Hats off to 2011

I love love love New Years Eve. It's not just dressing up, blowing horns, wearing hats and drinking champagne but more important it's yet another opportunity to throw out the old and begin again. Beginnings are good and thank goodness we can do just that every day of our lives if we choose instead of waiting for the stroke of midnight once a year.

I tip my "hat" to all my friends and family and also to everyone that I haven't had the pleasure to meet yet. May 2011 be the best year each of us has experienced and may we all be blessed with peace, health and happiness.

The next time I post, I will share all the fun events that will take place in the next 90 days....I'm so excited and so ready to "paint the town red", with Annie Sloans Chalk Paint, of course.

Happy New Year

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My Little Creek

It's Sunday, my favorite day of the week and I am posting something personal instead of work related. Although I have to say, "the work I do, I love" and my work is almost as much a gift to me as Sundays.

My husband is exchanging a non functioning electronic device and his son and grandson are off to a movie. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, quiet. It's just me alone with reflecting on life and thinking about the New Year soon to ring in, whether I am ready or not. Time I can't stop, yesterdays are what makes me who I am, today is a gift and tomorrows are new beginnings. Ready or not 2011 here I come and I will enjoy every opportunity and challenge that is presented.

I wrote a little ditty once that I want to share. The meaning is really about what "time" is in our lives.

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MY LITTLE CREEK

The little creek flows through the trees behind MY house.
It is MINE, for it moves over land registered in MY name.
The grass grows there, and the flowers bloom on its banks.
MY frogs croak, MY grasshoppers rub their legs in contentment
and George, MY raccoon leisurely drinks after boldly eating MY dog's food on MY back porch.

It is MY creek, but a moment ago it belonged to MY neighbor, for it flowed over land registered in his name. It greened his grass and bloomed his flowers.
His craw-dads swam in its coolness. George, his raccoon slaked his thirst after boldy eating his dog's food on his back porch.

So reluctantly I say it: OUR creek sings it's song as it flows merrily along over land registered in OUR names. It gurgles and tumbles over the rocks, singing it's delightful melody, resting in quiet pools along the way.

Un hurried, unweary, untiring, it salutes us both with a happy smile lit up by sun rays through the trees, unimpressed by OUR possessiveness. It nevertheless acknowledges OUR ownership as it makes its way toward the happy children, splashing in its wetness below us.

I stand on its banks and cry in dismay, "Little creek, STAY, for you are MINE".
Gently through its song, its orchestration, I hear its voice in quiet remonstration "Nay, I cannot, MY destiny is OCEAN."



Have a wonderful week and I will post soon regarding work and all the happenings taking place in 2011.

Merry Christmas to all...........where am i?

Countdown begins.......5, 4, 3, 2, 1..... Christmas Eve will arrive and so will Santa, family, friends and most important, the true meaning of Christmas.

I have never been a "collector" of Christmas stuff, I wouldn't know what to collect if I were a collector, I love it all.

Yesterday when I was "out and about" I was fascinated with all the different Santas, Nutcrackers, glitz, ornaments, etc. and all for just a few weeks of display. I DO understand and appreciate others desire for this "stuff" for I love and have a passion for photography and I have thousands of photo's I look at and appreciate on a year round basis. Bottom line, I guess I too collect "stuff" and it really doesn't matter what we collect as long as we surround ourselves with what we each love and value in our lives.

Enjoy where you are now, where you have been and where you are destined to go.
Happy Holidays to all.

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Golden Friends

I won't make a habit of entering two posts in one day but today there will be an exception.
I know I said Sunday was going to be my "personal" post day but after I returned from the NW and sifted through all my photo's I feel the need to pay tribute to two women that I have traveled life along side. We have all three taken different roads from occupations to interests to personalities but we always have been there for each other and try and meet once a year to reflect, release and recharge.
I love my "golden friends" and I couldn't even begin to think of living this life without their wisdom, their knowledge of who I am and where I've come from.
If I had to ask for sisters, they would be my choices. Come to think of it, we probably pricked our fingers and are real blood sisters at that.
Here's to Wimpy and Gimpy, they are examples of what FRIENDSHIP is all about. And for me, I'll sign this one off, Impy.

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I'm back, but where did I go?

I have returned from a very fulfilling journey. Not only did I "rest my soul", share time with friends and family, I also discovered new places to hold future workshops for Annie Sloan Chalk Paints and Products.

Like you, I am busy now trying to catch up and prepare for the holidays, I swear next year I will be ready for Jingle Bells and Silent Night. I am now paying the price for time away before cookies are baked and packages are wrapped. I take full responsibility but I'd probably do it again.

The slide show you will view is very special to me.....it represents where I come from and where I eventually want to be, with my husband and dogs of course. I am a true N.W. girl.

Enjoy and I'll be back later in the week. Please share your comments and "follow me".

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mystery trip is on....where am i going and what will i find?

To all my friends out there.......I am off until the 12th. This will be a week of a wonderful journey. See you on the 12th...and please leave me comments.

