rocks

For a few years now I have collected rocks that are heart shaped.

My favorite place to look for them is on the beach at Lake Erie.

Lake Erie beaches are known for the beautiful rocks that line the shore.

As far as the eye can see there are smooth, flat rocks just waiting to be touched.

 To me, these rocks are better than seashells.

 They are God's little love notes, left on the sand for those who took the time to look.

What do you see today?

I'm betting that if you look hard enough, you too will see a love note from God.

He wrote it to YOU in His creation.

Love,

KayteeJane

Happy Valentine's Day

You make me blush!

Love,

KayteeJane

Wise Words

Not sure how you should be treating your sweetie this Valentine's Day?

Look to your life manual - The Bible

1 Corinthians 15: 4-8

There is some good stuff in there. I wish everybody would read it!

Here is to love and doing it His way,

KayteeJane

Love Note

Here is a love note my (littlest) sweetie left for me.

In case you couldn't tell it says..."I Love You Because Best Mom".

My heart be still!

Here's to writing someone a note the "old" way...with pen & paper.

KayteeJane

Heart To Heart Swap

At one of my favorite blogs: Makin' Projects, Sarah hosted a Valentine's Day swap.

Each person was to make 14 hand-made Valentines to exchange. At the end of the swap you would receive 14 different Valentines made from people around the country. 

This is the Valentine I contributed:

A bag sewn out of old book pages.

I was blown away by the Valentines that I received.

Here they are fresh out of the package.

Here they are close up:

This awesome banner is from Michaele. It is already on display. Love it.

This cutie is from Jane.

I love how she turned a mini tart into a picture holder.

Mikey sent this gilded beauty - made with real feathers.

I love this one - inside and out! Here is the outside.

(An awesome red and white heart ornament that is embellished with a red button.)

Inside the bag was this treasure. A hand-made necklace.

 

Shara made this stunner.

This how I received it.

 This is what surprised me when I opened that little box. I didn't expect that!!!

I love the pink glitter.Thank You Shara.

Kim made this awesome vintage-inspired candy box.

Yes, the box did have candy in it!

 Look at how she added these little 3-D details. Check out those envelopes.

A fabric heart made by Courtney.

Inside the envelope is a little card that says "Friend". So sweet.

 I love this crocheted heart made by Sara. Awesome.

 A miniature, hand-stamped note pad by Shannon.

This adorable elephant was made by Coleen.

My daughter loved this one.

A sweet valentine made of paper doilies.

 Tiff made this great squirrel. I hope you can see all the stitches sewn on.

I love how he is holding a silver acorn. Very unique!

 Sarah sent this lovely bird. I will cherish this one. He is already at home amongst my pottery bird collection - safely tucked away behind glass front doors. Love it!

If you liked these Valentines, Sarah is hosting a giveaway for a chance to win all of these cuties. Visit her blog to enter.

I am always amazed and humbled by the amount of talented people there are in the world. Please take some time to visit their websites by clicking on the links I provided.

Also spread a little love by leaving some comments.

Thank you to everyone who made me these lovely Valentines.

I will cherish them!

KayteeJane

Zeldon's Valentines

Last Valentine's Day my hubby gave me a wonderful and very unique gift. It was someone's collection of valentines that they had saved from their childhood. He found them being sold all together on ebay. Knowing that I love vintage valentines, he got them for me.

The cool thing about this group of valentines is that they all belonged to one man, Zeldon Steele. Whoever Zeldon was, he saved all of his childhood valentines. Many of these sweeties are from the 1930's. Each one is signed on the back from the person who gave it.

All together there are over 30 different valentines, some with the original envelope.

When I display them, I always keep them together and don't add any other valentines to them. I think they are wonderful as a group, knowing that somebody loved them and kept them all of their life.

Zeldon, wherever you are, I am enjoying your valentines.

(I display them hanging across my mantle on a little clothes line.

This is half of the mantle.)

Here are just some of them close up:

Many of them have moveable parts or interesting pop-ups.

 You can tell the era of the card by the content. When was the last time someone offered to be your ice man?

This one is for my friend Alexis, whose husband is a police officer. 

Last but not least, this one is probably my favorite out of the group.

 

I hope you enjoyed Zeldon's collection as much as I do.

Love,

KayteeJane

PS: If you've read this far...please read on. I will be away from my computer for the next several days...but this doesn't mean I won't be posting.
Please check back daily through Valentine's Day for new posts.
(I just won't be announcing them via Facebook.)