Bohemian me....

Bohemian Chic: While this is a bit too rustic for me it has the elements of things I like, Victorian, romantic and country. This is from the Magnolia Pearl site. She designs bohemian clothing from old textiles and prints and some of her stuff is gorgeous, some is over the top for me. But its the flavor of what she does and who she is that speaks to me. Check out her site for more bohemian stuff.......she did her traveling trailer like a Gypsy caravan.....inside is wild too but there are elements I like. Mine will never be that over the top but I can see me using some bits. (I think it just speaks to the Hungarian in me..... :)  )

I'm finding myself drawn to some interesting mixes of decor online. Ive never really been one to put a label on my style...until now. While it does look Victorian in places, romantic in others and even country in other spots.....I don't think I have just one style anymore. I like so many things. Victorian is pretty but tooooo cluttered. Romantic is so girly and fem but too too pink and over done. And country is just too farm house and practical for me. So I feel I do a mix. And after wandering online, I think the name Bohemian fits me.
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B O H E M I A : {noun}

1. a community of persons with artistic or literary tastes who adopt manners and mores conspicuously different from those expected or approved of by the majority of society,
2. the district in which bohemians live.

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I've been accused of being different by others in my family. I always say I'm the black sheep cuz I do stuff my family wouldn't  and I am not afraid to try new things. I tend to collect what others don't but a funny thing happens to me. Once I start to collect it, others start doing that and make it too expensive for me to continue my collections lol. And so I have a bit of this and that. 

But long ago I realized I was different and decided I liked it. Why be just like everyone else? Its not that I like to be center of attention or stand out. But why do I have to like what everyone else does? I don't. And so I taught my kids that too, that its ok to be different and not everyone will like you. But it you have one good friend then you have more than most.

And so today while looking at some Bohemian decor I felt inspired with my house. I don't have any cash right now to do anything. But I do have a lot of stuff around here I'm simply not using. I have some windows too that still do not have curtains. Those windows don't actually need them either but.....I have a few ideas. But I've been a bit stuck here since this house is very different from what I planned on getting. Its not Victorian like I hoped, not very romantic looking except for the view. ...and even not very country with the skylights and big windows overlooking the land with two small windows above it in typical trailer style lol. This isn't a trailer tho and I hate those windows and the wacky ceiling built in this place to accommodate them too.

But while this isn't a New Yrs. resolution it is something Ive decided to do this yr. Most houses Ive lived in I just never finished. I always said when I finish a house we seem to move so maybe that's why I didn't. And my dream house was finished, we spent the money to make it that way and I ended up leaving that one cuz he wouldn't sell it to me. So finishing a house is a bit scary to me.

But when I moved up here I told myself this will be the last house I ever live in. This is where Ill finish out my life. And so its time to finish this one the best I can right now with no money. I have a chandelier that needs to be finished being cleaned and then hung. Its still sitting in the closet. I have a kitchen with lg . areas over the cabinets to decorate that would look fabulous when done. I keep avoiding them tho cuz I just hate hate hate this paint color. But maybe I wouldn't hate it so much if I covered most of it up with stuff up there.

And I don't have curtains in the kitchen, don't really mind that cuz I have a fabulous view and nobody can really see in. But maybe a little valance to finish off the window would be nice. My laundry room is a very used room and a nice size...right now it keeps getting filled with overflow stuff from the kitchen like canning pots and such. I was going to use it as my craft room . I don't think that is going to happen. But it does need some curtains since there's 3 big windows in there. And again no one can see in really but it does feel too exposed in there. I saw a great idea someone had of using old linens as curtains and I have lots of those. So I think its time I made some for that room.

However my sewing machine is still in the garage lol.....and I'm pondering making the guest room, my craft room. After all we rarely have over night guests so that room pretty much never gets used. So I think I'll set the machine up in there. The man has his man cave so why shouldn't I have a room of my own?

