fleeting moments

~by Jewell Stone

winter's love

BOND AND FREE

Love has earth to which she clings

With hills and circling arms about -

Wall within wall to shut fear out.

But Thought has need of no such things,

For Thought has a pair of dauntless wings.

On snow and sand and turf, I see

Where Love has left a printed trace

With straining in the world's embrace.

And such is Love and glad to be.

But Thought has shaken his ankles free...

~ Robert Frost

Participating at My Romantic Home

SHOW AND TELL FRIDAY

Yummie

Sometimes the simplest of things can mean so very much.
Like when your grandson makes a custom-made cinnamon biscuit.

I mean who wouldn't think this was special?

Living Room re-do

Well the living room re-do is coming along although I'm not 100% finished with it.  The accent wall turned out just the way I was hoping...beautiful!  I'm going to resolve the window covering non-compatibility issues and tweak this thing and that before I sign off on the final photo, but nonetheless, here it is today.  I just couldn't wait to photograph the wall and show it off.  My husband did a fantabulous job, don't you think?

I'm participating in Show Off Your Cottage Monday

at The House In The Roses...please take a moment to view all the awesome beauty that I discovered there.  What an enchanted blog!

Jan @ Mavrik Lane



The word is LOVE

Oh how I do love anything to do with lettering...

even if only one word.

Go take a minute and see what I'm talking about

at the My Sweet Savannah blog HERE.

The word by the way is

LOVE.

Putzing around the house

I don't mean to whine...much, but I'm so ready for the cold weather to be gone...really gone.  I've been pretty much cooped up in my home for the past couple of weeks studying, so I haven't missed being outside too much.  I've decided that if I have to study, the winter is really the best time to get 'er done.

When I lived up the north, I was forced to go outside just to be able to get to work.  Now I am so very grateful that I am able to work right out of my home and don't have to get out of my warm jammies unless I absolutely want to do so.

Do hope you had an absolutely wonderful weekend...except for studying...I sure did enjoy a relax'n time putzing around the house.

Jan @ Mavrik Lane

I am in love

Yep, I think I'm in love with this. . .

mediterranean family room design by phoenix architect Carson Poetzl, Inc.

lovely room as my Family Room re-do inspirational room.

Using what you have

One of the things I had to learn {out of sheer necessity}, was how to creatively arrange the furnishings I already had after a move.  I always had to make my furniture fit because buying new stuff when you move around a lot, like we did while my husband was in the military, wasn't always a luxury I had.  For example, what to do with that hand-me-down, honker of a sofa that you were given when you first got married.  It worked great in your first apartment and you were extremely grateful to have it, but then you move.  This time you move into a rental property that doesn't come with the wall space needed to accommodate the sofa.  What to do?

So for starters and without further ado, I've set up a corner in my Living Room addressing a sofa and wall space that don't match.

About now some of you might be asking the question, then why rent the house that doesn't work for your furniture?  Anyone that lives on a tight budget or that has had to find a place to live in a hurry wouldn't even be asking that question.  Sometimes you have to make compromises either because the price is right or because it is what is available to you when you need a place to live {in a hurry}.

Getting back to the sofa issues. . .

It would be better to place a large chair and ottoman or two smaller chairs in this corner to give the area the much needed breathing space.  Otherwise, it looks like you forced a larger piece of furniture to fit in a smaller space {which is exactly what has been done here}.  The overall look is crowded and the furniture is now competing for space.  So consider using that sofa in another room of your home {if you want to keep it} and start drawing smaller pieces of furniture from other rooms in your home.

Above I replaced the sofa with two small, leather, swivel chairs that were being used in another room of my home.  Not only do the chairs add warmth to this area of the room, but they are the right scale {size} for the space.

Now onto the coffee table and the accessories. . .

When placing accessories on your coffee table, be sure to consider their size and shape and remember, less is best if you plan to make it functional.  I like to sit down and eat at my coffee table plus I don't like it to look cluttered.  The accessories in my first photo [way up above in this post], though they do complement each other in shape {round}, they seem a bit detached and boring to me.

Below you will see that I've added a copper tray with individual tea pots/mugs.  These accessories are very functional for me because I love to have my afternoon tea in this room.  And I love books, especially decorating books.  I like to have them handy for those times when I just want to drool and imagine 'what if'.  So books are pretyy much a staple on my coffee tables...always.

What would you place on this coffee table?

I will be sharing more tips on "Using What You Have" soon.  I do hope you will come back again.

Jan @ Mavrik Lane

Today I am participating in Show And Tell Fridays at

My Romantic Home.  Please be sure to stop by for a visit to see all the many great ideas that are in store for you there.  CLICK HERE to be transported now.

Soar

Today I am participating at Jillsy Girl for One Word Wednesday sharing my thoughts on the word Soar.

Sharing

You know it is really, really cold when...

you get up, leave your slippers behind, and return to this site.

This is my dear, sweet Annie.  She looks a bit worried.  Guess she thinks I'm gonna claim those slippers.

Tea time at my house

Burr it is cold and wet and windy outside today, but toasty and warm inside.

My guests, for Christmas, left yesterday and today I am left with what to do next.  So I decided to have some tea and...

...start reading the manual for MY NEW CAMERA!

Yep, that's right I bought myself a new camera a couple of days ago.

Why you ask?

Well, let's first pour you a cup of tea.  Now...

