In honor of the Patio Deck and Porch party a Mojito for you

2 posts in one day...Whooo, hoo, I must of had too much sun down here in Florida today.
Ummmnnn but the beach was grand and the water was so warm. Now I am showered and dressed and waiting for the rest of em to get it together, we're heading to dinner and casino in Tampa. :))
so I thought in honor of the patio party that Donna is having at funky junk interiors, I just might try another post while I wittle away the half hour.

Let me take you back to the New Jersey Cottage for a minute. I understand the weather there today is totally crappy, so I'm glad I am here on the gulf coast of Fl.
But back in jersey a couple weeks ago hubbo was helping me bring furniture outside, and designed challenged that he is... this is how he left it...in a clump.

To me this seems like wasted energy... to just throw it down.. when you could set it right , right away....
 but no 2 birds tweet the same... do they?


This is how I wanted it.

Reminding of my momma's words .. "If you want something done right, do it yourself"
Which I went right ahead and did.

And then of course had my signature mojito. A girl has to have rewards.

and here is the recipe for ya'll...

This back porch is one of my favorite places to just sit with a cocktail and maybe have a nap

 after a hot day on the beach, and a cool shower just one step away.. 

This was a mess before..You can see how I fixed that here.

While my little palm rustles in the breeze.

And sometimes, if it is a quiet enough day you can hear the waves of the ocean roaring.
Because it lies just beyond that prominade in back.

I used to see it from my deck until they put that concrete on top of those rocks. :((
Or I can grab a sliver of it.. if I stand on a chair... like the pic below

But not to worry. Lets go upstairs for a much better view..to the sunroom. :))

And how lucky am I that it is only 100 steps to the beach?!

One of these days I will dig out some old pictures of when we had this sunroom built, and post em up.
 It had previously been a second story deck off the bedroom that was so darn hot we never used it. Plus the railings were a bit wobbly so I don't think it was super safe!
 Now of course it is the most favorite room in our little shore cottage.

 And another great spot for napping. Or for reading a good book..

..... It's a wonder I get anything done!

I will be posting at Savvy Southern Style-Summer Decks and Porches
for the  block 
blog  party***






Partying with donna at Funky Junk Interiors

Kitchen renovation might be done by Valentines Day!

I am still holding out hope that my new kitchen will be completely done by Valentine's Day.
Then I will be able to get out my Ruby glass and Milk glass and decorate. Right now I am so loving how it is looking.
I have chosen to go with subway tile but not bright white. The one I have chosen has marble streaks of grey and brown, to bring in the colors in the floor and the appliances. I fell in love when I saw it!

And the small tile that is made of natural stone will form a design above the range area.

  I got a real bargain on the subway tile.
4.19 a SF. Hubbo got the contractor price because after all he is a plumber.
So here are some pics of how the kitchen is progressing. My window is in and I have a temporary sink.

The window still needs trim and there is an arch that will go between the the cabinets and above the window. 

My inspiration notebook is there on the counter board. Don't you hate when contractors put dirty things like a dustpan on the counter. Uggghhhh! I know its not really a counter yet.. but uggghhh.

The real sink will go in the day of the granite counter install. It is a black granite sink that I have actually had for 2 years now and I adore it! So we are reusing it.

And on the other side of the kitchen... Can hardly believe it,Yes this is my kitchen!
The cabinets are all in and the handles just got put on today! Do you remember the before?

We are using poster board for counter tops until the granite arrives, next thursday. I got the cabinets to the right of the fridge in a reduced depth to allow us room for stools at the island. And I am very pleased with how they turned out.

It will serve as a buffet very nicely.

Here is the fridge wall before

Below is a pic of the contractor hooking up our old stove on the other wall, so I can cook until the new stove gets installed, ( after the floor)

Messy huh? 

When the contractors go home tonight I will spring into action making the space usable again,

cleaning and setting up phony counter tops.

 My son makes jokes all the time about our temporary sink and stove. 

He says "I don't get you guys"

"Everyone else lives without a sink until they get the cabinets and granite installed."

And I told him " yeah maybe, but everyone else doesn't have 3 master plumbers living in their household!

Boy... it is like pullin teeth to get them to plumb around here!

That old saying a shoemaker's children have holes in their shoes is so so true!

But all in all I am very pleased with the progression. It is beginning to look more and more like the pics in my inspiration book, every day....

From this  below:

To being Ripped:

The way that wall  is now:  

(door on right is gone and window in dining room is now a door)

We still have a way to go here, with the vent and the arch and I am hoping for corbels.

I had the handles installed so they would resemble vintage vegetable drawer bins.

And I will follow up when the floors go in, and granite gets installed...The new oven gets installed

 ( stainless)...And the arch goes over the oven. yippee.

Here are some of the photos I have been inspired by ripped from the pages of various magazines.
I will do my best to incorporate all the things I love into my renovation.

Inspiration #1

The shelf and corbels over the range... I like the hearth like feel

Inspiration #2 

Love how the counter and cabinet angle, for a soft transition.

Inspiration #3

I love how the Dining Room is right next to the Island so a large group can be all together.

And the french doors and glass cabinets. Also love the combination of antique windsor chairs with a modern gothic like counter stool and granite!

The floor will go in on monday /tuesday.
The granite will come on thursday of next week. Yippee we are almost done.
Joining the fun

Vintage Inspiration Friday

Show and Tell Friday!

Fun in the Kitchen.

Far be it from me to ever admit to having any fun in the kitchen, unless I am playing some sort of game and having a mojito. But in this case I have to confess I had a really lot of fun exploring the art of table setting.

It all started with a craft I did. And exploded from there. The craft was making my own napkin rings with seashells we found on the beach over the years. I have a really lot of shells but the trick was finding 8 in a similar size. These are all really close in size. And here is the result. But this craft got me thinking,

I need to set a pretty table, what else can I use?

I started out with some vintage things that I already  have. 

The vintage white Salt and Pepper shakers that came with the Cottage when I bought it,

 .

And a wonderful blue cobalt bottle i found at a thrift store long ago.

I cut some Beach Grass and Hibiscus from my back yard.

And set to working on my tablescape. 

Now I am ashamed to say but I'm gonna be honest, 

I didn't have any cloth napkins down here at the shore!

It's a very informal atmosphere, and I like being in vacation mode, so we  normally use paper napkins.

But I had to see what my napkin rings were going to look like, so I just cut up a dish towel!

It is cute though isn't it?

 I'm going to hem them and keep them as napkins.

And the dishes I got in 2002 at one of those discount chains like Odd Lot or something.

I also tried the centerpiece with hibiscus. 

And even though I have 4 gorgeous water goblets. (  from the dollar store :)

I used a mish mash of different blue glasses, just cause it's fun.

a blue wine glass from a yard sale, and my favorite cocktail glass down there on the right.

Yep I like the beach grass as a centerpiece better.

When the beach grass plumes gets full and fluffy it is really fun to use as a centerpiece, 

like in this fabric basket I made

But that means Fall is near!

This was a really fun table to set, and I love my new napkin rings! 

I made them with twine and modgepodge, and those black scallop shells collected on the beach near my house.

Now I may set my table a little more often.

Thanks for stopping by.

Joining the party at
 The Mod Podge Challenge!!
Finding Fabulous
http://www.houseofhepworths.com
Frugal Friday
HodgePodge Friday
Fab Friday #16
Sunday Showcase party
Tablescape Thursday