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Your Personal Color Palette

A few weeks ago, Nate Berkus conducted a little "color quiz" on his show. It was interesting to me how he did this by asking a few questions to audience participants unrelated to color, and came up with a palette that they should apply in their homes. I love Nate, and of course anything can happen on T.V., but it nudged my memory bank for a quiz I took years ago in school.

Since I shared some color stats with you in my 2nd post, I would like to include this quiz now for you to take....it's just a wee bit of fun and the end results are exactly what Nate did on his show. Are you ready....get a pencil and paper, here you go.

l. Think of a color, any color. It does not have to be your favorite, just the first color that comes to mind.

2. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? (Think specific: Nantucket, Paris, Sante Fe, San Francisco....) Now, visualize that place and name four colors you see there.

3. What was your favorite room in any house you lived in as a child? What color was it?

4. Imagine you're going on your dream vacation (the beach, ski trip, a national park, Hawaii). Picture your destination. What four colors surround you there?

5. Name one of your most beloved friends, family members or teachers from any time in your life. What color do you associate with that person? (The answer could be based on either a color that person wore often or simply a color that evokes the feelings you had around that person.)

6. Look in your closet and drawers and study your clothes. Do one or two colors predominate?

7. Look around your house and find three favorite objects, anything from a painting to a piece of pottery to a worn flannel shirt. What color are they?

Now look at the colors you've written down. The ones that appear the most often make you feel happiest, safest and most relaxed. That means you'd probably be very happy living with those colors on your walls, furniture or floor. To find the best shades (after all, there are literally thousands of blues, for example), go to a paint store and bring home lots of strips of various shades of your three top colors. Then, leave them in a busy area - say, the dining room table or kitchen counter, someplace you'll see them often. (Do not put them on the wall). Every time you walk by, eliminate one or two strips. At the end of a week, you'll have it narrowed down to two or three. Then match different colors by choosing shades that are all in the same position on the paint strip - the middle blue and middle yellow, for instance.

This is a fun little exercise and will discover what colors suit yourself and your home.


I visited a fun little shop this past weekend and want to continue my "where am I?"
post with you. Take some time out of your busy schedule and busy these places enjoying a "step back in time". (I'm finding I'm from back in time and certainly of the vintage era).

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Vintage Begonia located in Old Town Front Street, Temecula, California

I hope you are having as much fun as I am with sharing fun "stuff". Until next time. Be sure to leave your comments and "follow me".

Sundays are Personal (to me)

I love Sunday mornings.....I love Sunday period, I've always thought of this day as "mine" or belonging to and sharing with those that mean the most in my life.
If I post on Sundays I will address something in my life that I am passionate about, keeping Sundays "personal", no shop talk.

I can't help but think about all the children in this world living in poverty, abuse, abduction and sorrow. It makes me sad. One of the passions in my life is my camera and where ever I have traveled, I have taken pictures of children, trying to capture the innocence in their eyes and faces. Some of the children you are about to see I don't even know their names or their "stories" but I think you will appreciate what I've tried to collect.

Burl Ives sings a song about children that I wish you would listen to...you can find it on ITunes. "Think of the children as roses". One verse in particular I love is "if you had a flower that you wanted to bloom, would you keep it from sunlight hid away in some room. Children are flowers, their bloom yet from sun, your love is their water, your wisdom their sun".

I feel better now, just writing what I have and I am going to what ever I can to create some magic in childrens lives, whether it's my own grandchildren when I visit or some child that hasn't been given a chance to bloom.

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I hope you enjoyed and that you will leave me comments. Happy Sunday and I wish you a wonderful week ahead.

Oh my goodness I am still FULL. Thanksgiving is wonderful just for the simple fact there are no gifts involved and we gather together just to EAT. (Ok, we gather together to share and make new memories too). I love this time of the year but I find myself hyper-ventilating at all the things I should be doing in preparation for the upcoming holiday. I give myself a little talking to as I know better than to leave everything to the 30 day countdown, but still, year after year I do it anyway. Think about it, I have ALL year to prepare so that I won't feel rushed and do I do it? Nope. Maybe next year I'll give it my undivided attention and efforts.

I've had a great month and have had many new experiences as well as places to visit. I've had the opportunity to work with a wonderful Designer and an even more wonderful person. I'm going to add my little slide show and see if you can guess where I am and whom I am working with in developing new products for 2011.

On March 8, 2011 I will host a hands on workshop with Annie Sloan, author of Creating the French Look and Quick and Easy Paint Transformations, at this location.
For more information click on "Products I Use" which takes you to my web site and workshop/event schedule.

Until the next post.........

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Just a little COLOR information I'd like to share.....blogging has to be somewhat of a learning tool don't you think?

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One of my many passions is "color". In school they nicknamed me the "color queen" because I have been given the gift of seeing color when I walk into a room. Color has always come easy for me even as a young girl, I knew what color should be used at any given time and in any given room and with any combination of flooring, wood work etc.