...it all started the week before Christmas when a very unfortunate case of timing started to ocurr.  First my computer then the device I used to transfer the pictures from my camera to my computer stopped dead, dead, I mean all dead.

So sad, but there is a happy ending you see.

With all those bad vibes going on I managed to get my computer issues resolved, but there still remained the issue of transferring my pictures.  What's a gal to do?

Well this one decided it was finally time to buy the camera she had been drooling over for more than a year.So I thought...how 'bout some warm tea to hunker down with camera and manual today.

I decided if I was going to have tea, I'd also play with the dishes and test the camera.  I want to try and come up with an idea for my New Year's Eve tablescape today, and also do some experimenting with taking a few photos.

I have an idea of how I want to decorate the table for our New Year's Eve dinner this year, but you'll have to to come back to actually see the photos.  I think we will have crab cakes and roasted asparagus for dinner.  I haven't yet decided on the soup or dessert, and the wine is my husband's job {as usual}.

What are your plans for New Year's Eve this year?

Jan @ Mavrik Lane

 

after turkey

I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving.

Well here I am with no turkey leftovers {oh yeah!} and a hungry tummy.

So for lunch today, we are having Meatball and Rice soup...yummy!

When we don't host the Thanksgiving meal, we don't have any leftovers to deal with which can either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your outlook.

Though I do like to have a little bit of turkey for sandwiches the next day, I can't say that I miss leftover turkey all that much.

Anyway, I thought I would share my lunch table with you today since I didn't have to go to work, I was able to dress up for lunch today {at least the table that is}.

Jan on Mavrik Lane

robin go round and round

I refreshed my flowers on the table again.  A gals gotta do what a gals gotta do, right?

I purchased these little gems at Hobby Lobby awhile ago.  They are a type of silk, but the actual flowers are thicker and much softer...a bit unusual, but so delicate and realistic.

The off-white urn was used for my daughter's wedding, but I can't remember where I bought it.

I bought the mirror when I first got married.
It started out dark brown with tiny black paint splatters all about it.
Definitely a style more popular back several years ago rather than today.

The mirror got lost up against the paneled wall so I painted and distressed it with a glaze.  I like it much better now and the carving of the wood shows up so much better than before.

I found my Robin lamp at Tuesday Morning about a year ago.  This lamp travels all over the house depending upon what I do on the tabletop.  I especially love it out for the Spring, but the color also goes so well with what I have going on in the rooms downstairs that this is where it landed today.

Want to see the beginnings of an awesome front porch for the holidays?
Thought so.  Then don't you dare miss Between Naps On The Porch for
Metamorphosis Mondays.

Be sure to go take a look at The House In The Roses for
Show Off Your Cottage Mondays too!
You won't be sorry you dropped by today.

And then, hop on over and see a beautiful kitchen at
A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesdays.

Have a fun week,
Jan @ Mavrik Lane

couple of yards

When you purchase fabric for decorating your home, always buy an extra couple of yards so that you can:

1.  Make pillows
2.  Make contrasting arm covers for your sofa or chairs
3.  Cover a lamp shade
4.  Make a runner for your dining room table
5.  Make contrasting tiebacks for your draperies
6.  Cover and pad a frame
7.  Add trim to ordinary kitchen towels

rain

It is raining...oh how refreshing...

how utterly refreshing!

I especially like the way the rain was casting patterns on the screen.
Just had to grab my camera to see if I could capture it.

And yet another magical view of the rain on the window screen.

Do hope you enjoyed the rain as much as I did today.

Life if full of tiny surprises if we simply look for them.

"Sometimes the most urgent and vital thing you can possibly do

is take a complete rest."

ASHLEIGH BRILIANT

Jan @ Mavrik Lane

dishes that play well together

Oh how I love to bring out these dishes.  They make me smile.

They are cheery, colorful, just so darn pretty, and different from my all my others.
So I'm showing them off at My Romantic Home for Show And Tell Fridays.

The chargers are bronze colored and play so well with the dishes.
You hardly even need a centerpiece when you have such magic going on the table.

Jan @ Mavrik Lane



lemon tarts anyone

Last night we had lemon tarts for dessert and I for one thought they were absolutely wonderful.

I don't have dessert very often...dieting.

These were not only pretty to look at, but especially yummy to eat.

Sometimes after a hard day, it is nice to reward myself with something special like this.

I do hope this gives you an idea for tonight so that you can surprise your hubby like I did.

Jan @ Mavrik Lane

what I do best

It is pouring outside so. . . 

I decided to do what I do best.  I grabbed a cup of my pumpkin spice coffee and a decorating magazine.

 
And then I plopped myself down on my favorite lounge chair.  I am determined to catch up on my mags.

I also wanted to participate in Marty's Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life, so I'm including some photos of, you guessed it, my table top next to my favorite lounge chair.

 
This is a peaceful place for me.  I am a firm believer that everyone {especially women} should have such a spot in their homes.  A special place where you feel like you have just stepped into a cacoon...a soothing, comfortable retreat.

I also would like to share that I'm linking to The House in The Roses for Show Off Your Cottage, a delightful experience.  Please visit Cielo there and say hello.

 
Tell me, do you have a special retreat set up in your home just for you?

Where's yours located and what do you surround yourself with there?

Have a fabulous day today!

Jan @ Mavrik Lane

Please be sure to take a minute out of your buzy day and visit both The House in The Roses and A Stroll Thru Life today to view all the lovely blogs being shared there.