Yup its time to get this house done. And I'm gonna make it MY house, decorating it my way even if its not magazine worthy. I don't know why I didn't ever do that in the first place. Its like I always felt it had to be a certain way so people would like it. But really, who cares what people think? They don't live here.

Some of the latest around the house.....

Its been cold and rainy and I haven't been able to get outside to see much about the garden. Today the sun is blazing so I did. I planted broccoli very late but hey! I went outside and was able to pick just enough for dinner. Some are just starting to turn a bit yellow which means I needed to pick but there's still a lil bit still growing out there so for now Ill leave it. Not sure the amount of plants I have is worth the cost for this lil bit but Ill be starting over this yr so at least I have this.

I put away all the Christmas stuff and I wasn't quite ready to bring out all the Valentine stuff yet.  I just needed girly stuff around me. And so lately Ive been going thru my linens and doilies too, putting some out and freshening up the house. But it wasn't enough so last week I went to the craft store and bought some silk flowers. They didn't have much choices really compared to what I'm used to. And the Dollar store stuff looks so beyond fake. Nobody around here really has much of that so I ended up with some Ivy garlands on sale to make some candle rings with and some purple and white flowers. 

A flame-less candle in the floral ring I made, with the tiny nest I won a yr or so ago tucked in it. Figured it would give it a touch of spring.

Ive decided not to paint purple around here but put some in every room in some way. Could be flowers or pillows or glass, maybe a blanket too. But one color that catches your eye, but it is in every room so it flows. I'm not done yet but I'm working on it. Got more ideas too. But this is the latest stuff Ive done around the house. My poor bf, sure hope he likes living in a girly house.

I found this rose pottery container in Goodwill and it goes perfect with my soap dish. I wasn't sure what I would use it for but ended up putting one of my flame-less candles in it to use as a nite light.

As you can see its sunny today. But this is my living room with all the pillows on the sofa now, some in purple. And my new coffee table. Just need some curtain swags on the windows and this room will be done.

 And finally the wall by the fireplace is done. I bought these boxes down in Depoe Bay when my grand daughter was here. I saw them on several blogs online and fell madly in love with them.

 

They are rough wood boxes with herbs stenciled on them and I wasn't sure exactly where I wanted to put them. So they sat on the floor right there till the other day. I thought they would look great on my back deck with plants in them but then thought.........I wont see them out there very much. I wanted them inside. So I put them up but they still needed something. I remember what some put in them so I wandered around the house gathering stuff. I love it! It is perfect in that spot.

And this is my bed. Are you getting tired of seeing pics of it? I just adore this bed and decorate it for every season. And so the Christmas stuff came down but I decided to leave the glittery ivy garland up there and put my floral one back on top of that. I love how it looks. Can you see my skylight? That's my side of the bed so you can see why some nights sleep is pretty hard to do when its windy or the moon is shining in. 

But for Valentines day I pulled out some of my rose covered pillows in the lighter shades and put a rose printed pillow on top of that. God, my bed looks so girly lol. I love it.........my bf just pushes the pillows over to my side and crawls in........he hasn't complained yet lol. 

 But I just put these stickers over my bed the other day. I found them long ago. They say Always Kiss Me Goodnight. And since we do that every nite ( my ex never did) I want to keep it coming! 

And this is the small window on my side of the bed. Ive put my mermaid statue there and some pink flowers and such. I love it. I'm still trying to find my grandmothers lace curtain to hang there tho. Its a beautiful old fashioned piece and I only have one panel so it will be perfect for this spot.

And this is in my bathroom now. That's one of the candle rings I made. I used a small wicker wreath that the bottom of the candle holder would fit thru. Then I wrapped it with Ivy garland and stuck in flowers. One for each side of the sink. I decided to move my pierced plates in here instead of the basket I had to hold some things. The basket got too dusty from my powder and was a pain to clean. I think this looks much better.

And this is the mans side of the sink. I softened that basket with some lace and put the other candle there. Since I mostly use this during the day, I didn't put flame-less candles in here. I put real ones in so if I get company,  I can make it smell nice.

