Thursday, September 30, 2010

“The Call”

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I finally got “the call” I’ve been waiting for.

My kitchen guy called to say he has finished building my cabinets  so it’s time for the kitchen remodel at the house in Hooterville to begin!  

Demo of the ceiling beams and cabinets is suppose to  start tomorrow.  Some electrical work will take place over the weekend and, if all goes well, he’ll start installing the new cabinets Monday!

Bye-bye ugly, inefficient kitchen. 

Be back soon with photos.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Bertie Higgins & Tango the Movie Star

Raise your hand if you  remember singer/songwriter, Bertie Higgins.  He’s probably best known for his  hit song from the early 80's, "Key Largo.”

Bertie was born and raised in Tarpon Springs, Florida, which is less than an hour from where I live.  More than a year ago, Bertie called a barn in Tarpon Springs where my daughter was working as an assistant trainer.   He explained he was now involved in movie production and he needed a horse for some movie scenes that would be filmed in the Tarpon Springs area.

Daughter told him about her horse, Tango.  Tango is not only  a consistent horse show winner but has also been police mounted patrol certified, which includes training designed to desensitize horses to loud noises or  situations that might ordinarily cause them to spook.  Daughter thought that training might be advantageous when having a horse around all the movie set sights and sounds that could easily unnerve many horses. At Bertie’s request, Daughter emailed him some photos of Tango.

Bertie and Daughter talked a few more times but then Daughter never heard anything more until recently when Bertie contacted her again, wanting to know if she was still interested in having Tango appear in the movie.  They agreed on what Tango would earn for her appearance  (it was more than hay and carrots), the number of hours she would be required to be on the set, and Tango even had a contract which referred to her as “the player.”  Tango’s scenes were scheduled to be filmed on Friday, September 24th.

When I first arrived at  the filming location, they were shooting a scene involving a jeep.  Bertie is wearing the burgundy shirt and sitting in the white chair.

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A crew member taking still photos of the jeep scene.

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Action!  The actors  driving across the field in the jeep.

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This RV served as the wardrobe/makeup area.  A table with food and drinks for the actors and crew was set up under the awning.

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I think I heard someone refer to this truck packed with all the equipment as the “grip truck.”

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Bertie (in the burgundy shirt) and some of the crew. 

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Tango waiting to be called for her part.

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There was actually a lot of waiting around.

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Drowsy Tango. Waiting is very tiresome.

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There were also several delays in filming due to some light rain which only added to the waiting time.

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The lead actress, Bianca.

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The lead actor, Robert, talking to Bianca between scenes.

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Bertie and the leading actress, Bianca

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Finally!  They’re ready to film one of Tango’s scenes and Daughter is saddling her up.

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Daughter giving Bianca some last minute riding pointers .

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Action!  Bianca comes galloping out of the woods on Tango toward the camera crew.   They filmed about 4 takes of this scene and I totally forgot my camera shoots video until they were done!   Darn! Darn! Darn! Can you tell I haven’t used that feature? 

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Applying “blood” to one of the actors, Bertie’s son, Aaron.

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Waiting for his “blood” to dry. 

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The filming lasted until after dark because there was a night scene that involved Bianca and Tango which meant…

more waiting while they set up the lighting for the night shots and got it adjusted just right.

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Shots from Bianca and Tango’s night scene.

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And one last photo before they called it a wrap for the night:  Bertie, Bianca, Tango, Daughter, Bertie’s other son Julian (the director), and Robert.

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Despite the rain and all the waiting around, it was a fun and interesting experience.  Everyone was very nice and of course they all loved Tango.  Bertie and his son, Julian, were so impressed with Tango, they talked to Daughter about using Tango again for  more scenes.  They will be contacting her with the next shooting date and location. 

Hmmm…if Daughter isn’t careful, Tango  just might think she’s a real movie star diva and start demanding more treats and an air conditioned stall!

Linking to Outdoor Wednesday #90 @ A Southern Daydreamer

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Bathroom Vanities…Decisions, Decisions.

Okay, so I mentioned there’s this hall bathroom on the bedroom end of the house in Hooterville that desperately needs remodeling.  This is what it looked like the day we initially toured the house (a year ago this month, already!).

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So far, the only thing I have done to it  (besides clean it) is paint the doors and trim moldings white, as I did throughout the whole house,  and I painted over the peach wall color with a couple coats of some extra white paint I had.  I just wanted to freshen it up a bit and bide some time until I could decide what I wanted to do in here, and we had the time to  make it happen.
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Possible improvements:
  • New bathtub
  • Rip out all existing wall tile and tile only the inside of the tub area
Improvements definitely on the list:
  • New toilet
  • New flooring (probably wood-look vinyl planks)
  • Mirror
  • Lighting
  • Replace pedestal sink
  • NEED. MORE. STORAGE!
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As you can see in the above photo, there is  lots of wasted space to the left of the sink…almost 5 feet to be exact. 
After my cabinet guy gets done with the kitchen, I had planned to have him build a floor-to-ceiling built-in storage cabinet in that corner to the left of the sink. 

IMG_1972 (E) *view from the bathtub*

And for MONTHS and MONTHS I have had my heart set on ordering  this vanity base (no top) I found on the internet (after hours of searching).  I was going to paint it white, put new hardware on it, and have the cabinet guy put a black granite top on it.

Sagehill Designs HH4821D 48 inch #2

Then it would look like this!  Isn’t it divine?!

