Time to Stop and Smell the Roses...

All my flowers are blooming like crazy...

And instead of looking at the yard and seeing all the stuff that needs to be done... sigh...

I think for one moment it is time to just "stop and smell the roses"...

 Look at these crazy petunias...

I have mixed feelings about them, they kind of remind me of a yellow jacket

but i couldn't resist one pack of them just for fun and interest....

 this years window box...

 geraniums do great with lots of sun, but not so great when their petals get all wet and soggy... so a covered porch, or an area with a roof overhang works great!

I lucked out and found these great window boxes at Home Goods for $35.00 each

they're kind of pricey other places so i was tickled i found them

 

they are extra deep and it took 2 coconut liners to line the inside

but they work much better for the flowers and watering

 

And check out this beauty

Good old "Abraham Darby"

Old fashioned look, perfect color, great fragrance... 

what more could ya ask for?

I love this rose...

The little chrysanthemums aren't from my garden

but they look great in the house, last around 2 weeks, and so for $4.99 from Whole Foods,

they're worth it!

"Abraham Darby" in bud form

"Abraham Darby" unfurling

My climbing "Eden" rose is trying to make a show

but it has not stopped raining here for what seems like 3 months

and "Eden" is getting beat up by all the rain

Still not too shabby though!

Another cool rose in the garden

it has a cream center and pink tips 

sorry,  i don't remember her name

isn't she sweet

i want to kiss her petals

 

 

peonies blooming too...

Before i close

I want to show you a great pillow that have at "Marshalls" right now...

It's a wonderful heavyweight washable fabric, has a zipper and a down filled insert

and it's only $19.99

a pillow like that would cost $40.00 or more any place else...

 

At first i thought it was a little too contemporary for my house,

but i tried a couple out

and i really like them!

oh, and here's what Mr. Fracturedfairytale does if he is with me when i go shopping at antique malls

He searches out and finds the most silly hat he can find

and puts it on and poses like the underwear models you see in Sears catalogs

guys...

Oh well... I  guess it's only fair if i drag him along with me to look at vintage lace, french chairs,  and chippy painted furniture that he is not remotely interested in and that he has to haul in the house...

 I imagine asking him to go shopping with me,   would be like him asking me to sit in the house for 3 hours and watch football or golf, and even baseball on TV

I'd want to rip my eyeballs out and bang my head into the wall!

So, silly hats are allowed!

...the end...

I'm Not Sure if This is Pretty or Scary...

Just about finished with this painting... and I'm just not sure about it... I can't tell if it's really kinda cool, or just a little bit scary...  

I haven't been moved to paint for about 2 months

That happens sometimes

the feeling just goes away

it's not in me, nowhere to be found

Not sure what causes it to go

or why it comes back

But suddenly i'll be burning to paint something again

like an irresistible force

usually when i'm stuck at my desk at work

It's strange, unexplainable

closeup

Maybe the desire came back because

 Rosebud Cottage is Bursting into Bloom all over the place!

I love that big ole snowball bush in the photo above

and of course the coral pink azaleas...

Spring is a wonderous time of year

well, except for the tornadoes !!!

You don't know this, but i have a horrible phobia of thunderstorms!  

I think each and every one of them will have a tornado in it

I'm not kidding

In fact i think that if you aren't scared during a thunderstorm you don't have any sense, so i will never listen to you tell me how safe we are in the car or whatever, because i've already decided you don't have sense enough to be scared!

I will not drive in ANY thunderstorm, Ever

 They ALL look like this to me

only the scariest possible thing ever...

I've tried therapy

It doesn't work

 It is a problem

In fact, sometimes if a big storm is coming....

waaay before it gets here... i will go someplace that is in a big brick building,  and just hang out until it's over....
cause my house is small
it feels like i'm in Dorothy's house from the Wiard of Oz
(think i watched the wizard of oz too many times when i was young?)

Pretty sick huh?

I mean when seen from a distance

a storm can be a stunning, breathtaking act of nature

 

cool!

I call this one

"Uh Oh"

 but if this storm below were coming towards me

i would just have to shoot myself..

I mean,  which way would you run to get away from this!???

  

Of course, most of my friends LOVE thunderstorms

geeeeeshhh!

Anyway, while i was hanging (hiding) out at a brick coffee shop near my house the other day tracking a storm on the radar on my computer

...there was a tornado warning for my county...

GAAAAAHHHH! 

 I noticed a comma shaped blob on the radar indicating a tornadic storm and it was right near my town!!! practically on top of it!!!!!

Another girl was in there on her computer at the same time, and she was giddy because she saw it on the radar too and of course she LOVES storms

We both walked out the door to look at the sky

AND I THINK I SAW A TORFREAKINNADO!!!

Oh my gosh!!!

It was calm where i was, but, pretty as you please, about 5 blocks away to the north there was one moving left to right across the sky!!!

I couldn't believe it!!!, I...., the person most scardest of tornadoes in the whole wide world was seeing an actual tornado!

and where i was standing it was just cloudy and calm... while a few blocks up there was a tornado
what the heck!!!