And finally over his stuff I hung these on the wall. I had that wall pocket filled with pine and holly for the holidays . Now I wanted something girly and in Romantic Country magazine, I saw in the newest issue a woman who puts hand mirrors all over her wall as decor and loved it. I use that one daily but have to take it in and out of the drawer if I want to keep the counters clutter free. So I decided hanging it was a good thing. Its pretty like the other stuff and I can just take it down daily to use. I used brass nails tho so it would look nice too.

Some November things ....

The dog

Uh oh moms got the camera again. 

Maybe if I look bored she will go away. (it worked!)

new apron - Since Im ruining all my clothes with cooking here, I figured its about time I got some aprons. No wonder Gramma wore one all the time. I like this one,,,nice garden botanicals on it.

Apothecary jar - They are all the rage I know. But I didn't have any and this one spoke to me. Its done like mercury glass on the base and lid.

Found this fat lil bird in Goodwill and had to bring him home.

Dining room table

Dining room - I hand painted this turkey many many yrs ago when my kids were babies. And the platter they are on is a beautiful Italian hand painted one I bought from the gourmet shop I used to work at when I first landed in Ca. The small resin pumpkin says ....As for me and my house...we will serve the Lord.

Living room - This is my new coffee table. I finally decided I wanted a small glass topped one so it wouldn't fill the room or take away from the view when the windows were open.

Living room - Lots of pumpkins and a nice big resin turkey for the holiday.

Living room - I found this dorky bird when I still lived in CA. He kept speaking to me and getting my attention. I just had to bring him home.

Living room - I decided since it stopped raining to go get some twigs from my yard to fill out the big vase.

Front porch - Pretty much the same except I added a terra cotta turkey to it. Next yr there will be no real pumpkins here, only fake.

Front porch - And this is why next yr will be just fakes. The birds are attacking this side of the punkins. They think I cant see that? Grrrrrr

The peas are growing like crazy with lots of flowers too.

PEAS!!!

We have peas........dont know how many Ill get but they are growing!

The broccoli bed has taken off too. No broccoli heads yet but Im hoping.

 

Garden

The mint has gone wild and the herb bed is dying back. Mom sent the fairy on the glass ball tho for my garden.

The latest things I made.......

I was wandering in Joanne's one day and thought Id buy some crochet thread to work on. I spotted this stuff..........its an organic bamboo thread. The colors were so soft and muted and old fashioned looking, I just had to have some! I looked thru my books for a pattern when I got home and saw this one, ironically done in soft colored threads too. This was an old book tho from the 70s so I dont know where they got those colors from but I thought it would be perfect for me.

So I made that doily up there for my bedroom nite tables. I was sorry once I did cuz you have to make many pieces. And it wouldn't have been so bad but this bamboo thread with a small needle splits at times and can be hard to rip out when you make a mistake. I finished one and now I knew I HAD TO  make the other to match.....sigh. So I plodded thru. They look awesome tho. And I will say this.........not only are the colors they sell this in.....stunning.............but the feel of this is so soft. It would make amazing clothing I think.

 So then I needed another one, a bigger one for my dresser. I was NOT going to make those stupid motifs again. And so I found this pattern and decided to use the same colors so it looked like a set. It starts with 5 motifs but that's it. OMG I adore...........this piece. Its soft, girly, old fashioned and if it was bigger would make a stunning shawl. Much easier to work with too when you use this kind of pattern.

This is the close up of that piece. I love, love, love it. But I bought blue thread too. And right now my bedroom has blue and white pillows on it for the summer. So I think Ill make some with the blue and cream and white next.

I turned a covered fuse box in my kitchen......

into something useable. This is the before. Not ugly but rather pointless. 

First I sanded it and wiped the sanding dust off real good.

Then I painted it with chalkboard paint. First across like you see in this picture. Then I let it dry for 4hrs as the paint can said. Then i did another coat up and down and let that dry for a few days.
(There's not much space here to take pictures so that's why I had to angle it.)