RMS-Colleen_Christine photo source:  Rate My Space by user: “Colleen_Christine”

“Colleen_Christine” even had a wall plug installed in one of the cubbies so she could keep her blow dryer plugged in but out of sight.   Love this idea!
Photo_Video_787223374_medium photo source:  Rate My Space by user: “Colleen_Christine”
But…
There’s always a “but.”
Yesterday I rediscovered this photo below in my inspiration file and I started having second thoughts about my original idea of using the vanity above. 

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The PRACTICAL side of me thought having my cabinet guy build me a storage cabinet/vanity combo like this  might be a better choice than the free-standing vanity with the black granite top  because this one offers so much more storage.  (After living in a small house for so many years, can you tell I’m big on having ample storage?)
So dear readers and decorating enthusiasts, which would be your choice?
A storage cabinet built into the corner, perhaps similar to this…

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and used in conjunction with this FREE-STANDING vanity…

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~OR~

Just go with a more unified look of an all-in-one storage cabinet and vanity like this…

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???
Then I have one other dilemma I want to pose to you for your consideration:  
What about the privacy wall?
Would you rip it out to visually open up the bathroom…
or
leave it up, more or less  keeping the bathroom divided into 2 sections?

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The privacy wall does make it  somewhat cramped  back here.
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IMG_1970 (E) *photo taken standing in the bathtub*
I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this!   If you are a lurker who has never commented before, now is not the time to be shy.  I need ideas!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Some of This & Some of That

Because no one single thing is worth devoting a whole post to,  today I wanted to share a potpourri of things that are currently going on concerning the house in Hooterville .
Regarding the slipcovers that shrunk on my new sofa…
Aaaaaak!   It STILL makes me sick to look at it.

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Anyway, as I mentioned here, I contacted the furniture store where I bought it (Matter Brothers).   They, in turn, contacted the sofa manufacturer (Capris Furniture, Ocala, FL).   The Capris’ representative was of the opinion that for this much shrinkage to occur, I HAD to wash the slipcover in HOT water, not cold.  Yep, they actually inasmuch called me a liar disputed  that I had washed it in cold water, air dried it a little, and put it back on the sofa while it was still damp.
The bottom line:  Capris Furniture refuses to do anything to make this right so one of the owners  of Matter Brothers, Tom Matter, concurs and will not replace the slipcover either.  Incidentally, I have not  washed the chair slipcover yet but I am sure it will shrink like the sofa slipcover did. 
I wish I was confident enough in my sewing skills that  I could just make my own slipcovers like so many of the talented ladies in Blogland are doing but I’ve had only minimal sewing experience and, in all honesty, I haven’t even seen my sewing machine in about 20 years. 
I did talk  to  a local experienced seamstress who can make replacement slipcovers for me (and she will PRE-WASH the fabric first) but it won’t be cheap and frankly, it’s an added expense that I don’t think I should have to incur for a 3 month old sofa (chair and ottoman).   I’m still thinking about that and a couple other possible options.

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As I come across things I think I can use, I pick up little odds and ends here and there for the house in Hooterville.
At Marshall’s I found an end table for the family room. It’s permanent place will likely be  next to hubby’s Lazy Boy recliner (shown in this post).  I thought the top drawer would be an ideal place to stash the TV and DVD remotes when they aren’t in use.

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The lower section of the end table is a dark chocolate brown (not black as it appears in the photo).  I have not decided on a coffee table, a media console, or any other end tables yet but I thought the chocolate brown bottom and wood grained top should coordinate with just about any other wood pieces  I end up getting.
For the “pink and girly” guestroom (shown in this post), I found a soft pink coverlet and 2 matching pillow shams on eBay.  The set is from the Simply Shabby Chic line at Target.   I have  seen lots of these coverlet sets in cream or green in my local Target stores but I’ve only come across  JUST ONE  solid  PINK set.  But during a moment of insanity I passed it up and then, of course, deeply regretted it later. Don’t you just hate it when you do that?  
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Needless to say,  I was happy to find one reasonably priced on eBay.  Even with shipping, I think it was a little less expensive than what I recall Target was selling it for.
At Marshall’s I found a pretty set of lace-edged pillow cases, also  for the “pink and girly” guestroom.  At Goodwill I bought a pair of white matelasse pillow shams with pink roses that were in pristine condition ($5.00 each).  Looks like they were never used.

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After 35 years here, I am really, really, REALLY sad to be leaving the “My Cottage of Bliss” house (just ask my husband!) but there is a part of me that is getting somewhat anxious to get moved into the “Hooterville” house so I can put  the things I have been buying to use.  I want to putter, fluff and nest so it looks and feels like a home, instead of just a house.

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I’m still waiting for the kitchen remodel to begin.  My kitchen guy should be calling me any time within the next few weeks  to say he’s ready to  start tearing out the old kitchen and installing the new cabinets. 

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Before too long, I will be ready to start moving forward with the remodel of this  bathroom on the bedroom end of the house in Hooterville.   On the positive side, it’s a decent size with “good bones” but let’s be honest here:  it’s ugly.  I can’t even imagine why anyone would think it was attractive to use 2 different flooring materials in the same bathroom.  This bathroom also doesn’t function as well as it could.  There’s lots of wasted space and did you notice?  It doesn’t even have a mirror over the sink!
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I’ve got some ideas about what I want to do in here but there are a few things I’m undecided about so I hope you will check  back because  I am planning to post more pictures soon and  ask  for your opinions/ideas.