I wasn't even that sick, panic attack scared  !!

Probably because i could tell it wasn't going to hit us

But whoa... dang... 

So That's my spring tornado story

and NO, i am NOT cured now!  No way...Absolutely not!

 ...the end...  

 

Got my Slipcovers!

So the slipcovers for my new (old) sofa are finally done!

What do ya think?

 you can read about the sofa progression here if you like...

Of course there are throws strewn all over it, and it's all a little messy.  I'm always attempting to take photos around messy pillows, and throws, and guitars, and cords from guitars, doggie toys, remote controls, crooked lampshades, eye glasses,cell phones,  glasses of soda... and sunlight blaring in the window.  

If i waited until everything was perfect and staged to take a photo, you would never, not once see a photo from this little house!!

anyway... just look at the coral color on the vintage throw (below) from my friend's shop... i'm debating buying it, but..., 

I CAN'T BUY EVERYTHING!

good grief!!!  

there are just too many wonderful things in the world!

even so,  isn't the color soooo yummy!

and speaking of the coral throw from my friend's shop 

"Fetch Antiques and Interiors"

JUST LOOK at this huge galvanized bucket filled with dogwood and wisteria, and the vintage doors propped on the wall

Oh my gosh, i am dying over this bucket, and i want it so bad, but it is really really big.

I measured and the top is 28 inches across... 

I mean my house is small, just a little cottage bungalow really, and i don't actually think i have a single place for it! 

believe me, i'm sure trying to think of a place!

Anyway, just feast your eyes on this gorgeous stuff...

I'm sure you can see why i would want it all!

so completely wonderful, i can't stand it....

Ok, Cindy, get over it, The bucket will not fit in your house!  It will take up half the dining room and look stupid, and you can't afford it!!!

But, but, but....

...the end...

Little Chair ...

My friend had this sweet little vanity chair at her shop the other day, and of course i picked it up and hauled it outta there...

I swear she must look for things she thinks i'll like when she's out shopping, and just wait to see when i'll spot it in the shop and grab 

it up...

when i walk in she probably starts counting

5 - 4 - 3 - 2- 1

bingo! she spotted it! 

I'm pretty sure i'm her best customer!

Here is the chair with a little makeover

 Recently i was at another cute little shop in town, and found this vintage tablecloth, i think it is barkcloth fabric, what exactly is that anyway???

It has the most wonderful texture, and i couldn't resist the flowers and  cheerful colors.  

It was a little tattered and worn in spots, but i just couldn't leave it... 

Why does the barkcloth feel like that, why is it so yummy!?

As i paid for it i was thinking, 

i don't need this, 

i don't know what i'm gonna do with it, 

why am i buying it... etc... 

...you've probably been there...

anyway, it wasn't long after buying the tablecloth that i ended up with the sweet little chair

and voila!

the pairing was meant to be

it was fate

sigh... so romantic

is it mentally ill to fall in love with "things" like chairs and fabric???

here is the before

   

 here is me draping the tablecloth on the chair getting the idea

is that how you spell draping, or is it drapping... why does that word always look so weird?

and, here it is painted,  dressed up,  and ready to use as spare seating anywhere!

 

that fabric just makes me so happy every time i look at it!

it's funny... i don't even like red

but i love this

and Courtney's red and white gingham sofa

scroll down you'll see the edge of it

and you'll be at the most beautiful blog ever! 

anyway, hmmmmm, maybe i do like red

geeesh

*************************

So it's my daughter Ellie's birthday again

and time for another pansie cake!

  

 so easy to make

and so unlike the purple penis cake her friends gave her

lord help me

I was a little short on pansies this year, so I went to Home Depot and stole every one of those pansies

just chose the best colors to match yellow icing, plucked a few here and there and left as pretty as ya please

heeeyyyy, it was for a good cause ya'll!

 

see how i justified that

i'm  a total criminal sometimes

  

anyway, Ellie turned 23 April 15th

and she's finally almost sane!!!

YAYYY!!!!!

well, except for a few exceptions 

and that's pretty much all i've got for now!

 

...the end....

 

  

 

 

 

I HAD to Show Ya'll This....

Just LOOK at this crazy romantic sofa!

You may remember i have a friend who has a shop with two other partners

I am the featured artist for the shop

My friend always gets really jealous when other shop owners want to sell my work

and she'll say

"You are exclusive to my shop!"

she's sooo bossy about it too!

But it makes me feel kinda good for someone to get jealous over me and my work

so i kinda like it...

seeeeee... here is one of my paintings at an event held at the shop

 

Anyway, one of the partners brought this sofa in to sell the other day

I almost fell over dead when i saw it!

Isn't it fun and cool and pretty!

 

the coral, white and gray pillows from Home Goods look so great on it too... 

a modern touch to the whole Romantic, Hollywood Regency flair and fluff

it even has a matching chair!

