HOLIDAY CHEER!

So we picked out our trees, had our burritos, and came home to decorate.  It took a couple of days, this was a big un!   My mother is here for her first visit and I put her right to work baking. We had a small gathering of friends this past weekend.  And a couple party crashers that turned out to be tons of fun... Here's the proof....enjoy!

In my Al Davis "just win baby" tee...a Raider fan all the way!

Bodhi's first Xmas tree hunt

This is a huge Frickin tree!!

This tree overhangs a bit above the daybed in the den, and Frankie found his perfect sleeping place right under it.  I added a hand made quilted tree skirt my mother made for me, geez, at least 25 yrs ago, to cover the table beneath.

Yes! That's a BIG batch of cookie dough!

 

Still haven't done the fireplace remodel...it will not be white and will have mosaic
on the panel above the insert.  And the white window casings will be gone as well....this has been taking quite some time to re-do the entire house...but we're happy with things so far.

My only true friend...(it's an inside joke)

Tons of blue lights in all sizes and shapes, with some green thrown in to give it some light

Some of the dudes

Some of the ladies

The gal on the right showed up at our back door with her boyfriend looking for a different party...we were right in the middle of "I've got you babe" by sonny and cher...

She fit right in!  And her name was Joy...so I gave her an ornament I had sitting on the table of a snowman with a sash that said Joy...too perfect!  They eventually left to find their other party, but were sad to leave.

The now completed wall of photos...yay!

I hang strands of mirror garlands above the table..it's really cool!

This one is above the pool table in the den..which I do not have any photos of the raging pool game going on during the party, while people were playing guitar and singing...but I really like the strand of rusted metal stars mixed in with the crystals of the fixture.

Ten foot ceiling in case you were wondering...big tree!

Moms taking a cat nap with Frankie on her lap.  I took this photo through the glass windows  of the doors to the den.

 Well it's been a whirl wind so far and things have only just begun.  The rest of the clan is due to arrive starting tomorrow and finishing within the next few days.  Then Xmas feast here with the whole family...what a great thing...I can't wait...oh! and just in case you didn't know...it's also my birthday on the 25th!  So there you have it....much happiness and joy to fill your happy, healthy lives in the coming new year!  xox juner

SOME FINISHING TOUCHS

I'm finally getting to all the trim work and finishing up walls that have sat half finished for months...here are my latest bits of work in progress...enjoy, juner

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Guest room door downstairs, this is part of the old french bedroom.
I'll get a complete photo of the room up, it really looks terrific!

This is actually my favorite door so far...it really suits the design in this room

The old antique gold is not aged yet here, but it still looks good

The ivory and black stripe ribbon lined in gold curls around the ceiling..
I'll be adding a small garland of roses at some point

The upstairs guest room inside door

Again with the aged gold not aged yet

The outside of the door, not finished, but close

The upstairs guest room, with soft French country store drapery, I love these

The beginnings of the hall ceiling mural...very beginning stages yet...

Painted out the old white cabinet...this color really pops nicely off the dark moss walls

Again, the gold isn't aged down yet...but it still looks better than what we had before.
All the windows and doors will be blue with antique gold casings.

Finally getting all the layers on the walls, still one more to go, the darker  sepia wash,
but again, I like the look of this anyway, 

Looking down from the staircase, the brown is the base for the antique gold

Looking up from our breeze way from the master suite.
All the brown will be gold

Okay, so we're off to the top of the mountain to hunt for our Xmas trees today...so check back in a few days and see what we put up...xoxo, enjoy your holidays, juner

UpDATE FROM BENJAMIN McTISH

Okay, so I've finally finished the book!  Benjamin, Mathilda and Annabel are ready to meet everyone! So I've gone ahead and put the first three chapters on his blog, (you can link to it from my sidebar) and que sera sera!  


I'm actively seeking representation and have copy written this manuscript for protection.  AND I've already begun writing the second book...yes, there is a second.  And depending on how the story grows every time I write, a third for sure, and possibly a fourth or more... who knows?
So if you're so inspired please check it out and let me know what you think.  Remember, the book has not been edited yet and punctuation could be a bit untidy...and the format of the blog messed with the layout of my manuscript, but you will still be able to read through everything and get the story.


In the meantime, I haven't posted anything new in a while as I've been writing non stop and working on the house in between breaths...will be sharing some new photos of all the work we've done around here..it's really looking so nice.  My parents and my sisters will be visiting us for the holidays, SO, that should be really exciting...can't wait to share that.


Hope everyone is good and getting ready for the big turkey day..and feeling safe and warm with your families.  Ever so happy these days...xox juner

LA WEEKEND

On out recent trip down to LA, we were hunting around for "treasures" as we like to call them.  Ray's daughter guided us through the streets of Silverlake and we ended up in Pasadena.  We drove past a 2-3 story brick building a block long.  It had gigantic fake topiaries with lights on top of the roof and the name said STATS.  So we went inside.

This is what we found.

This was part of the Halloween display

 Then we popped our heads into one of the biggest antiques stores we've ever been in.  This was an amazing place, two levels and things were crazy expensive...but still fun to look at.

 And last but not least, this is a theatre near Mekenzie's house, cool huh?....

 We had a nice visit with the family and spent an afternoon with my oldest LA friend, Patrick, (my excentric artist buddy), and stopped by in Ventura on our way home and picked up a couple treasures along the way...oh I almost forgot, this is one we brought home with us from LA...hope you had a great weekend as well...xoxo june