 And now it looks like this. I rubbed white chalk all over it to season it like they say and then wiped it off with a dry rag. I found Crayola has some great colorful sidewalk chalks to use. I wanted to get some Chalk Ink pens but they are very expensive.....almost $4 a piece. I have one or two but wanted more color. 

So this will be my grocery list. I figure I can use the colorful chalk to draw cute borders across the top to match the holidays and such. Since its summer..........I drew the beach.........with a sign telling you which way it is. My bf thought this was such a cute idea. 

To see more cute ideas:

Thrift finds and other things....

I know this is fuzzy but you can still see the doily pretty good. When I was unpacking some things I found this pattern done in soft colors in cotton thread. It was an old magazine. But I never saw colors of threads like that. So I went off to Joannes craft store here and found these colors. They are made of bamboo now and so very soft. I thought I would try it. With a small needle that's required and my bad eyes it can be difficult to work with. If I drop a stitch and try to pick it up, it often splits the thread or just pulls up a fragment. I'm almost done with the other matching one for my bedroom and they look great with my lamps but I don't think I would use this thread to make all these tiny motifs. Next time Ill just use a regular round pattern that has less need to be cut and ends tucked in.  Cotton threads would have worked better. 

This is a hanging tea party. When I was in Joannes they had a 70% sale on these so I got it for about $10. Its dark with a copper rubbed on finish and resin with glass beads that bounce light around. I thought it would work perfect on my back deck.

 Ive been bringing rocks home from the beach. And after I washed them and dried them I decided to use them as markers on my deck garden. Some mark herbs and this one says Pats Garden. I used Chalk Ink pens to write on the rocks with. They hold up pretty good to watering and such. And I figure if it comes off I can fix it or change it to something else.

The bottom pierced plate Ive showed you before which was from a thrift store in CA. But I found this pierced hand painted bowl from one around here. I put them together on my coffee table and fell in love with the combo.

Ive been seeing sand castles around in the shops and they aren't cheap. Goodwill had a couple last week and I fell in love with this one. I'm hoping to maybe use it in a glass ball with more real sand and some small shells for a beach scene.

I have mermaids and sea things in my bathrooms. I found this lg. shell piece with roses on it. I have roses everywhere so I thought this was perfect to use as a soap dish in my spare bathroom.

I am still unpacking stuff  and have many craft magazines. I found some wicker magazine holders awhile back that I posted. But this week found these. They are rough wood, not quite balsa wood, a bit stronger than that. But I can paint these or paper them to match wherever I put them. 

I collect blue and white chinese pieces. I usually only find small pieces at the thrift store. But this just came in and it was my lucky day. Its here on the bookcase for now but will be used in my kitchen on top of my cabinets once the kitchen is painted.

I have rose pillows on my bed but Ive been wanting to change them to a more summer/seashore/beach theme. Ive been looking around and really haven't seen anything I like except expensive ones online. Last week I found these and they were only $3.99 a piece! Ironically they are almost exactly what I was looking for.

Some girly stuff in my house....

Over the door in my dining room, a gift from an ex friend. I say ex because my ex got custody of them all, most were business related. I do however love this piece, its a nice ceramic piece that says it all around this house.

Part of my collection of wall pockets. I love purple grapes. These wall pockets run along the wall over my phone area in my kitchen.

I found this country shelf down the street from my house. Someone was redecorating and put it all outside to sell. I got an oak dresser for my bf for $100 and this shelf. Its hand painted and she got it at a craft shop for $250. She sold it to me for 50 bucks! On top is my collection of purse banks. These were called pin money banks. Women would save pennies and such in them for a rainy day. Now the banks themselves are quite collectible. I saw them in a magazine once and just had to start searching for them. I have a half dozen now and the collection is probably finished......but you just never know hehehe.

I recently got another one. I found it at the local thrift store for only $4!! Now that was a lucky find.

This is the lamp on the dresser in my bedroom. I fell in love with this lamp and had to have it. . It goes nice with my girly rose bedroom. And when I go past I like to play with the beads.