I think a lot of people don't trust their intuition about color. The worse thing that's going to happen if you used the wrong color is that you get another can of paint and paint over it." Color isn't terminal.

Did you know that RED creates moods of happiness, energy, strength and romance. A red wall particularly with brown-red tones, can make a room warm and inviting. Red has been shown to stimulate appetite and therefore is both popular and unpopular in dining areas. Red's cousin pink is good to use in the master bedroom since it promotes romance.

BLUE creates moods of peace, security, relaxation and harmony. Blue walls are wonderful in bedrooms, meditation rooms and anyplace you want to promote relaxation and sleep. Go with a smoky or deep blue for "quiet" rooms to promote rest. A hint here though, blues can be cold and depressing if overused or if the shade is too bright.

GREEN creates moods of calm, tranquility, hope and rejuvenation. Green can be used in any room to invite serenity, but is good for entryways in lighter and brighter shades because it has an energy-regenerating quality. Green plants are an affordable, easy way to add green to a room and can go anywhere.

YELLOW creates moods of optimism, cheerfulness and tolerance. Yellow is especially good for illuminating background for black and white photographs. Yellow can be a difficult color for the eye to take in, so it can be overpowering if overused.

PURPLE creates moods of mystery, spirituality and healing. A good way to used purple is through flowers and plants - irises, orchids and violets. Purple carries depth when paired with items that have texture, such a furniture, pillows and place mats. Purple's combination of hot and cold tones makes it accessible and can be used with most other color schedmes. Too much purple can come off as artificial.

BROWN creates moods of earthiness, nurturing and stability. In the living room, brown will reflect warmth and refinement and can be used in the furniture, in baskets and wooden magazine racks. Brown is a good base color because its earth tones help all the colors around it come alive.

ORANGE creates moods of energy, enthusiasm and warmth. Orange is great for dining and family rooms because it encourages joyful gatherings and good cheers. Set a bowlful of oranges in a dining area or use and orange table cloth. Pair orange with browns, creams and gold for traditional rooms or cobalt blue and lime green for a contemporary feel.

My last hint......using the same shade at a value or two lighter as the walls on the ceiling adds a softness to a room. You will be amazed at the impact on the room. And remember, light affects color dramatically, flourescent light brings out greens and blues in a color. Incandescent light brings out more of the red or warmth in a color. View colors day and night because they will appear differently.

I hope this will help someone out there that is afraid of color. One of my missions in life is to get rid of all WHITE walls. Don't get me wrong, I love white and I love black but not on walls. TONE, TONE, TONE.......I shall say no more.

Ok, ready or not I'm jumping into this "blog thing" with both feet.  I don't know why I have made it harder than it really is, I actually enjoy writing, maybe I have a lot to write about and I just don't know where to begin.  At the beginning makes sense, so let's begin.

I want this little slide show to be near the top of my post

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because when I enter a new post I will have a new "where am i".
Every week I try to visit one new place of business,  antiques, flea markets, design, 2nd hand, consignment, it doesn't matter, I just love these little adventures and yes, in my line of work, it is an added perk.
I'd like to think that soon I too will have a blog following and that at the places I visit I'll  leave something special, sort of like an on going treasure hunt and maybe if all  these little somethings are collected  there will be a  prize.....waaahoooooo, let's do it.

I don't know how much I'm suppose to say on my first post.  I could share my life experiences, family, causes I believe in and some that I don't believe in.  I could tell you that one of my passions are words, yes words, how they feel on my lips as I say them aloud  like, "blue....eclectic....believe .....champagne.....magic....impetuous.... believe..... curiosity.... go..... and giggle."  These words  also describe me as a person. 


I'm privileged to be in my golden years yet I'm still just a little bit silver and tarnished.  I remember the 50's and came into my own in the 60's, I still want to be that flower child. (I am on  the inside I just don't fit the profile on the outside, but I keep trying.)  I'm actually still coming into my own, that will never stop!


I love creating and making things into something off the wall.  I love walls too and have spent the past 20 years working in design, specializing in color and decorative painting.  Today I am the U.S.A. West Coast "stockist" for Annie Sloan's decorative Chalk Paint and Products and I'm having the time of my life introducing this new line to furniture finishers and the average consumers that want to do their own paint transformations.  (Take a look at Annie Sloan's web site, she is known as one of the worlds most respected experts in the field of decorative painting.)       I give workshops, I give demo's and I get to meet new and exciting people up and down the coast.  I'll be sharing these products, workshop dates and places in future posts.


I have many interests, many passions and the one thing I have to caution myself to do is to SLOW IT DOWN and enjoy where I am now.  BE HERE NOW.  I am an Edith Bunker, an Auntie Mame and a Murphy Brown all rolled into one.  I'm also a proud wife,  mother and grandmother of beautiful human beings.  You'll meet them all at different times, they all make me proud and my life worthwhile.


See, now I have started and can't quit....but before I sign off for tonight I want to leave you with a question.


Have you begun today what you wish to be tomorrow?


Thank you for letting me be myself.