Giveaway!

Cindy, over at My Romantic Home, has been having a monthly giveaway party on the second Monday of each month.   

I finally got my act together so I can participate this time.  Yaaaay!   I love giveaways. Don’t you?

Okay, so here’s what I want to send to one of my dear readers this month…

Pretty coordinated desk organizer/accessories.

 

Need a closer, more detailed look at what’s included?

One pack of file folders.

 

A note pad and clip board.

 

A pack of blank note cards and a shopping list pad.

 

A pack of coordinated hang tags and a journal.

 

Also included, but not shown in the pictures (because I forgot to photograph it), is a  pretty coordinated writing pen.

All you have to do is leave me a comment on this post by midnight (Eastern time) Friday, July 17, 2009.

Easy enough, right?

You do not have to have a blog to enter this giveaway.  In fact, I would LOVE for all you “lurkers” to enter and say hello.  I know you’re out there!  ;)  

If you don’t have a blog, just be sure you leave your email address in your comment so I can notify you if you win.  If you don’t want your email address to appear in your comment, feel free to email it to me at:  

mycottageofbliss@yahoo.com

I will announce the winner on Saturday, July 18, 2009.

Oh, and don’t forget to go over and sign up for Cindy’s giveaway, and visit all the other bloggers who are participating in this month’s giveaway.

 

A Few Pink Treasures For “Pink Saturday”…

…from my dining room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted for “Pink Saturday” which is hosted by Beverly @ How Sweet the Sound.  Be sure to stop by and visit  Beverly’s blog for a list of others who are into all things pink and pretty.

 

I am having a PINK giveaway.  Be sure to come back Monday for details!

A Sneak Peek

Like last weekend, this weekend will be  busy again for me.  There’s more painting on the agenda.   This time it will be in the master bedroom.  I thought you might like to see a little sneak peek of some of the changes that will be occurring in there.

 

 

Thrifty Treasures For Blue Monday

Did you enjoy  your holiday weekend?  I hope so.

I spent almost my whole weekend painting.  The living room, dining room, kitchen soffit and hallway are just about complete.  I only have a few touch-ups to do here and there.  Now I’m ready to start the master bedroom this week so I’ll be heading back to Lowe’s again to get a couple samples of the colors I am considering. 

Yes, I know you are probably anxious to see the painting progress I’ve made, especially after I teased you about the color I chose for the living room and dining room.  I’ll have the big reveal after the carpenter has finished the crown moldings.

The start of a new week  means it’s time for Today’s Thrifty Treasure’s party, hosted by Rhoda at Southern Hospitality.

 

and Blue Monday hosted by Smiling Sally.

 

Many of the items I used to decorate and accessorize  my French Country cottage inspired guest room/office, were blue and white thrifted treasures from various visits to Goodwill.

 

Blue & white covered butter dish used as a planter:  $4.00

 

Framed prints:    $2.00 each

 

Blue pitcher:    $2.00

 

34” x 28” framed floral print:  $20.00

 

Blue and white candlesticks:  $2.00 each

Blue & white creamer:  76 cents

 

 

Floral print mounted on wood:   $5.00

 

Blue & white pitcher:    $3.00

 

Blue and white Pier 1 basket:  $6.00

 

Blue and yellow floral queen size sheet set:  $12.00

If you are new to my blog and would like to see more of this room, you can click here.

Don’t forget to go over and say hello to Rhoda and Sally and while you are there,  please try to visit the bloggers who have signed up to share their thrifted treasures or blue items.

 

Progress

After 2 very long days of working to remove  that 8’ x 8’ area of really stubborn wallpaper, it’s finally off!   Gone!  I should have just rented a wallpaper steamer to start with but I kept thinking it wasn’t worth it for such a small area….I didn’t have that much more to do…etc.  Ha!  Live and learn.

So I went from this mess…

…to this.    It looks better already with just a coat of primer on it!

I’m off to Lowe’s today to buy the paint.  Can’t wait to show you what color I finally decided on (after much waffling back and forth).

  

Day Trippin’ To Tarpon Springs, FL

Recently, I had a houseguest from out of state visiting me and one of our sightseeing trips included the Sponge Docks and Greek Village in Tarpon Springs, Florida.  I’d like to take you along for “Outdoor Wednesday,” which is hosted by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.

Tarpon Springs, a small community of about 20,000,  is located on the west coast of Florida, just a hop, skip and a jump from Tampa and St. Petersburg.

The first settlers to Tarpon Springs  arrived in 1876.   Although the area quickly became successful as an exclusive winter resort for wealthy Northerners, it wasn't long before it was discovered that money could be made by harvesting the sponges growing in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.  By 1890, the sponge industry was firmly established in Tarpon Springs and became the community's most important industry.  In the next few years, over 500 experienced divers from Greece were brought to Tarpon Springs to work as sponge divers. 

 

In addition to seeing exhibitions of sponge diving/harvesting, visitors can experience the Greek influence on Tarpon Springs by  sampling authentic Greek cuisine at one of the many Greek restaurants.

There are plenty of yummy Greek pastries to chose from, as well as other traditional Greek dishes.

 

The main street through the Greek shopping district is lined with quaint, quirky shops.

If you need a natural sea sponge, Tarpon Springs, “The Sponge Capital of the World,”  is certainly the place to get it!

 

 

If you aren’t in the market for sponges, I am sure you would definitely enjoy browsing through Catherine’s Linen Shop on Athens Street.  It is  filled to the brim with all kinds of lovely linens!   And just look at that old-fashioned display window!  It reminds me of the window of the old 5 & Dime store where we used to shop  when I was a little girl.

This big tile mural of a sponge diver on the side of this building is really pretty. 

Well, all this sightseeing and shopping has made me really hungry for a piece of sweet, flaky, authentic Greek baklava. 

How about you?

  

How Do You Spell Frustration?

W-A-L-L-P-A-P-E-R      R-E-M-O-V-A-L.

I want to paint before the carpenter comes in three weeks to install crown moldings throughout my house so I am trying to strip the wallpaper that was on the common wall of my dining room and living room.  It really should have been taken down a long time ago so the crown molding was a good incentive to do it now.

The clock is ticking so I finally got motivated yesterday to start.  I think I’ve put it off for so long because I intuitively  knew it was going to be a hassle.

And I was right.

The top layer of the paper came off fine but it left the paper backing, which you know  is typical if you’ve ever stripped wallpaper.  And  the paper backing even came off about 2/3 of the 24 ft. long wall pretty easy.

But this last 8’ x 8’ section…it’s giving me absolute fits!  I worked on this problem section for 4 or 5 hours last night and really only got about 1/2 of it done.

 

I first saturated the paper with slightly diluted fabric softener, which has worked really well for me in the past.  Usually the paper just slips off.  This time I’m not having too much success with it.

On the positive side,  my hands sure are soft and my house smells nice from all the fabric softener! 

Even DIF wallpaper remover isn’t making my job any easier.  The backing is  just coming off in small strips.   It is requiring lots of tedious scraping.  The fact that my walls are textured plaster is not helping either.

The next time I get  a bee in my bonnet to put up wallpaper, will someone please remind me what a chore it is to remove it?!

Thank you.

Well, break time is over for me.  Back to work.  See you all soon.  I hope.