Donna, the partner who discovered and redid it said,

  "you should have seen it when i found it"!!

which says to me that the sofa must have looked fairly rough around the edges

most likely with some very dated worn fabric and cushions

She had it covered it in a heavy soft white linen

and tada!

a masterpiece!

she looks like a million dollars! 

i thought ya'll would get a kick out of it too

 

...the end...

Just Stuff... !

Hey there!

I've been sorta all over the place lately.  Trying to figure out how in the world to work full time,  paint paintings, do house stuff, clean my dogs ears, pay bills, (thanks Verizon for the random upgrade fees) do dishes, cook, groom, garden, vacuum, wash windows, clean my car,(thanks for the massive bird poop blast right after I washed my car birdie!)  shop, plan birthdays, keep up with my kids unending dysfunctions and drama, answer emails, manage panic attacks,  mail prints, fix dinner, clean the toilets, do laundry, figure out what to wear.... etc etc and on and on... much less blog, catch up on facebook, Pinterest, (oh how I love you)... manage Etsy, keep my webpage even remotely current...


Hmmmmm... 

does that sound like too much stuff to you?  it does to me!


 ok, and i'm not like... ohhhhhh poor me... I know you have lists just as long, probably even longer!


i mean what the heck man!!??

is life supposed to be this crazy?
why are we so busy??


So, you know what i think, I think we should just stop everything right now and look at pretty pictures of pink hydrangeas! 

and get our nails done...

and go shopping !

check this sweet little thing that I found at Trader Joes today

don't love Trader Joes that place is crazy!

I'm a Whole Foods girl myself
(not that it isn't crazy there too!)
 but I sure do love this hydrangea i found there

let's just be with how pretty this is for a minute

 




I did a hydrangea photo shoot and tried it out everywhere in the house of course...

I mean, it's Spring, it's Spring, it's Spring!!!
YAAAAYYY!

thank the lord!

I'm putting flowers everywhere!

ok, one more... this is a painting waiting to happen

the hydrangeas were in a little pot, with bright pink paper,

so I put them in a round vase

and took some brown paper and wrapped it around

and added the sticker from Pom Pom interiors from when I bought my pink pom pom throw from them

I saved it because it was so cute

 I know it's random and makes very little sense to have "pom pom" on the whole thing

but I don't care, it looks cute to me!

you can see the cabinet door open in the background

why are cabinet doors always open?

So to continue with this chaotic rambling about life and flowers and whatever 

which maybe involves being 59 years old, and celebrating mr. fractured's 60th birthday and heading to 60 myself

and thinking every twitch in my body is an impending heart attack

which is completely not out of the realm of possibility now

I decided my priorities included getting my nails done, and even had little flowers painted on one of them


thank goodness i didn't get each one painted with a different type of cupcake or something  


it's hard to resist all the fun painted nail looks out there 
 

...listened to Missy Elliott (rap) on my car radio full blast

 awesome!

I love rap

Loved it the minute I first happened upon a rap song on the radio, before my daughter was born 22 years ago

I'm such a rhythm Ho

went to the local consignment store and found a dress that makes my boobs look good

well sorta...

 

maybe with a cute jacket and some black leggings and boots... ?


 I mean they're only gonna look so good at 59
 

 and those big ole reading glasses give me away a little

ya think?

and i think it's waaay past time for some Botox in those gigantic crevasses between my eyebrows
they make me look like i'm mad all the time! 

geeeesh, I think i'm having a mid life crisis

wait a minute!!!

mid life crisis was 20 years ago!

is there even a name for a being almost 60 crisis!?


I mean that really is a freaky emotional age milestone... 
eeeewwwwww... i don't like it

Ok, so i don't think we should talk about that anymore


did you notice i have a new sheepskin rug from Costco?

I think I like it.. not totally sure
but the dogs sure do!

And, I finally got some fabric to recover my sofa!!!

YAY! 

I sold my other sofa so I have the money to recover this one!

excited about that!

...anyway... 
I brought a little spring to my mantel with this sweet little bird from TJ Maxx 

I'm a sucker for bird stuff

found a tarnished silver tray at the thrift shop, and added some white tulips to it

changed out a light fixture from my little entry

from this...

to this...

I have no idea what to do about the cord showing

you can see where I need to touch up the paint on the wall
finally got that done after this photo was taken
 

this was last weeks bouquet from my yard....
sweet little spring blossoms
 

and mr. fractured got me a new computer at a discount from his job at IBM which is so sweet of him

the computer has a whole new operating system called windows 8

it is very very different than what i'm used to

very different

in fact I'm pretty sure I broke a record  for the most frequent and imaginative use of the "F" word in the last week

yep, pretty darn sure

...don't get windows 8... 

Aaaanyway... that's a random combination of just of a few of the things going on with me

I've missed so many of your posts, i hate that!

I try catch up whenever I can..

It makes me crazy

I feel like all my friends are out doing fun things

and i'm stuck at home doing my homework 


so i'm off to catch up on you guys while i have a minute!

...the end... 

..